New Pit Puppy, is she agressive? Please help.

2444 Views 15 Replies 12 Participants Last post by i love remy, Dec 11, 2006

chelliez

Discussion Starter · Dec 8, 2006

Two days ago we adopted an 8 week old female pit mix puppy. She is very loving to my husband and daughter (4 years old) and seems to be doing ok our 4 year old boxer/australian cattle dog. (she annoys him but nothing major yet)
Tonight my husband was playing with her and grabbed her snout and kind of shook it. Not in a mean way just playing around. She sort of leaned toward him and began barking agressively. My husband is now on a tangant and thinks she is evil. Now I do realize that grabbing her snout may have instigated it but we are trying to play slightly hard with her since we do have a small child. Is this something that I should be concerned about? I tried to test her as well and she didnt react the same way. I told my husband that he may have hurt her but he believes she should not have reacted in such a way. She shows no signs of agression toward my daughter and if anything lights up when she is around. After the incident she cuddled up to my husband as if nothing happened. In addition to that she met our neighbors dog tonight. They were playing and she went at him like she was 100 pounds. No fear at all. (just a slightly loud bark but leaning at him) Is this normal behavior for a puppy. I believe she was in the shelter for three weeks prior to me adopting her which leads me to believe she didnt spend a great deal of time with her mother. In addition to that she has had an upset stomach since we got her. (im taking her to the vet tomorrow) Could the transition effect her personality or should I be concerned. Sorry so long, I'm just nervous!!!

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angie7349

· #2 · Dec 8, 2006

It sounds to me like you have a normal loving baby girl. I am guessing that this is your 1st PB(or mix) they are spunky little critters. That is one of thing that I love about them, push me and I'll push you back. My girl is an American Bulldog and she can dish it out, as well as, take it. If your husband plays rough with her, he can expect her to be rough back. Their tenacity/strength is one of the things that make them great with kids. My girl is gentle as a kitten with children, but she will rough house like all helk with me. They are powerful dogs and can handle with ease the abuse that comes with being around children (eye polks, tail pulls, ear pulling, etc) You just need to teach her that it is unacceptable to use her mouth in any situation (that goes for all puppies of any breed) and you will be fine. Even though she sounds stable healthy and happy never leave her alone with the baby they can play rough, and the rough housing may hurt the baby. Teach your girl some manners and you should be fine. Welcome to the board-Angie

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hit16v10

· #3 · Dec 8, 2006

Definately agree with the post above, play with her rough and she'll play rough back. These dogs are tough, smart and independent. They will make their own decisions on alot of things, you just need to teach her what is acceptable and not.

The mouth thing is a definate. Teach her that the use of her mouth on your hands, clothes, etc is unacceptable. Give her a timeout if she nips repeatedly, for about 30 seconds or so is fine. She won't like being ignored and will figure out pretty quick that if she nips, she gets no attention. Personally, I wouldn't play too rough with her while she very young - especially using my hands. This is only going to teach her than your hands are toys and make it harder to teach her what is appropriate for playtime.

She should be fine with your little girl too. They are tough enough that most of the stuff little kids will do doesn't actually hurt them, only annoy. Where she is growing up in the house with the kids she should learn to get used to their behavior and what the pecking order is.

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Cookies Mom

· #4 · Dec 8, 2006

tell you husband if he doesn't want her to play ruff he shouldn't start it! she's just being a puppy. she is going to test her limits, just like kids. if she gets too ruff stop playing and walk away. enjoy her being a puppy, it doesn't last long!

msvette2u

· #5 · Dec 8, 2006

You guys should read "The other end of the Leash" and see what YOUR actions "say" to a dog. Snout grabs, or any type of playing, isn't just playing to a dog, it is COMMUNICATION. Each thing you do has a meaning to a dog even if YOU do not realize it.
http://www.amazon.com/Other-End-Leash-Patricia-McConnell/dp/0345446798

jr8fan

· #6 · Dec 8, 2006

also by grabbing the snout (if she misbehaves) it give u dominance!

akira

· #7 · Dec 9, 2006

no big deal

i agree with many of the other posts, sounds to me, like typical bully puppy play..they are tough little critters, but to me its all puppy play, no different than they would do with their littermates

chelliez

Discussion Starter · #8 · Dec 9, 2006

Thanks to all for your opinions.

I really do believe that she is just being a puppy. My husband knows now not to do that. I appreciate your responses as I am new to all of this.

Thanks
Michelle

Lisa

· #9 · Dec 9, 2006

Sounds like a nice pup (I love the buggers with attitude). I think your husband got what he deserved. If you are worried about your child then teach your child to respect your dog and NEVER leave your child and dog alone together , even for a minute.

FunnyGuy

· #10 · Dec 9, 2006

Sounds like you got a pit bull.

:lol:

the BIG&thelittle

· #11 · Dec 9, 2006

ok..so one problem here is she has no bite inhibition... if she has been in the shelter for 3 weeks and is 8 weeks old she did not have time with her littermates to learn to play "nice".
When she puts her mouth on you let out a sharp yell and turn away and refuse to play.
This is what her littermates would have done.

chelliez

Discussion Starter · #12 · Dec 10, 2006

One more question

the BIG&thelittle said:
ok..so one problem here is she has no bite inhibition... if she has been in the shelter for 3 weeks and is 8 weeks old she did not have time with her littermates to learn to play "nice".
When she puts her mouth on you let out a sharp yell and turn away and refuse to play.
This is what her littermates would have done.

She did have her brothers and sisters at the pound with her. She was spayed at 6 weeks (seems a little young to me) which i believe may have delayed her play time as well. One more question. My older dog Rocko 4 year old boxer mix plays with her and at times gets rough. Do I allow him to or do I break it up. Everyone says pits can turn on their housemates and it makes me nervous to let them play now. Any thoughts????

angie7349

· #13 · Dec 10, 2006

Re: One more question

chelliez said:
She did have her brothers and sisters at the pound with her. She was spayed at 6 weeks (seems a little young to me) which i believe may have delayed her play time as well. One more question. My older dog Rocko 4 year old boxer mix plays with her and at times gets rough. Do I allow him to or do I break it up. Everyone says pits can turn on their housemates and it makes me nervous to let them play now. Any thoughts????

I am assuming Rocko is male? They are more likely to get along because they are the opposite sex. Dog aggression is common with Pit bulls so I would keep an eye on them. I let my girl play rough with my friend's dogs I just stay with them and make sure that they are playing and not fighting. You will know the difference!!!.........It is up to you though how rough you want them to play you are the boss you set the limits.

iluvmypit

· #14 · Dec 11, 2006

Congratulations on owning a Pitbull! The best breed in the world...

chelliez said:
She sort of leaned toward him and began barking agressively.

Nelson did this to me once when I was playing with him on the ground he was backing off then running forwards then he did it with teeth barring - to be honest - I got scared then I thought nah - he has to know who's boss - So I jumped up and yelled at him (LOUD!) and sent him to bed... - you should have seen him change his attitude! Yeah I guess it's just letting them know what is acceptable, I wouldnt encourage reving up a pitty though...and if you do , make sure you calm them down after and let them know that playtime is over...Dont they say dont let a puppy do what you wouldnt want a full grown dog to do?

chelliez said:
I believe she was in the shelter for three weeks prior to me adopting her which leads me to believe she didnt spend a great deal of time with her mother. In addition to that she has had an upset stomach since we got her. (im taking her to the vet tomorrow) Could the transition effect her personality or should I be concerned. Sorry so long, I'm just nervous!!!

We got Nelson when he was 5 weeks, his mother died a couple of days earlier, we think its been beneficial having him from so young, because he has been taught what we want from the start - no bad habits are able to form...the stomach thing is probably just the change of diet, what are you feeding her?

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chelliez

Discussion Starter · #15 · Dec 11, 2006

We got Nelson when he was 5 weeks, his mother died a couple of days earlier, we think its been beneficial having him from so young, because he has been taught what we want from the start - no bad habits are able to form...the stomach thing is probably just the change of diet, what are you feeding her?[/quote]

Update on the stomach thing... I took her to the vet because I could tell she was feeling horrible. She had a UTI infection and a bacteria infection of the intestine. $300 later she is happy and perky again

Seems like her tummy is doing well. Thanks for your advice, we love our new baby, I think all should be well!!!!

i love remy

· #16 · Dec 11, 2006

iluvmypit said:
We got Nelson when he was 5 weeks, his mother died a couple of days earlier, we think its been beneficial having him from so young, because he has been taught what we want from the start - no bad habits are able to form...the stomach thing is probably just the change of diet, what are you feeding her?

This may have worked well for you, but for the most part, pups that are separated from their mothers too early in life (before 8 weeks) are at risk for developing a whole host of issues as they come into maturity, specifically fear aggression. People see a young puppy behaving normally and assume that it's perfectly fine to take a puppy so young, but a lot of problems don't arise until 1-3 years of age. Obviously it wasn't possible to keep Nelson with his mother, but it's definitely a very bad thing to remove a puppy from its mother so young unless you absolutely have to.

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