i need serious advice - Pitbulls

karaleette · 08-22-2008, 01:00 PM

so, i need some serious advice. i got a female rednose about 1 yr and 8 months ago, she'll be 2 all hollows eve. i got another male this past February and he's about 8 months old. my female started lactating and mothered him, and still does.

i took my female to training classes and socialized her as much as possible. my male is in classes right now. i had a roommate move in and she had a german shepard mix female and a much larger male mutt. my male, being a puppy, had no problem with this. my female, however did not get along with the other female. she attacked her several times.

my roommate and i both work at petsmart in the "hotel". we handle and deal with dogs, aggression, sickness, and much more on a daily basis. at first i thought this was a dominance problem, but as time went on, i realized my girl was, and still is pregnant from a friends pit. she eventually killed my roommates dog, and she moved out. this happened about 3 weeks ago.

now, she's going to pop any second and my male is scared of her. she's been acting very strange. i have gotten scared a couple times within the past week and i don't want this to continue.

i have an airhorn, a muzzle, and citronella spray for any emergencies. but i would like some one to point me in the right direction. should i keep them seperated while the puppies are here? should i keep a muzzle on her? i have people at work who i could ask, but pits are so different i need some breedspecific advice.

anything about aggression, puppies, suggestions, stories, ANY sort of advice will be much MUCH MUCH appriciated.

Patch-O-Pits · 08-22-2008, 01:21 PM

Please crate and rotate the dogs and NEVER leave them together unattended.

Add to that if she is pregnant her hormones are flying and with her dog aggressive history she definitely should not be around your other dog or any others at this point.

That is very sad about your room mates dog. RIP

Please make sure to get her spayed after this... she should never have been allowed to breed with your inexperience especially.

I also recommend doing pediatric spay/neuters on all of her pups before you place them. Please screen new homes as it is hard enough finding responsible homes for pups let alone APBT puppies.

I Hope that helped

karaleette · 08-22-2008, 01:43 PM

would spaying her cut down her aggression level? and i did not plan the breeding, honest, it was pure accidental. i was planning to breed the two i have but after this, im neutering both of them.

**redog** · 08-22-2008, 01:48 PM

this member needs advice, and any thing negative or judgemental thats posted here will be handed over toEric and you will get the banbeating. the mods have itchy trigger fingers and are already to jump in. We will give points for good posts here

Patch-O-Pits · 08-22-2008, 02:34 PM

Quote:

would spaying her cut down her aggression level?

If she is more aggressive during her cycles then yes. As a rule of thumb spay/neutering is never the answer to stopping aggression though in some cases it may help with it. There are no easy answers when it comes to aggression.

Honestly if you had posted sooner I would have suggested doing a spay abort.
Breeding properly is not just putting two cute pets together and hoping for the best. It takes a lot of research and work to breed a litter properly no matter what breed is involved. Because the breed is under such scrutiny , BSL, and the lack of good knowledgeable homes, all the shelter dogs and the amount being put down just because of their breed only the best of the best should be bred in my opinion.

Quote:

i have but after this, im neutering both of them.

Good for you

Now it is time to step up for the pups you have on the way and start screening new homes and making contracts for their protection.

Quote:

Originally Posted by redog

this member needs advice, and any thing negative or judgemental thats posted here will be handed over toEric and you will get the banbeating. the mods have itchy trigger fingers and are already to jump in. We will give points for good posts here

I agree.

Phoenix · 08-22-2008, 02:55 PM

Like some people don't get along, some dogs just don't care for others.
Keep both separated always, as was previously stated.
A friend of mine had to alter her dogs of a different breed for the same reasons; the heat cycle brought out more aggression in the female and she kept attacking the male.Out of heat, she was fine.She was also a CH. show dog so the altering ended her career.Kudos to my friend for doing what needed to be done ; putting the dogs' safety above show wins.
When the pups are born,allow no one but yourself around the dog and pups.
Keep a calm-assertive demeanor around her; you don't want her to pick up on your insecurities and become edgy.Socialize the pups well, and screen homes carefully to avoid a repeat situation.
Please PM me with any specific questions you may have,or your phone # and I will counsel you the best I can.
Welcome to the forum;you will learn much here.
Best wishes to you-Phoenix

Phoenix · 08-22-2008, 02:59 PM

By the way,dog training is different than dog psycology.It sounds like you have a dominant dog. Dominant dogs tend to be very good at learning obedience, but that does not fully moderate the dominace issue.Again,PM me for details. I am more than happy to assist you in your situation.

**MY MIKADO** · 08-22-2008, 03:27 PM

Hi and welcome to the forum. I'm so sorry that you are having thi trouble. I have to tress what Pheonix stated you can NOT how your dog that you a scared. She will pick up on that. Make sure you kennel her or the male pup when you not around. I would probably get that boy neutered asap. I hope you can be around when the pup are born if the mother is really agressive I don't know for sure but she could try to kill the pups. I don't do breeding so I'm not much help at all. Good luck.

bluefamily · 08-22-2008, 07:58 PM

HMMM.... I am sorry your are in a fix... and I am sorry your roommate lost her dog. That, to say the least, was tragic. However, Your girl will still have babies soon qand don't forget she is weirded out by all the changes that are going on in her body, the hormones, the puppies moving and growing inside...as a first time mom, everything is new and different. Because she is still learning what is going on, she will take it out on anybody, including you. Someone said "crate and rotate". A definate must. The crate will become her safe haven and can be turned into a whelping box to boot.
When my girl had her first litter, she was mad at me, at the father of the litter, my other dogs, at breathing fast, you name it, but I never backed down and never broke my pattern of care with her. She came to rely on that in the end. She let me help her with the birthing process and then let the dad of the litter around the puppies a lot and she has returned to her sweet self. I know she will get crazy around her heat cycle but I know what precautions to take.
I will get her fixed next month ( big bills due this month) and I don't believeit will make her agressive, sexually frustrated probably, but that is a solvable problem as well.
Hang in there and maintain your consistentcy in care. You seem to have a good head on your shoulders and good resources.

GnarlyBlue · 08-22-2008, 08:26 PM

this sounds very similar to what I dealt with (and still deal with) with our dogs littermate that we adopted, Asia. Long story... but the best exercise that we got from a local dog trainer (who btw is an anti bsl activist and rottie & mastiff fan) who specializes in large/aggresive or bully breed we have been using daily with incredible resluts.

!!!Don't try this while she's still pregers or by yourself with both dogs!!

It requires 2 people. While things are in a relaxed state,(watching TV or any quiet time) sit on the floor with the dog on her back, between your legs with her head closest to you. make certain they have collars and/or muzzle if you have difficulty controling the animal. your friend should do the same with the other dog separated by a few feet at first. What you are looking for is the tail. at first it will be tucked up between the legs... now you would want to keep both dogs in submission until their tail go down to the floor in a relaxed state... THEN you may commend the dog. NOT excitedly, but some good girls and gentle petting. reward with the absolute best of the best treat... to associate being near another dog, with being submissive, and her favorite treat.
Do this as often as you are around and can spare the time. It kinda sucks "cause at that point your spare time is invested completely in the dog. But it helps for them seeing you in the role of leader and that BOTH of them are lesser in the family.

THIS IS NOT A CURE, mind you. They will still require constant supervision when together and muzzles are a big plus if the female is going after the male but it has helped us manage tthe dog agression in the house

no replacement for common sense

GnarlyBlue · 08-22-2008, 08:33 PM

I have an excellent resource on D.A. if you PM me your email address I can fwd it. I cant attach it here because it's 350KB and you can only attach 19.5KB

**smokey_joe** · 08-22-2008, 09:23 PM

Crate and rotate can be your best friend. There's lots of info about it online.

Have you taken her to the vet for a prego checkup? They can probably give you some great advice about whelping and puppy care. Good luck with everything.

P.S. - Sorry about your roomate's dog.

**ericschevy** · 08-22-2008, 11:36 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Patch-O-Pits

Please crate and rotate the dogs and NEVER leave them together unattended.

Add to that if she is pregnant her hormones are flying and with her dog aggressive history she definitely should not be around your other dog or any others at this point.

That is very sad about your room mates dog. RIP

Please make sure to get her spayed after this... she should never have been allowed to breed with your inexperience especially.

I also recommend doing pediatric spay/neuters on all of her pups before you place them. Please screen new homes as it is hard enough finding responsible homes for pups let alone APBT puppies.

I Hope that helped

I'm going to quote Patch to save some typing..This is good advice..

BedlamBully · 08-22-2008, 11:37 PM

I do NOT agree with forcing a submissive roll. It will not make your dog see you in a good light at all, but do what you do.

As for the preggo Pit, well..good luck.

**SadieBlues** · 08-22-2008, 11:43 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by karaleette

so, i need some serious advice. i got a female rednose about 1 yr and 8 months ago, she'll be 2 all hollows eve. i got another male this past February and he's about 8 months old. my female started lactating and mothered him, and still does.

i took my female to training classes and socialized her as much as possible. my male is in classes right now. i had a roommate move in and she had a german shepard mix female and a much larger male mutt. my male, being a puppy, had no problem with this. my female, however did not get along with the other female. she attacked her several times.

my roommate and i both work at petsmart in the "hotel". we handle and deal with dogs, aggression, sickness, and much more on a daily basis. at first i thought this was a dominance problem, but as time went on, i realized my girl was, and still is pregnant from a friends pit. she eventually killed my roommates dog, and she moved out. this happened about 3 weeks ago.

now, she's going to pop any second and my male is scared of her. she's been acting very strange. i have gotten scared a couple times within the past week and i don't want this to continue.

i have an airhorn, a muzzle, and citronella spray for any emergencies. but i would like some one to point me in the right direction. should i keep them seperated while the puppies are here? should i keep a muzzle on her? i have people at work who i could ask, but pits are so different i need some breedspecific advice.

anything about aggression, puppies, suggestions, stories, ANY sort of advice will be much MUCH MUCH appriciated.

Wow this must be a lot for you to handle sounds like your really trying to seek out help which is a very good start. I would definitely keep the male and female in different parts of the house and well crated. I am not sure of your setup but it would probably be a good idea to keep the male as far away from the female and the litter as possible right now. I would also make sure you get them all neutered and spayed to prevent any additional unwanted accidents. Can I ask do you already have homes lined up for the puppies? If so you may want to make sure that the buyer's sign a contract to make sure that those puppies are also spayed/neutered by at least 6 months to prevent any future breedings with the pups as well if you don't plan on doing the spaying and neutering yourself before the pups are placed in their new homes. Please let us know if we can help with anything else and good luck with everything. BTW I know petsmart has the benfield hospitals in them I don't know if you get any additional discounts with them for being a petsmart employee just a thought to look into that for the spaying and neutering to save some money.