[xchairity_casex]

Ok so i have a few questions for experienced bully owners as this is my first bully but please dont think i am an amature at dog training but i must admit this little boys giving me a run for my money!
ok so first off Guinness is very STUBBORN to say the least and he has NO attention span what so ever even with treats im finding treats and praise and toys are not getting his attention. when i want him to pay attention i usually bring out cooked chicken breasts but so far it still hasnt been enough to keep him focused on me and do what i ask. example i dont want him to play rough with my cats or to see them as a play mate to begin with so when ever he is around them i keep him on lead and i try getting his attention with the chicken breast to allow the cats to walk past him with out him lunging to nip or sniff or chase but so far it isnt working. and praise doesnt work either it just makes him overly excited then try jumping to nip my face. and if i tell him No he gets very angry and bites hard or growls. what i have found works well with most dogs is redirecting them to focus on me with treats when they do somthing i donot like i re-direct them into working for me such as sitting,staying,ect but so far i cannot get his attention. and just so everyone knows he isnt deaf not only was he checked by the breeder but i also had a hearing test done. so has anyone else had this problem and if so what else could i try? i have also tried to ignore him when he bites by getting up and walking away but he chases behind biteing my legs.
another problem is humping. yes i know he is to young for it to be a sexual thing yet but he does it too my dirty underwear i keep them in a clothes hamper but hes knocked it down and gotten them. i have heard mixed messages wbout htis and am not quite sure what to think some people say dont allow it otherwise it will become a bad habit that he will continue and others say hell grow out of it? so far ive just been re-directing him with other toys.
the biggest though is the cats i have three 12 year old cats who donot mind dogs but dont want to play with them. what i dont understand is i seen Guinness with the breeders cats he completly ignored them! but as soon as he seen mine he got really excited. needless to say the cats are staying in my bedroom for a while. so how do i get his attention,get him to stop chasing the cats and stop him from biting?

and i also have a few more questions
at what age is it safe to hook him up to a weight harness to have him pull,
and how long of a walk is it safe to allow him to go on? or better yet how much excersize a day is ok?

[renae_nae]

Some say 6 months on the weight harness but I'm a fan on "no extra weight" til they are fully grown (1.5 to 2 years). As far as the walks...as much as he's willing to without being forced.

[xchairity_casex]

oh good becuase in the mornings when i get up and let him out he goes potty then i bring him inside for a drink and some food then we go out on a walk and usually we walk for an hour on the road then i take him out to the air port to be allowed of lead for another hour . and then about 15 minutes to get home. and as soon as he gets inside he goes crazy running thru the house for about 5 minutes then passes out. lol at thebegining of the walk he always ALWAYS protestsoon as we get away from our street hes always excited. which i never do understand? and at the end of the walk i say "lets go home" and gets twice as excited to get home?

[Patch O' Pits]

Sounds like you have a drivy demanding little pup LOL.

I have APBTs not BTs however puppies are puppies to some extent .

My first questions to you are:

How much daily exercise is this pup getting? A tired pup is a better behaved one overall.

Have you started obedience training yet? If not, now is the time...

Do you have him on a leash to help get his attention towards you? If not especially when he is around the cat, you might want to add that in as well.

Have you tried other treats? The same treats over and over get boring and are no longer high value especially if the pup has a high prey drive and would rather have the cat.
Things like freeze dried tripe, liver, salmon and stinky cheese work best. Alternate what you are using and don't give a lot of it.

As for the humping, it sounds like a combo of an over excited pup who is showing a little dominance as well if he is actually knocking things over to do it. Unless you are a female dog in heat, it is not a sexual thing hehehe though it may appear to be due to his choice of humping items LOL

If you haven't seen it check out the training and socializing puppies thread in the training section.

Enjoy your pup, they grow up so fast!

[TwistedMettle]

I agree with Patch O, start Obedience Training ASAP. Biting and growling at the Pack Leader (You) is a no no! Sounds like he is a Dominant pup, I have a dominant BT too. His dad was dominant, and his dads dad was too. It runs in the family. You have to put you foot down and take control.

Keep doing what you are doing with the positive reinforcement. When he pays attention to you anytime during the day, praise and reward him especially if you are not asking for it and he does it on his own. Try to set him up to succeed and not to fail. Don't ask for his attention if there is something distracting him. Wait for the distraction to pass or remove it from the environment. Try to make all the FUN things he likes and pays attention too, revolve around you.

Hold off on the weight pulling. Your pup will be putting on weight fast and he will be carry that weight everyday until he is 2. Thats enough weight pulling for a youngster. Let his bones grow and mature. We never work our dogs till they are around 2. You can begin to school them earlier (9-12 months) but the real work begins when they are physically and mentally mature.

As for walking, a good rule of thumb is 5 minutes per 4 weeks of age. You can adjust accordingly as they get older and more fit. Don't over walk, it may lead to problems later. Try to walk him on soil or grass until he is 4-5 months, concrete is harder on the joints.

Congrats and Good Luck!

[xchairity_casex]

OK
excersize-
Guinness loves to play and run off lead so i take him out to the air field out here and let him off for about an hour and he gets an actual walk on lead for about another hour when he first wakes up.

obedience training-
yes i have started it from day one he knows how to sit and he knows the wait command for anything that falls on the floor and his food of which im very suprised how well he is doing on it he is capable of waiting for 45 seconds at a time.

attention-
whenever i have him around the cats he is teatherd to the dog t basically try to de-sensatize him tothem they are able to walk up to him without him being able to lunge to far after them and he is slowly learning not to chase every time they are around him. yes ive tried a number of things like fresh cooked chicken breast (no salt),bananna,sweet potato,pumpkin,fresh cooked beef(without salt), whole wheat pasta(cooked) and also keeping him in a quite room without any distractions. it seems like he diliberatly ignores me sometimes.
and as far as gettign him to stop biting me ive tried putting bitter apple onto my hands and he just licks it off he likes it it doesnt faze him.
ive started trying to tether him to the door when ever he bites and keep him there for about a minute and make everyone ignore him. its working a little.

[TwistedMettle]

He is what you call a "hard" dog. A hard dog can take the really hard correction and not get fazed. You may need a dominant dog collar in the near future.

For now, try hitting him where it hurts.....and i dont mean physically. When he bites you give him TIME OUT. He loves to play and he loves attention. Make him have time out by himself anytime he bites you. AND BE CONSISTENT. When ever he does it, TIME OUT must be the correction....He will soon learn that biting can lead to a very boring time by himself.

[xchairity_casex]

He is what you call a "hard" dog. A hard dog can take the really hard correction and not get fazed.

I dont understand why either when i went to the breeders and picked him out i actually picked the calmest least dominant one he allowed me to roll him onto his back never nibbled me or anything and it was like this for the first week and im not really sure what happend . like ive said i started training on day one not just basic obedience training but respect training not allowing him to jump on me or maul me when i sat on the floornot allowed to come up and sniff me while im eating that sort of thing. could my family have cuased this change from bein submissive to doinant?

[TwistedMettle]

Picking a pup based on their demeanor when they are 8-12 weeks old is always a gamble. A dogs true temperament is not in full blossom until they are reaching sexual maturity.

I have raised several litters and a lot of my pups who act calm at 8 weeks have turn around at 8 months to be hyper active goof balls. And I have also had those a few pups who were hyper at 8 weeks start to mellow out at 8 months. (They didnt mellow out that much of course, they are still BTs)

Originally Posted by xchairity_casex could my family have cuased this change from bein submissive to doinant?

Yes, this is always a possibility. When you go to obedience class, a good trainer basically trains the owner and not really the dog. Remeber dogs are PACK animals. Most dogs dont want to be the pack leader, they will rather let someone else assume that position, BUT if there is no leader around they will automatically take the spot. BTs are a dominant breed they will test you every inch to try to assume control of the pack, make sure it doesn't happen.

Take charge ASAP and do not give in to cuteness, whining or whimpering...

[xchairity_casex]

Yes the whole reason i felt confedent to get a bull Terrier is becuase im a very assertive dog owner its showed in all my previous dogs. after posting all of this i have noticed the past few days his demenor being calmer less excitable and less nippy when we play its so strange i mean hes still nippy but only when he becomes frustrated and hes quick to turn the situation around and listen to me when i distract him with a command and reward. im stumped i was getting so frustrated and doubting my ability as a dog owner then one day BOOM i see change and my confedence is back on track.
hes such a great boy! im so proud of him!
and thanks everyone for the great advice i really appreciate it! and dont expect this to be the last time i ask for it either im very sure. ill keep doing what im doing and keep on correcting the bad behavior.

[xchairity_casex]

OK another question,over a few days Guinness has become skiddish about walking one thing will spook him usually its when we walk past a not-so nice dog whos much bigger and barking loudly and then progresses to being afraid of cars and children and other noise the only thing that snaps him out of it is by meeting a new person or new dog then he gets happy again. but its a problem becuase he tries bolting as soon as he becomes afraid and doesnt stop untill like ive said he meets a new person/dog or we get home.I keep up the training though even when he gets scared by not allowing him to pull or walk ahead and pull me i do this by stopping every time he pulls or jerks. but i was just wondering is this a phase or is there somting i can do to help besides finding random people on the street for him to maul?

[Hucklebutt]

Hes going through a fear stage, it is vital you do things right at this point. Make sure he is wearing a confertable collar or harness. When he is scared do NOT confort him or praise him, you will incourage the fear behavior and he will think thats how he should act. When hes scared ignore him, and stand up strait and STOP. Stop where you are and wait. It may take awhile but just wait for him to get over it, over coming his fears will make him stronger, he needs to go through it to understand it will all turn out ok. When he is not showing fear, praise and give treats. At this age you should be 'de-sensatizing' him to everything. He should be seeing new dogs, people, cars, loud noises, chaos, children, all sorts of things. They will be confident happy adults. If there is something he loves, like a rope or a ball, take it with you, and redirect his fear to the toy, play with him, get him running, do some training with, take away his mind from the fear. He will still see everything going on, but he will be more intersted in the toys. Dogs can only focus on one thing at a time. If they focus too much on things, it will become an obsession, esp with this breed. But both ways work equally well, and work great together. He wont see the playing as a reward but more so as something to keep his mind focus else where instead of the anxiety. My male had this problem too, esp inside pet stores. I would practice obediants, and jumping on things, over things and playing with a ball, and he no longer has the problem. But he also knows the command 'over' to jump so we had him jumping on benches and bags of dog food to keep him busy.