Why Is My Pit Bull Becoming Aggressive?

Pit Bull dogs (american pit bull terrier) have very strong bodies, with widely developed musculature structures and extremely powerful jaws. Because of these morphological characteristics, they are classified as a potentially dangerous breed in most countries, such as the PPP (Potentially dangerous dogs in Spain) and the British dangerous dogs act of 1991.

Although strength and physical appearance are not determinants of character in any animal, the truth is that we must adopt preventive measures to ensure the legal and safe possession of these blacklisted dangerous dog breeds. These prevention measures are especially important when talking about aggression problems.

Therefore, even if your Pit Bull is very sociable and kind to you, remember to comply with the legal regulations when walking with your dog. Depending on the country the rules may differ. In Spain for example, according to the PPP, pit bulls always have to wear a muzzle and leash (if it is extendable, not exceeding 2m in length) in public spaces. When it comes to dangerous breeds there are many details that need to be understood. If you still do not know them all, we recommend that you consult the regulations of potentially dangerous dogs in your country and others.

Many people ask whether a Pit Bull is a dangerous dog because of the alarming events that have appeared in the media. As we have already mentioned, this aggression isn't completely separate from genetics, but in most cases it is due to:

• lack of sufficient education
• lack of socialization
• Past lived experiences (including trauma)
• pathologies

We will extend on each of these in the following sections, however, it is important to highlight first that a Pit Bull is a very intelligent and surprisingly sensitive dog. This breed shows great devotion and affection to its relatives, especially the children of its family.

However, it is also true that a pit bull can be considered dangerous when it presents aggressive behavior. This is also due to its incredible strength, jaw and great physical resistance. This, however, is not an exclusive fact of this breed, but applies to any aggressive dog that represents a potential danger to himself, other dogs and people around him.

Are you wondering why your pit bull is becoming aggressive? Aggression in dogs can result because of many causes and there is no single explanation of why a pit bull can develop aggressive behavior. Therefore, it is essential to be aware of your pit bull’s routine. This awareness will aid to identify the explanation of this behavioral change and help to know what to do in this situation.

If your pit bull is aggressive with other dogs or towards people, it is vital that you do not ignore this behavior or put off treatment for later. If you do not consult the situation immediately, it may be too late to control the situation effectively: aggressiveness is a serious behavioral problem that must be treated promptly. In fact, it should be addressed from the first moment you notice any signs, even if they are slight.

In fact, it is important to start training your dog from when it is a puppy. All puppies, especially pit bull puppies need to be trained adequately in socialization and proper management. We suggest always using positive reinforcement, as this from of training has proved to be very successful.

Some pathologies and/or hormonal problems may be able to explain why a pit bull is becoming aggressive. These diseases directly affect the dog’s behavior of our and promote aggressive development. A fairly common example of this would be canine hypothyroidism. This disease can be detected with a simple veterinary test.

A dog can appear and act aggressive when experiencing high levels of pain or weakness. Therefore, if your pit bull presents any sudden behavioral alteration , do not hesitate to go to your veterinarian immediately. A vet will be able to analyze the dog’s state of health and rule out any possible pathological causes.

In addition, we must emphasize that offering adequate preventive medicine to your dog is essential to avoid all types of diseases and behavioral problems. Therefore, remember to visit your vet every 6 months and respect your animal’s vaccination and deworming schedules.

One of the main fears of people adopting a pit bull is that their dog might be aggressive with other animals. The cohabitation of pit bulls with other dogs will depend fundamentally on their education and socialization. Education and socialization are the pillars of good behavior in dogs. The education of pit bull puppies dogs should start at the exact time that they arrive at their new home. However, their optimal weaning age needs to be respected. From its childhood, you will need to transmit basic rules that you want your dog to respect throughout its life, so as not to have to correct bad behaviors when it is an adult.

Once a puppy has completed his vaccination schedule and can begin to walk, you can start to dedicate yourself exclusively to the socialization of the dog. If you have decided to adopt an adult pit bull dog, you should know that it is also possible to carry out socialization of an adult dog, although it will be a much longer and complete process. When training an adult dog it also often requires supervision and guide from canine behavior modification specialist.

Regardless of the dog’s age, you must remember the importance of positive reinforcement as a form of recognition and stimulation for learning. Physical punishment, violent behavior and the use of accessories such as chokes or antiladrid collars can hurt an animal. This intended pain can also prove to be counterproductive in their education. By submitting a dog high stress situations, as well as physical and/or emotional abuse, it favors the development of aggressive behaviors and can damage an animal’s emotional well-being.

A pit bull has a lot of energy and it must learn to channel it in a positive way in order to maintain a balanced temperament. A sedentary routine is dangerous and very detrimental to the physical and mental health of these dogs. A pit bull that does not practice enough physical activity can develop numerous behavioral and health problems such as obesity and elbow or hip dysplaxia. By not exerting its energy, a dog can accumulates anxiety and will often show several symptoms of stress. Among these symptoms are aggressiveness, hyperactivity or repetitive behavior.

Therefore, always make sure that your pit bull is receiving the adequate amount of physical activity it needs. You may also want to consider the possibility of starting your dog on a canine sport.

Another myth about dangerous breeds is that tug-of-war games can encourage aggressive behaviors, such as biting people and other dogs. Nothing is further from the truth! In fact you need to work on a pit bull’s bite inhibition and teach it to release objects. It is important to note that pit bulls are dogs that need to nibble, so avoiding these games and not providing them with toys encourages unwanted behavior (not always related to aggression) such as destructiveness.

The risk in the games, such as tug of war, appear when we do not play them correctly. It is important to make sure your hand is out of the way of the dogs mouth at all times. If we observe that it is too close to one of our hands, we must let go and ask for a "release". If the dog does not want to release the object, ask to exchange it for a prize. Repeat this exercise as much as possible to make sure you are in power. The most important thing in your relationship with a potentially dangerous dog is that it knows you are the pack leader, so that it therefore listens to your commands.

It is also essential to understand that during a game you must yield and sometimes let the dog win. At other times, you as the owner must also retain the toy, this way, you will prevent your dog from starting to generate possessiveness with its toys and other objects.

In the event that our dog growls at us, shows negative body language or bites us, we must stop the game and in no way reinforce the dog. You can ask for a "loose" and keep the object. This action will teach your dog that bad behavior results in the end of the game. On the contrary, if your dog does not release the object, you will wait for it until you receive it, and when you do, stop playing with the dog and keep the object.

Unlike other smarter dogs, such as a border collies, pit bull dogs are somewhat slower in their learning. This slowness does not however mean that they cannot learn order, skills or varied tricks. And most importantly, it does not mean that they should not receive mental stimulation.

The pit bull is an intelligent and sensitive dog that must exercise its mind and smell daily. To do this, you can make or buy some: interactive toys, intelligence toys, food vending toys or, directly, carry out activities with him.

Are pit bulls bad? Absolutely not! In spite of their bad reputation, the pit bull is a very sociable dog and relishes time spent with its family. They do not usually deal very well with loneliness and can develop behavior problems if they spend too much time alone or are ignored by their guardians. In general, a healthy adult dog should not spend more than 6 or 8 hours a day alone.

If you want your pit bull to maintain a balanced temperament, remember to reserve time to play with it, share leisure time and exercise with your best friend.

Dog nutrition is a key aspect to ensure good health and balanced behavior. A diet deficient and poor in essential nutrients may reflected negatively in the behavior of our dogs. In addition, the dogs must have a complete and balanced diet in order to develop their physical, cognitive, emotional and social capabilities.

We recommend that you seek the guidance of a veterinarian to ensure that your pit bull's diet is of high quality and meets its basic nutritional requirements.

Even though we mentioned that it is necessary for your dog to know you are the ‘‘pack leader’’, this does not mean that you must be dictatorial. The relationship between you and your pit bull needs to be build off a base of respect for each other.Unfortunately, many people still believe that to educate a strong and powerful dog like the pit bull it is necessary to establish irrational and aggressive patterns. These patterns however can cause frustration, stress and anxiety in a dog.

The link between a dog and its owner is vital in order to make sure your dog remains calm.

If you want your dog to obey you and demonstrate a balanced behavior, you must invest in a healthy bond and train your dog through positive reinforcement, excluding any type of physical or emotional abuse. You can not expect your dog to obey you if you do not spend time educating him or teaching him how to do things.

In addition, an animal needs to keep learning. Investing in quality time, dedicate 10 minutes daily to review commands and obedience, is essential for your best friend to trust and obey you.

Sometimes, despite providing the best care for a dog and/or devoting time to its education and training, a dog can still present aggressiveness. If this is the case, since it is a serious problem, we always recommend going to a specialist, such as an ethologist, a canine educator or a trainer.

A professional in behavior modification can help you evaluate the case, offer a diagnosis and provide management guidelines. They can also carry out sessions with you and your dog. It is important to highlight that the prognosis is variable according to the case. Either way however, detection and beginning of treatment as soon as possible are key to avoid further problems.

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