New bulldog owner and struggling! Please help!

[Kay1290]

Hi, I desperately need some experienced advise on my puppy's behaviour! We have a 17 week old bully male called Wilson. He is our first bulldog (we previously had boxers) and his attitude stinks! The first problem we have is biting. I have read it is extremely common for bulldog puppies to be quite nippy however Wilson draws blood and bites hard. It seems to happen the most when we have visitors and he gets quite excited when they fuss him and it turns to biting. It also happens when playing with him and you take the toy off him and he jumps and bites at us. If I sometimes go to hold his collar and he is hyped up he will turn on my arm. I have tried ignoring him (walking away) giving him time out, leaving the room, making a loud noise when he bites and more recently using a spray bottle with water and spraying him. All these have either ended in him constantly barking or stopping for a few seconds and starting again. The second problem is barking, he barks at everything when we are trying to correct his behaviour especially but all I read is Bulldogs seldom barks. The biting is more of a concern as we have a 15 month old son and I am really worried the biting will get worse as nothing seems to work with him. We train him he can do sit, stay, shake, lye down and he goes a walk every day to try and tire him out. We make him work for everything so he's not boss of any situation because I've also read they like to be quite dominant. I'm running out of answers and don't want us to have to get rid of him so any suggestions and help would be extremely appreciated!

 

[Davidh]

The biting will go away, but it will take a few months, as he is still a baby and still learning. They all do it, and they all stop eventually. Just hang in there and keep telling him "No bite" Tell your friends to just pet and don't play with him, until he grows out of this phase. They do like to play rough, it's just a bullies nature, but they do settle down as they get older. Every time he bite, you need to yelp loudly and tell him no bite, then give him a chew toy. If he still wants to bite it's time for a time out. They are like kids, if they get tired, they get crazy, and it's time for a nap.

 

[dalmatina38]

OK, 17 week old bully and 15 month old baby.........OH MY!!!! First, bullies need lots of attention and I mean lots of attention. They usually don't get the point on the first, second or even third try and it takes lots of PATIENCE and CONSISTENCY and TIME to train them. My biggest advise it patience and lots of love. Redirect their attention to a toy or something they are able to chew on and you and your family are going to have to watch Wilson like a hawk around the baby. Remember, your bully is a baby too and cannot determine what is and is not acceptable behavior right now, they rely on you to teach them. It takes a good 8/9 months to get their attention where they understand the difference between right and wrong and even then they are notorious for the terrible twos. Your going to have to be on your toes for a little while; make sure you have a good crate in order to crate train your bully; he needs to have an area where it is his area so he can have a time out/calming area to relax. (yes, they have to relax) Please make sure he isn't alone with the baby because bullies are naturally rough and tough and he looks at the baby as a play mate and doesn't know any better. Bullies play with their litter mates by tugging and rough housing with each other; also he cannot determine the difference between his toys and the babies toys. They are great dogs with children but again he has to be taught what is right and wrong and that takes time. Remember Roman wasn't built in a day and a well behaved bully takes almost as much time to creat as it took to build Roman. ( That one made me laugh; I have had Amber almost 4 years and we are still working on her. hehe) You will get it but it will take time and there are lots of experts here to help. Don't give up; we have all been there and you will get the hang of it, just be patient and consistency is key. Please don 't give up on him, you will be well rewarded with a great bully with the right amount of time, patience and consistency. Good luck!

 

[dolphin]

The biting will go away, but it will take a few months, as he is still a baby and still learning. They all do it, and they all stop eventually. Just hang in there and keep telling him "No bite" Tell your friends to just pet and don't play with him, until he grows out of this phase. They do like to play rough, it's just a bullies nature, but they do settle down as they get older. Every time he bite, you need to yelp loudly and tell him no bite, then give him a chew toy. If he still wants to bite it's time for a time out. They are like kids, if they get tired, they get crazy, and it's time for a nap.

Agree 100%!!

 

[Donnam]

Oh dear! Winnie was the worst biter ever, hardly anything worked to make her stop. The sqirt of water was the most effective, but she would also bark at us when we squirted her. By the time she was 6 months old, she had entirely quit biting, and she would never bite anyone now (10 months). This biting will stop, you just have to hang in there.

My 3 grandsons were 15 months exactly when we got Winnie, so I know what you're dealing with. Only you have it 24/7 and I dealt with it for, at most, a few days at a time. The most helpful tools for me were the crate and baby gates. Of course you don't want to keep your bully in the crate or gated away from the family for too much time, but sometimes you really need to and you'll be glad you have them. I also spent a lot of time with Winnie on a leash teaching her to be gentle, not letting her jump. After she quit biting, she was still too rough because she would jump on them and knock them down. Your bully will probably learn faster than Winnie did, because your bully will be around your baby all the time. With Winnie, every time they came to visit, she would get super excited again and it was back to square one for a while and we'd have to let her calm down in the crate before she could come out. Now, after she calms down, she is very gentle and follows them everywhere.

I really do sympathize with you. But just think how lucky your baby will be to have such a wonderful friend! If you can just hang in there for a couple more months, it will be very much better.

 

[Kay1290]

Thanks guys! It certainly has restored my faith, Wilson has an extra large crate for his down time and my son has a play pen for his they are never together unless supervised. I guess Il stick to the 'no bite' tactic also just a quick question and this might sound very odd but if he wears his harness in the house he seems to be better behaved, is this in my head or does anybody else's bulldog wears a harness in the house?

 

[Manydogs]

I have four and they have their harness' on all the time. Since he is growing, make sure you check every so often,to see that it is not getting too tight. @Kay1290 Hang in there-it's work, but it WILL be worth it!

 

[Donnam]

While he is wearing his harness, he's much easier to grab when he misbehaves too!

 

[christaleigh123]

Haha I am in the exact boat as you, but my bully is 15 weeks! We got him at 7 weeks and he was a little hellian, got a bit better for weeks 11-13..he just now has really started to bark at us when he doesn't get his way (which is driving me bonkers) and guiding him out of areas with his collar has become something he hates and tries biting us. I feel your pain, hoping to remain sane until this phase is over!

 

[brutus77]

Thanks guys! It certainly has restored my faith, Wilson has an extra large crate for his down time and my son has a play pen for his they are never together unless supervised. I guess Il stick to the 'no bite' tactic also just a quick question and this might sound very odd but if he wears his harness in the house he seems to be better behaved, is this in my head or does anybody else's bulldog wears a harness in the house?

My Brutus was always better behaved when he had his harness on because he knew this meant training. Leave the harness on during the day and only take it off at night for now. When you are expecting company, leash Wilson so you can control him. Make him earn his petting by having him sit back away from the door when the company arrives and only when he is in a calm sitting position should any one be allowed to pet him. If he is jumping on the baby, gently put him into a sitting position telling him "no jump" and then reward with a treat. He will get it and associated the good behavior with a reward. Like David has stated, Bullies are like babies, when your son is over tired and cranky you put him in for a nap right? The same goes for Wilson. If he cannot be redirected out of whatever behavior he is doing, time out. most of the time he will fall asleep and wake up refreshed and ready to learn. This is going to be something that you and every one in our home has to do. You absolutely need to be consistent with what is and isn't allowed and you have to correct as soon as he does something wrong. Please don't give up on Wilson, he will be worth the time and effort you put into him.

 

[2BullyMama]

At 17 weeks... he is still ALL puppy.... no bite and re-direct are your best tools. Also, try a water bottle and spray him in the face with a firm NO, that worked wonders for our girl. We've been lucky with Lambeau, the re-direct worked well with him

 

[g8erjackie]

He will grow out of the biting. Just be consistent with "no bite". Also try getting some freezable teething toys or freezing apple slices to let him chew on. I found Ruckus was less of a shark when his teething issues were soothed. I used to take a clean hand towel and get it wet then freeze it and let him chew on that. He would be quiet and calm while chewing and it was clear her felt better.

 

[Keanebobulldogs]

I had the same problem with my first bulldog, but it was only when my husband was at work, he would constantly go for my arm even if I told him to stop, or told him off for it he thought it was a game and kept coming back.. I just kept telling him no in a different tone of voice, I kept giving him to play with but he wasn't bothered, they do grow out of it and it is a stressful time to go through as it does hurt, but they don't realise how much it hurts.. if you just give him his toys and try not to play with him with them until he is settling down on the biting.. when you are giving him attention and he starts to bite again give him a toy and put him in time out.. if you are trying to play with him and he is doing it he will take it as you are playing with him and he is allowed to do it.. also because he never did it when my husband was here because mens voices are deeper and he knew he couldn't get away with things, when he did things wrong and we was both in the house we would make sure that I would tell him off instead of my husband so he knew he couldn't play up with me when my husband wasn't there.. if that makes sense.. hope this helps

 

[ABEBD]

Hi,

All EBD's are the same .... and all are different.

All behavior modifications have to start with basic training. The seven common commands need to be taught first. As part of the training, is correction, modeling, reinforcement...repeat. I personally do not think leaving a harness on is the correct approach. This is only effective for a short period and then becomes part of the activity. Using a slip collar for training, and even train in the house. Start with the very simple steps first, then bridge/scaffolding for the next step.

Puppies learn what the surroundings are by putting things in their mouth. This includes hand, shoes, furniture, etc. When the puppy is out of the crate, 100% attention is needed to watch, stop, correct, re-focus, praise, repeat. Having a small toy in your hand when playing with your puppy, when your puppy start to bite on your hand, correct, and give toy to chew on instead. Using correction is NOT a bad thing. This is not the same as hitting, beating, yelling, etc.

This too shall pass but it is up to you to spend the correct time setting the stage now.

 

[Enjoimangos]

Thanks guys! It certainly has restored my faith, Wilson has an extra large crate for his down time and my son has a play pen for his they are never together unless supervised. I guess Il stick to the 'no bite' tactic also just a quick question and this might sound very odd but if he wears his harness in the house he seems to be better behaved, is this in my head or does anybody else's bulldog wears a harness in the house?

We noticed that the harness mellowed Boris out as well so we ended up getting him a Thundershirt. It was one of the best purchases we've made for him since he's always trying to dominate my girlfriend. Once the shirt is on he chills out and no longer bites or runs around in circles. He's going on 11 months now and we rarely have to break the thundershirt out to keep him from chasing away my GF.