help...we need somebody
Mar 8, 2011 this post is the kind i don’t like…one with bad news that i hate to impart. it is with heavy hearts that dave & i have come to the sad fact that we need to find violet a new loving family. over the past six weeks or so she developed an issue with watson and it is only getting worse. we sent her to an amazing trainer, nathan, for board and train for a few weeks, hoping for at the least a chilling out period and at best a solution to our problem. while she is now fantastically trained and very obedient the situation with watson hasn’t changed.
it has become an untenable situation causing unrest in our house. violet’s fine when she’s on a leash and under our control but she’s a fantastic dog and doesn’t deserve to live life on a leash and we don’t deserve an unreasonably stressful situation.
violet’s a sweet, loving lady with an endearing limp and a zest for life. one need only look to the right of this page and hit the violet links to see her pictures and videos to see proof of this. sadly watson is the only dog she’s ever had a problem with and that problem is really due to her close relationship with carly and our pack dynamics. i truly believe, while she may not be a good pack dog, she would do fine with other dogs. she has been with dogs, cats and children in her trainer’s home and has been very loving with our other 14 dogs. if you know of anyone who might be interested in providing violet a loving home please let us know.
while we are heartbroken at the prospect of losing violet we look forward to her being part of a loving family and to peace being restored to our home. we are committed (after a period of peace) to adopting another dog so we leave no footprint with this. this is new territory for us as we’ve adopted many, many fosters out over the years but have never had to rehome a dog that we thought of as part of our family. we could use help on this one and are hoping our earthdog community can aid us here.
;)
kym colella
here's a pdf you can print out if you'd like to pass it on or hang it somewhere - any help is much appreciated!
violet poster
Reader Comments (7)
I know its hard to hear, but pits are traditionally expected to be dog aggressive. Its a normal breed trait.
It is NOT THE SAME THING as human aggression at all and many breeds are pre-disposed to it, such as most Spitz breeds and many other terriers.
An excerpt from a write up on a pit forum, compiled by several experts on the topic:
"Okay, maybe they start out as nice dogs, but don't they have a tendency to just SNAP? They're really unpredictable, right?
A pit bull may suddenly decide it no longer likes other dogs, but other than that, no. What's more likely happening in these scenarios is that the owner of the dog is either not present at the time of the bite, or not adept enough at reading dog body language to see the warning signs the dog is giving off. Pit bulls are very stable, predictable, easy to read dogs and they do not just "lose it" for no reason, especially not on a human.
Wait, dog aggression? Prey drive? Isn't aggression just AGGRESSION?
Nope. Dogs can differentiate between species just fine. As stated above, pit bulls are bred to have exceptional bite inhibition with humans while maintaining a propensity towards aggression with other dogs and the desire to chase and catch prey animals. A dog suddenly becoming dog aggressive or overly prey driven is NOT an indicator that they will later develop human aggression. The three are not linked.
If pit bulls are dog aggressive and have strong prey drive, can I ever safely own one if I have other pets?
Yes. Most people with a dog aggressive dog crate and rotate, and NEVER leave their dogs alone together uncrated. A lot of people with pits in general do this by default, whether the dogs in question are dog aggressive or not. They can play together- but if you have to leave the house or cannot keep an eye on them, one of them needs to be crated or they need to be somehow separated- dog aggressive dogs must also never be fed together.
It is never safe to leave a highly prey driven dog alone with a prey animal, but they can be taught to tolerate and ignore prey animals indoors, with the owners around. It can be done, but it does take some vigilance to insure that the two are not left alone together. Some pit bulls never develop dog aggression or strong prey drive, but most have both to at least SOME degree.
The only really limiting thing is that dog parks are out of the question for pit bulls. Just don't do it; too many potential problems, too much room for error.
If you own a pit bull and another dog, you SHOULD learn how to break up a fight, as there is a good chance a scuffle of some sort will happen sooner or later."
If Violet were my dog, I wouldn't place her in a family that has other pets but not the necessary experience to handle a potentially dog aggressive girl. She is a beautiful dog and will be a great GREAT pet; best of luck!
How sad that your first re-home has to be Violet. I had so hoped that your adoption of Violet would show others that a pitbull can be a wonderful member of a pack. How can you be sure that it is not Watson that needs the training?
Additionally, I think that erica's post (above) may be slanted toward a pitbull prejudice. I'm not sure who the cited "experts" are, but there are experts on both sides of every controversial topic.
My rescue pitbull was once attacked by a purebred cocker. And who was asked to leave the event? The pitbull. A victim of breed discrimination.....
i knew that this post had the potential to become incendiary and incite judgemental comments but i think finding violet a loving home is more important than what we may face. first and foremost if you'll reread the post you will see that nowhere have i mentioned violet being a pitbull or this being a "pitbull" issue because that's not my thought process. this decision to find her a new home was not an easy or quick decision. violet was in a bad place and we, even though at the time were not in a position to adopt another dog, took her in, spent $1000 on getting her leg fixed (within a day of having her), adored her and subsequently spent more money on training all the while hoping against all hope we could make the situation work. for the record, watson is trained and has lived peacefully in our pack for over 6 years. i would love nothing more than to keep our current family intact and am heartbroken about the situation, more for violet and the fact that we've let her down and she needs to adjust to another home, however, when you have a pack of dogs the responsibility lies on you to keep everyone happy, thriving and safe. slight behavior changes can change the pack dynamic and send your whole peaceful house out of whack. only a small handful of people who actually live with a pack of dogs may be able to fully understand this concept but i feel this blog speaks for itself that we do our best for the dogs in our life. the decision to rehome violet isn't just about us or our other dogs, it's about violet and the fact that she deserves to be in a home being loved and having freedom, not relinquished to a leash and not trusted.
rehoming violet is a heartbreaking thing for us, having nothing to do with the fact that she's a pitbull, but having everything to do with the fact that she's violet...this is not pitbull discrimination.
Kym, you and Dave are doing the right thing for Violet and your pack. Not every dog will like and get along with every other dog. It is what it is but you are doing nothing "wrong" nor are you giving up on Violet. I hope you find her a great home!
Sometimes completely wonderful dogs just plain find other wonderful dogs they don't like and can't get along with. It happens to the best of us humans, too! It isn't about the breed, it's just about the wrong mix of personalities. I've followed Violet's story since you found her, and am sad for both you and her that you're having trouble keeping the peace. Oh, and Watson, too. She's a beautiful girl, and is sure to win over someone's heart who's got a home that is the right fit for her.
If it's any consolation, we are facing a similar problem with our most recently adopted cat - he just plain doesn't like the other cats, and that's all there is to it. We always just rescue foundlings and give them a good home ourselves, but are starting to think this poor fellow will be happier with someone who doesn't have other cats, even if we will be devastated to give him up. I guess that's the price of rescuing animals - sometimes they break our hearts.
Were you able to find Violet a home or have things gotten better and she was able to stay?
hi nicole - thanks for asking. we have not found a permanent home for violet - she's still in a holding pattern being fostered by our trainers who also have a doggie daycare (wherein she does fabulous with all the dogs). we're still hopeful a loving, forever home will come along for her.