Aggresion/ Neutering??

[Dieselbaby]

Hello, So our bully Diesel who is a little over a year and half has been getting more and more dominant and aggressive to my husband and I. He just started this new thing where if hes in the mood to hump you and your conveniently standing next to him, watch out cause he will wrap your legs! Now, when he humps you he is growling but he doesn't try to bite you. And as for aggression goes Ive about had it with that.. We no longer can have ANY rugs on the floors because he wants them to be his, any towels or bath mats that happen to be in the same room as him become his. He will grab the towels and run out the room and "try" to rip them apart, so now we always have a treat to throw his way to get his attention off whatever it is that hes taking now. Unfortunately in the beginning there were a few accidents where we would try to take the item he had and not thinking he would bite us.. he bit.. I know he knows its wrong because moments later he will be looking at you with the sincere I'm sorry face. I'm sure this is all because of his " man bits" but I just really wanted to know if anyone else had similar incidents or any sort of insight. I'm sort of desperate at this point. My main concern is that is he too old to get neutered now, Ive read so much about neutering them and there are soooo many different opinions. We love our dog and would never get rid of him because hes sometimes a meany.. but i was really thinking that it is because he isn't neutered yet and that maybe that would stop this aggression that he has.

Thanks for letting me vent too lol

 

[Texas Carol]

Sorry to hear the peace in your house is no longer there and your baby is
turning into Mr Meany. You & Hubby MUST stop this now, it will escalate and
someone will get hurt and he will possibly get put down...the good news is...
it can be completely turned around before this happens.

No, he is not too old to be neutered, find a good, experienced bully vet and get
it done NOW, the males are an easy fix and very quick recuperation.

Next, you & Hubby immediately start basic obedience with him and establish that
YOU are alpha...not him. Be kind, firm, peaceful & loving (reward his obedience
and good behavior) and consistent. Others will be along to go into greater detail
but that's the simple and short answer. And really, it is simple...take charge and
stay in charge and everyone, including Diesel will be happy.

Diesel is very handsome, keep him in line, he deserves that, so do y'all...GOB bless!

 

[Piamitch]

Sorry things are a bit crazy right now. We just had our Ruckus neutered and he's almost 3, so no, I wouldn't say it's too late. As far as the "meany" I think you and hubby should start over with the basics training. Go back to the beginning with sit, stay, off, down, leave it and drop it. You might use other words, this is what we use. You n hubby need to show him you two are the pack leaders. You can't let him show dominance over either of you. For a while, I wouldn't let him on the furniture, or your bed ( if he's allowed) you have to re establish where his place is, which is not equal or above you. It may take time but you can do it.

 

[gobronco]

Sorry to hear the peace in your house is no longer there and your baby is
turning into Mr Meany. You & Hubby MUST stop this now, it will escalate and
someone will get hurt and he will possibly get put down...the good news is...
it can be completely turned around before this happens.

No, he is not too old to be neutered, find a good, experienced bully vet and get
it done NOW, the males are an easy fix and very quick recuperation.

Next, you & Hubby immediately start basic obedience with him and establish that
YOU are alpha...not him. Be kind, firm, peaceful & loving (reward his obedience
and good behavior) and consistent. Others will be along to go into greater detail
but that's the simple and short answer. And really, it is simple...take charge and
stay in charge and everyone, including Diesel will be happy.

Diesel is very handsome, keep him in line, he deserves that, so do y'all...GOB bless!

i agree. Time to be the boss. Gently roll him onto his back and hold your hands over his shoulders (kinda like when you pick up a skin child) hands under the shoulder, thumbs over. He will roll his head to the side and relax when he submits. Do this several times a day keeping him this way longer and longer. He should learn to stay this way for 30 seconds or longer without any fuss. The other submission position is to roll him on his side with his legs pointed away from you. Put one hand on his shoulder and one on his hip. He should relax and look Away from you. If he rally starts to struggle you will have to use the on his back method. Any time he tries to take something from you, roll him on his back and make him submit. Sounds kinda mean but you will all be happier. If he tries to bite you when you do this, call. A personal trainer. Or (this method gets good and bad comments) use the roll him on the back method and growl near his throat until he suibmits. Worked for a 75lb bulldog we fostered for a few weeks. He was a neglected bulldog that was growling at us Etc. (even bit my son when he tried to get him out of the truck when my wife brought him home) within a week he was starting to turn into a spoiled, lounging on the couch with us, happy 75 lb wiggle butt bulldog. I doubt your bully is to this point. Don't give up.

 

[Petra]

We rescued an un-neutered male (Frasier) who at that time was about 4 years old. He acted fine when my husband was around but as soon as I was alone with him he got very dominant and bullied me around, he even bit me once when I touched his bed:'( It was bad, really, he barked at me and stared me out. He pushed me into corners and wouldn't let me go where I wanted. I was scared.

It got out of hand when my husband was sent away to work for weeks at the time and we had to move in the middle of it, I could simply not handle it, on top of his dominance towards me he and our other male started to fight and not even closed doors would keep them apart. I'm unfortunately a bit softhearted and actually scared of dogs in general, which didn't help the cause.

We had been in contact with an awesome dog trainer before this happened and I could tell he had a soft spot for Frasier, we asked him if he would take Frasier as his own and the happiness when he said "yes" was total. Frasier is now a very happy submissive dog with no dominance issues and he hasn't even been neutered.

My point is... no matter how bad it is it can be turned around. The reason we gave Frasier up doesn't really have anything to do with his dominance, even the dog trainer said that dominance is very easy to fix It was due to a number of events that all lead to it being the best for Frasier. I can really recommend dog trainers, it is somehow much easier and clearer to practice the exercises when someone shows you and can tell you what to do and what you are doing right and wrong

I personally think if you're not going to breed with your dog the best thing is to neuter/spay

 

[cali~jenn]

Get him neutered. It hopefully will help greatly. Cutty started getting aggressive when he was over a year. Came completely out of nowhere and his personality just changed 100%. Obviously I now know we allowed it but had no idea what happened at the time. We neutered him and it did solve 99% of the problem. To his day he is forever changed tho, can't pick him up without grumbles. He sent mean now tho, just more grumpy thankfully. My other suggestion would be to become the leader and fast. This is where I ad no real clear help with Cutty. Hand feed his meals. Sounds dumb but if he has to do a trick (work) for each bite YOU give, he will respect you. Take a handful of food and take your time.... Make him sit for a bit then practice hs tricks. Each bite he has to do something to earn. It sounds time consuming but it isn't as ad as it sounds. He must at out of your hand. You will feel like you r messing with him but that is what you want really. I think this s the easiest beginning way o get a grip on becoming pack leader. Worked wonders with Miila, along with other things. Good luck! If you ave any questions just ask. There are many here who know much more than I do.

 

[Davidh]

18 months old is a prefect time to have him neutered, and this will help a little, but like others have said, you need to show him who is in charge. You have some excellent advise above on how to train him. Make him earn everything and when you go outside or come back in the house with him, you go first, make him sit and wait. Just be consistent and patient and it will work out,

 

[Vicaroo1000]

We no longer can have ANY rugs on the floors because he wants them to be his, any towels or bath mats that happen to be in the same room as him become his. He will grab the towels and run out the room and "try" to rip them apart, so now we always have a treat to throw his way to get his attention off whatever it is that hes taking now. Unfortunately in the beginning there were a few accidents where we would try to take the item he had and not thinking he would bite us.. he bit.. I know he knows its wrong because moments later he will be looking at you with the sincere I'm sorry face.

Please stop giving him cookies; you are rewarding him for being possessive of things.

Google "NILF" and do it -- to the letter; "Nothing in life is free" and Diesel must learn this. Possession aggression is dangerous and will only get worse. Don't leave anything on the ground that he can take possession of. He has to learn that everything he gets is from his human pack leaders.

Dogs are instinctual; he doesn't have a "sorry face". I know. I know. I humanize my dogs all the time -- but it's not realistic. He may be reacting to your shaming him for taking these things --- he wants to be a good boy -- but he needs leadership and PRONTO.

Possession aggression is a ticking time bomb. You should be able to give -- and then take away -- ANYTHING he has without using any sound. Your presence alone should make him "give up" whatever he's got.

 

[Texas Carol]

Please stop giving him cookies; you are rewarding him for being possessive of things.

Google "NILF" and do it -- to the letter; "Nothing in life is free" and Diesel must learn this. Possession aggression is dangerous and will only get worse. Don't leave anything on the ground that he can take possession of. He has to learn that everything he gets is from his human pack leaders.

Dogs are instinctual; he doesn't have a "sorry face". I know. I know. I humanize my dogs all the time -- but it's not realistic. He may be reacting to your shaming him for taking these things --- he wants to be a good boy -- but he needs leadership and PRONTO.

Possession aggression is a ticking time bomb. You should be able to give -- and then take away -- ANYTHING he has without using any sound. Your presence alone should make him "give up" whatever he's got.

​Amen!

 

[Piamitch]

I was just catching up on this post. If he's taking things and your "throwing" treats to deter him from what he has he's going to think he's getting the treat because he has it. When ruckus takes something he only gets the treat when I say drop it, AND whatever he has is dropped from his mouth WITHOUT me touching him or the item he has. If I have to take it from him, no reward. I think I too may be rewarding unwanted behavior, but if he doesn't drop on his on then no treat, no praise, no nothing but walking away. Unless its something he really loves like a hat or toilet paper, as soon as I say drop it gets dropped to the floor and he walks away, that's when I give the treat.