Bulldog issues

903 Views 12 Replies 7 Participants Last post by sayyamrashid45, 1 mo ago

Jalminter

Discussion Starter · 2 mo ago

I have a wonderful little 8 month old Old English Bulldog. Well, not wonderful all the time. At her core she is very sweet, smart and affectionate. Those moments though are clouded my her constant “bugging”. From the moment I get home or wake up she is going. She is assaulting me. I know that sounds strange but I do t know how else to put it. Puppy nipping, jumping, chewing and barking is one thing, but this is different. And it’s constant. She’s not trying to hurt me, I can tell because if she wanted to she could really hurt me. But if I’m walking she’s either jumping up on me full weight, biting at my clothes (many times tearing them), biting my feet and literally running circles around me, causing me to trip and I have fallen down and been knocked over several times. When I’m sitting she jumps and bites my knees bounces off my legs or runs full speed at me launching into my chair like a cannonball. If I’m at the table I can’t even take a bite or write a sentence because she jumps up and “pokes” me relentlessly. I can’t stress to you enough that this is CONSTANT! When I’m In The bathroom she does the same thing and when I close the door… we’ll what door? She knocked it off the henges!
I’m am not a dog novice, nor am I inexperienced with high energy breeds or intense breeds. I’ve raised many dogs including Boxers and Ridgebacks and never had these issues. I walk her constantly, sometime 4+ times a day. I am not a fan of physical correction and met my limits on that long ago.

does anyone have any ideas on what I can do? When I walk her she’s pooped for about five minutes then she’s back at it.

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Shadowfox

· #2 · 2 mo ago

I wonder if she is actually overaroused? Basically, a dog that cannot calm itself down and needs help learning to do so. Here is an article that should help for starters.

Training an Over-Aroused Dog - Whole Dog Journal

dog overarousal

www.whole-dog-journal.com

Is this something that's come back, or just amped up recently? Have you introduced a flirt pole? Karen Overall's relaxation protocol? What kind of brain game/training have you done? I know it's more questions, but it helps us get a better picture and not suggest things you've already tried or are doing.

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Jalminter

Discussion Starter · #3 · 2 mo ago

Thank you for responding! i suppose she could be over aroused. That’s an interesting suggestion! She also doesn’t sleep like “normal” she never naps during the day. It’s 99% on me, all the time. Actually I forgot to mention she fractured my nose and I sprained my ankle once when she was in my feet. Also when she’s not nipping my feet she just barks looking at me. It hasn’t amped up or come back it’s always just been there since she was 5 weeks just amping up as she gets older. I have not introduced a flirt pole. I’m not 100% on what that is. As for mental stimulation we do color and shape recall (trained to “Get Green Ball” or Yellow Bandanna” and she’s quite good at that. But I can’t stop. To keep her in that frame I have to keep going. We do fetch but again it’s endless. We counted the other night - 230 reps.

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Curls

· #4 · 2 mo ago

Two hundred thirty fetch repetitions? Yikes! I think over-arousal is a definite possibility. Also, the more athletic work you do with a dog, the better their cardiovascular conditioning becomes, which means you have to give them even more exercise to tire them out.
I usually deal with annoying puppies by introducing them to a bunch of different training games that require impulse control. They learn that following the rules makes the game even more fun. To start, which commands does your puppy already know?

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LMMB

· #5 · 2 mo ago

Yup. Sounds like you have a bored, teenaged athlete on your hands.

I second playing games with rules, particularly games that involve scent work such as Find It (hide treats and get her to find them - start off easy and then increase the difficulty level as she gets the idea, until you’re hiding treats around the house, the garden, outside on walks), puzzle feeders/treat dispensers/snuffle mats can help tire her out too as they have to figure them out.

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JoanneF

· #6 · 2 mo ago

This video might help for the impulse control.

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emeraldecho

· #7 · 2 mo ago

Smart, energetic dogs are definitely a challenge at times. I can sympathize with your 230x fetch games - mine would happily do the same if I let her...and then still want to play tug of war over her toys inside. Thankfully, hot weather slows her down a bit and summer is coming. 😆

I've found that it helps to use every available opportunity to work on getting them to think and wait. Some examples include:

Asking them to sit and wait while you put down their food...and gradually working up to stepping away or out of the room.
Slowing down your game of fetch by asking for tricks (particularly ones that stop motion - like sit, lie down - or that are challenging enough to make them think - I use left/right variants of spins, paw) and throwing the ball as a reward. In particular, it's helpful as a tool to teach 'wait' - by not throwing the ball until they wait motionless at your hand signal as you pretend to throw the ball.
Incorporating a 'hands off'/'pause' command into hands-on games like wrestling that momentarily stops play - which you can then use any time they get too rough. If they're too rough and don't respect your request to pause, just remove yourself from play.
Dropping treats from the table as a reward for absolute relaxation (no pushing, begging, etc.) during your meals.

Teaching a command which sends her ahead of you in a particular direction may also help keep her out from underfoot.

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Jalminter

Discussion Starter · #8 · 2 mo ago

Curls said:
Two hundred thirty fetch repetitions? Yikes! I think over-arousal is a definite possibility. Also, the more athletic work you do with a dog, the better their cardiovascular conditioning becomes, which means you have to give them even more exercise to tire them out.
I usually deal with annoying puppies by introducing them to a bunch of different training games that require impulse control. They learn that following the rules makes the game even more fun. To start, which commands does your puppy already know?

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Jalminter

Discussion Starter · #9 · 2 mo ago

She knows: sit, stay, go get (specific items) day please (high give). “Look” (at something specific. That’s about it

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Curls

· #10 · 2 mo ago

That's really cool he knows different names for items and can fetch them for you. That's definitely something to keep up with. It works his brain, especially if you start adding a bit of challenge to the retrieve. Maybe he has to get it off the couch, or go up the stairs, or whatever.

I do a lot with clicker training with my guys. Kikopup has a really good video on how to introduce it to a puppy. Once he gets the concept, you can start using it to teach other tricks. One of the first things I teach is heeling off leash, aka Follow the Leader. I find off leash heeling is really good for redirecting the tendency of a puppy to jump up and nip. It taps into his drive to chase moving things, while giving him a way to do it appropriately, and while seeing you as a source of fun. What I do is to walk around my yard while the puppy scampers after me. I look down to my left side. As soon as I see a puppy there I click and give him a treat. I change direction and let him catch up again. Click, treat as soon as he's found his way back into position. I ignore another other behavior: nips, running in front of me, dropping so far back I can't see him, etc. The only thing that earns him a treat is being at my left side while not nipping. Pretty soon the puppy is doing his best to stay in heel position. At that point I increase the difficulty of the game. I walk faster, I cut close to trees, I step over a low wall, etc. He needs to figure out how to stay close to me when I throw in a tricky move. Each time he figures out how to get back into position I give him a click and a treat. This game exercises both his brain and his body while he has fun.

Another thing I teach early on is hand targeting. Kikopup has another good video on teaching it. Hand targeting is great because you can then use it to teach the dog all sorts of other things: climb up on a chair, climb on a foot stool, move into heel position, walk in a circle around me, and so forth. Basically, as long as your dog is willing to follow your hand, you can use your hand to move him anywhere. Hand targeting gives you something else you can try in an emergency if your dog is blowing off the command to come.

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Shadowfox

· #11 · 2 mo ago

A flirt pole is basically a giant cat fishing pole toy for dogs. But, it can be high intensity and is Great for teaching impulse control and proofing obedience. For example, having them hold a stay while you flick it, dropping it on command, once more experienced, dropping into a down mid-chase. Just be careful of not flicking it so high to cause high jumps or sharp turns. Or having it tangle in your legs before your dog had more self control.

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emeraldecho

· #12 · 2 mo ago

Curls said:
Another thing I teach early on is hand targeting. Kikopup has another good video on teaching it. Hand targeting is great because you can then use it to teach the dog all sorts of other things: climb up on a chair, climb on a foot stool, move into heel position, walk in a circle around me, and so forth. Basically, as long as your dog is willing to follow your hand, you can use your hand to move him anywhere. Hand targeting gives you something else you can try in an emergency if your dog is blowing off the command to come.

Hand targeting is an absolutely wonderful technique - and can be unexpectedly useful at odd moments. As an example, my reactive dog had an episode of running back and forth barking in the house after seeing the umpteenth dog walk past the house this morning. She was far too amped up to stop running long enough for commands like 'sit', so I held a hand out as she was running toward me, just hoping to catch her, and because we've practiced hand targeting she stopped long enough to touch her nose to my palm and give me a chance to reassure her that all was well.

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sayyamrashid45

· #13 · 1 mo ago

Jalminter said:
I have a wonderful little 8 month old Old English Bulldog. Well, not wonderful all the time. At her core she is very sweet, smart and affectionate. Those moments though are clouded my her constant “bugging”. From the moment I get home or wake up she is going. She is assaulting me. I know that sounds strange but I do t know how else to put it. Puppy nipping, jumping, chewing and barking is one thing, but this is different. And it’s constant. She’s not trying to hurt me, I can tell because if she wanted to she could really hurt me. But if I’m walking she’s either jumping up on me full weight, biting at my clothes (many times tearing them), biting my feet and literally running circles around me, causing me to trip and I have fallen down and been knocked over several times. When I’m sitting she jumps and bites my knees bounces off my legs or runs full speed at me launching into my chair like a cannonball. If I’m at the table I can’t even take a bite or write a sentence because she jumps up and “pokes” me relentlessly. I can’t stress to you enough that this is CONSTANT! When I’m In The bathroom she does the same thing and when I close the door… we’ll what door? She knocked it off the henges!
I’m am not a dog novice, nor am I inexperienced with high energy breeds or intense breeds. I’ve raised many dogs including Boxers and Ridgebacks and never had these issues. I walk her constantly, sometime 4+ times a day. I am not a fan of physical correction and met my limits on that long ago.

does anyone have any ideas on what I can do? When I walk her she’s pooped for about five minutes then she’s back at it.

It sounds like your 8 month old Old English Bulldog has a lot of energy and is exhibiting some challenging behaviors, such as jumping, biting, and running circles around you. It's great that you are committed to providing her with plenty of exercise, but it seems like that may not be enough to curb her behavior. Some other things you can try include:

Consistent training and positive reinforcement to teach her what behaviors are acceptable
Providing her with plenty of mental stimulation through interactive toys and puzzles
Considering enrolling her in obedience classes or working with a professional dog trainer
Establishing a consistent routine and boundaries for her to follow Remember that it may take some time and patience to see changes in her behavior, but with consistent effort and training, you should be able to help her learn how to behave appropriately.

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