Rescue dog is showing aggressive behavior all of a sudden, help :(
- Thread starter alex2017
- Start date
-
- Tags
- reactive dogs
@alex2017 I'm going to get downvoted here but you guys got a pittie and they can be GREAT dogs.
The problem is, once they do show these types of behavioral problems small dogs and dogs of all kinds can show. They are harder to deal with since they are so strong that like you said, you are getting hurt.
What worked for me with a 20 lb dog is to keep leaving and eventually carry into time out. The problem is you try to carry that trigger stacked pittie and you might just need the ER
The problem is, once they do show these types of behavioral problems small dogs and dogs of all kinds can show. They are harder to deal with since they are so strong that like you said, you are getting hurt.
What worked for me with a 20 lb dog is to keep leaving and eventually carry into time out. The problem is you try to carry that trigger stacked pittie and you might just need the ER
imagebeastmarkbeast
New member
@alex2017 The dog doesn't know it's punishment unless you act like it's punishment. Start by Turning it into a rewarding and comforting space by crate training him when he is calm and docile. A frozen Kong stuffed with wet food is ambrosia. Tie a word like "bedtime" to the act of entering and getting a kickass, mentally stimulating but challenging prize. One day it will click for him that crate time means happy time.
@imagebeastmarkbeast He already hates his crate because he only goes in it when we go to work. He sometimes fights going in and other times he walks in
imagebeastmarkbeast
New member
imagebeastmarkbeast
New member
@alex2017 You need to associate his crate with good things. What training are you doing?
I adopted a pitty and she showed some aggression towards us after a few weeks. It's really scary. We worked really hard on making her crate a safe space. Susan Garrets Crate Games was key for us.
You also cant force a muzzle on a dog. Its going to backfire. The muzzle needs to also be a positive. Unfortunately, im still working on muzzle training with my pup and havent been successful yet, so I cant offer any ideas.
Thank you for returning the shock collar. I also turned to shock and prong collars and an aversive trainer before I knew better. They made things worse. Positive behavior reinforcement has helped us to understand her behavior, address her issues, and make changes to make everyone happier and safer.
I adopted a pitty and she showed some aggression towards us after a few weeks. It's really scary. We worked really hard on making her crate a safe space. Susan Garrets Crate Games was key for us.
You also cant force a muzzle on a dog. Its going to backfire. The muzzle needs to also be a positive. Unfortunately, im still working on muzzle training with my pup and havent been successful yet, so I cant offer any ideas.
Thank you for returning the shock collar. I also turned to shock and prong collars and an aversive trainer before I knew better. They made things worse. Positive behavior reinforcement has helped us to understand her behavior, address her issues, and make changes to make everyone happier and safer.
@alex2017 You’d be surprised what you can turn into a fun thing when you are ready to bribe your dog with treats and yummy things 
I adopted a dog a few months ago and dealt with a lot of similar things. When we first got him, it took us hours and I mean hours to get him in his crate. Now I say “crate” and he flies in there. The trick is, as others have said, is to make it his special happy place. Toys (he can safely have without monitoring), the best yummy treats that he only gets in his crate. You can drape a blanket around the crate so it is more den like. Believe me, once he grows to love it, he’ll want to be in there. The problem is he associates it with you leaving or him being alone.
So what id also recommend is don’t just have him in the crate when you’re gone. Start integrating it at different periods and when good things happen.
It will get easier! Hang in there!
I adopted a dog a few months ago and dealt with a lot of similar things. When we first got him, it took us hours and I mean hours to get him in his crate. Now I say “crate” and he flies in there. The trick is, as others have said, is to make it his special happy place. Toys (he can safely have without monitoring), the best yummy treats that he only gets in his crate. You can drape a blanket around the crate so it is more den like. Believe me, once he grows to love it, he’ll want to be in there. The problem is he associates it with you leaving or him being alone. So what id also recommend is don’t just have him in the crate when you’re gone. Start integrating it at different periods and when good things happen.
It will get easier! Hang in there!
@alex2017 I wouldn’t be okay with this behavior. Since you can’t afford a behaviorist & he’s a big dog I think returning him for a dog that has less intense needs might an option to consider.
Most dogs don’t bite arms & hands. Most don’t attack you (even from over arousal) for hours & this seems like a disaster waiting to happen. Most dogs rarely or never injure their owners (and that injury is usually a scratch that they immediately stop play because they don’t want to hurt you).
I know I couldn’t deal with a big dog that injured me regularly & thought I was a chew toy. I would be too afraid to even get the training done they need.
Some dogs aren’t the right fit for a home. Best of luck if you keep him but don’t feel guilty if you decide to find a dog that fits your home better instead.
Most dogs don’t bite arms & hands. Most don’t attack you (even from over arousal) for hours & this seems like a disaster waiting to happen. Most dogs rarely or never injure their owners (and that injury is usually a scratch that they immediately stop play because they don’t want to hurt you).
I know I couldn’t deal with a big dog that injured me regularly & thought I was a chew toy. I would be too afraid to even get the training done they need.
Some dogs aren’t the right fit for a home. Best of luck if you keep him but don’t feel guilty if you decide to find a dog that fits your home better instead.
christiannewbie
New member
@rebekah80 This needs more upvotes! Sometimes things just aren’t the right fit and that’s ok!!
From the comments OP has left it just doesn’t seem like this is the right fit here. It’s upsetting but better to leave it early on rather than have a full on bite incident happen & the dog require euthanasia. The fact that you’re locking yourself in a bathroom, the dog is crated while you’re at work, you’re already going to extreme measures says to me that this isn’t working.
From the comments OP has left it just doesn’t seem like this is the right fit here. It’s upsetting but better to leave it early on rather than have a full on bite incident happen & the dog require euthanasia. The fact that you’re locking yourself in a bathroom, the dog is crated while you’re at work, you’re already going to extreme measures says to me that this isn’t working.
@alex2017 This sounds like a young dog that doesn't know how to play rather than a dog with agression issues, hard to say without seeing it first hand, but the way you've described it sounds a lot like this dog is full of energy and getting way too wound up but does not know how to play without getting super rough and hurting you.
sunshinerising88
New member
@alex2017 I literally could have written your post, my pup had 2 hour “zoomies” and used to do this play biting/growling thing that was difficult to interrupt. He certainly wasn’t biting me as strong as he is capable of but it could still be scary at times (he’s a bull arab). My dog also has a lot of fear issues, particularly new people. I’ve been seeing a behavioural vet who told me that the 2 hour zoomies wasn’t normal behaviour, it’s actually overstimulation (particularly as it happens at night), and the play biting was due to his brain being so overactive that he couldn’t read cues (e.g, I’m hurting mum, she doesn’t enjoy this play). He’s been started on meds - clonidine - and now in the evening he will go for a walk, have a game of tug, have a frozen kong and then go to sleep. It’s magical!
belle_me777
New member
@sunshinerising88 DITTO!!
OP, our pit mix rescue was similar to the above commenter's, and reading your post broke my heart. I've been there.
Things we did that may or may not help (I'm not a trainer!):
OP, our pit mix rescue was similar to the above commenter's, and reading your post broke my heart. I've been there.
Things we did that may or may not help (I'm not a trainer!):
- we had to keep her on a leash in our yard at all times for the first while - she would flip when exposed to any small thing and this would mean she would straight up attack us in the yard (hands, ankles) and if she got out of control we needed a quick safe escape, so we would hook the end of her leash to something secure (a fence post, normally, or a tree branch if we were out for a walk) and get out of her attack zone until she was able to calm some.
- Karen Overall's relaxation protocol routine.
- because crate training was verrrry difficult with her, we ended up baby gating our kitchen, and that became her safe space. She has a nook with her bed and it was somewhere we could have her safely, without things she could destroy.
- fluoxetine and trazodone (although we've stopped the traz). It was only after we started her on this (on advice from vet) that she started to be able to understand our commands and truly hear us during higher stress situations
- cortisol vacation. We stopped all outer activities for a few weeks. Walks only early morning or late night, only very short. Lots of mental games and stimulation and yard time - this seemed to help her empty her bucket of triggers and get back to decent baseline. (This book ) had LOTS of great ideas for enrichment, I highly recommend! Also Fired up, Frantic, and Freaked out, a book by Laura VanArendonk Baugh is awesome for helping to understand what's going on in your doggo's brain!
imagebeastmarkbeast
New member
@alex2017 I myself have a pit lab mix whose right at 9 months old. Had her since she was 5 weeks (rescue) and biting as also been an issue. So check it, here’s my protocol with my lil girl when she gets like this: I first verbally try and correct, then escalate to a verbal threat “do you want to go to bed?”, then if it continues we go to the crate to relax and let her gather herself and chill out. It usually works pretty well, and if it doesn’t it is usually because she is either under stimulated or under exercised. Unfortunately, usually a walk is simply not enough to burn off the energy they need to burn off. I’ve worked with mastiff breeds that at a year old, I started doing weight pulling for that kind of stuff (plus it beefs them muscles up.) Also adding a liquid CBD at mealtimes has helped maintain a consistent level of calmness and is also really good for them physically too.
@fundyjohn Thank you!! Can you explain weight pulling and how to do it safely? And what brand do you use for cbd?? I just bought some chews at petsmart
@alex2017 They make special harnesses that you literally can attach plate weights (like what you put on a barbell) and just work your way up with the weights. We would go on nice slow walks around the property. I had a Neapolitan Mastiff who would drag 180 pounds for 1/4 mile before he’d even start panting. A pitbull lab mix is one of the highest energy dog mixes there is. But keep in mind, if you look at your pup’s feet (and he really is mixed with a lab) you’ll find that their toes are completely webbed. Get him/her familiar with swimming and take her to the local lake, your uncles pool, wherever and let em swim. It’s my girls FAVORITE and she’s exhausted for the whole day if we swim for a decent amount of time.
@alex2017 IF these are some over the board zoomies I had to deal with this for a while too. But my dog is terrier size so a bit easier to handle even so she gave me a lot of bruises as well.
What helped me a ton was leashing her in these situations to enforce some boundaries. Leaving the room was not helping and she "attackt" my heels and legs instead when I turned my back to her. Everytime she oversteped my boundaries I calmly put her on a short leash tied to my desk and ignored her. No skolding, as less interaction as possible. As soon as she calmed down I let her go. If she started again: back on the leash. Took some time but the behavior got less and less severe and completely faded by now.
What helped me a ton was leashing her in these situations to enforce some boundaries. Leaving the room was not helping and she "attackt" my heels and legs instead when I turned my back to her. Everytime she oversteped my boundaries I calmly put her on a short leash tied to my desk and ignored her. No skolding, as less interaction as possible. As soon as she calmed down I let her go. If she started again: back on the leash. Took some time but the behavior got less and less severe and completely faded by now.