Aggression
Help! Not sure what to do. I’ve tried a lot. So my bully is 7months. Dude is absolutely nuts. Nipping, plowing into me, never listening to me unless I have a treat. Ok fine. Dog is a genius tho. He taught himself how to open doors, he rings bells to go out, etc. As we all know they’re turds sometimes! BUT what I can’t deal with is when I tell him ‘drop it’ (because he’s trying to eat a sock that he stole by opening the door that doesn’t have a lock) and he growls, and then when I do baby talk as I TRY to take it away, he bites!! I’m terrified. Today he stole my husbands headphones he had put down on the counter when he came back for a run. (They were in a ball) he tried to scarf them down as fast as he could! Now my husband doesn’t try to do the baby talk I’m your friend give me that sort of gig. So he yelled NO. Drop it, real stern. My dog started growling, and my husband grabbed his mouth to try and open it and he snapped! Tried to go after my husband and then let go of the headphones. As my husband walked away he ran up and tried to bite him! I’ve tried to do ‘drop it’ when he has a ball too, so maybe he will trust me. But he’s smart and knows he can’t have the stuff he’s trying to eat so clearly he isn’t going to drop it.
He has no aggression with his food bowl or water.
He has aggression when he has a ‘new treat’ like something he’s never had before. We give him like 5mins with his new chew and let him come to us. If we go to him, he will start growling! He doesn’t do this with toys tho. He’s sooooo sweet with other dogs too! He’s submissive!
Any help would be great! I would love to take him to a trainer but the only one in town is agility. The other only does training were you send your dog away for a week. (I’m in ND)
Thanks guys!
He has no aggression with his food bowl or water.
He has aggression when he has a ‘new treat’ like something he’s never had before. We give him like 5mins with his new chew and let him come to us. If we go to him, he will start growling! He doesn’t do this with toys tho. He’s sooooo sweet with other dogs too! He’s submissive!
Any help would be great! I would love to take him to a trainer but the only one in town is agility. The other only does training were you send your dog away for a week. (I’m in ND)
Thanks guys!
Comments
These dogs are special. They are bold and think they own the world when young. The reaction to the baby talk might well be a pure misunderstanding, by the way. Most Bull Terriers actually LOVE baby talk. But as stated already it triggers something in them, and most of the time that's their wild side. Therefore: Not the best strategy to use baby talk when trying to teach lessons or calm the dog. They hear it in your voice and see it in your face IF you are confident and really mean what you say. Baby talk is rather something for going nuts together during playtime or so.
Bull Terriers need strong guidance and a lot of patience. Because while they DO understand, it can take a while before they really figure things out in a new home and with some things they have to come to accept them before they start being obedient. That can take a while. They really need to know their role in the household. They need a good set of rules and an owner committed to consistency. NO mixed messages. The Bull Terrier will always take advantage of that and not even think anything bad of doing so.
Their "wild" ages usually last about the first three years of their life. After that they settle and become the sweetest and most devoted dogs.
It is very beneficial to start a consequent obedience training schedule with the Bull Terrier from day one in your home. Some people are lucky with their Bull Terrier puppy classes. But in my own experience one on one training works a lot better due to way less distractions.
So, if you don't know what you're doing, yet ... find a good class, an experienced trainer or ... READ!
That's what I did.
A good point to start is this forum, that you have already discovered. Also because you can ask questions here. But, please, don't expect people to explain training or raining a dog in just a few words.
Raising a Bull Terrier - especially if it's your first one - means growing together with it. You are going to learn SO MUCH!
Try to find a good book on dog training. If you are open for the idea of clicker training: "When Pigs Fly! Training Success with Impossible Dogs" by Jane Killion is one of the best, not only in terms of training but also when it comes to a better understanding of this particular dog breed.
Your dog may keep trying to attack a this point because it is convinced it is in the position to assert its status OR it may be misinterpreting your signs as play incentives and be answering to that in the typical rough Bull Terrier way ... no hard feelings. : - )
Either way, the dog needs to learn that this is an undesired behavior and many of them get is quite fast (after a few times), when owners do not make a big fuss about it, yell or baby talk, but rather give the dog a time out away from the family. A secluded room (where it can't destroy things) or if you are using a crate, some quiet time in there. This is not meant to put the dog away and be rid of it in that situation. It's a lesson: Being rough means that all play, attention and interaction with the others will stop.
Don't forget on the other hand to always let your dog know when it does something right. The more effort you put into positive reinforcement, the sooner the negative behavior will vanish.
Many young dogs nip and bite a lot. Usually they do it during playful situations, which are a perfect opportunity to teach the dog that biting hurts people. A loud yelp like another puppy would do it or even a human sound of pain (loud "outch!) in a high tone will not only startle most roughhousing puppies but will also set a stop you can use to interrupt ALL interaction and ignore the pup for a few minutes like you're pouting. If the dog will still not stop biting a time-out as described above in its cage or another room may help calm the situation down and again send the message: Being rough is not rewarding.
However, if the dog attacks with the obvious goal to intimidate you and assert status (so, no overly engaged playful interaction here, but rather aggression), the yelping remedy is NOT the best idea. Nor is physical punishment. In this case the timeout will work better.
Most dogs are not really bad or aggressive characters by nature. But they need to find their ways in our human world. And, believe it or not, it's not that easy for them. They will try a lot of things driven by their animal instinct and we humans will not like most of it. But they are very capable of adapting if we as the owners accept o take on this task. It's work. But it's will be worthwhile!
I can't do it all in one post here. But like I said ... READ, find a trainer, ask questions here. Good luck!
Be prepared for a wild ride. The reward will be a gem of a dog every dog lover will envy you for.