| Subject: Aggression in Pit Mix |
Author:
Alison
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Date Posted: 19:30:58 08/08/05 Mon
I'm desperately looking for information and advice about my pit mix Stella. I adopted Stella from an animal shelter about three years ago, when she was 12 weeks old or so. I did not do obedience training (started to but quit when I discovered that the school used negative reinforcement), however I did try to expose her to all sorts of situations and people, often going to dog parks, etc.
Last year, when I started to really enforce the leash issue (when she was young we did a lot of hiking in Indiana where she could be off leash), she started to show signs of aggression-- towards bicyclists, joggers, strange men, children, and many other dogs-- and it's only gotten worse. We moved to a new state, and had to move apartments within two weeks because my neighbor was afraid Stella would bite his daughter.
She's *never* bitten anyone or anything-- even in dog fights-- but I do have her on a muzzle now to be extra safe. I also have enrolled her in obedience school and we've done five lessons in about two weeks-- I'm taking her as often as possible. I'm especially concerned right now because Stella-- who weighs a third my own body weight and so is especially difficult for me to restrain-- has recently shown an ability to get out of a muzzle *and* her collar if agitated enough.
At this point, however, I'm not sure if I can keep Stella. I fear that she will hurt a child, but I don't know if I'm over-reacting or not (I'm pretty sure I'm not). Additionally, I used to volunteer at our local animal shelter and am a HUGE believer that when you get a dog, you keep that dog-- and I realize that the likelihood of Stella getting a new home if I return her to the shelter is practically nil, if I am (and I have to be) honest about her behavior.
Does anyone out there have advice? Is this a fixable problem? Are there rescues who will take a dog who's showing signs of aggression (most of them so far have said no)? If I do decide I can't live with her behavior, do I return her to the shelter where I found her or -- god forbid-- put her down with my veterinarian, so that I may be with her?
This is the hardest situation I think I've ever been in-- I absolutely *adore* this dog and have built the past three years around her and her happiness. Unfortunately I now fear her unpredictability and it's making my life incredibly stressful-- trying to arrange when and where to walk her so she doesn't get into a confrontation, going to obedience classes all the time, trying to double her exercise routine to make her tired and hopefully calmer, etc.
Please help! Sorry this message is so long-- I just wanted to put in all the info.
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