Hi Todd,
I have an 8 month old English Bulldog (Vito) along with 2 pugs- 4 year old Otis and 1.5 yr old Frank. All males, all neutered at 6 months. They all sleep together in a gated area that's about 40 square feet. The carpet has been replaced about 10 days ago with laminate due to the peeing / pooping that has gone on over the past 4 months.
The problem is with Vito. Vito is pooping in the middle of the night. There is also an aggression issue. We walk all three dogs before bed (8 PM) and Vito is also put out later in the evening (9 - 11 PM). I stay out with him until he poops and pees. All water is picked up by 6 PM. We are up by 5 AM every morning, but too late to catch the pooping. Vito is put out after waking throughout the day, after meals, etc and meals are on a regular schedule, twice a day. Due to aggression, Vito is fed in a seperate area. Otherwise, the other 2 "hover" after gulping their food and then Vito gets aggressive. This schedule has helped with the peeing, but I am still waking up to poop in the gated area each morning. We also put down a training pad in the area (Frank was trained this way- took about a year) that rarely gets used during these incidents- maybe 10 percent of the time. Vito also has the occasional house peeing episode, but he is constantly supervised and on a schedule so this is improving. He has been checked by the vet- no problem there- and the gated area is in the bedroom where we sleep, but I have yet to catch him in the act in the night. A few times I have gotten up before accidents, gotten Vito out of the house, and sat and waited for him to do something, but he just lies down outside (once) or wanders without doing anything (once). We also have a bell on the door, but he hasn't caught onto that yet either, despite hitting it and saying outside every time we go out. Heavy duty "Natures Miracle" cleaner is used for all accidents. I have considered putting a bell on Vito's collar at night to wake me when he gets up to go- is that OK to do? I'm at a loss- please help!
On to Vito's aggression: Throughout the day, the dogs play together with Vito (Frank more than Otis), they all sleep together on the floor or on the sofa (we allow them on the sofa)- usually in combos of 2, and get along very well. Throughout the day, though, Vito will eyeball then attack one of the others- he and Otis appear to be establishing Alpha status but it is still unresolved. It usually lasts a short time. I've followed all the stuff in Alpha dog manual- we use a spray or loud noise to break it up (not the play fighting- just the real thing) and then they are all put outside. If I see it starting (eyeballing, growling, etc) I use an uh-uh command and usually avoid it. But it happens FAST! The dogs used to sleep with us, but due to aggression in middle of night, we built the gated area about a month ago. They get along great in there all night long with no fighting and while Frank still tries to get on the bed each night, they all do go willingly into the area for bed and settle in nicely. (Sometimes I have to bring Frank in by carrying, but he doesn't tremble, whine or anything- he settles right in.) Usually, Frank and Vito sleep on a chair there while Otis chooses a pillowed cubbie area to sleep. (Vito usually comes in later - he's a slow mover- and when he chooses to get on the chair, Otis will move down into the cubbie with no fighting.) They do not fight in the gated area ever. And we can leave them there if we are out during the day with no accidents. I'm not sure what to do with the aggression- somedays it's 5- 10 times, some days only a couple. Vito gets walked seperately sometimes for training and when he comes back, the aggression is likely to happen, but it does seem to happen randomly other than that and doesn't always happen when he returns.
Vito spent the first 10 days (at 6-8 weeks of age) with a Rotty and a Boxer before moving in with us and loves them, plays with them 2 - 3 days a week for hours and there is never an aggression problem. All other dogs, he has a serious aggression problem with. I am working on this with controlling him in social settings ( always on a harness) using uh-uh and showing him the spray bottle (bitter apple) - I almost never have to spray anymore and he seems to be improving a little, but is still really struggling to keep it together around ANY other dogs other than the ones mentioned. He always tries to start a fight. There is NEVER Ever any aggression shown to any people- not even a bark or fur raised or anything- he loves humans! (Cats... not so much.)
What else can I do to work on this aggression problem? He goes to clicker training once a week and everyone (other parents-not the trainer) just hate seeing him there- you can just see their faces change when we come in...!
Soooo... I could really use some help here as well- I would like a dog that doesn't attack every other dog he sees....
Thanks in advance for your help! Happy to provide any other info!
Dave
