Brittany: Toy aggression and dog park?
Okay im sorry but this may be a bit long. I have tooken my dog to dog parks for 2 months and no problems. He is neautured and is male. He will be a year old in a few weeks. He never shows any type of aggression in any way! But he will play at the dog park for 20 - 30 minutes even up to an hour ( i dont like keeping him there long) with no problems with other dogs and toys he will actually grab a toy and run up to dogs so they will chase him around! But 2 or 3 times recently after i brouht him there for 2 months without a problem he got into a fight i am unclear if it was his fault or not 2 out of the 3 times , but twice it was with the same dog a pit mix male 3 years old ( over a ball ) And the other time is was with a golden retreiver which was the golden retrievers fault he growled and showed teeth and lundged at my dog and my dog is an american pitbull terrier. After that is when the my dog got into a fight with the 3 year old pit mix not in the same day all diiffrent days about a week or two away from each time. Is my dog toy aggressive? He lets me and anybody else grab his toy from him and shows no type of aggression he will just sit and wait to be given his toy back. I just need some help , any tips if it is toy aggression towards other dogs? I know its deff not towards people!
Also that leads to another question , could my dog learn the bad behavior of toy aggression from the golden retriever that fought with him?
Do you think toys should be aloud at the dog park? i have seen many fights happen between dogs over toys.
Also i stopped bringing my dog there just in case it is my dog that needs more training .
If i let out anything thats needed let me know and i will add it on. Thank you.
Answers and Views:
Answer by Rosalie
You're right - this question is too long.
If your dog's bad behavior is escalating after numerous trips to the dog park, it clearly isn't a good idea for him to go. Truthfully, I avoid them like the plague.
Better to set up a play date with a dog with whom he is well matched and mixes well with - something his size and speed. The last thing you need to be doing is to keep bring your dog into a situation that makes him a worse pet rather than better - what's the point of that?
It's simple - most dogs really don't do all that well at a dog park. period.
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AKC says
Only dog friendly and human friendly dogs should be allowed in dog parks. APBTs as a fighting dog should not be in a dog park, especially if they're over 1yr old. Pits don't always start a fight but hot damn they will end it. Training will not fix genes.
Field Labs Rock! says
dog parks aren't for everyone, or for every dog. When things like this happen, you should stop going, which is great that you already did that.
as for toy aggression, well, toys shouldn't even be brought to the dog park, not even a tennis ball.. even sticks can be fought over, obviously something you can't always prevent, but it happens.
As someone has written, find dogs in your area that he gets along well with, some activity level and playfulness that way you can go to more secluded areas where that dog can play safe and so can yours.
Whittni says
*It actually sounds like the other dogs were mean to him first, and want his toys…so no your dog doesn't sound aggresser.
*Tips for aggression*
. Bring a long leash
. Bring your own toys
. Buy a small muzzle?
. Take some dog training classes at a petco or something
* Sure your dog could learn from the Golden Retriever, but maybe he afraid inside.
* Toys at park, yes, just the owner's toys for their dogs perhaps?
Good Luck,
~Whittni
Jennifer M~ Got the says
It is good that you stopped bringing your dog to the park for now.
You must realize that as a APBT mix, your dog has dog aggressive genes in his genepool. APBTs can be dog aggressive. It is a fact. The fact that your dog is a mix, means that there is more of a chance that he came from less than desirable APBT genes. Most APBT owners I know do not go to places where there are other dogs. Just like most owners of sighthounds would never let their dogs offleash in an unfenced area.
This might just mean you need to avoid the park from now on, or go really early when there are few people there.
That being said, I think that toys should not be brought into dog parks.
The fact that he lets you take his toys means he is not human aggressive, which most APBT's are not. It doesn't mean he would allow some strange dog to do the same.