HI, I have a 1.5 year old male altered Pit Bull I rescued when he was about 2 mo old. even though Iv had him all this time I believe he is insecure basicly from inexperience...not very worldly wise. He was socialized well as a pup and I think due to this he has never had any kind of aggression problems. he is, however "spooky" but not in the normal circumstances one would expect (strange situations etc) he is sound and pain sensitive (supposedly pit bulls have high pain tolerance...)BUT doesnt seem to percieve threats (higher threshold) which has probably saved me from many problems. hmmm, this is getting long. OK my question is, what can I do to increase confidence. I have been working with him for all this time but I dont feel like he's really bonded with me (doesnt completly trust me to protect him)I take him out to different places to exercise (hes got FABulous O.B.)walking on different surfaces, all the normal things to increase his confidence but I think his lack of self confidence is still an issue. ALso, he isnt the most clear headed dog! he has had "red-zone" moments where I know he is not concious, its pure knee-jerk reaction when he gets over stimulated by an apporaching dog, and this growling, struggling moment will last for 20 or 30 seconds(BTW, this has only happened 2 or 3 times, not constantly). He is not at all dominant but is, understandably, extremly insecure around people who arent Very strong leaders.

Okay,

So, what is the dog actually doing (behaviors)? Is he trying to run away? Being fear aggressive?

What do you mean by "red zone", I know what it is, but what does he do to make you think it is "red zone"?

What else besides an approaching dog triggers him? And, why are you letting people approach him, if he obviously gets nervous?

Just some questions I have before giving an answer on building confidence.

Hi, Mary,

Also, what does "he is, however "spooky" but not in the normal circumstances one would expect" mean, exactly?


I do better if you just say it in regular terms. :>

How do you find him pain sensitive? How is he "not conscious" and what is "knee-jerk"?

What exactly is he doing, and when?

 Quote: carol boche

Okay,

What do you mean by "red zone", I know what it is, but what does he do to make you think it is "red zone"?

What else besides an approaching dog triggers him? And, why are you letting people approach him, if he obviously gets nervous?

Just some questions I have before giving an answer on building confidence.

well, the example I am thinking of is one particluar instance where I was working him in obedience on a park with a .5 mile sidewalk that goes arounf it. we were a little off the track, on the grass working when we spotted a person walking there dog on the track moving towards us. he was alert so I warned him to "leave it" in calm tone of voice (he had never had any issues like lunging and barking before. howver this time he went immediatly into lunging/barking I immediatly corrected him (prong collar). He was not listening to me so I sat him down and tried to get his attention. I would not say that he was totally focused on them, at this point he was just not focused on anything. lashing back and forth with his head (although he wasnt trying to bite me just to escape from the leash, and my holding his collar)

he has no trouble with people approaching him, has never had a problem with other dogs. and yes I know that his breed is geneticly predisposed to aggression between dogs but this was different. it wasnt so much that he wanted to get at the other dog as much as he was excited and had stopped thinking (first that I was even present) and secondly about who and why he was being restrained.

Spooky- he is easily startled by strange noises or things blowing in the wind, for example though not always (is not that he is startled and suprised but also that he'll jump up, hackles raised and bark even after i sees that its something he knows.) after a few seconds he'll be sheepish and happy-go-lucky again. I would suspect that he had a hearing or seeing probelem if I didt know otherwise.he has not shown a tendency to lash out at these suprises, though.

he needs LOTs of structure, which he gets, and reasurance of his place but he is still-well, I think he doesnt always know how to react to things, I have read that teaching a dog agility or advanced obedience will halp their self confidence, hes been in OB training since he was young and agility is a breeze (wouldnt compete though, hes not a "off leash" dog ever!) but I think that his self assurance is lacking because if he fails something once, its almost impossible to get him to attempt it again. like doing a jump. if he stumbles, he wont do it again, but hes super agile (a fence jumper, he doesnt seem to have any mental black about scaling our 6 ft fence if he ever gets loose)

 Quote: mary roach

he was alert so I warned him to "leave it" in calm tone of voice (he had never had any issues like lunging and barking before. howver this time he went immediatly into lunging/barking I immediatly corrected him (prong collar).

In a situation like this, I would have turned and started walking away from the "distraction" and gotten his attention back. Have you worked obedience with distraction at all?
It sounds like you stopped doing what you were doing and watched the person and dog coming.....when this happens your dog has nothing else to focus on other than that. If you keep working with him as the "distraction passes, he will eventually get that it is way more fun to stay focused on you rather than get corrected for lunging at something. But, if you have not worked with distraction before, it is better to start small and work your way up to bigger things.

 Quote: mary roach

he has no trouble with people approaching him,

What do you mean when you say "has a problem with people who are not strong leaders?"

 Quote: mary roach

and yes I know that his breed is geneticly predisposed to aggression between dogs

I am not sure I agree with this statement 100%. A lot of the information on this breed that is out there is based on myths and also is out out there by people who do not understand this breed.
Yes, they are strong "bully" type breeds, but when raised correctly they are great pets and even great with other animals and children (supervised of course).

 Quote: mary roach

but this was different. it wasnt so much that he wanted to get at the other dog as much as he was excited and had stopped thinking

This is why it is important to keep the dogs attention on you and keep him doing "something" so that he does not have a chance to "think for himself" so to speak.

oops. wow. Im really novice at this posting stuff. especially the quotes and other gadgets!

 Quote: Mary Roach

as far as people not being strong leaders, people who are pushovers are nice but he is not attracted to them (what dog is?) he will pick out the strong dominant person in a room and melt into a euphoricly happy little dog at their feet...

I don't know, a couple of my dogs LOVE pushovers. They can get away with all kinds of bad behaviors with those people if I let it happen. But they look to me when the going gets tough.