Unpredictable Dog Equals Dangerous Dog

From LoveToKnow Dogs

An unpredictable dog certainly presents a danger to those around him. Share one visitor's situation.

adult Pitbull

Fact: Unpredictable Dog Equals Dangerous Dog

My husband has an eight-year-old Pitbull mix. He has had this since she was a pup during his previous marriage and spoiled her. The dog has had free roam of the house, bed, sofa, etc.

We have a 22-month-old boy and a baby on the way. The dog sometimes shows aggression towards our son; she has nipped him once, drawn blood and snapped at him with bared teeth on two other occasions. During these episodes our son was not even touching the dog, but merely walking past her.

She has growled at me on a few occasions when I tried to get her off the couch when I wanted to sit down and did the same thing with the bed, even growling at my husband. She is not always aggressive and is sometimes actually affectionate towards our son, but she is unpredictable.

My biggest concern is for our children. If it wasn't for my husband's feelings, I would have gotten rid of the dog by now. We have come to an agreement that the third time the dog shows aggression towards our son she is going to the pound. I don't want to see this happen, but obviously the dog has no idea where her place in the family is supposed to be. I think it has to do with how she was spoiled. Is there anything we can do? Part of me feels like a bad parent because I have put up with this for longer than I feel I should have.

~~ Sandi

Expert Reply

Hi Sandi,

I'm sorry to hear about your situation. Certainly, an unpredictable dog is a danger to your family. The fact that she has already drawn blood on your son makes this a very serious and unacceptable situation. In some municipalities you would have already been required to surrender your pet.

Pits tend to have more aggressive natures, and since your husband's dog has been allowed to do whatever she wants, she feels like the dominant member of your family pack. That said, I'm not sure you really want to give her a third opportunity to show aggression, considering she has already been aggressive on several occasions. The most important thing here is to make sure your son and the coming baby are protected.

~~ Kelly.

Retrieved from "http://dogs.lovetoknow.com/wiki/Unpredictable_Dog_Equals_Dangerous_Dog"

 


Comments

Chrissy, Anna Marie and Jim,

Thank you for sharing your views on this breed. We can learn a lot from each other when we exchange info. :)

-- Contributed by: Kelly

I have a pitbull from the pound that had severe aggression issues. We had her in private training classes once a week but it just wasn't cutting it. We found a k-9 bootcamp and sent her away for a few weeks (told her it was sleep away camp) and it was a miracle. The thing is that you have to keep on top of them as they will try to get away with any breaking of the rules they can. Basically, your husband needs to lay down the law with his dog. She needs to go to obedience school as having one child and another on the way is really not a good situation for the 'old' dog to be learning 'new tricks' in. It's a little extra money for peice of mind and ability to keep a valued family member.

-- Contributed by: Chrissy

EVERYBODY says that pitbulls are mean! I say BULL..., its actually how you treat them as they're growing up, ya know?!?! I've got 6 myself and 3 out of 6 are mean IF they HAVE to be,but thats how they were when I got them, the other 3 are like my own kids they are sweet as candy! :) But yea, be careful around pits ALL the time, you NEVER know when,where they are going to attack!!!

-- Contributed by: ~~Anna Marie
> See All Comments on this article    


Comment on Unpredictable Dog Equals Dangerous ...



(Displayed with your comment)                        (Will not be displayed)
Verification Code:   
    

Dogs Categories
LoveToKnow Tools
More Articles