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My new pit bull attacked my other dog and bit me. What should I do?

Updated On September 23rd, 2025

Pet's info: Dog | Pit Bull Terrier | Female | spayed | 4 years and 9 months old | 47 lbs

I adopted a pitty a week ago, everything has been wonderful, she's smart, sweet, well behaved & loving. I have 2 other dogs, a pug and mix, until this evening everything has been great! No agression, they have played, ate, and slept well together. This afternoon the pit went after the mix, it was the most aggressive thing I've ever seen! I stepped in & she bit me. I did separate them, gave them time out, tried to reintroduce them, same thing, she bit me again! What do I do?

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2 Answers

Most Helpful Answer

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Answered By Jeffrey Milner

Veterinarian

Published on May 17th, 2017

The first thing you need to ask yourself here is whether or not you believe the bite to you occurred intentionally, or accidentally while you were trying to separate the two dogs. If it is the former, keeping a dog within your home that you only just adopted that is already ready inflict harm to you is going to be difficult if you don't have a ton of experience with dog behavior and training. While I love pit bulls (I have three), I readily understand that they are large, powerful dogs that can do some serious damage. If you live alone, or if you have children, my recommendation would be to relinquish the dog unfortunately, If the latter is what happened, there may be opportunities for addressing the issue. I would keep the dogs separated for at least the next 24 hours and let things cool off. I would reexamine the entire situation and try to identify what could have happened that brought about the fight the first time. Examine it from every single angle possible, in terms of people in the room, dogs in the room, items in the room, what the dogs were doing, anything at all that could be a variable. This is going to be the most important thing to figure out. You will ultimately need to keep Jazzy on a leash until you are completely confident that she isn't going to hurt your little one. The process may not be short and will definitely not be easy. Either way, I am going to suggest you hire a dog trainer and / or speak with a veterinary behaviorist. If this sounds like all too much, I don't blame you. I think that you have not had her long enough where you should feel terribly about having to relinquish her. I understand it is difficult, but this is not a great situation for you or your dogs. I do quite a bit of behavior consultation and I would be happy to talk some more if you'd like. Either way, I hope you are able to come to a decision. Stay safe.

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    Answered By Christie Long, DVM

    Veterinarian, Certified Veterinary Acupuncturist

    Published on

    For now, you've got to separate them. And unfortunately, unless you're committed to reprogramming this aggressive behavior, you've got to consider contacting the rescue where you got Jazzy and discussing returning her. I'm sorry, I know that sounds very difficult to contemplate, but helping her to learn to be social with other dogs is going to be something that you will both have to work at very hard, and will require the involvement of a qualified trainer or behavioralist in order for success. Some dogs can be perfectly wonderful on their own, but they don't do well with other dogs, and Jazzy may be one of those. The rescue where you got her from should have assessed that from the beginning, before adopting her out to you. They may be able to provide some assistance in the form of training, or may even take her back for a period of time while she gets professional help. But it sounds like as she is now she is a danger to both you and your dogs, and you are going to have to consider alternatives. You also need to seek medical assistance for yourself as well; dog bites can easily become infected and often need antibiotic therapy. I'm sorry, I know this must be a very difficult situation for you.

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