is this normal?

[Pook N Daisy]

Hello, I am a first time english bulldog owner, I have previously had larger breed dogs. Three weeks ago I got my 2 year old son a bully puppy, at that time she was 8wks. We currently own a 4 year old english mastiff. When we brought home Daisy, our bully pup, she immediately took to myself and our mastiff right away. She started trying to dominate the mastiff, a week later she started jumping on our cat and biting her behind on the ears, from what I read its a dominating act. We're 3 weeks into having her (shes now 11wks) and she is as sassy as they come. Recently whenever my son runs Daisy follows after him trying to bite the bottom of his pants, or getting between his legs to trip him and then when he falls down she immediately attempts to jump on him. We always correct her and yet she stills does it almost every time he runs. Is there something we should be doing for this? Also she has been growling at him and us lately, while I can understand that a 2 year old does get annoying and the growls to him might be warnings to leave her alone, but why when we want to pick our little bully girl up to cuddle her does she growl? Its very uncomfortable since our previous dogs have never growled at us. Is this normal behavior for a bully pup? I read they are very stubborn and I took it as maybe she doesnt want to be bothered but it seems like it is occurring more frequently. The other day my son had one of her squeak toys and she came up and grabbed it out of his hand almost nipping him, at first I thought it was normal because shes a puppy and just wants to let him know whos toy it is, but then later on in the day my son was standing there and she walked by and he said no and put his hands in front of her face and she growled at him and lunged to what looked like possibly bite him luckily I intervened and stopped her before she was able to. I have never read that bulldogs are aggressive just that they are great family dogs. Is this normal behavior for a puppy? I love her so much and dont even want to think about giving her away, but I am worried that this issue will continue into her adult life and if that is the case my hand will be forced to give her away. Please help me with any advice you can give. Thank you so much
-Danielle

 

[Bulldozersma]

At 11 weeks you are firmly in the puppy shark phase. She will be incredibly mouthy because she's still teething. Think of it like a toddler, everything goes in her mouth. I doubt that her growling is true aggression, she's still learning how to interact with your family. Once she's done with all her shots you can get her into some obedience classes. Trust me, we have all been there - it's frustrating but she will get there. Try to redirect her from mauling the cat with appropriate chew toys and she will begin to learn what is appropriate behavior and what is not. You'll find this forum is a huge comfort when you think you're losing your mind!!!

 

[agentbunny]

Sounds normal to me. Lola did the same thing at that age and it went on till she lost all her puppy teeth. Every evening she would go into berzerk phase and attack everyone (playing). I don't think there is anything wrong with Daisy, but now is a good time to start teaching her manners and supplementing her desire to bite with toys and doggy bones. Good luck!

 

[schimpfy]

Yeah bullys are different had boxers, Keeshounds and others, Chance is my first bully. Shark mode very common all though i had no idea how bad, it gradually gets better am still waiting for his puppy teeth to fall out we are 3/4 of the way. Avoid tug a war games until they know how not to bite. Be consistent offer chew toys and lots and lots of exercise. On the top right hand corner of this page is an advanced search just put your questions or topic in and it will bring you to threads containing those issues. Hope you find the answers and of course you will get fantastic advice from some of the veterans here they are awesome. Look forward to hearing how this turned out and hope you get to love this place as much as i do

 

[g8erjackie]

Sounds like a normal 11 week old bully to me, also. She just wants to play and hasn't learned quite yet that she can't jump all over the humans and the cat like she could her litter mates. At that age, I can't see it as a dominating act. As for her wanting to trip your son when he runs, you'll have to firmly, but kindly correct her each time. She doesn't really understand the word no yet, but she'll get there. When Ruckus was a pup he used to try and grab everyone's pant legs at the hems and play with them, especially if you were running with him -- it's a play thing. Bullies are generally super food motivated, so you could try to always have little bits of treats with you to reward good behavior. She'll catch on quick. It's a rambunctious and sometimes frustrating phase, but you'll look back on it fondly when she gets bigger and calms down.

 

[ddnene]

to EBN!!! Extremely NORMAL behavior… in fact, I'm going thru this again w/my bully pup (5 mos) and my grandson is 2. My best advice to you is that a tired puppy is a well-behaved pup. When you notice she's in her shark mode wear her butt out w/a short walk or playtime. When she does get out of control re-direction w/a toy or nylabone sometimes works, and if all else fails do a short time out. Either a crate, or I have a penned area that we put Walter in when we leave the house sometimes. It's important for her to learn that if she misbehaves she is NOT allowed to spend time w/you guys. Fortunately this faze doesn't last forever… and I do believe that obedience training is important for ANY breed dog. Walter will start when he's at least 6 mos old, and the trainer that I use often uses the leave it command for small children and cats. That seems to work wonders w/bullies as well… Good Luck & keep us posted!!!

 

[Scueva]

Definately a normal bully pup- lol- definately try to curb the biting and chewing now or it will be hard to break later. My trainer suggested using listorine mouthwash- simply rub it in the mouth of the pup when she nips , tell her no, redirect to a toy. Now I tried this same method on my male and he would try to drink the listorine!

 

[2BullyMama]

to EBN..... ah, puppyhood!!!! Gang has ytou covered with great advice.... best of luck and be sure to keep us posted and would love to see pictures of Daisy!

 

[Pook N Daisy]

Thank you all so much! you have put a worried mind to ease! I will try to be more stern in communicating my commands to her but its so hard with such a cute face, as I am sure you all know. I really cant express my gratitude on how happy I am to know this is normal bulldog behavior. Once again THANK YOU SOOOO MUCH!!!!! Here are some pictures of my Sassy little Daisy
.

 

[dolphin]

What a cutie!!!

 

[UKWILDCATS]

100% normal. Paisley was exactly like that. You have to stay stern in teaching the bully what is ok and not ok, though. Paisley will still growl, but a complete stranger could literally stick their hand down her throat and she wouldn't bite to hurt.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[Peter Lynn Westre]

Puppy kindergarten (generally about 12 weeks of age)-->AKC STAR-->CGC-->ACGC

(Lola at 2 is still in school for rally obedience as I think boredom leads to behavior problems.)

I would also teach your son to avoid running by pup. Dogs are predators and running can trigger prey drive.

(I also don't believe in any form of tug of war games with bully breeds.)