Hi, 3months ago i agreed to take an adorable 4 mnth old English bull terrrier. My cousin and her partner breed them and when he was born he had an infection that left him with a bad leg.. They couldnt sell him so he was kept by her parents. They went on holiday for 10 days and i offered to look after him.  I already have a 3 yr old choc lab and they both seemed to get on great. When they came backk to pick him up they asked if i wanted to keep him to which i jumped at the chance.  Since them i am afraid to say my life is a living hell, he has become so aggresive with my lab and has already slightly tore his throat.  When my partner is at home he is great but when its just me and m twin daughters age 8 he is a nightmare, my lab has never retaliated and seems to be loosing weight and not as happy as he was.  Its getting to stage that im constantly keeping Ronnie (bull terrier) locked in the kitchen which is breaking my heart.  The rest of the family are constantly at me to give him away but i love him to death and dont want to just give up on him, but if i cant sort this problem out it looks like i am going to have to.  Please Help x

If you'd like specific advice about how to overcome his behaviour it would be helpful to know exactly what triggers the aggression.  What are the circumstances in which it all kicks off, who is there, what is happening immediately before etc

The solution will probably require some hard work and you'll need to be completely committed to managing his training and so will the rest of your family. 

If you are in doubt that you are the best home for Ronnie then loving him as you do you must think about what will be best for him.  Allowing his behaviour to become ingrained will be unfair to him in the long run and may stop him from being rehomed.  Keeping Ronnie in the kitchen is not a solution and if letting him out is causing problems for your older dog then something needs to be done quite quickly.

Can your cousin take him back and find a suitable home for him?

Hi, Thanks for replying and i agree completely with all you have said.  Firstly my cousin has no place for him now since just having a baby. I wish i could say their was something that seems to trigger this but i can honestly say nothing other than bailey just being in the same room.  Even when i am on my own in the house with both dogs and everything is quiet he can just errupt.  Bailey (lab) is very placid and tends to back down or run away from him.  As i said it breaks my heart to put him in the kitchen but when it kicks off its the only thing i can do to calm the situation and prevent Bailey from being hurt. when they are together Ronnie is very manic and today has been particularly hard going, My partner has just came home and Ronnie is back in living room lying on the setee beside him and Bailey being very calm & loving.  He is like a different dog.  I really dont know what to do?

> As i said it breaks my heart to put him in the kitchen but when it kicks off its the only thing i can do to calm the situation and prevent Bailey from being hurt.

Use baby gates rather than doors til you make a decision but do have a good look at what you are doing that might be making the problem worse.  Ronnie is clearly receptive to your partner so it might be helpful to look at what he is doing differently to manage Ronnie.

Separating dogs can be necessary once in while for all sorts of reasons but is rarely a good long term decision - it's hard work for everyone concerned.  How are the two dogs on walks together?

As the breeder, your cousin should take responsibility for helping you manage this situation but if she can't or won't, then you'll have to make the hard choice for Ronnie and Bailey's sake.

Welcome to Cd and to the World of Bullys!!

i have 2 Ebt's mum and son he is 18 months old now we also have a 4 year old male Rottie ,
iv have problems with my bully boy at times and like you when OH is about all is ok but soon as he's out then the fun begins :-o ,
my Rottie and bully have had 2 scraps i find the bully is just that a little bully who wants to be the ONLY Dog allowed near me he wants to be sitting by my feet all the time and gets very stroppy with the other dogs if i pay them Any attention at all or if im given treats then he thinks their all his , you could say he intimadates the other 2 ,
but after their last scrap i new that if i didnt really put my foot down with him and treat him just like the other 2 and not like my little baby, (which is what i had been doing)
then i could see things getting much worse,
so it was more about me changing my behavour with him as i was letting him be the only dog allowed to stand or sit by me while im doing dinner he followed me everywhere round the house, i found this made him start almost telling the other 2 off by nipping them when they got near me and although my rotties a big softy and he has taken alot off my bully he will have a go back at him if his had enough, trouble is when that happens i can recall my rottie off back, but the bully wont let it rest when he has been told by the big boy ,

so stopped alot of the fuss i made of my bully and started treating him like the other 2 All sit out of the kitchen now when im doing dinner treats are ONLY given if bully is being quiet and sitting nicely ,
i watch them like a hawk and as soon as i see my bully boy trying to get nasty i will play watch me game and he comes sits and waits then when he is calm i will reward i try now not to let any situation arise where i know it will cause problems,
its very hard work and iv still got away to go myself but i think it started getting better the minute i kinda ignored the bully a little never treated him as much all treats now are earned, lets face it all bullys are Piggys and love their food its a good way to teach them and with my boy he does pick thing up quite fast when im holding a big of chicken in my hand :-D , i found once iv given that treat he contiues being good in hope of getting another and the lenght of time before i give him another treat has got bigger over the weeks of doing this, now he may only get 3/4 treats in say the six hours im down in the kitchen doing dinner and tidying round, when i started it was LOADS of tiny bits of chicken i was giving as he's get up and start bothering the other dogs , so id call him back to the mat in the hallway watch me stay he would and id leave him their then he'd get up go off and would be ok Then id treat him ,
lol now when i call watch me he bolts sraight to his mat lol , when i washed it the other day it was hanging on the line and i called him he ran to where the mat would sit ran round in circles then darted in the garden and was barking madly at the mat hanging on the line Bless him,
he is getting better but i cant tell you its been easy theirs been a few burnt dinners in here where im training and keeping an eye on them while they are just walking from garden to passage it really is a 24/7 job but it seems to be working,
iv noticed my Bully and Rottie play alot more now to, where as the bully did tend to ignore the rottie unless he was trying to get him out the way, now they seem better together,
but i know its not over and i will have to be cautious still as he is a Bully after all,  the name fits alright,
i used quite a few of  Victoria Stillwells training tips if you google watch its me or the dog online you can watch her programs on net,
i liked her tips and found some of them worked quite well for me,
best of luck i know its hard work, xx

I put gates up today as i hate him being shut away, They are fine walking although Ronnie isnt keen on walking, i dont know weither its because of his bad leg.  The only other thing i can think of is, for the first 2 months of having Ronnie my partner was at home 24/7 with him and the problem has seemed to start when he went back to work.

What you have just desribed is Ronnie to a T.  The food and treats makes so much sense as it is the only way i can get him to stop what he is doing.  It has been draining the life out of me & having twin girls running around makes it even more stressfull. I really hope i can sort it as i dont want to have to give him away.

if you watch your bully boys behaviour very carefully you will see it i see the change now before anything happens i know so i stop what evers going on (say im playing fetch with them) the second i see bully getting a little off and its more in his body manerisums (oh gosh i cant spell that word lol) some one here will be able to explain it better than my as i know what i mean but i dont know the right words to put in down,
i can tell by the way my bully walks past my rottie if he is being funny or not its almost like he is trying it on,
also he would lay in the doorway where the other dogs wanted to pass and then would nip their legs if they tried to go by him that sort of thing,

you say he is sitting by your OH legs now , where is your lab while the bully is sitting next to the leader of your pack ? how would your bully react if your lab went and sat next to your OH also ?

God yours is double of Ronnie!  Both him and the lab are lying beside my OH and nothing is happening, all is calm.. Its only through the day when he is at work. He is completely manic during the day and the minute gary walks through the door Ronnies energy changes to totally chilled out!!!!!!!!

It has been draining the life out of me & having twin girls running around makes it even more stressfull. I really hope i can sort it as i dont want to have to give him away

i have a 11 year old autistic son and my mum in caring for so i totaly understand how it drains you but you can change it have a google look up bullys read as much as you canit all helps then put things into place be firm with him after all you are the boss when OH is out its hard i know i almost feel like im being mean at times but then its true what they say you have to be cruel to be kind , and at the end of the day its not cruel when all dogs end up living happly together, i feel im getting their slowly and my bully reminds me of a naughty teenager i think he will get better, ,

your boys dad aint Remus Roulette of bullyview is he by anychance ? :-D mine is and iv heard the same things that my dog does from other people who have offspring of his a few of them have same problems ,

Hi sorry to hear of your naughty bully. From what you've said on your first post he is now 7 months? He is going through his "kevin" stage and when he came to you for the holiday was a cute pup, now he has become a member of your family he is trying to take over and bully your lab by the sounds of it they become sexually mature at a young age too at around 8-9 months- how old his Bailey? My Lad was very biddable at home with dogs visiting or staying and only on a few occasions whacked my other dog on the head using his head to tell them off. These were all females with males outside he was a nightmare and would try and be top dog with them all. I had a very bad scare with him when he was 4 so took him along to dog training classes one on one for aggression and it went back to basics of dog training. I took him to puppy school when he was a small pup and instilled in him on how to generally behave but once they get something on their mind are very hard to turn them off!

I had a Belgian Shepard before and I soon realised I'm dealing with a different kettle of fish with a bull terrier. You have to be very bold with them, matter of fact and patient at the same time :-) no shouting or harsh training just be  strict mother who demands them to behave. Time out is a good punishment as they hate to be away from their family if my snoop has let me down with his bad attitude I tell him off like a child and make him sit down and stay put for a while. putting a lead on them can sometimes make them think a bit of their behaviour so maybe if he is becoming manic put that on and do ten minutes of sit,down stay with treats the mental energy will help take the edge off him. It took me such a long time to train my lad to sit on the other side of the lounge and me to get him to lie down on command I tell ya lol... but he eventually got it after weeks and weeks of practice.

maybe his missing you OH could you take him for a long walk to distract him and were him out i find this helps alot i did 2 hours with all 3 of mine at silly oclock this morning around 3 am, but it was lovley and quiet,  i aint done that myself for ages (not that long anyway) All was quiet in this house today iv had a builder in so i wanted the dogs to be calm and it worked well

Sorry haven't read the whole thread in detail but male Bull Terrier and male lab in the same house - never had EBTs but I've owned and shown Staffies and keeping a male in a  house with another fairly large male dog is a risk.   I would return the dog to the breeder - they bred him and they have a responsibility to rehome him in my opinion.  

If you don't want to do that then get professional help - at the very least join a decent training club where the instructor may be able to give you some help with the aggression issues - I'm assuming the dog is OK with other dogs most of the time otherwise finding a club to take him may be difficult.

I love English Bulls, but would no own one, because eveyr one I have met has been adorable lovely lovely dogs, but they appear to me (in my limited experience of those I've met) to be one man dogs. Every one has been angelic when the "man of the house has been around" but when he goes out the Bullies appear to take charge......they are happy t step down again when the person they consider to be in charge returns and in my experience rarely does the "leader" consider the dog to be a problem due to the fact they never ever see it.

Not sure what you can do but it sounds like you have to do something your Lab sounds really put upon and harrassed.

I actually feel desperately sorry for your labrador. You have two young daughters to consider too, I would be having this dog rehomed to someone without any other dogs or kids and obviously with extensive knowledge of the breed. I appreciate the breeder has a new baby and cannot take an aggressive dog back but does she not have any contacts within the breed to help with the rehoming ?

You are spot on about the bully being a one man dog - but in my case me (a woman) so not a one man dog as you put it lol :-)

The sad truth about our bully is that it was my then bf's dream breed of dog= sadly that dog loved his mum more than his dad...he was a nightmare for him he would let him off lead and not come back to him unless he produced a slice of bread or some other food item, He actually poo'd on his leg at a friends house when visiting one day! I found out all these snippets of info once me & the Bf where no longer together.

I do remember a funny thing I would demand my other Half to take snoop for a nightly stroll, as I walked him everyday for an hour without fail so my Bf started taking him up to a field every night-  one night Bf talked me into coming along to join them- once we got into the field snoop became pretty excited (still to this day has a mad benny) started flying up at bf and nipping him on his arm and became rather out of control! I put him on his lead and snoop seriously centred on him nearly attacking my Bf! well I think it was over the top play but obviously my Bf was scared- snoop found that even more entertaining...he was good as gold for me but for other's he will not listen and just bark and bark for food. They do very much need a strong leader in their lives.

Don't know about 1 man dogs, but I woulld describe them more as 1 dog, dog, if that makes sense? My friend has one & he is such a character, he was hard work though & still can be even now, he is approaching 11 yrs of age. He was fantastic with other visiting dogs until they bought a bulldog bitch puppy. In play the bulldog nipped him & my friends dog completely lost the plot. He would have killed this pup (a qualified behavourists opinion, not mine). Sadly the pup went back to the breeder & my friend does not trust him with any dog, even those who he was friendly with before. Years ago I was friendly with a lady who bred minature bull terriers. They all had lovely temperaments & appeared to tolerate other dogs. However, she nver, ever left any of them alone together.

That's one thing my snoop is great with girls & boys... only until he hit 4 and after I studded him did he start attacking male dogs one yorkie terrier severely which was my fault not his...and only out on walks. In the home he is excellent with many strange dogs coming into his house. I have much more influence indoor rather than out. I then got tinkerbell a bitch, a terrier mix when he was 7 now her brother starsky has moved in when snoop was 10 starsky is nervous of him but will cuddle up just when snoop wants to play it freaks him out. I have had my friends boxer a male to stay in my home since a wee pup and not one cross word between them ever best of bud's actually! so they can live in a  multi dog household only I have to be careful when meeting a strange dog outside.

I may add he has been subjected to everything from a very young age and i used extreme care when meeting 2 day old kittens for the first time, he actually loves cats very much.A rabbit who lived indoors and a rat that didn't go well as the rat bit him on the nose- so no good around them- the only animal that he is terrible with are horses which has upset me greatly as I am around horses a lot.I expect he would of been fine if I had brought the horse indoors!

This thread is really interesting to me as we have a staffordshire bull terrier bitch (rescue dog 14 years old) a jack russell male (12 years old) and a mini english bull terrrier (2.5 years old) and we are just going through a tough time wherby the bitches want to niggle each other as the 2.5 year old is trying to find her paws and stamp her authority.

They have been fighting in the house (never on walks etc) over what the behavourist said is "possessiveness" and I totally agree with magica when my bitches misbehaves I have to tell her off like a child and make her sit or give her time out. The younger dog gets very stroppy when I give the other 2 attention and until last week they have always been around my feet....but this is what is causing the problem as the younger dog is literally fighting for attention.

Chelzegirl your post is like a replica of what I am struggling with at the moment - I have to watch mine like a hawk and it is very draining and I am hoping like I have been advised that this is just a phrase.  Until now my bitches have been the best of friends and still are really, but it can be something as simple as my eldest one being around feet and my younger one turns.

There are other things around this, but reading this thread made me wonder about a certain thing that is worrying me that maybe you can advise.....our dogs have always slept together in one bed, should this continue?  There has never been any fights when they are alone, only when I am in the equation.  I worry that if I split them at night this may be giving my youngest more food for thought thinking she has been bad and that she needs to stamp her authority more? I worry at night that when I get up in the morning one of them will have an injury...I am starting to fret about this. They have a good routine in place at night time.  Should i just chill out a bit more about this.

MichelleinLeeds, I don't have experience with BT's, but I do with Staffords, and I'd say separate your two bitches.
I have one male, one female, buthave often heard the advice given to be wary of two bi*ches together.  My personal feeling would be to separate your girls just in case, but there may be someone along who has more experience in this than I.

My friend had a staff bitch then her husband brought her a English bull bitch and they were lovely together until food was around when her EBT hit around 3 years old her youngest daughter would throw/drop food from her high chair and serious fights would ensue....but this was only when the family were present not at night time.
I think sibling rivalry happens when a certain item is wanted by 2 dogs or to be near the main source of things namely you...so maybe best not to leave bones or toys lying about when your not around just in case, but if there's no growling over the bed space then I can't see a problem in leaving them together at night. I feel dogs know that they are more of a pack when they sleep together rather than being alone or separated. I'm sure if they hated each other like truly things would be far more serious, over nothing... like walking through a door way first...I've known a dominant GSD bitch that would attack my girl for walking in front of her!

Hi, so sorry to hear of your situation. Although I don't have this breed, my friend has 6 that she shows and breeds.  My husband is her dog walker, he is very firm with them all and she actually didn't recognise her own dogs the other day, when she drove past him ,as they were so well behaved on their walk!! It has taken him 9 months of hard work to get them to realise he is in charge and to behave. He can now walk 3 at a time!

We have occasionally had her pups here to stay, I can honestly say my dogs (Elkhound and Vallhunds)are not impressed with their house guests. They find them, as a breed, to be too bouncy, excitable and oblivious to the signals of displeasure they are sending out. Bullies seem to thrive on causing mischief.

They are like Marmite, you either love them or hate them! Talking to other owners ,when I've gone to shows with her, I don't think many have other breeds with them and especially not Labs.

Unless you are prepared to put in a lot of effort with him I think he needs to be rehomed, easier said than done, but I have seen the damage this breed can do to each other and would hate for things to end in disaster.