2 yr 8 month old English Bulldog Question?

Question

I bought an English bulldog, he was 10 weeks old when I got him. He immedietley got pnemonia 4 weeks of meds, so now he is 14 weeks old. I tried to socialize him but being a puppy when nieghbor kids came he got wound up then wheezed and coughed so vet said keep him quiet/ calm. So a couple more weeks go by now he is 16 weeks old (3 months) and never been around small childrem. I have three kids at the time 16, 10, and 7 he was fine with them, but when other children came he carked and growled. So I enrolled him in puppy classes. He was a social wreck jumpy, shaking whining, so the instructor did private classses. Now my baby is 22 weeks old. We now move from Maryland to Illlinois. He gets bronchitis/ pnumonia again again dont excite keep calm. After the move and new meds he is now 30 weeks old. My problem is he growls at small children,so I have kept him away from kids. How do I know socialize a grown 70pound dog? or can I?

Answer 1

Maybe you should wait until your dog feels better before trying to socialize him with kids. A sick dog is going to be cranky around a lot of noisy kids. English bulldogs usually mellow out after a while.

Answer 2

You should be able to socialize him. The good thing is he's OK with your kids so concept of kids is not foreign to him.

You probably want to enlist the help of a few neighborhood kids who are very comfortable with dogs. When he growls what is the reaction? Do the kids move away from him? Although that's an understandable reaction, his negative behavior is being reinforced.

What I would try is walking him away from his home, on a leash. Have an older kid walk with you after a while, on the other side of you as the dog. When the kid is with you, don't have him talk or look at the dog. Have him ignore the dog.

Even if he growls, keep the kid walking along with you. It could be tough and a little stressful but if you are consistent with it he should become more comfortable with kids.

Answer 3

Any dog can be socialized and with good results. You may not end up with a dog that loves the children he is around but you can have a dog that is tolerant and well behaved. First buy a training collar for him. Place it high on the neck, just under the skull for maximum control without injuring his throat. A quick jerk, release when he growls or starts to become excitable will teach him that his behavior is unacceptable. First things first though you need to teach the dog that you are the one in control of the situation; not him. Everytime he begins to get excited or growl/bark, give a correction on the leash/collar and a firm "no'' or other key word that lets him know you are dissatisfied with is behavior. Keep his head up and focused away from the child and practice this until he can be around children and behave. The key is to stop the behavior at the first sign of his excitement; not trying to defuse it later. Do not allow children to get in his face or annoy him; making him be tolerant of children is one thing but forcing him to interact with them is his choice. Good luck. Consulting a certified trainer would be recommended as they can give you great training tips for this behavior as well. It's hard to explain this training technique in text and not in person. :)

Answer 4

AFTER WATCHING CESAR MILAN ON HIS AMAZING SHOWS I WOULD CONDITION HIM LIKE CESAR DOES, HE MAKES A NOISE WHENEVER THE DOG STARTS TO GROWL TO GET THE DOG'S ATTENTION THAT THIS IS NOT OKAY. YOU SHOULD CHECK HIM OUT--DOG WHISPERER--HE'S AMAZING WITH DOGS.