How to Prevent Aggression in Pitbulls

We all know a Pitbull is a highly energetic, powerful dog, with plenty of vitality and strength. They're also medium-sized with a powerful, scissor-bite jaw.

Knowing all this, it would be highly irresponsible of us to let aggression take hold of our dog, since they'd be a potential danger, and if they were ever unlucky enough to attack someone, they'd be put down for good.

So let's see what we can do on our end to help our Pitbull be a calm, level-headed dog, leaving snappiness aside.

Factors That Cause Aggression in Pitbulls

Whether we're aware of it or not, we all make mistakes with our dogs often. That's why it matters to know what we should NOT do, so we never encourage bad behaviour.

Try to avoid at all costs making any of these classic mistakes:

• Physically punishing our dog
• Scolding our dog too much / getting angry with them
• Being violent in front of our dog (they learn from us)
• Not exercising with them daily
• Not feeding them well
• Not letting them play with other dogs / isolating them
• Not looking after their health
• Overexciting/overstimulating them

Now that you know what not to do, try to avoid it as much as you can. Any of these factors can cause aggression in a dog, and if it's a Pitbull, that's bad news.

How to Calm a Pitbull's Aggression

Pitbulls aren't born aggressive — they become aggressive because of poor socialisation and/or training on the part of the human who should be looking after them.

So the fundamental thing is to socialise our Pitbull from puppyhood and always apply positive reinforcement in their training. But… what if they're already aggressive?

Let's look at some good tips that will help calm our Pitbull down:

• Do intense physical exercise with them daily, for at least an hour (jogging, cycling alongside us, rollerblading and so on…)
• Spend at least half an hour a day on our Pitbull's training (obedience)
• Never use violence with them, or get angry with them or in their presence (they'll learn from us)
• Don't overexcite them by talking in a baby voice or winding them up
• Let them smell other dogs and play with them, muzzled if necessary and always under supervision
• See a canine ethologist if needed, to find the source of their aggression
• Never, for any reason, train them to be aggressive (defence/attack)

Not that complicated, is it? Yet there are people who do exactly the opposite and then wonder why their Pitbull is aggressive.

How to Prevent Aggression in Puppies?

Pitbull puppies are very active and have a very characteristic way of playing with each other, almost like wrestling. Even the well-known dog whisperer has referred to them on many occasions as "little gladiators".

Letting them play and be puppies doesn't mean we should allow them to be aggressive, though — that would be a big mistake. That's why it's highly advisable to socialise them from a very young age.

Socialising a dog means letting them get to know and interact with their environment, with other dogs, animals and humans.

It's highly advisable for them to be with other dogs from puppyhood, play with them, and even be told off if they do something wrong. Let other humans touch them and have them show respect. We should do this every day, no excuses.

Socialisation and applying the advice above are enough for our Pitbull to be, in principle, a calm dog with no aggression at all.