agression questions... ... ...

Yesterday 2 of my daughters (ages 2yrs and 12 yrs.) were in my front yard playing in the sand and a truck pulled up infront of my house and the driver got out and started walking up to my kids to ask directions and my dog was right there on his chain and all he did was jump on the idiot and lick him. im not saying i want my dog to eat everyone who comes into my yard but i certianly dont want him to let people strangers at that walk into my yard when my kids are right there. so what can i do to teach him to defend his territory and his family? when i got him at 4 weeks old i bought a crate and had it in my kitchen and every time someone would come over i would put him up so he didnt get used to people coming into the house and as soon as they left i would let him out....but every day after school i would walk him up to the and pick the kids up so that he would get properly socilized with children. did that make him a big softie?

 

Then get a different breed.

Your dog even with a lack of socialization is exhibiting exactly the correct behavior you want to see in a Pit Bull towards humans. If you want a dog to protect your kids you need to get a guardian breed like Great Pyr or Boerboel or even a Great Dane.

Pit Bulls were never bred to be human agressive no matter what if they showed any type of aggression towards humans they were euthanized back in the day. You need a different breed rather than trying to make your pit bull human aggressive.

 

I 100 percent agree with Sara's post.
Maybe you should think about re-homing your pit and getting another breed.
Pit bulls are by nature human friendly.
human aggressive pits are the last thing we need.
They get a bad enough rap as it is.

 

i agree with all of you and i dont want an agressive dog i just want one that will not let strangers come into my house or into my yard and walk up to my kids, to me that is unacceptable!

 

I suggest that you do some heavy research on the breed. You should visit a few forum's that are just for positive pit bull information. If you IM me I will send you the link. How long have you owned pit bulls?
I do pray that you have no intent of breeding this particular breed!
Our breed has suffered so much due to irresponsible ownership. We need educated positive pit bull owners in this day and age. It would greatly benefit you as well as your dog to make your dog a positive pit bull ambassador. The better the owner the better the dog!!!
This book is great
http://www.amazon.com/Dog-Who-Spoke-Gods/dp/0312266626

 

Actually i am not a dog breeder, and i am a responsible owner. the only dog i have ever had is a pit bull. I have probably owned about 10 in my lifetime and i am actually looking for a new female to replace the one i just lost. i dont want an agressive dog, i just want one that will be protective of his home and his family. The only time my dog is ever protective is when he is in his kennel in the yard. He wont let anyother dog go near without trying to get through the fence at it. but if he is out of the cage he is one of the best dogs i have ever had. the female i just lost was a great guard dog for the kids and the house. nobody that didnt live there could walk into my house without me or a member of my family being present. i just wish i would have let them into the house that night, than they would both still be alive and i wouldnt be searching for another dog. but i guess thats just the way it goes, the world is full of idiots and i have all their team captins living across the street from me!

 

So is it a "FEAR" thing that you want your pitball to guard the place??
What happened to your female if you dont mind me asking?? Was she taken, stolen??
I feel so sorry for the pitball because of the abuse humans put them through, in America alone tonns are mistreated, straved, beaten, and fought till one dies..Its a sick sick world. Instead of trying to make him into a guard dog, cherish the fact that he's so gentle, because they need all the positive support thay can get.

I understand what your saying though, have you thought about a house security system?? Just a thought.

 

ditto to what others said. and ditto to you doing more research on the breed. ive read pretty much all your posts since you joined and i dont think you know as much as you think you do.

 

You say you don't want an aggressive dog in one sentence, but then go on to describe behavior you want the dog to show that IS aggression. You can't have it both ways. Either the dog behaves aggressively or he doesn't.

On the other hand, he probably doesn't feel the need to defend himself and the family if he' s not seeing a threat. How he'd respond if a stranger walked into the yard, grabbed one of your kids, and tried to drag him/her away, kicking and screaming, might be a totally different thing.

My bull terriers were the sweetest, most people friendly dogs in the world, unless they thought someone was threatening one of us. And at that, they didn't just explode into aggressive behavior. They would walk into the middle and stare at the person they thought was threatening, with an "I'd really hate to have to bite you, but I will if you don't stop it" look on their face. Only twice did either one of them escalate into actual aggressiveness. And with good cause.

Your dog doesn't need to act like a demon dog to be protective of your family. He needs to be a good canine citizen, and a good ambassador for the breed.

 

I think that you need to research the breed, proper raising of a dog and learn about them before you go getting upset.

Its no wonder we have all these bites by the breed with uneducated people raising them, you're lucky your dog turned out so great considering how you treated him, but thats how most Pit Bulls are if it were another breed you may have a problem on your hand.

If you want a dog that will be a guard dog or react defensivly then get a breed who has natural instincts to do this, who have traits that they are bred for in this line of work. This does not guarantee that if you get a guard breed it wouldn't be friendly and greet a stranger, what it is more likely to bark and if need be react with warning. You should also seek a professional trainer and make sure you have a stable trustworthy dog, one that is not aggressive but will guard and defend when needed and can be shut off with a command. A good guard dog isn't one who is untrained and unsocialized, a good guard dog is very sociable and friendly, but protects when he needs to. He is like night and day.

By nature this breed is extremely human friendly and loves people, including strangers, this is why so many are stolen. We had almost $12,000 in dogs (APBTs) stolen and know many others who have had them stolen as well, so its safe to say they love people and don't mind going for a ride with anyone.

With a comment like that I suggest you learn about properly training and socializing a dog before next time you make a serious mistake with consequences that will be out of your control.

All you did was not allow the dog to socialize. This does not make them a guard dog or protective. Usually they are unchanged in their behavior, so they didn't get to see people at your home thats all, why would that make them want to protect you. In the most extreme form not socializing him would have caused him to be fear aggressive, which could be anything from barking at strangers and staying back from them because they don't trust them and are uncertain, to biting, snarling, lunging at people because they are scared or reacting completly cowardly and cowering down at strangers who approach in a submissive manner. A fear aggressive dog is never a realiable dog for guard or protection. Basically some may bark, growl or even snap at a stranger but when that person comes with serious business in mind (to harm you or your family) and shows that they are a threat once the dog has put on his fear aggressive bluff and the attacking shows they are still aggressive and not threatened your dog will run off, cower, and be of no use to you, as it will be pretty much as scared as you are, usually expecting you as the alpha and master to take control.

Also don't 2nd guess your dog. They are not stupid, they can sense peoples demeanor and your emmotions. Dogs in general can do this and APBTs are great at discerning this. If your dog would have reacted with fear aggression and bite the guy you'd probably be getting sued now and have a dead dog. The guy was obviously harmless, he only wanted directions and nothing happened. A dog of good temperament reacts as he does, you don't know how he would have reacted had this guy tried to harm your kids?

My dogs have stable temperaments, one male is so overly excited and friendly by men no matter who they are. But one day I was walking him it was about midnight, we ran into one guy (litterally) and he just wanted to get attention which the guy just walked by us and ignored us and he still wagged and wiggled as he likes to do. But on the walk back we were on the other side of the street, one guy who I don't like, wouldn't trust him not to try something (as well he's a rapist and also a wife beater) was smoking a joint and standing a parking lot. I stopped at building before the parking lot and stood there hoping he would leave. Well he didn't and I couldn't stand there forever, there is the parking lot and the sidewalk in front of that which he was standing at the edge of the parking lot. I walked in the street instead and of course he eyed me right off staring at me, then my dog who'd never shown any form of human aggression to anyone in his lifetime gave him a deep throaty growl and stare and I felt so extremely relieved. A dog that would normally just be full of wiggles for any guy, knew something was not right with this man and also sensed my anxiety in the situation. That is what a good dog does, reacts to the situation, in yours there was no threat.