We, at Life with Crayne, have a dog named George, who happens to be a pitbull. Everyone is aware of the stigma associated with the pitbull breed. Well, "pit bull" isn’t so much a breed as an umbrella term. It is a term used for dogs that are either American Pitbull Terrier, American Staffordshire Terrier, American Bully, Staffordshire Bull Terrier, or occasionally the American Bulldog, including crossbred dogs that share certain physical traits of these breeds.
It’s true that these dogs were bred specifically to be the best fighting machines to be able to go up against bulls, all for the pleasure and profit of humans. Yet, the dogs are hated for what man has made them become. They look intimidating just by the mere sight of some of them. But most of these canines that attack people and other animals are not to blame. Again, it’s humans who dropped the ball and let them down. It’s to be noted that these breeds are extremely hard headed and with such physicality, they aren’t a breed just for any one. They need a strong owner that won’t back down when it comes to training.
Training any dog requires the owner to have a commanding voice that gets respect from our four legged friends. Yelling is not commanding. Beating a dog is not training. Instilling fear is not respect. People forget that even with all of the domestication of dogs, they are still pack animals, this includes small and tiny breeds. There must always be an Alpha within the pack, and that is our role. Once you show weakness, of any kind, including spoiling, or no disciplining, they will assume the role of pack leader. If you use a dog trainer, use one that will also train the owner. If a trainer is able to train your dog a specific way, but doesn’t train the owner to keep up with the same techniques, you’ve wasted your money. Your dog will eventually revert to its previous behavior. Consistency is the key to a well trained dog that stays well trained.
No dog breed is immune from bad behavior. One Summer we went to St. Augustine Beach and we took George with us. There, you’re allowed to take your pets onto the beach. We walked George up to the water that was splashing onto the sand and he was having a lot of fun, but it quickly got a little too hot. So we made our way back towards the parking lot and out of nowhere a Golden Retriever lunged at us growling, and barking trying to attack George. Without even missing a step, George just kept on walking. I think we got more startled then he did. The Golden’s owner’s didn’t even attempt to correct him, maybe because they were partying, maybe that’s acceptable behavior for them. But I’m sure that if George did retaliate, and him being a pitbull, even out of self-defense, society would have automatically blamed him and asked that he be euthanized. That’s why I reiterate, ANY dog can be a good dog, and ANY dog can attack. No matter the breed.
The best form of training we have had success with is when your dog has done something bad, you don’t yell, beat, or anything else that causes fear from your dog. If a dog feels scared and cornered, those are the ingredients for a recipe of disaster, and they can feel the need to attack. That type of attacking is out of the need they feel to survive. We use a practice that when our dogs misbehave, we use SHAME. I know that might sound odd, or even maybe a little cruel. Take us for instance. What is one type of emotion we might hate to feel… Shame and embarrassment. It’s the same for our four legged companions. Using our emotions to train ourselves to do something we ought not to do, is the same concept when it comes to our dogs. But it must be applied right after we catch them doing something they shouldn’t.
First you have them sit, speaking to them sternly, you tell them what they’ve done wrong while saying “no”. Then you take your index finger or index and middle fingers and place them on their bridge just behind the nose and press down trying to point their nose to the floor. They will always, at first, resist and push back up. Pushing against them, hold the position until they finally give in. You will know this when you can literally feel their body give in, like they just let out a big sigh, and said “OK, I get it”. Don’t give them any attention for at least 15 minutes, especially if they aren’t calm after the shaming.
Another type of training we implement is crate training. We only use this training for dogs that can’t help but chew everything in sight. George was one of those types when he was a puppy. As cute and plump as he was, he was a little monster that had to put any and everything in his chompers. Crating him took a few weeks and he learned pretty quick, but same thing, it must be implemented when caught. Now don’t get me wrong, we only crated him when we couldn’t keep an eye on him or if we weren’t home. Along with a light tap, and I do mean a light tap, on the bridge right behind the nose and saying “No”, then shaming until he gave in. After all that, he would be crated until you could tell, he learned his lesson. For that infraction at least. We went through grooming brushes, a grooming dryer, some shoes, a couch corner, base board, and other things that I've forgotten over the years until he finally learned. I did say they are very stubborn, but consistency was key to help George break his bad habits.
Now I know I skipped right over the whole tapping of the nose thing, but that’s not something that is always used. That’s more for the worst case scenario kind of thing, or if they are really hard headed to give into the shaming. It’s not beating, so don’t think that. You aren’t smacking your dog's muzzle with your whole hand. Just like with shaming, you take your index, or index and middle fingers depending on your dog's size, and just use a quick, but light tap right behind the nose. It doesn’t hurt them, but because they have so many nerve endings due to their heightened olfactory (smell) system, it is a sensitive area that sort of snaps them out of their mindset. That’s why we use a “light” tapping so we don’t accidentally cause any harm or cause any fear.
The number one thing to do is: Never Give Up On Them. A dog that is not properly trained from the start and becomes aggressive in any way is almost always rehomed or taken to a shelter. If they are rehomed, the chances of them finding a home that will put the time into training them and loving them like they deserve are very slim. The no-kill shelters can only do so much with the resources they have, and don’t get us started on the kill shelters. Thankfully, we no longer have them in our county. To be able to put down so many animals on a daily basis, hmm. All I can say is "icy veins."
I digress. ANY dog can bite you! Breed has nothing to do with it. With our grooming salon, we’ve been asked lots of times, “Which is the most aggressive breed we get at the salon?” Everyone guesses, and they always say large breed dogs like Pitbulls, German Shepherds, or even Labradors. They are always shocked by our answer.
Yorkies! Yup, that’s right. Cute, cuddly, small Yorkies. When people get a Yorkie, that’s their mindset, and they essentially spoil them because of their cuteness, and they are cute. We aren’t denying that. We have a YorkiePoo named Ellie. I think that people have been calling them Yorkies for so long that they have forgotten that they are still terriers. Terriers that were once bred to hunt mice and other rodents on board ships. So with spoiling and no training, these tiny terriers become tiny terrors.
As with Dachshunds, they say if the breed were a little bit bigger, they would be considered the most aggressive dog breed. After all, they were bred to hunt and kill badgers, which are often considered the most aggressive species in the animal kingdom. But because these smaller breeds don’t cause as much damage as the bigger breeds, they are overlooked.
We have a few pitbulls and pitbull mixes that come to the salon, and they are such sweethearts. Our George is such a love bug. He wants nothing more than to cuddle with you—a little too much at times. When we take him to the salon, he whines and cries when customers and their dogs come in and he can’t say hi to them. That’s him. That’s the kind of dog he is. But even though almost all of our customers know George personally or know of him, we still have a few people that just can’t help but see him and all pitbulls as killing machines. It breaks our hearts because George would want nothing more than to lick their faces.
I’ve been bitten only once, and that was by a senior little chihuahua. Did I develop any disdain for the little guy or chihuahuas in general? No, I was understanding that he is a senior, and like us, he gets cranky and irritable. If we all did our part to properly train our dogs, that would greatly improve things with man’s best friend.
Don’t judge a dog by their physical features because it could be a poodle, german shepherd, rottweiler, or any other breed that could attack you one day, and it could be a pitbull that could save your life. Remember, there are no bad dogs—just bad owners.
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