I have a fully intact male Rottweiler that is not quite 3 years old. Still filling out a bit but you can still see his waist at 100lbs summer weight (he doesn’t eat as much in warm weather). His sire was 100% Serbian working line import, and his mom is 50% German import. He’s dominant with other dogs, and protective of us, especially my son.
He also sits, downs, and comes on command. We’ve taught him the joys of catching a frisbee. My 3 year old little boy can literally sit on the poor dog’s head and nary a complaint will be heard from Jack. He’s super friendly with strangers, adores kids, and as long as other dogs don’t cop an attitude he’s chill with them too.
We spent the time up front with him to make sure he knows who the pack leaders are, and ensure that he was exposed to lots of people and other dogs when he was a puppy. Very few times did he need strong correction for a behavior issue, and he learned from them. Otherwise he gets positive reinforcement 99.9% of the time because both he and our female GSD respond to it. Bulletdog gave me some solid advice when my wife adopted the Rottweiler, and it’s helped turn him into a model canine citizen.
Pit bulls are no different, if they get lucky and have a person who gives them love, reinforcement of good behavior, and corrections to bad behavior they can be great dogs too.
Correct. Sample size of thousands over 3 decades. I'm the guy that gets called when other trainers fail. I'm the guy that literally saves dogs from euthanasia when ignorant trainers and vets tell people to kill their dog because they don't understand the problem(s), and have no clue how to correct the problem(s).
My worst aggression cases, both aggression towards humans and aggression toward other dogs, have been neutered males. Simultaneously, myself and other trainers that have basic knowledge and a little experience have no trouble mixing multiple neutered males.
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"Literally EVERYTHING is in space, Morty." Grandpa Rick Sanchez
Back on topic.
Armadillos are shoot on site for me for this very reason. We have two GSDs and I would prefer they not get tangled up with them. Killed two fat bastards Saturday night with my glock. One was trotting right in my direction and I let him get about 10' in front of me before I took him out. Not sure he ever saw me.
Whiskey
May have been the losing side. Still not convinced it was the wrong one
After thinking about your question and all the memorable examples over the years, I'd say there have been lots of reasons. Fear biting being just one. Hard to nail down percentages on what motivates the aggression in so many cases, but the underlying issue is that the people didn't know how to effectively control their dogs, or were too lazy and irresponsible to do so. The axiom that dogs just want to please is false. Dogs just want to do what dogs want to do. If it were the former, I wouldn't have a job. Understanding the motivation for their aggression is key to controlling it. Prey, defense, territoriality, jealousy, fear, excitement, and boredom can all be motivators for unwanted aggression. I've seen several bored, kenneled malinois who seemed to find entertainment in biting the awkward hairless apes and watching their reactions. And some dogs are just genetically programmed to bite. Just raised two pups recently that demonstrated my ignorance on this to me. I thought I could overcome genetics with proper training and socialization. I have many times in the past, but apparently, I can't always do it. Similar situation for parrots and monkeys. Most any social animal.
My apologies for drifting off topic on your thread. I found myself unable to let the incorrect pit bull and neutering statements stand. I've actually been working in Georgia a lot in the last few months, currently in Oklahoma, and armadillos are now seen almost daily by me and my dogs. I'm reading and learning. My two mals found a couple of armadillos crashing around in the middle of a fallen tree in the hotel potty area a couple of months ago, and I had to call them off. I did not know about the leprosy thing with armadillos, so I thank you for starting this thread. Additionally, I always enjoy seeing people's dogs and reading about doggy exploits. I've worked with a few great dobies and American bulldogs. Love both breeds. You've also made me glad that I hunt my game birds and rabbits with talons rather than shot, so no need for such a highly specialized metal detector for my kills.
"Literally EVERYTHING is in space, Morty." Grandpa Rick Sanchez
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