April 12, 2011
My Bull Terrier has bitten my father and tries to bite me. I have hung him until he passes out and he sometimes still tries to bite me. What should I do?
Full Question:
Hi, my name is Alexandre and I?m from Brazil. I have a 3 year old Bull Terrier called Brutus. Brutus is a very nice dog. He is smart, friendly, funny, loves to play with his toys, BUT... (this terrible word!!!) it has been doing some strange things.It?s kind of stubborn, and when I do something that it doesn?t agree with, it becomes aggressive. So, I have to be hard with it. For three times I had to hang his neck until it stopped growling and trying to bite me, but this aggressive problem has been usually happening. I?m worried about it, because Brutus bit my father?s hand last month while he was playing with the dog.
I have to do something with it, because I can?t live with a strange aggressive dog, that can seriously bite my wife, but I like it and I?d like to do something to help him. I?d like to trust Brutus again. Do you think that I can reverse this problem without violence? I had to kick him a lot of times (I didn?t have another alternative) to avoid serious consequences, but I hate to do it.
A shock collar could be efficient in this case? When he growls at me I ?BZZZ? him until he stops? What can I do? I don?t want to have to hang him again. I could kill him doing this! If his brain misses oxygen, the dog dies. Is it possible that the only way is to maltreat an animal that I choose to be my partner?
Thank you. (sorry about my English)
Ed's Answer:
There is a good possibility that this dog can learn to be polite but it will require you to change the way you live with the dog.
To begin with it needs to learn that you control every second of his life. This is done with leashes (HE IS NEVER OFF LEASH - NOT EVEN IN THE HOUSE) and dog crates. I produced a DVD titled ESTABLISHING PACK STRUCTURE WITH YOUR DOG. This DVD details how to handle a dog like this.
The biggest mistake new dog owners make is they give up on the program too soon. It has often taken years for a dog like yours to develop the behavior problem it now has. You are not going to change it in a few days, maybe not even in a few weeks. It could take months.
During this period, usually after a week or two you can begin to retrain the dog in obedience. The best way to do this is with "MARKERS" . Marker training is 100% motivational and is non-confrontational. It works well with dominant aggressive dogs. I have a free 85 page eBook on my web site and I have done training dvds explaining this system.
In the end this dog will probably have to learn that there are consequences to not following directions. This may involve a remote collar but that's a long time down the road and requires handler training. Again I have produced a dvd on learning to use a remote collar with low level stimulation. It's titled REMOTE COLLAR TRAINING FOR THE PET OWNER.
I hope this helps.
To begin with it needs to learn that you control every second of his life. This is done with leashes (HE IS NEVER OFF LEASH - NOT EVEN IN THE HOUSE) and dog crates. I produced a DVD titled ESTABLISHING PACK STRUCTURE WITH YOUR DOG. This DVD details how to handle a dog like this.
The biggest mistake new dog owners make is they give up on the program too soon. It has often taken years for a dog like yours to develop the behavior problem it now has. You are not going to change it in a few days, maybe not even in a few weeks. It could take months.
During this period, usually after a week or two you can begin to retrain the dog in obedience. The best way to do this is with "MARKERS" . Marker training is 100% motivational and is non-confrontational. It works well with dominant aggressive dogs. I have a free 85 page eBook on my web site and I have done training dvds explaining this system.
In the end this dog will probably have to learn that there are consequences to not following directions. This may involve a remote collar but that's a long time down the road and requires handler training. Again I have produced a dvd on learning to use a remote collar with low level stimulation. It's titled REMOTE COLLAR TRAINING FOR THE PET OWNER.
I hope this helps.
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