So-- where do I start with this? We have two dogs in my house but the one I love most is Nutjob. He's my sisters 1/2 pit 1/2 lab mix who's about 6 years old. He was always hyper threw his life but of late he's getting snippy. First it was with my cats. He would chase them around the house and then eventualy he would snap at them litteraly. Now he's been snippy with us. This morning he went after my mother, and now my parents are thinking of getting him put down. I really don't want to but somewhere inside me I know its a matter of time before he really hurts someone. Anyone have anything they can say to me? Any words of wisdom? or anything.
First of all I'm sorry about your dog. I know cats get something called distemper, where they do the exact same thing. My friend's cat had it and she went from completely tame and sweet to very, very mean. Unfortunately, they can only receive distemper shots when they are younger to prevent the disease, not cure it. But like I said, I'm not sure if this is what he has or if dogs can even get it. I think it is very big of you to understand that your dog could end up seriously hurting someone. It's good to see that you are not only thinking of your feelings at this point. I'm not really good at these things, but I hope things will work out for you. I would suggest taking him to the vet to see if maybe it is just a behavioral problem that can be remedied? My dog got really nippy and grumpy when he got older and we somewhat corrected it. Good luck with everything.
I agree. Maybe take him to a vet, see if there's anything you can do before deciding to put him down. Dogs can and do get distemper as well. Actually I have to take my dog in to get her shot soon. She's been getting a little snippy as well but who knows why. It could be something in the house bothering her. Dogs along with other animals get stressed very easily. Could it be something in your home, something that's been going on that's upsetting him? Just something to consider. Good luck though. I really hope it works out.
Was your dog ever obedience trained? Dogs that do not know they are 'inferior' members of the pack can get snippy as well. 'Inferior' isn't meant to be taken as a negative thing, but if a dog isn't trained that the humans of the house are the bosses, they will eventually try to be the dominant being of the house and boss everyone else around, sometimes with aggression. What do you do when he nips at the cats or people? If you cower back and let him know you are afraid he will know he succeeded and continue the behavior. He needs to be firmly disciplined immediately! You need to use strong verbal discipline. NEVER hit him, but you may try learning how to use a choke collar (when used correctly it doesn't hurt, it mimics how wolf and dog mothers tug on the neck to discipline their babies) But if you never went to obedience classes (or maybe you did, but just didn;t keep up the training and discilpline?) I would enroll him ASAP to try and get him out of his dominance b/c he can hurt, and possibly kill someone if this isn't corrected. Unfortunately, as you realize, sometimes aggression cannot be helped (if he is 1/2 pit they are a very dominant-minded breed and can be more of a challenge to train than if he was full lab. *warning* i am not saying anything against pits before anyone jumps down my throat! I am stating the fact that these breeds, as well as plenty of other breeds, require more persistent training than some others b/c they are more prone to wanna be dominant than, say, a golden retriever or something. every breed is different and requires a different level of training and discipline. Any breed can be good if they have the proper training) But sometimes an individual dog cannot be helped and just has aggression in them no matter what you try. And the most humane way to deal with it is euthanasia rather than risking one of your other pets or human family members (or random people on a walk, etc.) getting seriously injured or killed. There are ALOT of injuries and death caused by dog bites.
Oooh, this is a tough one, Tari. I'm glad you can at least take the step back and realize that there is some pretty big stakes here. My sister was bitten by a dog twice as a small child, as it's just a bad deal for all involved. The dog, the dog's family, the person who gets bit. Very bad. Definately talk to a vet and a good obedience trainer, as there may be something you can do to help. We never had problems like that with our dog growing up, but she was just a poodle/terrier, and was trained really early on that my dad was the 'alpha male'. To Kitsune's point, pit bulls are very territorial dogs. Personally, I love them as a breed and want to have one someday, if the setting is right. But they will set up a territory and be very defensive of it. And they have the weapons to do it. I have heard that they don't typically operate well in homes with multiple pets for this reason. But again, every dog and every breed is different. I wish I had better advice to give, but I don't. I really hope you can find a way to make things work out. I know what it's like to lose a dog. Keep us posted.
Distemper is a viral disease that effects a dogs respiratory, gastro and central nervous systems and is highly contagious and often fatal. That's why they get immunizations and boosters, it has nothing to do with their acutal temperament. I feel bad for you, it's always a tough choice. My sister had a dog like that, he went after me, my dogs and her more than once, he was a terrible accident waiting to happen. She is a foster Mom too, so when she started getting 'kids' the dog had to go. He went to a rescue group, hopefully they worked with him and found him a good home. I hope this all works out for you and your family!
Aww, I'm truly sorry. That sounds really hard. I think you're doing the right thing by having him put down...but I can't imagine. Once again, I'm sorry
Thats the thing. We got him as a rescue. After my dalmation died we all decided we were going to eventualy get a dog. I wanted a full blooded pit (I like the chalanges) but my family wanted another dalmation. One day while I was at school the guy down the block came by with this puppy, About say six months old. He was pretty beeten up and needed lots of love. The neightoor found him tied to a fence in Boooklyn. He plays baseball there and the dog was there all day. No one came by to get him, so he took him. And we got him. None of us know anything about what happened to him before he came to us. As a puppy (and me and my aspiring vet tech self) I tried to train him with no success. He was too hyper and everything was a game. I even tried clicker training at one point but my mother seems to think he's tone def. It got to the point where my father took a magazine, wraped it in tape and it became both a toy to him and also when he misbehaved if you were to hold the paper (thats all you had to do) he would go and lay in a corner. We have a decently sized, fenced in yard so being cooped up isn't a problem. We always knew he wasn't all there in the head, Which is how he got the name nutjob. As for changes in the house, nothing major. We had cats even before he got here, he's lived with them all his life (that he's been with us). He's had Lexi as a girlfriend (my other little sisters 1/2 begal 1/2 jack russel) for the past... ::thinks:: Four years, They get along fine and when he snaps at her they do fight, and she as little as she is beets him pretty bad. Nutjob's snapping has gotten so bad my cats won't walk on the floor. They all try to walk on shelves, tables, televisions, ect. Anything not to be close to him.
RE: plain aND SIMPLE Dogs don't get aggressive when they get old.... Aggression is a behavioral issue, not an age issue. I've known plenty of dogs my life, and worked with plenty at dog grooming shops. Age has nothing to do with whether a dog is good or bad. Besides, 6 isn't exactly old for a medium size dog. It's middle aged. One of my dogs is 12 and does't behave this way! I've known quite a few old dogs, and their temperament didn't change with age. Only thing is they get lazier. The dog probably has psychological issues from his past then. What you described isn't really the ideal situation for a dog to have been in before you adopted him. It's wonderfully nice to take in an abused animal, but sometimes abused animals are permanently ruined no matter how well you raise them. I personally would not keep this dog. If you've already tried training and nothing works, he is just gonna do major damage sometime. While you have all those other pets, you may wanna look into another breed if you want another dog. Like DaCubs mentioned after my other post, Pits are known not to get along well with other animals. So even if you got another Pit that didn't have abuse issues, you might still eventually have problems with dominance. I know quite a few people who had pits and/or pit mixes who were fine for 6 or 7 years, then suddenly started getting dominant and aggressive (a few people in my area have been *killed* by their own family pit bull who was a sweet dog for years and suddenly snapped) It's just one of those breeds that needs experienced owners. Even though *you* may know how to raise and train a pit, the other people in the house also have an effect on the dog's behavior. If you are strict with training and discipline, but your dad decides one day to let the dog get away with something, all your training is ruined. Each different breed has different instincts and level of dominance/submissiveness.
RE: plain aND SIMPLE and yet when i expain these things to my mother she plays the "I am older and I am right" card with me.
The best thing to do is take him to the vet for a full exam. If something is bothering him, it can make him snappy. It can be something like vision/hearing problems, or arthritis. You said he's a lab mix - labs are prone to joint problems so that cld be it. Did your cats interact with nutjob before? If he feels any kind of pain from contact (arthritis can do that), he may be trying to protect himself. If it indeed is a medical problem, you may be able to correct that and have him be back to the way he was before. However, do this quickly. I totally understand your mom's concern. You really don't want to wait until he does some serious damage to a person. What if he goes after someone outside of the household? And if indeed he is in pain and it's not treatable, euthenasia wld be the best thing for him.
If it's not medical and is indeed because he was abused, I'm not sure there's much you can do...My sister's dog was abused before we got him. He was so scared of everyone that it took the shelter at least a week to catch him. He was either a runaway or he was let go. But he was traumatized to the point that they were going to put him down because he wouldn't let anyone near him. When we adopted him, we were told he would probably never be a normal dog, no matter how we treat him. That was a year ago. He's not much different now. He only allows my mom, sis and me near him. So do what everyone says. Find out if it's a medical problem first. If not, maybe take him to an animal behaviourist, see if you can help him. Again, I hope it works out.
