need help...aggressive dog

[Kayla]

Just curious if you've looked into finding a trainer for him yet? Very sorry to max but I do not agree with whats been said above and would never put my dog to sleep knowing full well that they were bred to do excactly what he did to max. Unfortunatly some pits still have very high dog aggression drive even when socalised well. My best advice is do not let him around other dogs anymore, ensure you have a secure fence and find a good trainer experinced in dealing with aggressive dogs.

Just because he's dog aggressive dosen't mean you need to worry about you or your family members as long as he has been solidly socalized and properly trained he will still view you as any dog does members of his pack in piticular the leader of his pack.

Anyone who said you would of put him to sleep if you were in her shoes are right you should not own a pit as you obviously do not understand the breeds history and what they were bred to do. If you think this dog is a danger to people soley because it has attacked and killed another dog as centurary's of instinct have told him to do you would be again very wrong.

Kayla

 

[sam]

I'm glad your parents are committed to keeping this dog and willing to what's necessary to keep this from happening again. Given that fact I can't frankly understand anyone suggesting you euthanise the dog. That's a very personal and difficult decision and a good trainer or behaviorist doesn't make that suggestion without exhausting all the other options

Dog-dog aggression is not related to dog-human aggression and can be managed. This is not a case of a dog who attacks dogs one minute and the next might turn on the owner. Those are two unrelated issues.

It's not THAT difficult to keep two dogs apart. I know loads of people who live with herding dogs where two dogs are crated while two others are out and then they switch. People who work in rescue or foster dogs often live like that almost continually. The only other dog in this household is an elderly female who likely won't be around much longer so in ot too long this WILL be an only dog household with what sounds like very seriously committed owners.

An aggressive dog can be walked on a GL for excellent control and a muzzle if you're really concerned about it. Signs and locks can be put on gates. The dog can be supervised when they are outside. They can be trained to have fantastic recall and wonderful obedience skills just like any other dog can. Lots of people I know with very reactive dogs walk their dogs very early in the morning and late at night to mini,ize the umber of dogs they need to worry about-- that's not typically because of THEIR dog it's because of all the morons letting their dogs run loose right up to an on leash dog and yell "it's ok he's friendly. and have no recall for when you yell back- mine's NOT!"
Pitties are wonderfully bright, trainable dogs. This dog isn't a deviant; he did what a normal pitty is capable of given the opportunity. Anyone thinking their dog isn't capable of that given the right circumstances should give their head a shake. As has been mentioned already this happens with many other breeds including perfectly normal, well bred, well socialised dobermans but they don't seem to generate the hysteria as this does with pittbulls.

Good luck Buyler. I encourage you to join the Click to Calm yahoo group and read the book by the same name by Emma Parsons. Emma Parsons dog was so screwed up that at one point he would snarl, foam and vomit at the sound of tags jingling or car keys amongst other things. He went on to become an excellent calm, demo dog for her aggressive dog classes and I believe he competed very successfully in obedience though he didn't get the OTCH that she had hoped for as he became ill with cancer. The great thing about Emma is she is wonderful but also very available to help through her yahoo group and you can also talk to other people who've been through what you're dealing with. Having a dog aggressive dog can be frustrating, confusing and lonely. "Fight" and the book on predation and predatory drift by Jean Donaldson would be good too.

There is lots that can be done to make this situation work if your parents are as interested and committed as they sound. Other people may not want to live with this issue and do the work of managing the situation (I know I don't) but that shouldn't deter your parents if they want to keep this dog. Having already lost one dog, I'm sure they are well aware of what's at stake and how carefully this needs to be managed.

 

[Herschel]

I'm not coming back to this thread. Sorry for being so negative, but I just can't get over this.

First, a husky was left alone with a cat and killed it.

Now, a DA dog was left with a smaller dog and killed it.



Good luck to you and your family with future training. I hope that you will follow the advice given in this thread (and especially those by Sam) so further devastation can be prevented.