Reptile & Amphibian Forums

first post here.im a long time dog owner.ive bred and raised dogs mostly raised for over 20 years,i just got a new pup after waiting 6 years until i could get over the last death and could handle another one.
i got a 8 week old English bull terrier pup,female from brigadoon bull terriers.
i have had devastating health problems with her and including the cost im at 9,000.00 i have a 7 1/2 month old pup totaly untrained and now she can be allowed out of her pen to walk around the house and go outside.
sorry to be so longwinded.
if a new person or dog comes over,she loves them and is very polite,which i think is very good for her breed and no socialization.
if she knows someone real well when they come over she will bite them in a somewhat playfull way but is pretty aggressive at it and it could take up to 15 min. to calm her down enough so she stops biting.
she also is the most destructive little thing i have ever seen.
she has ruined the carpet the complete house of carpet.
she chewed the hoses off the faucets,the cable tv lines into the house and about everything else.
im sure things will get better once i can start training her,i had to pull her from training after the first class.
anyone have any ideas besides shooting her? just kidding

Is the breeder apprised of the health problems and are they willing to help defray the costs? What is the state of health of the pup now that she is a little older?
As for the bad behavior now is the time to get that training started if her health allows it. I post mainly on the Shiba forum and quite a few members there have had great success implementing the NILF program. NILF stands for the Nothing In Life is Free. The general purpose is to train your dog to perform simple tasks before they get any reward from you, be it treats or affection. For instance before the pup gets a treat, he has to sit first, then rewarded. Same with eating or simply being pet. What this does is place you above the dog in the pack and also teaches the dog some manners along the way. A search of NILF on Google will explain the program in greater detial.
-----

Bob

If there are no dogs in Heaven, then when I die I want to go where they went.

Health problems make training more difficult- that I'm acutely aware of because I've dealt with it as well in my older dog.

Now that you have the green light to do more with her, that will be your best friend. Take her with you- wear her out physically and mentally through walki and exploring new sights, sounds and places. With this undersocialized pup, I'd say make it a plan to go to a new park, playground (observe from a distance), baseball field, tennis court, neighborhood every single day for at least 20 minutes. For my dogs, a 20 minute walk is their form of getting the daily news. It's a necesity and something I can't skimp on.

If 20 minutes in a new place doesn't work, then train obedience skills for another 10 minutes twice a day. Do down stays while doing the dishes or watching TV. TV commercial time is when my dogs get to practice fetch. When the show is on, they get doggy messages and/or brushed. All the interaction makes them crave it from me less and they settle faster.
-----
Chelle and the rest of the crew including, but not limited to Kita and Taiko (the shiba inu wrestle maniacs), Adi (reserved and dignified tabby cat), and all 28 reptiles