Hi,  I have an almost 2 year old entire male english bull terrier.  Latley he has been getting agressive to other dogs.  We were walking him last night and met a 9 month old bulldog, he was fine at first, we let him meet the other dog with no problems then out of no-where our dog started growling and got very aggressive.  He doesnt bark at them or act aggressivly before he meets other dogs.  We have socialised him and have had no problems previously.  He is the only dog in our house but acts very dominantly in the neighbourhood.  We have considered having him fixed but have heard that this may not make him any less dominant.  He has also gone for puppies, seems to 'trip out' when he hears them whine.  Please help as we are looking at getting a bitch puppy shortly and dont want any harm to come to her.

He is at the 'kevin' stage at the moment, his hormones are raging. I would rec that you get yourself a behaviourist to help you through this stage as if it isn't nipped in the bud now it will get worse.There are pro's and cons for castration and having your boy castrated does not mean he will lose this behaviour. I would put off having a puppy until this behaviour is sorted as it really isn't worth the risk.
Good luck with him.

What is his hearing status?  I am assuming he is a white?  Are the otehr dogs he ahs issues with male?  do they eyeball him, or do anything he preceives to be a challenge?

My best friend has had Sykes (castrated English Bull Terrier) for 9 yrs. His temperament was 100% with everything, not a mean bone in his body. That was until my friend got a bulldog bitch puppy. It was taken back to breeder 2 days later. It nipped Sykes on the tongue while playing & he just turned, he would have killed it. My poor friend was absolutely devasted, she couldn't believe that Sykes temperament had altered in a split second. My friend got a behavourist out, he worked with them as best he could, but he was adamant, Sykes would kill the puppy. I couldn't believe it either, my 2 dogs have been welcomed in his house, he played with anything & everything, until that moment. My friend doesn't trust him at all now, a JRT (again a bitch) ran up to him the other day & he went for it (he was & always will be on the lead now). I walked with her the other day, but Sykes was not let off his lead. It's such a shame. my GSD liked a bit of rough & tumble with him, but won't be given the opportunity ever again. Sorry to sound so negative.

i would go and see a behaviourist if i were you too, having been an english bull terrier owner i know excatly how you feel, there doesnt seem to be any in between with the breed just real lovey dovey or absolute animals, mine hated everything that moved and dragged me down the street after what i cant remember while i was 30 weeks pregnant and then a few days later bruised my tummy while trying to get next doors jack russell, she'd try attacking kids when we went for a walk in the park she was a nightmare

Hi,  He is fawn and white but no problem with hearing.  We do have him under very good control when out walking, no mayjor issues with pulling.  Many of the dogs were male but he has gone for a bitch puppy.  I dont know if he is trying to hell them he's boss but he comes over too aggressive for something like that.  I'm pretty sure its his dominance that he's protecting.  He's booked in to be neutured next week, hopefully that might help a bit.  How long after his op does it start to take effect?

It will take some week to months for his hormone levels to reduce to the extent that any change in behaviour that has a sexual basis to be noticed.

Do you think this could help with the aggression?

Only if it is related to his sexuality.

I am going to start training him to be crate trained, do you have any tips?  Also,  if we still agree to get our new puppy, she will be crate trained straight away, do you advise keeping their crates seperate or together?

i think you may have some difficulty in crate training him seeing that hes 2 yrs old, we got ours when she was 6 months old we were told she was crate trained, she wasnt at all she hated it and would go absolutely beserk, we went out for about an hour once came back and shed absolutely trashed the cage she was half way out of it, if wed been half an hour longer shed would have trashed the house aswell

when I got my first crate both dogs were adults and no trobel getting them to accept it, though at home it ahs the door open.  I only used it at shows at first so that I could go to the toilet and the time it took to show the other dog.  Once they are used to it and shut in only for short periods while yoru there (say to eat theri dinner, then have a chew etc), then they will accept it.

Thanks, do you advise keepingthem in the same room together or in seperate?

If he is showing aggression to other dogs never ever leave him alone with another dog.  I know that many bull terrier and Stafford owners will never leave their dogs alone together.  If they are crated adn don't fence fight then the same room woudl be fine.

I'd play it by ear - a dog and a bitch that know each other could be perfectly safe together - certainly our two Staffies have always been left together and my in laws have always left theirs together except for one pair of bitches that didn't get on.   So yes there will be cases where they can't be left together but for a dog and bitch certainly typically they should be OK - but don't assume that they will as it's not automatic.

I'd also add to that DerbyMerc, that the status of leaving two together canchange also...
My two staffords were always left together, not for too long and not unsupervised.  They were this way for almost 18 months.
Now though, after a recent spat between them (teenage boy dog!!) I cannot trust them to be left unsupervised for too long at all...
It was all a bit handbags, but it left me with a £250 vet bill to get my girl stitched up.
This happened when they were out being walked together, so it wasn't like they were just left together to get on with it....

Hi,

Just thought I'd update you,  had new pup for 3 weeks now and after a bit of getting used to my 2 year old loves the new pup!  They play together all the time, she climbs all over him bites and nips him and he doesnt react agressively at all!  If anything I think its done the world of good as he doesnt get aggressvie with other dogs when on walks now either!