hi, you may all remember my last thread asking for general advice on what dog to buy to keep my whippet pup company.
well we have now purchased a 17 month old american bulldog bitch who we thought would fit in well here. She came yesterday for half hour to meet us, our daughterand our whippet (with her prev owner), i walked the dog, she came across as friendly, very alert etc.
The guy has dropped her off this eve, and since he walked out the door she is very nervous and antsy.
she has barked and growled at me and my partner a few times and everytime you reach out to pet her she cowers and darts away.
He told us she is housetrained, but since being here 2 hours - and four unsuccessful visits outside, she has gone into the kitchen and soiled.
can anyone help? i really dont want to be one of these that shuns dogs away to others, or dogs homes etc, and want to help her, but what would you recommend we do?
She has been fine with the whippet, just wanting to play with her, albeit dominantly towardds her. but i'm wary as i have a 3 yr old daughter who is very dog friendly and am worried the dog will snap at her.
i bought her from a well known site (p******d), and i bought her on the understanding she was child and dog friendly, housetrained, lead trained etc, but the reason for her being sold on was because she was persecuted by the chaps dog.. so was a case of last in, first out. he told me she was trained via socialisation classes, but there is no way she has had this.
Any help would be appreciated. We just dont no what to do for the best.
thanks claire 

The poor dog must be very scared not knowing why its in a new house and not with his owner. The best thing for now would be to give the dog a quite place to sleep with some water near by, and leave him alone Just step back and give him time . Don't try to pet him or touch him just let him settle. You mite need to re train him as though he was an 8 week old pup, but wait till tomorrow .

If I had a 3 year old child I must say I would not buy a dog in this way but only from a reputable rescue that I was totally confident had assessed the dog.  Personally I would not take this risk and would return her.

thats what i am worried about isabel. wen we saw her the first time she behaved wonderfully, which makes me wonder what he had done to make her act that way. i'm going to put the dog in the kitchen and head to bed, and see what morning brings. I can't risk my child getting hurt, but i know i cannot do anything until the morning at least.
I'm very annoyed that someone sold me a dog knowing i had a small dog and more importantly a child. he told me he has 3 children (saw 2 in the pictures he showed me of the dog), which is why i thought it would be ok, esp when she responded well to my child yesterday.

I agree with Isabel -it isn't worth the risk. It doesn't matter of the dog is  nervous aggressive or plain aggressive -the outcome is the same. I also think an American Bulldog would be a poor match for a Whippet pup as a playmate.

Yes I am surprised you chose this breed to go with a whippet. The dogs size alone could hurt the whippet if he fell on it. And its never a good idea to take in a strange dog with a small child,  see how he is in the morning but if I were you I would ask the man to take him back

I agree with Isabel. It sounds like the dog's behaviour may be due to confusion and fear - the cowering and soiling etc - but I would not risk if it were my child. I would look to return her tomorrow.

> wen we saw her the first time she behaved wonderfully, which makes me wonder what he had done to make her act that way.

She was probably feeling secure and relaxed with the person she has always known and loved.  He has suddenly gone and left her with strangers and she must be very scared and upset.   You have chosen such a strong breed to fit in with your small child and small breed dog.  Although with time and training it might work out I'm not sure I would want to take that risk if I was in your shoes.

not sure i would of chosen this breed but if you are going to continue then go back to basics.
Put a stair gate up and keep her in the kitchen or somewhere quiet. give no eye contact and don't speak or try and pet her,you'll only make her more nervous. the best thing for a new dog to relax with you is to leave them alone. Ifshe feels you as no threat she will decide to come to you but this may take a little time.
Don't leave your dog or child with the dog without being there. introductions are best done for short periods of time when you decide.
This dog sounds like it will try and dominate you all if you don't make yourself pack leader, so make all your actions under your terms ie playing and petting and ignore her if she pesters you. Basically claim your home as yours, feeding her small amounts of food often and by hand so she sees you are in charge of that to. you can relax some of these things abit once she settles down.
Reward good behaver but remember not to pet her if she is nervous or try and try and force things as this just makes her more nervous.
As for the toilet training start from basics ie go into the garden every hour and repeat a word when she goes, then lots of praise when she goes.
If you still feel your not getting anywhere after a couple of days with her aggression then i'd think again.       

Poor girl, she's really bewildered, isn't she? It's not really realistic to compare her behaviour when she's with her familiar owner to that when she's been abandoned (in her view) with strangers in a strange environment. Did she come into your house when she visited the first time, or was the meeting all conducted out of doors?

It can take many weeks for dogs to adjust to a new environment - the question is, do you feel relaxed about taking a lot of time to settle this girl in (bearing in mind you need to ensure that your child and existing dog are always safe), or would you be tense, which usually spreads to the dog/s? If you're not fully confident I'd personally tell the man that the trial visit hasn't been a success and would he please come and collect her. I'm not convinced that a big heavy dog like that is the best choice of companion for a whippet (the smaller dog could easily be hurt accidentally), but that's just personal opinion.

If you do decide to keep her then take it slowly. Don't make advances to her if she's nervous - confrontation can be disastrous if you're not 100% certain of dog body language and can read the signs of when to back off. Get some books about rescue dogs and ask advice from breed specialists.

I think an American Bulldog is a poor match for a whippet and for a family with a toddler- though I know some will disagree. Sounds like the OP was desparate to get shot of her.

I would really try to get your money back.  I don't know whether there would be grounds under the Sale of Goods Act and that the dog is not as the former owner described her. If you have paid by cheque cancel it.

Given time she may settle and things may be okay; personally I would not risk it, an antsy, nervous AB is not a dog I'd want around a toddler or a whippet.

> I don't know whether there would be grounds under the Sale of Goods Act

I don't think that applies to private sales.  It is certainly worth trying to get the money back but, at the same time if the decision is that this is too much of a risk, I would not risk a child for the sake of being out of pocket.

To be honest, i really dont understand how you thought only meeting a strange dog inside your home for half an hour would equal that everything is OK? 

An american bulldog is a odd choice to go with a whippet? Did you research this breed beforehand?

Usually you should do a meet and greet between strange dogs on neutral territory.
Then you ought to have 2 or 3 lengthy meetings between dogs and dog and people in different situations using toys food etc to see if there are any triggers/issues.

Also, buying dogs from certain ad sites is well known as a market for dodgy sales.
It is better to find dogs from reputable rescue centres or reputable breeders, such as those on here.

You chose paths which were risk strategies, so what you need to do know is chose paths that rectify this.

This Am Bull may turn out to be ok, as she may just be overwhelmed herself, but if you are going to proceed you ought to phone up a good reputable reward based trainer with behaviour knowledge or abehaviorist straight away to help you.
Speak to your vet for a referral or google these organisations:
UKRCB, APBC, APDT UK.
Try contacting AM Bull Breed club for advice as well.
Dont get any iffy advice from anyone else.

Good luck

Yes Isabel, I agree. I just hope this chap didn't charge too much, you know the kind of silly money these breeds can go for. However, all that really matters is the safety of the little one, in or out of pocket.

There is part of me that wants to know on what grounds one would come to the conclusion that an AB is a good match for a whippet? It seems this lady may have been given some poor advice.

I've just had a look at your previous thread to find out where on earth Whippet and American Bulldog got matched together and can kind of see that Bullbreeds were recommended, people always have reasons for matching dogs, but personally I wouldn't put any Bullbreeds with a Whippet, I would have gone for a gundog/utility or another whippet/greyhound, you have an adolescent AB who can quite easily break every bone in the body of your whippet in play, they are not matched in any way.

As for saying the dog is good with children, that honestly depends on the children and how the dog will react, these dogs need a strong owner, I mean mentally strong, you need to install exactly who is the boss here.

I agree at present she is nervous and probably scared, you won't like my advice at all, but honestly IMO you have the wrong breed completely, I would call rescue and have her re-homed, if you don't know the breed and haven't spent a long time looking into their character, wants and needs and are not experienced these are not for the faint hearted, we all make mistakes, whether we put them right straight away is what makes the difference.

If you persevere I'm sure that you will get lots of help, but my advice is to call rescue, they will find the dog a good home and carefully vet potential owners.

My home set up is me, my 2 children and 2 american bulldogs....they are chilled out to the max and love my kids to absolute bits, the oldest am bull had daily training to deal with dog aggression and done me proud....these dogs are keen to learn and keen to please their owner, but there in lies the problem, this bitch does not see you as her owner.

If you have a standard am bull bitch like me then they are not that big, my brothers choc lab is bigger but the johnsons are a lot bigger and can do a lot of damage.

If you are determined to give it a go, then take the advice on board and seek professional help.....there is an am bull forum you can register to but i wouldnt bother, I signed up to it and it can be a bit 'my dogs bigger than yours' which is a shame, i would contact a few reputable breeders and ask for their honest opinion on if you should keep this dog or not.

Iv never had an issue between the dogs and kids, these dogs really do love children but I'v had my dogs since they were tiny puppies.

I really hope it works out best for all involved.

This dog sounds like it will try and dominate you all if you don't make yourself pack leader,

This is totally incorrect -dogs never dominate people because we are people and not dogs, and the description showed a nervous aggressive dog. Trying to "dominate" such a dog and become a pack leader (pointless as dogs know we are not dogs) would make the situation far, far worse.

Very true marianne

I disagree, dogs are pack animals and see us as there pack, they need a leader to feel safe and secure. If they feel there is no leader they will try to take on the job, and dogs are just not good at this job, so it can get out of hand. Its not about dominance but about leadership, if a dog shows dominance he or she is trying to lead , or take control of a situation . And he needs to learn its not his job to take control but yours. If a dog sees you are in control he will be more calm.

dogs are pack animals

precisely

hi all, no she had come here to visit the final visit, we met her 4 times in total before agreeing to have her. (at hers, at the park and here) We were recommended her by a friend of ours that knows him (but she was advertised on the site, and i never met him before).
We decided to take her on at a time when my daughter would be away for a few days with her dad (back sat - as thought this would give us a few days to focus on just the dogs) i think she is a runt to be perfectly honest. she is very small compared to other am bulldog (although i've not met many -this is going from the many sites dedicated to them). she seems doesn't seem to be totally 'bully' (my partner likened her to a chihauha (sp?) in an AM bulldogs body...!
i cannot get hold of the seller via text message, phone call or email. i hve gone over to his house earlier - and no answer.
today she has been a diff dog totally to yesterday, not growled once, she has been introduced to the other dog, and played together for a short while, then seperated then repeated. She has not cowered, and has made me guilty for resenting her. she has barked only wen the postie was here, and to ask to go outside. she walked like a star wen took her out earlier (we took whippet 1st then swapped dogs). she has been like a diff animal. i have left 4 voicemail messages with him and an email as well as 2 text messages, although admittedly i may have sounded rude to him 1st thing this morn so he's prob too scared to answer me...
as we speak, the whippet is upstairs asleep on my bed (which is normal for her), and the new dog is sat asleep with her head on my legs.
she's not shown any of the fear she had yesterday, i've showered her with hugs and attention today (when she comes to me), and now i cant shake her!!!
We didn't a great deal (it is,  but when there are dogs out there that can be bought for thousands of pounds its not), i doubt i'll get money back, but i'm even questioning how i felt last nite. I went to bed in tears last nite, as i had a dog locked in my kitchen who i was scared of, but now as i say she is different. i don't no if she was fearful of the unknown last nite - as her owner had gone and abandoned her with strangers. its all i can come up with as she is now very loving and asks me for affection

claire

If you have a standard am bull bitch like me then they are not that big, my brothers choc lab is bigger but the johnsons are a lot bigger and can do a lot of damage.

not sure if she is a runt or not, but she isn't huge, my aunts border collie stands at the same, me mum thought she was a staffy!!! and like i said compared to the sites i've seen - by far she wouldn't win the 'i have the biggest and strongest' dog award.
she hasn't even attempted to tug on the lead, she is nervous of buses and lorries - so we walked the back way - and she was a dream, my friends scottish terrier tugs me more! she has been well behaved today (no little accidents either), so i'm not sure if it was me panicking last nite.

Its easy to get over emotional when you first get a new dog . When I got my first GSD he was a rescue , I got him from a garden were he had been on a chain all his life. The first night with him was bad, I was scared as he was so big and I felt I had made the wrong decision taking him in, I remember thinking, oh my gowd what have I done. But both me and the dog felt better the next day and I got used to his size, he was one of the best pets I ever had and the biggest GSD I have ever seen to this day. But what a sweet heart. I hope it works out for you, he sounds like a nice dog

I would take her to along the bus route and along the roads so she can become desensitized to it. Dont mard her when she gets afraid just walk on. Get her acquainted with your surroundings and the noises she will come across on a daily basis.

You said you cant believe someone sold you this dog YOU paid money and bought this dog noone forced you to have her. And i think this breed with a whippet is not a good match or with a 3 year old child. I have large breeds but i would NEVER get a dog that isnt a puppy if i had kids under 5, especially when you dont know her background fully. Sounds like she is just scared, treat her with patience and the benefit of the doubt.

I hope everything goes ok and she starts to come out of her shell and you all get on well.

Louise

I do like am bulldogs in the right home, however the ones that i have met have all had high prey drives ..........