disturbed dog?

Question
Hi Jill

My girlfriend has a rescued dog who is roughly 2-3 years old and a pitbull/staffy cross.  I'm emailing on her behalf because she doesn't have access to the internet.  

Despite being an experienced and committeed dog owner she's really struggling with this dog because of her behaviour and fears that eventually she will have to be put down.  She feels it's likely that the dog was bred for fighting and has been abused, but of course, she has no way of knowing.  

The main issues with behaviour are when she takes her out.  She used to be able to take her out a lot and let her off the lead but one day she killed a goose in a local park and attacked another dog (on different occasions) which resulted in my girlfriend getting a nasty bite which needed surgery.  since then she has her on a halter and lead but the dog gets so worked up it's difficult to take her anywhere.  Mainly she's calmer when she's actually in the park, but getting there through the streets is a nightmare as she tries to pull out of her halter (to the extent that she gets cuts on her ears) and go for everything that moves - people walking, bikes, motorbikes, cars, other dogs, squirrels, chidlren....Also if any of these actually come up to her in the park she becomes very hard to hold.  So walking along the streets is almost impossible and sometimes she's so worked up my girlfriend just has to take her home again before they even get there.  It's difficult to tell whether she's anxious or over-excited - she's wining and yelping and trying to twist out of her halter etc, as well as trying to go for anything that moves.


Indoors, she's very excitable but does calm down, she will follow commands to sit and lie down but can be persistently disobedient and appears to be jealous when I am there, attempting to mount my girlfriend repeatedly.  Also she often defacates and pees on the floor when I am there.

Any advice would be welcome as my girlfriend os reaching the end of her rope!   

Thanks
Ros

Answer
This is a highly anxious dog that has most likely come from extremely neglectful and abusive background and is what is now called a "Pit Bull".  No one with an American Staffordshire Terrier would volunteer his/her dog/bitch for breeding outside that breed.  This is a "street dog" - the result of idiots and neanderthals who most likely breed for high prey drive and aggression.

I can't see this dog, I can't interview your friend, I can't evaluate the dog's prey drive or why things are going wrong.  But "wrong" is an understatement.  The dog is potentially dangerous, especially to other dogs, other animals, and most likely small children.  Your friend requires an in person evaluation by a CERTIFIED APPLIED ANIMAL BEHAVIORIST (NOT a dog trainer). The dog must be observed indoors and outdoors.  The prognosis is not something I can determine from here but it doesn't appear to be good.  Medication might be advised (stay away from ALL SSRIs however) and behavior modification, with positive reinforcement training and counter conditioning, are required.  It is not predictable whether any of these will work or how long it will take for them to work.  To find a CAAB see the following sites:

http://certifiedanimalbehaviorist.com/page6.html
http://www.animalbehavior.org/ABSAppliedBehavior/caab-directory

Owner anxiety goes down the leash.  This owner has reasons for anxiety but the dog is reacting now to her as well as to its own prey drive and inability to "think through" situations (what you see on the street is a combination of prey drive and fight/flight mechanism, both of which do not involve cognition but are biologic).  She must avoid any scenario which sets the dog "off" until professional intervention can be acquired.  Each time the dog successfully (even with head collar restraint - and head collars need to be conditioned, no dog should be led by the nose) follows its instinct (to lunge, to pursue prey object, etc.) it learns more about why it should, and how it should.

It is best to steer clear of these hybrids (and I know the kill shelters are full of them).  They are simply too problematic (and I'm sure many "Pit Bull" owners won't like to read this).  Since they are often (often enough) produced by the wrong people for the wrong reasons, are not socialized at all, receive no humane training, and may even be used (or at least prepared for) fighting or, even worse, as "bait" for fighting dogs, temperament and predilection for aggression are far too risky for the average dog owner, no matter how experienced.