May 18, 2011
I have a 10 week old American Pitbull Terrior. He is very aggressive toward strangers already. Should I be concerned?
Full Question:
Ed, I have a 10 week old American Pitbull Terrier (APBT). He is very aggressive toward strangers already. What I mean by this is that whenever someone walks by he will charge at them and start barking. If that person was to advance toward him he would start to back up, though. I like the initial aggression, but why does he back up and what type of temperament is he showing? Would he make a good dog for protection training? 
Ed's Answer:
If your pup is charging people and barking aggressively at this age it has a temperament problem. The dog probably has weak nerves. This means, rather than being tough he is in fact a weak dog. This is a dog that will probably be a fear biter as an adult.
Some people feel that puppies go through a fear stage at 9 or 10 weeks. I don't agree with this line of thinking. I don't see it in my dogs. But even so, if the dog does go through something like a fear stage it should not react the way this dog is reacting.
I guess my advice would be to try and take the dog out and socialize the devil out of him. Take hot dogs and give strangers a small piece of hot dog and ask them if they will give it to your puppy and pet him to show the dog that there is nothing to fear. If the dog does not respond to this work in a couple of weeks, then you need to consider putting the dog to sleep. You will have a time bomb on your hands as an adult.
As an adult this is going to be a dog that is very quick to bark when someone is around your home. He is a dog that is going to have to be watched like a hawk to make sure he is not exposed to anyone he is not comfortable with. In actual fact, this is the type of dog that is best used as a guard dog behind a fence and not as a personal protection dog. Guard dogs do not come in contact with very many people. Their nerves are usually a little thin and this results in the dog that is very quick to bark at strangers or strange noises.
Some people feel that puppies go through a fear stage at 9 or 10 weeks. I don't agree with this line of thinking. I don't see it in my dogs. But even so, if the dog does go through something like a fear stage it should not react the way this dog is reacting.
I guess my advice would be to try and take the dog out and socialize the devil out of him. Take hot dogs and give strangers a small piece of hot dog and ask them if they will give it to your puppy and pet him to show the dog that there is nothing to fear. If the dog does not respond to this work in a couple of weeks, then you need to consider putting the dog to sleep. You will have a time bomb on your hands as an adult.
As an adult this is going to be a dog that is very quick to bark when someone is around your home. He is a dog that is going to have to be watched like a hawk to make sure he is not exposed to anyone he is not comfortable with. In actual fact, this is the type of dog that is best used as a guard dog behind a fence and not as a personal protection dog. Guard dogs do not come in contact with very many people. Their nerves are usually a little thin and this results in the dog that is very quick to bark at strangers or strange noises.
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