Shar Pei and Bulldog Obedience Training – 10 year old Shar Pei and 4 year old English Bulldog don't get along…
by Stephanie
(San Antonio, TX, USA)
My boyfriend has had his male Shar Pei for 10 years now. It has always been him and the dog. He got an internship and moved up to a different city with his dog. I have a 4 year old male English Bulldog, and we moved into my boyfriend’s home. He and his dog came down one weekend, and we wanted to see how they would get along, if I can take care of both dogs. From the moment they were introduced, his 10 year old growled and was aggressive to my Bulldog. My dog would try to sniff his dog, but his dog would snap and try to bite my dog. We introduced them both on leashes and could not keep the aggression down. We let his trained dog off the leash and kept my bulldog on the leash, and his dog would continue to come up to my dog and begin to growl when my dog even looked at him. At one point, if my dog even moved, the Shar Pei would growl. My Bulldog began to hide behind my legs, but when the Shar Pei came towards me, my bulldog jumped in front and began to growl. We had to break up their fight. From that point, we put my bulldog behind a gate in the kitchen,and the Shar Pei was free to roam the house and go outside through the doggie door. When we’d wake up, we’d block the Shar Pei outside with the doggie door closed, and let my Bulldog roam the house. While outside, the Shar Pei would continuously scratch at the door because he’s used to being inside. We constantly had to keep them separated. Even when my Bulldog was blocked in the kitchen and the Shar Pei was inside, they still continued to growl at each other. I have been told that the Shar Pei is a very aggressive, territorial dog. I know my Bulldog’s personality is one of friendly and loves to play with other dogs, unless the other dog is aggressive towards him. Would a trainer even help with trying to get them to get along? Since that weekend, the Shar Pei has been in with my boyfriend in the different city and the dogs have not had contact with each other; however, my boyfriend will be moving back within the next 2 months.
Our Response
Hi and thanks so much for your question I can tell that you are a loving owner who really needs some support. In this case I really think that you do need some one on one support from a professional dog trainer. The reason that I suggest this is that the trainer will be able to see how each of your dogs respond to each other and the trainer will be able to reinforce positive behavior and correct negative behavior as it happens and I don’t want to give you advice without seeing them in action. You are right although the Shar Pei is a loving and affectionate family dog if they are not well socialized they can become aggressive, protective and territorial so this needs to be taken in to account. Remember that your Shar Pei is an older dog and although Arthritis is not something that is readily associated with this breed it is worth remembering as a dog with Arthritis can become very short tempered.
