[Ms. Jax]

I own a 3 year old female blue pit named Remy. I got her when she was a little over a year old. She was my sister's boyfriend and when he passed aways, we decided I would take her so she could continue to be with our family. I knew this dog so it was okay. My sister has a rednose pit named Beanz and she has been raised with him since she was a pup, so we decided to keep her with us. I was in the military at the time and living in another state, so she stayed with myself and my son. We would come home almost every weekend so she was around Beanz. Recently I got out of the navy and moved back home to my mother's house. Remy has become a little aggressive toward people, she has nipped several of my brother's friends (both male and female), and has attacked Beanz, most of the time was because of treats or toys, so we picked all those up when they are around each other. Yesterday my mother called me and said Remy jumped on Beanz for no reason and she had to get her off of him. Beanz is twice the size of her and older as well, so I don't know why she is doing what she is. Beanz doesn't want to fight with her, but it seems she does when it begins. She has never shown aggression toward my family. But why is she starting to be aggressive toward Beanz now, she has never done this before. I would appreciate any information or experiences you all have to share..

[maryellen]

the female is probably maturing , and since all pitbulls have some degree of dog aggression, she is showing hers in that she isnt tolerating the male anymore for whatever reason. its very possible the male is giving the female the stink eye, or other body language that you cant see or miss, and if that is the case the female wont put up with it..

you are going to have to do a crate/rotate now with both dogs, and never let them together so that you can avoid any future fights.


as far as the human aggression goes, is the dog spayed? is she getting enough exercise or is she getting no exercise? were the actions nips, or bites? were the people playing with her and she got riled up and went to grab a toy and got skin instead? before you can solve the problem, you have to figure out WHY and WHEN its happening....

have you had pitbulls before?
if not, then start reading NOW about them

www.realpitbull.com
www.badrap.org
www.animalfarmfoundation.org
www.outofthepits.org
www.pbrc.net

[monkeys23]

Originally Posted by maryellen the female is probably maturing , and since all pitbulls have some degree of dog aggression, she is showing hers in that she isnt tolerating the male anymore for whatever reason. its very possible the male is giving the female the stink eye, or other body language that you cant see or miss, and if that is the case the female wont put up with it.. you are going to have to do a crate/rotate now with both dogs, and never let them together so that you can avoid any future fights. as far as the human aggression goes, is the dog spayed? is she getting enough exercise or is she getting no exercise? were the actions nips, or bites? were the people playing with her and she got riled up and went to grab a toy and got skin instead? before you can solve the problem, you have to figure out WHY and WHEN its happening.... have you had pitbulls before? if not, then start reading NOW about them www.realpitbull.com www.badrap.org www.animalfarmfoundation.org www.outofthepits.org www.pbrc.net

Maryellen always has good advice!

[PNWPBR]

are the dogs spayed/neutered?

[Ms. Jax]

I have had pitbulls before, she is my third. I know alot about them, read about them, and so on. To answer some of your questions, she is not spayed. We have a huge back yard and she continues to recieve excercise everyday, we take walks twice a day, once in the morning, and once in the evening. The dogs have been togther outside several times with no fights. Like I said they were raised together and just had those spats and noone knew why. They have been around each other for years and this has just started happening. I have never had this happen with any dog I have owned so I am not to aware of the reasoning. And about the biting/nipping, it is merely nipping and the people can just walk through our gate or walk through our walk way. She has not done it for a while now, since a scolded her when she did it the last time. Thank you for your advice, I do appreciate all your advice.. Thank you

[Ms. Jax]

Originally Posted by PNWPBR are the dogs spayed/neutered?

No she is not spayed and he is not neutered.. is that a concern? They are kept away when the heat cycle begins and for a few days after the fact.

[maryellen]

some dogs can be best friends for YEARS... then, forget it....DA comes into play.. 2 females are more likely to get into nasty fights then male/female or male/male. your female is maturing, and her DA is showing.. its time to only allow supervised contact with NO Toys, or food around... period.. this will alleviate the fighting to a degree..

as far as the nipping of humans, its very possible that while she has a huge backyard, she might not have any structure, or mental exercise... just letting a dog run around outside does not always help with the exercise .. you have to exercise them physically and mentally..

i would start strict NILIF now, and add obedience lessons and mind games as well, so that she can work her mind and be mentally tired as well as physically tired... www.bustercube.com is a good mental game for her to play by her self..

with this breed, no matter how long you own them, DA is always there waiting around the corner..

[Michele]

[quoteShe has never shown aggression toward my family. But why is she starting to be aggressive toward Beanz now, ][/quote]

Your dog is displaying DA. I would not leave them alone. They need to be supervised now.

[Miakoda]

Like I said they were raised together and just had those spats and noone knew why. They have been around each other for years and this has just started happening. I have never had this happen with any dog I have owned so I am not to aware of the reasoning.

Unfortunately, you are not educated about bulldog breeds especially about the APBT. The reason for this is simple: APBTs and most "pit bulls" are dog agressive and do not want other dogs for friends. They were NOT bred to be pack dogs, they do NOT have to have doggie friends, and most think fighting is fun regardless of how we humans view the act.

This dog is dog agressive. Period. I don't care how long he's known the other dog, he's now a mature dog and instinct is telling him to fight not play. Is that a bad thing? Nope....not as long as he's great with any and ALL humans. All this means is that he needs to be kept separate from other dogs at all times and his socialization should now be limited to humans. If you are unwilling to do this, then I suggest that a different breed is best for you.

As for the human aggression, this dog needs immediate obedience training with a reputable trainer familiar with bulldog breeds. However, IMO once is "shame on him", twice is "shame on you." Continued excuses will only result in all of us reading about your dog on CNN after he attacks someone. It's a hard decision to make, but we don't live in a time where we can afford to be soft-hearted when it comes to "pit bulls" and human aggression.

Good luck with your situation.

[pyrless]

(Caveat to this reply, I don't have an APBT.)
However, I have a female Great Pyrenees which is a large livestock guardian dog. Female Pyrs are always alpha. She was docile, even submissive, until she hit puberty, and then started throwing her weight around with my other dogs. She did some damage to my other female, and we crated-and-rotated for a year. (only way we could keep both). If that's what you end up doing, it's really not that bad, the dogs get to enjoy their one-on-one time with their people.

Is it possible this behaviour with Beanz is alpha-ness regular dog stuff and not necessarily dog-dog aggression? Sasha will roar like a freight train and grab the scruff of my elkhound's neck when he's gone too far with her, but I wouldn't consider her dog-aggressive.

What concerns me is the "little bit" of human aggressiveness (not because of her breed, i don't think that is acceptable in any dog). Does she do this with you or is it just strangers? Is it play biting or BITING?