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May 2018
1:41pm, 12 May 2018
5,493 posts
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Helegant
A story of my travels.
Lots of dogs have barked and wagged at me on this trip. All, so far, have been friendly.
On Wednesday I called at a cottage and was met by two Pit Bulls - a dog and bitch, litter siblings, un-neutered. They started off aggressive then became friendly and allowed me to scratch their backs. I camped in the garden of the house and they were fine with me.
But... it became clear that both dogs have been in fights and both have bitten humans in the past. More than once.
They have bred and the puppies sold on.
On the morning I was leaving I re-robed in hat, pack, walking poles etc. and the bitch didn't recognise me, reacted fearfully and head-butted me. The owner calmed her down and she then backed away.
The thing that struck me about the dogs was how powerful they are, and that they are probably much stronger than me.
It's the first time I've felt wary of dogs because their body language kept changing. Big, powerful and unpredictable. And yes, they are genuine Pit Bull types. The owner was quite proud of that.
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May 2018
3:50pm, 12 May 2018
12,638 posts
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Chrisull
I have a dog disgrace story today (although to do with animals not humans), that I might share at a later point this weekend - the worrying thing is it probably sounds like I was negligent but if you'd known the area, you'd probably agree it was highly unlucky, and disaster and injury was narrowly prevented.
Anyway to link back to your story Helegant, yes dogs are powerful and their moods and discipline change so quickly, and even family friendly, mild mannered border collies can become aggressive pests within seconds, and you are right to be on your guard.
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May 2018
3:59pm, 12 May 2018
5,494 posts
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Helegant
Hope you're Ok C.
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May 2018
5:21pm, 12 May 2018
10,632 posts
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D2
Oh dear Chris, don't beat yourself up as we all know only too well, stuff happens. We can only do our best.
We have had an interesting morning with 20 or so dogs that we had not met before. It was an existing workshop that we joined so Indi could be assessed to see if he needs castrating.
He has been a lot more fearful since the last attack but managed really well in a strange environment, just one little growl under his breath at a bulldog and he impressed everyone with the speed he moved at during recall! 
The outcome was that he is better for now with the benefit of some testosterone to boost his confidence and the chances of him ever being aggressive are in her opinion less the 5%! So poo to the other trainer who wanted him "done"
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May 2018
5:25pm, 12 May 2018
10,633 posts
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D2
H's story is pretty disturbing isn't it? Litter siblings producing offspring that people have brought and an owner proud of their breed type and unpredictable behaviour. It nearly always seems to come back to owner attitude.....
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May 2018
5:34pm, 12 May 2018
5,495 posts
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Helegant
Lots of dogs have initially barked and shown wariness of me, a stranger. But none have been intrinsically aggressive. They have all either ignored me or made friendly overtures once they realised I wasn't a threat. These two were different.
I agree with D2 that owner, training and socialization have a big part to play in dog behaviour.
I hope that's the case with all dogs, even the banned breeds. But this made me pause for thought.
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May 2018
5:36pm, 12 May 2018
5,496 posts
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Helegant
And, well done Indi. It sounds like the right decision.
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May 2018
12:08am, 14 May 2018
7,207 posts
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BaronessBL
I'd be interested to hear more about the Pit Bulls Helegant - I'm guessing that if they have bitten and they are 'of type' by which I mean identified as Pit Bulls which are a banned breed the owners have to be extra compliant with them (muzzled and never off the lead in public - and I thought neutered too but perhaps I am mistaken on that one). How do they cope with that and are they forever looking over their shoulders for someone reporting them? I really admire people who have banned breeds but have had them exempted but I can't imagine what the stress of owning them must be like. It's bad enough when people report genuine Staffie crosses for being 'of type' (ie Pit bull) and the difficulties they have to go through to then get them home....
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May 2018
7:25am, 14 May 2018
5,498 posts
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Helegant
The dogs were on private property and were neither muzzled nor neutered. I suspect their role was as guard dogs. As I was a guest in their garden it didn't seem like the right sort of question to be asking.
The owner called them Pit Bulls. I added the word 'type'. I suspect the entire set up ran close to several legal boundaries but they were being kind to me so I wasn't inclined to come over as Penelope Keith.
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May 2018
12:14pm, 14 May 2018
7,208 posts
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BaronessBL
Different worlds I guess. If they don't go off the property much and are guard dogs and have an 'understanding' vet should they ever need to see one then they probably live a far less complicated life than they would in ....... different circumstances.
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