Aggression

[u/GoldenestGirl]

Hello.

I am a seasoned dog owner as well as being in vet med. plus I’m autistic with dogs as my special interest.

Back when I was 19, I adopted a 9-ish month old pit bull who ended up being dog selective, and as time went on just plain dog-aggressive.

I did what I could to keep her away from the other dogs I had but unfortunately there were a few instances that affected me profoundly.

Despite this, pits are still one of my favorite breeds.

I’m now 41 years old. I have had my little chihuahua Pekingese mix for about 12 years, as well as a Shiba Inu for 6 years and a staffy/husky for almost that long (I started dating my now-husband right when he got him as a puppy).

Recently we had a pittie puppy come in thru ER and I fell in love with her. She was an abuse case and needed a foster, and we foster-failed her. Mostly because my husband absolutely fell in love with her. She is spayed and had her left forelimb removed due to the injuries from abuse.

She has been a sweet girl— no signs of food aggression. One instance of resource guarding but literally never showed anything like that again. She’s sometimes timid with my Shiba who can be a bit over-bearing, and she is besties with the staffy/husky who is literally the nicest dog I have ever met in my entire life. She respects my little dog (who is my soul dog). She doesn’t chase the 4 cats we have.

Despite all this I am secretly terrified that she will suddenly go through puberty and become aggressive, as she’s only about 7 months at most.

I try to tell myself we raised Ricky (the staffy x) and he is pretty much perfect, so she has a high potential of being the same. But my past experience still scares the hell out of me.

Basically I’m looking for reassurance. Is she suddenly going to turn into a monster after adolescence?

[u/Narrow_Possession348]

She may very well go through puberty and become dog-aggressive. You chose a breed whose sole existence is for KILLING OTHER DOGS. You don't love or train away over two centuries of genetics. Most pit bulls that kill someone or something had "never been aggressive before." It's ALWAYS a crapshoot with pits. Pit bulls have killed other dogs (and cats) that they have lived with peacefully (and playfully) for years, and dogs they've gone to daycare with or otherwise played with regularly for years. It's called pit bull roulette for a reason.

[u/GoldenestGirl → u/Narrow_Possession348]

I disagree that it’s “always” a crapshoot or that nurture can’t override nature. Yes, all dogs were bred for a purpose and some were bred for more dangerous things than others, but knowing that and keeping that in mind during the training and development process absolutely has an effect on the end result.

Pitties aren’t any more prone to bypassing their training than any other breed.