Deuce at his Darkest

The picture says 1,000 words or maybe just one comes to mind… aggressive? Mean? Evil? Scary? Well, after I brought my dream dog home, the fairytale ended and reality hit. I just adopted a dog that had zero trust in humans especially men. I had my cute puppy on a leash, brought him in the front door with a huge smile on my face and once Josh greeted us, Deuce became aggressive, growling, barking and was so scared to the point his “mohawk” was standing up. It was clear, he was afraid of men and not just afraid, he was scared for his life. It became instantly apparent to me that in his previous three homes he was abused, by men specifically to a point where the trust between man and dog was completely gone. It didn’t take long to learn that his trust in humans diminished the moment someone reprimanded him with physical contact (spanking, kicking, smacking, beating). Unfortunately, this is common in the Pit Bull breed and because of this they get a bad representation of being “man eaters” and aggressive. I knew that I had to regain Deuce’s trust which was going to be a long process but I was up for the challenge because the thought of “returning him” or putting up for adoption didn’t even cross my mind. Of course, the safety of my step-son, fiancé, and other animals were my biggest concern but I knew Deuce wanted and needed love and our family was the perfect place for him. To my surprise, Deuce LOVED Deagan. Although, bad habits came through such as jumping but he loved him and Deagan loved Deuce. Right away, I taught Deagan what he can and cannot do with Deuce such as feed him, give him treats, run with him, play with him, walk him, etc. Which was upsetting for Deagan because of course, he wants to do all those fun things with his new puppy but I had to explain to Deagan that Deuce wasn’t a “normal” puppy but was special and needed extra love. Not soon after adopting Deuce, he became OK with Josh. He was comfortable with his presence and didn’t fear him anymore. Deuce did become extremely aggressive with me. When he would do something “naughty” (mostly pee on the floor), I would tell him “NO”, grab his collar and bring him outside but when I would go for his collar, he went into complete attack mode. It was very similar to what you see on YouTube between a training Pit Bull and bait dog but in this case, I was the bait dog. He would bite, he would growl, he would actually alligator role on me to get released but never did I let him know I was weak nor that I was going to hurt him. He punctured by hand multiple times, left bruises, and have had me scared beyond belief but I never gave up on him or the fact that he couldn’t react in that way. I had to let him know that I was not going to hurt him. It was so hard for Josh to see these episodes happen to him but I told him that it’s something I have to do and overcome for him to trust me. After sticking to my ground, Deuce came to the realization that he wasn’t getting anywhere by acting out and he could trust that I wasn’t going to hurt him when he had accidents. It’s been 6 months and Deuce hasn’t acted out in the least. Let me throw in a twist, during the time of his aggression period, Josh could grab his collar and he had no reaction. Deagan would grab his collar and he would have no reaction. Like I’ve mentioned in my description and in my first post, I am not a professional. I’ve been told he is challenging me as an owner and as his “Master” but have never knew the real reason for his reactions nor spent too much time worrying why he did it but teaching him not to do it. Throughout this hurdle with Deuce, we’ve gained his trust (not completely) but enough that he feels he needs to protect us from danger and enough to know he’s with us for good. He knows that Deagan is his best friend, Josh is his owner and I am his Master. He is our pet and family member. 

Always keep in mind that dogs have flaws and like humans can hold grudges to those whom treat them with disrespect and/or harm them. But unlike humans, dogs, more importantly Pit Bulls, forgive those that don’t deserve forgiveness but I am very grateful that Deuce saw good in myself and my family enough to forgive what humans have done to him and trust in humanity again.