Dog Training & Health

[Jem.Girl]

So, my pitbull is just over a year old. We've had him since he was 6 weeks old, so where his aggression come from is beyond me. We have multiple dogs. And he knows his place. He will not even consider messing with most of the other dogs. Lately it's come to the point where we have to seperate him and my other dog though, no clue is breed. He was a rescue. They're both male, but neutered. It's not just little snips. They full on attack each other to the point where we have to get in the middle and break it up. It's a mess. And recently he's started attacking my little shitzu, completely out of the blue one day and now we can't have them anywhere near each other either. He does have food aggression issues but we never feed our dogs together. So, This has absolutely nothing to do with food. And other than this he's a good, smart dog. There is no aggression with people whatsoever, not even when it comes to food. It's come to the point where if I can't break my pitt from this I'll be forced to have to find him another home.

Sorry if this sounds scattered, I'm just at fusterated.

Any advice or tips would be helpful.

[meezermom]

Hi Jem Girl and welcome to SeeFido!

This really isn't unusual considering the age of your pittie...They are wonderful dogs with people but animal aggression is simply part of the breed make up. Your boy is now becoming a fully mature adult dog so his adult personality is coming to the front. He may have simply taken a dislike to that other dog but considering he is now upping the aggression to another, I don't think so. His animal aggression is simply coming out.
Yes, there are pitties that do get along with other animals but they are not the rule. You also have multiple dogs.......a dog pack. The dynamics of a pack is very very different from a couple dogs! If you are not the full on dominant "dog", you will have trouble controlling them and there is a possibility in trying to break up a fight, they could turn on you! Do NOT get in the middle of a dog fight. Not ever. If you can, turn a hose on them, right in their faces. Grab tails to pull them apart. Grab a back leg and pull them apart, but do not get near their heads. You can get critically injured.

You can try and find a trainer who has experience with pit bulls who can observe and see if this is a fixable situation. However, you must be very very careful about selecting a trainer. Too many who say they are, are not. Stay away from big box trainers. Very few of them are any good! If you do have to re-home, you will need to do major checking as too often, those who look for pitties, are looking for fighting dogs. Instead, look into a pit rescue group. In fact, they may be your best chance at finding someone to evaluate him! Good luck....and be careful.

[Jasmer]

On the note of getting into dog fights... don't do it. I broke up a fight between a husky and a pit mix and in the process the husky bit my hand. It wasn't bad, and it most certainly wasn't deliberate. The dog was not a biter and was not even trying to bite me, the pit twisted her head down to avoid it which moved my hand directly into the path of the bite. I stuck my hands in there knowing full well that I would likely get bit, though. Keep in mind that the jaw power of the pit bull means that even an accidental "oops I didn't know that was you" bite can cause severe damage. Now imagine if that same dog, in the heat of the moment and in a fully offensive/defensive mode, were to turn on you. This is a typical canine response to somebody trying to drag them out of a fight by the collar, head, or anywhere on the upper half of their body. It's interpreted as an attack and a violent retaliation may be what you have to show for your troubles.

Keep the dogs separated. You'll probably find crate training necessary. While pit bulls are great with people they are bred for fighting or harassing other animals and that instinct runs deep. While a pit bull can tolerate and even accept other animals, including dogs, you'll find that you can't leave him unsupervised with them and that you have to keep an eye out for warning signs and intervene before a fight breaks out.

While pit bull aggression toward other dogs is common have you considered that your other dogs may also be provoking him in some way? Have a behaviorist evaluate your dogs in your home, how they interact and how you interact with them. Google NILIF and implement it fully and have your pit evaluated. Meezer suggested a pit bull rescue, which is a good place to start. Also, when your dogs are fighting, are they generally bloodied up afterward? Keep in mind a full on fight ends with somebody bleeding. These may very well be excessively argumentative little snips.

[Jem.Girl]

Thank you.
And I know we shouldn't get into the middle of it. But there is no way to stop them otherwise. We've tried everything. Now, we just don't allow them to be out together or inside together. It's quite a hassel though.. Anything could happen, I know. But they would probably fight until one of them is dead if we let them.. It gets that bad. There is no aggression towards humans and as soon as we get them apart- He's wagging his tail and trying to be all lovely as we're pulling him into the house. He somehow doesn't see this as wrong behavior. It's the only thing we can't control with him. Everything else, he listens perfectly fine. As do our others. And to be fair, the other dog he fights with isn't innocent. He's very tempermental and does provoke him at time. But it does worry me he has now started to go after our little dog too. Who does absolutely nothing to him at all.

I'm not sure if there are any pittbull rescues around here, but I'll have to look into it. Again, thank you.

Oh and if any of you know any rescues in or around upstate new york- I'd appreciate it.