posted 01-04-2004 04:39 PM         

Let me give you some history....
She is a 2 year old female pit. She has been my foster for the past 7 months and has always stayed inside with the rest of my dogs. We have never experienced any dog aggression with her before, she has been around a countless number of dogs...my three, Tons of fosters who have come and gone since she has been here, my parents dogs, my mother in laws dogs, my sisters dogs, strange dogs on float trips and in the park...you get the picture. Never once has she been anything but a playful happy dog.
The rescue I used to be involved in before this happened approved an application to a new home that currently has another male pit. I had explained to them that she needed to be kept in a crate at all times when unsupervised in the new home because she would have accidents inside the house. They told me they did not believe in crate training and were going to housebreak her with out one. After telling them 4 more times to expect accidents in the house I gave them info on crate training and offered one to them to use....once again my offer was declined.
I called 2 days later to check and see how everything was going and they told me how wonderful and amazing she was.
A week later I get a phone call while I was out of town stating that she was crapping all over their house and needed to be picked up. I called back to tell them it would be a week before I got home, and they told me that was fine...
Well when I did get home I had several messages regarding this dog saying that she was extremely dog aggressive and that they (being the group) Was planning on putting her to sleep.
I argued with them for hours on why the dog should be returned to me and yada yada yada. They told me under no certain terms was she going anywhere but to be put to sleep. The people had told this group that she was trying to attack their male pit and that she needed to be returned. They ended up adopting another male pit before the dog even left their house!!!
Another foster who I have never met before took her to her house to wait for her appt to be euthanised said that she was trying to attack her lab.
I argued with them and had to threaten them with media press on the issue to get the dog back and to keep her from being euthanized.
I was being told the whole time how stupid I was and did I even know anything about this dog that had spent all this time at my house.
I have never been so angry in my life. I get her back to my house and she is FINE with the other dogs. She ran up to my male pit and started giving him kisses and played very nicely with everyone else. No dog aggression what so ever.

So my guess is that these people didnt want to deal with the fact that they actually had to house break her so they made up this story so that they could adopt another dog...
It dosent explain what was going on with the lab at this other womans house. I have introduced her to 3 other dogs since I have had her back in my care and she has passed with flying colors.
I know that dog aggression can trigger at anytime but wouldnt she be acting out against the dogs in my home and the dogs I have introduced her to since?
However since I have had her back she flinches at fast movements, shakes if we discipline her by telling her no when she jumps up on us and things like that. She acts like someone beat the holy livin crap out of her.
Mainly I just need to vent that if I would have gotten home even an hour later she would have been dead.
If she did act out in aggression in anyway I believe it was because she was so freaked out by whatever was going on in her new enviornment that she felt that she had to defend herself.
Am I wrong? Could she have been trying to kill both of these dogs?
I would like other opinions. I just think its odd that she is okay around all of the dogs I have ever introduced her to but yet she turns into a fighter when I am not around?
Their stories to me sound like some made up BS to keep her out of everyone elses hair.
Any ideas or advice?

posted 01-05-2004 07:19 AM         

I imagine that they just let other dogs, romp over to her with out formal introduction or socilization, and she freeked and prbably just growled.