Looking for advice or good websites on how to rehabilitate an agressive dog.?

I have a female pitt whom was abused by her pevious owners. She is aggressive toward other animals (but gets along with my neutered M/ German Shepherd), has food aggression (not toward me but with my other dog), and is very dominant. The bad behaviors she has is beginning to rub off on my other dog. She needs 2 b spayed and get her vaccinations and I am afraid to even take her to the vet. She had lived most of her life in a kennel and I'm not sure how she will handle being in one when she get's spayed. She also has what I think might be seperation anxiety. I had taken her to my mother inlaws farm and put her on a chain while we was outside (she wasn't getting along with the other dogs on the property) I was only 10 ft from her and she began breathing heavy, slobbering and whinning. She does this everytime she's in a new environment and I am not right at her side. I have a baby on the way and need to get her on the right track before the baby arrives. Any advice appreciated!Looking for advice or good websites on how to rehabilitate an agressive dog.?
Not sure when you're due, but these behaviors will not be easy to fix (read: don't expect to have this totally under control by the time the baby comes).


I have a fearful/reactive dog that I have been working with for almost 18 months and there are times when she regresses (due to unusual stressors) and we have to go back several steps before we can move forward again.


Your dog does sound quite fearful and reactive (often the result of fear in a dog that feels her only option is to go on the offensive). You may want to limit her exposure to new things right now until you can get a firm understanding of some counterconditioning and desensitization terms and techniques such as triggers and thresholds, classical conditioning and operant conditioning. Right now you basically want her to learn that you are a safe, benevolent leader and that she can count on you to keep her safe from the world. And, no, she won't know this intuitively or because you believe it. You have to prove it to her. This means no new experiences until she can handle them.


Consulting with a professional animal behaviorist and/or veterinary behavior specialist is probably your best bet. I really wish I had done this early on with my own dog.


You may also want to join the Yahoo group for reactive dogs:


http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Pos-4-Reac鈥?/a>


There are many experienced owners of reactive dogs there who can offer support, encouragement and help clarify techniques, methods, terms, etc.


These sites also have some good information:


http://www.canineuniversity.com/articles鈥?/a>


http://clickersolutions.com/articles/ind鈥?/a>


http://www.greatcompanions.info/reactive鈥?/a>


Best wishes.Looking for advice or good websites on how to rehabilitate an agressive dog.?
Hi,





This website might be helpful, it has articles about separation anxiety, aggression and food aggression. Gives you ideas on how to rehab the dog and when to use treats to help.





http://www.veterinarypartner.com/Content鈥?/a>





Good luck and congrats on your soon arriving baby!
I think you should try contacting a trainer to come to your home and help you with this. Having aggression problems and separation anxiety can be very tough, especially if she was abused.


I'm not sure if there's some information available specifically for pit bulls that may be helpful. I'll star it for some people with more experience.








http://www.geocities.com/Petsburgh/7742/鈥?/a>
Your dog sounds ok, but no offense, I don't think there is anything you can do. Take for example, my chocolate lab. I got him when he was a year old. He STILL to this day does things that dogs should not do and his owner was abusive also. Ever watch Animal Precinct.. They usually put them to sleep for fear of aggression towards anyone.
Cesar is your man, he's the Dog Whisperer, check out his website, he offers all kinds of good positive reinforcements for dogs..good luck and i hope it helps
You need a trainer that understands this problem and uses positive techniques. Consider these books





Feisty Fido


Click to Calm





You are not going to 'fix' this behavior easily, it takes time and training. This site has information about working with a dog's fear issues (aggression is often caused by fear) and a link to books.





www.fearfuldogs.com





You do not want to punish the dog since you want the dog to feel good and happy when around other dogs, not afraid that it's going to get hit, yanked or yelled at. You need to change the way the dog feels and you'll change the behavior. It's a project.