HELP! MY PITBULL PUPPY IS MEAN!

I do not know what to do. I have a puppy that is a little over a year old. She loves me to no end. Greets me with kisses at the door every day after work. She loves everyone she knows very much and always wants to play. She ALSO loves EVERY dog she meets, no matter how little or big it is. I love this dog more than anything in the world.....

HERE IS THE PROBLEM...


She hates strangers. I mean....hates them. My best friend who is a pilot came home yesterday and i thought my puppy would remember him (she only met him once) so he walks up and she bit him...hard, on the hand and made him bleed.

I socialized her EVERYDAY when she was young and it didnt help. I love this dog so much and I do not know what to do. If she knows you she will love you to death, but she is mean to people she doesnt know. I also dont want her to hurt someone.....HELP ME PLEASE!!!!!

 

maybe she felt threatened they way your friend approached her,
and that was and was he wearing auniform? most dogs get freaked by uniforms for some strange reason.

 

no, he was dressed normal. she is like that with all strangers. she literally hates them. i do not know why. She is so loveable to her family and friends.

 

Had he just walked into or up to your house when she did this? Was it an 'all out' aggressive...lunging, snarling attack' or more that she went up to him and bit him?
She may have met him once, that doesnt mean she knows him, to her this was an 'intruder' she may have been protecting you, your family, and the territory. Thats not unusual for a dog although you need to work with her on the biting, thats not acceptable and as you said you dont want her to hurt anyone....to say nothing of potential lawsuits.
I know you say that you socialized her everyday when she was younger, if it didnt work why did you stop? while you may have socialized her somewhat you havent desensitzed her to people she doesnt know, it might not always completely eliminate the problem but will greatly improve it. There are some dogs that are so outwardly aggressive with people, any people, including their owners but even they can be worked with, from your description of how she usually is I dont see any reason why she cant be either more comfortable around strangers or why you dont have more of a handle on controlling her. Im not saying she will turn into the kind of dog that jumps up happily to greet everyone and you may well have to always have to be careful on this but if she cant relax around people she doesnt know then you need to have some control.
Have you taken her to places where there are a lot of people around shopping centres, cars pulling up with people getting in and out, shopping carts being wheeled around etc, how about a park when theres a ball game on or something, anywhere where there are lots of people, if you dont trust her (and I wouldnt at this point) you could use a basket muzzle especially if there are kids around as often kids will get too close, if you have never taken her to places that are so busy with people then you would need to start her in a less busy area. Has she had any obedience? will she walk well on a leash, sit and stay? if not then you might want to do some basics with her before taking out, you need to have control of her so shes not pulling you around trying to bite people.
Apologies if this sounds a little blunt but it is one of the most common reasons dogs are brought in for training, its a reasonably easy fix when its done right, 2 weeks in-kennel training and about $1000 in the bank, and most of the business is by word of mouth so I know it works.

 

can you tell me more about this in-kennel training. I will spend $1000.00 if it will help my baby be better towards people. I live in Wester New York. Please help me out.

 

The company I was with is in California but I will definitely check around and see if I can get some info for a good East Coast trainer. Ill be in touch.

 

I know you don't want to hear this, but you should really consider having her PTS. APBTs shouldn't bite humans - period! I know she's your baby, and I can only imagine how hard it would be, but it is truly what needs to be done. In the end, that decision is yours, but I know what I would do if she were mine. John Q Public already thinks badly enough about our dogs. We don't need to add to it. JMHO.

 

APBT's are powerfull and already have a bad rap... If training doesn't help her aggression the most responsible thing you could do after all else fails is to put her to sleep... I've faced this reality with my own dog and if she were to ever become outwardly aggressive to ANYONE we would put her down...weak nerves, shy dog she is...and I have the means to keep her safely... BUT if I were to ever fear for the safety of any human being at any time with her I would put her down...

Work work work...and I hope you can get her under control.

 

i have 2 males that stay on chains in the yard as guard dogs....if you get in their chain reach you MIGHT get bit----my lil brother in law got nipped by one because he got in his chain....ironically, that dog slept with him the night before!!! but when hes on his chain hes working....dogs feel fear, aggresion, and confusion and they react.....she was just trying to protect you and thats great!!! isnt that what you want???? YOU have to make her accept people in social situations or she will always be aggressive towards people that are near you....

 

sorry, i have to keep trying, I WILL NOT put my baby to sleep. She sleeps right next to me every night and in the morning her head is always right next to me. She makes sure at least one of her paws is touching me during the night at all times to make sure I dont leave, lol. she is a loving dog towards people she knows.

 

Well, letting her sleep with you could be part of the problem. She's not a kid in a dog suit, she's a dog. Her behaviors are governed by dog instincts. Letting her sleep in your bed is giving her the idea that she's an equal. This is a big mistake, and a dangerous one at that, and it's unfair to let her convince herself that she's on the same level in the pack as you are.

You can invite her into your bed to cuddle, and she should be allowed on the bed ONLY by invitation, not whenever she chooses, but don't let her spend the night. Keep her in your room, but give her her own bed, and insist she sleep there.

Love on your dog as much as you want to, but never regard her as an equal. And more importantly, never allow her to regard YOU as an equal. You can spoil your dog all you want to so long as you also train her. A spoiled but trained dog is under control. A spoiled untrained dog is a tyrant.

Oedience training is a must. And I'd also suggest getting a copy of "Mother Knows Best; The Natural Way to Train Your Dog" by Carol Lea Benjamin.

It's not to late to turn this dog around, but you need help from a good trainer, you need to understand what instincts drive your dogs behavior, and you need to learn to be a firm, consistant leader.

 

my aussie did the same

I raised Australian Shepherds years ago and had one that was the same way. In the house with me or in the car with me he was overly affectionate to strangers but the minute they try to come in and I was not there or go near the car he would attack. So long as I verbally gave him an ok he was fine but if he did not hear me or see me he would become aggressive to strangers. In his defense he was being protective and for that I would never fault him. he never did this outside of the yard only in the yard, house or car. I could take him to public parks and he would play with people and other dogs fine but held a special regard for "His Space".

 

This is the mentality that leads to people's "babies" attacking someone and adding to the breed's bad rep. If she cannot be worked out of this, she really should be put to sleep. It is a hard decision, but it is irresponsible to keep a man aggressive APBT, in my opinion. These are PEOPLE DOGS! They are supposed to love just about anyone and everyone. None of mine have ever met a stranger, so to speak. The worst they have done is given a growl when someone walks up to us at night - but as soon as I let them know it's okay, they're happy. Your dog shouldn't have to protect you, but when she does, she needs to defer to your judgement when you say there is no threat. Ugh - I could go on and on about this. Since you are completely unwilling to even entertain the thought of euthanasia, I just hope you never end up regretting that decision. If you're gonna keep her, can you guarantee you can confine her securely to where she'll not have any contact with anyone other than you for her entire life? Cause that's what you'd have to do. I just pray that working with her will help enough.

 

Spencer, see you are wrong about one thing. You said I have to "keep her confined to only myself". Why? I stated that she loves everyone she knows. My mother, father, brother, friends, and anyone she has met. She doesnt like strangers. Its not that she hates everyone.


I got some good advice though from some people and I have gotten a muzzle and am going to try to train her and I have some people who are going to help me. Thank you everyone.

 

Good luck. Let us know how you get on with her.

 

PitBullPride
You stated in this thread that your dog loves everyone but yet when you posted your problem on another forum you said the dog has already attacked someone and in fact growls at your mother when she enters the room. I understand that you love your dog, but I think you are in denial as to what really needs to be done with her. Human aggression should not be tolerated simply muzzling your dog is not going to be enough. And frankly I don't believe you will be able to train the aggression out of her either. I have an extremely dog aggressive APBT female and I can tell you right now if her aggression were to ever cross over as much as I love her I would have her pts. If It were me and one of my dogs attacked a human as you have claimed your dog has I would have had her pts ASAP.

 

Gina - I'm glad to see I'm not the only one who feels this dog needs to be PTS. Human aggression - whether it is to familiar people or strangers - should NOT be tolerated in this breed. If everyone culled the man biters, our breed's future wouldn't be hanging in the balance right now. Ugh! I'm gonna hush now cause if I keep going I'll probably get banned. LOL.

 

This is sad, but human life comes first. I am one of animals biggest fans and this too would be hard for me to do, I would have to put the choice in someone else's hands! I couldn't make the choice my self.
I would be one of the ones run through a pound and free all the animals lol. But reality is if a dog bites once he will bite again!

I was mauled when I was 5 bit in the face went all the way inside my mouth through the wall of my mouth! Under my arms and stomach area.
He was a dog who had been on a chain all his life I felt he needed a hug and so I went to be with him. I do not fear dogs I have learned a greater respect for them and their space. But Also know in a family pack they are under me in rank. And this is how it is all people are higher up and they come last. I begged the people not to put the dog - germanshepard to sleep and they put him in a run kennel which was a lot better than that old rusty chain he was on. He was allowed to live to be an old dog but he was caged the rest of his life. So still seemed so sad for him to be kept that way. He never knew any other life.
I chose not to chain my dogs because I have kids but they do have kennels they stay in. And they are let out to run I have a large land.
But if one of my dogs was to bite I would have to hand them over.
I have done this once before I had a lab she bit my son and I asked for my husband to take her to be put down. We tried working with her she only became more aggressive after this and we had no choice.
I gave her another year with obedience classes and there was nothing we could do she just would go back to the same way she was.

 

I have a question. How many people would euthanize their dog if a stranger (to the dog) walked up to their house and the dog bit the stranger? I know I wouldnt, The areas Ive lived (in LA) havent been the safest areas and Ive had dogs for protection purposes. If a stranger walks up to my house I expect the dogs to do something. I have the capabilities to diffuse the situation if I know the person, some people need some guidance as to how to do this.
A growl is one step away from a bite. A chained dog, statistically is 2.8 times more likely to bite that an unchained dog if it gets off the chain or if someone gets too close. A dog that has not been desensitized to strangers may bite in the process of 'protecting its pack'.
I think with the information given here people are just a little too quick to push for this dog to be euthanized, I see where the problem is and its not necessarily with the dog, the owner doesnt have control of the dog which she(or he) is now more knowledgable and is prepared to work on it. If this owner cant handle it then she is also prepared to pay for a good trainer or behaviourist to attend to the problem.....and please dont tell me this cant be worked on because I have many years of experience where this has been succesfully worked on, including with dozens of Pit Bulls and Pit mixes....9 times out of 10 the problem is with the owner, not with the dog.
I euthanized a dog that 'attacked' a member of my family that the dog knew very well, I did not euthanize 2 other dogs that bit strangers.....it wasnt even a consideration, both came onto my property unexpectadly. Granted none of them were Pit Bulls, one was a Dane mix the other was a Rottweiller.
I dont know how this dog will turn out, its not for me to say without assessing it personally which is why I do think that a professional should be brought in....but I think some credit should be given for the fact that the owner has asked for help with this.

 

I agree this dog should have a chance and go through being retrained and if it doesn't progress get better then make the choice and that was my point also. Was to find other ways but if all else fails and you just cant improve your self or the dog then comes time to make the big choice of putting it down. Everything and everyone needs and deserves chances.
I always feel it takes group effort meaning not just the person who is in the home but the whole family.

Any ways I wish her the best with her baby