Understanding Puppies
“You will come to a point, weather its at 12
weeks or 12 months-but certainly within the first 18 months of your bullies
life- were you will have a mental break down, you may cry yourself to sleep,
curl up into the fetal position and feel totally helpless and unsure of
yourself, you may even be certain you have the wrong breed of dog, you will lie
in bed at night wondering what your going to do with this monster-you are
certain he/she is going to end up being the worst dog that ever was. Your look
into the future and see lawsuits, dog bites, stitches, a dog who will never know
anything, and forget basic obedience! You’ll have to walk him/ her with a muzzle
forever!
But when you come to that point, take a deep
breathe, relax and remember:
"THIS IS NORMAL”
his obsessive nipping,chewing and biting you, her
refusal to urinate anywhere but the rug, his chasing down the cat constantly,
her outbursts of frustration every time you tell her NO.
ITS ALL NORMAL.
You need to take it one day at a time, and don’t
worry about tomorrow.
Take each chewed up shoe, each nip, or bite, each
accedent as it comes.
Everyday for the first 18 months will feel like
it JUST happened, youll feel stuck, as if your doing it wrong, as if the pup
should of gotten it by now, as if your simply running around saying “no,no,no”
all day and night long.
Thats because for the most part-you will be! So
take each day and each moment in stride. Take deep breathes every time something
happens and just be consistant, and before youve even noticed, one day you will
look back and think “hey, little spuds hasnt chewed on a single shoe is
weeks!”
or “ roxy hasnt jumped up on little jesse for 2
months now!”
or “remember jasmine used to cry all night
long?” and then, one day, youll look at your polite,
sweet and wonderful Bull Terrier, and wonder how they could have been so
naughty, so terrible and so down right awful you wont even belive you ever
doubted them.”
weeks or 12 months-but certainly within the first 18 months of your bullies
life- were you will have a mental break down, you may cry yourself to sleep,
curl up into the fetal position and feel totally helpless and unsure of
yourself, you may even be certain you have the wrong breed of dog, you will lie
in bed at night wondering what your going to do with this monster-you are
certain he/she is going to end up being the worst dog that ever was. Your look
into the future and see lawsuits, dog bites, stitches, a dog who will never know
anything, and forget basic obedience! You’ll have to walk him/ her with a muzzle
forever!
But when you come to that point, take a deep
breathe, relax and remember:
"THIS IS NORMAL”
his obsessive nipping,chewing and biting you, her
refusal to urinate anywhere but the rug, his chasing down the cat constantly,
her outbursts of frustration every time you tell her NO.
ITS ALL NORMAL.
You need to take it one day at a time, and don’t
worry about tomorrow.
Take each chewed up shoe, each nip, or bite, each
accedent as it comes.
Everyday for the first 18 months will feel like
it JUST happened, youll feel stuck, as if your doing it wrong, as if the pup
should of gotten it by now, as if your simply running around saying “no,no,no”
all day and night long.
Thats because for the most part-you will be! So
take each day and each moment in stride. Take deep breathes every time something
happens and just be consistant, and before youve even noticed, one day you will
look back and think “hey, little spuds hasnt chewed on a single shoe is
weeks!”
or “ roxy hasnt jumped up on little jesse for 2
months now!”
or “remember jasmine used to cry all night
long?” and then, one day, youll look at your polite,
sweet and wonderful Bull Terrier, and wonder how they could have been so
naughty, so terrible and so down right awful you wont even belive you ever
doubted them.”
Training puppies
Bull Terrier Puppies are sponges-they are very smart and many new owners are amazed to find there puppies picking up habits and behaviors after one try.
THAT can be a nightmare-or a blessing.
Bull Terriers are stubborn and pushy, they have minds of their own and simply want to do what they want to do.
I have worked in the child care field for many years, and have found that-taking care of an infant is actually a lot easier then taking care of a Bull Terrier puppy.
Just like a baby they need to be watched 24/7, you need to make sure they don't eat anything they shouldn't, they don't pee or poop inside the house, that they don't chew up shoes or the carpeting, that they are not chewing on you or your child or chasing after the cat or getting on the table or attempting to climb up or down stairs.
Your best friends for the first 18 months (yes-you read that right-18 months) of your bullies life will be a crate, a clicker, and a leash.
The best training method you will ever learn is "NILF" which stands for "Nothing In Life is Free training.
Which I explain further in the "Training" section
anything your new puppy wants-he or she has to work for and please you before being allowed to have it.
I firmly believe that dogs learn to trust us by how we react and guide them through life.
guide using anger or frustration, and you will end up with a dog who either fears you-or ignores you (dogs ignore conflict to help defuse the situation)
The first year of your Bull Terriers life will be spent guiding him or her-not training, not disciplining but guiding them how to make good choices and how to behave and what behaviors are expected of them as well as what is unacceptable.
the next 6 are spent correcting and disciplining the stubborn Bully who decides to retaliate and push your buttons to test there own power.
The way you guide your puppy is going to dictate how they respond to you and your requests.
use only bribery, treats and high energy, you will get a dog who refuses to work without immediate reward.
use anger, frustration or a lot of correction and discipline and you will end up with a dog who avoids you, ignores you or at the very extreme fears you.
Using a combination of the two and you will have a dog who trusts you and will pay attention to you to see what is expected of them.
Bull Terrier puppies can be the single most frustrating animals on the planet at times-you will honestly believe them to be stupid and conniving
How ever-while yes they WILL try to get away with things, it is not to be boss over you, they are not trying to dominate or over-power you, they are simply trying to fulfill their own mental needs.
Think of it in this way.
Have you ever lied to get out of doing something for someone else because you did not want to help out? maybe helping a friend move or helping your partner clean the house?
its the same for puppies, they are not trying to ignore what you say or not listen to you when you tell them not to chew your shoe or get into the trash-its just they REALLY want to do it.
hitting them or yelling "NO!" any louder is NOT going to make them NOT want to do it any less-so don't bother, its only giving them another reason to avoid you or try to do it while you are not looking!
Instead, make it boring-if your puppy is chewing your shoe and having a grand time, stay calm, walk over and use your hand to block them from the shoe-they will try chewing around the shoe as well as your hand, but if you remain calm and boring just saying "leave it" or "nah ah" and continue to stop him, guess what? after say 10 minutes or 15 minutes he will become bored, when he starts getting bored you can swap out the shoe for a fun chew that you can wave around or toss so he thinks "oh! that is MUCH more fun"
by approaching a situation like this in that way you are avoiding several things
#1. your are showing your puppy that, you are trust worthy and will not shout at him or smack him or become angry at him when he has something he should not have, you are giving him a reason to TRUST you to do what is best for him.
#2. you are preventing resource guarding from you-because your not taking the shoe away and forcing her to feel the need to guard objects from you ("its mine and I don't want him/her to take this from me!")
#3. your setting your puppy up to learn to BRING things TO YOU because she feels safe in doing so.
My dogs will bring things to me should I drop something like a spoon or bottle cap or if my nephew misplaces a toy on the floor with a rubbery texture, if a dog picks it up and I need to take it away, they do not fear my taking it from them because they trust me and my reaction.
If you can understand the domino effect of raising a puppy, you will do well-just remember to always keep anger to a minimum, at times when you simply CANNOT keep the anger down-do what I do which is to curse, say nasty awful things out loud, growl if you have to-JUST DONT LOOK AT YOUR DOGS/PUPPY!
the reason being that-he will not feel so afraid if you do not direct this anger at him-even if its due to him shredding your couch, or eating your favorite leather jacket or crunching your brand new cell phone.
be angry, punch the air in front of you-but always turn away from your puppy or your dog so you don't make them feel put on the spot.
if your puppy is in the middle of chewing or eating said couch or phone-remind yourself "I will be angry in a second as soon as I put her in her crate" and very carefully pick her up and put her into her crate, walk out of the room and THEN allow yourself to become angry
We are only human, we get angry, we get upset-but it isn't fair for us to take it out on our dogs who cannot possibly understand the value of an object to you.
Another thing to know when training with a Bull Terrier puppy is, this is a naturally hyper mouthy breed.
The more excited-the more mouthy they tend to be.
It is very, very wise to work towards keeping your puppy CALM. Training your Bull Terrier using a lot of excitement or high energy praise can backfire in the long run when you end up with an adult Bull Terrier who doesn't know HOW to remain calm and becomes anxious and destructive.
This is where that NILF training will come in handy.
While most people use behaviors such as "sit" "shake" "lie down" as a default behavior before rewarding a dog
with Bull Terriers its a good idea to use CALM and relax mood as the ticket to getting anything your puppy wants.
again-this is explained further in the "Training" section.
The best way of teaching a new Bull Terrier puppy how to be calm is by simply ignoring the hyper activity-and rewarding calmness.
if your Bull Terrier is jumping around becoming excited over you holding her bowl of breakfast, simply stand their and wait it out
while you might be thinking
"That will take an hour!"
I will not lie, that very well could be the case! however, its a very good method of teaching a Bull Terrier what it means to be calm.
But you can help things along by only asking for calmness directly after exercise has occurred so your wait is only 30 minutes instead of 60.
But Patience is the name of the game when dealing with a Bull Terrier puppy.
If you do not have patience, do not expect to have a very well mannered or happy member of society living in your household!
Raising Puppies takes a lot of time and even more hard work.
Bull Terriers in general truly are a breed that NEEDS its owners devotion, and Puppies need it even more.
If you do not feel you can devote your life to a new puppy, then perhaps you should look into an older Bull Terrier who is more relaxed and doesn't need so much work.
THAT can be a nightmare-or a blessing.
Bull Terriers are stubborn and pushy, they have minds of their own and simply want to do what they want to do.
I have worked in the child care field for many years, and have found that-taking care of an infant is actually a lot easier then taking care of a Bull Terrier puppy.
Just like a baby they need to be watched 24/7, you need to make sure they don't eat anything they shouldn't, they don't pee or poop inside the house, that they don't chew up shoes or the carpeting, that they are not chewing on you or your child or chasing after the cat or getting on the table or attempting to climb up or down stairs.
Your best friends for the first 18 months (yes-you read that right-18 months) of your bullies life will be a crate, a clicker, and a leash.
The best training method you will ever learn is "NILF" which stands for "Nothing In Life is Free training.
Which I explain further in the "Training" section
anything your new puppy wants-he or she has to work for and please you before being allowed to have it.
I firmly believe that dogs learn to trust us by how we react and guide them through life.
guide using anger or frustration, and you will end up with a dog who either fears you-or ignores you (dogs ignore conflict to help defuse the situation)
The first year of your Bull Terriers life will be spent guiding him or her-not training, not disciplining but guiding them how to make good choices and how to behave and what behaviors are expected of them as well as what is unacceptable.
the next 6 are spent correcting and disciplining the stubborn Bully who decides to retaliate and push your buttons to test there own power.
The way you guide your puppy is going to dictate how they respond to you and your requests.
use only bribery, treats and high energy, you will get a dog who refuses to work without immediate reward.
use anger, frustration or a lot of correction and discipline and you will end up with a dog who avoids you, ignores you or at the very extreme fears you.
Using a combination of the two and you will have a dog who trusts you and will pay attention to you to see what is expected of them.
Bull Terrier puppies can be the single most frustrating animals on the planet at times-you will honestly believe them to be stupid and conniving
How ever-while yes they WILL try to get away with things, it is not to be boss over you, they are not trying to dominate or over-power you, they are simply trying to fulfill their own mental needs.
Think of it in this way.
Have you ever lied to get out of doing something for someone else because you did not want to help out? maybe helping a friend move or helping your partner clean the house?
its the same for puppies, they are not trying to ignore what you say or not listen to you when you tell them not to chew your shoe or get into the trash-its just they REALLY want to do it.
hitting them or yelling "NO!" any louder is NOT going to make them NOT want to do it any less-so don't bother, its only giving them another reason to avoid you or try to do it while you are not looking!
Instead, make it boring-if your puppy is chewing your shoe and having a grand time, stay calm, walk over and use your hand to block them from the shoe-they will try chewing around the shoe as well as your hand, but if you remain calm and boring just saying "leave it" or "nah ah" and continue to stop him, guess what? after say 10 minutes or 15 minutes he will become bored, when he starts getting bored you can swap out the shoe for a fun chew that you can wave around or toss so he thinks "oh! that is MUCH more fun"
by approaching a situation like this in that way you are avoiding several things
#1. your are showing your puppy that, you are trust worthy and will not shout at him or smack him or become angry at him when he has something he should not have, you are giving him a reason to TRUST you to do what is best for him.
#2. you are preventing resource guarding from you-because your not taking the shoe away and forcing her to feel the need to guard objects from you ("its mine and I don't want him/her to take this from me!")
#3. your setting your puppy up to learn to BRING things TO YOU because she feels safe in doing so.
My dogs will bring things to me should I drop something like a spoon or bottle cap or if my nephew misplaces a toy on the floor with a rubbery texture, if a dog picks it up and I need to take it away, they do not fear my taking it from them because they trust me and my reaction.
If you can understand the domino effect of raising a puppy, you will do well-just remember to always keep anger to a minimum, at times when you simply CANNOT keep the anger down-do what I do which is to curse, say nasty awful things out loud, growl if you have to-JUST DONT LOOK AT YOUR DOGS/PUPPY!
the reason being that-he will not feel so afraid if you do not direct this anger at him-even if its due to him shredding your couch, or eating your favorite leather jacket or crunching your brand new cell phone.
be angry, punch the air in front of you-but always turn away from your puppy or your dog so you don't make them feel put on the spot.
if your puppy is in the middle of chewing or eating said couch or phone-remind yourself "I will be angry in a second as soon as I put her in her crate" and very carefully pick her up and put her into her crate, walk out of the room and THEN allow yourself to become angry
We are only human, we get angry, we get upset-but it isn't fair for us to take it out on our dogs who cannot possibly understand the value of an object to you.
Another thing to know when training with a Bull Terrier puppy is, this is a naturally hyper mouthy breed.
The more excited-the more mouthy they tend to be.
It is very, very wise to work towards keeping your puppy CALM. Training your Bull Terrier using a lot of excitement or high energy praise can backfire in the long run when you end up with an adult Bull Terrier who doesn't know HOW to remain calm and becomes anxious and destructive.
This is where that NILF training will come in handy.
While most people use behaviors such as "sit" "shake" "lie down" as a default behavior before rewarding a dog
with Bull Terriers its a good idea to use CALM and relax mood as the ticket to getting anything your puppy wants.
again-this is explained further in the "Training" section.
The best way of teaching a new Bull Terrier puppy how to be calm is by simply ignoring the hyper activity-and rewarding calmness.
if your Bull Terrier is jumping around becoming excited over you holding her bowl of breakfast, simply stand their and wait it out
while you might be thinking
"That will take an hour!"
I will not lie, that very well could be the case! however, its a very good method of teaching a Bull Terrier what it means to be calm.
But you can help things along by only asking for calmness directly after exercise has occurred so your wait is only 30 minutes instead of 60.
But Patience is the name of the game when dealing with a Bull Terrier puppy.
If you do not have patience, do not expect to have a very well mannered or happy member of society living in your household!
Raising Puppies takes a lot of time and even more hard work.
Bull Terriers in general truly are a breed that NEEDS its owners devotion, and Puppies need it even more.
If you do not feel you can devote your life to a new puppy, then perhaps you should look into an older Bull Terrier who is more relaxed and doesn't need so much work.