Please help

smsutler · 12-27-2012, 01:44 AM

My boyfriend has a 3 year old Pit Bull named Ziggy .. We've had him since birth & he has never been beaten or abused in any way .. he is the most spoiled dog ever. He has never shown signs of aggression until Xmas eve .. he bit me in the face & today he bit my boyfriends brothers girlfriend in the face .. We are renters and were told Zig has to go .. We have called every facility in the St. Louis, Missouri area and everywhere is full or consider him a liabilty & want to put him down.. He is generally a sweet dog & we are not willing to euthanize him .. WE WILL DRIVE ANYWHERE THAT CAN TAKE HIM !! IS THERE ANY WAY YOU CAN HELP?? 314-440-1432 *steph

**ames** · 12-27-2012, 02:02 AM

Its not really responsible to rehome a potentially Human Aggressive dog. Are you sure he isn't sick? I would start with a vet, could be a tumor or cracked tooth pissing him off if this is a sudden change. Have you seen a behaviorist to get their opinion on your dogs behavior? (a lot of shelters are willing to access your dog even if your not going to keep the dog there) That's like sending a liability and could cause other incidents. Its one thing to rehome to someone who knows the dog is aggressive, what are the situations behind the attacks. if your not willing to euthanize, I would move (how did your landlord find out about it anyway?) and find a very good trainer who is familiar with potentially human aggressive dogs. What are the situations behind the bites. Are you interacting with the dog? Asking him to get of the couch? If he playing with a toy? How is he getting close to your face to bite?

BullyGal · 12-27-2012, 02:57 PM

Go to the vet, if nothing is wrong, go to a dog behaviorist, if they deem the dog to be human aggressive and untrainable, put it down.

I'm more concerned as to why the dog chose to bite faces. Were you blowing in his face, talking really loud... anything that could have triggered his response.

Wallies_momma · 12-28-2012, 01:02 AM

More information would deffinitly be appreciated here.

smsutler · 12-29-2012, 12:25 AM

Sorry, I am new to this site & didnt realize people had commented back!! .. when I was bit me Ziggy & my boyfriend were all asleep in the bed .. we got a woken by a phone call, my bf talked for a few then went up stairs to go to bathroom, he came back down to the bed & Zig stood up waged his tail at Kurt as Kurt got back in bed, Kurt lifted the blanket for Zig to go under bc he always wants to sleep under the cover & Zig looked at the blanket & turned towards me (I was just laying there) & didnt bark, growl or anything just reached down, bc he was standing & was higher then me & bit my cheek ... after all the craziness settled down we noticed that his new xmas toy was right beside my pillow . Not sure if that had anything to do w it .. when he bit Tori she came inside, sat down on the couch & Ziggy came up to her & he typically jumps up to lick peeps, but Tori was leary of it bc of what happend w me.. so when he jumped up to what she assumed was to lick her, she pushed him away & he pushed against her & bit her .....
We are just beside ourselves .. this dog has never done anything like this!! I know people say if a dog is aggressive there are subtle signs we may have missed & I keep going over & over this past year, since Ive been living w him & can not think of anything !!

**angelbaby** · 12-29-2012, 08:53 PM

unfortunately whether this is a training issue , or temperment the dog is too high a risk to responsibly place it in any home. I would start off by getting a temperment test done { some shelters can refer you to a good trainer who can do this}. If things check out there I would then get a vet check to see if anything else could be to blame. If that checks out then you could work at finding a PROPERLY fit home for him perhaps with a trainer or someone who understands the breed and this dogs issues. HOWEVER that being said this is not a quick fix all this will take alot of time and if facing eviction it doesn't sound like you have that. As sad and hard as it is for you , you really need to sit back and think this through. Can you live with yourself if you place this dog in a home and 2 months down the road see him in the papers for mauling a child ? Owning dogs comes with alot of responsibility and part of that is to think of the best interest of others as well as the dog. Im sorry but my opinion if you don't have time to follow through with what is needed here I would put the dog down vs rehome him and risk other people being bit. This breed is NOT human aggressive in the least , it is NOT a trait they carry nor are bred for so to see this sort of thing sends up some BIG red flags. Our breed is where it is in the media today due to badly bred dogs, and bad owners or owners making bad choices. Please don't let your dog be another red mark on our breed. Best of luck to you , I know how tough this is.

**Kingsgurl** · 12-30-2012, 09:36 AM

Bites are very subjective, can you elaborate? I've had unknown number of tooth contacts (teeth are, after all, right there) that were not 'bites'. It would be unusual for a dog to resource guard an object against a stationary adversary with no other signs (no stiffening, no growling) Is he, or has he ever been, protective over toys before?