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Is dog aggression cureable? Or do we need to put him down?

7K views 45 replies 25 participants last post by  mi16reisen 
#1 ·
First off, I am very uneducated about pitts as a breed. I grew up around dogs my whole life, my parents were breeders, but I have mostly been around labs, sheepdogs, etc.

My now husband had two pitts already when I moved in. He never gave them the attention and energy they needed and deserved and I nagged him incessantly about that. He is not a bad person, was just uneducated about dogs and their needs and he is a workaholic. He is rarely home. I am not strong enough to handle either dog on its own to walk and they have never been trained to behave on a leash or in public.

Both are males, one year apart in age, both neutered and crate trained. Both sweet dogs, but don't know their own strength kind of energy and we must keep them separated from any guests we have over.

Last summer the boys got into two fights - bad enough that there were injuries involved and I was concerned but they weren't severely hurt. Looking back these were warning signs.

In November, my husband got me the puppy that I've been wanting for years, an English Bulldog female. She is a great dog and the three seemed to get along famously.

In April, the two boys had another fight but this one was beyond violent. I've never seen anything like it before. They were completely tearing each other apart, blood everywhere, and were locked onto each other for 30 minutes. I tried everything I could think of to break them apart without getting too close but failed. They eventually stopped on their own. Both were severely injured (in my opinion, a $600 vet bill and a couple weeks recovery for each of them). At this point I thought we needed to surrender the dogs. I contacted a pitt rescue who sent a trainer to us.

The trainer said that if we were comfortable we could try keeping the dogs. ALthough my female hadn't been in heat ever yet, he thought that was coming and maybe caused the fight. Both boys are neutered but he said it could still have been an issue. He also said they may scuffle in the future but we don't necessarily need to get rid of them because it will never be bad again.

A few months later, our friend brought his two dogs over and it was instantly WWIII. It was a four dog instant fight and luckily the dogs were quickly separated and sustained minor injuries. Our oldest and his oldest were definitely the aggressors in that situation. I had my puppy safe inside during that.

For the past couple of months our oldest has been acting out a lot. He suddenly started jumping up on everybody, barking incessantly, not minding, etc. Then, last week, the two boys got into another awful fight. While the trainer was right - it wasn't as severe as the last time, it was NEARLY. They were both hurt, and took a few days to recover.

My heart is breaking for these boys because they just can't seem to get along. Again, my puppy was inside and they were outside when the fight broke out. A few days later, our oldest went after her while I was standing between them. It terrified me. I smacked him on the head and he backed down but I am so afraid of him now - I have no idea what he is capable of.

I can see all of the mistakes that we have made but my question is if they are reparable? It is not practical for us to keep all three dogs separated all of the time. My husband and I work two jobs each. Its a bad situation. We have cried and kicked ourselves for all of this but we need to know how to move on. Can this type of aggression in the older dog be corrected? I have been asking and reading and everything I"m hearing is that we need to put him down? We have been halfheartedly searching for homes for both of them (my husband can't bear to keep one and not the other) but it seems hard to find a home for the oldest when I feel he can't legitimately go to a household with another dog or children.

Please help with any knowledge you have! We are just devastated at this point and I am EXHAUSTED from keeping all three dogs
separated all week.

Oh, and the oldest is 4 years old and the younger is 3 years old. They never fought until the younger one outgrew the older one in size, a little bit after he turned 1. They are both mixes that my husband got from a rescue.
 
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#37 ·
Christ almighty the Dog Whisperer really? I know its easy to get all caught up in the glitz and glamour of TV trainers but, geez! I like Caesar for his character because he does try and promote the breed in a good way but, in the same since can't stand him because he fills inexperienced pitbull owners with nonsense. These dogs were bred to be DA so no if your dog is DA you will never be able to train it out of them. Some are trainable in the sense of avoidance but, that in itself only goes so far. Just either educate yourself on owning a DA dog or rehome the dog to an experienced person. There is no need to kill the dog for something that is just there. You wouldn't kill and ACD for chasing cattle would you? What about a Beagle for killing or chasing a rabbit? Every dog has its purpose and that purpose was bred into them and most have the natural instinct of their job.
 
#39 ·
lol you guys know this is an old thread from Sept right? she just posted to try and promote her and her boy friend or husband or whoever he is training videos..... Look at the E collar one it will make you laugh. Yeah lets put an E collar on a dog because they are confused on what I was trying to teach them.... shocking them will my point even more clear..... I am all for e collars but not how these amateurs try and use them.
 
#40 ·
Educate yourself and learn to deal with the DA and work the dog with a ball or a flirt and get em some excercise. OR find a more suitable home you can use the local shelter and keep the dog at your house in many cases sometimes they take the dog spay/neuter it and its gone before the next puppy gets picked, cause someone wants a "pitbull" ..

Clearly you said your uneducated and you've gotten lil rolled here but you have gotten good advice along the way.

Pay attention to what is being advised when questions asked no matter how you "feel" because how you "feel" isnt getting you the results you want is it? I tell this to anyone asking for advice now days in some shape or form. Usually the best advice is what we don't want to hear.

Best of luck to ya!
 
#41 ·
Some people don't get it and never will. Most of what needs to be said has been said. But yes Lisa, that bugs me when I see people tryin to buy an e collar and expect it to instantly make their issues go away. its a tool and if u don't know how to use it, it will never work properly.
 
#43 ·
Ok not to feed the trolls or anything, but just watched the Caesar clip. Kinda kills me that the couple seemed to have a good routine crate and rotating then looks like Caesar is about to come in a eff it up. Man they really will end up with one dead dog sooner or later. smh
 
#44 ·
Wow. This is an accident waiting to happen. You have two powerful dogs in the hands of inexperienced owners. What's going to happen is those dogs are going to get loose one day and hurt someone, or they are going to end up killing each other. Even if they seem like best friends with each other, pit bulls are such devastating fighters, all it takes is a temper tantrum from one of them and one of them could get killed. In my opinion, if you and your husband don't have the time or resources to properly own those dogs, the best thing to do is give them up. Its not worth a lawsuit or someone getting hurt.
 
#45 ·
Lol at so many pit bulls not being dog aggressive. That's because the mass population of "pit bulls" aren't American Pit Bull Terriers. The general public has no clue what an APBT is. Pit bull was a nick name for the APBT but since this whole BSL dangerous dog crap they've turned that nick name into a descriptive word. Since they couldn't properly identify the breed they came up with a check list based on the UKC and AKC standards. If any dog has 50% of their "pit characteristics" it's labeled at pit bull, no matter what breed it actually is. American Bullies, Mastiffs, American Bulldogs, Persas, Dogos, even boxer and lab mixes are labeled as pit bulls. Often times when you hear someone talking about their "pit" they're most likely talking about a look a like breed, or a paperless mutt that conforms to the pit characteristics.
 
#46 ·
In short: DA is manageable, not curable.

I agree with many of the PPs. A true APBT, even mixes, are hard-tempered dogs. You have to be a strong alpha to manage a hard dog. But with hard dogs often comes a fearlessness and confidence that I find unmatched. I would never trade that for a soft dog. Soft dogs are much more easygoing and might be great for families but I like strong personalities. I like cats too. Maybe that's why I like hard dogs. I like a bit of attitude in my animals.

I would put down a dog if it was neurotic. Both soft and hard dogs can be neurotic.

And like PPs say, if you aren't up to learning and managing a DA dog properly, please give it to someone who can.

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