I am so glad that I wrote of my plight with Lily. I am now very confident that she will turn out ok. You can imagine my fear that I would have to get rid of her. We are so attached to her not to mention the sleepless nights, all would have been in vain.We were actually doing many of the thing people are suggesting but when we did'nt see results as fast as we did with our other dogs I panicked. Bulldogs really are a different breed.

I had a professional work with my second bouvier, he was shy and aggressive. For several months once a week for 1 to 2 hrs. Gail worked with him. He is now the best behaved dog that I have. I thought Lily was probably too young to benefit from having Gail come back, but now next Thursday will be Lily's first day of school. Thanks for your input.

I did try the roll over the first time she actually acted vicious, I gave up before she did. Her trying to bite surprised me, so I wasn't prepared and with all that loose skin I wasn't able to hold her down without being bit. I did not try the growling nor did I have eye contact with her, so should it happen again I will give it a try. It's just nice knowing it might be somewhat normal for her to be this way and that we can change this behavior. Thanks

to be with and train the babies. If you have ever seen a Mother and her puppies together when they are 8 to 12 weeks old, it is a real learning experience on how they train the babies. My little girl would go out in the back yard, lay sunny side up and let 6 weeks+ babies climb all over her and maul her..BUT, when one would bite her or get too carried away in play, she was up in a flash charging after that baby and would run it down and stand over the top of it or grab it by the back of the neck and hold it down till she felt he had learned his/her lesson..Then she would go right back with the rest of the litter, lay down once again, turn sunny side up as if nothing had happend..But, the baby she had chased down was sure alot different and much easier on her when he came back to join in..
The most important stage in any puppy's life is from 7 to 12 weeks. That is when Mom will teach them their play limits (among other things). Otherwise, they don't know any better and don't know that their play is too much for their new family or too aggressive. Seeing your baby did not learn her limits from her Mother, you have to do it in a gentle but firm way, just like her Mother would have.
None of this is your fault and certainly not your puppy's..it's the Breeder for not allowing her Mother to be with her to learn how to be a normal well adjusted puppy that knows the right way to play..
You kind of have to look at it as if how a child would be if there was not a Mother figure in their life, but just a bunch of kids to interact and play with without any disapline what so ever. Those kids would not have learned any manners or any limits to their play and be wild..
What her Mom was not able to teach her, you will have to in order to have a nice, well adjusted dog in your family..

with children! I don't know what's worse - letting them be aggressive or leaving them in a cage - it gets better - hang in there!

My favorites...
There's no people like bulldog people!
Mess with me - get the drool!
You wouldn't understand - it's a bulldog thing!

The mother was being kept separate from the pups when I picked Lily up. The breeder said they were harassing mom.I even mentioned this to my husband that maybe mom had not done her job, it was her first litter. The way the pups played was like watching an illegal dog fight and the noises they made were like they were fighting to the death. I will try your tactics and will mention them to the trainer who is coming to work with her.Thanks

As you can probably tell I was not prepared for this puppy that we call Demon Dog. Maybe there is such a book. I doubt there is because who would ever get their first Bulldog knowing all these things in advance. They can't all be like this can they? She has more personality than me other three dogs combined. I believe I now have the tools to make it through this stage. Thanks

Others have suggested the bitter apple and I will soon try it.I always thought of this breed being calm and lazy. I have not seen a difference in her in the last 24 hrs., but with everyones input I think I can see the light at the end of the tunnel.She is just a puppy, a very strong willed puppy. When my Bouvier bit my daughter as she tried to look at him under the coffee table, the breeder said "a puppy should never bite at that age".(10 wks.)So we got the professional trainer.I almost sent him back because of that statement. He's my best dog now, I don't think anyone could make him bite now. I was just so afraid of the JAWS of a Bulldog should she be to aggressive. Thanks for your quick response.

A very close friend has the same situation. We have the same dog trainer and here's what she said.
Don't hit her. With very aggressive dogs holding them down or saying "No" may not work. You need to grab the skin on the back of her neck as her mother would have when she was a pup. She may have not been tought what the limits are when she was with her litter.

We tried this on my friends dog and soon saw the results.

write a book on preparing for an English Bulldog puppy and name it "So you thought you wanted a Bulldog puppy ?" and then list a page of things you'll need, making the first item a tourniquet, bandaids, peroxide, betadine, steel toed knee boots, heavy leather gloves that extend to the elbows..Gosh I could go on and on..If you think 1 is bad, think what it would be like with a litter of 7 or 8 of these little sharks..
She's just being a Bulldog puppy..When she gets acting out of control, pick her up and hold her in one arm and hold a chew bone in the other and let her chew on it while you talk softly and lovingly to her..That should calm her down. If she still tries to bite you, tell her "NO" and then re-offer the chew toy and go back to sweet talking her. Also, don't allow your children to play hard with her as that will only stimulate aggressive play that your trying to stop..Kids screaming, yelling or jumping around will also stimulate a puppy so let the kids know to tone down the play when the puppy is in the same room..
And PLEASE, find a good puppy class and sign her up..You'll understand what to do and not to do and she will beable to understand right from wrong and learn to understand what is wanted or expected of her..Usually the busy puppies are the smartest ones. And, just like raising a child, you need to direct all that energy she has to learning good things, not bad..

It's the age. Most bulldog pups are very nippy and as your breeder said, it will get better in time.

My pup is 18 weeks old & still occassionally goes after my hands. I just don't let her bite them & give her a toy to chew on.

Bitter apple spray may also help deter her biting.

DO NOT hit her. Positive reaction only only by praising when she does good and a loud "NO" in her face when she does bad.

Sue

and still does. First, she is a puppy and has razor sharp teeth, once these fall out, no more blood. She is also teething so she is going to want to chew a lot. When she starts to bite, try holding both sides of her face in your hands near your face so she has to look at you and sternly say NO BITE! You can also try putting some pennies in a coke can & sealing the top with tape (try duct tape...yet another use for it!). Shake the can loudly & say NO BITE when she bites you...you have to catch her in the act or else she won't know what you are reprimanding her for. Lola is 5 months and still very hyper but she is starting to calm down so there is hope! Hitting a bulldog makes them much more stubborn and really doesn't serve a purpose. We have also trained Lola to "GET A TOY" when she starts to get hyper. She will go get a toy and bring it to us so we play with that instead of our hands & feet! I have TONS of chew toys so that I can divert Lola from our hands/feet to the toy...I kind of just slide it in her mouth. We also say "THIS IS NOT LOLA'S TOY" then find a toy and say "THIS IS LOLA'S TOY" and give it to her and let her play by herself, we kind of ignore her for 5-10 minutes. She really doesn't bite anymore and if she does you can tell it is play.

As for the growling, I noticed that we trained Lola, unconsciously of course, to growl when we play with her...we would play tug of war with a toy and my fiance and I would say "GRRRRRRRRRRRR" and of course, now Lola growls when we play, our fault and we don't growl durning playtime anymore.

Your baby bully thinks that the leash is a toy, say "NO BITE" when she tries to play with it. You have to make sure that everyone in the family follows whatever guidelines and boundaries that you want to set or else your bully will get mixed signals and not know what to do. I also wouldn't leave the pup alone with your daughters too long. They are young too and may not remember the training techniques that you set or may not be consistent. You have to be consistent, everytime a behaviour is exhibited that you don't want, you have to reprimand. You puppy is like a child and if you are consistent the sweet girl she is will shine through.

Oh, many people on this site like to use Bitter Apple Spray. You can get it at a pet store and spray it on anything you don't want to have bitten...furniture, clothes, hands, feet, etc. The dogs HATE the taste and taste aversion is the strongest training technique you can use. One bad taste and they shouldn't go back again...some dogs seem to need more than one taste though. We haven't used this on Lola since she only gnaws on us and not the furniture or carpeting.

Hope this helps...don't worry your little girl isn't an aggressive dog, she is just being a puppy that needs to be guided.

We have a six year old rescued bully who was 70 pounds of VERY quirky bulldog. We needed help understanding how to work with him and called a canine behaviorist. She was absolutely wonderful and has totally helped us bring Herschel into our family.

The problems you are facing are SERIOUS. Everyone you'll meet online will have opinions about your dog, but I would think that only a trained professional who can come to your house a work with you and your dog should be the one to listen to. Our trainer was recommended by the woman who co-ordinated our adoption; perhaps contactiong your local bulldog club or rescue organization would be a good place to start. I hope you can work out some of these issues soon...best wishes!

you need to teach her you are the top dog. This is how she would play with her mom and littermates.

When she bites tell her NO and give her a toy. YOu can also roll her lips over on her teeth and push down and tell her no.

When Bella was a baby i thought OMG she has to go back, she is crazy and vicious. I did the above and she is the best girl, all the kids hold her head and kiss her. She goes to watch the kids play sports.

You have to teach her, or this will continue. Make sure she has plenty of toys, get bitter apple and put it on everything she should not bite (kids and dogs too)

Vicky

Vicky, Bosco, Bella, Breve' & Holly

Bulldog Club of Greater Seattle

nm

We went through the same thing with my baby when he was about the same age.

We never hit him, and whoever would recommend that tactic should not be allowed to have a pet or a child. Violence only begets violence no matter how or when its used.

We tried the following:

1. when he bites, pick him up and wrap him in a blanket and keep him on your lap until he stops squirming and fussing (sometimes it only took a couple of minutes, other times it was longer, maybe 10 - 15 minutes), this helps them to know your in charge and not him;

2. grab him by the scruff of the neck like his Mom would have done, and tell him "NO biting", (this is of course if you can catch the little bugger), mine usually thought we were trying to play with him and he'd take off running around our apartment, but if you can catch him immediately it was a pretty effective way of handling it, because he knows we never treat him roughly so he knew right away he was doing something wrong;

3. when all else fails, I would pick him up and put him in the kitchen for a few minutes (which is where he goes when we leave for work each day), he calms down immediately because he knows that the only time he's penned when we're still home is if he does something wrong.

In all situations use the "No Biting" command. It took some time and he still has moments of hyperactivity and over aggressive play, but we are fortunate that it is only with myself and my boyfriend, he's never behaved that way with anyone else, luckily.

Good Luck.