Have you ever been bitten by your bulldog?

[Libra926]

Vegas has started this jealous thing when people come over. If he thinks O is getting more attention, he gets so frustrated. He will start to jump on people and nip at their hands. I don't know if he's actually nipping........this morning my brother-n-law stopped by. Vegas and O were both trying to get his attention and he was trying to ignore both of them. Vegas jumped up to his hands and his tooth scraped his knuckle. This isn't the first time he's grabbed at someone's hand. I got up and grabbed Vegas by the collar (which he hates) and I attempted to drag him to his kennel. Once in front of his kennel, I let go of his collar to unlock the kennel. As I reached in front of him, he grabbed my wrist in his mouth. I instinctively yanked it out. One of his K9 teeth was putting pressure on the "delicate" part of my wrist...... I was mad (more at my husband for making me deal with it) and I stomped upstairs. ( I actually needed to put some decent clothes on) As I was getting dressed I noticed a rip on the outside of my wrist. I didn't feel it happen, I guess the pressure of the tooth on wrist was more painful. Anyways, now a I have a gaping hole on the outside of the wrist. I'm not sure if it warrents a visit to the Dr, we've closed it up with a butterfly stitch, but it still wants to bleed. We've gone thru 2 bandaids, and 3 butterfly stitches. It still is bleeding (not heavily). It doesn't hurt, actually the only thing that hurts is (again) the point of his tooth on my wrist. I'm worried about this becoming more of a problem. If I wouldn't have yanked my arm out of his mouth, it wouldn't have happened, but he shouldn't of put my arm in his mouth. Any techniques to stop this? Any advice at all is much welcomed.

 

[bullmama]

Wow I dunno about that Hun. As you have said previously, he gets overly excited when visitors come right? Seems to me he is trying to "play" and get the attention, but you may have to resort to putting them both away in their crates (to be fair) when visitors come.... I know I have to....

 

[cali~jenn]

Wow I dont know either aside from crating to keep from getting worse. I am sure there are more people on here who are good with training, I am not one of them. lol. It doesnt sound aggresive at least so thats good. Even have them on leashes when people comeo ver and have them lay down and stay in a cetain spot and not get overly excited maybe.

 

[laurentourville]

a friend brought his boxer over to play once, saying that he was always great with other dogs blah blah blah. then he proceeds to leave me with the two dogs outside. well, his dog started a fight with horse and i was left to break it up, how fun! and scary! as i was getting horse away from the other dog, horse bit my finger, down to the bone! it didnt hurt much, and actually didnt really bleed as it was a puncture wound from his tooth. he didnt mean to bite me, he was just worked up from the other dog, and wanted to eat him, he could've fit the dogs whole head in his mouth! so, since then i've done my best to keep horse out of situations where he gets worked up/aggressive, as it's not safe for him or me!

 

[TessaAndSamson]

Ahhh I'm sorry Libra, that would be very upsetting for me too! Samson has never bitten me or anyone on purpose. He has probably nipped me while playing at some point but nothing major enough to remember. While paying with a toy, he went for it and caught my friends and my boyfriends hand before. Both accidently. I do think incidents like yours happen simply because he is overily excited. I would just put him in his kennel when guests come over like alot of other people or maybe enroll in some training classes to learn ways to correct that behavior. Samson has nipped at my boyfriend because of over-excitement like that. He always wants to rough house with Samson, he thinks he's the perfect dog for that because he is so beefy/hardy but not too big. Well I hate it because I think it promotes bad behavior and what do you know, hes gotten nipped a couple times in the process. I tell my boyfriend he is asking for it because like I said I think that wrestling around/rough house play stuff with dogs promotes bad behavior.

 

[Libra926]

I've also noticed that Vegas is a different dog outside of the house. The same people that he gets excited about coming over are the same people that are a major part of his life. We spend alot of time quading, but when we are out camping, the same people will approach him and he is a completely different dog. We recently had to evacuate our home due to the river in town flooding. Our good friends were gracious enough to invite us to stay with them. Vegas had free run of the house, but he was very obedient and calm. They couldn't believe how he was acting. We told them "this is how he always is". But of course, they usually see the excited Vegas. I've looked into taking him to training classes, but they all work at their place of business........and he could care less about some people that come over. It's just our good friends and relatives that he gets worked up about.

 

[Telly03]

How did you discipline Vegas? It sounds like Vegas is setting the rules and providing the discipline.

I don't believe biting is his problem, it sounds like lack of leadership. A dog would never bite their pack leader, it is against their nature. If you don't step in and provide leadership, someone else will feel like they have to step in and fulfill the role, such as Vegas.

Be careful about using a crate for discipline... I wouldn't want my dog to relate her crate to a negative experience. The crate should be a place for comfort and security, like his den.

I don't know if this is your issue Libra, but many folks fall into the trap of failing to discipline their dogs because the dogs are so adorable and full of personality, which I feel applies to Bulldogs more than any other, and they are afraid to hurt or dampen the spirit or personality of the dog by providing discipline. But establishing rules, such as no jumping up on people, doesn't have to be mean... it's simply making the dog understand that you are in charge, and certain behaviors are not acceptable. Rules should come easier once your role has been established.

So how do you address a dog who is misbehaving? Get their attention in a way that is clear that you don't approve... Cesar does it by making a noise with a quick tap to the dogs shoulder or rib area with his finger tips, representing a bite, which is the way dogs provide direction. Continue this until the dog is no longer focused on the bad behavior, but is calm and focused on you and your direction. If needed, you can step up the consequence for bad behavior by putting the dog on his back and hold him there until he submits, which is also a dominating technique within the dog psychology.

I tried this on Winnie, our Shih Tzu, who would always rush the door barking her head off when someone visited. It took some work, but she now maintains a respectful distance from the door... she remains excited about a visitor which is obvious with her rapid tail wagging and shifting weight on her front paws, but she is not barking or rushing the guest.

Since it is known friends visitng that cause the excitement with Vegas, try having them practice not acknowledging your dogs until they are calm... no looking, petting or talking to them until they are calm. Vegas is probably used to them coming over and getting excited to see him and calling his name in an excited manner. This is teaching him to get excited too, and now he is conditioned to expect this excited scenario whenever his excited friends come over. Let Vegas calm down, then shower him with attention... after awhile he will learn that affection happens when he is calm, not as soon as they walk through the door.

We also started a home exercise program which required us to clear some furniture to work out in the living room. I was worried about Winnie getting hurt while we were jumping around focused on the directions from the TV. Winnie is such a lap dog that always needs to be with us, so I thought this would be tough. I stood up tall so she would know that I'm in charge, and directed her out of the living room. She needed 3 reminders, but she understood the message. She only required one reminder each of the next two days, and now, I don't even have to tell her we need the space, she knows. She waits patiently till we are done and I invite her back in. So I learned that being and charge and providing direction will get the desired results, and this even works for the most determined of breeds.

I know I keep bringing this up, but Cesar Millan is a great resource for understanding dog psychology and learning how to establish the position as pack lead. I learned so much from his DVD series, and would recommend them to anyone having issues with dog behavior. I especially enjoyed his DVD #6 "raising the perfect puppy", where he picked and raised 4 puppies of different breeds, one of which was a beautiful Bulldog named "Mr. President". Cesar admitted that "Mr. President" required the most work, but "Mr. President" was a well balanced and behaved dog. Cesar also explained that Bulldogs are disadvantaged because of they are bred to have the smooshed face which decreases their sense of smell. Dogs should experience through smell first, sight and then hearing. Dogs that start with sight first are going against their nature which can cause problems. It was interesting to see Cesar create activities to encourage using smell, such as hiding "Mr. Presidents" food and make him find it by sniffing it out.

Best of luck with this issue Libra

 

[Libra926]

I think I might have to check out the DVD set. We don't usually have to discipline Vegas, but when I do, he takes a time out in his crate. He doesn't seem to associate it with bad behavior, because he usually gets a treat in there when we need to kennel him when leaving the house. I totally understand the kennel being a safe place. Vegas doesn't hate his kennel, he usually goes there when he wants time to himself (or he's snuck something he's not supposed to have-like stinkybear) We have tried the ignoring when people come over, he is so heavy and persistant with his jumping that either the person is gonna get knocked over or they are gonna pay attention. I have tried the placing him on his back, I can do it with Orion, but Vegas is so heavy and strong I can't hold him long. I love Cesar Milan. We do try to practice his techniques........we just are not very good at them. You've given my more inspiration, I'm gonna try this again. Thanks

 

[Telly03]

Libra,

I would be willing to mail you the DVDs if you like... you could just mail them back when you are done, or forward to someone else in this forum that could benefit.

 

[LisaRN]

No..Chester is just a puppy... the only time he really has gone after my hand, is when he thinks it's part of his toy collection

 

[Libra926]

I'd love for you to send them to me. I'd sent them back as soon as we watched them. That would be awesome!