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**ovH9wfSJ** · 09-09-2010, 08:01 PM

JShumate, I fully understand where you are coming from and I certainly would never argue the point with you. I for one, hope that you never have to deal with one of your dogs becoming DA. We all do, I'm sure. But, I would like to tell you a little story.

We got Jake at 9 months of age. He was a rescue who had spent over 3 months in the shelter and was scheduled to be put down when we happened to come in on one of our visits.

Jake is an awesome boy. Of course he is neutered and we spent a tremendous amount of time training him. He is without a doubt one of the best trained dogs in our entire township. Jake was always well behaved and very tolerant of both my other dogs as well as dogs that I watch for friends when they have to go out of town.

At about 18 months of age we started seeing a change in his disposition. We noticed it right away because we were aware of the potential of DA in the breed and had always kept an eye out for it. Suddenly we found ourselves constantly having to call him off from hitting any of the other dogs (including our own). Even as closely as we watch him he has had a couple incidents when a friend and neighbor thought it would be alright to just drop his pit off in my backyard without notifying us. (We now have a lock on the gate) The second of these incidents included the use of a breakstick to remove Jake from his boys neck.

While on leash, he is very unreactive as long as another dog does not get in his face. Off leash, there is no doubt that if he doesn't start it, he fully intends to finish it.

I guess what I'm trying to say is, you can train until your dog can stand on his head and stack beebee's, but it will not change the genetic code of your dog. You may be able to control it to a point but it will always be there and you need to be aware of it and ready to react if necessary. (Mine is not the only dog who has changed dramatically as they matured.)

Jake is now 4 years old and he still has a very social and active life. Do we allow him to run off leash with any other dogs than our own? NO. Does he do work off leash in a controlled environment? Yes.

I know that if you felt there was a possibility of danger to your dogs you would pull them from daycare. I am just saying, please be very aware of any changes in your dog's dispositions as they mature, and be prepared to do whatever you need to do to keep them safe.

09-09-2010, 08:01 PM	#19
ovH9wfSJ Join Date Oct 2005 Posts 514 Senior Member	JShumate, I fully understand where you are coming from and I certainly would never argue the point with you. I for one, hope that you never have to deal with one of your dogs becoming DA. We all do, I'm sure. But, I would like to tell you a little story. We got Jake at 9 months of age. He was a rescue who had spent over 3 months in the shelter and was scheduled to be put down when we happened to come in on one of our visits. Jake is an awesome boy. Of course he is neutered and we spent a tremendous amount of time training him. He is without a doubt one of the best trained dogs in our entire township. Jake was always well behaved and very tolerant of both my other dogs as well as dogs that I watch for friends when they have to go out of town. At about 18 months of age we started seeing a change in his disposition. We noticed it right away because we were aware of the potential of DA in the breed and had always kept an eye out for it. Suddenly we found ourselves constantly having to call him off from hitting any of the other dogs (including our own). Even as closely as we watch him he has had a couple incidents when a friend and neighbor thought it would be alright to just drop his pit off in my backyard without notifying us. (We now have a lock on the gate) The second of these incidents included the use of a breakstick to remove Jake from his boys neck. While on leash, he is very unreactive as long as another dog does not get in his face. Off leash, there is no doubt that if he doesn't start it, he fully intends to finish it. I guess what I'm trying to say is, you can train until your dog can stand on his head and stack beebee's, but it will not change the genetic code of your dog. You may be able to control it to a point but it will always be there and you need to be aware of it and ready to react if necessary. (Mine is not the only dog who has changed dramatically as they matured.) Jake is now 4 years old and he still has a very social and active life. Do we allow him to run off leash with any other dogs than our own? NO. Does he do work off leash in a controlled environment? Yes. I know that if you felt there was a possibility of danger to your dogs you would pull them from daycare. I am just saying, please be very aware of any changes in your dog's dispositions as they mature, and be prepared to do whatever you need to do to keep them safe.
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