Evaluation

Snowy White is a rescued female Pitbull that my friends, Ralph & Anita, are fostering. They own two Pitbulls of their own, plus two cats and two young children, needless to say, they are very busy. Snowy is an older dog with an unknown background and exhibits an animal aggression problem but she is great with people. She is so good that she lives with Anita’s elderly mother in perfect harmony in another part of the house. They called me and asked me to evaluate Snowy to see how bad her aggression really is and if there is a possibility that she could interact with the other animals in their household.We started with Rhino, the couple’s ten month old blue nose Pitbull, outside on the walk. Rhino is a young, energetic, determined dog that needs a little more structure and focused guidance. The accompanying succession of photos illustrates the transformation that took place during a short session.

John & I are getting the dogs moving on a walk. Snowy’s posture stiffens, tail up, head turning towards Rhino.

Snowy’s aggression is triggered right away, inducing excitement in Rhino that pushes him to display some mild aggression, which was much more manageable than Snowy’s outburst.

Snowy gets into a frenzy and starts to redirect her aggression towards the handlers, first John and then myself.

I was able to get Snowy’s out break under control by moving her along at a brisk pace. She started to settle down which allows her to focus on me and I was able to gain more control of her.

Rhino was much more responsive and easier to guide.

Here the dogs are responding to our relaxed attitude and leadership. They are displaying relaxed body language (ears, tails down) and more mental calmness (softer body language).

We now have control and move the dogs a little closer to each other. As you can see, Snowy now lays down coping with the situation and displaying new-found respect to us with a more submissive posture. Rhino displays curiosity but in a calm manner.

Snowy is looking for a “forever home” with dependable, dog savvy owners willing to give her guidance. She is great with adults and children and the ideal setting would be a home where she would be the only pet. We are not sure of her background but she is a classic example of a dog that was not socialized and nurtured in an atmosphere that interacted closely with other animals.Snowy could possibly learn how to be a dog among dogs again in an environment where there is a group of dogs exhibiting a pack structure being led by a human guide giving directions that are acknowledged as the pack leader. As a family pet in a responsible household, she will excel.