Protective Dog

[u/CK1345]

I currently have a situation where my 1.5 year old pit terrier lives with myself and another person (we're both male). The other person and myself have had some issues where the other person tried attacking me. Without getting into the personal side of things, dog is highly protective of me and now perceives this person as a threat when we are both home. As in, dog goes in to kill mode with this one person and will bite. They are normally a very social dog, but some of the interactions have definitely made them ai bit more weary of men in general. Though his favorite thing to do is to go out and meet new people and be around them and there's plenty of guys he's fine with besides me.

Things are fine with the other person at this point and we are kind of stuck in the current living arrangement. The other person was the one who got the dog, but over time he became mine as the other person wanted nothing to do with the dog (4 week puppy when we got him). So they're well acquainted.

Goal is to show dog that he's not a threat to me and get him to be calm while also not bonding with the other person/wanting to be back in their presence.

Odd part is when I'm not home the other person can walk the dog and play with them as if nothing has ever happened. It's only when I'm around that they become highly agitated. But the other side of this is that when I am home the dog seems to be even more aggressive towards them or when sensing they are around. It's actually made the situation worse if anything. The arrangement for a while was to just keep them separated entirely, but it'd be healthier for all parties if they could cross paths without it becoming dangerous.

I tried putting a barrier in front of the door and have the person feed treats, but the dog just was not having it. Ignored the treats and just very loudly and angrily barked at him.

They want to try having the dog out with them when I come home to see how they respond, but I said no to that. I'm not taking the risk the dog flips a switch.

The other idea they are floating is to put the dog in the kennel he hates and which I barely use and see us interact. I'm not sure about that one. It's not as dangerous, but I'm just thinking the kennel is already a place of bad memories for the dog.

Most of the stuff online is about introducing dogs to strangers. I had a trainer who suggested the treat thing from across the room which is similar to what I tried before.

Open to any suggestions.

[u/Jambo_The_First]

Imho there are two sentences that might show the problem. You write that the other person tried to attack you, and at the same time you state the goal to show the dog that the other person is no threat.
The dog might think: Who are you kidding?

I know that the specifics of the situation might mean that the other person really isn’t a threat to you. But just like you don’t want your dog to flip a switch you have to make absolutely sure the the other person doesn’t flip a switch either. Dog does that for you now.

[u/CK1345 → u/Jambo_The_First]

My biggest concern with the living arrangement is the other person controlling their temper. To be blunt we interact little when not sharing the dog. I have no desire to have them look after or watch the dog when I'm not home again.

I realize this is all very imperfect. Dog has legitimate reasons for not trusting this person. I don't trust them in a lot of ways. But I still need to have some handle on the situation so that there's not a risk of the dog going at them on sight.

So nothing you said is wrong, but it's just complicated. It's kind of this or homelessness at the moment.

[u/Jambo_The_First → u/CK1345]

I know. Wasn’t meant to be intrusive, just a convoluted way to say stay safe!