My Pit Bull is shy/aggressive towards strangers?

Question

When I take my Pit Bull on walks and she see's a stranger, all of her hair goes up. Sometimes she will keep on walking but with her hair up until we are about 10 feet past them and sometimes she wants to run in the other direction, (mostly when the stranger is making loud noises.)

I know you are supposed to turn in the other direction when her hair goes up, but sometimes she doesent see the people until we are within 15 feet of them and if I turned around, we would just be walking right next to the stranger. What should I do in these situations?

and also, what should i do when she see's a "loud" stranger and wants to run away from them in a different direction? It seems like if i ran with her in the other direction, i would be telling her it was ok for her to be scared

thanks ahead of time

Answer 1

1st of all Pitbulls are a great breed if raised by the right person. If you can't handle training aggression this breed might not have been right for you. here's what i got for you though.

Okay, what you need to do is show her your in charge. Practice at home walking her and making abrupt stops. Make her sit and look at you. Maybe using treats as motivation. When you go out and she barks and the fur goes up get her to sit, even if that means your pulling back on her collar until shes forced to sit. make her sit still until the people go by and if her ears go up correct her by a sharp pull to the collar. Its kind of a snap by holding the leash tight and close to the dog. It's used in the Guide dogs for the Blind Training program so its safe for the dog. pull her face to look at you or look away, but stay in the spot she started barking. For more training you should call a pro.

Answer 2

Stop her from running away.  Be calm and firm.  She will sense if you are nervous and that will make her nervous too.

If you can keep her near the strangers long enough, eventually she will relax and realize that she has nothing to fear.

Try taking her to obedience class.  Beside learning basic obedience commands, she will be submerged into an environment with strange people and strange dogs nearby, and it won't take long for her to learn that this is nothing to be afraid of.  It's called socializing.