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2nd Trimester
Dog + Baby == Workable situation?
Jesus, this is long. I'm sorry!
We've have two dogs - a Pitbull and a miniature Beagle - since they were both puppies. The Pitbull has been a huge problem since we adopted him, but since we both love animals so much, we've endured the issues for the last 10 years and tried to manage them - it's been exhausting, stressful, and emotionally draining the entire time. Lately, I feel that I've reached my breaking point and my husband is almost there with me.
Since he was a puppy, he has peed pretty regularly in the house. We've been through four steam cleaners in our relationship. He gets into things if we haven't absolutely chained things to the ground. He's been to puppy training and we also took him to another adult dog training class for bully breeds where dogs are taught basic manners and other things like walking on a leash, waiting and not running at an intersection, etc. We've tried to socialize him to no avail. He's absolutely unpredictable and despite how much time, energy, and practice we have invested to teach and reinforce good habits, it's like he "forgets" and just does what he wants in pretty much every circumstance.
Additionally, he has always been frighteningly aggressive with other dogs, any other animal, small or large, (put our Beagle in the hospital for four days when she was only 8 weeks old - but hasn't touched her since) and in the last few years has shown aggressive behavior to both my husband and I. The aggression toward us began one day when I was closing his crate door so I could clean up after a mess he'd made in the living room and he bared his teeth and was growling very low. It shocked me! I told my husband about it and he couldn't believe it either. Anytime he's in trouble for something - and we do not hit our dogs - he resorts to the growling and teeth baring and it scares us. One time he was peeing behind our sofa and my husband reached down to grab his collar and pull him outside and the dog bit him and drew blood. I thought my husband could have put him down right then and there, but we're softies and our anger faded by the morning. (But my resentment did not)
He's also had health problems most of his life. Six veterinary clinics from Georgia to Florida and over $10,000 in vet bills over the years and we still don't have any answers about what's wrong with him (constant drinking of water, constant peeing/needing to pee, random aggression, periods of significant weight loss/gain, losing patches of fur in places and then growing it back, etc.) The closest we've gotten to answers has been "Maybe Diabetes, though he tested negative for it" and "Possibly Cushing's Disease, though we can't be sure."
I'll be honest. I've never liked this dog. If you knew me, you'd never believe I could ever say that about an animal, but in all of my life of owning dogs, he's the strangest thing I've ever seen. He doesn't like to be touched, cuddled, and rarely wants to play. He likes to run free, eat poop in the backyard, sleep, and eat dog food. He could do without human interaction quite easily.
Last year, a friend of ours came over with her newborn and not being sure of how he would react, we crated him for the majority of her visit. He whined and barked the entire time, so DH let him out of the crate but kept him on-leash. As the dog passed the infant in the carseat on the floor (ready to get in the car and leave), he started acting aggressively (not nipping or anything, but he has a set of behaviors that signal that he's about to attack). It scared the sh!t out of us and we put him back in the crate immediately.
Fast forward. This week, DH is out of town and this dog has been making my life a living hell. Every morning, I've awoken to a mess on the carpet (pee) that I've had to steam clean before I walk the dogs and get ready for work. I come home from work after a long day and he's peed in the cage, under the cage, and on the walls, and I have to clean that up too. The cage is really heavy and it's really hard to clean under without help. I let him out constantly and I come home from work in the middle of the day to give them both a little walk and a pee. He goes through these phases regularly and they usually last about a month. This has been our life for the last 10 years.
1) I absolutely do not trust him around a baby. DH and I would never feel comfortable having baby on a playmat on the floor (supervised) with this dog roaming around. When baby starts crawling, I can see the dog chasing and attacking.
2) I can't imagine myself dealing with a newborn and the constant demands of this dog at the same time.
We don't want to put him down, but I can't see anyone else adopting him because we're going to be honest about all of his issues and wouldn't want anyone with children to adopt him.
I feel terrible and we both feel like we've failed him although I can't think of anything else to do that we haven't done. What would you do? Should we keep him and "try" things with the baby? This seems stupid and risky, however. If something happened, I would absolutely never forgive myself. I can only see this ending with his being put down. We've tried to transition him to being an all outdoor dog, and he will not stand for it (whines, barks constantly, etc.) If he's forced to be contained to any particular area of the house with baby gates, etc. he whines and barks the entire time. It's basically his way or the highway.
Any suggestions are so appreciated. This is awful.
This discussion has been closed.
Re: Dog + Baby == Workable situation?
you may want to seek advice on the pets board over at the nest. i know that we will go to any length to make sure our dogs and baby are all safe and happy once our baby comes.
you make want to contact a behaviorist in your area to see what they recommend.
gl.
you may want to seek advice on the pets board over at the nest. i know that we will go to any length to make sure our dogs and baby are all safe and happy once our baby comes.
you may want to contact a behaviorist in your area to see what they recommend.
gl.
You know that you have done everything, and you have put up with more than most would. You can not deal with the behavior and a newbron, and you can not have an aggressive dog in the house with a baby. There are some circumstances when dogs just have to be rehomed, it takes work finding the right home, but it has to be done.
I was going to recommed a ranch or something where he could be outside until I read the end of your post. Where we used to live out in the country people always took in dogs to live outside and keep an eye on things.
I wish I had more to offer, but your new baby is the priority now and you have to do what is right. The dog can't live the rest of his life in a crate in your hallway.
I agree w/ the suggestion of contacting a behaviorist or trainer to come in and assess the situation and offer their ideas for solutions. While I agree the child's safety comes first, I also do not believe in rehoming or getting rid of a pet until every possible alternative has been explored.
And while I find the pet board amazing, informed and wonderfully passionate about animals, I might not post this there. I'm just not sure what kind of reception you would get, you know?
That would just be the perfect situation for him if he wasn't such a pansy.
He's so spoiled at our house - he has fluffy doggie beds and we cover him at night with a blanket - even if we do want to strangle him every other day.
Our vet recommended a trainer and we got in touch with her. She was really nice and offered several suggestions (confining the dog to certain areas of the house with baby gates, only letting the dog and the baby be in the same space once he's become accustomed to the baby, etc.) but neither of us are convinced that the "chase and attack" instinct that is so powerful with him could ever be completely eradicated. We would pretty much go on the assumption that he can never be trusted around the baby, so we'd need to confine him to a separate area of the house at all times.
The trainer also said that baby and I could stay in the nursery most of the time during the day. This is my first baby, so I don't know, but she said that for the first few months, mom and baby spend almost the entire day in the nursery. I thought that was odd. Just doesn't feel right.
I may check out the nest Pets board, though. I can't imagine anyone giving me the side-eye after a decade of hard work, devotion, and persistence with this animal.
Just an FYI...I didn't spend any time in the nursery when DS was an infant. We usually were in the family/living room our my bedroom.
I am a huge animal lover- especially dogs. And i'm not one to pick on "bully breeds." I rescued a pitbull and she is an angel- one of the best behaved dogs i've ever known. And like you, I have 2 dogs, the pit and a pug mix.
That being said, I personally could NOT deal with your situation. It sounds like you have done everything right. But especially with the dog having unknown health issues, it seems that even the best training won't help 100%. If you weren't expecting a baby, i'd say try a few more trainers, etc. and give it more time. But you don't have a lot of time to dedicate your life to this dog. You have to be 100% confident that your baby is safe in it's home.
I am not recommending you put the dog to sleep, because I don't think I could do that, but I also don't think it's a cruel thing to do. If the dog is having health issues and is agressive, it is obviously not happy and healthy. I had a 19 year old lab that I put to sleep about 5 years ago when her health failed. I was so glad I went in the room and stayed with her because it was actually quite a relief to see how relaxed and happy she seemed. She truly didn't "die" she just peacefully went to sleep. (ok, now i'm crying)
Personally, I would do some research on giving the dog away to someone that can handle it. I couldn't do a shelter, unless it's a no-kill, as a last resort. I've heard of people that give their "bad" dogs to specialists that have time/ money/ experience to deal with the training and health issues. I don't know how you'd go about it, but your vet or a trainer may be able to give you more info and refer you to someone. I've seen it on dog shows on TV, so you may be able to search animal planet's website too. There are dog lovers out there that devote their lives to what you're doing now. But they aren't trying to start a family at the same time.
My heart goes out to you. I have never given a dog away, but would at this point, knowing my baby has to be a priority. Good luck with whatever you choose to do.
The solution is not for either one of you to be permanently confined to one room, its just not realistic... eventually you will need to pee.
When you put the pit outside did the Beagle go too? He probably hated being alone. Could you put the fluffy beds in a nice dogbox outside? Does he get enough exercise after you get home? If you are really at your wits end contact a Pit Rescue in your area, they might be able to advise on how to handle bringing in a new baby, or direct you to a new home for him.
It takes special people like you to deal with troubled dogs. You deserve a big congratulations on that. I have a high needs high behavioural dog as well and sometimes I think he has trained us to be great parents and that certain aspects of have kids will be soo much easier. We can only leave him with a couple people if we go away (and one lives 4 hours away) and we have been through tons of training.
I would suggest contacting a rescue. My inlaws foster rescue dogs and help rehabilitate them. These rescues often take dogs as far as they possibly go. They provide medical, social and mental support for the dogs. If they can work the dog through thier issues they will. Sometimes there is nothing you could possibly do to change your dogs behaviour. Sometimes another family will have completly different results just based on dynamics of the house.
Our dog recently has started to demonstarte more aggresion with us. This scares the crap out of me and for the safety of our child. However we are currently working with a new trainer and we hope that this is just because he is stressed with changes going on in the house. At some point you just have to acknowledge that you have done everything you can do (and it really sounds like you have). I personally don't think that you can have an aggressive dog (or any animal) in a house with young children. I know I would never have peace of mind letting either of them out of my sight.
I'm an absolute dog lover, and love the "bully breeds", too, some of the most awesome dogs I know are pitties. I'm a strong believer in training, firm training, being the answer to most aggression problems. We love our Boxer girl so much, our lives have revolved around her for the last 6 years. She lives a very spoiled life.
That said, if I had to take a wild guess, I'd say the unknown health problems are making it impossible for your dog to relax and be trained... and that there probably isn't anything more you can do at this point to improve things. 10 years is a long time, and it sounds like you've done everything "right".... the whole nine yards with the vet, trainers, patience, etc. It doesn't sound like this dog can ever be trusted with a baby/child in the house (or even adults, those attacks sound terrifying). Confining yourself and the baby to a single room is ridiculous.
If you can't find someone who wants to take a 10 year old aggressive/sick dog, I think putting him to sleep would be easier on him than going into the shelter system. And honestly, they probably wouldn't take him anyhow, drawing blood from both a human and another dog is usually over the line.
I'm so sorry you're having to deal with this, but it really does sound like you've really gone above and beyond with him, and you really can't risk putting your family in serious danger.
This is what we both imagine it will be like too...
Thank you so very much for sharing your own experiences (and making me cry as well
) and for your thoughts. I really appreciate it.
There's no way I would have an aggressive dog in the house with a small child. That is just asking for trouble. When your child is a small baby it may not be an issue, but older babies and toddlers can be very trying to the most patient of animals. If you have a pit bull that is already showing aggressive behavior toward you and your husband, you will be putting your child in serious danger.
I don't even let my toddler around my father's cocker spaniel because it has a history of aggressive behavior, and a cocker is a lot smaller than a pit bull.
No, we didn't put the Beagle out there with the Pit. I know this sounds so terrible, but I don't know if I could make the Beagle an outdoor dog too.
We're so attached to her and I don't think I could imagine her sleeping outside. I know that sounds terrible, given the fact that we'd considered it with the Pit, but only because it would have been a last resort.
DH and I have been in contact with Pit rescues in Georgia and Florida and for some reason, we've gotten a lot of resistance. Most of them tell us that "(they) aren't taking any more dogs right now because they're overloaded" or have referred us to others who've never returned our calls. We've only looked into Pitbull Rescues and not "animal rescues" in general, so maybe that's an avenue worth exploring.
Thanks so much for your suggestions!
Trust your mommy gut. Your baby is your #1 priority once it arrives. I know it's not a popular opinion around here, but IMO dogs are dogs, people are people. You have to do what is best for your baby.
If you are nervous at all around the pit bull, I would try to find another home for him. Don't send him to a shelter, because it's nearly impossible to rehome bully breeds, especially if they have a history of aggression. Find a friend or family member that will take him off your hands.
Our story - we had two dogs before we had kids - an older mixed breed and a bull terrier puppy. They got along really well until the kids came along, then suddenly my bull terrier started showing signs of aggression. He had been through all of the puppy obedience classes and was a really good dog prior to the babies, but I never felt comfortable with him around once the kids were here. I wish I would have listened to my mommy gut and rehomed him while we still had a chance,
Last fall the bull terrier nearly killed our 14 year old dog out of the blue. They were in the backyard and something happened to make the bull terrier snap. He attacked our dog for over fifteen minutes - neighbors were using a hose and one had a shovel trying to get him off of our older dog, but he just wouldn't stop. The dog saw red. This was a dog who had never attacked the dog or any of us before. He just snapped.
Luckily our older dog survived, but we had to put down the bull terrier. We couldn't trust him around children or other dogs after what he had done. It still breaks my heart to this day knowing that he could still be alive and loved by another family had we rehomed him when I first started having feelings of discomfort around him.
You have to keep your babies safe. Period. You would never forgive yourself if your dog hurt or killed your child and you saw it coming.
I'll definitely look into that! Thank you!
And I agree with you about never having peace of mind to let either out of my sight - it only takes *one* bite/nip and that terrifies me. My mom suggested we "try" things with the Pit and our baby - I know her heart is in the right place - but that's not the sort of "experiment" that I'm comfortable with.
That trainer sounds like a moron. It doesn't matter how "accustomed" a dog is to your child. Children get up in animals' faces, they take their toys, they try to climb on them, etc. Obviously you will try to supervise and teach your child how to behave around dogs, but that can't be done in an instant, it takes time. Toddlers by nature will try to break rules and if you have an aggressive dog, they will not tolerate it. All it takes is you having your back turned for a minute and your child could get bitten. By a pit bull.
And there is NO WAY you should confine yourself and your baby to one room of the house all day for months. WTF. Don't do that to yourself and don't do that to your baby. Your health and your baby's health come before the dog, period. And this is letting your dog make you and your child prisoners in your own house.
Find the dog a new home or put it down. I'm sorry if that's not the nice thing to say but your child comes before the dog.
We just imagine him suffering so much more sitting on cold concrete floors with barking dogs all around him and no chance for adoption. I just hate this situation so much.
And at first, it was so hard to convince DH that the dog/baby situation would probably not work out. That makes me feel even more guilty because he's really been more his dog than mine.
Today I called him to talk with him about things more and I wanted to know how he felt about things and if he felt like he was being railroaded into a decision about "his" dog that he wasn't happy about. He said he agreed with me wholeheartedly and knew that it was most likely not going to work. He said the only nagging feeling he had was that we might end up putting him down before we even have a chance to see if it could work with baby. But he acknowledged that there really isn't a safe way to see if it would work with baby. It would just be risk all around. And even if things were okay in the beginning, he'd never feel comfortable.
I'm really happy that I didn't get totally flamed in this post. I know how many dog lovers there are on these boards and I was terrified that people would think I was terrible for having these reservations and considering re-homing him or putting him down.
You absolutely did the right thing by putting him down. I'm so sorry you had to go through that, but please don't feel guilty that you tried to make it work with him. Your heart was in the right place. If anything, you've learned something from this and now that you've shared that story with me, I have learned something from it as well that I'll take with me.
Thank you.
I agree with you 100%. I feel like a heartless b!tch, because I think anyone that adopts a pet is completely responsible for it for the duration of that pet's life, but this situation is not typical and I'm a bit tired of putting this dog first in our lives in so many ways.
Your situation is so different from most of the "should I get rid of my pet?" posts. You've done a lot of work with your pet, and you're still looking for solutions before giving him away. My heart goes out to you. I can only imagine how hard this decision is.
Like another poster said, trust your Mommy gut on this one. ((hug))
While my suggestions may not be the best received on the board, please keep in mind that I take what I say in regards to animal care and decisions very seriously. Now, no one has met your dog, however you have given detailed info about the process you have been through. No one here can tell you what you should do, but I will tell you what I would do and why. I would euthanize the dog. Now, I will explain my reasoning why, because I do NOT say that lightly. Being that your dog is a pit bull (mix) and I know a fair amount about the breed, your dog seems to be unstable. It sounds like you have tried many different options, but the problem with an unstable animal is that no amount of training will ever 'fix' it. There are some drugs that help with some issues in dogs (like humans that just aren't 'wired right') however it doesn't sound like there would be anything your dog would benefit from out of what you've said about it and what I know about the available drugs.
There are many dog breeds out there that were bred at one time or another to guard, or protect, things or people, the Pit Bull was never one of them. Personally if I ever thought that ANY of my dogs (which are all pit bulls or pit bull mixes) had an intention to bite or hurt me in ANY way I would take them for a big run in the field, feed them a steak, and stop by the vets to euthanize at the end of the day. I accept ZERO tolerance of human aggression from the breed end of story. Now, it will be impossible to say if this dog would be the exact same dog had it ended up in a different home, but the fact is that right now he's in yours. Had he been in mine and I gave him the best chance I could, and he turned to bite me one day, he would have lived no longer than 24 hours after that. Human aggression, on top of all his other unstable behaviors is the exact reason this dog should NEVER ever be re-homed. Passing off a dog that has these issues is only setting up the next person for more problems. Once a dog gets comfortable in your home, (for many years) and still exhibits the unstable behavior that he does, only means that if you switch up his living arrangement he will more than likely get worse. I would never sleep at night knowing I passed on a problem dog on, and though I would be sad, I would know I did the right thing if that dog was never a risk to any human again because I decided to euthanize. This dog would need to go to the most breed savvy home on the planet, however the most breed savvy people out there that deal with Pit Bulls will tell you the same thing about euthanizing. The management of an unstable and human aggressive Pit Bull is 24 hour, 365, every second of every moment of every day HARD work. A real breed enthusiast will tell you that it's in the dogs best interest to euthanize. The only kind of home you could find for this dog is a bleeding heart who just doesn't want the poor doggy to die so they take it, and that's the LAST place a dog like that should be.
As far as your dogs aggression towards other dogs, and animals you can't be upset or surprised about that, it's what the dog is hard wired to do. Pit Bulls were made to fight and kill other dogs, that was bred into their genetics for many many years before dog fighting became illegal. Even though most people don't fight their dogs now, it's still in them to do, you don't get mad at a lab for retreiving, or a border collie for herding, Pit Bulls are just doing what they were meant to do when they go at another dog. Is it acceptable? No, can it be trained out of them? To a point. But it's not something the average person knows enough to do or wants to accept.
As a Pit Bull owner, I (and other Pit Bull owners that I am friends with or even know) hold our dogs to a higher standard. The Pit Bull is the most media attacked animal on the planet, and one little slip from one person can cause BSL and heartache and serious problems for thousands of owners and their dogs. If you keep your dog and someone, one day, slips for a second and your dog hurts your child or even yourself, it will not be the dogs fault. It will be yours. When a person acknowledges that their dog has this kind of problem but doesn't deal with it appropriately they are the one who is at fault for letting it happen. The problem is, that 90% of other people, and ALL of the media will see it as being the dogs fault and then you can not only cause problems for yourself with dealing with the situation under fire, but you can cause problems for all other Pit Bull owners out there whether they are deserving or not.
The decision to euthanize a dog is not to be taken lightly, and I'm a firm believer in giving the dog the best day of it's life (steaks, favorite toy, favorite bones, a car ride, donut at a drive through etc...) prior to going to that appointment. However, doing what's in the best interest of the dog is most important, even if it will be hard on us as humans. An amazing last day for a dog as I mentioned above is the most respecful thing you can do, as opposed to the dog biting someone, ending up in quaranteen at a dog pound in a loud kennel for 10 days and being put to sleep by a shelter staff that doesn't know the animal on a cold concrete floor. I work in a shelter (am the behaviorist actually), and am all for rescuing pets, however when you do so you are taking a risk on not knowing the dogs history or genetic wiring. This can happen, even to people who give the dog the best chance imaginable.
I'm hoping this can be a bit of food for thought for you, and like I said, it may very well be not well received but I have my big girl panties on so it's okay. This is something I deal with sometimes with clients and dogs at the shelter that show human aggression, and it's never easy.
We went through a similar dilemma with our aggressive dog. Dilemma puts it mildly. It was gut wrenching because while our pup was aggressive and caused us (esp. me) much stress, she was part of our family. We were lucky and able to give her to someone else in our family---someone with no kids and a huge backyard. She did nip at our son twice, and we tried trainers, etc. before that. Her behavior vastly improved, but she was never great with kids or other dogs.
All that to say--I would not mess around with an aggressive pit bull and children. I would strongly recommend you find another home for your dog. I know it's hard! Good luck to you guys.
This was all really amazing advice and you've definitely given me a lot to think about. Thank you so much. I don't know if you've read most of the other responses, but most people are sort of leaning in the same direction as you.
I really appreciate all of the time you took to write that response. Thanks again!
That's amazing. Good for you guys!
I work for a dog training company and we work with remote collars. I would definitely look for a trainer that works with this type of training. It's "technically" a shock collar but it doesn't hurt them. it sends a pulse to get their attention. the collars we use are the brand dogtra and it goes from 10-100 and when training, it's almost always on 10 unless the dog isn't paying attention to you, you turn it up slightly until it does.
I have a rescued pit that we got when she was around 1 and she was abused by children, abused by people. wasn't very trusting of anyone and looked aggressive when she reacted. thankfully she's never harmed anyone when she's had the chance but i was at my witts end with her. i found the company i'm working for now and started my training with them. i was hesitant because of the collar too but they made me put it on my hand and put it on the setting they usually work with the dogs. it was nothing. when we got her back (we sent her to the 2 week board and train program because we were going away on vacation) she was like a different dog. i was VERY nervous when we brought home my first son because she wasn't good with kids because of her history but she LOVES him and licks him like crazy. now that he's older and mobile, when she gets nervous, she just walks away. her behavior is all because of the type of training she had. no amount of treats or click training is going to work for a dog like that. different methods for different types of dogs.
please look into some type of training like this for your dog. (you can even look on the www.dogtra.com website and look at distributers, it might give you some trainers) if not, i wouldn't put the dog down, there are people out there that don't have kids, that are willing to work with dogs like this, etc. doesn't sound like the dog is too dangerous that you would need to put it down. try the training first because it is hard to give the dog up after 10 years old. the dog might rebel even more for changing it's environment and be confused and hurt.
You're very welcome! I have to say, I'm very pleased to see that you are being smart and open to this, it's not an easy situation at all. When I started my response there were only like 5 replies to the thread, however by the time I got done writing my novel it was the 20 (somethingith?) lol. My main concern has to do with the number of people who think it's best to re-home a dog like that. And while I can see their reasoning ("awe...give him a chance..."), they don't understand the liability and responsibility that a dog like that brings. You have had to deal with the issues for a long time now so you know just how stressful and draining it gets. It might be not a bad idea to share some of these posts with your husband as well, it is best if it's a decision that the all involved agrees upon.
A shock or 'pulse' to touch on a 100+ pound human WILL certainly feel differently than it does to a 40 pound dog. That, and the nerve endings in an animal are different than a human so no amount of saying it doesn't 'hurt me so it won't hurt a dog' couldn't be further from the truth. That aside, I have felt a shock collar, on both my hand and my neck, and have seen training seminars done with them. Not my cup of tea at all, however the most important thing to keep in mind is the unstable behaviors this dog has exhibited over the course of it's ENTIRE life. No type of training, may it be positive reinforcement or shock will fix a mentally unstable dog. I've seen an unstable dog being trained in a shock collar, and though it can change behavior in a stable dog with basic manner problems, it will do nothing but harm on an unstable dog.
The whole basis of compulsion (punishment) based training is that the threat of what COULD happen if the dog doesn't listen must always be bad enough that the dog chooses to not do the wrong thing. What alot of people find is that after a certain amount of time the dog will be pushed over its threashold and snap 'out of the blue' after being such an angel for a year+ after compulsion based training.
Thank you for your response! My concern though is that the dog also has health issues that involve constant phases of peeing in the house (see issues described in OP) and just general high maintenance and I'm not sure I could find anyone willing to deal with that the way we have.
Yes, definitely. I actually just addressed this with the poster directly above (can't recall her name!) - I'm not sure there is anyone out there that would want to take on the health demands we've dealt with for the last ten years... Aggression aside... not many people want to adopt a dog that they know they'll need to clean up after several times a day for month long periods at a time.
Interesting! I didn't know any of this. But I could absolutely see him getting to a point and snapping.
I would put the dog down.
An aggressive, unpredictable dog likely shouldn't be rehomed.
You've done more than most people would ever dream of. That dog had the best life he could have. Call it a day before your kid gets bit.
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Totally agree with this. I am a pit bull owner and all-around animal lover. My family has 4 pitties between myself, my brother and my parents. It is very rare that I think rehoming or even euthanasia is a valid option. But this isn't a case of being worried about dog hair on the baby or not having time for pets after the baby comes, and even the urination issue could be dealt with. But he has shown that he is aggressive towards humans, and that's really not acceptable with young children in the house. Actually it is uncharacteristic for a pit bull to exhibit aggression toward humans, since they were originally bred to be hunting dogs and needed to be controlled by their handlers. Even if there is a medical condition that's causing his behavior, vets can't determine the problem, so it's not really fixable from that standpoint. Being a pit bull owner, I understand the stigma that comes with the territory of owning a bully breed, and as much as I am against "getting rid" of animals, in this case I don't think there are many options left. You could try to contact a pit bull rescue in your area and discuss if he would even be a candidate for rehoming, but with his aggression issues I think he most likely wouldn't meet adoption criteria. Actually, this pro-pitbull website essentially advocates euthanasia for your situation:
"A Pit Bull that snarls, lunges, or growls at humans is not typical of the breed, and to keep such a dog endangers people and the image of the breed.
If a Pit Bull or Pit Bull mix shows any signs of aggression towards humans, it is strongly suggested that the dog be humanely euthanized in order to avoid possible human injury."
Another site:
"Traits like human aggression, severe shyness, and instability are not typically found in the APBT breed, nor are they acceptable. Dogs with these traits are not good representatives of the breed and should not be placed into adoptive homes."
They do recommend first exploring medical problems with your vet if aggression is an issue, but you've done that several times already. Unfortunately I don't think you have many options in this situation. You have basically done all you can for him. A quick browse of several pro-pitty sites shows that they all basically advocate euthanasia for dogs exhibiting human aggression as it's uncharacteristic of the breed. I am so sorry you have to make this kind of decision - but sadly, I think it is probably the most responsible thing to do in this case. I absolutely do not advocate keeping the dog in your home with the baby.
I really don't have much to add to what the other behavorist had to say but here it goes.
Try to think of the dog and not yourself and your husband. This is not a happy dog, even though he has happy moments. The stress you feel he also feels. I have been training dogs and working in the veterinary industry for a long time. Aggression can never be cured only managed and you cannot alow that around a child. If you wait and try with the baby and something happens and you have to euthanize the dog when you are angry and upset it will be bad forever. If you give the dog a good day and then let him go it will hurt for a long time but eventually the good happy memories will outweight the bad. You can never forget the bad if there is a scar on your child or even worse.
My heart breaks for you and your family at this time. Know that you will make the right decision and you will be better for it.
you truly believe that and you're in the field?? have you seen/heard anything about the michael vick dogs???