Turns out Casa has some pitbull blood in her (a fact which I could have been more aware of). She was labelled as a lab/boxer cross at the SPCA, and even though they have disclaimers about not being 100% sure of the breed of the dogs, I feel a bit cheated. I have been concerned about her behaviour towards other dogs, but I thought it was because she was a stray or that she was just protective. Then she attack another dog for no reason. It was a retriever, larger and much older than her, who posed no threat and only wanted to say hello. She was fine and then just snapped and took some fur off his neck before I could pull her away.
Then this weekend we took her to my parents and tried to introduce her to Teddy (a pomeranian, shih tzu, yorkie, mutt, cross thing) and she just about came through the screen door to kill him. Now I know dogs fairly well and I understand that they fight for many reasons (dominance, protection, play) she has done it for none of these. Each time has been totally unprovoked and unecessarily extreme.
It was my dad who commented that she looked to have a slight pitbullish shape to her head and after much himming and hawwing I began to agree. Now I think it is unmistakable. Her body is that of a boxer, but she has the face of a pitbull. How could I have been so dumb? I would never, ever, ever get a pitbull or any dog with any shred of that blood in her.
The problem with pitbulls is that they are perfect pets for people. They love you and love you and want to please you at all times. They are perfect companions and can be the most gentle dogs in the world (if not a little rough just because of their size). But when it comes to other dogs they have been bred to hate them. Period. They hate all dogs equally and will fight to kill any of them. This is hardwired into their genes. Yes, it can be trained out...to a point. Every time you hear of a pitbull attacking a dog the owner always speaks of how gentle she was and how loving and that she would never hurt a fly. And it's true. They are fine until one day they snap and DNA takes over and they kill a dog or get confused and kill a small child. There is a reason why they are so controlled by the City and even banned in some places.
And now I have one in my house. Needless to say I have to take her back because I cannot have a dog that could snap at any time. That means you could never take her off leash to be fully excercised, could never trust her with other animals for a second and would always have to be leary around kids (I may want to have some some day). The worst part is that she is such an amazing dog in every other way. I could train her to do anything quite easily and she would be the most amazing pet at The House...95% of the time. But that other 5% would either kill me, having to watch her like a hawk, or kill something/one else. It's so hard to believe that that sweet face could kill, but I have seen it before and I can see a glimmer of it in her.
It's amazing how you can get so attached to an animal in 10 days, but I am quite heartbroken. I don't know if I want to try another dog for a while.
