So Incredibly Stubborn!

Graceful-Lily

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I'm posting in the hopes that someone has experience with raising a stubborn puppy. Even better if you own a breed notorious for its stubbornness.

Everything was great with Izellah for the first 5 days but then suddenly, she starts acting "more herself". Her behaviour might come across as disrespectful in a way.

If I'm holding a bowl of food, she will jump on me and knock it out of my hand. Then, proceed to eat the kibble off of the floor (she's 25lb).

She bites our shoes but only while on our feet and zippers on our jackets. She used to do this with the breeder and I'm not sure if the breeder was correcting this behaviour.

She has no spatial awareness so she steps in her poops after she's done doing her business and then jumps on us, thus messing up our clothing. She will also step on my toes and run into my knee when she's playing outside which is painful because my left knee in particular isn't in good shape.

She will bite me if I'm trying to handle her to check her eyes and/or her teeth.

She will play too much while eating and vomit up everything. If I lock her in her crate to eat, she will throw a tantrum.

She jumps on me during walks when a stranger approaches or if she feels insecure (I don't think she went on many walks early in life).

If I bent down to clean anything up from off the floor or fixing my shoes to go outside, she will charge at my hands and bite them/lick them profusely.

She also has now made a habit of digging up weeds in the backyard (eating them too) and eating wood chips the landscapes used when redoing our backyard. She will put anything and everything in her mouth. She will also eat the wild flowers that grow in the backyard so my mom and I had to dig up most of them.

She thinks the cats are dogs and tries really hard to play with them and gets frustrated when they gang up on her and don't play with her in return. Felix and Fayola have both charged at her like a wrestling tag team.

I know this won't be forever, I've had raised puppies before but I've never experienced this level of stubborn. I knew what I was getting into with the breed because I did a lot of research before hand. But then breeder reassured me that her dogs are easy to train (stating that the younger human being to train one of her dogs was just 7 years old). Perhaps it's too early, I don't know. I'm just looking for some support in how to handle her.

I'm sure she's done other unpleasant things but I can't think of any right now.

Izellah is an Olde English Bulldogge by the way...
 

neely

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As you already know puppies can be a handful. They are rambunctious and curious but will also test the limits/push the envelope if you don't put an end to this early on. You need to play the alpha role so she knows who's in charge. ;)

Regarding when you hold the bowl of food, make her sit first and only give her the food if she obeys the command. If she starts to jump take it away and try again later. She's smart and will learn quickly.

Regarding biting your shoes, stepping on your feet or misbehaving when she's playing outside, turn your back on her and cross your arms. If she circles in front of you turn your back the other way.

Jumping up on people is my biggest pet peeve in other people's dogs and could be dangerous if she does this to a child or elderly person. Simply put it's bad manners. Once again, make her sit and if she persists go back to the house, do not continue the walk. Reward her with a treat or whatever she likes and praise her profusely for good behavior. Do not say use her name with a negative behavior, e.g. Izellah, No or Izellah, stop that. Instead use her name to reward positive behavior only so she associates her name with something good.

Just out of curiosity, what type of collar and leash are you using? It's possible this could be part of the problem.

The other key factor, as I'm sure you also know, is patience since it will take time and hard work on your part. But if you take control now by playing the alpha role she will respect you and bond with you.

There's an excellent book by Patricia McConnell that you may be interested in reading called, The Other End of the Leash.
The Other End of the Leash | Dog Training Book | Patricia McConnell

If it helps we adopted our last dog when he was one year old and although very loving he was a handful at first too. However, like your girl he was very smart. I took him to obedience classes early on and it helped greatly. Best of luck, please keep us updated on your progress. :alright:
 

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What breed or cross?
The jumping on you out of insecurity is a sure sign she's feeling insecure and looking for your help. If strangers make her uncomfortable or nervous, it's completely OK to tell people firmly not to approach her and not to pet her.
If she's jumping on you out of being scared, it's OK to take her out of the situation, ask her to sit once she's calmed down, then reward her.
I don't think she's being disrespectful (in her mind, jumping up and knocking food out of your hand = she gets to eat it, so I think she's just doing what works for her), but it sounds like she hasn't learned what respect actually is. Has she learned to sit, lie down, or stay, or have you worked on this?
I think her problem might be impulse control. She has never had a reason to use it, so she's never learned how to control her impulses. Teaching her to sit, stay, and lie down and stay until released will help her. Start small. Pretend she's a 2 year old kid having temper tantrums, she needs some discipline but a lot of help, and encouragement and rewards from you, too.
Do you know of a trainer that has experience with your type of dog?
 

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Also, on the eating wood chips and weeds, I would supervise her outside at all times and when she see her start digging, correct her and bring her back to you and see if you can get her to play with a toy instead. A single dog doesn't usually exercise themselves in a back yard, usually they just get into mischief :lol:
 
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Graceful-Lily

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What breed or cross?
Has she learned to sit, lie down, or stay, or have you worked on this?
Do you know of a trainer that has experience with your type of dog?
She is a pure bred Olde English bulldogge.

We are still working on lie down, and the rest. She pretty much has the sit locked down but she doesn't always do it - especially when she's frustrated and wants what she wants immediately.

I don't know any trainers who are experienced with bulldogs specifically. I'd have to look into that.

The jumping up on me on walks started when a stranger started to "gush over" her. Bulldogs aren't common in my area, especially ones like this so when people see her, they make a lot of noise and charge towards her. An Italian lady tried to pick her up when we were walking once and Izellah screamed and ran behind me. That was the first time. Ever since then, when we go out now, she jumps up on me when people she doesn't know get close. She was perfectly fine before.

I didn't even see when the lady tried to pick her up. She crouched down and before I knew it, she had grabbed Izellah's front legs and started pulling her. We walked away after that.

This is always the problem I've had with people. It doesn't matter what dog I walk, people are never respectful or ask to pet them first. They just reach out and grab or reach out and pick up. It's super annoying.
 

neely

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It doesn't matter what dog I walk, people are never respectful or ask to pet them first. They just reach out and grab or reach out and pick up. It's super annoying.
Our last dog was a long coated shepherd, no one ever reached out or tried to pick him up. Several times people remarked, "look it's a wolf." :flail:
 

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She is a pure bred Olde English bulldogge.

We are still working on lie down, and the rest. She pretty much has the sit locked down but she doesn't always do it - especially when she's frustrated and wants what she wants immediately.

I don't know any trainers who are experienced with bulldogs specifically. I'd have to look into that.

The jumping up on me on walks started when a stranger started to "gush over" her. Bulldogs aren't common in my area, especially ones like this so when people see her, they make a lot of noise and charge towards her. An Italian lady tried to pick her up when we were walking once and Izellah screamed and ran behind me. That was the first time. Ever since then, when we go out now, she jumps up on me when people she doesn't know get close. She was perfectly fine before.

I didn't even see when the lady tried to pick her up. She crouched down and before I knew it, she had grabbed Izellah's front legs and started pulling her. We walked away after that.

This is always the problem I've had with people. It doesn't matter what dog I walk, people are never respectful or ask to pet them first. They just reach out and grab or reach out and pick up. It's super annoying.
We know a lot of dog folks. Many of them aren't shy about flat out telling people to go away if they try to approach their dog that is scared of strangers or had a bad experience, so if it's in your personality, it's OK to do so if people don't respect your wishes. Remember, you're not there to make new friends with people who are disrespectful, you're there to help your dog.
I would suggest, if possible, to forget any kind of Pet-store trainers and find a trainer that specializes in bully breeds or specializes (or runs classes) in competitive dog sports. People who are competitive dog folks are good to be around because they too don't like strangers picking up/petting their dogs, and respect that with others. So you and your dog could hang out with people who know that a little bit of personal space is appreciated, and can work on her problems without people being disrespectful and interfering.
If someone grabbed my dogs front legs and pulled them forward, they'd get bit, either by the dog or by me. That's terrible conduct.
Bulldogs aren't known for biddability, but, they're certainly not dumb dogs by any stretch of the imagination and are capable of learning many things and learning them well. Training a bulldog is like training a cat. The goal is to make them think it was their idea all along ;) What type of training do you do?
 
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Graceful-Lily

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We know a lot of dog folks. Many of them aren't shy about flat out telling people to go away if they try to approach their dog that is scared of strangers or had a bad experience, so if it's in your personality, it's OK to do so if people don't respect your wishes. Remember, you're not there to make new friends with people who are disrespectful, you're there to help your dog.
I would suggest, if possible, to forget any kind of Pet-store trainers and find a trainer that specializes in bully breeds or specializes (or runs classes) in competitive dog sports. People who are competitive dog folks are good to be around because they too don't like strangers picking up/petting their dogs, and respect that with others. So you and your dog could hang out with people who know that a little bit of personal space is appreciated, and can work on her problems without people being disrespectful and interfering.
If someone grabbed my dogs front legs and pulled them forward, they'd get bit, either by the dog or by me. That's terrible conduct.
Bulldogs aren't known for biddability, but, they're certainly not dumb dogs by any stretch of the imagination and are capable of learning many things and learning them well. Training a bulldog is like training a cat. The goal is to make them think it was their idea all along ;) What type of training do you do?
I do tell people to not touch/pick up my dogs but they don't always listen. Some even argue with me stating that they are, "too cute to resist" and that, "It's perfectly fine, I'm not hurting them."

I'm having a difficult time with her in the garden. I try to pull her away from the plants and wood chips but she thinks it's a game and just runs around and does it even more. Not sure how else to handle her as she continues to put things in her mouth.

Type of training? I guess it would be positive reinforcement. Not sure what I'd call it... But you're not supposed to crate for punishment so I don't know how to tell/show her that something is wrong.
 

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II'm having a difficult time with her in the garden. I try to pull her away from the plants and wood chips but she thinks it's a game and just runs around and does it even more.
I don't know the configuration of your garden but is there some way to section if off so she can't get in there?

For now you may have to take her in the yard on a leash unless you can distract her with a favorite toy.
 
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Graceful-Lily

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I don't know the configuration of your garden but is there some way to section if off so she can't get in there?

For now you may have to take her in the yard on a leash unless you can distract her with a favorite toy.
She does this even on leash and will continue to pull me until she can get a wood chip in her mouth. When I pry her mouth open and take it away, she gets upset or whatever and starts acting out more. So, we end up coming back inside and she falls asleep.

It can't be sectioned off. I'd have to buy a large circular fence type thing.
 

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She does this even on leash and will continue to pull me until she can get a wood chip in her mouth.
This worries me if she is only a puppy and pulling this much already. Is she food motivated, if you take her favorite treats in your pocket can you get her attention?
 
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This worries me if she is only a puppy and pulling this much already. Is she food motivated, if you take her favorite treats in your pocket can you get her attention?
Yes, she is food motivated. I will try to see if that will work but she probably won't pay attention for that long and continue to pull to the wood chips.

I forgot to mention that I use a martingale collar which has been effective in leash training her away from home when we are out in public. She doesn't pull on walks as she is more cautious so tends to stay by my side.
 

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Yes, she is food motivated.
I forgot to mention that I use a martingale collar which has been effective in leash training her away from home when we are out in public.
I'm glad she is food motivated, that will help a lot and there are so many tempting cooked, homemade or other treats.

I love the Martingale collar! :thumbsup:
 
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Treats were not much of a help at all and she continues to pick up everything in sight outside. I think I might have to buy a muzzle for her. Redirecting, distracting, walking away, nothing is curbing the behaviour. It's just gotten worse actually because she's more persistent about picking stuff up the more I try to drag her away.
 
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I didn't want to make another thread so I'm posting here again. Just wondering if anyone can help with this...

Does anyone know of any clever/creative ways to work my dog? She's very smart and gets bored easily but I'm not sure how to entertain her. I think she'd do well if she had a specific task - something she could do everyday that would make her feel like she's important and helping out.

She still has a puppy mind but it would be best to start training her into her specific task now so that it's rock solid when she's older.

One thing I did think about (but not sure if it's a great idea) is getting her a cart like this:
buildingadogcart.png


Reason being is I have essential tremors and sometimes lifting heavy objects exhaust my muscles to the point where I have to sit and wait for my tremors to calm down. I also have a partially collapsed bladder so lifting heavy things is a big no. Since Izellah is such a strong dog, I was thinking this would be a good job for her. Also when I need to run to the store to grab things, I could throw stuff into her basket and she could help me carry them home.

It's just a thought of course. I'm open to any and all suggestions. I'm not exactly sure what bulldogs were bred for other than bullbaiting so I don't know if they had any other purpose outside of that. For example, like how herding dogs have a natural instinct to herd things.
 

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:hellocomputer:Is she a dog who naturally likes to pick up random objects? If you throw a toy or a stick, does she immediately go after it or ignore it? If she goes after it, does she pick it up on her own? If she likes to carry things around, she could learn to pick up things you drop, such as your keys, pens, paper, laundry etc etc. This is very useful (and cute).
If she's strong, with good joints, I think a cart would be a great idea. Most bull dogs and bull types are very strong, know it, and love to pull. If she has a cart to pull, you'll want her wearing a harness and she will need to learn the difference between leash walking harness (don't pull), and the cart pulling harness (pull.) I'd get two very different styles of harness for that reason, it will be easier for her to learn which harness means what.
 
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:hellocomputer:Is she a dog who naturally likes to pick up random objects? If you throw a toy or a stick, does she immediately go after it or ignore it? If she goes after it, does she pick it up on her own? If she likes to carry things around, she could learn to pick up things you drop, such as your keys, pens, paper, laundry etc etc. This is very useful (and cute).
If she's strong, with good joints, I think a cart would be a great idea. Most bull dogs and bull types are very strong, know it, and love to pull. If she has a cart to pull, you'll want her wearing a harness and she will need to learn the difference between leash walking harness (don't pull), and the cart pulling harness (pull.) I'd get two very different styles of harness for that reason, it will be easier for her to learn which harness means what.
She isn't big on picking stuff up unfortunately, but she is smart and picks up on commands very quickly so it wouldn't be impossible. She's an Olde English BD - they are bred to be more active. She'd definitely be able to pull a cart that is appropriate for her body size.
 

neely

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Does anyone know of any clever/creative ways to work my dog? She's very smart and gets bored easily but I'm not sure how to entertain her. I think she'd do well if she had a specific task - something she could do everyday that would make her feel like she's important and helping out.
When we adopted our shepherd I joined a forum exclusively for German Shepherds. There was a plethora of help and information. You may want to consider checking out some of the Olde English Bulldog forums not only for suggestions regarding a job/task specific to the breed but also health, food, and other fun facts to share. Good luck! :goodluck:
 
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When we adopted our shepherd I joined a forum exclusively for German Shepherds. There was a plethora of help and information. You may want to consider checking out some of the Olde English Bulldog forums not only for suggestions regarding a job/task specific to the breed but also health, food, and other fun facts to share. Good luck! :goodluck:
I don't see any currently for that specific breed. I connect with other OEB owners on Instagram because it's easier to find people with the same breed of dog as me that way. They aren't terribly common so most of my questions, I just end up asking the breeder anyway.

Regardless, I'm going to look into the cart. Might as well try because you really don't know until you try.
 
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