- Jan 8, 2013
- 2,869
- 198
- Country
- Sweden
- Bulldog(s) Names
- Boeboe, Bennie Boy and Joey
That's great!!
How did your trainer address the aggression issue? We've had three trainers to date and nothing's worked.
Blue's also an angel around the trainer.. but only for a little while. His true colors come out eventually when it comes to toys..
Our issue was a little different as we had problems with our dogs fighting each other. They didn't have aggression towards us... BUT the rescued male did bite me once when I moved his bed... he also used to bark me into corners and stare me out. He was extremely dominant towards me and with my husband being away for 3 week periods I decided it was best for everyone to re-home him. I couldn't sort out 4 bulldogs getting into fights every other hour However, when my husband was home it worked better as he's more of a leader
Here's some things we did to sort our situation out:
We walked the dogs together as a pack, they were not allowed to walk in front of us and they were not allowed to pull or be excited. Sometimes we waited for probably 20 minutes by the gate before going outside for them to calm down. Felt like hours...
They were not allowed to do basically anything without permission, they had to sit for food and were not allowed to touch the food without me giving a sign that they could. Then after a minute of eating I had to direct them away from the bowl and stand between them and the food and once again give them permission to eat. Then I would do that a few times while they ate so they know the food is mine to do what I want with, and they can only eat cos I allow it. I wouldn't recommend you doing that though if he's got bad food aggression...
It was the same with toys, direct away and give back and go on and on like that. But our dogs didn't have food or toy aggression, these exercises where to teach them who the leader is so they don't have to fight each other for the position. And it did work, it got a little better but then my husband got sent away with work and it didn't work out with only me
So basically there were no more roaming the house and do what they wanted. Not allowed on couches or beds, not allowed to run in and out as they wanted, no treats without deserving it by doing a trick and no toys laying around to chew when ever they wanted. It's not fun but if you hang in there and you and the rest of the family is committed you will win
Maybe if you can fit a mussel on him so you can feel more confident, it helps a lot when you know you don't have to be scared of getting bitten.
I don't know if any of these things apply to toy and food aggression but I'm sure the trainer will have solutions, after all it is a pretty common issue.