Baxter almost strangled himself just to lick a crotch. Whats with these dogs? :-/

B

Baxter Tiberius

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Hi all -

Wanted to get some input. I transitioned Baxter off a harness because it encourages him to pull. They love pushing forward with their powerful chests. But the only alternative is something that puts pressure on the wind pipe, which I have intentionally avoided for 12 months. Still. The pulling has gotten worse and worse. And if you know English Bulldogs they don't give a rats *** if you tell them "No". He sees other dogs and he forgets anything else exists.

So I switched to a regular leather collar. But tonight he began pulling again when a dog walked up to him. He just HAD to shove his face into the dogs crotch, as usual, and devour his penis ... like he always does. I have grown so tired of the behavior but nothing any human being does stops him from doing this. He pulls, and pulls. But this time, the collar was on him. And he could not breath. I was trying to pull him back gently and say "No!" but the other owner was laughing and giggling and saying "Its fiiiiiiiiiiiiiine". No its not. Pitbulls have attacked him for this kind of rude / inappropriately forward behavior. I dont like him doing it.

But he kept pulling, and choking, and wheezing and pulling. Strangling himself half to death. I finally reached down and pulled him away with all my strength. To get him to stop. I felt embarasssed to scold him in public with an angry voice, so I just suppressed him from lunging forward any more and told him NO! He looked up at me and .... it scared the crap out of me. His eyes were literally blood red. The whole thing except the whites. Blood everywhere. He was strangling himself to death - just so he could lick another weiner??? Hurting himself and dangerously unable to breath.

But true english bulldog form - they will do irrational ridiculous things that harm even themselves, because of their stubbornness / lack of thinking / or both. He sputtered, choked and spit out saliva the whole walk home. Gasping for air. He knew he was in trouble, but mostly because i was afraid he was going to kll himself.

Experiences like this with Baxter are fairly common, where I have this very intense emotion of both anger and concern for him at the same time. I guess its being a parent. But its very traumatic for me to deal with honestly. Seeing how stupid they can be sometimes, and how out of control, ... its like they lock on something and even if they die they will try to get to it ... Something I will never understand about this breed. I've seen it from many other english bulldogs I've met too. And heard stories from the owners.

Any thoughts?
 

Vikinggirl

Norwegian Rose
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Oct 8, 2012
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Hi Kevin, I'm sorry your experiencing this. I also have a problem with Blossom pulling when she walks, but notvtomthe extent of choking herself, she just pulls me when I'm walking her. I don't know how to stop her either so I'll be watching this thread to see what people suggest. I don't have this problem with Dozer as he doesn't like to walk. I have the opposite problem with him, I have to pull him to make him walk. Lol. Either way my shoulders get sore from walking them, they are both so strong.
 

Bendy

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Feb 23, 2014
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Hi Kevin, I have similar problem with my spike, he walks fine until he see's someone or another dog then pulls like mad to say hello to them. Do you use a back clipping harness? A lot of people on here suggest the easy walk harness which is a front clipping harness, so when the dog pulls it turns them round to face you. I'm planning to get something similar for spike. How effective they are I'm not sure, I would love to hear if they do work.
 

Marine91

The New Casper
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May 15, 2013
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I agree with [MENTION=11208]Bendy[/MENTION] . Try using a front clip harness so it turns him when he starts pulling away from you. This is what Harlea's trainer had us do to stop the pulling when using a harness. When she would start to pull we were instructed to stop and pull Harlea back towards us saying no pull and wait until she relaxed to begin moving again. Rinse and repeat as necessary. It took a few weeks of doing this but she did get better about it. Now she does still pull from time to time but now i just pull her back a bit and she comes back to my side until we start moving again.
 

ddnene

EBN's SWEETHEART aka our little GOOB
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Jun 19, 2013
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Kevin, I completely understand… I have had my moments w/my bullies, and I honestly want to strangle them myself… Lol I agree w/Todd to try that front snap harness, I haven't used one yet but I may need one for Wally. We are starting training soon, and I haven't had him around other dogs as much yet. I dread it personally… Lol
 

JennieS

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Jun 25, 2013
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Ruthie(died 11/27/18) Brutus & Hazel
Brutus is like Baxter, he just does what he wants and NO is not an option. When we took him to training and the trainer wanted us to use a pincher collar. I hate them and think it's unacceptable but it's the only thing that has kept brutus from pulling, jerking and acting like a jerk. He does so well on it, he becomes a different dog. We were taught how to use them properly and now we are able to keep him on just a harness because he learned what is acceptable and what isn't when walking.
 

2BullyMama

I'm not OCD....now who moved my bulldog?
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Yes, it is part of the breed -- they obsess on things and can be very OCD as well... it is part of who they are.

Get the easy walker as others have suggested, it worked with Banks too when dealing with the walk and keeping her controlled. The pinch collar that Jennie mention is also an option, but you need to know how to use it so if that is an option for you, talk to a trainer to know how to properly place it on the neck , where and how to correct.

Banks obsessive behavior had to be dealt with at a higher level because it was more dominate than it was curious in nature. Baxter is curious and wants to meet everyone... it is a matter of getting him to know he can say hi and greet but when YOU want him to, not when he wants to. As for the penis, you'll need to ask a dog behaviorist, because I have no idea why he is that obsessed with it.

Best of luck and let us know how it all goes
 

Goob14

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Jun 26, 2014
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I had similar experiences with Goob but for different reasons. Goob is SUPER protective and only likes a handful of people. When we go on walks, if he had it his way, he would lung/nip/try to bite any dog or anyone who came near me. He's not overtly aggressive. If they ignore him, he will ignore them. But if they try to get close to him...he gives them that " take a step back" look. I bought a choke chain for Goob also because he was pulling so strongly on his harness. When training him, we would pull to the side and redirect him instead of pulling up on his throat. I've never had a him pull so much that he began wheezing or choking. Also, whenever we stop to chat with the neighbors (with dogs or without) we stay at a farther distance and make sure Goob is sitting the ENTIRE time. I get in front of him and ask him to sit and he usually does. While talking, if he stands up, i push his bottom back down and remind him to sit...sometimes I do it one time and sometimes I do it 100 times. Now, he will lay down while we chat because he knows I'll pester him to death if he stands up.

Is it possible for you to jog/run with him in the beginning of your walks? Sometimes, Goob has so much pent up energy that he just likes to run it out...all of our walks have a time when he can just let it out. Maybe if he let out some pent up energy in the beginning of the walk he would be more receptive to training?

(I DONT consider myself an expert...Just making some suggestions from things that worked with Goob. Hopefully others will be able to give you more insight:))
 
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B

Baxter Tiberius

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Everybody check out this post. Its so crazy how, word for word, she describes my experience with Baxter. You might find it familiar too:

http://www.dogforums.com/dog-training-forum/86549-terrible-english-bulldog-pulling.html

I've been keeping the leash loose as often as possible. Very concerned about damage to his trachea. Another dog owner said theirs ended up with that, from pulling. Not an option with EB's who have small tracheas already.

Today I walked him and the pulling began.
As always, the other owner is like: "No its okay! My dog is nice!" as I tried to position baxter away.
Thats the frustrating part. Other owners don't understand whats happening.
They think Im being neurotic/too strict.
Tried to tell them he strangles himself.
People with normal dogs just dont get it :)
As baxter continues to devour the dogs weenie, this initially friendly dog begins to growl. As they always do.
And Baxter continues to pull - entire BODY outstreched, stomach practically on the ground. Sound familiar?
Finally pulled him away, as he was choking himself again.
Then he pukes all over the sidewalk.

:-/

1) Regarding the front-pull harness. We tried one on in PetSmart the other day, and he pulled so hard his left front leg got all twisted around. Both I and the PetSmart employee watched, perplexed. It was like he didn't care that he was pulling his shoulder out of the socket. Wouldn't turn around. I'll try it again.

2) Regarding pinch collar - believe me. The thing I disliked about most dog owners, I am now considering. This thing. I'll definitely try the front-latch harness first and see how that goes.

3) Great suggestion to position myself to the side when he does pull on regular leash. I noticed side pulling doesn't affect his trachea. I'll start being sure to move myself that way when he starts to pull. It will help me "turn" him too.

But check out that post above. She wrote it so well.

-B-
 

nubonics

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Sep 24, 2013
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Curly use to pull but not to other dogs - to babies and toddlers - just so he could sit next to them. Obviously he didn't mean any harm but imagine a 75 lb eB rushing to 30 lb baby. We don't have children nor has he been around people with children (we have a lot of childless friends) but he has this obsession with protecting babies

Anyhow the way I was able to put a stop to it was whenever I saw a baby/toddler approaching I would make him sit. I would attempt to do this before he saw the baby/toddler. I started this at about 6 months and now when he sees a child he will just sit and hope they will want to pet him. We would then start moving when the child is out of sight.

I'm not sure how helpful this technique will be for you but it could help to distract him from whatever it is he obsesses about before he see it.


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g8erjackie

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I thought it was just Ruckus!! I totally understand what you're talking about. Ruckus has always pulled when we walk -- he's such a curious guy, always wanting to say hi to some passersby (probably because we get stopped all the time by people who want to love on him), wanting to chase birds, maybe pee on a tree. Switching him from a collar to a harness was what really helped. He pulls much less with a harness, I think he feels a little less encumbered, but it took a few different harnesses to find the perfect one. The Kong harness with the traffic loop has been the winner. You can hook the leash in the front so he can't pull so much when he tries and has a nice padded, sturdy handle on the back that I can use to stop him if he won't stop something on command.

Ruckus LOVES to get up under other dogs and go to town, so to speak. The hand helps of I need to pull him back. Some dogs are all about it and stand there letting it happen, then try a turn at Ruckus. However, there are always dogs that initially seem friendly that snarl and snap because Ruckus so exuberantly licks and sniffs down there...and Ruckus has no idea they're mad! Even when dogs growl Ruckus just momentarily puts his back and looks a little scared then wiggles his butt and wants to be best friends!!!!!

If you find a good solution, please share it!!!!! And get a Kong harness, I swear by it!
 

Bullyproof

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Apr 11, 2013
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Kiah (Kee-aah)
Easy walk or walk right, I've used both and both work real well. Check out the freedom harness too. You will need to measure your bully for the latter as they are a bit custom.

One thing I would like to suggest to a few of you. Do some training while walking your EB. When Ki sees another dog and fixates, she would just zone out when I first rescued her. Now if I see she is about to go, Sit/Stay, treat, perfect bulldog.
 

Sharon Mitchel

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Sep 5, 2013
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Charley, a 5 year old male
I use the easy wall harness and it helped quite a lot. If Charley is truly he'll bent on pulling he will still do it, but far better! I like the idea of doing some training as soon as he thinks about pulling. Good idea!


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eljeffe23

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Apr 1, 2014
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Bronson
I use the easy wall harness and it helped quite a lot. If Charley is truly he'll bent on pulling he will still do it, but far better! I like the idea of doing some training as soon as he thinks about pulling. Good idea!


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You must have head control especially with a strong willed dog. If you don't control the head, forget about the body. You could still use the harness with a leash and also do a thin looped rope leash for the head control. You could use this until the dog has gotten to a point of not choking himself.
 

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