Need advice in a big way!!!!

Hi all

We had another incodent with my pup today, am very worried now. I know there are some very experienced people on here with this breed. I would like to talk to someone , over the phone even if I could. I could go to the the fellow who gives the obedience classes, but I want to talk to someone who deals with this breed and knows it well. It would be greatly appreciated if someone could pm me and we could set this up.like I said, i,m very concerned.. Thank you .

 

It would help if you let us know a little more about the incident

 

. The first incodent , I posted the other day, but will do so again in greater detail of what he is doing.
Ok i,ll start with my pup An APBT, 4 months old next week, male, house broken and listens to basic commands,, sit, stay, give me your paw. He is not neutered yet. I got him at 7 weeks old. Have had him to 1 puppy obedience class. When I first got him he would sometimes growl when you went near his food or sometimes a toy, or even when you tried taking him off the sofa or couch. I tottaly have him out of that now and can stick my hands in his food while he is eating or take anything from him and he is fine. I take him everywhere I go to socialize him with people and animals. He is fine with some strangers but some people he barks and growls at, usually given time he will warm up to them, though the growling and barking at people does worry me , but like I said he does not do that with everyone, certain people it seems. The last 2 incodents that occured were while me and my 15 year old some were kicking a ball around playing with him, all of a sudden he jumped up grabbed my sons pants and some skin, shaking his head and growling, I grabbed him but the harness with a loud no and he released, then gave him a good shake and another no. Then today,, my 11 year old son had him on his leash, I was there with them, the pup was running out in front of my son, then just turned around jumped up grabbed him by his sweatpants shaking his head and growling, luckily did not get his leg,, I again quickly grabbed him by the harness,, with a loud no & a good shake he released, then was like nothing happened he was ready to play, just really impulsive, almost like a heat of the moment thing but kinda scarey. I should add, he has never done this with me and I run and play with him outside everyday. I know he is just a puppy ,, but i didn,t like this behavior at all. I love my pup to peices , we all do,, but the safety of the children come first. I,m trying my best to make him a great pet,, we treat him like gold and I do keep him firmly in check. I took him to give him a better life, but don,t want anyone getting hurt, and would kill me to have to get rid of my pup.

 

You could be giveing him to much rane (the domnet role.) If not you can't have man bitters so IMOP he bites the bullet.

 

I think he's still a pup, and mine used to bite and even rip pants legs, now that he's older he knows better! You have to be very firm with him! Is he neutered? Also do you have a tug rope? It almost sounds like he wants to play!

 

Is the dog playing or attacking ? If he is attacking I would euth him. Certainly dont give him to someone else. If he is attacking and meaning it then he needs put to sleep.

 

Are the growls he give "warning" growls? Growls during play wouldn't bother me, but unfriendly, warning growls are, IMO bad news. I'd expect a puppy that age to be prone to bite everything, thats just highspirits at that age.


If the growls are "stay away from me, I don't trust you", growls, thats bad bad news. But context is important.

 

Perhaps a bit of training in in order. Sounds to me like classic Snot Nosed Pup Syndrome. Here is a link to NILIF training. Be diligent in his training & get the whole family involved. This 4 month old puppy thinks he rules the roost. Training will show him he does not.

k9deb.com/nilif.htm

 

i used to have the problems and when they do that i put them in check like pin them down and grab them by the neck like what caesar milan does......but they will soo learn when they get older

 

This dog has taken his place as the pack leader, he is calling the shots. What you need is a good K9 trainer. But I would start by putting him in a crate at all times. He even eats in the crate. Do not let him rush out of the crate, he sits until he commanded out. He comes out for training and bathroom breaks only. He should be on lead AT ALL times so when he makes a wrong decision he can be corrected until he makes the right decision. Do not let the younger kids handle him at first, establish yourself as the authority and leader, consequences for UNACCEPTABLE behavior. Get a trainer to help you with this. It must be timely and consistant...EVERY TIME. He must work for every liberty he gets, you are giving it all away for free right now. These are very strong willed dogs if you don't take the leadership they will...shut him down NOW or you will be faced with a very unpleasant decision. Don't go to a fluff org for training, find a serious K9, they work with high drive dogs all the time. Do it NOW!!!!!! Good luck.

 

I wouldnt give up on your dog yet. He is still only 4 months and I would assume that his behaving that way because he doesn't know better. As mentioned from someone, try to seek some for professional dog training and see if that behavior can be resolved.

 

this only happens during playtime when he is in a more excitable/active state, & only with my 2 boys,,, I can run around with him for hours and he won,t even try to attemt it with me. He has never done it just lazing around the house, he is usually jumping all over the kids licking their faces off.

 

^---follow this advice, though it will be hard the rewards are great. If you keep with this style, you'll have a very nicely trained dog in no time.

The other thing that could be the problem is fear of kids and people. Watch the hairs on the back of the dog, he may not be comfortable with strangers. If this is the case, the cesar milan method (pinning the pup) would detrimental to the dogs development. You will have to institute a system of positive association with new people. Personally, i think cesar milan is a joke, especially the bs he says about pitbulls, "an angry pitbull can pull 30 times it's bodyweight"-cesar milan. I think he's just a glorified dog-walker who's got no real insight into training other than domination, which works, but it doesn't help a dog overcome fears (he says they do, but anyone who has had a fearful dog will tell you that will only add to their fear). Good luck with your pup, if you need any help PM me, i got my dog's CGC when he was five months old and I stick by positive reinforcement as the best training method.

 

I'm going to PM you and if I were you I would be careful to just start taking everyone's advice without carefully planning your tactics, because you could very easily do more damage. You will more than likely need to get an animal behavioralist, not a trainer, these are different.

 

I'm a big fan of the "Nothing in life is free" program. Your pup, imo, is demonstarting HIS leadership skills. Sounds like he wants things under HIS terms, hence, the program=he needs to WORK for all things. Yes, as mentioned, a trainer and a behaviorist are two very different things. If his aggression tendencies seem to be getting MORE out of hand, instead of less, I would suggest having him evaluated and have his "tendencies" addressed by someone especially skilled to do so. But, being he's still so young, and you've had him from such an early age, it sounds like he just wants to be "the leader of your pack", and he needs to be shown differently.
Go with your gut: if it's telling you to have him evaled=then do it. It'll be money well spent, to help set you in the right direction. In the mean time, check out that site. It's pretty good.

 

i know nobody will probably agree with me, but will and i whipped leo's ass when he did this as a pup and it solved it! we did not do that with our previous dog, who ended up getting put down due to his unpredictable aggression. will also muzzled him, which he hated but with a muzzle on (mesh muzzle) you can eat, drink breath, just cant use your teeth

 

Hey, sometimes dogs and people need a beating. hehe but yea, i used to hit my dog with a sandal when he was bad. Not hard at all, but when i do that, i could see it in his eyes that he knows what he did was bad, yet at the same time he couldn't feel any physical pain

 

Sounds to me like a simple case of dominance aggression. There is nothing playful about it. Nip it in the bud quick or you will have a serious problem on your hands when he is adult.

Neutering your dog may help. In the meantime you should implement the "nothing in life is free" training method ASAP.

 

thanks all NILIF is now in full swing!!!! I,ll keep you all posted.

 

I agree, most good K9s are both!!!!!! The carefully planning part is critical. Good post!!!