Rowdysmom

New member
Mar 18, 2016
2
0
Country
United States
Bulldog(s) Names
Rowdy
Hi! I have a 4 1/2 year old English Bulldog named Rowdy. We got her last summer from the friend of a friend. As such, I have no idea what her life was like before we got her. She had some marks on her. Maybe from another animal and maybe from her humans, I don't know. The vet checked her out and said she was fine other than being dirty and having some superficial wounds. We got her caught up on her shots and got her cleaned up and all of that right away.

She is super sweet and loves all of us (myself, husband, and kids). She's snuggly and loves attention. She is particularly attached to me and doesn't like to let me out of her sight.

A couple months after we got her she started jumping on everyone that came to the door. It's not aggression, but seems to be super excitement. She's pretty big and strong (60 pounds) and will knock people over if they aren't ready for her. Because of this I have to put her in the bedroom when anyone comes over, unless they don't mind the jumping. She is also dog aggressive. She lunges and barks a TON at every dog we get anywhere near on walks.

I tried some training techniques on my own and finally hired a trainer a couple months ago. She uses ecollars as well as food motivation and other things. The trainer did three private lessons and now we go to group training once a week. At this point she is extremely obedient using the techniques and the collar, but only if no one outside the family is around. She still jumps on people, and if I leash her and don't let her jump she barks at them like crazy, which is almost worse. Having her at group class is really hard because she tries to go after every new dog that walks in the door and just about rips my arm off.

At this point I feel like I can deal with the dog aggression. I walk her late at night and we only rarely see other dogs. When we do, I just do my best to keep her moving. I REALLY want the jumping on people to stop though. The trainer wants us to keep going and says it will just take time. I'm curious if anyone else has had a similar experience and if so how did it turn out? Is jumping something we can fix?

Thanks!

ETA: I should also mention that she does not jump on anyone in the family, only other people.
 

Corine Pesantes

New member
Aug 13, 2015
1,148
55
North Carolina
Country
USA
Bulldog(s) Names
Lockjaw and Penny
My Lockjaw was like that. Jumping out of excitement. He's only 10 months though, and I've had him since he was 7 weeks.
I just harnessed and leashed him when people came over. Made him sit before he got any attention. Its been a few weeks and he's doing great. He hasn't jumped on anyone. He would also squirt pee a little- which was worse to me than just jumping.
I also make him work for everything. Even throwing the ball for him. He has to sit.
Try "Nothing in life is free". Make her work for EVERYTHING!
I'm not sure about he barking- mine arent big barkers.
I do watch a lot of Caesar Milan, and have actually learned a lot - lol.
I would listen to your trainer. Consistency and patience. Bulldogs are very stubborn. So don't give up!
Good luck!!


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 

Pati Robins

I'm Polish what did you expect! A lady like person
Community Veteran
Jun 12, 2013
2,888
238
Cardiff UK
Country
UK-Cardiff
Bulldog(s) Names
Lily (British Bulldog) & Shy (American Bulldog X)
Since you asked about jumping not dog aggression i will focus my response on tis subject only
As Corine already mentioned- Jumping can be fixed - with loads of time and patience - im wondering what technique your dog trainer suggested you use
For all my foster dogs few things worked
1) let your visitors ignore the dog while walking in -completely blank her off -that also would have to include members of your family -no more big and happy "hello's" in the hallway.
2) use command "sit" or "go to bed" staying by your girl -you can leash her for as long as its needed
3) once in sit or bed command keep repeating it like a nutter -because shes a bulldog and "things need to sink into her head" [emoji6] while feeding treats and telling her calmly how good she is

-the point of all those is
A) dog from lack of attention from visitors simply will get bored of running to welcome them -becouse she will not get attention she wanted to
B) -helping her to "ground" a sit or bed command will be also handy in the future
Few pointers -start small one make one baby step at the time -changes wont happen over night and sometimes it will feel like its not worth anyone time -but eventually it will be x
By start small i mean if you have a patient friend or relative ask them to knock the door or ring a bell and keep walking into the home as normal not making any contact with your girl -keep repeating this proces as long as your friend is willing to do so in a day -also for as often as possible -eventually try to extend "their visit" by asking your friend to sit on the couch and the repeat it all over again
Then gradually increase amount of visitors you get -its a very slow process - but its a positive reinforcement -by giving her a treat you will reward your girl after desired response-reinforcing her "good" behaviour as opposed to her jumping
At the beginning give her as many treats as you want and gradually reduce the amount over time -bare in mind that if you feed treats you would have to reduce her daily food intake -slim bulldog is a happy bulldog




Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 

2BullyMama

I'm not OCD....now who moved my bulldog?
Staff member
Community Veteran
Jul 28, 2011
48,581
3,673
Gilbertsville, PA
Country
USA
Bulldog(s) Names
Chelios (Frenchie), Nitschke (2004-2011) Banks (2005-2014) and Lambeau (2014-2024)
My Lockjaw was like that. Jumping out of excitement. He's only 10 months though, and I've had him since he was 7 weeks.
I just harnessed and leashed him when people came over. Made him sit before he got any attention. Its been a few weeks and he's doing great. He hasn't jumped on anyone. He would also squirt pee a little- which was worse to me than just jumping.
I also make him work for everything. Even throwing the ball for him. He has to sit.
Try "Nothing in life is free". Make her work for EVERYTHING!
I'm not sure about he barking- mine arent big barkers.
I do watch a lot of Caesar Milan, and have actually learned a lot - lol.
I would listen to your trainer. Consistency and patience. Bulldogs are very stubborn. So don't give up!
Good luck!!


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Since you asked about jumping not dog aggression i will focus my response on tis subject only
As Corine already mentioned- Jumping can be fixed - with loads of time and patience - im wondering what technique your dog trainer suggested you use
For all my foster dogs few things worked
1) let your visitors ignore the dog while walking in -completely blank her off -that also would have to include members of your family -no more big and happy "hello's" in the hallway.
2) use command "sit" or "go to bed" staying by your girl -you can leash her for as long as its needed
3) once in sit or bed command keep repeating it like a nutter -because shes a bulldog and "things need to sink into her head" [emoji6] while feeding treats and telling her calmly how good she is

-the point of all those is
A) dog from lack of attention from visitors simply will get bored of running to welcome them -becouse she will not get attention she wanted to
B) -helping her to "ground" a sit or bed command will be also handy in the future
Few pointers -start small one make one baby step at the time -changes wont happen over night and sometimes it will feel like its not worth anyone time -but eventually it will be x
By start small i mean if you have a patient friend or relative ask them to knock the door or ring a bell and keep walking into the home as normal not making any contact with your girl -keep repeating this proces as long as your friend is willing to do so in a day -also for as often as possible -eventually try to extend "their visit" by asking your friend to sit on the couch and the repeat it all over again
Then gradually increase amount of visitors you get -its a very slow process - but its a positive reinforcement -by giving her a treat you will reward your girl after desired response-reinforcing her "good" behaviour as opposed to her jumping
At the beginning give her as many treats as you want and gradually reduce the amount over time -bare in mind that if you feed treats you would have to reduce her daily food intake -slim bulldog is a happy bulldog

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Great advice!!
 

ChrisRN

Flip'n'bullies stole my heart!
Jan 10, 2013
4,668
281
Muskegon, Michigan, United States
Country
USA
Bulldog(s) Names
Mabel (20??-2017) Ariel
Mabel is very dog-aggressive and hasn't the body to carry out her threat! But we do our best to keep her away from other dogs--not a big problem. Our late bullmastiff, Trixie, was not dog aggressive, but she was always so excited to see another dog, walking her on a leash was a problem. We started distracting her with food when other dogs were around. If we were walking her, I'd hold a treat about a foot from her face to get her attention. It seemed to work--very important when walking a 150+ pound dog. I think Patti and Corine gave you some good advice. Training for these bully breeds is so important! :smileywelcome:
 

Davidh

Head Pooper Scooper
Staff member
Mar 21, 2011
13,407
848
Katy, Texas
Country
USA
Bulldog(s) Names
BeBe, Hazel, Lucy Lu, JLO, Hillary, Henri, & Katie
Keep up the training, jumping up is fixable, plus you have some good advice above. The dog aggression is another thing. Some will never get out of it and you just have to keep them away from other dogs. Like you said, you don't know her history, so there is no telling what happened to her to make her that way. Good luck with her, and just be patient.
 

cefe13

Well-known member
Sep 12, 2013
3,714
205
Country
Sweden
Bulldog(s) Names
Castor (2013-2021 RIP)
Great advice above!

Castor likes to give people who come over a very warm welcome. He doesn't jump on us, but on visitors who pay him attention, so what we try to do is to tell people beforehand that they need to ignore him (and then remind them as they enter the house!). It has paid off - he never jumps on my parents, for instance, nor on friends who understand they need to ignore him. After five minutes he's relaxed and guests can pat him and talk to him without him being all excited.

Great that you have taken care of Rowdy - good luck!
 
OP
R

Rowdysmom

New member
Mar 18, 2016
2
0
Country
United States
Bulldog(s) Names
Rowdy
  • Thread Starter
  • Thread starter
  • #9
Thank you all so much for your ideas! I apologize for not coming back sooner. Unexpected stuff made me extremely busy. Hopefully settling down now...

I'm glad to hear that we'll be able to fix the jumping! I have family that has been overseas for the last two years visiting this weekend and I'm nervous about how things will go. I will have to let them know she's going to bark because I can't allow her to jump on them (one is a child who would not do well with that) until everyone gets used to each other. I sooo look forward to the day when I can let people in without worry! There was a roofer here yesterday and she really carried on about that. It actually looked like she didn't like him for some reason.

Reading here, I think I need to incorporate more treats. Maybe I can get her to the point where she actually looks forward to being "good" when people arrive if she gets a treat every time. I will also ask friends and relative to help us out by ignoring the behavior. And it seems like treats on our walks would be good as well!

At puppy class last night she actually did really well. She only barked and lunged at other dogs four or five times. Believe it or not, that is a great improvement. She did scare the poor new lady with the Yorkie that ended up next to us. Oh well. Baby steps!
 

Most Reactions

📰 Latest posts

Members online

Top