I have a 18 month Pit mix neutered at 4 months. I have him since he was 6 wks old.He is obedience trained, but on leash only. He has always been very friendly to strangers. Yesterday I had him on leash, Neighbor girl came by with 2 friends to pet him.He was sitting next to me and kids petted him for less then a minute, suddenly he growled and started snapping at them.I reached down to pull leash and the snap came open.The kids ran and he chased them. I told them to stop running,he them ran across street almost got hit by a car.I called him but didnt run after him. He ran into a yard 2 houses away.It seems that if he knows he is loose he takes off. If he is on 50 long line he will obey . Any help would be appreciated as we dont want to have to have him PTS. Thanks Jerry

I believe it was Richard who recommended once before that someone use fishing line(strong test of course) with gloves(so you don't cut your hands). This will fake the dog out into thinking there is no line attached to him.

This story is definately worrisome. It is hard to say what exactly caused the dog to suddenly behave this way when you say up until then he was always very friendly. As far as him bolting on you, this displays that he is not "fully" trained. He needs to have plenty more distraction work done. I would like to see Richard respond to this post. What do you say Rich?

Jerry,

Chuck is right. You can use Deep Sea fishing line (at least 50 pound, I use 150 pound+ for large and strong dogs) to use as a half step to off lead.

The thing that worries me about this is the rapid change in behavior. There are several things that can cause this. The dog can be doing this as a challenge to your authority. Obedience will help with that. The kids could have stimulated the dogs prey behavior with rapid hand motions. The kids running probably did stimulate the prey behavior by running, which is why he chased them. Obedience will help this too. It could be that the dog felt trapped by the attention. When a dog is surrounded by people (especially kids) they can feel trapped and that they have no place to escape. This will stimulate defense drives the dog. Here is where having an out command is important.

The other thing to keep in mind is that is the time that the dog is begining to assert it's self and start to develop more defensive behaviors. This is often a difficult time until the dog gets more maturity. Keep an eye on the dog and watch to see what types of behaviors cause the dog to act agressively. Learn to read the dog and catch when the agressive behavior is just begining and intervene before the dog acts on it. Obedience is also good for gaining control in these types of situations. It is important that you learn to read this dog.

Thanks for your answers. I will definetly try the fishing line.He is leash smart,if chasing a ball on long line if it goes in the street he will come to a dead stop.When you say to intervene if he shows any agressivnesss should I give a leash correction, or distract him with a toy. Thanks again. Jerry

Jerry,

At 18 months I would correct and do obedience to control the behavior. Put him on a sit/down stay and go interact with the object of the aggression. It may take some rapid fire obedience commands to re-establish control (puppy push-ups, sit down heeldown,sit, etc) until the dog is responding properly to every command. Once he is back under control hve the person he ws aggressive with come and pet him, one at a time if there were several, but be prepared to correct. Usually you will see an indication that the aggression is comeing. It may be subtle, like moving the position on one or both ears.

VanCamp has branded me as the king of one liners so as not to prove him wrong here I go again. You must teach the dog to respect you and not the leash.

Sweet