emotional owner with hard choice

[chick]

I am a pit bull owner, I love my baby very much, he is reasonably well trained but over the last 3 years his behaviour has changed tremendously he is now jumpy on edge and has become more aggressive. I cant trust him the way I have in the past and last week he bit my sister, who he has known all his life, for no apparent reason, for the first time I felt worried that he may turn on me, he had a glazed over look and I am wondering wether there is anybody out there who can tell me if this is the beginning of the pit bull change or if this was a one off and I am just being paranoid at this stage I don’t want to put him down but am not sure what options I have left as I have already stoped taking him out and am keeping him away from the public and other animals (except my girldog) due to his aggression issues. Anything anyone has to say will be much appreciated

[originalfatc]

I would say there the first thing to do would be run, not walk to a behaviorialist who may be able to work with you and figure out *why*.

I wouldn't dream of trying to figure that one out without getting to know your lifestyle and circumstances of how and when things changed.

[chick]

The change over the last three years has been slow and we were told that this was typical for his breed and that he (nezz) was just adapting to the lifestyle that we were now living as we had been travelling the year before and he had a easygoing lifestyle where he came in the car he did everything I did but in saying that he had lived the same lifestyle before travel so it wasn’t new to him and there was no immediate change he still came in the car he still did the same thing but as time went on he started to be destructive and was more aggressive. He has always been encouraged to bark and I don’t have a problem with that but his temperament changed also we cant have him around other animals that were not brought up (he ate a friends pet rabbit) with him as he would be on edge the whole time. Now as I say this nezz is not being any of these things and this is what makes it hard he is calm laidback and overly relaxed. I made the changes necessary for him to relaxed and this has not been easy he still destructive but that is mainly when he’s annoyed at me which thankfully isn’t on a daily basis but again these are all things that I have been dealing with over the last 3 years and these are not the problems the question is there a change that happens to pit bulls, is this what is going on, am I fighting a loosing battel I have been told by many friends that this is the best time to let him go. That by persisting knowing that he’s never going to be the same is striped that he will attach again and it will be worse. I’m not the type of person who puts animals down but this has me worried enough to consider this as an option

[Squawksx3]

Hi chick and welcome :).... I agree with originalfatc in finding a behaviorist. If you're getting scared and lacking trust in the dog, he will sense it and you will have continuing problems that may get worse. You also might think about contacting pit bull rescues and see if they can help to rehome him before you take him to be euthanized. There are people out there who are very experienced with this breed. I know of pit bulls that are in wonderful families and they dont have a mean or aggressive bone in their body, even in their golden years. Has he been to the vet lately... maybe there is a medical problem that you're not aware of. Its really hard to say if temperments change because of a certain kind of breed... any breed has the tendency to change for any reason.... most people are very leary of pits because of their bad rap. I wish you the best in whatever you decide :).

[originalfatc]

Squacks has added some excellent points, first vet check to eliminate possible health issues which may be causing temperment change.

Next behavior specialist, not just obedience training. A specialist can examine your story, catch little things which may have been misinterpreted cues to the dog's behavior. Sometimes little things can have different meanings to you and to the dog.

Unfortunately, to some dogs, small animals including toy dogs are prey, and it is hard, if not impossible, to trust them around them.

Personally, I believe in breeds having certain traits, but not that these characteristics will take over if proper behavior modification is done.

Ok, this is a huge task to undo whatever happened and recondition. It may be too daunting of a job for you if you have lost trust and confidence in the dog. That's ok, not everyone is prepared to take something like this on and follow through. In that case a rescue may be the answer, they can evaluate the dog and decide what course of action to take and if it will be possible.

You must decide if you will be able to do what is needed, (with professional guidence, of course) or if it is a job for a professional.

Good luck and keep us posted!

[chick]

hi there

Thankyou for you feedback I have taken what has been said and have spoken to a behaviourist we have an appointment with the vet and have made contact with a breeder the breeder was very blunt he said that pittys are pittys and that id better have good control of him if I keep him around he told me a few drastic stories of the family pet going wrong and also added that a muzzle should be essential but he did state repetitively that they are great dogs and are good companions, his basic opinion was if nezz is not under full control there could be some issues! I have made a small choice that over the next few weeks that we would try puppy training again this theory is aiming at establishing the control I had then I am still concerned but am willing to give him time to adjust back to who he was before all this drama hopefully some good ideas will come from the pros to

['too crazy]

Hi Chick and welcome to the board. I just wanted to give you my support and wish you the best of luck. Our pets are like our children and sometimes the best decision is a painful one. I hope all works out well for you. Keep us posted Sherry

[excellrott]

Get an exam before you assume that it is behavior problem.

[DaisyJRT]

Is he neutered....I don't know if you said so or not. At 3 years he would be feeling his oats so to speak. And unneutered males can change due to levels of testerone.