What should we do with this dog?

[Jason St. Cloud]

Me, my boyfriend and our roommate went to the pound today and bought a 1 year old male black lab pit mix.It's only the first day and I already want to skin this dog alive and hang him from a tree. The dog has a LONG list of problems which the shelter conveniently "forgot" to mention. For starters, he jumps on people, he whines and barks when left alone, he tried to maul my roommate's kitten, he eats his own crap, he isn't potty trained, he snatches food off the counter, he pulls on the leash, he's a 'door dasher', he mouths people, he jumped right through the screen door to chase after a cat, he is terrified of loud noises, like seriously, if you drop a feather he would probably loose control over all bodily functions. I'm going to stop here otherwise I would go on all night but you get the point. All of this after less than 24hrs. In the kennel, he seemed VERY well behaved. He was calm and listened to commands, exactly what we wanted in a dog. All of that quickly changed the moment he set foot in our house.

I recently read a post on the shelter's facebook page by someone from the shelter stating how happy they were that Titan finally got a home, with the rather disturbing comment after wards "hopefully 7th times the charm "

If we are truly his 7th home, I don't think I would want to take him back, I would rather he be put down tbh..

opinions? thought?

[Bryan]

yell a 7 year old is still a child and theses are all sighns of no training

[akluis]

You need to start reading books on dog behavior and dog training.

The reason the dog was well behaved for the shelter staff is they know dogs don't speak english (or spanish or french or chinese) and know how to communicate to the dog what they want the dog to do.

[Judy]

He may not be used to you and your boyfriend yet. He may take advantage of you, seeing you aren't the poeple at the shelter. Definately go check out a book on dog behavior. It will help with everything you mentioned that was wrong. If you adopted him, you should work your hardest to train him to be the dog you've also wanted. Give him some time to adjust. It hasn't been long since you've been with him. Good luck!

[Veronica]

The reason this dog doesn't know how to behave is because no one has shown him how to behave. He is acting like a DOG. You haven't even had him for 24 hours and already you are talking about putting him down. Seriously? He sounds like he has some energy, so he will need daily walks, I assume you were prepared for that going in? A tired dog is a good dog, so the saying goes.

Show him how to behave. Right now, he seems like a huge project, but break those things down into smaller goals in order of importance. I would assume potty training would be first on the agenda?
Even if you have a fenced yard, take him out on lead to potty and take a treat with you. While he is urinating, give it a cue word - like potty. Once he's done, give him a treat and praise him - go back in the house. Do this until he understands that he needs to urinate and poop outdoors. He may just go to the door on his own to let you know he needs to eliminate, if not, there are fixes for that, too - like Poochie Bells. Your roomate and boyfriend should also use this same method, so as not to confuse him. In the future, you will just be able to ask the word- potty? - and he will go to the door to go out. This won't take long if you follow these directions.

Figure out the next most important thing to train for. C'mon, there are three of you - don't let this dog down.

[≥Lilly≤]

NO. Don't put him down. All dogs from the shelter should have at least one happy home, and now's the chance to give him one.

If he's only been home for less than 24 hours, he could still be freaking out by moving once again. I mean, could you be in his place of moving seven times in one year? Exactly.

He probably had been abused, hence the way he freaks out whenever there's a slightest noise. I think he'll gradually get more used to it when he gets used to his new home.


You need to do your research. Look for obedience classes, if needed. Do anything you can in all the spare time you have to make it work. You said he did well in the kennel. You should consider crate training him or buying a dog run to see if he does any better.

Do some bonding. Take him for long walks where you know there will be no people around to distract him. If he does good, remind him. Tell him good dog if he sees a cat and loses interest. Give him treats if he's being good.

I really think this is just a phase. But you have to be patient if you want the dog you said you fell in love with before he set foot in your home.(:

Do your research! Good luck!

[MKultra]

From your description, you're really no suitable to home a dog.

You'd rather just post about it rather than deal with it. Most of the 'problems' you mention are utterly understandable in a vulnerable homed dog and most of the others seem to be utter ignorance - your post wasn't even funny.

I homed a dog that supposedly 'hated men' and was a problem.She growled at me as we took her away from that place and I would absolutely trust her with my life now. Dogs are not the problem.

Look towards towards yourself and please, PLEASE stay away from animals!

[Raging Elephant]

I don't see how you adopt a dog without seeing this when you go the pound. Why would you put him down? You'd just be wasting money. You need to be very firm with a dog like this. The people at the shelter might have been more dominant with him. Speak loudly and firmly. Don't need to yell, but you need to remember that pitbulls can be stubborn.

This is all normal for an untrained dog. You'll need to train him. Be firm about it.

Pitbulls have strong instincts to chase small animals, since they're terriers. Try to get him used to the cat, but always keep him on the leash.

When he jumps on the table to grab food or jumps on people, say NO loudly. If he jumps on you, bump him off with your knee. Don't knee him hard, just bump him off.

When he goes in the house, say NO loudly. Don't rub his face in it, don't hit him, because he'll start doing it in spite of you. Make sure to let him out every few hours. If he's stuck inside, he'll go. It would be like me locking you out of the bathroom all day. You'd take a piss in the corner too.

When walking him, if you see him start to pull on the leash, tug back and turn around. If he pulls again, turn around the other way. If he's going off sniffing, walk so the leash goes into a sign. He'll soon learn to watch where you're going and follow you.

Dogs will try to take advantage of you if they think they can get away with it. If he doesn't see you being firm by correcting him (saying no loudly), he'll do what he wants. If he gets the correction, he'll start behaving.

When he whines and barks, leave him. If you go to pet him, he'll learn that if he whines or barks, he'll get what he wants.

Is he neutered? A dog that isn't neutered will run for the door no matter what you do. They're also very stubborn, because their mind is focused on finding a mate. If he is, when he runs toward the door, yell no and stomp your feet. He'll get the message.

A dog is only as good as his owner. If you train him right, he can be a great dog. If you just expect him to come home from the shelter perfect, you're in a lot of trouble. No dog is born knowing not to do any of those things. Leave a dog untrained and he'll bite, jump all over furniture, destroy everything, pee on everything, take food and act like he's the boss. You need to train him.

EDIT: I couldn't help but notice the rainbow in your avatar. You should know what it feels like to be discriminated against. Well, shelter dogs, especially pitbulls or pitbull mixes, are discriminated against too.

[sabrina]

Training is the best way.

[just me]

You need to invest in some professional training. It's going to take a LOT of work, commitment, and consistency for you to rehabilitate this dog. Luckily he's young so learning shouldn't be TOO difficult for him. You have to start working on each issue one at a time. I'd start with potty training and go from there. Dog proof your house. Crate train him... he's shown that he CAN be a good dog, but he's testing the waters now, to see how much you're going to let him get away with. He's trying to figure out his place in the pack.