Expert: Marjorie Kelley - 8/27/2004

Question
We purchased Tyson, a male American Bulldog at 6 weeks of age and he was also the runt of the litter out of 12.  We met the parents and were assured they had always had wonderful temperments. This was their third and final litter. This was not a professional breeder.  At 7 1/2 months of age he bit one of my sons friends in the leg.  The boys had been playing all afternoon in the pool and the dog had been excited biting at the water and just finished barking at the fence at other dogs.  He was on a leash at the time to restrain the barking at the fence and first grabbed the boys shorts and ripped them and went back for more before I could get a good grip on him.  He did not let go and I was on top of him with my hands inside his mouth trying to pry it open and my son was behind him hitting him, he finally let go.  The boy needed 3 stitches.  Prior to this he had shown excitement when playing tug of war with the ropes and did not always know when to stop.  We have since taken them away and he now plays with a ball.  We also have a deaf white boxer, 10 months old.  They play well except for food issues and must be fed with supervision or separately as he is aggressive toward her then.  We have seen a behaviorist who thinks Tyson can be trained, but will probably have to be kept away from children and muzzled around other dogs.  Another opinion from one who did not see the dog, told us Tyson has adrenaline rushes which cause overstimulated arousal - which means he cannot use good judgement at those times because he is not capable of it then.  He said we should euthanize him as we will never be able to fix this problem, even with good training which we are in the process of pursuing for him.  He is now 8 months old and still a puppy, we feel terrible and want to do what is best for the safety of our family and our other dog.  Due to his age could this be too drastic a step and is there any other way?

Answer
This is a situation of the barn door closing after the horse has been stolen. Your Am.Bulldog should have had obedience training very early on. They are wonderful dogs, but require discipline before they get too big to handle and/or develop behavior problems such as you're describing. The runt of the litter is often not the mild mannered one. Remember, he was the smallest and fight the hardest to survive with many larger siblings.

First of all, if the dog was aggitated with all the excitement around the pool and other dogs on the fence, he should have been removed from the situation, not restrained only to become more aggitated. He acted out of frustration. Issues with the other dog are separate. My opinion is this, Tyson needs a new home with owners who are dog knowledgable and can take the time to "reprogram" him, preferably a home with no other dogs. I think it would be a shame to euthanize him, but I do think replacement is mandatory. I'm assuming he's neutered. If not, he should be.

If you place Tyson and consider getting another dog, please take it to obedience training early on, whether it's another AB or any dog. They all need socialization and training in order to live well adjusted lives.  Good luck.