[dankbean]

forgive me, i'm new to this site.

i'm also not a pitbull owner, i'm asking on behalf of a friend.

has anyone heard of behavioral issues, specifically regarding pitbulls, around the two-year-old point in their lives?

i'm having this discussion on another forum, and nobody seems to know. i used to know a family that had a pitbull farm, and they strongly encouraged training (of course), but they mentioned specifically that, if a pitbull is not properly trained by the time they are 2 y.o., a "switch is flipped" in their brains, and they get extremely hyperactive.

please understand, i'm not trying to raise a fuss about pitbulls. i love all dogs, and i'm asking this to hopefully dispel some of those rumors that seem to surround the pitbull breed.

any info, or links, would be appreciated.

[fearlessknight]

Originally Posted by dankbean forgive me, i'm new to this site. i'm also not a pitbull owner, i'm asking on behalf of a friend. has anyone heard of behavioral issues, specifically regarding pitbulls, around the two-year-old point in their lives? i'm having this discussion on another forum, and nobody seems to know. i used to know a family that had a pitbull farm, and they strongly encouraged training (of course), but they mentioned specifically that, if a pitbull is not properly trained by the time they are 2 y.o., a "switch is flipped" in their brains, and they get extremely hyperactive. please understand, i'm not trying to raise a fuss about pitbulls. i love all dogs, and i'm asking this to hopefully dispel some of those rumors that seem to surround the pitbull breed. any info, or links, would be appreciated.

Around 2 years old is when they usually start to "turn on" meaning that they are more dog aggressive than ever..this does not always happen at this age, but close to it...up to 4 years most commonly around 2 though...
BUT:
That other part is not completely true....it has nothing to do with training..I mean dont get me wrong, training is good with any breed, but this breed is called DA Dog Aggression and it will have other signs other that being DA, they will be more hyper and might bark more...it is in their blood and it comes with the breed.
As long as this dog is not showing signs od HA..human aggression, then I would not worry too much, but I would watch carefully and make sure the dog undestands who is boss...because he/she is not....you are..or the owner!

By the way, welcome to the site, and tell your friend she should jion you...lots of great info here!

[Michele]

Welcome to the forum and FearlessKnight said it best

[Wyldmoonwoman]

You can train any dog at any age, the older they are, the more bad habits they have and it is a little bit harder to train them, but they can be trained, especially if they have the correct temperament traits of a pit bull and the willingness to please their humans.

I am not sure what you are referring to with the switch being flipped at age two. Having had rescue dogs in my house with no manners whatsoever upon arrival, all of them learned proper house manners and the rules here very quickly. (I take a nothing in life is free approach and if you want to eat, you follow the rules) The only ones that gave me any trouble were less than a year old or not pit bulls.

As far as being hyperactive goes, any dog that doesn't get much exercize or mental stimulation is going to be hyperactive. Tiring out a dog takes care of the hyperactive crazies.

Pit bulls are dogs...and they act like dogs, they will try to get away with whatever you let them, just like any other breed of dog.

I am guessing that people on that forum are spewing myths as fact...here is a link to a website with common pit bull myths and the facts

http://www.realpitbull.com/myths.html

[Drgnrdr]

If your talking about DA like fearless is saying , then yes fearless is informative but, if your refering to hyperactive that wyld is talking about then wyld is informative, IMHO.
Training helps just about everything, even if they are DA, you can try to get them to listen to you walking down the street, and not lunging and acting out of control, and have them walk with you and not go crazy, have you seen the "dog whisperer"?
I believe every dog needs training and the owner must do it, or they just listen to the trainer, you don't see what the process is.
In my class I tell people "I can train your dog in just a few hours, you are the one that takes 8 weeks".

[slbno1]

I rescued an am staff when she was 11 months old, she had been beaten and severly abused, but still so eager to love me her caretaker.. She housebroke herself, she has never been rude or noncooperative, she is very loved and spoiled at my/her home. She is like my daughter, people are always telling me " I've never seen a bulldog as smart as Anna"

[annji]

I have a VERY hyper am staff. As a puppy and young adult the more we exercised her the hyperness actually increased. Because she was in better shape, ofcourse so was I. My staff's behavior has greatly improved as she is now almost 2. I have been told by many to look for increased dog aggression at age 2. I do and I will probably always look for it. We have never seen any dog aggression from her. However, I don't want my baby to accidentally harm another dog even during play due to the bad media attention it could generate.