Aggressive Dog

I am looking for opinions....
I have a dog that does not like small children (about 4 - 5 and younger). She is great with all other people kids included. As I have 2 kids myself I trust her completely with them, she sleeps with them, plays with them and just lays and serves as a personal pillow as well. But for some reason I can not figure out why she does not small kids. I know that she does like other dogs either and will go crazy if she sees one trying to get to it.
I have tried to correct this and socialize her with small kids but this hasn't changed. As far other childrem my kids age she is fine and will play all day with them, (10 and 11yrs). What are your opinions? Thanks is advance.

 

I guess she does not like the yelling and running arround of the small kids . my dog did the same thing , but snapped out of it as he got older . he had this behavior at about7-9 months old . try to socialize her with small kids , and corect her if she shows signs of aggresion towards them . how old is she ? and how much does she "hate" the little rascals ?

 

She is 4 1/2 yrs old now and the thing is the kids don't have to make any sounds at all. Ex. My nephew was visiting, he was 3, and he was just looking out the sliding glass door in the basement and my dog was going nuts! I also was walking her and a little girl about 3 or 4 justcame from behind a a parked car and started to walk up to my dog, I stopped and had her sit so that I could tell her not to approach dogs she doesn't know. As I was saying that my dog was trying to get to her and started snapping at her. I have corrected her sooooo many times on this and she just does not like them. my other dogs love the attention from anyone willing to give it to them!

 

that dog is a liability and should be either re-homed where it won't be exposed to small children or it should be put down. U could try and have an expert trainer work with her but thats not guaranteed. I know if it was me that dog would be taking a dirt nap ASAP, i don't tolerate human aggression especially child aggression.

 

She is a liability and I know you love her but people agressive dogs are not tolerated they wern't in the old days and they shouldn't be now!!! I had a dog that I raised from a pup.. she was two years old and had this same problem.. I battled with what to do, when I knew all along what had to be done.. I put her to sleep after she tried to come threw a car window at my little cousin.. I loved her so much and she was a very socialized puppy..something just went wrong...
It is a hard disision to make but you don't want her to be one of those dogs on the news attacking somone.. I hope you figure something out and im sorry you are having to deal with this...........

 

Your dog needs to be euthanized ASAP. I know that sounds harsh, but it's just not worth the risk. This type of behavior IS NOT NORMAL. If your dog does end up hurting an innocent child (God Forbid), you're life is going to take a huge turn for the worse.

 

Thanks for the replies, I have been debating this for a few months now and I am having to battle the "other" 3 owners on this as well, (wife and kids). I am going to give her another month or so and see how well she socializes with kids, any child from about 6 or 7 on up to elderly she is great with. I know this wasn't a result of abuse as a puppy as I have been the only owner. Again thanks for all the advice!

 

You need to KEEP HER AWAY FROM CHILDREN AT ALL COSTS. Giving her "another month to come around" is not going to do anything. She has proven herself to be aggressive towards small children, NOTHING is going to change that, NOTHING.

Dogs dont decide they hate something one day, then love it the next. If you cannot be 1000% positive that she will never EVER come into contact with a small child, then you need to do the responsible thing, and have her euthanized. You are not only saving a child from having a horrible experience, you are saving you & your family from a potential nasty lawsuit (not to mention all the media involved).

We have a female that we are putting down. She is extremely sweet to me, but she is fear aggressive. Though I do not take her anywhere, and let anyone around her, she is a liability, and god forbid someone make there way to her and get bit... Its hard, but i know its the right choice.

PLEASE make the responsible decision, you won't regret it.

 

Hmmm, a very tough decision indeed. Very hard to kill something that has given you love and protection for 4 1/2 years. That said, I am assuming you have been working on this problem for a large portion of those years. What are you planning on doing DIFFERENT this following month?

I strongly suggest that you seek a professional trainer (not one from those pet stores). If you truly want to give her a "last chance" then give her the tools to do it. It is very likely that the dog views little kids as animals NOT humans. She may be able to be corrected but at 4 1/2 years of age, well, it will be tough. Do the right thing, seek professional help or kill the dog to prevent a catastrophe. It is tough to say good-bye but tougher to live knowing your lack of action caused life long trauma to a kid. I rarely recommend killing a dog but since this is a 4 1/2 Y.O. that actively seeks to bite little kids, well, it seems the best course of action second only to professional assistance.

I wish you a wealth of wisdom in making this decision.

Yours In Script,


Rocky H. Balboa

 

I agree with this. I know its a hard thing to do, but not as hard as burying a child. Cull and get it over with. The longer you wait, the harder its going to be. YIS, DJ.

 

nothing will change over the next month with some serious help, im talking "dog whisperer" type help, this is not normal behavior, i can honestly say that i've never known a child aggressive pit bull, much less a soley child aggressive pit. i don't know what attempts you've made to socialize the dog with small children but in the case where the child approached unexpectedly you have to look at it from the dogs point of view, he already dislikes small children for whatever reason, and in this case when one approaches you probably tensed up on his lead and called out to the child to keep a safe distance, he hears you raise voice towards the child, he doesn't know what you're saying of course but he is picking up on your anxiety, occurences like these will only make the problem worse, as for consulting a pro,had your dog been dog aggressive or people aggressive a pro could have assisted in exposing the dog to other dogs and people and helping him to get over it, i don't know if you'll have much luck finding people willing to volunteer their kids in the training of socializing your child aggressive pit bull, but good luck anyways, i feel for ya

 

You have a ticking time bomb on your hands. And if you dont put that dog down, it is just a matter of time that a small child will be harmed by your dog, and you'll be in the papers, lose everything you own, including your feedom, and once again, there will be another nail in the great Amercan Pitbull Terrier.

I bet adolf hitler's mama thought that he would grow out of it, and look what happened.

 

Yup, this is the classic beginnings of a "pit bull attack" headline.... *sigh* All we can do is hope and pray they do the responsible thing.

 

i have a 4,5 months old pup... he don't like kids too and he don't like some people not too.
He makes me crazy cause all other dogs are ok with poeple and kids.

Dunno how to change this problem.

 

You need to get with a trainer who specializes in behavior modification NOW, before he gets older and this aggression progresses. At 4 or 5 months old, these issues can be stopped, but if you can't get them under control, you're going to have to seek professional help. If you don't stop this now, you could wind up in the same predicament Cain is in.

 

This is a cross post to a awsome historical artical conserning this subject written by one of the past greats Bob Hemphill. I love this artical. It hit home with me and I hope you draw something from it also. Big Game http://www.pitbull-chat.com/showthread.php?t=3158

 

alotta ppl here who are quick to say put it down know they would not put there own dogs down, so if you wont take your own advice i suggest you not give it.

If possible keep it away from any young children, my friends dog is the same way but because when his dog was a pup it was around alot of young children who would pull its tail, poke its certain areas that shouldnt have been poked, and when young children like to hug dogs and etc they do it differently then a older dog like instead of patting it on the head hitting it alittle harder :S so maybe your dog had bad experiences as a pup or etc that makes it remember(think) that smaller children are the enemy so its probably not a 3-4 thing, its a small person thing.

 

What is it going to take for people to realize HA dogs have no place in households? You cull the damn dog. Thats it. Its soooo simple and people just can't seem to wrap their brains around the concept. :rolleyes: Take it to your local vet and have it put down if that would make you more comfortable. Do whats RIGHT by our breed as a whole! YIS, DJ.

 

Well sir, totally disaggree with you. I will put down a child hating dog in a heartbeat, even if the dog is 4-5 months old. I take care of my problems, maybe you would keep a ha dog because "he may grow out of it", but I wont, and I bet there are several here that feel the same way. A person who will not put their dog down is a person that is more worried about the money the dog cost, or more concerned about their own feelings, rather than the breed as a whole. And if you are like that, I suggest you get into another breed

 

Here is what I would do. If I was extremely attached to the dog I would go down a check list to VALIDATE all available channels to correcting this problem had been identified and then exhausted.

1. While I am assessing the problem and weighing the solutions have I done everything within my power to make the people in my environment safe and my dogs immediate problem contained?

2. What is the pack structure within the household, is it as it should be where every human is higher in the pack?

3. Is the dog healthy?

4. Has someone who is experienced with recognizing, evaluating and correcting HA in dogs been consulted and what is the prognosis?

5. What am I willing to do to correct this problem should there be another avenue other than euthenizing the dog? How much liability will there be after all my corrective actions have been taken and will the pay off of all my hard work out weigh the risk?

It is your decision, it should be made with all the necessary data, with realistic expectations and truth to yourself! If a solution is handed your way but you know you are not committed to implementing the solution outside of putting the dog down, then all fairness to your community the dog should be PTS.