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srynerson's avatar

This really is the ultimate issue -- if the only "use case" for your dog is companionship, then there are dozens of incontestably less dangerous breeds to pick from.

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Julia Ramsey's avatar

I adopted mine because I didn't know. He was a 10 week old puppy who looked very much like a lab. I didn't think he was full bred but I didn't look at him and immediately think he was a pit. I did his DNA and he is 40% pit. Now he's almost a year and becoming aggressive, I'm hiring a behavioral trainer and taking him to Penn Veterinary Hospital department of Behavioral Medicine. I didn't ask for this, I didn't want a pit but now I have him. He wasn't free either, far from it.

In the Philadelphia area it seems like you have three options for dogs: shelter which is almost entirely pit, rescues who drive for South to bring back pits or get a dog from an Amish puppy mill and have your dog from some inbred disease early. It's bad

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Anna's avatar

Hi Julia,

I'm sorry that you ended up with a tricky dog. I did too. I knew he was a bully mix but I didn't know what I was in for. Thankfully mine isn't at all human agressive but he is very dog selective. I've done a lot of work with my boy and he's incredibly well trained now and still has shown no sign of human agreession, he's eight, and he has a few dog friends that I supervise all interactions with. I would never allow him to meet a strange dog and have sevearl tools to prevent that.

All this to say that sometimes a good trainer can do wonders with a dog, because of how into dog training I became I have dog training contacts in the US should you want me check in with my contacts to find a reccomendation. Hopefully the trainer you have does the trick but there are trainers and trainers.

Good luck, it's not easy but it can be super rewarding.

My instagram is @annaandboodle if you want to dm me any questions or if you would like me to look into trainers in your area.

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VesnaVK's avatar

I never heard the phrase "dog selective" before today. I saw it on a list of code words shelters use to mask aggression in dogs. It means "might kill another dog."

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Anna's avatar

It certainly could, shelters can be dodgy with their phrasing. In my dogтАЩs case it is accurate, there are certain types of dogs that he is never going to like. This is fairly common regardless of breed. Lots of dogs donтАЩt like the way all dogs interact.

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Kathleen's avatar

Good luck. I feel bad for people in your situation. You didnтАЩt seek this out.

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Julia Ramsey's avatar

Thank you.

I am really hoping that he is young enough that we can manage this with some changed expectations and a lot of work. I have been crying all weekend over it.

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Kathleen's avatar

IтАЩve heard тАЬI can fix himтАЭ syndrome and thatтАЩs probably the best explanation (for female owners) that youтАЩre likely to get.

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