I agree with you, big time. It's so stressful to have a dog that isn't well behaved. Jade has so many problems. She's 10 or so now and they are seriously ingrained, but manageable.

She hates kids and MUST be muzzled around them, she isn't calm around other dogs, and may attack a bitch she decides is trouble. She's fine with males. She has no recall and must be leashed when outside, lest she bolts up the hill.

She growls and snarls at people sometimes, and she has a level of food aggression as well but not towards me, thankfully. I always have to watch her reactions to things... and make sure her harnesses etc. are in good shape. Forbid something breaks. If she is to be in crowds, she must be muzzled.

She's also scared of her own shadow, flinching and whipping her head back if she hears a loud noise. She won't allow her paws to be held, and she HATES water. Both cause problems for maintenance.

If we have visitors (extremely rare), she must be crated... and muzzled and she still barks and growls the entire time. I do my best to keep her OUT of situations she doesn't do well in. She won't touch toys or anything, so I can hardly use those to distract her.

It's a lot of trouble... and though I never make those mistakes with my puppy... dealing with a dog with so many issues an be far from fun.

Housebreaking was extremely hard, too (she was an outdoor dog) and she still sometimes pees on the floor at night, but never when she's crated... weird. She also uses all her pit bull power to... snatch on her leash on walks. I am large and strong, and can handle her, thankfully.

My mother cannot walk her, for she has pulled her over a few times, causing some pretty ugly injuries. My mother is small, weak and arthritic. I told her that there was no point, and took over completely. Jade is aging and weakening, which helps a little, as well.

But Jade has settled in nicely and she has Nigredo to lead her a bit, as he's a well behaved little guy. I got her a coupling thingy for their walks... letting Nigredo dictate the pace, as she follows more than leads when it comes to him... helps a LOT with things.

All in all... it's pointless to let a dog get out of control... because it's hard to bring them back, sometimes impossible and it's NOT fun having to try!