Help Needed! Agressive Bulldog

[bellathebulldog]

My wife and I adopted an English Bulldog about 6 years ago from a family who didn't have time to take care of her. She is a great dog, but has had numerous health and behavioral issues. She has had 6 surgeries, has allergies, anxiety, seizures (head tremors), recurrent UTIs, and is just an overall poorly bread dog. We are certain that if she wasn't in our lives, she probably wouldn't be alive today. She loves people (especially little kids), but hates other dogs. She is on 3 medications, 1 for the seizures, 1 for anxiety and 1 for the recurrent UTIs. Starting probably about 2 years ago, when she would just be lying or sitting, she would randomly start to bark at absolutely nothing. We were told to try and ignore her, so we did. We ignored her for a whole hour and she barked the ENTIRE hour. We have consulted with a very well-known dog trainer in the area who has recommended a shock collar. That has fixed the barking problem. However, the other huge problem that she has is her aggression. She is only aggressive to other dogs, me sometimes, my wife rarely, and just recently, the vet. The barking we can deal with and handle. The aggression, is heartbreaking. She is such a good dog. Such a loving dog. We have no idea why she gets aggressive. For example, my wife and I could be lying on our couches watching tv, Bella asleep on the ground, and if either one of us moves to get up, she could and has numerous times, gotten up, ran towards us, and started biting our feet. We would zap her with the collar and it works some of the time. Recently if I'm not wearing shoes, I would have to get completely on the couch while she is barking at me so she can't get to my feet. I would be zapping her at the same time to get her to stop. I feel like what we're doing isn't working. I feel like she doesn't trust me and is afraid of me. She never sees the device that we use to zap her, but when she get's severely aggressive, the only way to stop her is to put her on her back. I try not to do that because I want to try a hands off approach, but when your dog is lunging at you like she wants to eat your face off, it needs to stop at some point. We love Bella so much and we want her to be happy. WE want to be happy. Any advice would be greatly appreciated and taken to heart.

 

[2BullyMama]

actually submitting her on her back is a good way of correcting her, it let's her know the behavior is unacceptable. Since the aggression came on towards you... have you had her thyroid checked -- out of balance it will cause behavior changes/issues. Also, if she is in pain she will lash out .

My girl Banks was never dog friendly, it was always hit or miss and most times miss,, she just did not like other dogs, especially dogs with long hair (good lord - she did not like the hippie look). we also had to use the shock collar with her, but after while, all we had to do was place it on her and she immediately would fall in line and it was never actually used.

 

[binxrexchubbs]

I've also heard putting the dog on it's side is the best way to correct. My baby is also aggressive, actually I've been told it's resource guarding because Chubbs is only aggressive when it comes to food, water, chewies and toys. Other than that he's a happy puppy. 2BullyMama knows what she's talking about, you can always get great info from her. Good luck.

 

[nycbullymama]

We've been dealing with toy aggression for about a year. Nothing works. A few months ago he got aggressive over the bed when we tried to move him.

My husband put Blues harness on, attached the lead and kept him close to him all day long. After that, he wasn't allowed on the bed anymore unless we were on it. This has been going on for two
weeks and it's worked.

I love the harness method. It's annoying to have a bulldog at your hip for hours on end, but they really seem to submit. No idea why, but it works.

 

[2BullyMama]

I love the harness method. It's annoying to have a bulldog at your hip for hours on end, but they really seem to submit. No idea why, but it works.

It works because they can not do anything without your approval and command.... strange but sometimes that is what they not only need, but are looking for.

Toy aggression and/or resource guarding are difficult to correct and can be a long road -