To be getting sick and tired of uncontrollable dog?

[Zhan]

I love dogs and have always had big working dogs. I wanted a German Shepherd but DH wanted a French bulldog - which we got.

since day one it has been out of control. We tried to crate train him from the start but he would howl and scream for hours. I've successfully crate trained many a dog so I said if we just ignore him and remain firm he will eventually get used to it - 6 weeks later he continued to howl and scream ALL night with no let up every single night. We had to stop it in the end as I was getting worried about neibours complaining so instead he had full run of the kitchen on a night - so he decided to COMPLETELY destroy every bit of wood (cupboards, door frames, managed to eat a HOLE in the kitchen DOOR) ripped his bed to pieces and constantly knocked his water bowl everywhere on purpose.

Now all this shit can be put down to puppy behaviour but he turns one year old next month and he's just as bad now, if not worse.

I can't leave him alone for seconds. If I leave him downstairs whilst I go and get dressed, I can hear him start INSTANTLY as soon as I'm out of sight, he pulls all the cushions off the sofa and tries to dig holes in them, pisses on the living room carpet, pulls at plants - it is literally instant and continuous.

Now the latest thing is that he has learnt to jump UP on the kitchen side - he grabs the bread and just rips it to pieces. I'm so sick of replacing bread that I've now said I'm not buying it anymore. Kitchen roll is grabbed and ripped to shreds - literally anything he can reAch he will destroy just for the sheer hell of it.

I took DS to cinema last week and logged into my kitchen camera on my phone so see the bloody dog up on the kitchen side, kettle knocked over and radio (plugged in!!) knocked off windowsill and balancing over a bowl of water. I had to race home to sort it out. I'm so fucking tired of it. I've had dogs all my life and NEVER had one so irritating and destructive. He's still not house trained and today has managed to drag 2 RAW chicken breasts off the side in the few minutes they were left out that i had taken out for tea and ate them.

Aside from this he constantly attacks people, biting at their trousers and if they sit down, biting and scratching at their neck and face.

He has tons of toys, tons of chews, gets lots of attention - now I'm just fucking bored of it and fed up. He's out of control and I'm not a novice dog owner. He's so stubborn too, he's learnt various commands yet it's 50/50 whether he'll actually obey them or not. I can stand there with a treat and say "sit" and he'll just look at me - he'll carry this on for ages until I give up and put thrvtreat back in the bag. It's like half the time he'd rather go without than actually do what he's told. So frustrated.

i have a french bulldog 15 months old hes the hardest dog we have ever had [always had boxers before] but stick with it he will get better

You need a behaviourist, an actual clinical behaviourist. Unfortunately anyone can call themselves a behaviourist so do your homework. Your vet should be able to refer you to one. Some of these issues could be down to the dog staying too long with its mother and litter mates. Puppies actually form most of their behaviours/responses before 10 weeks of age. Agree with others though, I think the anxiety has stemmed from letting him 'cry it out'.

You obviously decided not to like him from the start as he wasn't the breed you wanted. Leaving a puppy to scream every night for 6 weeks in a crate is barbaric. That isn't crate "training", that's torture. I can't believe all these pussy-footing answers.

So having tried to break his spirit and failed, you've then decided he's just a bad dog. You know he is destructive, so why leave him where he can destroy things? Why leave him on his own all the time and then wonder why he misbehaves? Twenty minutes or 20 hours isn't much different to a dog with separation anxiety. All they see is the being left bit, not the timescale. Where was your husband in all this? He wanted the dog, why wasn't he looking after him?

You should have rehomed the dog after the first six weeks. Luckily it's not too late to rehome him now. Please do, and then maybe he can live with a family who actually loves him.

This is exactly why I would never have a French Bulldog. All the French Bulldogs I know are exactly the same as you've described. Really don't get the obsession with them.

Have you tried a spray collar for the whinging/ barking and also the attacking/ scratching etc? Or pet corrector spray? Time to stop being so nice with him I think.

He sounds distressed and anxious. Unfortunately, this is most likely your doing, not just his nature.
Pets need patience, love and kindness. Not crates, spray collars and rehoming when they are not fitting into your life
Poor dog.

Spray collar???!! Fuck me sideways.

Worst advice ever. Only cunts use them.

French bulldogs are known for being stubbon, its part of the bull breed in them. However they love to please and with positive reinforcement can be trained. They crave attention, having toys isnt enough, they want someone to play with them. You need to go back to basics with him and crate train properly leaving him to cry has probably caused the separation anxiety. You can get herbal tablets from dorwest herbs which help with calming dogs down which you can use whilst training. You sound like you need help from a behaviourist.

Your dog also sounds like he needs a visit to the vets with regards to his breathing. Yes they can have problems with their breathing. You should do shorter walks until you see the vet so its not so strained on his breathing. My french bulldog will walk miles and miles its not normal for them to collapse at home and not breathe well especially after only an hours walk.

So basically you have a pup who is suffering from separation anxiety, is undertrained, undermanaged, under stimulated both physically and mentally, unliked and suffers breathing problems from being a cranky bred brachy breed. And it's his fault. Right.

It really does sound like severe separation anxiety. The 6 weeks probably did him no flavours, but I do understand why you persevered when it's worked in the past. However it could mean some deeply ingrained fears and behaviours now.

And I totally believe he can jump on the side because my pocket beagle does it and I have no idea how when her legs are so short!
Butter, bread, fish, chicken, you name it, its gone in seconds so I never leave it out. Defrost stuff in the microwave.
Even saying no! Or picking up to put in time out is attention and sometimes dogs will do anything to get it, so they keep attacking legs because youll flap your hands and push them away and yell at them its hilarious to them.
The only punishment should be ignoring them and I know it's hard when they're chewing into your leg or chomping on the remote, but you ignore and redirect, so take the remote away and give the toy and ANY time they use the toy or take a break from the biting its super happy excited praise.

Sounds like you're going to have to teach him precisely what you want, a lot of people forget to praise whenthings are going well because they're busy of enjoying the peace, when you need to be reinforcing that "yes! I want you to be on your bed! Yes you peed outside, yes you chewed your toy! Yes you let go, yes you are using all four feet on the ground!!"
Its going to be intense and it has to be every time for the first few weeks, I really recommend a behaviourist to help you formulate a plan.
Thee behaviourist will be able to help rehabilitate your dog if you're willing to put the work in, and if its possible, it could be a possibility that he has neurological issues and nothing will help.
He's not going to forget those 6 weeks, it's going to take a lot of reassurance and like people they don't always "get over it" he might always revert back to panic when left alone.

craply

I don't understand why people are recommending trainers and giving helpful advice. All pets deserve to be in a home where they are loved. This is not the right home for this poor dog.

I'm amazed none of your neighbours called the RSPCA. If I heard a puppy screaming every night, I would call long before 6 weeks had elapsed!

I agree it comes across clearly you don't like the dog and hold a lot of resentment as it wasn't your choice of breed. You need to let this go

Get him castrated and take him on 3 shorter walks a day. Lots of positive training and remember at 1 he's still a teenager really and WILL be naughty. Also, I think that some dogs are not on board with crate training. It's like having a kid - there is no one size fits all solution.

He sounds ridiculously anxious.
Crate training doesn't mean bung him in the crate and ignore him crying for ever increasing amounts of time. I had to sleep next to the crate for three weeks with mine.

Neutering won't suddenly solve all problems.
More and shorter walks.
Games to tire and use brain and encourage a bond between you.
Training training training. You don't mention my puppy or training classes. Find one. ASAP. You need someone who does positive reward based training. Run a mile from anyone who talks of pack theory or dominance.

That sounds intolerable and I think you'd be justified in rehoming the dog. You don't have to put up with your house and sanity being destroyed on a daily basis, you really don't.

The MN party line is that you should never rehome a let under any circumstances, but this dog gives you no joy at all. That's not what a pet is supposed to be.

I doubt the dog get much joy from his owner either.

This sounds really similar to how my parents bull greyhound used to act but he was a rescue and mistreated quite badly before.

He's like a different dog now but my dad has put in a hell of a lot of work to get him so.

I agree with pp that locking a dog in a crate and ignoring it all night for 6 weeks isn't 'crate training'; it is just caging the animal and completely wrong for a family pet. The dog needs a completely new approach based on being close to its family.

Will people stop going on about bloody castration like its a silver bullet! It's not! In an anxious dog, it's highly likely to make him worse, not better. Do some bloody research, people!

Whilst not being a designer crossbreed, this is a suddenly popular and very expensive breed with small litters. I bet the temperament of the parents was not the priority when producing the litter.

There are 2 episodes of Vet on the Hill where he modifies part of the soft palate and widens the nostrils of bulldogs as they can't exercise normally. Worth a watch. I'd say get this done so the dog can be exercised properly.

Find an accredited behaviourist/trainer, we went through three before finding one that specialised in our breed. It takes dedication, time and utter consistency to change behaviour like your dog exhibits.If you don't have these, then re-home. I felt as frustrated as you, OP, but we turned round the dog's behaviour-basically he is very carefully managed now.

So basically you have a pup who is suffering from separation anxiety, is undertrained, undermanaged, under stimulated both physically and mentally, unliked and suffers breathing problems from being a cranky bred brachy breed.

Absolutely this ^^

Nobody is going on about castration Religon but is good to know that you've watched a couple of episodes of Vet on the Hill < sigh >

Agree with PP you are determined not to like the dog. Despite me others pointing out that his behaviour largely due to your own poor training and exercise regime, you have ignored this and continued to blame the dog.

Take the dog to Dog's Trust and have them rehome him. Don't sell him on looking to make your money back because he'll end up with some other clueless owner who will rehome him after a year and so on for the rest of his miserable life. And stop taking him for walks so long that he can't move the rest of the day, you're doing untold damage to his growing joints. Next he'll have a luxating patella and no doubt it'll be blamed on the breeder, or people who like brach breeds or whatever handy bogey man comes to hand.

Why is he still alive if he keeps biting people's faces?

Textbook seperation anxiety. Find an APBC or APDT registered behaviourist to help you and absolutely do not neuter him until you've started him on a behaviour management plan and his anxiety has significantly reduced. Neutering is not a cure all and neutering an already anxious dog may well make him even more anxious.

It might be worth checking out these professionals.

royvon.co.uk

I heard they're really good. You leave the dog with them/they diagnose/train before you go back to collect.
I've no idea how much it costs but when you take into account the damage to your home and stress it's causing you it could be a worthwhile investment.

Like others I'm wondering where your husband is in all this? He wanted to get the dog but seems to have no interaction with him at all and isn't helping.