When your pup growls or bite. Yelp high pitched and loudly and stand up and walk away you can even put in crate for awhile. In the wild if a pup bit mom she would yelp and leave the dog alone. It will take time and consistently do it the same way every time. They need to learn that u r the pack leader.Good Luck.

Contact your local UKC or service dogs of america. They should be able to send you in the right direction.

Some ppl say if a dog pulls then turn in the other direction. I was making myself dizzy with this. I purchased a harness which works well for me. When Beastley starts to pull or walk away I stop and wait for his return. Once he returns I say good boy and offer a high value treat. As time goes on he is better at staying close to my side. I am fading out the treats and patting him on the side and say good boy. It’s a long process and you have to do it the same way every time or she will get confused. Some ppl say the gentle leader works well too. Don’t show frustration because the dog will sense that. You have to show her you are the leader. Good luck

I agree with you for the most part. My 8 y/o Mastiff is not separated from the family. He is a part of our family and loved deeply, nor will he be put down for one incident. I can’t and won’t explain what triggered his actions because I do not know. He has never reacted this way to his previous housemates or with my pittie for the first 6mths together or showed aggression towards other dogs or people. We use the crate n rotate method and they both spend time with us independently. We use baby gates to separate their movement from each other. It is working great this way and neither dog is left alone. Through my rant, I was trying to explain that there are times when unexpected things may happen and in some dogs parks people take untrained dogs out so the adults can socialize and do not watch them let alone supervise. As well as explaining how fast things can become ugly. I will not put my Pittie or Mastiff in a position to fail or be blamed for the actions of another dog.

Thanks Bullypaws, I think he is too. I hate to continue with this…but I must say. Has any of you ever been in an unexpected dog fight? Well I am a responsible experienced dog owner. We’ve bred/raised Drathars, I’ve also owned Labs, Aussies, and Rotties. I currently have a Bull Mastiff and a Pittie. Those two got along great, both are well mannered and know and responded to commands! One day everyone was out in our large backyard and I was out there supervising as usual. The dogs were at opposite ends of the yard doing their own thing. Before I was able to react the Mastiff charged across the yard with lightening speed and jumped my Pittie. Blood was flying. My husband who is not a small man and myself tried to separate them. We tried the hose, shovels, wood, a break stick on the Pittie, it can’t be used on the Mastiff(and he wasn’t about to let go) to separate them. The only way we got them separated was both of us choking the dogs at the same time till they let go. The end result was my Mastiff having a wound on his shoulder 6″ long where you could see muscle and the pittie had puncture wounds on his head, neck and eyebrows. It took 12 staples, numerous vet visits, hundreds of dollars and 3 months for the wound to heal. We now know my Mastiff has DA. He never showed signs of it before this. This happened in my backyard, now picture this happening in a Dog Park? The Mastiff wouldn’t of been blamed, the Pittie would. Most likely more dogs would of joined in and more damage. Would you want you and your pittie to be involved in that type of mayhem? During times a crisis, commands don’t always work, leashes and muzzles break! No matter how well trained and knowledgeable you are about your dog and it’s breed, sh*t happens. And I also live in Ohio, we were once a happy loving dog family now we are separated by crates and gates for the safety of everyone. This may not change anyone’s personal opinion of dog parks saying….”It would never happen to me and my dog. I always supervise my animals”. Yeah, I said that too and look what happened. Never say never. I will not put my dogs in a position to fail again. My rant is over.

I agree with bullypaws. Dog parks are no place for pitbulls. It is an accident waiting to happen even when you are watchful of your pittie. It only takes a second for something to happen. It may not even have been started by your dog but it will be blamed on the pittie. You will never know when or if your pittie will develop DA until it happens. Even if he hasn’t shown signs of it yet, that doesn’t mean tomorrow will be the same. Long walks, controlled pittie play dates with responsible owners are a better avenue.

I would not reccommend having the dogs left in the yard. It is too risky. You may end up in a situation you do not want to be in. Even though you will have lots of toys to play with, what happens when both dogs want the same toy and no adult is there to supervise? What if someone enters your fence? No fence is an absolute safety zone. Kids always find a way to climb it, especially if they know there are doggies behind the fence they can “play with”. IMO I would crate them when away and make sure they get a lot of playtime/exercise when you are home. Maybe you can hire a dog walker you trust to come in and walk the dogs. It’s better to be safe then sorry.