Suddenly Aggressive English Bulldog

[docballyhoo]

This is a great topic, story. I have raised, as pets only, over 8 great English bulls. They are absolutely the best dogs around. The ironic thing, is that every single one on my dogs as well as my friend's dogs does the exact same thing at age 1-1.5 years. I do not see this published, but it is scientifically proven beyond a reasonable doubt in my observation. My friend's bulls, just turned 14 months, stated the dogs wanted to bite the mail man and they wanted to give them up. I told them , give them 3 months and you will have to wake them up in the laundry room floor. If you give them up you will never forgive yourself. My friends thought I was a psychiatrist guru because I was correct. One other point, If you really want to be in charge of the house, the English bull is not a great choice, because he/she is stubborn and has no real reason to think you know more than they do. When you ask an English Bull to come, and he / she doesn't, trust me they must have a good reason, too tired etc. You will never out control a Bull, that is what makes them great. For some reason English bull dogs go through a terroristic phase for 3-4 months, then they get old very quickly and you will regret the playful moments.

[GabrielDeafBlindPupFamily]

I have alpha-rolled, with amazing success.

I believe your bull is exercising his alpha.

I have very strong feelings about this issue, all of which I have posted heretofore.

Your baby has lost respect for you as the alpha.

My other posts deal wtih this, and I don't believe a reward system works with an English Bull Dog. They are built and bred for the downfall of cattle.

Their jaws were genetically designed to clamp on the fore leg. The docked and or short tail are designed to keep the cattle from grabbing hold and flinging

I believe we must ALWAYS research our breeds when dealing with behavioural issues.

English Bulls are decidedly single minded.

Neutering was an exceptional step. You must now show him YOU are the boss.

Please see my prior post on that one.

This can be a deal-breaker in so many dogs.

We must grab hold of the causations. What are the triggers?

[Giselle]

The English Bulldog of today is a far far far cry from the English bulldog of yesteryear. The aggression and tenacity of Bulldogs has FAR been dulled down ever since the outlaw of their bloody sport. Most "bad" behavior today is just a miscommunication between dog and human (and, besides, it doesn't sound like this pup is necessarily being aggressive than a regular adolescent).

A reward system works with all animals. As does punishment. Positive/negative reinforcement and positive/negative punishment are the building blocks of basic animal behavior and learning. But punishment can merely suppress symptoms as can a person reward the WRONG behavior. The trick is to know the right balance of positive/negative reinforcement and positive/negative punishment. Most people would agree that alpha rolls are unnecessary forms of positive punishment. From this person's post, it sounds like the alpha rolls aren't even registering with the dog. If they're not working, why keep doing it?

Leadership is based on respect, not physical dominance. It takes longer, but it stays. A subordinate dog willingly rolls over onto its back. The alpha does not need to physically grab it and roll it and hold it there. My reactive dog willingly Down's and rolls over onto her back BY HERSELF. I do not need to roll her, I never have, and I never will.