Some Basic Behavior Modification Concepts (old pitbull-l post):

The basic idea has to do with ignoring the dog's bad behavior (and making sure that his bad behavior ceases to work for him) while rewarding the good and helping the dog to change his emotional response to stimuli. This can take a bit of time, but it does work. Dogs that are severely aggressive are not necessarily comfortable. They are highly stressed, anxious, even fearful (dogs that make huge displays of aggression do it for show--they posture and make noise to make everyone else THINK they are "bigger" inside than they really are. Although this isn't *always* the case, big aggressive displays tend to indicate insecurity--think of it as the schoolyard bully syndrome). A lot of interference on the part of the handler by way of leash-tugging, collar jerking, yelling, smacking, whatever, tends to rile the dog up even more when he is in this state. You are confronting heated emotion with heated emotion, and you'll end up feeding off each other. Think of what happens when you try to confront a person that's very upset by jumping up and down, screaming, making a huge fuss. The best way to get them to settle down is to try to remain clam and collected yourself. It's monkey-see monkey-do partly, but it also has to do with the fact that one person is obviously in control of the situation and not adding to the hysteria and uncontrolled energy in the air; if someone else is in control, the other person (or dog as the case may be) won't have additional frenzied energy to feed off of, and will likely calm down, feeling more secure that at least SOMEone is in control.

With our dogs, creatures that greatly need guidance from a leader, it's especially important to remain calm in bad situations and show strong, intelligent support; to act like you know what you're doing and can handle the situation. The dog needs to know there is nothing to worry about--they'll realize this by your actions (remaining cool and calm). And then they'll come to realize you're in control and not going to let anything bad happen to them. In a situation with a dog-aggressive dog, continued repeated calm and safe exposure to the stimulus helps him realize that the world is not going to end, his dumb antics don't get him anywhere, and that Mom's in control so there's no need to worry about taking care of things himself. In addition, rewarding ANY behavior that is NOT aggressive (i.e. the dog looking up at you, relaxing, ignoring the other dog, etc.), should be rewarded (I use food like hotdogs, cooked chicken, cheese, etc). The dog learns what behavior is NOT useful and also no longer warranted, while getting the idea that doing something else (like watching Mom, sitting, etc.) brings something positive into the picture. You may have to start off with other dogs way in the distance, and gradually decrease the distance as you see improvement. Don't ask more of the dog than he is emotionally capable of, as doing so can cause major setbacks.

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Redirected Aggression In The Yard:

Fighting (between packmates) in the yard due to an outside dog approaching the fence is common behavior—particularly in Pit Bulls, but is something that can potentially happen with all dogs. This is redirected aggression. If a dog becomes stressed or frustrated by a boundary because they want to get at something on the other side, they may lash out at a dog that is close by. There are usually two elements coming into play in cases like this. 1) Frustration at not being able to get at the desired object. 2) Over-excitement (Pit Bulls "fire up" easily in stimulating situations) and another dog “getting in their way” or doing something to help trigger an already stressed animal. Because of this tendency, I recommend that Pit Bulls not be left unattended in yards with other animals. Two dogs may get along wonderfully most of the time, but there is always the chance of an outside force causing tension between animals that get along together when alone.

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Ignoring Another Dog's Signals

Pushiness, rough play, ignoring another dog's signals to relax/stay away: this is what you tend to get with Pit Bulls in their interactions with other dogs. This is a breed that has been bred away from displaying typical dog behavior in regards to looking to *avoid* conflict, and knowing when enough is enough.

Most dogs want to avoid aggressive encounters. They use what are termed "calming signals" (see Tuurid Rugaas, "On Talking Terms With Dogs" available at dogwise.com) to help let another dog know when they are stressed, upset, frightened, etc. This tells the other dog to "back off", and helps keep interaction peaceful. When aggression is warranted, dogs try to use the minimum amount of force necessary to get their point across. This means there is barking, snapping, or growling first (threat displays) and then possibly actual physical contact with the other dog (if the threats don’t work). Teeth are used to a bare minimum.

Pit Bulls have been bred away from these tendencies because of the main purpose they were originally used for, which was fighting other dogs. The behavioral tools a dog utilizes to help it avoid conflict have been very watered down in Pit Bulls. In the pit, a fighting dog that looked to avoid conflict would be undesirable. A dog that engaged in a fight without fuss, with full force, and a hard bite was prized.

Pit Bulls tend to ignore when another dog is saying, “Ok, I’ve had enough, please back off”. Pit Bulls play rough and rowdy. They “fire up” easily in stimulating situations. A romp session starts out in good fun, but quickly turns more serious. If the other dog is having trouble and wants to end the rough housing, he may try to give off signals to the Pit Bull. It’s likely the Pit Bull will ignore or miss these signals. If the other dog feels the need to escalate to threats or physical contact, a Pit Bull is likely to retaliate, and a full-blown fight can ensue.

It’s so important to understand the Pit Bull breed when you bring one into your home. If you can understand how the dog sees the world, and why he behaves the way he does, you can keep him and your other animals safe and happy at all times, and avoid placing them in situations that could be harmful.

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Acclimating A Pit Bull To Cats

First, before you do ANYTHING, realize two things:

1) Pit Bulls and cats aren't the best mix--Pit Bulls are commonly aggressive towards small, furry "prey-like" things such as cats

2) No matter what you do, you will most likely always have to (at the very least) carefully supervise dog and cats when they are together, and keep the dog separate from the cats when you cannot watch. Pit Bulls can and do kill cats. I say this not to frighten you, simply to give you the knowledge you need to keep your pets safe and your home harmonious.

Now, households with cats and Pit Bulls do exist. I have one cat and two housedogs. BUT my cat is kept in a separate part of the house--I cannot allow him near the dogs. Still, I know many other people have house Pit Bulls that get along quite well with the cats. These are usually dogs that have never shown any prey-like aggression towards the cats, however, and have been brought up in the home alongside them.

You need to help dog and cats acclimate to each other. Set the dog's crate up in a high traffic area. Don't force the dog and cats on each other. Forcing them (by locking them in a room together) will just stress them all out and make the sitaution more difficult. When you take the dog out of the crate, keep him with you, on leash. He should be rewarded for good behavior around the cats. Leaving them alone, ignoring them, looking at you, relaxing his body, obeying commands such as sit, down, etc.---these are are behaviors that should be rewarded with a food treat. If you feel the need to punish inappropriate behavior towards the cats, use a squirt bottle to spritz the dog in the face, or a soda can with several pennies dropped hard next to him (he shouldn't see it coming). The important thing to do when using punishment is the second the dog acts poorly say "no!" and follow that word immediately with the punisher. The order is important. "NO" and then punisher. Don't hit! Throw that rolled up newspaper in the trash.

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Aggression in a Multi-Dog Home

You're gonna have to be really careful with two dogs. You can try to figure out exactly what is going on, why they are aggressing, what's causing it, who's jealous, who doesn't feel like being bothered, etc. etc. But you can't miss the simple truth that these are two Pit Bulls, and Pit Bulls sometimes fight just BECAUSE. You can remove all triggers and that could help, but it won't necessarily make two dogs best buds forever.

The first thing you should do is sign up for some obedience training. This won't do anything to erase aggression, but it'll give you some control. The dogs will also be placed in a subordinate position and be more likely to look to you, the leader, before they make any moves.

The second thing is to begin to look for triggers around the home. Some obvious ones are toys, treats/food, bowls, choice resting spots, and human attention. The items should be removed and only handed out under supervision or when the dogs are seperated. As for human attention, ask for sits before you begin petting and offering attention. Reward calm, patient behvior with attention and ignore pushiness and brattiness.

You may find over the course of the next few months or even years that you have to closely watch the dogs when they are together. You have to act like an over-vigilent parent--if they start roughing it up, step in. If they are getting riled up by an outside source (dog barking, person walking past the house, etc.), step in and seperate them to prevent redirected aggression. Letting them run together in a yard, etc., is probably not going to be a good idea. You could see that when all is quiet, they get along great, but when stimuli are added, the arousal levels go up and they start taking things out on each other by way of aggressive outbursts.

If you don't have one already, GET A BREAK STICK! Don't discover just how tightly these dogs can hold onto each other and be stuck there without a means of prying them apart. PBRC has break sticks: PBRC.

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