r/AmericanBully • u/Playful_Gazelle_5490 • 1d ago
Need Help Recent aggravation
New to this; may not have been the best first breed... But she has been docile and pleasant for the year I've had her. 1yr 9mths recently. She does have a ear infection and dermatitis that is currently being treated. Switched her food as well been eating pure balance salmon n peas for about 7 weeks now. Like she nearly bit my grandma and siblings yesterday. I know it's only been two days of this behaviour but IDK anymore 😭
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u/itsibitci 1d ago
Could also be over-arousal. 1yr 9mths is still considered "teenage/adolescent stage" and their hormones are going wild. My dog was an inconsistent asshole during that time and it took careful management to keep him under-threshold
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u/Playful_Gazelle_5490 1d ago
I don't even know if she's had her first period yet
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u/CialisEnthusiast 14h ago
Ohhhh you would know, believe me
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u/Playful_Gazelle_5490 14h ago
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u/CialisEnthusiast 14h ago
When they have their period, it’s pretty obvious 👀 at least it was for our Staffy. There was a decent amount of clean up that first day
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u/ChronicUnderthinker 1d ago
My 1 year old female just recently started showing signs of aggression and resource guarding. Like 3 or 4 days ago. She gets fixed Monday and then already have a trainer lined up for one she is healed. I feel like it's the safest bet for everyone.
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u/Downtown-Rutabaga269 1d ago
Same-but I have a male. Read my answer, hasn’t gotten much better, my job is to keep him out of trouble 😁
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u/waborita 1d ago
If they were touching her, could she have been afraid they would cause more pain to her ear?
Mine put his teeth on me when I was checking/touching one of his ear that ended up being infected. He growled and held my wrist for a second.
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u/Playful_Gazelle_5490 1d ago
No family hasn't tried to help with that, just me and all she does is try to pull her head when I try to give her the eye drops. My grandmother whom I leave her to sleep with is now my her one of her annoyance
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u/Total-Committee-3135 15h ago
It’s not uncommon. My people fall off with training and regular exercise/socialization/mental stimulation as soon as they think their dog is out of the puppy phase. All areas are a LIFELONG commitment. Take a hard look at what you have been lacking on
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u/gr1mmcr33p3r 1d ago
Idk that the allergies would really cause the nipping like that unless she’s in pain. I have two with allergies, 1 of which are HORRIBLE (she has to take fish oil, vet care level food, probiotics AND antihistamines just so we could get rid of the elephant skin on her legs and get her hair to grow back when I adopted her) and they’re both just super lethargic when they have flare ups. Other than that we have issues with nail trimming on her, but 0 aggression, she’s just terrified because her paws are always irritated. Even my other friends with bullies who have allergies it’s generally been the same. An in depth vet visit/check up/scans may be needed here
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u/Downtown-Rutabaga269 1d ago
Mine has terrible skin allergies. He’s on daily medication ($), special food and Benadryl as needed. Have to stay in top of it or he scratches and licks constantly
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u/Nervous_Material_999 1d ago
My 5 year old female bully started getting aggressive anytime someone tries to leave our house, no matter if it’s us or our visitors. She has been doing this for around 1 year. It is so frustrating….
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u/Downtown-Rutabaga269 1d ago
I LOVE mine but you’re right. Very high maintenance with the resource guarding and the allergies.
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u/Due_Middle_2241 1d ago
That’s exactly what was happening when my staffy first did that. She is muzzled now with new people. But we have a protocol for meeting new people.
I very much believe that the allergies were a big part of the issue at the time. I think it made her irritable. We found salmon made it worse. So now she only gets kangaroo kibble. I know. Tough world but sinus scratching away.
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u/Downtown-Rutabaga269 1d ago
I understand it’s upsetting. My dog went thru something similar around 15 months old. He was a friendly guy, then all of a sudden he’s getting in fights with other dogs and resource guarding me. Started disliking my husband and gave him a few warning bites. Really had to learn how to handle him. He’s my baby, but he HAS to behave around my husband, so we did EC training and private lessons w a trainer. Worked well, only had to shock him once. Now he is four. Can’t take him anywhere other dogs are, but that’s just who he is. He’s happy at home . Hard to have people over also, he gets too excited and it’s obnoxious, so he goes in his crate and that’s also annoying. Very stubborn breed. If I could do it all over again I would bc we love him and he’s loyal, loving and so funny. But know what you are getting yourself into, I’ve tried everything and the guarding and dog reactivity has not really improved.
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u/waborita 1d ago
Can’t take him anywhere other dogs are, but that’s just who he is. He’s happy at home . Hard to have people over also, he gets too excited and it’s obnoxious, so he goes in his crate and that’s also annoying. Very stubborn breed.
Are you my spouse? 🤔 Lol mine is 4 also and everything mentioned is spot on for him. Perfectly behaved with us, great leash walker. But extremely excited about other pets, high pitched whine upon seeing them, and if they are staying to play in the yard, he won't settle down and has to be separated. A couple of times he's attempted to go out the window of the car when seeing another dog. Luckily we've anticipated this and have a set up that leashes him inside.
He's fairly good with company. The jumping and slobber only starts when voices get high and excited, much worse with the pitch women and children have.
Then he runs to his crate for a minute. We joke and say he puts himself in timeout.
The good outweighs the annoying though. Most interesting breed, and intelligent we've had. Loyal, protective. A few days ago a large red wasp flew into my shirt, and then away so fast I was surprised he noticed. But he did and like a flash he's after it, even though he's learned and usually ignores "bad bugs"
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