Dog Health Questions: Can I get a court order to have a dog trained?

My roommate has a 10 month old pit-boxer mix. A week ago, in her usual greeting, the dog jumped up on my six year old niece and busted her lip open. She is not a bad dog (even though some people are wary of pits) she just needs trained. Her owner has said out-loud that she didn't get a dog to have to watch it's every move. We DO NOT want the dog to be put down, we just want to make sure she is treated well and is trained properly. Can my nieces mother get a court order to have the dog trained correctly?

Dog Training - Instructions to Train Your Dog

Recommended Answer:
It's none of your business if your roommate trains her dog. Nor will a judge order the dog destroyed for jumping up. If the dog attacks, it is a different matter, but that WILL result in the dog being destroyed, not trained. Your roommate will also be criminally liable.

It is extremely irresponsible to own a pit bull or pit cross without training it properly. Pit bulls were BRED to fight, that is their default breeding. Yes, they can be perfectly safe under the right conditions and training, but without training it is very possible that under the wrong conditions (which can be a simple as a small child getting in the dog's face) the dog will revert to its genetic heritage. Pits are not just dangerous because they attack it is also HOW they attack, which is bred into the breed. They typically go for the neck, and lock their jaws. It is very easy for a pit bull to kill a small child.

Crate Training Your Dogs - Ultimate Dog Training Method

• I don't believe so.
  
  I think the 4 options are:
  
  1) Do nothing and let the behavior continue
  2) Don't bring your niece around the animal
  3) Get a court order to have the animal put down for aggressive behavior and the owner responsible for all "damages"
  4) Call animal control for animal neglect, because the owner isn't responsibly taking care of what is considered to be dangerous animal.


• Your roommate sounds like another irresponsible pit bull owner. Just what the world needs. You both need to talk. Give her three options: 1. train the dog 2. get rid of the dog 3. move out. This dog is a law suit waiting to happen. If it were my daughter who had been injured I would have sued her for damages. Good luck.


• Sorry, she can't.
  Pit Bulls are dangerous dogs that act on Instinct. No amount of training is going to guarantee that the dog will never bite anyone else again.
  Your roomie is an irresponsible dog owner. Pit Bulls have to be watched very carefully.


• If a dog doesn't want to be trained, a court would have a difficult time enforcing such a ruling.
  
  It's kind of like the advice against trying to teach a pig to count. It wastes your time and it annoys the pig.


• No. The court wouldn't have jurisdiction to step in to make a dog behave because it misbehaved


• No. Your nieces mother has no right to request that the dog owner train her animal.