As background, my fiance and I recently purchased a house and moved in together. I have a dog myself (3 yr old amstaff) and he has a 4 yr. old pit (cocoa) who has been staying as a companion with his father the past year. A couple years ago cocoa was for a walk with the dad and a little girl ran up to him with a tennis racket and cocoa bit the little girls arm. Cocoa’s owners went to court and all charges were dropped because witnesses said the girl ran up to him. I don’t particularly agree, but it’s not my dog. Anyway, the father is sick so we have taken Cocoa into our new home with my dog. Cocoa doesn’t have great manors (things that can be corrected with a little time; pulling the leash, jumping around the house when you arrive). But last night we kept him in the living room as we closed the door to go to sleep he cried throughout the whole night. We didn’t cave in and let him into the bedroom but I’m afraid his anxiety won’t ever settle down. He’s protective of his owners and he has seperation anxiety, so anytime we leave the room or the house he cries. He’s 4 years old is there any saving him?? I know the training secrets of leaving the room coming back and repeating the steps…we have tried, he still cries. I’m afraid one day I’ll be brining the groceries in and he will slip out and attack someone. We contemplate surrendering him to a no kill shelter for rehabilitation for pit bulls but my heart breaks thinking about it because he is a sweet dog. He lacks confidence. Please help.
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Let me clarify; my fiance got Cocoa as a puppy, he lived with his parents but his father became ill and enjoyed the dogs company but he has become too ill to take care of Cocoa anymore so we have taken him. I don’t believe in surrendering a dog based on bad behavior that is manageble with obedience– I am more fearful of what “what if’s” regarding him biting someone else… what IF we lose our house or get sued?? What IF he gets out of the house and attacks a little girl? It scares me to think about and although I blame my fiance for not knowing how to socialize a dog properly I’m just trying to get advice. We wanted to know the best way to teach him that he cant sleep on the bed… he wasn’t crated before, and he always slept with someone for the past 4 years of his life. But I don’t want dogs in the bed. How about a big enough dog bed on the floor where they can both fit, or is it okay to leave them both out in the living room with our door closed?
I agree- its like a cache 22… I feel guilty that I have a dog that injured a little girl, but I also feel guilty putting him to sleep or giving him to a shelter. But the worst feeling is that he bit a little girl, and I feel like nothing was done about it.
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