Meet Luna. I rescued this hard head this week. She is just at a year old, and has been neglected with no training whatsoever. The bulldog stubbornness is going to make her a hard nut to crack, but we will get there. I would love to pick the brain of a good trainer to figure out if this is something I can do myself given the life she has lived as well as my busy lifestyle, or if I am better off suited to hire someone to get me to a good baseline.
Anyone?
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I literally grew up with bulldogs. She is âgoodâ just looking at her.
In fact, I rather like her. Socialization is really important. They are very âfamily protectorâ⌠âŚbut canât swim for shit!
Cheers
G
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Iâm no trainer but Iâve trained a pitbull and a 50%German Shepard 25%Husky 25%Timberwolf⌠and a chihuahua lol
I pretty much just follow what The Dog Whisperer Cesar Millan does
If you donât know much watch all of his videos
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Iâm no dog trainer, and donât currently own a dog⌠but if youre unsure of your abilities to train her on your own, Iâd personally sign up for a few classes just to see where sheâs actually at. The way I see it if you end up not doing somthing right because you didnât know⌠thats just wasted time and potential bad habits learned. A few classes with a pro should tell you pretty quick if you can handle it on your own or not, and at minimum youâll probably get some good tips on how to do it!
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Good looking pup
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I have a greyhound. They donât need training because they donât do anythingâŚever. Donât bite, donât bark, low energy.
Theyâre also skittish and easily scared so really a good hard loud âNO!â and they get the picture.
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Solid K9 Training on YouTube helped me a lot with my stubborn dog.
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My wife spent a lot of money on puppy classes and dog training when my white dog was a pup it didnât work lol,she use to drag me with her to the classes,trainer was pretty hot she liked to bend over and show off her thong ,noting wrong with that
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Bet that made you actually WANT to attend classes, eh? LOL
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I grew up training labs for hunting. I got 3 their master hunter akc titles before I turned 18, I havenât done it in 15+ years though.
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It was funny me and the wife were the only 2 straight people in the class,
Lol
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watch out for the âenergyâ and âvibesâ trainers. The dogs really study the micro motions of your body like the mentalist to determine whatâs up. Symbiotic power is to see where you are pointing and go there. Studies on the hormone levels of dogs indicate they thrive off your love and pay attention to you by looking at your eyes. When you have eye contact, widening of the eyes shows fear and narrowing of the eyes shows aggression. Roving dogs in the neighborhood get the âHey!â followed by me pointing both fingers into my eyes then rotating them to point at the dog. They all seem to understand that motion.
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Yeah, they read body language. My first dog, shamrock acres black crystal, and I had an amazing bond, I didnât even needs words by the time she was 9 or 10, small hand motions and experience was all she needed.
To be clear she had been hand signal and whistle trained since she was a pup, and had hundreds of hours over many years of training and actual hunting experience in her. She got her masterâs around 5 years old. Survived cancer when she was 12, it came back when she was 15 and took her.
Well, their website doesnât work, but shamrock acres kennels is on facebook
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Thatâs part of the training that Cesar Millan does.
Itâs all about your dogs senses and you being confident and being in control. Knowing when to correct your dogs behavior before it can even think pretty much
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If your going to be taking the dog around with you best to train it in another language, my dog is trained in half Russian half avatar. But if I give commands sheâs the only dog at the park that will respond.
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lol, as much as I love caesar milan⌠he believes in the âenergyâ, man! If he would only call it micro motions or body language even weâd be set. Caesar knows just how to hold his posture and keep that look on his face as well as make sure the dog is looking to him for communication. Then he calls it âenergyâ and I cringe.
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A long, long time ago I was married to a pro trainer. Over the many years we were together I absorbed a lot of info despite not directly participating in the training. She had trained a Sheltie to a UD title in AKC, then switched to German Shepherds and Schutzhund. She took dogs to the national championships multiple times. She had great success, but also spent many hours working with the dog (basically a full-time job). She studied, attended seminars, joined training clubs, etc. The main book she would recommend, if asked, is Donât Shoot The Dog by Karen Pryor. Sheâs all about operant conditioning and positive reinforcement. Her techniques have been used successfully to train dogs, cats, dolphins, and I suspect my ex used it on me too! 
Good luck!
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Thank you for all the replies. Lots of good advice.
I have trained numerous hunting dogs, mainly Catahoula Leopard Hounds, and anyone that knows what I am talking about understands that these dogs are a handful.
Letâs just say they are nothing compared to lil ole Luna here.
Any dog I have had and trained in the past, has had a strong desire to learn and please. Sure, some had their quirks, but nothing like this girl.
She had absolutely no desire to please anyone but herself. This is what is throwing me.
I have been watching a lot of Youtube videos, and learning alot, I am just wondering if a trainer with experience with bulldogs would make my life a whole lot easier. That is the ultimate question.
Thanks again for all the replies guys
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Leerburg and Stonnie Dennis have some great YouTube videos.
Donât try to do Cesar Milan if youâre not Cesar Milan.
If you can train her or if you need help, you probably already know the answer. You have to build that relationship with the dog. Need to teach it pack structure. And basic obedience. Is she food driven or prey driven (does she like toys)?
Does she already know basic obedience? Can she sit, stand, stay? Even with distractions? Can she loose leash walk? Is she triggered by people, noises, other animals? Really depends on where the dog is now, and if you are capable of teaching her these things.
ummm no. What Cesar Does is use a whole bunch of Negative Reinforcement. Works for him, but not something I would recommend most people do or try⌠Most people watch his show and think theyâre dog training experts because they saw him tug a leash, or because he calmed down a highly reactive dog by bringing him near another dog.
âŚitâs the equivalent of watching a home renovation show, then thinking you can buy a property and flip it for a profit. Big different between a tv show and reality.