Bulldogs World

She is an extremely successful trainer/behaviorist who has been on BDW and helped a lot of people for many years. She is one of the best resources you will ever find for dog training, and if you are willing to listen to her and implement what is being told to you, both you and your boy will benefit greatly from her experience and advice.

You have spoiled your dog to gaining a food treat for doing a correct behavior. You need to replace that with a good belly rub, a positive whoop of praise, whatever it takes to get him to understand he is doing the right thing. People are not normally "afraid" of English Bulldogs, I have never come across someone who was afraid of my dog or others I have seen in stores or outdoors. If yours is causing fear, then his behavior is completely out of line and you need a good behaviorist to help you correct that problem. One thing, Beagles are a pain the butt to train, they ignore commands and can be very headstrong. If your dog has beagle mixed in, you can plan on having a slightly more difficult time getting a handle on him. Bulldogs are headstrong as well, but they react very well to positive reinforcement. Never, ever hit or slap your dog, it will only make a bulldog dig in and get stubborn. 

Best of luck to you. I hope you find the right solution for your boy.

Distance-Distraction-Difficulty-Duration

Let's start simple: We are going to teach a dog to sit. Dog is standing in front of you, happens to sit down, we say "sit", "yes-good job" and reward. Repeat everytime the dog sits. After doing this several times, the dog has now learned a conditioned response and will automatically sit the first time they hear the word. What we tend to do is, Dog is standing in front of us and we say "sit" several times until the dog finally sits out of boredom and we say "yes-good job" and reward. Doing it this way, the dog learns to sit only after repeated commands. Believe me, teaching the dog using the first technique results in a much cleaner response.

So now, our dog drops it's butt everytime we say "sit". Does it perfectly in the house, we can now start to wean off the treats, maybe give a treat the first time you ask for it, then have the Dog sit 3 times and then reward, move to the 7th time, back to the first time etc. Vary the reward pattern and eventually, while in the house, you won't have to reward. Now you want to take your dog outside where the Distraction level increases. Practice the same thing and don't move to increased Distraction until he has that level accomplished. Add in a little Duration and Distance but don't try to jump forward too fast.

Using "No" or any other word when you are trying to stop them from doing something just has to be said in a firm, clear tone and be sure to follow through. I use "knock it off" and my dogs always knew to stop whatever they were doing. You can also teach "leave it" but again, be sure to let him know what a good boy he is when he responds correctly.

Asking a dog to respond to our commands before we have properly taught them only frustrates everyone. For example, taking a dog to a dog park and then getting frustrated when we call them and they ignore us.

For now, I suggest that you pick just a couple of skills to work on, solidify them, then add a few more. To me, coming when called was always the most important skill. Depending on the dog and the situation, I still heavily rewarded for a prompt response. We had a JRT mix who loved to chase joggers, bad idea, but he would come to me instantly when called. I could call him off of any distraction but because he was so stimulated by his environment and because it was so important that he respond, I continued to reward him with all kinds of treats/play/ etc., his entire life.