Pet Lovers

Bulldog cranky with other dogs. Help!

Pet Lovers

Posted by: Jen

30th Jan 2012 12:08pm

Can anyone suggest how to get a 5month old bulldog to not be aggressive with other dogs? He is great with all people and children just appears very protective of his family when out and about. with other dogs. How can we train him without the huge cost of lengthy private lessons? All suggestions welcome


Comments 9

simla
  • 19th Dec 2012 04:34pm

Hi Jen. I agree with all that has been said so far. It is critical that you take action now, before the trouble sets in permanently. Desexing should curb the aggression as it is thought to be connected to the presence of testosterone. Heredity is a factor. i would suggest you contact the breeder of your pup to let them know how he is behaving. That is something all puppy owners can do to let the breeders know the results of the mating. It could well be that they may choose another pairing next time they breed a litter, based on the reports they get. Good luck with the methods suggested. All have merit.

ninna
  • 5th Dec 2012 10:26pm

1. Desex the dog. It will help calm him down & reduce the chances of him escaping & mating with unknown females.
2. Puppy School. A must for any dog regardless of age, they need to be socialised & best done while being supervised. I am guessing the bulldog puppy is quite large now so he has more confidence in his dominance so that behaviour needs to be modified before it becomes serious. An older dog around would put him in his place very quickly teaching him boundaries but socialisation would be best.
3. Try to pre-empt this aggressiveness by keeping him on a leash & preferably a check chain, a check chain is not a choker & should never be used as one. You need to do some obedience classes to learn how to use one correctly. A check chain is used to communicate the behaviour that is being shown is not liked by the handler & I found it very effective on large & powerful dogs. I have used one for 30 years of training & my dogs walk beside me well behaved now so I rarely need to check him with it.
Teaching your dog manners & boundaries all takes time & effort so be prepared to put the work into making him the best companion he can be.

Marg
  • 14th Nov 2012 03:13pm

Hi Jen, I would suggest that you start working your dog at home (backyard or inside) have the dog on lead and every so often, get the dog to sit and hold up a treat (it must be something the dog ABSOLUTELY LOVES and doesn't get very often, these are called 'high value treats'), Therefore, get the dog to sit and hold up the treat, count a few seconds and then give it to him, repeat this over a number of days. once the dog starts looking for the treat whilst on home territory, then take him for his walk and when you see a dog in the distance, distract him with the treat, hold it up for him to see and then give it to him. You can extend the time to give him the treat. Training is just 'association' therefore if you associate something fantastic (either the treat, praise or a toy - whatever works best for him) then he will associate seeing another dog with something fantastic. This does take time, but you will find that a rewards based training will work quickly. Or you can also try tossing the treat on the ground so that he has to look for it on the ground, this is also distracting him from being aggressive. Is the dog desexed? This may also help. You could also try some socialisation with other dogs at a dog training club (the local councils quite often run dog training clubs, which are quite fun and you could get help from the dog trainers there as well. Good luck, it's great that you are looking into this before the dog gets to much older and it becomes an entrenched behaviour.

Anonymous
  • 25th Oct 2012 12:07am

HiI you must constantley socialize yourdog with otheranimals. if he is happy with dogsin your yard then bring a dog in that he is used to and go walking with that animal as well leaving from your back yard. taking treats with you as you areapproaching another dog try and make your dog sit than distracted him with the treats until theother animal has passedkeep doing this until he becomesused to having other animals walk past hiim . I also growlat my dogs like i am cranky with them they know im the boss and thardefinetely is the key. I my self own pitbulls and they are all good with other animals and arenot vicious and i can walk them any where

greece
  • 17th May 2012 10:05pm

ALL DOGS NEED TRAINING AND SOMETIMES DOGS ACT ON INSTINCT ALL DOGS ARE DIFFERENT SOME DOGS ARE NOT MEANT TO MIX WITH OTHER DOGS

DMcF
  • 19th Mar 2012 12:34pm

1) check if there is a local dog obedience school, or puppy school - your local dog control council will know if any around. attend it regularly until no longer needed.
2) watch &/or read the material from Cesar Millan "The Dog Whisperer" and Victoria Stilwell "It's Me or the Dog" -- both have online sites, as well as informative and entertaining TV programmes.
3) remember, 99% of the "dog training" is actually about training you (& whole family) as its owner. that's not a criticism of you - that's the way it is for all of us dog owners.

Good luck & enjoy.

hinds84
  • 6th Mar 2012 05:52pm

hi have you ever seen' cesar millan' show on fox tell or the sight i really recommend
its fantastic and the show is mind blowing i have got some of the books they are grate

Thunderful
  • 1st Mar 2012 08:34pm

I agree with Diverchef- an older dog will teach a puppy what acceptable behavior is and discipline them if they are cranky or too rough. If you can't find a Bulldog club, (or even if you do), i recommend joining a dog obedience club, and finding friendly older, and bigger, dogs for your puppy to play with - i wouldn't let it play with small dogs, regardless of age until your puppy has calmed down/ matured, as he could accidentally hurt them due to his heavy stature.

diverchef
  • 17th Feb 2012 08:32pm

Find your local bulldog club. Have them find a "teen and adult" dog. 18 to 24 month and over 4 years old. have yours at on of their places to play, the teen will be ruff but the adult will take control. You need to have a puppy play with older dogs to find boundaries and how to play, people are not good teachers of this.(we are too soft)

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