My Dog Bit My Son

Question
over the weekend my 10 and 11 year old boys were running around and playing in the yard and suddenly our pitbull pushed one of the boys off the porch and began jumping up on him and biting him.  the boys were not provoking her or teasing in any way.  they were not even playing with her.  she is about 1 year old and loves people and children.  i believe we have socialized her well.so what happened?

Answer
As I'm sure you know pitbulls are an aggressive breed of dog, bred for fighting. They are also terriers and both of those things require a high prey drive. The children playing and screaming most likely kicked in her prey drive and she no longer saw them as children. This is not an unexpected reaction from a terrier breed. Socialization is a great thing and necessary when it comes to these breeds but it is by far not the only requirement for safety. You need to get your dog enrolled in an obedience program immediately and begin teaching her her role in your pack. She needs to be walked at least twice per day including by your kids. She needs to be taught to heel and to walk with you without forging or dragging in any way. She needs a LOT of exercise. She must also not be allowed on the furniture, to go in and out of doors ahead of you or your children, to sit prior to eating. Breeds such as these are not the best choice for children but you can make it work.HOwever since she has already bitten one of them you have now gone from the possiblity of dangerous behavior to the guarantee. You must restrict her from being around your children inside and out when they play, run, yell etc. You must educate your children in their behavior around her to teach them what is and is not acceptable behavior. There is a probability that you will never be able to allow your children to run and play or wrestle around her. There is also a strong probability that her behavior will escalate if not handled immediately. This is  a very serious situation and you should give a lot of thought as to whether you want to risk keeping her while you train her, or if she'd be better off in another home wihtout children or small animals. It's a very hard decision and one that you should also discuss with a trainer. Please have her evaluated and into a training program immediately for the safety of your children.
Diane