Bad Bully with behavioral problems. NEED HELP.
Submitted by mnichols on December 26, 2011 - 12:47pmI need help with my beloved bulldog. She is three and a half and has some weird behavioral issues that are becoming so bad that our friends and family are very worried. She is aggressive with other dogs and has gotten into dog fights. She also has a issue with certain noises notably a spray can. On Christmas Eve a family member was spraying cooking oil she jumped in the air five feet and attacked the spray can and almost knocked him over. On Christmas day I went to pick up a cousins infant and she jumped at the baby. Whenever anyone picks up a baby she lunges at it in the air. She is also toy possesive and food aggressive. If a child has a squeaky toy we have to hide it otherwise she attacks it. She has never bitten a person and in our daily life we generally avoid these "triggers" but we are thinking of having children and are scared. The other problem is if she is bad and we lock her in our room she will bark for hours until we let her out. Has anyone had any of these issues and have any suggestions. We are also thinking of sending her to a doggie training bootcamp. Has anyone else done this and had success with it and can recommend one in the NY/NJ/CT/PA/MA area? I feel like I need a bootcamp that has experience with bulldogs. I want my friends and family to be bale to come over and not be terrified of my dog and spend the whole evening telling us we should get rid of her! Please help we love our Bully more than anything.
Training and behavior modification is up to you
"Bootcamps" for dogs is an owners way of getting out of the responsibility of training their own dog. Leaving a dog with a total stranger is a very dangerous thing to do. First - you have no idea what they are doing to your dog, despite what they advertise, second - training your dog yourself helps you and your dog better understand each other. A guy my husband works with sent his very typical adolescent St. Bernard to bootcamp. The dog came back a completely different dog, no longer the playful/joyful dog, but one that was leary of strangers-especially men, fearful of noises/quick movements. Sadly, the damage was done, the dog attacked a man and the owners were left to euthanize the dog along with living with a ton of guilt.
I strongly recommend that you contact a trainer that will help all of you one on one. Go to APDT.com, there you can find a trainer near you. Please use only positive based training, it works wonders.
Good luck
Lynn King CPDT-KA
We had some issues with Dread that were similar
to what you are describing, and we did get a trainer that came in once a week for a few weeks. It really helped my husband and I get on the same page as far as training techniques so we were both doing the same thing with Dreadnought. It was well worth the money we spent. He still acts a little psycho sometimes, but we are able to recognize what sets him off and redirect the behavior.
I think we used a combination of training methods...I can't think of the names right now, but I will ask the husband when he gets home. It really did work for us, but you have to be consistent and firm. My Boy is a hardhead, though. He tries to outsmart us all the time. Goofy dog.
Also, do you let your dog sleep with you? Our trainer was adament that for at least 30 days, Dread had to sleep on the floor to learn who was the boss in the house. That was probably the hardest part. I love sleeping with my bully. :-/
Get a trainer! It really does help. Good luck. :-)
**********"Life is far too short not to have a little umbrella in your drink"**********
you have received excellent advice
there are no "bad" bullies though. The issues have been going on for some time, however your bully is relatively young. If you hire an excellent behaviourist, and hard consistent work on your part there can be a good ending. She simply has not been properly trained or socialized from the beginning and does not know her boundaries, causing bad habits. Not her fault. Best of luck.