3 year old bull terrier biting people/children - need help

smithlaw

I posted something a year or two ago and everyone here provided great feedback. Therefore, I am going to lean on you all again! Here is the current scenario. Mae Belle - Bull Terrier. DOB-12/20/15 - Spayed at age 2

She is generally a very loving, sweet dog. I often take her to office with me, but have avoided it some lately to be sure she does not bark at/scare clients. At office, she is very sweet to me, and to all the other adult staff members.

At age 1-1.5 years
- She started jumping up and nipping at our young children. Nipped 4yr old daughter’s face causing it to bleed and also bit her arm leaving a mark. This was all while playing but she did not learn that this was inappropriate, even though we tried teaching this.
- She also tried attacking a neighbor’s dog and my wife was unable to control her. 3 people had to work to get it to stop.

At age 2-3 years
- She bit neighbor’s 85 year old father-in-law in their yard after the gate was opened and he was trying to pet her.
- She jumped up and bit my 6 year old daughter 2 or 3 times while we believe she was playing, but my daughter was not trying to play and was crying and begging her to stop. My daughter went in the backyard alone to get something when this happened.
- She bit a contractor on the leg and tore his pants while he was coming to the house to give an estimate.
- She bit two different neighbor’s children on the same day. She shredded their pant leg and bit through the skin. One of the children were taken to urgent care and given antibiotics. Both of these children have been in our yard many times and have even played with the dog. They came through the fence to get a ball they had thrown over. They were in the yard a few minutes with the dog seeing them before she decided to run over and attack them. It was caught on my security cameras.
- The last two incidents happened in the last 2 weeks.


My other neighbor is 75-80yr old widow. She is the nicest person you will ever meet. When she is in her yard, Mae Belle Belle runs toward her like she is trying to run through the fence and barks at her like she is satan. I am also worried what she would do if there was ever a hole in the fence (which there has been in the past). I cannot afford to spend a few thousand dollars on aggressive dog training.

Is this something I can correct on my own or do I need to look at rehoming her? I love my girl and I don't know what to do, but am worried about what she may do to someone next. Thank you for reading all of that and any help you can give!

Neil

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corey90260

My first question is how much exercise does your dog get ? Is it in the yard or house all day ? Exercise can make a huge difference . I have a bull terrier that is just not great with strangers or other dogs unless she is introduced slowly and with care. Although mine has only ever bitten my husband and nipped at me I know that if I don't work with her every day ( Training ) playing fetch and walking her she will end up with a lot of pent up energy and it has to come out somewhere. If I had young children all of this would be a game changer its not fair to your kids or the dog. As heartbreaking as it is and with as many kids she has bitten I believe I would reach out to a Bull Terrier rescue for help .

Djammy

In all honesty and without trying to be offensive: This is not the moment to search for reasons or to ask yourself if you can handle this on your own.

You obviously can’t!
Because otherwise this dog may have gotten a first and a second chance to hurt someone, but not a third, forth, fifth …
You have no hand on this situation. There has already happened too much. And it is crazy dangerous for your kids and for strangers.

You should act fast!

Your dog, once someone attacked decides to make this official, will likely pay with its life, be put to sleep and the chance of rehoming it will be gone for good.


First of all: Manage and secure!

Secondly: Find a good new home and be honest about what happened in the past. So the dog gets a chance of being rehomed to an experienced owner without any kids or any other pets around, and the next owner will have a chance to handle the dog properly. The dog may even need an evaluation by a behaviorist or an experienced vet before it can be rehomed. But that depends on knowing more details about the entire situation, training and the dog itself.
Right now from the outside it is hard to tell if the dog did just not have enough obedience training, if the guidance is not firm enough or if there is a mental problem going on with the dog - which would not be possible to fix by training.


Manage and secure means that you do everything necessary to ensure the safety of your family members and strangers while the dog is still in your home:

- No kids play with the dog (especially running, chasing and all other games that may ignite prey instincts in the dog), not even under supervision because obviously the dog’s behavior seems to be unpredictable
- Kids do not go anywhere alone where the dog can follow them
- If necessary the dog carries a harness or collar at all times and a short leash connected so you are better and faster able to grab it if the dog goes off.
Also outside the dog does never run unleashed until this situation has been resolved.
- The dog is not around strangers. If the handyman comes, the dog goes into a separate room. If the old lady is in her yard the dog is inside and not standing barking behind the fence.
You kind of owe this to your environment that people and your kids can feel safe around your dog.
If the dog is not safe you are responsible for making sure that nothing can happen by taking the appropriate steps. If necessary another option would be to have him wear a comfy muzzle around your kids or other people.
- Do not let strangers pet your dog. If you had incidents with other dogs in the past, avoid them also for now. In this situation it seems to be unpredictable what will happen and when.
You need to get your hand on this for the time the dog is still in your home.
- Lastly and as important as everything else:
Keep loving your dog and treating it nicely. Correct unwanted behavior immediately in a firm way, but also treat your dog fair and kind. Play with it as usual. It likely has a lot of change coming and it would feel it if you withdrew your love now. The dog likely is not aware that it is making so many mistakes and causing so much trouble.
It deserves a chance to learn better.

There has been a lot of injury. But I am still not sure if there’s something wrong with your dog or if these are “just” behavioral issues that can be fixed with proper training. You said you did train your dog. But I don’t know what exactly you did, for how long and how effective it was, how obedience works for you today, if you visited a dog training class or a single-session trainer and so on …
So, its hard to evaluate from here.

Bull Terriers are not like many other dog breeds. They are little persons with a very strong character. And they are physically strong, which can enhance dangerous situations. They need to know their stand within the family. They need firm guidance and rules. While I am very convinced that every dog should be well trained in obedience, for Bull Terriers in particular it is mandatory in my opinion. Part of the training is definitely that they learn the bite inhibition and do not use their teeth on people after their puppy age.

I wish you good luck and no more injuries around you! And I wish for your dog to find a good and loving new home as a single pet. I am sure that your dog is a good soul!
But this situation if it goes on like this is disaster waiting to happen.
I advise to not seek help at a shelter but specifically seek for the help of a Bull Terrier Rescue in your area, as also already suggested by others here. Bull Terrier Rescues are experienced with the breed and they are in contact with other Bull Terrier lovers who also have the necessary experience. You will probably find them on Facebook for example.
This way you can do your best to avoid more injury for your kids and lay ground for the future of your dog as good as possible at the same time.

BulliesofNC

@Djammy - That was a lengthy and well detailed response. It's disappointing to see that it didn't receive a response. However, I'm confident they read based on their recorded activity dates and times. Hopefully, they'll take heed to your advice.

Djammy

@Steve, thank you very much for your appreciation.
The way I see things as long as this helps anybody - now or in the future - the post was worthwhile the time. I sincerely hope that the silence is not caused by the situation already having escalated. I hope that everybody is already working on the solution instead.
Happy new year!

Brooklyn

This is a task for professional behaviorist. She punctured skin and drew blood, that make it Level 3 bite. At this point, the dog can present a threat to other people and animals. The majority of aggression cases fall into this level. Nor you on your own, nor obedience trainer will be able to modify this behavior. Certified behaviorist should be able to help. They are not cheap, they charge from $100 to $250 per session, depending on behaviorist qualification. Usually 10 sessions required. They not only help your dog with behavioral issues but teach whole family how to handle the dog. If you decide to keep her, this is a good investment in your family and your neighbors safety.

Whatupdog

Thank you DJammy! excellent response. 100 percent.