Fuck it….. Lets just jump right in.
Pit’s aren’t genetically aggressive. But…. They sure can look that way!
They have some unique traits that if misunderstood…. can make it look like they are born fighters.
They aren’t scared, and…. Love a bit of conflict. And if those things are true…. what’s first, most easily accessible, conflict oriented game available to a young dog?…..
Yep…. liter-mate scraps.
Now, Because of fear…. many normal pups won’t find scrapping fun. They’d choose chasing butterflies or whatever. But…. Not a good dog. They ain’t scared.
Even the dogs that aren’t scared once they get in a decent little scrap, will get a little boo boo, and think …. “nope… All set. Not doing that again”. And suddenly…. Chasing butterflies looks more appealing. But, again, not a good dog.
To me…. A good dog is brave. And tough.
And, THAT’S the definition of a good bulldog!
So, for a dog that is brave and tough…. a good scrap sounds like an awesome idea.
And…. Wouldn’t you know it… in a pack of new puppies…. It’s a built in happy fun time activity.
It’s first and it’s FREE!
And THAT is why they APPEAR to be dog aggressive.
IF they aren’t given intervention, by a human that knows how to effectively manage them, to not let them engage in fights as puppies…. And, if they’re not provided other super awesome conflict opportunities like tug, or other training games…
Sure, they will learn to dig fighting with their liter mates.
And once it becomes a habit. Or even just their “preferred” game… Well then…. You’ve got some serious shit to deal with now.
So, what am I saying?……
Pit’s aren’t genetically dog aggressive.
They have genetic drives that make aggression a LIKELY choice.
That’s not just some semantic bullshit.
It’s really, really important.
IF…. you believe that they are genetically predisposed to dog aggression…. They could not be rehabbed. You can’t “rehabilitate” a bird not to fly. A dog not to sniff.
If they are genetically DESIGNED for it…. you are NOT stopping it. You are managing it.
But…. If the behavior is one of the many possible expressions of their genetic drives…. NOW… Now, you have a chance of getting them to choose something else.
The HUGE number of Pit Bulls are rehabilitated every day would not be possible if it were a genetic thing.
Sure…. Sometimes the preference can be hard to trump.
Sometimes the habit is at crack addiction levels.
But…. If I can block them from the crack, and give them a crack alternative like all the games I play with dogs. (Say… the GRC Dogsports for example) Then, I can pretty quickly get some very different choices from a dog.
I couldn’t do that if it were a genetic imperative.
So…. Are all/most Bullies born genetically dog aggressive? No.
Are a large number of them behaving dog aggressive? Yes.
Is that difference even important? Yes.
It makes all the difference in the world.
It means that flattening the dog into a shell of itself, or accepting the issue and just managing, are NOT the only 2 choices.
Rehabilitation is possible in most cases.
Semantics matter sometimes.