Semi-New Bulldog Owner with Behavior Questions

[jasondean]

All great advice indeed, thanks so much (also thanks for the compliments on Jake). The idea for my son to feed him seems like a great one too. As I type this Jake is snoring away at my feet. Love it. Ha!

 

[karenben]

has your 8 yr old played rough with him/tug of war?usually if 1 member of the family is the dog toy the dog will always go back and sees the person as thier toy,ask your son to totaly ignore the dog at all times until the dog realises that your son will not play with him,also up the excersize especially before your son gets in if you can,try some training ie sit,stay,fetch,high five lol,all the basic training will get rid of all the pent up energy better than a walk ,mental excersize really does make a dog tired ,and try and be firm ,bulldogs love nothing more than to bully a human into submission ,they want constant attention and can be a real pain,also use a squirty bottle on him ,the dog not your son lol,i still have my bottle to hand and when i bring it out then annie immediatly stops what shes doing,but ignoring bulldogs is the best way they hate it,it may take a while to work but it will work,karen

 

[2BullyMama]

All great advice indeed, thanks so much (also thanks for the compliments on Jake). The idea for my son to feed him seems like a great one too. As I type this Jake is snoring away at my feet. Love it. Ha!

How are things going with Jake? He is so adorable. In addition to having your son feed him... have him use a spray bottle filled with water and when Jake does something unwanted .. a firm no with a spray to the face/head will get him understanding it is unacceptable behavior. Your son will gain confidence and Jake will gain respect.... then he can slowly stop using the bottle as Jake listens to him more.

 

[jasondean]

Wanted to give a bit of a followup on Jake. Jake has calmed down A LOT in just the past month. Seems to do nothing but sleep, burp, sleep, fart, sleep, snore, grunt like a pig, eat and sleep. Did I mention he sleep a lot?? LOL! He has got MUCH better at playing with my 8 year old and not biting my wife all the time. He will still eat anything (shoes, dirt, leaves, ear phones, (almost an iPhone), bugs, etc., but other than that he has got soooo much more calm. We still need to teach him to stay down and be calm when someone comes to the door or a new person is in the house but I suppose that will come in time.

Jake is closing in on year now. Now I am just wondering how long till he's full grown. I know he was one of the smaller ones in the litter, but he still seems sort of small to me for a English Bull Dog (less than 50 pounds right now).

Thanks again for all the advice, etc., Life with Jake is getting better and I am a happier bully owner