A pitbull-red heeler we brought home as an adult has been with us for nearly four years, after bouncing from home to home during the first years of his life. He has experienced the birth of two babies into our home, the introduction of a much smaller dog (also an adult), several dogs coming and going as we fostered them for other people. After a month of 'umbilical' training and constant involvement and work on my part he went from a wild-eyed hurricane that had no notion how to live in a house to a well behaved joy to be around. He does not eat my food, he does not sleep in my bed unless I invite him, he does not pull on the leash, he has a good recall, I can direct him to go anywhere in the house by pointing.
I can take a piece of chicken that I gave him right out of his mouth if I want to, and yes I've tried it. He is willing to be used as furniture by my kids, or to pull them down the street in a wagon. He has had little fingers poked into his eyes, nose, ears, had his tail pulled, toes fiddled with, most of this by kids he meets out in the street. He can stand firm with an entire soccer team of screaming girls running to meet him after practice with hands full of cookies and juice and greet each one quietly, with never an attempt to jump or steal their food.
He is just about as close to bomb-proof as I can imagine, and he's only gotten better with age. Now you're telling me I might as well be training him to attack my kids (your words) because somewhere lurking in the dark recesses of his doggy nature is some magical 'trigger' that will turn him into an attack machine, the existence of which is confirmed only by your opinions, which were gleaned from other people's personal experience.
Puh-lease.
