In the animal world, in litters and animal families, the other animals show each other what they like and what they don’t like.

In human – dog relationships humans often simply presume that the dog “has to know …”.
But that is often not the case without communication and training.

The combination of the above is the reason for a lot of bruises.
And even the most experienced owner can still be caught by surprise by his Bull Terrier.

Only the very hard head jerked up in joy while trying to “kiss” a person when he/she bends over the dog can cause serious accidents.

First of all: Protect yourself!

Therefore the first and foremost rule with a Bull Terrier – and especially young ones and untrained ones is:

NEVER BEND OVER THE DOG! And IF you bend over your dog, make sure that you have your hands ready to cover your face or to be able and hold the dog down by its collar, step on the leash etc.
Following this rule as long as the dog lives – even if the dog is trained to stay down – will lower the risk of nasty surprises A LOT. And it doesn’t take much.

If you want them to visit you and your new pooch more than once, teach your guests to kneel down in front of the dog or besides it in case they want to get closer to its head to pet it. And explain to them, why bending OVER the dog is a very bad idea.

Stepping on the leash when meeting strangers or when allowing the dog to greet kids may be an idea, in certain situations when you want to put control above everything. It secures the dog and just physically prevents it from going up or jumping.

But it is important to know that limiting the range of movement for your dog so drastically can also lead to aggression in isolated cases, if the dog feels cornered or threatened by the situation.
Also it does NOT provide any learning experience for your dog, it just limits its physical ability to go up.

Therefore in addition, of course the Bull Terrier should also actively learn to go through different situations without going up or jumping on people. Teaching your dog which behaviors are acceptable and which are unacceptable is a very important lesson for its later life as a good canine citizen.

Learn more about how dogs can learn to show the desired behavior on the next page.