pit bull aggression

Question
My daughter rescued an estimated one year old pit in NYC.  He lived with her and her boyfriend and a domineering female pit (older) in an apartment for months, no problem.  She got booted out, so we took Rosco to foster him.  He got along fine with the 12 year old lab mix, too playful for the cats but not overly aggressive, absolutely no food aggression (though I've never seen any dog inhale food that fast).  About a week or so into his stay, he snapped at my son who was just walking by...Ryan is an 18 year old lanky teen who liked to play with Rosco.  This has happened three more times, with a hole in one T shirt and broken skin on his elbow to show for it.  These are without change of environment or provocation.  Called in a 'dog whisperer' who had been training difficult dogs for 30 years.  Ed said that Rosco was one of the most intelligent and trainable animals he'd ever seen, but on the second visit Rosco was the first in his career to bolt and bit him, again out of the blue.  After that, they were best friends once dominance was asserted by Ed.  We've kenneled Rosco in house when Ryan is downstairs.  He's extremely loving and playful.  We did get him neutered and he has had his shots, by the way.  He was very skinny, and he's filling out more with time.  A 40-ish woman friend came over and he showed aggression to her as well this past weekend.  I did some training, we sat on the couch, then Rosco couldn't be nicer to her from then on.  Ed, the trainer, said he'd search for a protection needy home somewhere, and I've e mailed my chiropractic patient list for clues on where I can find a home for Rosco that didn't have cats or teens, but wonder if even that is wise.  I was going to put him down, but the trainer said to give him a chance to find Rosco a home...but we haven't heard from him in half a week after our last message left for him.  Suggestions?  Is it time to put him down for my son's sake, or the sake of a neighbor's kid playing outside that he might take issue with?

Answer
Hi David,

It's a very sad situation when you have to consider putting a dog down for any reason, but I certainly understand this situation, and the dilemma.

In the right house, it would appear Roscoe can behave himself, since your daughter never had any of the aggression problems you've encountered. There are no guarantees that in the future Roscoe would not go after a neighbor's child, but then again Roscoe's future owners would be insane if they didn't take precautions to not let Roscoe outside unsupervised, and without a leash.
I think in the right home, Roscoe could have a second leash on life.

There are many Pit-Bull rescues, have you tried contacting one of them? You may be able to keep Roscoe as a foster in your home until the rescue group finds him a suitable adoptive home. You might suggest that to whatever rescue groups you contact, since there are always a shortage of foster homes. It could make a rescue group more likely to take Roscoe into their program if they don't need to find a foster home for him.

You can find a Pit-Bull rescue group in your area by dong a google search that includes the words "Pit-Bull" and your state's name. (such as: Pill Bull Rescue New York)

I suggest getting a wire basket muzzle for Roscoe. This kind of muzzle is very humane, and allows a dog to both pant and drink water, while affording the protection needed to prevent biting.

I hope I've been a help.
Best of luck,
Patti