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Wife agreed to give my dog a chance....

3K views 21 replies 11 participants last post by  angelbaby 
#1 ·
He is 5 months now and was doing fine with bothe her 3 and 6 year old shih tzus and now today all the sudden hs growling and lunging at them, scared the crap out of me. What should i do??



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#2 ·
Do you have any clue on what caused him to lunge at the dogs? Maybe food, or you were petting one of her dogs and it was dominance a act... But you do know DA is in the breed so it is something that will occur. My pup started doing the same thing around the same age as yours with my other two dogs. But I found out it was food aggression so I now know not to leave food on the floor around them. See if you can figure out what it is that is triggering him to just growl and lunge at them.
 
#3 ·
Are you certain it was aggression and not an attempt to play? Pit bull playing can be pretty rough and certainly can involve growling and pouncing - but generally precipitated by a play bow; and even it is play I would still be concerned about the little ones getting accidentally hurt; or perhaps your dog getting too aroused in play and it turning into aggression.

The easiest answer is crate and rotate; and if you feel you can have them all out together, only do so when you are 100% completely paying attention to supervising and managing the dogs interactions with each other.
 
#5 ·
#9 ·
Athena would do the same thing with my room mates beagle. If the beagle was on the couch sometimes she would snap at him and this is the only place it would happen. Has this only happened on your bed? It could be a territorial thing. You MUST pay close attention when they are out. If you are watching you should be able to pick up what your dog is going to do just off body language. I would be able to tell if Athena was going to do something minutes before she actually would. Like others said you might have to crate and rotate. Good luck!
 
#12 ·
OK, they may never get along, you need to understand you need to get a good trainer as your dog grows so they can help you manage the possible aggression for BOTH BREEDS. The little dogs are ALSO know to be aggressive towards other animals, so I would be prepared to crate and rotate one day. I am not saying now, but you may have to have the dogs live separate, forever. Just be prepared for that.

Also, since your wife told you she didn't want the dog in the first place, you should have explained to her that the dogs MIGHT not get along one day, so she would NOT have a chance to say I told you so...
 
#14 · (Edited)
I thought your dog was a puppy? He is growing and there is NEVER EVER a guarantee that they will ever get alone. They may also live in harmony forever, but you need to be realistic and honest so you are not misleading anyone about the potential situation. You dont leave them alone together, right? Have you got a trainer yet? And sorry I thought your dogs were Chiwawas I don't know much about Shih Tzu's. Just keep in mind you CAN manage it with help and research. There are tons of threads on here about how to do that if you ant find them, let me know.

have you re-read this thread? http://www.gopitbull.com/general-discussion/46433-my-wife-my-dog.html
I am referring to the part when over and over people tell you to get a good trainer who works with bully breeds. Sooner the better!

and there is NO guarantee a neuter will help curve the aggression. Might help you to have your dog focus better on your training, but without a trainer a neuter will not cure anything...
 
#22 ·
I wouldnt go to a shock collar before trying anything and everything else. Shock collars I find work when they are on however do not teach anything other then fear the collar. I have seen dogs behave when they know that collar is on and then back to there old habits the minute it is off. I would find a trainer who can work in other ways and methods then shocking them.
You do understand about DA right? have you started to crate train them at all? if not I would start there. You need to be aware when they are together , hopefully will never give a reason to seperate them but incase you do be prepared. Watch for triggers when they are together, added attention to 1 or 2 , if your wife is loving on her 2 and not him well there is a reason for jealousy. toys, food, treats, attention, over excitement all can cause fights to break out.
Mine play really loud and some are very vocal so knowing the difference in tone in your dog will help you know when play is not play, or if it gets to exciting you can step in and always calm it down, break them up , snap them out of that intense play.
 
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