How to Raise Your Pit Bull to Be Less Aggressive

I own a 1and a half yr. Old pit boxer mix. I've only had her for a week now she's mostly very lovable. But i'm 48yrs. Old my wife is 45yrs. Old and a daughter that's 12ys old. Our pit get aggressive very easily and will not listen. But so far is not into trash. But she xan get very mischievous. So what do I do about this

haw do you do it all. all 5 of my pits are really chill exsept for one and he god after people and i nead someone to help tran him

Hi, thanks for the article. We adopted our girl in her 6 months and we dont know very well her past,. She was ok in the beginning, even playing with other dogs but now at her 2 years she become very selective and sometimes aggressive with another dogs. Also we cannot control her when is about another animals, like horses, foxes in the mountains, we met a llama hahahah, you dont wanna know how my husband was drugged on the ground. About humans, she love them all, but we spot an issue about them too, if a man dont move and stares at her she become aggressive again. Any suggestions to calm her a bit in this kind of situations? Thanks!

My family and I adopted a pitbull puppy from our local LA shelter almost 3 weeks ago, he's now 13.5 week-old. He is adorable and fun, however seems that when he gets excited or thinks you're playing he will began to bite. I'm concerned for my 11 and 6 yo daughters, my 16 yo daughter can handle him. We had an in home trainer who spent 2.5 hours with us. Smoke responded well to the training and has improved.

He has challenged me a few times when i attempt to correct his behavior (usually when unleashed) by growling, lip curling, snapping, snarling and staring me in the eyes as if he's going to attack. Very aggressive behavior for such a young age. Once i gain control of him he snaps out of it, but i can't take chances like that with my younger girls. Is this true aggression that i should be worried about in the future? Or is it apart of him trying to assert his dominance over me? I am continuing to use what i've learned to reinforce good behavior.

Overall he is a pretty cool pup. Sidenote: My husband thinks i'm being too soft with him, "he is a pitbull and will grow up to be very strong." Lastly, i do plan to put him in an obedience class in the next week. Any advice will help.

I habe two pits one is eight and the other a year. The eight year old pit is so laid back sleeps with his kids backs down to aggressive dogs. The one year old pit was great also very smart. Then one day he was attacked by another pit in his one yard. He is fine except when people walk by hair stands up and same for other dogs. So not ever pit is the same....and its not always how they are raised cause we are trying to do positive reinforce meant but have yet seen a change. Affraid he may be ruined for ever by this event.

You r insane. These dogs r crazy. There are so many nice family breeds out there. Why risk your kids or other pets with a Pit Bull?!!!!!! Neighbors have 1 that us only 10 weeks old and already lunges agressively to bite your face!!!! She does this to everyone!!!!!!

So I have a 3yr old red nose female which I had since she was 3 weeks and a male blue nose which is 5 and I also had for 3 years. My female has gotten very jealous only when I am around she already has attacked my male several times. Mind you my female is 65lbs and my blue is 90lbs. Luckily we were able to break it fast and noone or pet got hurt. What can I do?? Like I said it's only when I am around. If my male wants my attention she intervenes. I brought a muzzle but only put it on after the fact. They get along ok but my male has his guard up now and kinda stays out of her way.

I have a 10 month old pitbull, he is very protective of me and my kids but has bitten my kids to protect me when we are goofying around. He does not do well with people he does not know. He has been getting more and more aggressive lately and I did get him nuetured when he was 6 months old. I honestly don't know what to do anymore with him. I am very lost.

My pitbull Nayla is 2 years old and is only around my husband and I most of the time. She is not one of the dogs that sit nicely at the pet store or when she is at the vet. She jumps on people and always wants to play. How can we get her to be more social at this age?

My baby pitbull is 6 months old he just started to get aggressive tawards one of my other dog that is a rottweiler I don't know what to do because the second rottweiler I have he gets along with very well. Before the puppy attacks the older rottweiler he crouches to the ground and then attackes. He has been with both of these dogs since he was four weeks old and I have taken him out everywhere I go even when I camp I bring my dogs.

I have a 7 month old Pitbull she’s very good with family and most of my friends. She gets very aggressive to new people and sometimes when people are walking, ridding bike and skate bored. I don’t wanna give up on her but don’t know what to do I need of help!?

i have a pitbull annd he is 48 days old bt he is too agressive use to bite and also dont obey anyone..please suggest me whot should i do wid him??

I have a pitbull she is very aggressive since day one she is very good with my grandkids and everyone in the family at home but she is very aggressive when she see a person on a bike she want to attack when she sees someone walking the same I have to have a mussel on her at all time how can I take her to obedience school if she wants to eat the world

Interesting article, Doc. I spend 5 hours a day, 6 days a week in pet supply stores in MA and RI, all of which allow/encourage customers to bring their leashed dogs in with them. My company makes treats and, with the owners' permission, I offer some to their dogs. Many dogs take treats aggressively, but I haven't noticed it more in any specific breeds. I still have all 10 fingers and they're all still full length.

Pit bulls are very popular around here, so I see a lot of them in the course of a week, and it's not common to see pit aggression towards people or other dogs. Surprisingly enough, when a dog "starts something" in these situations, it's most often small dogs.

I talk with a lot of folks with more than one dog, often a big dog and a small dog, and they say the small dog rules the roost. I realize there might be some exaggeration going on there, because stories are often related in amused tones, making me think there's some embellishment happening.

I wrote a hub on Breed Specific Legislation (BSL) a couple of years ago and, at that time, 13 states had enacted legislation that prohibited cities and towns from adopting BSL. That's the way things are moving here in the colonies.

It used to be just shelter workers and pit owners who were testifying at public hearings on BSL, and they lacked credibility in the minds of most legislators. But then professionals...veterinarians, behaviorists, trainers...even the American Bar Association...started testifying in support of pits and against BSL. Politicians have started paying attention and the tide is turning.

That said, there's a city in RI that is in court right now trying to get around the state's ban on BSL, so the fight isn't over. It certainly helps that "credible witnesses" such as you are speaking out in defense of the pit.

My next door neighbor recently got a pit, named Rizzo, who has issues, so they're working with a trainer because some of the others in the complex are complaining. When Rizzo saw me for the first time she sort of stared me down, so the owner thought it best if we say hello from a distance. Since then, I've been able to feed Rizzo a treat, which she takes gently.

Another neighbor has a labradoodle, Obie, which barks and lunges at people who approach, but nothing has been said about that, as far as I'm aware.

Pits do have an intimidating countenance. That, plus their ill-deserved reputation puts two strikes clearly against them. They need all the credible PR people they can get.

That said, Ajej breaks the mould. She's a cover-girl beauty whose manners should be an example for all to see. Voted up, useful and interesting.

I hate to be the old lady with an iron will but when I hear pit bull I just think of a little girl who got one when she was born and best buddies with it and when she was five it turned on her for no reason according to the parents and just about ate her face off before they could stop it. Now I wonder what that lady who lost her face at five would have to say about them?