Pitbulls Used to Be Considered the Perfect "Nanny Dogs" for Children --

[YarnAddict]

261. We adopted a 2-year old pit mix

in October. Everything was terrific for more than 2 months. She was a cuddler, got along well with our other two dogs, my son's dog, seemed to live to please us. There was no indication that things wouldn't always go well. We gave her the perfect home--large fenced-in yard, fireplace to sleep in front of, a cushy dog bed for crashing during the day, and a people bed to share at night. Discipline consisted of brief time-outs in her crate.

Then, just before Christmas my 5-year old lab mix had a couple of seizures and was put on anti-seizure meds. within 3 weeks or so the pit started attacking the lab. Minor tiffs at first, over food or toys, but the attacks started increasing in intensity. On New Year's Day the lab needed 7 staples to close a wound. the final attack was the following Saturday. It took two of us to pull her off our poor lab, then her collar broke and she attacked her again. We put her in her crate, but must not have securely latched the door because she burst out and attacked again. We immediately took her back to the shelter. It was a situation I couldn't handle. She was just too strong for me, and if an attack had occurred while I was alone with the dogs, it would have resulted in a fatality, because I simply don't have the strength to control her in that situation.

back at the shelter she has once again become the perfect dog. I have visited her a couple of times a week since we took her back, and she still cuddles. The shelter manager loves her, and has been working with her. She believes, as I do, that the attacks were related to the seizures and the meds.

I spent about three weeks researching on the Internet, talking to dog people, and e-mailing everyone I can think of to find a solution that would allow us to bring her back home. Only PetSmart offered us any hope at all (a 4-hour session in which they would provoke her into getting in touch with her inner Cujo to teach her how to deal with her aggresion--frankly sounds suspect to me.)
everyone else has said that the situation is just too dangerous to risk.

the shelter manager called me yesterday to tell me that someone has put a deposit on her. The person has no other animals, knows and loves pits, is willing to spend the time to work with her and train her.

I loved that dog, and still miss her.