Pit Bull Aggression

I think it has a lot to do with the dog's appearance. That strong, muscular body with a block head cannot be fully appreciated until you’ve known one of these intelligent, loyal, comical, fun loving and beautiful canines. Even I didn’t think of them as beautiful until I owned a few, but once you love the inside, you can’t help but love the outside too.

And if you’ve ever heard them growl, its enough to scare the pants off you. When Bonz was a puppy, Joey taught him to growl whenever he was loved on. Imagine my reaction the first time I wrapped my arms around his huge chest and he growled in my ear! Disconcerting, to say the least. For a long time I would have to whisper in his ear, “Bonz, you’re scaring Mama,” and he would lower his growl until it was nearly inaudible. (He’s also scared many a veterinarian this way.)

So what creates Pit Bull Aggression? Pits, like all dogs need good human leadership. Without it, a dog may take over leadership with his own paws – and teeth. Biting is one of the ways dogs communicate. If a dog owner is frightened by it whether the dog bites him or another dog, it just puts the dog more in the leadership role, and now the problem escalates.

I have never been afraid of any of my dogs. I would never let them intimidate me. I know in the core of my being that none of them would ever hurt me, just like I know the sun will come up in the morning.

On the other hand, there is a fear lurking inside me that my dogs will bite other dogs, and this is where the trouble lies. Let’s call it the human factor. (Sounds better than "it's my fault".)

Amazingly, one of my most aggressive dog was, Izzy, a Golden Retriever. She was so sweet! She loved every person on the planet, but whenever there was another dog near our house, or at my friends house across the street, she would charge and attack.

And you know what? My neighbors overlooked it because she looked so sweet and fluffy! They knew when Izzy was a puppy; she had been attacked by another dog in the neighborhood. It was like a 'get out of jail free' card for her because we all saw her with human emotions instead of dog emotions.

Since Izzy was the perfect dog when she had a leash on, I 'solved' the problem by never letting Izzy out the door without a leash on, even to go to the car.

Both my Great Dane’s also had some aggression issues, but only with specific dogs and not people, so avoidance of the particular dogs was how I handled it. Of course this only avoided the problem and I can't do that anymore.

Why? Some of my own dogs don't get along with each other and probably wouldn't mind taking out the cats and dogs that wander through our yard. I really hate to say this. I hate it so much that I've been writing and rewriting this page for three days.

Pit Bull aggression is a bad thing and I don't want to fuel any hatred, dislike or mistrust of the breed. Its my responsibility. I'd rather not look like a bad owner or a bad person either. The fact is, I am not a bad dog owner. What I have been is uneducated. And I have been that way with all my dogs, it just wasn't much of a problem before. This is the first time I've had five big dogs at once living inside my house with me. Add that each one at one time or another has shown Pit Bull aggression leaves me overwhelmed more days than I'd like to admit.

A few years ago, someone told me about The Dog Whisperer. I enjoyed watching the show but it took nearly two seasons of watching Cesar to really absorb his messages even though he repeats them every episode. One of them being, the more upset, the more fearful and the more I expect my dogs to show Pit Bull aggression, the more I'm going to see it. Shit.

I needed more help so I bought and read two of Cesar Millan's books.

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I didn't realize how much I was learning dog body language - to spot and to feel that split second before one of my dog charges or reacts in an aggressive way. I'm getting better.

I still have a mountain to climb. Some of my dogs remain separated. There is still Pit Bull aggression in my home. I'm not sure how long it will take me to get over my worst nightmare.

One night, home alone, two of my dogs attacked a third. This went beyond Pit Bull aggression. Once the fight was over, the drool and blood cleaned up (none of the blood was mine, I told you they'd never bite me), my body went through a short period of violent shaking.

"How did I do that?" I wondered. "How did my five foot tall body pick up a hundred pound dog and hurl it out the door, slamming it behind her? And how did I finally break up the other two, sending them to their rooms?"

The only answer to that is...

I guess you just do what you have to do, for the love of dogs.

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