Quote:
Originally Posted by DJ_DeJager
I am quite attached to a Silver Hair-Brindle-Pit Bull named Dixie but, there is no doubt she has been trained and fought in the past. I could really use some advice on how to retrain her. I live in an area where there are a lot of people with animals; Dixie does fine when not on a leash but, if she is leashed or tethered watch out!!! When running free she will run up romp and play with any dogs or people. However if legally leashed she tries to attack any other dog also leashed or any dog behind a fence. When tethered she tries to attack other dogs and people but, is somewhat selective in who she wants to attack... The biggest problem is when tethered she is very selective who she lets by... the people she chooses to let pass are just the opposite of the type people I want to visit my home. (if you get my drift) It is obvious that that she cares deeply for me as I do for her but, I really need some HELP with these problems. Thanks DJ  |
OMG!
I just lost my
WHOLE post!!!!
I'm
sooooo mad! I had typed up
soooo much! Anyway, lets try this again
...
Wow!.. Well, that sounds exciting!
First I have to say
thank you,
thank you,
thank you, for giving your pitty the good, loving home he deserves!
My husband and I
LOVE all of the "pit bull" breeds,
especially APBTs, and though it sounds kind of bad, after owning "pit bulls", we can
never see our selves owning
any other breed! They truly are
amazing companions! So loyal, intelligent, obedient, loving.. and the list goes on and on. Of course, these would be "pit bulls" that have been properly raised, trained, socialized, controlled and cared for. A "pit bull" that has been abused, neglected and/or trained to be aggressive and fight is going to be a handful.
A dog like that can definitely be rehabilitated, but it will take time, patience, and a lot of energy and effort on your part. Normally, I would not have suggest someone get a dog like that unless they have experience with dogs that have been through similar things. But, it sounds like you
really love your dog and are willing to do what you need to do to help him!
I have to give you props for that, and tell you right off that bat that I wish you and your pitty the
very best of luck!
I have some questions though, if you don't mind.. Is she tethered often? Is she left alone when she's tethered? Is she an inside dog, an outside dog, or both? And when she is tethered, where is it? Front yard, back yard, side yard? That's some info that would be helpful, but for now, I have a few tips.
So, as far as the aggression goes, that should be able to be changed. There is most likely hope for her. Because "pit bulls" were originally bred to be animal-aggressive (AA), and because she was used for fighting, that might not ever
completely go away. Even if that does
seem to completely go away, as I'm sure you know, you will
never be able to trust her unattended around any animal, for any amount of time, for any reason, just to be safe! Now, the human-aggression (HA), that
should be fixable. Even though "pit bulls" were originally bred to be AA, they were also bred
specifically to be human-friendly. Human-aggression (HA) is
not "normal" for a "pit bull". Even the "pit bulls" that have been used for dog-fighting can normally be rehabilitated and placed in homes, because they don't tend to be, or if they are they don't tend to stay, HA. Even the fighting pits have to be human-friendly so they can be handled. People have to get into the pit when the dogs are fighting, etc. IMHO, the HA comes from being abused and neglected, not from dog-fighting. So yeah, IMHO, she might not ever get over the AA
completely, but the as far as the HA goes, I think she has hope. It am
very hopeful that with a lot of time, energy, patience, and effort, you will be able to rehabilitate her.
She needs to know that
you are in charge, you are dominate,
you are the "pack leader", and
you will take care of
her,
never the other way around. Simple little things like not letting her on the sofa or bed unless she's invited, not letting her sit up next to you and beg while you're eating (make her stay several feet back), not letting her go through any doorway (especially if you are going outside or coming back inside) in front of you, making her stay next to you or behind you on walks, feeding her after you eat, etc, etc, etc, will help. All those things show her that
you are the "pack leader". If she feel that you aren't dominate, that you don't take control of
every situation, she will feel like
she needs to do that. In her mind, there
has to be a "pack leader", and if you don't take that position, she
has to.
Another thing is walking her. She needs to get a couple good, long walks a day. Running around the yard, playing with you, etc, don't count as exercise, they can't replace a good walk. Walks are good for many reasons. 1 - It exercise. A tired dog is a good dog! lol! She won't have the energy to be so aggressive, so it will make helping her with that a whole lot easier! 2 - It helps you and your dog bond, and it helps her to see you as the "pack leader" and to respect you. Again though, to do that you need to make sure that she stays next to you or behind you on the walk. The "pack leader" is the one that leads. And 3 - It is great for socialization. She will see, hear and smell new things. Walks are just definitely a must IMHO. Since she is so aggressive at this point though, I'd definitely suggest you do a couple things to help that. 1 - Use a head collar (gentle leader). This is the exact one we got...
Gentle Leader Product Description - Premier Pet I'd suggest you also use a regular collar or a harness with a second leash attached to that as well, just for backup. It may take a while for your pit to warm up to the idea of having something on her head/face like that, but it's a great thing! Try holding a treat on the other side of the head collar, let her smell it, slip the head collar over her head then give her the treat. If she pulls or lunges, she will just turn around basically. She can't pull, lung, anything like that with a head collar on. This keeps her from hurting herself, hurting you (because she's so strong), and possibly hurting another person or animals. And 2 - Walking her with a doggy backpack
Amazon.com: LARGE - RED - Outward Hound Quick-Release Dog Backpack: Kitchen & Dining that has water bottles, or something for extra weight (not too much though), in either side will help her fulfill that need to work that she has because she is a working type breed, and it will help her get even more energy out, because we all know that's great for high energy breeds like terriers, which is what she is. Also, when she gets into that working zone, that might help her to ignore other things that would normally set her off.
Now, as far as helping her with the aggression, I don't really feel too comfortable giving you a whole lot of advice on that. I have had to deal with that before, but I am not a dog expert. Different things may work better for you and your dog, you just never know. I would suggest getting a professional to help you. I personally am a big fan of Cesar Millan and what he does has worked wonders for us. I can tell you though, the things that I mentioned above are very important things to start off doing. That won't change the aggression completely, but those are extremely important in getting her to trust you to take care of her, etc. I would strongly suggest you start off with those things, and continue doing all of that as well as whatever it is you decide to do to tackle the aggression issues.
Okay, so again, I love Cesar Millan and I'm a big Believer in what he does. It has worked wonders for us. So, even though some people don't like him, I'd suggest you at least check out his website.
Cesar Millan - About Cesar
Understanding Aggression
Cesar Millan - Cesar's Tips - Understanding Aggression
Breed and Aggression
Cesar Millan - Cesar's Tips - Breed & Aggression
Case Study: Aggression
Cesar Millan - Cesar's Tips - Case Study: Aggression
This is a good clip, "Red Zone Case: Pitbull Emily"...
Cesar Millan - Video Player It looks kind of bad, but I am telling you as someone who has owned and LOVES "pit bulls", and as someone who has had to deal with behavioral issues and aggression with my "pit bulls", this worked for us many time over! He is not choking the dog or hurting her, he is simply not letting her kill Daddy (Cesar's APBT that he uses to help other dogs), and he's not letting her be the dominate one. Dog in the wild do this and I'm telling you, it worked for us.
There are lots of other good video clips, and more info, tips, suggestions, etc. I'd just suggest you look around the site and see what you think would help you, if anything. Hopefully Cesar can help you as much as he has helped us! Anyway, this is all I'm going to type for now, I had a lot more but again, it somehow got deleted when I was just finishing up! If there's anything else that I can help you with, or that you think I might be able to help you with, please feel free to message me. Hope this helps and again, I wish you the very best of luck!
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