Help!!

Dale

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Nov 16, 2004
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#1
:( We have two dogs - 1 is an American Bulldog, the other one we are not too sure on - when we adopted him we were told he was an American Bull Terrier mix, but the vet, dog trainer says he does not look like it. Anyway, this puppy is a handful to say the least - I am on the verge of giving him up, he gets agressive at times and he bites quite a bit. We have tried everything we can possible think of, we have tried holding his mouth closed, holding his face in our hands, we have tried everything, tonight was the last straw - he bit me and actually broke the skin. I honestly do know what else to do. My daughter and I we try our best, we are always patient with this puppy(Bubs), but I do not know what to do. It is very upsetting that we may have to give him up. Our other puppy(Tug) is older but has given the other dog the position of being the alpha dog. Like I say we have tried everything and now I am caught between a rock and hard place because I have to think of our daughters safety and ours as well. Does anyone have any ideas!!
 

Sakasha

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Dec 18, 2004
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#3
We have a litter of puppies at work who had problems very similar to the ones you are describing here. They bit, hard, often breaking skin or ripping clothes. However, after about 2 weeks of working with them, they have all made amazing progress. This problem is fixable, so don't give up hope yet!

The idea is to teach the pup manners and control. He may not understand that biting is not an acceptable behavior (this is usually the case when a pup is separated from his mother and siblings too young). Try hand-feeding Bubs his meals. Take Bubs to a quiet place and either hold him on your lap, or put him in the sit position. As soon as he is calm (laying/sitting), hold your closed fist (with food inside) up to his nose. At first, he may nip your hand trying to get to the food - let out a small yelp and keep your fist closed. You are waiting for him to lick or nuzzle your hand. As soon as he does this, immediately open your hand, rewarding his gentleness.

What this will do it 1.] Teach the puppy to be calmer around you,
and 2.] Teach him that biting is not an acceptable behavior.

If possible, involve your whole family in this one at a time. Perhaps each person can feed him a different meal. If your daughter is too young to do this on her own, let her hold the food while you hold Bubs (or the other way around). You want Bubs to respect every family member. Just make sure that everyone is consistent; if one person allows Bubs to bite, and still gives him the food, he will continue to bite everyone.

Give Bubs some time to make progress, as miracles do not happen overnight. In the meantime, I would recommend using a crate for when Bubs gets overexcited and starts biting. Just remember, the crate is not punishment, use it simply do remove him from a potentially dangerous situation. If he gets to wild, put him in his crate with a toy until he calms down, then let him back out.

I would recommend not holding Bubs mouth shut anymore. Aggressive dogs usually react badly to being restrained, so holding his mouth shut may cause him to lash out worse than before.

I hope this was helpful, if you have any more questions, feel free to ask. Good luck, and let us know what happens!
 

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