[illy685]

My boyfriend and I have very strong and actve lifestyle personalities. We both have dogs of our own back in our hometowns, but now we decided to share a dog together. So we thought the American Bulldog breed was perfectly fitting to our personalities. About a month ago, we purchased the puppy, and since day two this dog became literally "bad to the bone." He started snapping at us, not puppy biting, so we sought help and made sure he knew that we were the alphas by laying him on his back and telling him in a deep stern voice "no biting!" It took a week but it worked. Since day one, we kept him on a tight schedule everyday. He caught onto it quick. But, now it's a month later, he pees in the bathroom (where he stays), all of the time. We can take him out and we'll put him back and we'll open the door to check on him an there's pee on the floor or he'll stand up and walk towards us and pee standing up while staring at us directly into our eyes a lot (as if he taunting us?)... He has chew toys (4--rubber bone, rope, stuff animal, and chew ring toy), but now he's tearing up the walls and anything else he finds... We can leave for 2-3hours at the most and he'll still pee all over he place (actually 3/4 different spots, and tear up things), even if we just taken him out right before we left... We can't even extend his potty-time an extra hour a week, he seems to stay on the 2-3hr schedule. He never stays home for more than 3 hours by himself... We are near witt's end and don't know what to do... please someone help us because we are up for as many great suggestions as possible... :confused:

[labman]

Try crating him. It is only natural that a puppy resists its crate at first. What the puppy wants more than anything else is to be others, you, anyone else in the household, and any other pets. In our modern society, even if we are home, other things distract us from the attention an uncrated puppy must have. The only real solution is to crate the dog when you aren't around. The dog may be
Happier in its den than loose in the house. It relaxes, it feels safe in its
Den. It rests, the body slows down reducing the need for water and relieving
Its self. Dogs that have been crated all along do very well. Many of them
Will rest in their crates even when the door is open. I think the plastic
Ones give the dog more of a safe, enclosed den feeling. Metal ones can be put
In a corner or covered with something the dog can't pull in and chew. Select
A crate just big enough for the full grown dog to stretch out in.

Leave it some toys. Perhaps a Kong filled with peanut butter. Don't leave
Anything in the crate the dog might chew up. It will do fine without even any
Bedding. You will come home to a safe dog and a house you can enjoy.

A dog that has not been crated since it was little, may take some work.
Start just putting its toys and treats in the crate. Praise it for going
in. Feed it in the crate. This is also an easy way to maintain order at
Feeding time for more than one dog.

The "shut the puppy in a safe room" is a fallacy. Very few houses even have a
Safe room. How many of us have a room with a hard surfaced floor and nothing
Else? Most rooms have electrical cords to chew if nothing else. In addition
To destroying anything a bored puppy finds to chew, it may choke or have
Intestinal blockage from the pieces. I had a friend that left her dog in a
"safe" room. It ate a hole in the floor covering. The safe rooms fail to
Give the dog the comfort of the enclosed space their instinct requires. Nor
Do they restrict activity extending the time the dog can go without relieving
Itself.

[RubyPitbull]

Illy, please follow labman's advice. If your dog is peeing in front of you while staring you in the eye, he is challenging your leadership position. There is something that the humans in the household are still doing that will lead your dog to believe that he has a chance at running things. Labman has some very good info regarding maintaining the alpha position, which I am sure he will post when he sees this. He also has some excellent info in his sticky at the top of the dog forum. Please click on this link:
https://www.askmehelpdesk.com/dogs/i...man-53153.html

Most dogs are not born "bad to the bone". You have only had your pup a month and his behavior is becoming more out of control. In dog training, it is very important to understand how a dog views his world. Take a look at the recommended reading list that labman has on that link. Both "The Culture Clash" by Jean Donaldson and "The Other End of the Leash" by Patricia O'Connell will give you some good insight into how a dog's mind functions and what you need to do to get him to understand the behavior you expect from him. I am not sure what help you received, but if it was only a short lesson, you would benefit greatly from taking your dog to a good puppy training class in your area. Your vet should be able to recommend someone. Then, while you are in the class, any specific problems you are encountering can be discussed with the trainer and they will physically show you how to correct it with positive reinforcment techniques.

[illy685]

Thanks everyone for the advice. We actually purchased a crate that has an adjuster. It's still a process though, but at least he's now holding his urine for 3-4hrs not this week. The only thing is, is that he cries way too much when he is locked in his crate. He'll go in his crate by himself but once you lock him in... "Oh, brother..." We know it will take time, but at the same time we know he needs to get trained correctly soon, because he is getting out of control! He knows his commands: sit, stay, OK, go eat, lay down, roll-over, shake, come here, no biting, etc; but, he has a habit of only doing them sometimes. If we let him out of the crate and tell him to stay, he'll jet off to the living room and won' stop running until he's caught then try to bite me. I really believe that he's going to training classes soon, because we can lie him on his back and pin him down and yell "no bitinig" in a deep tone until he's calm, but then he does it again a few minutes later and we put him in the submission position over-and-over again.

[labman]

I have had very good luck with new puppies by laying down in front of the crate like I was going to sleep there. They often go right to sleep.

[RubyPitbull]

Labman, will you please post your information regarding Leadership, the links to dogbreedinfo & Monks of New Skete, for Illy? I think your info would be most helpful to her.