Help Needed! agression

[kenilworth king]

Hello all. I know there are a couple of other agression threads started here but i thought i needed to start a new one. I have a 18 EB who until about a month and a half ago has been nothing but an awesome experience. Our only issues we ever had to worry about was puppy biting, jumping on people for attention. The little things that can sometimes be annoying but really no harm. When he was 6 months old or so he was in and out of the vets with skin infections, ear infections for a good two months. We changed his food and that seemed to take care of the major scratching. All was good. Never had issues with the vet. When we took him into the vet for his 1 year vaccination he had to be muzzled and held down because he was growling furiously at the vet and even lunged at him a couple times. We were shocked because he had never shown that type of agression towards anyone. The vet told us to be careful because this was how he was going to act when stressed. We didn't believe him because it never happened before, we thought maybe archie was just tired of going to the vets.
The next incident came about 2 months later. We took him out of town to my baseball tournament and he snapped at a stranger and a guy on my team who he knew from going to baseball almost every week all summer. We thought maybe he was just stressed from being somewhere strange out of town.
Third incident was christmas time. We had a house full of 20 people or so, so we put archie in his crate cause we didn't want him jumping all over everyone. He doesn't or has he ever had problems going in his crate. a lot of times when we're all sitting around he goes in there on his own. My uncle was one the guest over for christmas and he had never been over to see our house yet so i gave him the tour. He went to pet archie in his cage and he snapped at him. I let him out seconds after he snapped and he was fine with my uncle. Like they were best friends forever. We left him out the rest of the night and besides being hyper he was fine with everyone. We thought maybe he just didn't like a stranger petting him in his cage.
Then about a month ago our son had a friend sleep over. The two boys came out of the bedroom. Archie went to the friend and let him pet him for about 5 seconds and then from out of nowhere with no sign he lunged at him and luckily just got his shirt at the stomach. Needless to say the boy was very nervous the rest of the night and so were we. Every time the boy wanted to come out of the room our son would come out first to make sure archie was with us and under control. Wasn't a very good feeling to feel that way the rest of the night.
At that moment we started talking about what we thought was going on, remembering each incident and wondering if we we're just making excuses first the first time it happened and we just had a mean dog. That's when we seriously started thinking that maybe we needed to find him a new home before something happens. And at this point the kids are starting to be a little nervous of him too.
Last week we went for our nightly walk before bedtime and we ran into a neighbor walking her dog. We run into them at least once a week on our nightime walks. She went to pet archie and he jumped of all fours and had her by her arm but again lucky it was just her coat he ripped. It's a neighbor we run into all the time and she's rubbed archie many times so i don't know what happened.
We have contacted a couple of rescues because we don't know what else to do. Nobody seems to want to take in a dog that has shown agression and honestly i understand that. Getting rid of him is the last thing we want to do but we are at a total loss right now. He is such a good dog 99 percent of the time. knows all the basic commands, sits when he comes in from outside so we can wipe his paws if it's wet out, after wiping paws he follows us to the bathroom so we can clean his butt, if i take the brush or nail clippers out he lies on the floor to get groomed, sits while you clean his ears and wrinkles. He really is a extremely smart well behaved dog for the most part.
Just wanted to ask if any of you have had this happen or have any advice to help. I'm afraid if we can't get this solved or at least improved very soon we will have no other option then letting him go. And nobody in the family wants that to happen.
Sorry for being so long and hope it makes sense, just want help.

Thanks

 

[TyTysmom]

[MENTION=11238]kenilworth king[/MENTION]

Aggression in a single dog home is definitely something that can be fixed, however it will take time, patience, and consistency. Also, it must involve the entire family, which means the kids (as hard as it sounds) will need to be involved, and try not to fear him. He is still young, and in his prime learning phases. You must start at basics again, and implement the nothing is free training. Make him work for things such as treats, food, pets, coming in or out, etc.

I know that quite a few members will chime in with their methods & things that have worked for them. You & your family need to regain the "alpha" position, and show him who's in charge. I know that it can work out, in extreme cases you can get a behaviorist to come in and help train with you and the family. Do not give up just yet, once he works out his issues, he'll be fine. Believe it or not, Tyson still has random outbursts of aggression. Very very random, and seldom, so its something that I have to work on constantly regardless in terms of making sure he realizes who's boss. I rescued him at the age of 2 1/2 almost 3, and he's now 9. It took work, and dedication, and lots of crating in the beginning, but he got the point. Now if he does for any reason, you can immediately tell he's sorry right after, he'll bow down in a shamed position. I wish you much luck, and keep us posted on his progress.

Here's a link to the thread - for nothing is free:

http://www.englishbulldognews.com/f...ioral/33985-life-free-training-technique.html

 

[Ftse 100]

I have this problem with Ftse at the vets since he had his cherry eye op he turns into a violent biting machine when we go there last needle we had a vet come into the home and a different one at that and this time he actually bite her, it was awful Ftse knew he did wrong but it did not stop him but he is not aggressive with anyone else except for my neighbour but that bit I can understand as I would like to be aggressive too there.
I have been told by the vets from his op he has developed anxiety with anything to do with vets next time we are going to give a pill to relax him first and see how we go there but for your problem I really don't know what to say as it seems to be a lot more than what I am dealing with but just want to wish you good luck in getting it all under control.

 

[2BullyMama]

@kenilworth king

Aggression in a single dog home is definitely something that can be fixed, however it will take time, patience, and consistency. Also, it must involve the entire family, which means the kids (as hard as it sounds) will need to be involved, and try not to fear him. He is still young, and in his prime learning phases. You must start at basics again, and implement the nothing is free training. Make him work for things such as treats, food, pets, coming in or out, etc.

I know that quite a few members will chime in with their methods & things that have worked for them. You & your family need to regain the "alpha" position, and show him who's in charge. I know that it can work out, in extreme cases you can get a behaviorist to come in and help train with you and the family. Do not give up just yet, once he works out his issues, he'll be fine. Believe it or not, Tyson still has random outbursts of aggression. Very very random, and seldom, so its something that I have to work on constantly regardless in terms of making sure he realizes who's boss. I rescued him at the age of 2 1/2 almost 3, and he's now 9. It took work, and dedication, and lots of crating in the beginning, but he got the point. Now if he does for any reason, you can immediately tell he's sorry right after, he'll bow down in a shamed position. I wish you much luck, and keep us posted on his progress.

Here's a link to the thread - for nothing is free:

http://www.englishbulldognews.com/f...ioral/33985-life-free-training-technique.html

FANTASTIC advice ^^^^ consistency, patience and the WHOLE house on the same page. Archie is in the 'teenage' years and you need to reinforce all his training

 

[Daphnee]

Sorry if this comes across harsh... Sounds like you've had troubles all along, including puppy biting and jumping. Sure, all pups do it, but it just leads to other problems, like those you are having now. Lots and lots of time, effort, and dedication will be needed to help this situation.. Good Luck

 

[g8erjackie]

I'm so sorry to hear you're going through this. It sounds like a really tough situation.

I highly recommend talking to a trainer. AND a behaviorist. A situation like this should be dealt with quickly so it doesn't escalate further, since it sounds like it has gotten progressively worse.

I will say I worry about the vet nuzzling him and holding him down. Bulldogs can overheat and/or asphyxiate from such stressful situations. It might be time to try a new vet, one with a lot of experience with bulldogs -- this forum has great suggestions for bully vets all over the country.

I really don't have experience with aggression issues towards people, but there are other members that can probably be of more help. [MENTION=8741]Manydogs[/MENTION] [MENTION=2894]2BullyMama[/MENTION] [MENTION=6311]Vikinggirl[/MENTION] [MENTION=7710]Petra[/MENTION] I feel like you guys are the resident behavior experts but I'm drawing a blank as to who it is exactly [emoji53]

 

[Manydogs]

I am sorry that this is happening with your dog. I am afraid that can be of no help,as I have never been in a situation like this-and I would not want to be. Sounds like [MENTION=13133]TyTysmom[/MENTION] has given you some good advice, and I pray that you can get through this and work things out, and keep your baby. It sounds like something(perhaps his vet experiences has really traumatized him?)

 

[Petra]

I'm sorry you're going through this, it's never funny not to trust your own dog Aggression can be caused by many things, but most often it's either pain or lack of discipline. He is at the age where he will start to test his limits so I would do the "Noting is for free" training that TyTysmom posted about. It's great for gaining the leader position. I have to now and then go back to it when I feel my gang are a bit out of hand.

If he hasn't had an x-ray for Hip Dysplasia or other joint problems that can be a start in case his issues are caused by pain. A simple ear infection can make them snappy too.

I hope things will work out, contacting a trainer can also be an option, they are usually great at pointing out wrongs, whether it's health related or behavior issues.