Training an American Bulldog to Fit in with the Family

American Bulldogs make very sweet and gentle pets. Actually, all bulldogs are great pets so the same training for American bulldogs can also pertain to the other breeds. All bulldogs, however, can be very stubborn and slow to train. They make quite the perfect house pets because they can deal with small spaces and are great with small children. However, when it comes to their training, Bulldog owners must be very patient. Low expectations are important or training sessions can end in great frustration, which will not be a very good experience for both the dog and the owners.

When picking a Bulldog for a family pet, it might be a good idea to purchase one that is still fairly young. Bulldog puppies are adorable although the main reason for this is that young pups have better chances of adapting behavior than adult bulldogs do. Adult bulldogs are very hard to train in order to fit in a very specific environment.

Bulldogs are incredibly stubborn so it's best to get puppies into the household as young as possible so they learn to fit well with the family and also understand the "limits" to their behavior. Bulldog puppies can look adorable when they play so it's important to stop rough play in the beginning in order to prevent problems later.

Although some owners believe in hitting their dogs as part of training (to reinforce unacceptable behavior). This is not recommended. Bulldogs tend to become more aggressive when struck. Bulldogs have some aggression as part of their ancestry. Although it is not a widely displayed trait with the present Bulldogs, their defensive nature might result to violence or aggression when they are struck or hit by their owners. For this reason, it is important to remember that striking should never be done when training a Bulldog.

The first command you want to want to teach your Bulldog pup is to respond to is "No!" As soon as a pup is brought to its new home, it must start to get familiar with the new rules. Using the "No" command as often as it is necessary will help the dog understand and will eventually stop whatever it is that it is doing or is planning to do. Although it will not be able to catch on real quickly, the more often it is used, the faster it will understand.

As long as you use patience in training your new Bull dog puppy you'll have a loyal pet that will love you for years.

About the Author

Lynn Huber has owned and trained bulldogs for many years. Her guide to owning and raising bulldogs can be found here:

http://www.bulldogownersguide.com/mini-site/index.html