Coping With Canine Aggression

Four months ago I adopted a 10 month female pitbull. I named her Zoey. A week after adopting her I had to take her to my vet who said she had a virus and that her chances were not good and maybe I should return her to the humane society where i got her. I fell in love with her the moment I saw her and decided that if she was going to die I would make her comfortable and happy in her last days. But with the medications and nursing, she got better.

She is very sweet natured, enjoys attention and sometimes runs around with her leash or blanket. At first she was very quiet, probably due to her illness, yet got along well with my older female pitt dogs. Zoey especially loves to play with a stray dog that we’ve kept around till they claim her or we find her a home. Just recently Zoey has gotten into fighting with the older dogs for no reason. At first the older dogs would just knock her down and everybody would be friends again. They would be kissing each other as if nothing happen.

In the last 3 weeks Zoey has cause several fights with three of my other dogs. There is no apparent reason for these attacks. There is consistency to these fights. One day my son was putting them to sleep in their sleeping area( a small enclosed patio with their blankets and dog houses)and a fight broke out. We’ve done this for months now, and it was never a problem. The dogs even put themselves to sleep there if we are late in putting them down to rest. Zoey just started to fight. Another time Zoey lunged at a dog just walking past her.Sometimes when she’s corrected because of bad behavior,or taking her outside after a visit with us, she will start growling and growling even when we put her on her side as we’ve been intructed by Petsmart dog training school.

She challenges the older dogs at every turn now. They never fought with each other and they don’t like fighting, but they will hurt her now as if they are sick and tried of her behavior. No more mercy for her. They are not letting her get away with attacking them. I’m afriad to return her to the humane society. I see the way people look at her. With all the stories on TV about dog fighting I am afraid someone may re-adopt her and use her to fight. She won’t last. The illness left her weak. She can’t walk very far, my other dogs can walk several miles and still come home to play fetch.

Once a dog is adopted no one from the adoption agency makes home visits regularly to see if the dog has adjusted or is doing well. What is going wrong? I love this dog, I am not willing to give up yet. Help!