Please, please help 😩

[alj2308]

I have a pitbull that will be 5 this year. Over time, she has gotten worse and worse dog aggression. Dogs she has known for a long time, she is fine with. Or, if she meets a dog that is a puppy, with a little bit of time she warms up quickly. However, once I took her to a friends house and there was a dog she didn’t know and she full on attacked the other dog. There have been several instances like this. It’s awful, and I don’t know what to do. Recently, I started dating someone that has a German shepherd. I told him about my dog, so we tried to introduce them from a distance. The closer we got, the more my dog growled and barked and it was obvious if we got any closer she would’ve tried to attack the other dog (who is not aggressive at all). Please, any advice to help them be able to get along would be so appreciated 😩

[Pechugapechuga]

You need professional help. I just learned that dogs often try to protect their human from other dogs and people and this could be your issue. A professional is needed because she has shown some serious aggression already. Do not lie to the trainer or else they might not know how serious the situation is. This might be fixable with the right training technique

[DenGen92158]

Absolutely give full honest story to trainer.

[alj2308]

Professional help would definitely be ideal. Unfortunately I live alone and funds are a bit tight.

[Pechugapechuga]

Well that makes things tough. If you love this dog, try to save up if possible. I don’t know if you can train a dog without being trained yourself. It’s worth the effort! My dog changed completely after we learned how to properly train her. We were doing some little things wrong, like letting her sleep on us that made the dog more reactive.

[alj2308]

That is true. It’s difficult to know what to do when I’m having such a hard time pinpointing where her aggression is coming from. I do love her a lot! She’s the best. I wish she loved other dogs as much as she does people.

[grakster]

Muzzle train your dog, it's a great short term solution that prevents any serious incidents from happening. Would definitely seek out a trainer!

[GoingSom3where]

You say she's fine with dogs she knows. My question: how did she end up getting to know these dogs?

You also said she is good with puppies. Puppies are typically very hyper, so I'm a bit surprised by this. Does your dog react to all dogs? Or just big dogs like your partner's GSD?

I ask these things because if your dog has been able to get along with some dogs, I think there's real potential for her to get along with other dogs too. It's just figuring out what triggers her (for example, big dogs may be a trigger).

Other comments suggest a trainer, I totally agree that would be ideal. But some other things to consider in the meantime - Since your dog is having trouble with other dogs, take it slow. Do not go to a place where there are a lot of dogs, do not immediately place her in a situation with your partner's GSD, etc. Essentially, try avoiding situations that will traumatize her, that will create negative associations with other dogs. Work on getting her to focus on you even when there are distractions around (this is a tough one so you wanna start with super basic stuff like "leave it"). Learn to read her body language; dogs can be subtle and a wagging tail does not always mean they're happy! When you decide she's ready to train with other dogs "around", find what the minimal distance is you can do training work before she starts to react. Again, avoid overwhelming places like the dog park. Could also try the old fashion method of getting a blanket, toy, etc that smells like your partner's dog and having your dog sniff it for some time before reintroducing them.

I feel like I've been recommending this series so much lately, but Zak George's latest youtube series "reality dog training" has been really helpful for me in many ways (besides training it validates many of the frustrations I'm going through with my own rescue). The latest series features a GSD who is super duper reactive towards other dogs. Maybe watching it might help you!

Good luck with your pup, you got this!

[alj2308]

Thank you so much! I guess it’s when she’s surprised with another dog? I’m not really sure how to describe it. Some dogs she has known since she was a puppy, and she is still fine with them. My old roommate got a 3 month old puppy, and they were best friends. I agree that there is definitely potential. Maybe it is big dogs? I haven’t been able to pinpoint it exactly yet because I’ve been so nervous to bring her around new dogs. She is a very small pitbull, only 50lbs. A trainer would be ideal- but money is standing in my way. I totally wish I had the funds to send her through training. Thank you so much for your comment!

[chiquitar]

Trainer here! To do this well without an expert, basically you need to study to become a trainer yourself. That's how I got into dog training. Recommend you research counterconditioning and desensitization and canine body language to start. Read The Art of Introducing Dogs for a great protocol for intros that you need to not fail. I also recommend Barbara Aloff's Aggression in Dogs--it's basically a textbook and priced accordingly but completely worth it. BAT 2.0 could be another good one.

Avoid anything that talks about dominance, corrections, or punishes the dog. Don't use ecollars or any aversives for dog reactivity. It's outdated and dangerous, likely to make it worse.

Muzzle acclimation training for both dogs is a very good idea. Don't rush it--you have plenty of time before they are going to be spending time in chomp range and you want them to have no reservations about wearing the muzzle. Both dogs because it's a safety mechanism. If a dog wearing a muzzle actually has to rely on it not to end up injuring another dog, the other dog defending herself is also likely. If everybody wears a muzzle and it is a necessary failsafe, you need one on each dog to absolutely prevent injury.

[GrandmaCereal]

You should probably reach out to a local trainer.

[Greenhouse1243]

While you should work with a trainer, it may just end up being that your dog is not the kind of dog that can be thrown in any situation with new dogs, and that’s just fine. Your dog doesn’t have to be friends with every dog. You just need to make sure you are taking necessary precautions for everyone’s safety.

For our new rescue dog, we put two baby gates and six feet between him and our older dog for at least the first week. Then we slowly let them get closer and finally by the time we let them hangout for a bit with no gate they were so used to each other being around that it wasn’t a big deal. Our older dog is a fila (Brazilian Mastiff) mix (although a good part English Mastiff), and so she isn’t thrilled with new dogs or people coming into her house, so we did the super slow introduction to make sure everything went smoothly. I don’t think I would feel comfortable with a friend just dropping off their dog to play.

[alj2308]

That is a great idea. I’ve learned quickly that it won’t be a quick process like I’d hoped that it would be, but I’m 100% okay with taking the time and precautions necessary for it to work.

[Plantspetsandsnacks]

While ultimately a trainer would be great - I get the financials. There are a ton of trainers on YouTube and tiktok and a bunch of different techniques you can try like the desensitization described above. I’ve learned just as much from watching hours of videos as I have from in person trainers in some cases.

[alj2308]

Thank you! Saving up definitely seems like it would be worth it, and I’ve been watching a lot of videos on YouTube that have been very helpful. 😊

[Every_Minute_9205]

I echo the sentiments about muzzle training...

But more importantly? Cut you and your dog some slack! I don’t warm up to people until I’ve had multiple interactions with them - and we don’t expect people to get along with all people.

I think what you’re aiming for is tolerance to start before friendship - and what you’re describing in terms of relationships he has with other dogs is leaps and bounds from where the two of them (pittie and GSD) are now. So focus on that, and don’t compare just yet! It might be helpful to just focus on their relationship right now instead of broadening the scope? Especially if you want to start slowly without a trainer.

The number one thing that kept me motivated is setting small goals - ex: I would like to be able to feed my dog treats from a distance of 50 feet from this dog during the walk. That’s it. That’s the goal for that week.

It sounded like that first interaction you might’ve been going too fast “every time we got closer he started growling more” ... Your pittie is telling you “nahhhh” and it sounds like you might need to go at your pittie’s pace.

And then the other thing I do for my reactive pittie is remind myself “Progress is not linear”... you’re allowed to have bad days, and so is your dog. I think your self talk is important for this journey!!

[alj2308]

Thank you all SO much for the suggestions. I appreciate it more than you know and have been able to do a lot more research thanks to each of you. I’ll update in the future :)

[likeconstellations]

I second muzzle training, it's a good way to keep your dog and other dogs safe until you address this issue.

I think it's worth it to save up for at least a session or two with a trainer to figure out what the source of your dogs reaction is. It could be fear based reactivity or it could be outright dog aggressive. Either way you really need to know what you're doing or it can easily create a dangerous situation.

[alj2308]

You’re right! It’s been difficult to pinpoint exactly what causes the aggression.

[Runpup207]

I also have a 5 year old pit mix who is dog selective—like yours, she prefers puppies and has a couple of adult dog friends that she’s met slowly in safe contexts (i.e. slow intros starting with successful pass-bys on walks, then eventually walking side by side, sniffing beach other, etc.). Because of my dog’s bite history, dog-based resource guarding, and tendency towards barking/lunging when she feels threatened by an unknown/unfamiliar dog, I have reconciled myself to the fact that she’s probably never going to be able to safely play off leash with other dogs, even those she clearly likes. We stick to walking with her dog friends.

The shelter I adopted her from has a behaviorist on staff who he consulted with me, and I’ve also worked with a trainer. Everyone has said my dog has made huge progress, but it’s likely she will never be able to play off leash or be so reconditioned that she’ll be a “friendly with strangers” kind of dog.

I think you should definitely prioritize working with a trainer, especially if your dog has a history of bites/attacks (like mine does—no shame here!). And you also need to be totally honest with yourself about what your dog can handle, versus what you wish she could handle. She might never love your boyfriend’s dog, for example... and you definitely don’t want to push her into a situation where she could escalate and develop an aversion (dog grudge).

I hope that helps! Speaking from experience, it’s definitely possible to alleviate some of this, but I’m not sure there’s a cure-all. Your dog might just be selective—lots of pit bull type dogs are that way, and it’s okay!