I wanted to check in to say Sam is doing great, and mention something about his food, and point out one other little thing...
So, we noticed that Sam really prefers fish to any other kind of food. I don't know if this is a typical pitbull thing, but in case it is, I would suggest anyone having similar problems to try this solution. We kept trying different kinds of foods, and I noticed his guarding used to be way worse when he didn't really like the food. When he likes it he just enjoys it and doesn't have to time think enough to start getting nervous. So he's currently on a diet of canned AvoDerm: salmon & wild rice stew formula, mixed with dry Premium Edge: skin & coat formula, salmon, potato and vegetable formula. Ever since he got switched to that, he has finished every single meal in one shot as soon as he gets the okay to start eating (meaning NO guarding whatsoever), and even comes into the kitchen wagging his tail upon being asked "hungry Sam?" I am thrilled about this, and I have a feeling Sam is pretty stoked about it too. I don't mean for this to be a dog food commercial, but I know a lot of people read this forum, so if by chance someone is having really similar experiences to what I described, with a young pitbull, I highly recommend trying this food.
The other thing I wanted to point out has to do with how to properly handle an aggressive dog during an incident. Luckily in my case it ended up not being all that important since Sam has learned to trust people, but I can see how it could be profoundly important for other people in other situations. As far as I can tell there really is a vast dearth of information of what a person is supposed to do in the event that they are genuinely afraid that their dog is going to bite them. Maybe it's a liability issue, maybe it's just that most of the time the dogs are put down and people are too sensitive about that to talk about it, but whatever the reason, it was REALLY hard getting a straightforward answer to the simple question "What do I do if my dog tries to bite me?" I recall from the last time I reviewed the forum that some people said to walk away while others said never to walk away because it would teach the dog he could dominate you ... which is pretty confusing. Another answer I got was to "have someone in the house restrain him." Obviously that does not help at all. Nevermind that you might be the only person in the house, but what exactly then is that other person supposed to do to restrain him? Like I said, thank God this ended up not being an issue for me, but I am concerned about other people having problems looking for a clear answer to the same question. I would say that in my experience, if the dog is not really going for it, that holding the muzzle and saying "No bite" firmly, but being careful not to hurt the dog, then giving him a time out, has seemed appropriate. But I would add that I don't think it would have worked if I were the type of person to scare more easily, I think part of what brought the situation under control was my confidence. But if you don't have that confidence, I really don't know what I would suggest. Also, it turned out that scarey as he might have tried to be, Sam was never actually going for an actual bite. If he was, trying to grab his muzzle could be very hazardous I expect. Just wanted to probe y'all about that and encourage someone to maybe put together some solid advice on the topic for future reference.
Much thanks to all the people on here who helped me out. The rest of you should probably move over to a hamster forum where you can't do as much damage. Anyway I hope what I've shared has been able to help others and give back to the community a little.
