My neighbor just got a 6 week old Pit Bull puppy. He is now 7 weeks. She has to work 10 hour days and I'm concerned that the pup will grown up aggressive. Am I way off base thinking this? I try to visit with him at least 1 or 2 times a week. She lets me bring him over to play with him, but I doubt he will remember that when he gets older and stronger.
She doesn't have a fenced in yard so I'm worried he will be coming in our yard when he is older and may have issues if he's not around people enough at this stage.
Thanks for your help.
It is good hearted of you to be concerned. Do you and your neighbor have a good relationship where you can help her out and work with the pup?
When socializing a pup, he/she needs consistent direction and guidance so if she trains the pup to sit one way and you train another, the pup is going to be confused. It is important to have one line of training--meaning all done the same way.
While it is not ideal to keep a pup crated for long periods of time, I know from experience when I got one of my pups, I was single at the time and was working 10-12 hour days for her first 8-9 months of our time together. She was fine and never had accidents and she was VERY gentle and happy and lived to be 17 1/2 years old.
I am curious if your concern is more because she is a "bully breed dog".
Having been around dogs and owned dogs most of my life I know that there can be aggression in any breed. Most is because of how the dog was raised. There can also be aggression that manifests if they are sick. We have a dog who bit my hubby once, when the pup was very ill. When he recovered he went back to his gentle and loving self. Any dogs (even the most gentle) can react with aggression if they are in a threatening situation.
None of that aggression is breed specific. I always feel that the "bully breeds" get a bad rap. Any ones we have known have been very gentle souls. They do need direction and training...like most dogs do, but that is something that is not breed specific...dogs need to learn how to live in our homes--just like kids need to learn right from wrong.
I hope you and your neighbor pup can have a nice relationship. Post back with updates. Blessings to all!
It can be unsettling to see your dog become aggressive towards people, other dogs, or even her new puppies. This is a page about dog became aggressive after having puppies.
