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We have a blue pit puppy that is 4 months old. We got him 2 months ago. He is definitely a "momma's boy", as he is always by my side. I am a little concerned about his behavior at times. I have 2 children. They are 9, and 11. He is usually very very good with them. There is one thing that happens that causes me worry. If I am laying in bed watching TV, he will be right beside me on the bed.....My 11 son will come in the bedroom to say goodnight, or whatever, and come up to my side of the bed, and lean in to give me a hug....This is when it gets scary.... The dog will immediately step in between my son, and he has even growled, and lunged at my son. I say no right away, and yell, and let him know this is not acceptable, but it has continued to happen. It really only happens when I am in bed. I need to nip this in the bud right away. I will not have a dog that I am nervous about having around my children. Especially with this breed, I need to take care of this ASAP. The only time he does anything like that, is when I am in bed. There is no excuse though. I need a way to show my dog that my son is not a threat in any way. I will admit, now when my son walks in my bedroom, I immediately get nervous, and I'm sure the dog picks up on that, but I can't help it. Of course I get nervous! That wouldn't have been the cause for the first few times it happened though, as I wasn't expecting it, so I didn't have any anxiety. Any insight, or help would be greatly appreciated.
You need to work with a good trainer. Begin as soon as possible. Have your children take part too. A good training method is nothing in life is free. Breifly, the dog has to earn everything he gets, by sitting before being given dinner or going out the door for a walk as an example.
Stop letting him on the bed. Dogs who try to dominate anyone in the house shouldn't have that priviledge.
Is he neutered? If not, do so now. He is old enough. He will be easier to live with, avoid long-term health risks, and not bring more unwanted pitties into the world. God knows there are too many of them.
Is the puppy just yours or is it the family dog? I agree to not allow the dog on the bed and that the dog needs to be neutered if not already. Have you ever seen Cesar Milan, Dog Whisperer on National Geographic? He has DVD sets and books and has done a lot of work with pit bulls. A puppy who shows aggression at 4 months of age is going to take a lot of work and it is past time to get started. How much research did you do on the breed before purchasing it? A family dog should never be a "momma's boy" and you already see the reason why.
From your post I gather that this puppy does not know his place in the pack. He does not recognize your children as being ranked ahead of him in the pack.
When he acts aggressive towards your children you must make him submit and let your children stand over him. Make sure to incorporate your children on walks. While on walks your children can help correct any undesired behavior on walks. This will go a very long way in establishing pack order. Any training that the dog gets, make sure your children are involved. He should also be taken orders from your children and see them as pack leaders.
ATUM, until they have seen a trainer, I'd be awfully careful about having the children involved...and making the dog "submit"? No and no. Train him, yes - this whole submission thing is so overrated and can be very dangerous in the hands of someone who doesn't have a clue as to what they are really doing. I am sure the OP has exceptionally bright children, but this is a situation that the adults need to get a grip on and stabilize before involving a 9 and 11 year old. Ultimately there can be only one pack leader and the OP needs to be the one. Once the dog has the OP as the pack leader firmly in that puppy head the rest will fall into place, or it should.
This may be a four month old puppy, but he's growing daily and getting a 'tude. That needs to be corraled with training and not with Cesar Milan's famous alpha roll or anything even resembling that. I wouldn't call the dog aggressive necessarily, but he needs to be in training immediately before his bluffing turns to something more.
Off the bed and on the NILIF plan - and find a little more advanced trainer...this may take a little more work right off the bat than just your vanilla variety obedience.
I adopted a three-year-old cattledog mix who bared his teeth at me when I leaned too close to him, so I'd seen those TV shows- I dominated him. Guess what, he bit me.
I realized I'd started a dog fight with a 50-pound unknown frightened dog. Go figure.
I did take him to a trainer, who put him through his paces, and said that he'd obviously had training at some point. He suggested clicker training to me and got me started on that. I said, "What about him baring his teeth when I lean over him?" Trainer said, "Oh, just don't do that."
Seventy bucks.
(Dodger is now, always by my side, and still bares his teeth if I lean over him).
I have 2 pits and one of them does exactly as yours does. He lies beside me and at night when anyone enters the room he will perk up and act a little more protective. If you just get up to hug your son it will take the stress of someone hurting you away all together. Then give the dog a pat and lie back down again. He will get used to this as acceptable. He just doesn't want anyone to hurt you. My dog does this to my 11 year old grandson, the kid who plays ball with him every day. I think he is simply saying he wants to protect you.
Not letting him on the bed might be a good start. He needs to know he's not in charge.
I agree with this.
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