I'm fostering a female pit mix for a local rescue. She's believed to be 2 yrs old. She's doing great except she doesn't know how to play properly with other dogs. She goes straight into biting. There's no a real aggression and no blood so far but she bites hard enough to make the other dog yelp. I've not had a problem when I play with her. I've taught her to drop it, leave it, etc. and she has learned not to come close to my hands with her mouth.

Any thoughts on how to teach her proper play etiquette with other dogs without putting the other dogs in a position to get bit and/or having things escalate in to a fight?

Thanks.

I think you'd be better off teaching her to settle down and behave around other dogs without that kind of play. Thats not going to help find her a permanent home.

My previous housemate's dog (also a pit mix) had this problem. We used a combination of redirection and the right dog (in this case my mal).

The right dog was one that the moment the play got to rough would completely ignore him, not play, not reward the inapppropriate behavior but then, the moment he took a break would play bow and restart the game. redirection was done physically with a drag line/traffic tab. The play got to rough, the helping "right dog" would disengage, the offending dog would be pulled away, asked for a sit then released as the "right dog" initiated a game again. It didn't take long before if this dog bit to hard and his playmate yelped he'd let go, sit and wait for his playmate to re-engage (if the dog didn't he'd offer a play bow himself, which was another re-enforced behavior to avoid him pouncing on the other dog to start a game).

This dog in question will never be a candidate to play most dogs (he's a pit anyway, so it's not like that was ever an option) but can interact nicely in a selected group even with dogs who don't appreciate being chomped on.

What Steve said!
The fact that she bites the other dogs hard enough to make them yelp should tell you it "WILL" escalate.
The bull breeds and play rough. When my brother had a Pit she could only play with a few of the other brothers and sisters dogs simply because they didn't have the same intensity of play.

ok jamie now this sounds like a more constructed approach to using other dogs to modify the behaviour of a particular dog .
what that other member from england was doing looked like a gang swarming .

delete duplicate

Edited by Connie Sutherland (02/21/2013 03:37 PM)
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delete duplicate

Edited by Connie Sutherland (02/21/2013 03:37 PM)
Edit reason: delete duplicate

delete duplicate

Edited by Connie Sutherland (02/21/2013 03:38 PM)
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delete duplicate

Edited by Connie Sutherland (02/21/2013 03:38 PM)
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mods , can you please delete multiple posts ?








Done!


Edited by Connie Sutherland (02/21/2013 03:39 PM)
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