Neurosis and Behaviors - Common?

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Baxter Tiberius

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I know EB's are neurotic. As I type this, Baxter is flipping the fk out barking like a madman at an umbrella that's drying (open) on the floor in the living room.

I guess I just need some reassurance that you guys deal with this on a daily (if not hourly) basis.

I sometimes feel like this breed is so incredibly needy, sensitive, and neurotic. Every single element of my day with Baxter is spent handling him with "kid gloves" (delicacy).

I've learned his personality so well that even basic things like dog walks are saturated with "dos" and "donts" because ... well .. its Baxter.

And if you do this .... he will get freaked out. Or if I dont do something else ... he wont go to the bathroom on his walk. Don't bring him to an area where other dogs are pottying, because he will forget he's there to potty, hyperfocus on the other dogs, and waste 40 minutes of my day trying to harass and play with the other dogs. So I must take baxter far away from others just to potty.

Its like he's a "special needs" child in so many ways. Friends and acquaintances look at me completely bewildered. Like Im being unnecessary. I just remind myself that they have no idea what its like to have one of these dogs.

I took him out last night to potty before bed. Like we always do. He wouldn't go to the bathroom because the grass was wet. It rains sometimes here. Its florida.

As a result he sh*t all over himself in his crate overnight, and also peed on himself. That pretty much sums up my experience with this breed so far. They're so neurotic that they wont do things, and as a result, you end up dealing with mass quantities of inconveniences.

Because they don't seem to put two and two together ... on pretty much anything. "If I dont go to the bathroom now, im going to have to go later. So I should go now".

When I got the umbrella out, - that was a disaster as well. I stood in the pouring rain, being bitten by mosquitos, at 11pm when I should've been in bed, watching Baxter stare in utter terror at the umbrella rather than going to the bathroom. He got himself and me completely soaked.

As I stood there for a solid half hour, other dog owners came out, pottied their dogs, and went back in, one by one. And there I stood with the most neurotic dog on earth, unable to even focus enough to go potty. Ultimately I got him to pee twice. Buy this morning there was piss all over his crate because he didn't fully go. Wet grass and an umbrella = disaster for potty time I guess?

This is pretty much how it goes on the regular. Not just with potty time but a lot of other things. Basic things that shouldn't be so incredibly difficult to do. Become this monumental task. Getting in elevators with other people. If one has a suitcase, forget it. He scrambles like bloody murder to get away from it, pulling my arm out of the socket, and making onlookers shake their heads.

At a family reunion this summer he kept crotch diving a female dog that was there so often that he got attacked at least 25 to 30 times. Family members started saying out loud "You'd think he'd be smart enough to get the point eventually?" When a little kid took his ball and ran with it, he chased after the child playfully and accidentally knocked him over. Same family members were saying "STUPID DOG!" out loud as the child screamed and cried. Its like *everything* about this breed is 500x more difficult than other dogs. Why?

I guess the neurosis is "cute" to a lot of us ... but does it ever drive you to the point of complete frustration and exhaustion? To say these guys require patience is the understatement of the century.

I've never dealt with a dog so difficult, and yet so full of love and kindness.

So stubborn that they will break every rule you teach them, and not give a crap that they've broken the rule, but then when they get scolded, suddenly they' act like the world is ending because you're not happy with them. I hope one day Baxter is able to associate "Cause and Effect". He seems to have no awareness of this concept at all..

How about you all?
 

2BullyMama

I'm not OCD....now who moved my bulldog?
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You couldn't describe it any better.... every movement is a thought processes of how Banks will react to it. What time I do things, what time of day or day of week can walks take place. All must be routine and well orchistrated to get the least impact to her.

Our boy when he was with us, was just like Baxter... :poo: would happen if we impacted his OCD.
 

ddnene

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OMG… I can relate, and after owning 4 of them now I can honestly say this… ALL of them have these traits, but of course some are WORSE than others. I have been way more "relaxed" w/Wally and I swear he seems to be easier than my other bullies. If I KNOW beforehand he's going to react badly to something, I try REALLY HARD not to show it and sometimes he will surprise me and not freak out as bad. I swear they can read our voice and body language… they have psychic abilities!!! LOL
 

brutus77

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I think this is really common for EBs. It does seem that Baxter is to the extreme though. My Frankie is not quite as neurotic as my Brutus. If anything is out of the ordinary for King Tut, all hell breaks loose. Brutus does not like rain either but I read that the sound of the rain hitting the ground is very loud to sensitive ears. Of course I have never had this problem with the labs I have had all my adult life. I know you have had your trials and tribulations with Baxter and you deserve a medal for being so patient. He is really really cute though!!
 
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Baxter Tiberius

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That's all I needed. Its good to know that this isn't abnormal. You're so right - you have to orchestrate literally every element of situations with them. So as to avoid problems / stressful situations / disobedience / headaches / accidents. Not sure why anyone would say this is exactly why they like EB's. I love them for all their other traits. This stuff, I can totally do without. Quirky and cute is one thing. Constantly being unable to perform basic functions with the dog is something different. :)

I really shouldn't have brought him to meet my whole family. I had such high hopes. The entire time was embarrassing and a huge headache. I couldn't visit with anyone because I was too busy pulling baxter away from the female dog, or hearing "dog attack" noises when he wouldn't. Everyone was annoyed with me, and it was very clear they thought he was a "dumb dog" . Many said so out loud. Several times.

Got to keep reminding myself I have a "Special Needs" child here. And love him that much more patiently.

-B-
 

Manydogs

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Well maybe life doesn't change enough for my dogs. One is skittish if I take a box of saran wrap out of the drawer(like she thinks I am going to hit her with it!) but the others don't seem to be so worried about things. (so far). Of course they are more stubborn-but it's because they like to consider things before they do them. Maybe I'm just used to the ways of donkeys, because donkeys have to consider things before they do-as they want to be sure that it is nothing that will hurt them. Donkeys have a rep. for being stupid-but they are extremely smart. It sounds like Baxter is quite neurotic(no offense meant). @ddnene you are quite right, as animals can feel your emotions-even before you do. @Baxter Tiberious are you stressed when you take him places-anticipating what might happen? Although barking at an umbrella open is pretty normal........if he hasn't seen it before,in the house!
 

brutus77

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That's all I needed. Its good to know that this isn't abnormal. You're so right - you have to orchestrate literally every element of situations with them. So as to avoid problems / stressful situations / disobedience / headaches / accidents. Not sure why anyone would say this is exactly why they like EB's. I love them for all their other traits. This stuff, I can totally do without. Quirky and cute is one thing. Constantly being unable to perform basic functions with the dog is something different. :)

I really shouldn't have brought him to meet my whole family. I had such high hopes. The entire time was embarrassing and a huge headache. I couldn't visit with anyone because I was too busy pulling baxter away from the female dog, or hearing "dog attack" noises when he wouldn't. Everyone was annoyed with me, and it was very clear they thought he was a "dumb dog" . Many said so out loud. Several times.

Got to keep reminding myself I have a "Special Needs" child here. And love him that much more patiently.

-B-
Maybe you can try again and keep Baxter leashed so he can't jump on kids and sniff the other dogs. EBs play much rougher than other dogs, that's why they usually do better with other bull breeds. As far as family, Brutus likes to jump on little kids as well, although he doesn't know he is doing anything wrong. He jumps on my three year old nephew and knocks him over which leads to a screaming kid. I have found that if I put Brutus in his harness and leash, he gets that he needs to behave. like I said, I would try again. And as far as anyone calling my boys stupid or anything else for that matter would result in a riot of epic proportions :cursing:
 

boxorox

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. Not sure why anyone would say this is exactly why they like EB's. I love them for all their other traits. This stuff, I can totally do without. Quirky and cute is one thing. Constantly being unable to perform basic functions with the dog is something different. :)

-B-

Because along with the neurosis comes huge personalities. We are perpetually frustrated, we we have loved every one of our's until the end. They have all had the strangest neurotic issues that always make us think there certainly is an easier breed....Our's have always made us laugh and we find a ton of value in that.
 

LordNelson

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Howdy, and good day!

I am sorry that you are going through a bit of a rough spot with Baxter.

Something that jumped out at me, while reading your post, was that you seem to also have anxiety while dealing with Baxter. For example, if you approach going out into the rain to let Baxter "potty" with stress/trepidation, bullies seem to pick up on that, so may be manifesting some of your own discomfort with the situation.

I don't have any detailed advice, aside from "be slow, and be positive". Try to approach the challenges as opportunities instead of with fear.
For the umbrella, after bringing it in, let him sniff it, let him see it, be a bit excited about it. Similarly, if it is raining and you have to take him out, speak and move with a bit of energy/excitement as you go to the door -- get him excited and interested.

No one likes standing in the rain (well, I live in Texas, so rain is often welcome), but you can still project positive energy so that he thinks it is fun and exciting.

You are right, in that bullies are sensitive and seem to fixate on very small things. And in the interest of full disclosure I am both upset and concerned about my bully, since he just ran into my backyard fence, irrespective of me telling him to stop. (A neighbor's cat had jumped into my backyard -- so he chased it).

Anyway, I hope this helps, or at least provides a different perspective.

It's easy to get frustrated, let's help our bulldogs help us become better people ourselves :D

Cheers, and good luck!
 

nycbullymama

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Your post could of been written about Blue. Scared of everything. He hates the elevator, the lobby, boxes, and loud noises (but yet thunder is no problem). He gets startled very easily and will bark at shadows.
Yet, he can watch our Roomba vacuum in circles around him and he's fine with it. He loves music and if he hears a U2 song will stop whatever he's doing and try to figure out where it's coming from.

Wellie on the other hand has no fears. Nothing seems to startle him, and he's curious about everything. Blue runs away from things while Wellie runs towards them. So not every Bullie is that neurotic.

As a breed though, I do wonder what's wrong with them. How come they're so skittish?
 

Chanticocat

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Hank doesn't care for loud noises(fireworks, live music), but since his training at about a year he will not run off when he hears something that upsets him. He's our first bulldog. Tank is kinda a huge 65 pound baby and afraid of soap bubbles. It appears Lulu doesn't like bigger dogs outside our family, chickens and strange people getting to close to our car when she's in it. We have been fairly lucky with no major personality issues up to this point,
 
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Baxter Tiberius

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Thanks for the feedback again.

Now he wont eat his food. If he hears a car outside with a loud muffler, he runs off like a bat out of hell as food splatters all over the floor behind him. Which I of course get to clean up. Every single time.

As I mentioned, the neurotic behavior would be fine if it didn't result in a lot of residual negatives.

If he wants to be neurotic and not potty during dog walks, then fine, but that means I clean up a disgusting mess in the morning because he will go in his crate all over himself.

If he refuses to eat his food because he hears the washing machine in the other room make a "knock" noise, then fine, but he proceeds to splatter food all over the living room floor, which I spend 10 minutes cleaning up.

The neurosis is cute, frustrating, and fun to laugh at.

Its the residual effects of the neurosis that are beginning to grate on me. The inconveniences and "time suck" involved is staggering. I've spent entire mornings dealing with the effects of his mental dysfunctions / neuroses when I should have been working.

Oh. He peed in his crate again last night. Why? Im beginning to believe its ... "because he felt like it". He knows he will get in trouble, and then pout for the entire day. But he does it anyway.

Part of this process is trying to understand him.

First I decided this breed is just not that smart.

Then I decided this breed is just stubborn.

Then I decided this breed is both dumb and stubborn. A bad combination.

Now I have decided that this breed actually doesn't understand that they shouldn't do "whatever they want". That its engrained in them that they are the boss, and punishments are only confusing to them. Primarily because they think they are in control at all times, and they don't see anything wrong with that. There is no connection between "Cause and Effect" for Baxter. When he was crotch diving the other dog at my family reunion, and getting viciously attacked each time - he continued to do it another (literally) 25 times. Everyone was just standing there shaking their heads.

I think they just do what they want, and our reaction of anger, or scolding, is a total mystery to them. Honestly I feel like its a constant power struggle. And I talk to other bulldog owners at the park - they convey the same frustrations. Unfortunately most of them have told me they just smack the rebelliousness out of their dogs. Or if they refuse to walk, they drag them by the leash/collar/neck anyway. I haven't gotten to that point, and I don't want to. Its abuse to me. But the power struggle just gets ridiculous sometimes. And I honestly feel like I am the only one who feels this way. Everyone on here seems so chipper LOL!
 

Samantha Orts

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I was having these same thoughts just last night! There was a dress hanging in our closet that I just bought (still in the bag) and June would not stop barking at it! If you're so scared of the hanging dress bag in the closet, why on earth do you keep going in our room to bark at it?!?


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 

MoandPinky

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I couldn't help but have a laugh whilst reading your post simply because I can totally relate - my two girls have always been referred to as 'special needs' and although it does cause me huge amounts of stress and anxiety I have come to the conclusion that it is part their breed, part their personality and part my anxiety and lack of successful training.

Moey who is now 4 years old and the mother of Pinky who is 1.5 years old - is completely unhinged. She can not deal with fresh flowers, she growls and gets down on her front legs and runs around the house like a loon, she reacts the same with anything that folds such as a small washing lines, chairs etc.

She will not go to the bathroom at night if she is told and therefore will need to poop inside and if she does she then eats her poop!!! Ever since she was a baby - if she ever makes a poop inside she will eat it before we see it - its horrible. She never does it when she goes outside. I believe that its simply because she knows she shouldn't go inside and she will get in trouble. Lesson we learnt from this is to not tell her she must go to the toilet before closing the door at night, simply let her decide. The result has been that she seems to go to the toilet before the door is closed and she does not poop inside. We have only just figured this out in the last 9 months.

Moey also does odd things where she will sit in the corner of the room facing the wall corner and simply stare at the wall with her head slightly tilted up. She does this for long periods of time and will not talk to us. She usually does this if I have been out for the evening or if she has been told off for something. Not even food will distract her and she will only come out of this when she is ready.

She use to be rather dominant towards other dogs and would chase small children if they ran and she would knock them down also. She would also jump up if anyone was carrying a small child and would act as if she was wanting to bite the kid by nipping. She never did bite anyone, especially not a child although it was a terrible behavior and made many neighbors/friends obviously angry. I quickly saw this as a jealousy issue and also dominating issue - again all because I had not really trained her well with children and other dogs from a puppy. She is much more relaxed now around other dogs and simply does not seem to be interested in other dogs other than a quick sniff and thats it...this i believe has simply come with age. She is more interested in people. With children I have tried to train her that she will not be allowed near children if thats her behavior and she learnt very quickly and instead seems to simply now walk away from children. With that said its all at her choosing (again not enough training on my part) as if a kid comes up to her she will sit and let them pat her but if the run away or get picked up she is back to her old habits.

Pinky on the other hand is much worse as she seems to pretend to be very dominant but in fact she is actually very insecure and anxious. If she hears a noise she cocks her head, barks and looks to her Mother and if her Mother runs outside she will try and push her out the way to get out there first although if Moey decides not to run all the way outside, as soon as Pinky realises she quickly runs back and jumps on my lap shivering. She is also very aggressive to puppies and small children yet timid to other adult dogs to the point where she will lay at their feet! She has had many of those idiopathic head tremors and she cant sleep in her bed without her Mother. If Moey doesnt sleep in the bed (as she often sleeps on the floor up against the wall) Pinky will scratch herself all night and wake up raw. Alternatively if I let her on my bed she stops scratching immediately.

There are a million other issues that they both have although the only area you can work on is training...and even that is only a part of the issue. The point that i wanted to make is I don't actually believe its stupidity but instead its quite the opposite - they are highly intelligent and a lot more mentally intricate, sensitive and capable than other breeds. Most other dogs are simple - food, sleep, play/love...Bulldogs are a lot more complicated, they think for themselves, they make what seems like educated (although questionable) choices and most of all they know you better than you probably know yourself and they seem to have a more intimate understanding of what is happening around them than other breeds.

Im not sure this is helpful other than to say - you are not alone and that I do feel that the same particles that make them slightly crazy are also what allow them to be so beautiful and like no other breed and why I just cant imagine a world without them!

All the best :)
 

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