Nikkis Mommy
05-09-2005, 01:24 AM
We recently lost our best friend of 12 years, a Bernese Mt. Dog mix, at the same time we were presented with the opportunity to adopt a 5 1/2 mo. old female Pit Bull. She was abandoned by some FABULOUS people with no food, water, or shelter when they were evicted from their apartment. Fortunately for her, the man who worked for the company that owns the apts. is a dog person. These kind folks took her in, had her spayed, updated on vacc,and brought up to a good weight.
I would like to know if I am on the right track-
I asked everything I could think- good with other dogs of both sexes? good with cats? good with kids? I liked what her foster mommy had to say so...
When we went to meet her we took our Rottie and my 2 yr. old godson who has been around my dogs since birth and stays with me once a week. He is very respectful to my animals. I wanted to look for any "red flags". She was very friendly, not head shy. She was excited about my godson but not overly-interested in him. She gave him a little kiss and you could see her body language get very happy when he approached her. She was friendly with my Rottie but not super-submissive. She is very playful but not overly mouthy.She's very good with potty-training and is crate-trained. When I feed her she sits before she eats and I have hand fed her ( I thought this might be good given her starvation situation). I had my family over for dinner- there were 3 toddlers, an infant and 5 extra adults and Nikki was a gem! She plays wonderfully with my 2 dogs and is a great cuddler!
I can't believe that someone would abandon a wonderful dog like her or that we would find her right when we needed her beautiful spirit to lift us, or that she would be so well-adjusted.
I am assuming the idiots that had her before never vacced her so I am waiting to take her to the park or join her up in any obedience until she is boostered. Given how quickly she is learning sit/stay/ etc. I am considering skipping basic obed, and going to advanced and hopefully on to agility someday. Any advice is appreciated so we can be sure that she is a life long, happy member of our family.
I would like to know if I am on the right track-
I asked everything I could think- good with other dogs of both sexes? good with cats? good with kids? I liked what her foster mommy had to say so...
When we went to meet her we took our Rottie and my 2 yr. old godson who has been around my dogs since birth and stays with me once a week. He is very respectful to my animals. I wanted to look for any "red flags". She was very friendly, not head shy. She was excited about my godson but not overly-interested in him. She gave him a little kiss and you could see her body language get very happy when he approached her. She was friendly with my Rottie but not super-submissive. She is very playful but not overly mouthy.She's very good with potty-training and is crate-trained. When I feed her she sits before she eats and I have hand fed her ( I thought this might be good given her starvation situation). I had my family over for dinner- there were 3 toddlers, an infant and 5 extra adults and Nikki was a gem! She plays wonderfully with my 2 dogs and is a great cuddler!
I can't believe that someone would abandon a wonderful dog like her or that we would find her right when we needed her beautiful spirit to lift us, or that she would be so well-adjusted.
I am assuming the idiots that had her before never vacced her so I am waiting to take her to the park or join her up in any obedience until she is boostered. Given how quickly she is learning sit/stay/ etc. I am considering skipping basic obed, and going to advanced and hopefully on to agility someday. Any advice is appreciated so we can be sure that she is a life long, happy member of our family.