aggressive deaf pit butt

[danika]

We got our dog, Danika, about 6 months ago. She had already had 3 homes before we got her. No behavior problems, just could not keep her due to moving etc.. She is about 18 months old, very sweet and loving. She is also very insecure and follows my stay at home husband everywhere. She even sits outside the bathroom door when he is in there. We have two children who love her and she loves them. They are 7 and 9. Our first sign of aggression occurred just weeks after we got her. It was at night and we opened the door to let her out at the same time a teenager was walking by with the hook up on his jacket. She chased him on top of our car. We chalked this up to being protective. There have been two other incidents though that really concern us. These involve children. When our children have someone over to play we have to put Danika in another room or have the children play outside. Both times she had behaviors she was in the house watching the kids play outside and when one of our kids came in she bolted out the door, (which she usually does not do) and went after one of the kids. One time she tore a boys jacket and the second time she chased a group of kids onto the neighbors porch with my husband chasing her and grabbing her before she got to them. Both times her tail was down, fur up and ears back. She was growling viciously and running, charging, very quickly. Since she is deaf calling her does no good. She is so excited I don't think calling her would do any good anyway. Signing doesn't help. My husband is a big strong guy and he had an awful time getting her away from these kids and getting her back in the house. She is very strong, all muscle, about 80-90 lbs. She is fine with our children, except recently has started to urinate in their rooms. We put up a door to their area of the house and that has taken care of that problem but I hate to restrict her as they play in there and she loves to play with them. Outside of her going after these kids we have had no problems other than teaching her not to jump on us when we come in and tearing up the house while we are out. We have greatly toned down the tearing up the house by giving her a bone when we leave and closing doors and putting the trash can up on the counter. Sure would appreciate help with the aggressive behavior as we are contemplating putting her to sleep. I am sooo worried she will hurt a child.

[jessi76]

there are other options besides having her be PTS. I'm sure you'll get some great advice here, from experienced PB owners (I am not one), but I just wanted to mention that your dog may be better off in a home w/ an experienced owner and no children, so she can get the training and special attention she'll need (as a special needs dog).

I certainly don't envy you - seems like a very tough situation, but please know, we'll help you find other options, besides euthenasia.

[Dukieboy]

I totally agree. The dog needs a home with no children and an experienced handler. In the mean time I would be very carefull with your dog. Sadly the dog has already had four homes:sad:

It sounds like you have a young family and probably don't have the resources for behavioral work. Please contact a rescue in your area for the dogs sake,your chidrens sake and ofcourse other peoples children.

[danika]

Thanks for your help. How do I find a rescue? Do I look for pitts or deaf animals? I hate for her to go to another home but I think you are right. Whoever gets her will love her to death. I will really miss her.

[jessi76]

Where did you get this dog from? If it's a shelter, there may be a return policy in your contract. When I adopted my dog, and signed papers, there was a clause about returning - If for ANY reason I was unable to keep the dog, he HAD to be returned to that particular shelter.

[dogbyte40]

Danika sounds like what EVERY non pitty person thinks of them, unfortunately. There are many things you can do to help improve her feelings for other people and animals, however, at 18 months, you can never truly trust her. It would be worth employing a good schutzhund trainer as their specialty's are with aggressive dogs. Also a muzzle, they are NOT cruel when it comes to people's safety. I recommend keeping her on leash with a more severe collar so an immediate reprimand can be given when she immediate and inappropriate behavior.
To address the shelter issue. passing Danika on to a 5th home will not help her she will be found to be unadoptable, or go to a home and bite someone.
If training is not an option for you I recommend uthinizing her; I'm not trying to be hurtful those are just the facts.

[BMDLuver]

There are so many lovely dogs available that die daily.. this one should not be rehomed. Owning her is a huge liability as you do not seem able to control her comings and goings from the house. As the kids most likely come home from school at the same time each day, muzzle her 15 minutes before so that she can't harm anyone should they inadvertantely let her out. Also, she should never be allowed out loose, as I get from your post that you are not fenced or how would she have attacked a passerby. You can try training but no matter what, you are liable as you know what she is capable of at all times. Sorry it's not more positive but this is dangerous to the extreme.

[mastifflover]

I have to say not happily that I am tending to agree with the 2 previous posts. I agree you can not rehome again that is just setting the dog up to bite again and that could be deadly to both the dog and someone could be seriously hurt or worse. With the dog being deaf is one more hurdle for the training my dog is partially deaf and hand signals don't work if they are not watching you. I wish you luck and maybe speak to a behaviourist first they may be able to point you in the right direction and make sure this person does not use aggressive tactics with the dog that would make things worse.

[chico2]

Poor dog,I think in her silent world,anything or anybody unfamiliar becomes a threat:sad:
I too don't think rehoming her again will make her life any better,unless she is adopted by an exceptional person,but I am sure they are few and far between.
I can understand your fears,you cannot guarantee she will never get out and hurt somebody,accidents happen and then what:sad:
If you cannot keep her,I doubt she would be staying very long with new people:sad:

[mhass1129]

It sounds to me, by the peeing in the kids room and the behavior when the kids have friends over, that the dog is defensive of the kid and maybe has taken your family as "her own". Because she is a pitt putting her up for adoption may result in her being euthanized. The OK shelters will not even allow anyone to adopt the stray pitbulls that come in - they are either sent to rescue groups or put to sleep.

I'm not experienced with big dogs because I've never brought something home that I couldn't carry or handle myself - although my parents had big dogs (which was fine, because my daddy could carry and handle the dog). But I think the muzzle is a good idea and keeping the dog on a very short leash outside. Also try praising non-aggressive behavior ALOT.

[Soroush]

If you know that she'll cross the line given the chance(which seems you do), there's no sense in sacrificing other humans' safety for the well-being of an animal. I'm very sorry to sound like a jerk. I'm a dog-owner and I know how how emotional the relationship can be, but I'm also a child-lover. I can't see myself caring more about my dog than any other human-being despite all the love and care I try to give her.

Put humans above anything else. That's my slogan and it will not change no matter what.

[Dukieboy]

I suggested a rescue because they could assess the dogs behavior. You should be very clear and advise them of your experience with the dog. I didn't want to say put the dog down but after reading other peoples opinions and reasoning it may be the most appropriate thing to do.