Training your Bulldog.

kayrahbear

New member
Sep 8, 2011
98
4
Nashville,TN
Bulldog(s) Names
Roscoe
I've been seriously thinking about training Roscoe with some general manners. I have a close friend who's very allergic to dogs and Roscoe's constant jumping, crawling into his lap, and just general lack of manners makes it hard to have my friend over. He's allergic to the saliva and when Roscoe licks or anything it causes a rash.
I know it's my fault because I've let him really run the house. I feel like a very bad momma.
I want him to learn general things like 'off, down, sit, stay, and lie down'.
My only problem is I wonder if I've let his naughty behavior go on too long now to fix any of the problems. I'd love to hear your thoughts.
And have any of you trained your bullies? How did you go about it?
 

Vicaroo1000

"Slug Assassin" and PBS Gardening Dweeb
Jun 23, 2011
5,775
389
Mukilteo, Washington State
Bulldog(s) Names
Beefeater's Buxom Beatrice and Lord Harrington's Bodacious Beauregaard
[MENTION=3197]kayrahbear[/MENTION] - I'm glad you brought this up. Bo is suffering from "second child syndrome" - he gets away with SO MUCH MORE than Bea ever did at his age. We were in a series of puppy classes - three total to be exact (because I thought it was fun) and I was "on her" for jumping behaviors and other unwanted crap. Bo gets away with murder and now Bea is starting to be a little arsehole to compete with Mr. Big Pants. Yesterday, no kidding, they MOLESTED the gardener guy. Oh sure, he asked for it....but well behaved dogs would NOT jump on a little old man, knock him backward and then proceed to lick his face into oblivion. Oh sure. He loved it but com'on. I gotta get a grip on this. Seriously. With all the time on my hands, these two should be trained like that Riddick dog in the other thread - who, was very inspiring by the way. Bo knows "High Five" like you wouldn't believe - but that's IT. I gotta get off the pott here!

I believe you can teach an old dog new tricks. I just lack general patience with ANYTHING. It's me that has the problem - not the dogs. I have to constantly evaluate and re-evaluate my energy to maintain something akin to "calm assertive" but boy - it's a struggle for me. I can tell you though, that when I do that - really, genuinely DO THAT, my dogs behave so much better for me. But it's a struggle. I get frustrated and give up to quickly. They're so cute! hahahahahaha

I hope we get some wisdom here, [MENTION=3197]kayrahbear[/MENTION]! I need me some!

If you've not seen this, it's Bo's one big trick: http://youtu.be/TMKSFFJeQ0E My daughter made the video when we were on vacation in September.
 

Theozzmandpg

New member
Oct 27, 2011
10
1
We took Daisy to one of the PetSmart courses and that worked really well....sort of. Daisy has a problem with people and other dogs, if she can't get to them she is upset. Then, if another dog barks or growls at her, she gets snarly and angry. I think this is just her defending us because we recently had her stay at a Kennel that did day care while we were on vacation. The trainers there told us Daisy was shy. SHY, MY DOG, SHY? I actually asked them if they knew which dog I was talking about when I was on the phone with them. Anywho, the PetSmart class was great for the basics. By the end Daisy knew "Watch Me"(one of the best commands ever), "Sit", "Leave it", "Down", "Paw", loose leash walking(most of the time), "Come"(when she wants to, still working on this), and "High Five".

Overall it was a great experience for her and she learned a lot faster than the other dogs in the class. The class isn't cheap but in the log run it was worth it. It does take a lot of work at home though which was the hard part for us as well. The thing that our trainer told us was to put aside 20 min for training in the evening. Most dogs can only handle about 20 min of designated training time with no other distractions. I thought I would have to sit for hours trying to train her but those 20 min sessions paid off.

We are now working on some of the harder ones, not barking, not jumping on people, learning she isn't a lap dog, etc. If you put aside that little bit of time you will be amazed at how much your dog will learn if you have focused training sessions. Good luck and post how it is going.
 

Vicaroo1000

"Slug Assassin" and PBS Gardening Dweeb
Jun 23, 2011
5,775
389
Mukilteo, Washington State
Bulldog(s) Names
Beefeater's Buxom Beatrice and Lord Harrington's Bodacious Beauregaard
There's a channel on YouTube called KIKOPUP. The gal is a local dog trainer who's done quite well for herself. Her vids are fun to watch and she makes it look so easy. Clicker training seems to be the way to go because of the ability to quickly and clearly "mark" the desired behavior....? Her vids are certainly fun to watch and quite inspiring! My general challenge seems to be to "motivate" these two. Mable was a Aussie in a bulldog suit.....very trainable. Bea is like "Whatever...I need a nap." and Bo is Crack Ho Crazy with the attention span of a knat..... I'd like to see a video called "Motivating the English Bulldog"....LOL
 

anatess

Well-known member
Jul 26, 2011
1,758
398
Country
US
Bulldog(s) Names
Bullie (RIP) & Angus (RIP)
We adopted Bullie when she was a week shy of 3 years old. She had the run of the house in her old home and besides potty training, she doesn't do the general manners stuff. It's really the main reason why she had to go to adoption because her previous mom has MS and it's gotten to the point that Bullie would bump into her and she couldn't keep her balance due to the MS. It was getting dangerous.

But, it didn't take my husband long to teach her manners! Even I was surprised! These dogs are super intelligent. Bullie has the standard bulldog stubborness and she will only do things with enough motivation. Luckily, she will do anything for treats and butt rubs. It took my husband only about 2 weeks to teach her to walk beside him instead of pulling on the lead. It took her shorter than that to learn all the basics of sit, stay, lay, etc. In about a month, she does the basics using hand signals only. The one she's always hung up on is the couch. This is the first dog we've ever had that has my husband wrapped in her paws enough to get couch privileges. We've never had a dog that has that. So we compromised - she can go on the couch if she stays on the blanket. Well, Bullie doesn't like the blanket so we are constantly on loggerheads with that one. So far, she goes on the blanket no problem... but if we're not around she'll push the blanket off. So that still needs some work.

So yeah, it's never too late to teach a dog good manners.
 
Last edited:

Jack Daniels

New member
Community Veteran
Sep 1, 2011
1,015
92
Miami Florida
Bulldog(s) Names
Jack Daniels
I agree totally with [MENTION=2614]Vicaroo1000[/MENTION].
Any dog can be trained no matter their age. The owner has to put in the time and constant effort and that is typically where failure happens...
 

anatess

Well-known member
Jul 26, 2011
1,758
398
Country
US
Bulldog(s) Names
Bullie (RIP) & Angus (RIP)
There's a channel on YouTube called KIKOPUP. The gal is a local dog trainer who's done quite well for herself. Her vids are fun to watch and she makes it look so easy. Clicker training seems to be the way to go because of the ability to quickly and clearly "mark" the desired behavior....? Her vids are certainly fun to watch and quite inspiring! My general challenge seems to be to "motivate" these two. Mable was a Aussie in a bulldog suit.....very trainable. Bea is like "Whatever...I need a nap." and Bo is Crack Ho Crazy with the attention span of a knat..... I'd like to see a video called "Motivating the English Bulldog"....LOL

YEA, We do clicker training! You mean your bulldogs don't go for a piece of sliced bread? LOL. Bullie will do anything for food.
 

cali~jenn

..........
Mar 28, 2010
0
419
Southern California
Bulldog(s) Names
Cutty, Miila and Mugsy the pug :)
I am in need of training too actually. Little miss Miila is the worst mannered pup I have met. I was cooking the other night and she scared the heck out of me. I threw some cheddar cheese in my food processor to grate and she tried to jump up on my counter with 4 feet! not the worst part tho, she was right there at the stove and I was frying taco shells and she SO could have pulled that pan down. I coulda killed her it scared me so bad. With all the fur and skin kids here and me alone so much I think we need someone to come here and help us. I love Miila but boy she was given free access to do whatever she wanted apparently. My boys are not great but they look like stars next to her. :(
 

2BullyMama

I'm not OCD....now who moved my bulldog?
Staff member
Community Veteran
Jul 28, 2011
48,581
3,673
Gilbertsville, PA
Country
USA
Bulldog(s) Names
Chelios (Frenchie), Nitschke (2004-2011) Banks (2005-2014) and Lambeau (2014-2024)
All dogs are trainable.... it is up to you to be consistant. age is irrelevant for him.... go to classes and you'll get the basics down in about 6-8 weeks.
 
OP
kayrahbear

kayrahbear

New member
Sep 8, 2011
98
4
Nashville,TN
Bulldog(s) Names
Roscoe
  • Thread Starter
  • Thread starter
  • #10
Thanks for all of your helpful responses. I feel more confident about tackling his training now. I think we may with clicker training, anyone have any resources they would wanna recommend?
 

Vicaroo1000

"Slug Assassin" and PBS Gardening Dweeb
Jun 23, 2011
5,775
389
Mukilteo, Washington State
Bulldog(s) Names
Beefeater's Buxom Beatrice and Lord Harrington's Bodacious Beauregaard
I'm INSPIRED! I'm gonna go get a clicker and begin ASAP. It's ridicules that, given all the time I spend with them (i.e. unemployed), these dogs aren't better behaved. I've had some successes -- but I have to give my inner pack leader credit for that.

[MENTION=2874]anatess[/MENTION] - Bo is food motivated. Bea - not so much. She inspects every piece of anything you give her....she's so afraid there might be a benedryl in it somewhere. hahahahaha Now I just pop them down her throat. Much easier and less drama.

[MENTION=2894]2BullyMama[/MENTION] - you are right absolutely. It's not about the dog. It's about ME. Consistency is key and I do a lot of caving in because they are so damn cute.
 

Vicaroo1000

"Slug Assassin" and PBS Gardening Dweeb
Jun 23, 2011
5,775
389
Mukilteo, Washington State
Bulldog(s) Names
Beefeater's Buxom Beatrice and Lord Harrington's Bodacious Beauregaard

2BullyMama

I'm not OCD....now who moved my bulldog?
Staff member
Community Veteran
Jul 28, 2011
48,581
3,673
Gilbertsville, PA
Country
USA
Bulldog(s) Names
Chelios (Frenchie), Nitschke (2004-2011) Banks (2005-2014) and Lambeau (2014-2024)
- Bo is food motivated. Bea - not so much. She inspects every piece of anything you give her....she's so afraid there might be a benedryl in it somewhere. hahahahaha Now I just pop them down her throat. Much easier and less drama.

@2BullyMama - you are right absolutely. It's not about the dog. It's about ME. Consistency is key and I do a lot of caving in because they are so damn cute.

@Vicaroo 1000 ---- you have the same mix we had. Nitschke investigated EVERYTHING before it went in his mouth... he was very picky and cautious. Banks will eat whatever can fit in her mouth. she is highy food motivated, but also extremely stuborron and dominate, which made for real long training sessions as she was SO focused on the food it would take several attempts to get her to focus on us and the command.

also, witht the benedryl or any pill... lactose free vanilla ice cream - wrap the pill in a teaspoon or more of the tice cream - you will never have any issue with the pill going in the baby.
 

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