bellathebulldog
New member
- Jan 8, 2015
- 1
- 0
- Country
- United States
- Bulldog(s) Names
- Bella
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.