Feeling Very Guilty...Need Advice

Excellent point/reminder! Pitbulls used to be called nanny dogs because they were (still can be) excellent with children.

Unfortunately this is actually a myth. The American Pit Bull Terrier was never a nanny dog, this was a rumor started during the days of the early internet with the goal of getting more adopted from shelters. While the American Pit Bull Terrier CAN be an excellent family pet, it's important to remember that these dogs are strong, energetic, and typically have very high prey drive (including dog-on-dog aggression).

Pretending that a dog is something it isn't is a disservice to the breed. Love Pit Bulls for what they are. Don't try to turn them into something different.
 
UPDATE: 24 November 2020

Hi everyone. I wanted to provide a ~6 month update for Meatball (dog), the chickens, and how everyone is doing. And my oh my, what a difference time and effective training make!

Shortly after I wrote my original post, I invested in a SportDog e-collar and it has been a true lifesaver. Meatball responded so well to e-collar training with me and knows about 8 commands now (sit, stay, come, heel, lay down, place, shake, and emergency recall). It took about 4 weeks of multiple, short (less than 10min) daily training sessions with and without the e-collar for him to be able to learn all these things. He doesn’t need the e-collar on to respond to these commands too! I actually did all the training on my own after watching the videos that came with the collar and a few YouTube videos. He’s been socialized with a few family and friend’s dogs and he is great with other dogs, loves to play and be around everyone.

As for the chickens and Meatball, he has learned that the ladies are 100% off limits. He will never be a poultry guard dog but he is so much more well behaved now than before. We just recently got to the point where we can let him off leash (but still wearing the e-collar) and let him be outside the fence when the chickens are out free-ranging. He actually is more interested in chasing squirrels than the chickens! When I was doing his “intense” training, I would make him sit and stay right by the run/coop with the chickens inside while I would go collect eggs and clean the coop. I think doing that every day got him used to seeing/smelling the chickens. I would inch him closer to the run fencing every few days until he’s to the point now where he’s laying right up against the run fencing. I don’t think we will ever get to the point of letting him off leash with no e-collar with everyone free ranging but I’ll take what I have now!

Anyways, thanks for everyone’s encouragement! I’ll leave you with a photo that sums up Meatball’s progress :)
What a great follow up story! Very inspiring and encouraging. Congratulations on your determination and consistency for a great outcome for everyone! Meatball is THE CUTEST!! Thanks so much for taking the time to post, and best of luck with future training!
 
Every dog you get after this one will be easy!
My story, opposite yours. Acquired a difficult dog a few years ago, got lazy and depended on our excellent fencing rather than training. One day the fencing failed, and we lost 2/3 of our flock, in about an hour. She was happy, we weren't. While I still think our dog wasn't actually able to be trained when she arrived, it still wasn't a good story.
Mary
 
Thanks for your reply. This is so difficult for me. I’m seriously considering taking the dog back, but would feel guilty about that too. Damned if I do, damned if I don’t.
As a dog lover and trainer, I am sorry about your situation. This is what I know.
A Border Collie is bred to have a High prey drive and a Pit is bred to hunt and attack the head. Like in hog hunting.
When you have the two breeds together, you have what you adopted. Now, with that being said, as a puppy the obedience training (that obviously did not happen) needed a strong Alpha handler that could work the pup multiple times daily in a balanced obedience method. Unfortunately, none of that happened.
Your grown dog that you adopted, has many issues that are in the two breeds themselves and has been permitted to mature into unruly behavior.
Only with advanced skilled training could you break said dog from the herd/kill mind set.
Training, training, training.
My advice to you is this.
RETURN THE DOG.
Get yourself a pup that you train to be the dog you desire.
Vicki
Your life will return to a normal fashion without heartache.
 
As a dog lover and trainer, I am sorry about your situation. This is what I know.
A Border Collie is bred to have a High prey drive and a Pit is bred to hunt and attack the head. Like in hog hunting.
When you have the two breeds together, you have what you adopted. Now, with that being said, as a puppy the obedience training (that obviously did not happen) needed a strong Alpha handler that could work the pup multiple times daily in a balanced obedience method. Unfortunately, none of that happened.
Your grown dog that you adopted, has many issues that are in the two breeds themselves and has been permitted to mature into unruly behavior.
Only with advanced skilled training could you break said dog from the herd/kill mind set.
Training, training, training.
My advice to you is this.
RETURN THE DOG.
Get yourself a pup that you train to be the dog you desire.
Vicki
Your life will return to a normal fashion without heartache.
Read my update posted on 24 Nov :)
 
Every dog you get after this one will be easy!
My story, opposite yours. Acquired a difficult dog a few years ago, got lazy and depended on our excellent fencing rather than training. One day the fencing failed, and we lost 2/3 of our flock, in about an hour. She was happy, we weren't. While I still think our dog wasn't actually able to be trained when she arrived, it still wasn't a good story.
Mary
Yes, I have learned a lot with Meatball and am hoping if we get any future dogs I will be better prepared. Very sorry to hear about your dog/chicken story, some lessons are learned the hard way unfortunately.
 
Sounds like you have upset your own apple cart by trying to do too much for two many . People that love animals like many here do, would love to "save them all", and we can't. Decisions made based on emotion often run head on into reality, and things get out of balance, then all suffer. Give yourself credit for wanting to and trying to help this dog. You are obviously a kind compassionate person, but if it doesn't work, it just don't work. You have to restore balance in your life first before you can help anyone or anything else. I should think feeling quilty would come from not trying, not doing anything, not caring. That's not you. Try to go easier on you.:old
 
Sounds like you have upset your own apple cart by trying to do too much for two many . People that love animals like many here do, would love to "save them all", and we can't. Decisions made based on emotion often run head on into reality, and things get out of balance, then all suffer. Give yourself credit for wanting to and trying to help this dog. You are obviously a kind compassionate person, but if it doesn't work, it just don't work. You have to restore balance in your life first before you can help anyone or anything else. I should think feeling quilty would come from not trying, not doing anything, not caring. That's not you. Try to go easier on you.:old
I posted an update on 24 Nov :)
 

New posts New threads Active threads

Back
Top Bottom