I rescued a female Pit who had open sores and Mange all over her body when I got her. We have bonded well, but she is aggressive to strangers and other dogs. What can I do?

Question

I just found your site and read most of it. I think it's given me some hope with my dog Woo, but I still have some questions.

    Woo is a 2 1/2 year old (approximately) pit bull mix. I've owned her about a year. Her original owners abused her pretty horribly, and then her " rescuers" neglected her to the point of abuse. Her first owners set her on fire. Amazingly she survived, and was taken in by some acquaintances of mine who were running a dog rescue. They're good people, and meant well, but really didn't know the first thing about dogs. The rescue dogs were allowed to run loose in their yard with their pets. When the dogs packed up, they just let them "fight it out." They also could not afford to obtain medical attention for the dogs beyond basic vaccinations. When Woo came to me she had a case of mange so bad that she was completely bald and covered in oozing scabs. She had a staph infection over her entire body, and a yeast infection in her wounds. Her burns had never had a chance to heal and were infected as well.

    She won me over with her gentle, sweet personality. She was so ugly, but I fell in love with her. She's healthy now, and a beautiful, but scarred girl. She's very well mannered at home, and very gentle with my two chihuahuas and my cats. She loves my fiance also.

    She hates all other men. I have never allowed her to be unsupervised or not on a leash with strange men, but I feel very sure she would bite them if I let her. She does not hate strange women as much, but is so leery of them that I do not trust her. She used to like other dogs, but over the past few months has begun to react very negatively to them as well. I absolutely cannot allow her to go out for walks with the chihuahuas, as she becomes so protective of them that she is hard to control.

    Woo is fine on a leash, and I was so happy to see what you had to say about idiots who leave their dogs off the leash. I can control her just fine on my own, but then when somebody's dog comes running up and won't stay away I get scared. I know my dog will bite, which is why she's on a leash; I wish other people would show some courtesy as well.

    Anyway, my question to you is, if I cannot alter her negative reactions to strangers and other dogs do you think I can still safely keep her as a pet? I do not intend to have children, and Woo is crated when we have guests over. I love her very much, but feel a responsibility to prevent her biting someone or killing another dog. I have tried to find a trainer to help me, but whenever I say "pit bull" and "aggression" they are not interested. The behaviorist at our local SPCA has met with me, but I'm not sure her suggestions are effective. She know "sit" and "wait," and she waits for me to go through doorways first, and when I put her food down she knows to wait for me to say "OK" before she eats. I can take away her food and toys with no protest. I would like to train her further, but feel uncertain of my ability without a trainer who is willing to work with us. Any advice or insight you can give would be greatly appreciated.

    Melissa

Accepted Answer

You sound like a good person with excellent intentions - which is why I am answering this.

You can save this dog if you wish to make the effort. Get a muzzle and make the dog wear it all of the time when you are out of your house. This is not uncommon, in Europe all Pitts have to be muzzled 100% of the time out of the house.

Do not ever vaccinate this dog again except for rabies. It will just suppress her immune system. Read my web site on vaccinations. Rabies is a law so you have to do it.

I would put the dog on an all-natural diet.

Then you need to start to train the dog. You can do this yourself. Get my Basic Dog Obedience DVD and a prong collar. Prongs look nasty but are much more humane than choke collars when used properly. You can do this training. Dog training is not rocket science - unlike a lot of people who write me you sound like you have a brain in your head.

I NEVER ALLOW my dogs to be around strangers. No one touches my dogs and I NEVER ALLOW strange dogs to be near my dogs. Read the article I wrote on my web site about DEALING WITH DOMINANT DOGS. Not that your dog is dominant but it explains a lot about how your dog looks at you.

When out for a walk carry a walking stick. Its also not a bad idea to carry pepper gas for those loose dogs. When strange dogs come around - don't be afraid to threaten these dogs to stay away. Even whack then if you have to. You are the pack leader and your female expects you to protect her. The hell with their owners... if they don't like it they should control their dogs.Read my article on DOG PARKS - also the article on How to Break Up A Dog Fight without getting Bit. (just so you know what to do in case of an accident).

Now I have supplied you with a lot of tools. It's up to you to read, study and learn. You have come the first mile for this dog. I think you can learn to live with it and keep control of its environment so there are no accidents.