New member
Hello all,
I have just adopted a beautiful 3 year old British Bulldog yesterday named Spike.
My family has had a number of dogs before and still have three. My family has never been the best in training/disciplining dogs, we have just been very lucky, especially with the current three. As such, the weekend before adopting Spike, I have been watching a lot of the Dog Whisperer to learn the basics, of how to dominate, be the pack leader etc. When I met Spike, I did most of what Cesar Millan 'taught' me and everything seemed to work very well. Spike listens to me when i redirect him from bad behaviors, he's great on the leash (his natural calm temperament helped this a lot though to be fair), he's not excited by other dogs or humans etc.
Spike did not come from a kennel, but instead from a loving family of 5 whom had to give him up because the youngest daughter of the family developed major skin allergies. So I picked him up literally only yesterday and I realised he is VERY attached to me, almost immediately after I took him home. He only follows me around, gets up and ready every time I look like I am getting out of my chair, and cries whenever I am out of sight, even if only to the bathroom. Now this is all very sweet and I am loving it, however practically speaking this would not be able to last long as I live in a very busy city. I can't possibly be his only handler - other family members will have to take over and take care of him from time to time if not for most of the week when I am at work or when I have other obligations. I really want him to be able to socialize and at least be interested in my other family members. Is there any way to change this? He doesn't cry long when I am not around, usually within a minute or so, but he does look for me a bit everytime I am gone until he's certain he can't find me. Should i try to leave him with my family members more and get out of his sight more in order to 'train' him to not be so dependent on me?
Finally, he's not neutered yet and from the first day I met him (last week before I adopted him), he had tried to hump me. He is gentle hence he does not do it often and when he does it is very easy to redirect him and he does not persist. Will this be the potential root of the problem? Is his instant attachment to me driven by his possible sex drive towards me? If so, will neutering help (we are going to neuter him for sure as we believe it makes them healthier)? Also I am aware that if you neuter a dog at a certain 'state' they will stay in that 'state' forever - which would not be helping the situation!
Sorry for the very long post but this attachment issue (I really hate to call it that but for the reasons raised above) will be a problem in the long run and I want to address it as soon as possible before he gets even more attached and used to me. He is such a great dog and I want him to live a very happy life with my family and not have any mental obstacles like separation anxiety whatsoever, please help! Thanks!
Last but not least this board is great and I have already learnt a lot from it, looking forward to contributing more! Please see some pics of Spike below, he would like to say hi!
Hello all,
I have just adopted a beautiful 3 year old British Bulldog yesterday named Spike.
My family has had a number of dogs before and still have three. My family has never been the best in training/disciplining dogs, we have just been very lucky, especially with the current three. As such, the weekend before adopting Spike, I have been watching a lot of the Dog Whisperer to learn the basics, of how to dominate, be the pack leader etc. When I met Spike, I did most of what Cesar Millan 'taught' me and everything seemed to work very well. Spike listens to me when i redirect him from bad behaviors, he's great on the leash (his natural calm temperament helped this a lot though to be fair), he's not excited by other dogs or humans etc.
Spike did not come from a kennel, but instead from a loving family of 5 whom had to give him up because the youngest daughter of the family developed major skin allergies. So I picked him up literally only yesterday and I realised he is VERY attached to me, almost immediately after I took him home. He only follows me around, gets up and ready every time I look like I am getting out of my chair, and cries whenever I am out of sight, even if only to the bathroom. Now this is all very sweet and I am loving it, however practically speaking this would not be able to last long as I live in a very busy city. I can't possibly be his only handler - other family members will have to take over and take care of him from time to time if not for most of the week when I am at work or when I have other obligations. I really want him to be able to socialize and at least be interested in my other family members. Is there any way to change this? He doesn't cry long when I am not around, usually within a minute or so, but he does look for me a bit everytime I am gone until he's certain he can't find me. Should i try to leave him with my family members more and get out of his sight more in order to 'train' him to not be so dependent on me?
Finally, he's not neutered yet and from the first day I met him (last week before I adopted him), he had tried to hump me. He is gentle hence he does not do it often and when he does it is very easy to redirect him and he does not persist. Will this be the potential root of the problem? Is his instant attachment to me driven by his possible sex drive towards me? If so, will neutering help (we are going to neuter him for sure as we believe it makes them healthier)? Also I am aware that if you neuter a dog at a certain 'state' they will stay in that 'state' forever - which would not be helping the situation!
Sorry for the very long post but this attachment issue (I really hate to call it that but for the reasons raised above) will be a problem in the long run and I want to address it as soon as possible before he gets even more attached and used to me. He is such a great dog and I want him to live a very happy life with my family and not have any mental obstacles like separation anxiety whatsoever, please help! Thanks!
Last but not least this board is great and I have already learnt a lot from it, looking forward to contributing more! Please see some pics of Spike below, he would like to say hi!
Last edited:
Justin & Spike to EBN!!!
to the site. You have been given some great info by those above me so there isn't much else that I could add.
to EBN... So glad you found us and happy you gave Spike a happy new home. You have great advice from the group and you seem to be going in good direction with him.
