My father's female pit-bull shih-tzu cross, approx. 3yrs old, has recently begun biting my elderly father and his mother-in-law. The dog was rescued by my father's wife from an abusive owner. The dog had medical eye problems, now corrected by surgery. The dog is very strong, and cannot be walked by my father (the dog is not obedient). She is let to relieve herself in the garage (because she's too strong to be walked).
My feeling is that this dog is inappropriate for my father's family, and that the biting is a result of the dog not being exercised regularly and also not being properly trained. (Their former dog was good as gold with the trainer and unruly at home. Owners not well-trained either!) I also feel that the circumstances are cruel for the dog. My instinct is that they should get rid of this dog and choose a dog suitable for their situation (they need some help here too, previously having chosen a german shepherd-rottweiler cross).
2007-12-23 15:53:26 · 7 answers · asked by Anonymous in Pets ➔ Dogs
Not good. When a dog firsts starts biting you need to get it into control immediately as the problem can continue to worsen, if the dog bites and gets away with it the dog will think that it is okay to bite! Also, seems like the dog needs to be walked and get some of it's energy out! The owners might need to be trained themselves! It seems that maybe the dog and the owners are not a very good match! Good luck with this one!
2007-12-23 16:01:15 · answer #1 · answered by Stines 2 · 2⤊ 1⤋
If they cannot care for this dog it is likely they cannot care for another one either. If they surrender this dog to a shelter I strongly believe that they should not get another one.
I too think the dog is frustrated with it's situation and without words, will try to get the point across using other techniques.
It is hard to decipher from your question if the biting is a result of aggression, fear or attention seeking behavior; keep in mind that each different instance requires different kinds of training to help the dog.
The dog needs to be assessed by a professional behaviorist, and placed into a training program as soon as possible.
Shih-tzus are not very big dogs, and a breed standard American Pit Bull Terrier is 30-60 pounds, females being smaller. This dog should not be "too strong to be walked", and if the dog is in fact this strong, she should have been trained better from the very beginning. My best advise is she should be given to a home that has the desire and will to work with her. The only problem is she has become so used to eliminating inside, she is NOT housebroken, not trained and not obedient. Once surrendered to the shelter (if she isn't euthanized for being a pit mix, which is a sad reality in many shelters) she will have a horrid time finding a new home with her history (biting included).
All in all, they should surrender (I do not use the term "get rid" due to the fact that an animal has to go *somewhere*) the dog and concentrate on themselves. They don't need another dog.
2007-12-23 16:14:09 · answer #2 · answered by Rachel 3 · 2⤊ 1⤋
I agree with you. This dog is completely unsuitable for your parents. If they have adopted it recently, it could be returned to the shelter. Is there a reason why they selected such a breed mix? If not, there are many breeds that would be more suitable in a home where no training is done. At the very least a small breed dog that will not hurt if it does bite.
I can understand older people wanting a dog for company, but they really need to find a dog more loving and willing to obey, in addition to being of more controllable size.
It may be difficult to convince them to get rid of their dog, however, seeing they have chosen this one. People can be contrary! If you have a computer, maybe you can show them some small breed dogs on rescue sites over Christmas, and point out how cute and manageable they would be.
Good luck!
2007-12-24 01:19:37 · answer #3 · answered by anne b 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
This Site Might Help You.
RE:
Adopted dog (pit-bull shih-tzu cross) started biting -- advice?
My father's female pit-bull shih-tzu cross, approx. 3yrs old, has recently begun biting my elderly father and his mother-in-law. The dog was rescued by my father's wife from an abusive owner. The dog had medical eye problems, now corrected by surgery. The dog is very strong, and cannot...
2015-08-24 05:06:04 · answer #4 · answered by ? 1 · 0⤊ 0⤋
a pit bull --shih tzu cross id love to see a picture
2007-12-23 16:12:31 · answer #5 · answered by ♥FANCYS_MAMMA♥ 6 · 1⤊ 0⤋
They need to give the dog to somebody who can properly take care of it. No more animals for them. They don't need to bring a living being into their homes if they can't properly care for it. I wouldn't even give them a fish.
2007-12-23 16:45:06 · answer #6 · answered by bzzflygirl 7 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Get rid of the dog before it does something worse. It usually starts off with disobedience and gradually becomes worse, A pit-bull is generally very strong and once they go wild, they're uncontrollable, for the safety of your parents, I'd say get rid of it asap..
2007-12-23 16:01:35 · answer #7 · answered by kllr_dude 2 · 1⤊ 4⤋
Most likely the dog will always have a need to bite men. I had a pit bull sharpi cross. She was the most intellegent dopg I ever saw. However the neighbors kids teased her and she got to where she would try to bite any child.
She got loose one day from her pen, and biyte my grandson on the face. Fortunately I was very close and got her off him before she did any real damage to him.
After that I didn't trust her and we had her put down.
2007-12-23 16:06:23 · answer #8 · answered by ♥♥The Queen Has Spoken♥♥ 7 · 0⤊ 6⤋
Take the dog away and get them a CAT
2007-12-24 01:45:08 · answer #9 · answered by MASTIFF MOM 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋
i agree but when u get a new dog it probably needs to be a litte dog like a doxine(u might no it as a wiener dog)or chahuhu
2007-12-23 15:58:57 · answer #10 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 3⤋