# Need serious help with my pitbull please help



## Kateandjer (Sep 27, 2009)

Hi all , 
this is my first post here because I am desperately seeking advice.
I have a 9 month old pitbull that has been displaying some behaviors that are very scary to my familly.

a few months back she attacked and killed my cat. She didnt do anymore attacking for a long time after that so we really didnt think much other than the dog and cat got into a fight

About a month ago she attacked another cat but did not kill it although the cat was severely injured and traumatized. the same week she attacked my cat she got into a fight with our other dog (mini weiner dog) I am almost positive that that fight occured over food but i am not totally positive.

The dog is wonderful towards myself my husband and she adores my children and is not mean towards any of us. She gets excited when her owners and kids are around. 

Is there anything I can do to prevent this behavior?

I've been punishing her by putting her in a dog kennel when she starts to attack and many times I find that dumping cold water on her will stop her but not always

My main reason for the post is to see if this behavior is normal and if not what should I do? Is it just a case of the dog not liking other animals or maybe some sort of health issue causing her to act like that.


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## purple93lowrider (Mar 25, 2008)

I'm not a professional but it sounds like she has a high prey drive and his animal agressive, that is one trait that pits have. And it might be a medical problem that should be looked into...but like i said i am not a pro. I have a two yr old and if allowed he would chase anything that moves that is smaller than him


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## StaffyDaddy (Mar 28, 2009)

Kateandjer said:


> Hi all ,
> this is my first post here because I am desperately seeking advice.
> I have a 9 month old pitbull that has been displaying some behaviors that are very scary to my familly.
> 
> ...


*Do not "punish" your dog by sending it to the crate. Also, do not punish for Animal or Dog Aggression. *

You may need the help of a professional trainer. What you are witnessing is prey drive in action, which is why your dog would chase a cat and try to kill it.

Aggression towards other dogs is in the nature of this breed. If you know about the origins of these dogs, they were bred for function, so the best of the best came from champion fighters and workers. Breeding before 1976 was never about physical appearance, or size or color, like it is now, but about function, along with a sound temperament towards humans.

This breed is not inheritantly human aggressive, however aggression towards people may be due to lack of socialization, fear, medical issues, or a soft nerve dog. An APBT with an unsound temperament is a potential danger to those around it.

When you seek help from a trainer, you will learn techniques that aid with controlling dog aggression, but because it is in their nature to fight, you have to step up the responsibility and make sure that you never have your dog off lead around other dogs, and ensure that your actions don't put your dog at the mercy of the media.


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## Pitlover0718 (Mar 23, 2009)

StaffyDaddy said:


> *Do not "punish" your dog by sending it to the crate. Also, do not punish for Animal or Dog Aggression. *
> 
> You may need the help of a professional trainer. What you are witnessing is prey drive in action, which is why your dog would chase a cat and try to kill it.
> 
> ...


:goodpost:


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## Kateandjer (Sep 27, 2009)

Thank you for the information guys, I think i will look into a trainer for my dog, we love her alot and also we will pay alot more attention to keeping her away from the cats.

We had 3 cats before our dog killed the one cat, she is really only interested in trying to attack and kill one of our two remaining cats for some reason. She does give respect to the dominant male cat, they will sleep on the same bed, the cat walks by her freely w/o concern. The dog will, from time to time just stand face to face with the cat and bark in his face but nothing becomes of it ( knock on wood ).


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## bahamutt99 (May 14, 2008)

This is why I find it so frustrating when people try to promote the breed as "all in how you raise them." The terms "pit bull" and "terrier" virtually guarantee that your dog will have some level of animal aggression. I'm very sorry that she did that to your cats, but it is frankly quite normal for the breed (and dogs in general, if you consider the old cliche about fighting like cats and dogs). 

You may have to consider a segregated household. FWIW, I've been there. 1 adult female that loved our adult male cat. We added male and female puppies that also adored the cat. At around 8-9 months old, the puppies stopped liking the cat and the cat had to have his own room for his safety. (He got to come out when the puppies were in their crates.) Kiba (cat) was very lucky in his one encounter with Terra that he was not killed, and she just as lucky that she did not lose an eye. We immediately made the changes necessary to keep everybody safe.

Don't feel bad about having to segregate. It is something that most Pit Bull owners have to face in their lifetime. (Well, notwithstanding the crowd who simply get rid of problem dogs.) Its more work for you, but well worth it in terms of what keeps the animals safe. Good luck to you.


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## MY MIKADO (Apr 7, 2006)

You have been given some great advise already. I hope that you stick around and learn about this breed. How much time do you spend on exercise everyday. I well worked dog is a tired dog and that will help tone down but not get rid of the prey drive that your dog is displaying.


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## hell no they wont go (Oct 4, 2007)

well animal agression is common with this breed. b4 you got the dog you should have been well aware of this. dont mean to be such a downer but if more people did good research b4 buying a pit, ppl would be prepared if ne thing like that happend. there would also be less horrible news reports!!!! sorry but getting an apbt you should have not really expected this but not be suprised if something bad like this did happen. apbts are more of a people dog then an animal dog. i personally say dont let your dog with other animals. prey drive can be dangerouse.


oh by punishing the dog for being agressive you are teaching it to be agressive. dogs learn by association. in a lot of cases when ppl punish dogs for being agressive in the dogs mind it is not being punished for being agressive. in the dogs mind the bad stuff happens (getting punished) because of the other animals. so this actually worsens agression because they will see the other animal and relate it to only negative things.


see a professional. a tip. instead of worsening the dogs image of other animals by punishing it. help the dog see other animals are ok and dont mean she will get punished. i wouldnt try ne thing on your own. fixing agression takes a lot of time and even still i wouldnt trust the dog around other animals. so the best bet is see a trainer that works with reactive dogs. 


and the big thing here...no more punishing her!!! if your not going to do exercises soon to fix her agression dont give her the opportunity to hurt another animal!!!!!! i think this would be obvious tho....just dont let her around other animals so she doesnt get the chance to attack again this is good for the both of you! this way you wont have to worry abbout ne law issues and your dog wont get the chance to practice agression!!!!!!


p.s. if you ever decide to get another dog make sure you do research on the breed this time...srry i dont know if you did or did not but i find it very hard to believe someone would do research on this breed and miss the fact they are prone to dog agression or animal agression in general.


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## GodBlessPitbulls (Aug 23, 2009)

I cannot have my male pit around Cats he has a high prey drive.Also, I cannot bring my two Pitbulls together around another Dog.Male is very protective of her.


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## HappyPuppy (Oct 11, 2007)

I doubt I could ever socialize my dog to accept cats... it's just a dog thing.... Sorry for your loss. Do your best to keep them separated.


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