[Loke-a-doke]

Loki is getting to be about 1 year old and I'm wondering if he's showing signs of DA. Ever since he was a puppy he's been veryy energetic with dogs. He seems like he's trying to be dominant to me, he uses his mouth a lot when he's playing, and he'll jump everywhere especially on the other dogs back and shoulders.

He's just fine as long as the other dog keeps playing with him. But when his playmate loses energy and gets annoyed Loki will keep biting and running circles around them. When the other dog finally has enough and snaps at him that's when Lo will fight back.

Is this dog aggression? I didn't think that he was instigating fights, but he will NOT give in if they try to correct him even once.

 

[k8nkane]

It sounds like he's just being rude and pushy -- and that he's always been that way, only now that he's getting older, he's losing his "puppy privilege". Older dogs excuse rude, pushy behavior in puppies because, they're puppies. As they get older though, other dogs will tolerate it less and less, and they will correct him.

Since he's not listening to them, you need to step in and make him listen. That boy is going to get himself in trouble eventually if it doesn't stop. He's showing dominant behavior by jumping on other dog's back and shoulders and some dogs will take that as a challenge.

IMO, his rude behavior has gone uncorrected for FAR too long (this should have been corrected by you from the beginning, if he doesn't listen to the warnings other dogs give him) and now you'll have a lot of catching up to do -- if it can be fixed at all since it's probably become habit to play that way by now.

If he's playing with another dog and puts his paws on their shoulders/back/sides or mouthes them too much, you need to immediately grab him and put him in a SitStay time-out next to you. He needs to learn that when he plays like that, the fun stops.

When his playmate loses energy or doesn't want to play anymore, that's it. He doesn't get to play with them any more. You shouldn't be allowing him to keep bullying that poor dog trying to get them to play. You need to grab him and prevent him from playing with them any more.

You need to take a much more proactive role in monitoring him and watching his body language as well as that of the other dogs, especially as he gets older. Otherwise you'll both get in trouble.

 

[performanceknls]

:goodpost: but he is one and if the play can turn into a fight time to start keeping him away from other dogs. DA is apart of the breed and it will come out when dogs are young or older. There is no reason to risk a fight, where is your dog playing with other dogs, please do not say the dog park.

 

[MY MIKADO]

Good posts you guys.

You need to remove your dog once he starts that stuff. You should take him some place and work on obedience and get him focused back on you. Never let your dog get so worked up that a fight will occur.

 

[Loke-a-doke]

I kind of excused it as puppy behavior too, just as having a lot of energy. This is my first pit, and first puppy in a long time. I've been stepping in, keeping an eye on him and getting him away when I can tell the other dogs had enough, but I definitely need to step it up to a correction from now on. I knew that the breed tended to be dog aggressive so I've just kept him leashed around any dogs and kept him away from ones he's had a problem with.
Thanks so much guys!

 

[Loke-a-doke]

Never a dog park I learned that here! haha.

He used to play with my ex boyfriends dogs a lot, they have 2 pits- one is about 2 and the other one is a couple months younger than him. They all played okay because if the older one got annoyed, Lo would always just go catch up with the little one because she was on the same energy level.

2 of my roommates also have dogs, one is a 4 or 5 month old chihuahua, Loki's never ever been around him without being on a leash, and the other is an english mastiff a little older than Lo. They used to play during the summer but she's over it now.

 

[ames]

My dog doesn't seem to like other dogs unleashed when he is on one. I dont try and meet other dogs, they come to us. One thing I have learned is no matter how well behaved your leash dog is, if an unleased lab comes up and your dog bites him, you will be the one blamed just because of what your dog is.

Besides when he was 5 weeks old and his litter turned on him, my pup didn't show any aggressive signs until well over a year old. Keep in mind they are not "adults" until 3. 2-3 are the teenage years so try and curb it now, but stay away from any dog you don't know and don't ever go to a dog park unless there are no other dogs there or course I get out of work at midnight and in the summer go at 1am to use the agility and play things so he can still have fun, just not with any other animals. Pit bulls need human friends, not other animals.

 

[Firestorm]

Sounds like he is just going through that bratty teenager stage... and testing his boundaries. If you haven't started NILIF (nothing in life is free), I would start with that asap. He gets nothing, without doing something to "earn" it... make him sit before going outside, sit before he gets his dinner, stay or down before a treat... anything, just make him do something before he gets what he wants.

Never be afraid or hesitant to step in before play time gets out of hand and turns into one getting snarky and turning it into a fight. Cooling off time will work wonders for intervening in play time.

Definitely no dog parks, but a one on one play date with a friends dog that you know and trust, could help. If you don't have one, invest in a break stick. Pit Bull Rescue Central has great ones. Pit Bull Rescue Central.

 

[Loke-a-doke]

Thanks! I've been wondering what a break stick is I've seen it everywhere lately. I always make him sit/stay before he eats, gets a treat, plays with toys, goes outside or out the door, jumps on my bed, gets in the car....I think that's all. He still just doesn't seem to be ...getting it. i guess...

I have still been having a super hard time getting Loki's attention on ME. He does what I ask him but his attention is still everywhere else. Especially when boys are around still. If a guy comes around and I get the kid not to look at him or mess with him, then I can get Loki to stop barking but I can only get him to sit/stay for a minute before he tries to get up pacing again.

He seems just as agitated as always and I haven't found anything to keep his attention on me. We work on watch me every day but it just all seems to disappear. I have a guy that's been coming over for a few months now, Loki knows him now but he still has the same amount of focus on me (which is none) for the first 20 minutes every time Derek comes over.
I get Loki in a sit/stay position and stand in front of the door when Derek walks in, and as soon as Lo sees him he'll dart around me trying to jump on him and he'll even nip. I'll correct him with the prong collar for nipping and say NO BITE!, get him in a sit position, and do the same thing a minute later. This is still happening over and over. Even while I'm correcting him no matter how long I stand there, his eyes are never on me.

I'm trying to take him to a behaviorist as soon as I can. Money and school are in the way but my aunt has offered to help me so I'm hoping we can get him to one soon.

 

[k8nkane]

If the prong collar isn't working, you either 1) don't have it on right or 2) you aren't correcting with it right.

Right now, it sounds like he's over-threshold whenever someone comes in to the door. Since your Sit-Stays aren't working, what I would do is put him in a separate room. He only gets to come out of the room when he is being quiet and when he gives you a sit and waits for you to say OK to come out of the room.

The first time he nips or jumps, you grab him and put him back in the room until he is quiet, gives you a Sit, and waits for your OK to release him.

Every time he misbehaves, this is what happens. And since being in the room and greeting the guests is his reward and what he gets so excited about, he should realize fairly quickly that in order to stay in the room and greet guests, he has to be well-behaved.

It just takes consistency and quick action.

 

[Loke-a-doke]

If the prong collar isn't working, you either 1) don't have it on right or 2) you aren't correcting with it right.

Right now, it sounds like he's over-threshold whenever someone comes in to the door. Since your Sit-Stays aren't working, what I would do is put him in a separate room. He only gets to come out of the room when he is being quiet and when he gives you a sit and waits for you to say OK to come out of the room.

The first time he nips or jumps, you grab him and put him back in the room until he is quiet, gives you a Sit, and waits for your OK to release him.

Every time he misbehaves, this is what happens. And since being in the room and greeting the guests is his reward and what he gets so excited about, he should realize fairly quickly that in order to stay in the room and greet guests, he has to be well-behaved.

It just takes consistency and quick action.

I started out just using his prong for walking and it worked really well, I would just give it a quick tug and he was back on track. It seemed like he was becoming tolerant of it almost for nipping so I took him to a trainer a couple months ago who told me for things like that I should apply pressure using the prong collar and not relax until he was doing the behavior I wanted...so which is right?
I was doubting a few other things that trainer told me anyway...if I haven't been using his collar right does it lose it's effectiveness completely?

For guests, it seems like except for Derek he gets too excited because he's so agitated, if that's not really getting better should I just not put him through it and crate him when people come over? I already do if I know its going to be more than a few...

 

[k8nkane]

The problem is that when dogs get so excited and agitated, they tend to "block out" unimportant things. For one, we have pit bulls. They already have a ridiculously high pain tolerance so a "steady pressure" while your boy is so excited is going to be like a flea on the skin of an elephant. It's just not going to register.

I'm not any more familiar with the prong collar and it's use than that, so hopefully someone else with more experience can come and help you out, if you want to go that route and continue using the prong to correct him in that situation.

IMO, you shouldn't go quite that far, re: crating him every time someone comes over. That could lead to territorialness over anyone coming into "his" apartment/whatever. How often do people come over on average every day?

 

[Loke-a-doke]

We really don't have people over that often, it's not even every day. We'll have a few people over on some weekends, and its never until late anyway around 10 or 11 pm, which is why I wouldn't feel bad crating him. I think he's more comfortable that way, being upstairs away from all the ruckus.