# Please Help: Aggressive 6 month old English Bull Terrier



## cherrie_b (Dec 14, 2008)

Hello!

4 months ago my family bought an English Bull Terrier bitch, called Libby, from a breeder. A few weeks after we got her my brother was in a car accident and was in hospital for 3 months. During this time, my mum spent a lot of time at the hospital and my dad mostly stayed at home as he had a business to run. Since my brother has come home and my mum is home all the time now, Libby has been very aggressive towards the family, particularly my mum.

She will not do as her told and has become extremely possessive over her toys. We used to be able to throw her toy, she would bring it back and we would take it off her to throw again. Now, she will not bring to toy back and should we go to take it from her, she will snap at us. 

She frequently bites at feet and hands and my dad has resulted to wearing his steel toe capped boots at all times. She wants to look at everything my mum does in the kitchen...she tries to get in the dish washer and oven and as soon as my mum tries to get her out, she snaps and bites her hands. If we put her in the living room she just runs around and jumps everywhere. 

It's important that she becomes less aggressive and more obedient. Her behaviour has declined. Is it possible that she is fiestier with my mum because she has been here less during her first 6 months?

Does anyone have any tips on how to stop her biting and being possessive with her toys...it makes it hard to play with her. 

Thanks
Cheryl


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## JANICE199 (Feb 1, 2008)

*Hi ya, I'm no expert but i think you will need to go back to basics..perhaps she's had to much time on her hands and now shes finding it hard to comply with the rules..But i'm sure things will turn out fine, once she has relearnt the boundries.*


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## Guest (Dec 19, 2008)

cherrie_b said:


> Hello!
> 
> 4 months ago my family bought an English Bull Terrier bitch, called Libby, from a breeder. A few weeks after we got her my brother was in a car accident and was in hospital for 3 months. During this time, my mum spent a lot of time at the hospital and my dad mostly stayed at home as he had a business to run. Since my brother has come home and my mum is home all the time now, Libby has been very aggressive towards the family, particularly my mum.
> 
> ...


Hi Cheryl,
It doesn't sound like she's agressive,it sounds like typical normal puppy behaviour to me.She is also getting to the teenage stage and will try and push her boundries.
If you want to take her toy away offer a treat,take the toy and then give it back,keep repeating until she is comfortable with it.

All puppies bite and mouth,don't forget she will also be teething now so will need hard things such as kongs,raw carrots etc to chew on.
This link is good it's about teaching bite inhibition
The Bite Stops Here

All of you need to be consistant with her this is the key


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## Bobbie (May 3, 2008)

It may be a good idea to get her into some sort of training class. As most instructors will do an assessment of the behaviour plus they are the best people to hand out advice. It's difficult to advise here not seeing the problem. Also they will tell you ways to deal with this problem


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## cherrie_b (Dec 14, 2008)

Thank you all for your advice. 

At first we assumed it was normal puppy behaviour, but before Libby we had a Staffordshire Bull Terrier (RIP Bruin) and he was never like this.

Libby bites. She goes for people....growling, biting, the whole lot. She is trying to be the boss, the dominant one. Obviously, this is not the case and we don't want her being aggressive. 

We shall try the "take the chew, give a treat" technique and see what happens.


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## staflove (Sep 4, 2008)

sallyanne said:


> Hi Cheryl,
> It doesn't sound like she's agressive,it sounds like typical normal puppy behaviour to me.She is also getting to the teenage stage and will try and push her boundries.
> If you want to take her toy away offer a treat,take the toy and then give it back,keep repeating until she is comfortable with it.
> 
> ...


I was just going to say that sallyanne, im helping a lady at the mo with hers your dead right it is normal puppy behaviour, but i have noticed this breed is very head strong, well the lady im helping wont let her in the room as she dives everywere and they have no control at all, iv been going down and and bringing her in the room and making her clam and sit and she dose in the end but i have to follow it through i took a toy from her and she went mad tring her dam hardest to bite me but i kept hold of the collar and took the ball from her i did indeed praise her for leaving and she is doing much better but needs a firm handling as she is very boystress thats the breed if you ask me


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## fosse (Dec 10, 2008)

All dogs are individuals, just because one dog doesn't show a behaviour trait doesn't mean it's not normal for others to do so. The behaviour you've explained sounds like normal puppy behaviour not dominance. Dominance is intraspecific and since we are not dogs they do not try to 'dominate' us.

It sounds like she's never learnt bite inhibition or been consistently taught the boundaries of living with humans, probably not your fault but due to the extreme circumstances surrounding her early months with you. The link Sallyanne posted is the best way of dealing with this sort of behaviour.


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## carryoncleo (Dec 19, 2008)

hi cheryl
i dont think you have an agressive dog, she is a typical bullie pup, i have 2, so know what your going through. you have to be very firm with bullies .they are very stubborn dogs. if you need any more info just visit our website Bull Terrier Rescue, Rehoming and General Welfare | BullieSOS Save Our Souls 
hope this info helps
Mouthing and biting is a normal part of being a puppy but is clearly unacceptable in an adult dog. Teaching bite inhibition is the single most important item for any pup. The pup must be taught to inhibit the force of its biting behavior so that it develops a soft mouth, and then to inhibit the frequency of its mouthing, so that the adolescent and adult dog learns never mouth or bite any person or their clothing.

The program outlined below is appropriate for puppies (up to about 18 weeks, with their first set of teeth) that have not yet learned to inhibit their playful biting. For this program, it is important that EVERYONE who interacts with your dog, (e.g. ALL family members and ALL other people) follows the same rules. Children should be closely supervised to ensure that they are following the rules too. Your dog must learn that he should not mouth or bite ANYONE.

This program is broken down into three steps, to be followed in order:

1. No painful bites. 
2. No pressure with teeth. 
3. No mouthing at all.

Make sure that EVERYONE who interacts with your dog follows the rules and that everyone is aware what stage has been reached. It may be helpful to put a sign up indicating what stage you are at so that everyone can be consistent with your dog. Puppies normally develop bite inhibition through interaction with their litter mates. When a puppy bites another puppy too hard, the second puppy will yelp and discontinue playing. In this way the first puppy learns not to bite so hard. When you take a puppy from its litter, humans (you) take the place of littermates, and need to continue the teaching.

No painful bites. In the same way you as humans must act like fellow littermate and let your dog know when he has bitten you to hard. You should yelp in order to startle your dog and then walk away from your dog and ignore him for about a minute. Ignore means no looking at your dog, no speaking to your dog and no touching your dog! If necessary you can leave the room for that minute (a 'time out') so that he has no chance of play biting you while you are ignoring him. 
Dogs vary in their general sensitivity and it is important that you startle your dog APPROPRIATELY when he bites. If when you yelp your dog immediately comes back to bite you again then you are not startling your dog enough: Try a louder yelp or try shouting ' ouch'. Similarly make sure that you do not startle your dog too much. If your dog runs away and hides when you yelp then you are most likely yelping too loudly: next time try a quieter yelp. 
No pressure with teeth (gentle mouthing only). Once your dog has learned that painful bites are unacceptable and has stopped doing them, you can progress to training your dog that any pressure of his teeth against your skin is unacceptable. Use the same procedure of yelping and then ignoring for about a minute. 
No mouthing at all. Once your dog has learned that he should not exert any pressure with his teeth against your skin you can progress to training your dog that ANY mouthing at all is unacceptable.

Depending on the age and temperament/breed of your puppy, the time it takes to reach step three will vary from a week or two to a few months. Here are some guidelines to help speed the process along:

Never hit your dog (his nose or any other part of him) in response to his mouthing or play biting! Not only is this unnecessary but also it will likely encourage him to continue biting you, either in play or in self-defense. 
Do not forget to provide appropriate chew toys and bones for your dog and praise him for chewing on these. In this way your dog will learn not only what is UNACCEPTABLE but also what is ACCEPTABLE in terms of using his mouth. 
You may find it helpful to use a taste deterrent (available from pet shops) on your hands or clothing while you are going through this program. First make sure that the product is actually distasteful to your dog. (Some dogs like the taste of taste deterrents; cheap whiskey or Bitter Apple seem to work the best). 
Once your dog has successfully completed all stages of bite inhibition you will want ensure that your dog CONTINUES to have good bite inhibition throughout life. Therefore it is a good idea to handle his mouth daily (open it and touch his teeth and tongue) and reward him for being gentle.
_________________


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## cherrie_b (Dec 14, 2008)

Thanks carryoncleo. We shall try these techniques immediately.

My dad is still insisting that she is being dominant. She tries to be leader of the pack. The play biting she used to do a month ago is completely different to the way she is now. Its the possessive behaviour that my mum and dad are particularly concerned about. 

Its not too bad when taking clean pots out of the dish washer but when putting dirty pots in (that smell of food) and putting items in the bin (which smells of food) she jumps up to have a little forage for scraps and when she is moved down or out of the way she growls and launches at our arms. We move out the way and she bites again. It just doesn't appear to be "play" biting. 

Cheryl


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## angel 22 (Apr 13, 2008)

hi cherrie i dont hink she is showing true aggression just being a typical puppy i would take all her toys away and only give them to her when she has earned the right to have them your mother has probably slipped down the ack because of her unfortunate absence you really need to go right back to basics could you not take her to a good training class good luck i do hope you get it sorted :thumbup:


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## Guest (Dec 19, 2008)

Theres been some good advise given but without seeing the dog i dont really think i should comment! ,IMO Bull Terriers need a very firm hand from day one ! They can be a very difficult breed !
What breeder did she come from???


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## bee112 (Apr 12, 2008)

our GSD was like that growing up.. she got really boistrous and bit me on my side which really hurt!

She would try to be the top dog and would occaisionally try and bully my little sister!

We just remained consistant with her training and tried not to react to her being naughty but praised her when she behaved.

She's turned out to be a nice gentle girl now.

Good luck with Libby


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## Katie&Cody (Dec 4, 2008)

JANICE199 said:


> *Hi ya, I'm no expert but i think you will need to go back to basics..perhaps she's had to much time on her hands and now shes finding it hard to comply with the rules..But i'm sure things will turn out fine, once she has relearnt the boundries.*


I second this.
I think she will need retraining after having it all her way.
GoodLuck and keep us informed.


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## Amyk (Dec 23, 2008)

hi
this doesnt sound agressive to me it sounds like she is a very dominant dog a rules the house, have you tried keeping a short lead on her at all time so that when she acts up you can give her a correction or move her away from something without actually getting close enough to be biten, best of luck


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## alison wain (Apr 14, 2011)

lol when i read this it made me smile my ebt storm is just the same well with the running and jumping mad around the house she also is a bit naughty but shes not 1 till may we went puppy trainning with her and they said she is a very dominant dog but she is brill with my little boy hes only 1 i would say she will grow out of it ours is slowly :001_smile:


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