Fearful of what my pit may become - please help with advice

Re: Fearful of what my pit may become – please help with advice

Hmmm, the pictures were of APBT's that he showed us, and October looks exactly like an APBT. He is a good friend and I have known about his dogs for quite sometime, so I know it wasn't just some pics he grabbed off the net. There is no way that he could be that big? I think I just really need to talk to him again, hopefully he gets back from out of town soon because now I am really confused. Damn misinformation, grrr.....

 

Re: Fearful of what my pit may become – please help with advice

The standard is usually a weight range of 30-60lbs on an APBT. Yes, there are registered APBTs that are that big but there is a huge debate on whether or not these are true APBTs. There are know crosses of larger breeds in the background of many of these giants.

 

Re: Fearful of what my pit may become – please help with advice

Wow, okay, I am learning a lot today. Thanks guys.

 

Re: Fearful of what my pit may become – please help with advice

The picture - still cute as can be, I see now it was a down aimed shot... I was trying to figure that one out, LOL

 

Re: Fearful of what my pit may become – please help with advice

and there are pure bred APBTs that certainly do weigh over 60 pounds..usually 70 -75 pound range, allthough I have had some considerably bigger, these arent the norm.. just the same as there are pure bred APBTs who weight less than 30 pound.

 

Re: Fearful of what my pit may become – please help with advice

Glad you pointed that out...lol Nothing is set in stone, I personally have quite a few that are around or under the 30lb mark..lol

 

Re: Fearful of what my pit may become – please help with advice

Forgive me for maybe stating the obvious but if he lives with 4 OTHER dogs how much more socializing do you want him to get?

 

Re: Fearful of what my pit may become – please help with advice

I understand that but with an APBT out of pack socializing isn't always the best idea because of potential aggression issues. A responsible owner understands that "out of pack" socializing should be in a controled envirnoment and very limited.

 

Re: Fearful of what my pit may become – please help with advice

the best advice i can give is to check with your friend when he gets back. there are two many breeders who don't inform buyers about the dangers of owning this breed and precautionary steps to take to avoid things like attacks happening. ask your friend if there's a pedigree, did he know the people where he got his dogs, are they or have they been aggressive,this breed was origanaly for fighting so there will always be aggression issues. the most important thing to remember is this is not your or your dogs fault. these gennes are passed down through breedings and the breeders should have know this before hand. a good and responsible breeder is not affraid to let you know the traits and or faults of his line. in my opinion they should always be open for ?'s and interview or have ?'s of their own before a sale is made. this is to insure it is the best situation for the dog and new owner. good luck with your dog.

 

Re: Fearful of what my pit may become – please help with advice

I want a dog that I can have around other dogs, that I can take on walks in public, that I can trust not to turn on other animals. Have I chosen the wrong type?

 

Re: Fearful of what my pit may become – please help with advice

It is important that you enforce the pack order if you want your dogs to get along. Don't allow them to compete for dominance. Feed them in a certain order; give them affection in a certain order; if you leave the house with them, take them out in a certain order. Most definitely do not allow them to steal each others' treats or toys, or bully each other for affection - not even once, if you can possibly help it. Things must be done in order of "rank" to have the best hopes of preventing any problems. A big problem I tend to see is when people will introduce a new pup into a household, where it becomes the center of attention, often taking precedence over the other dogs (everyone loves a new cute puppy.) Sometimes the older dogs will scold the new one for whatever reason by growling, snapping, etc, and then be reprimanded for behaving in such a way. This is one of the worst things that can be done. The dogs should always be allowed to put a new one in its place as long as they aren't inflicting physical harm. This is an essential part of the process. What usually happens though, is that the new pup will invade an older one's space, the older dog will promptly growl or snap, sending the young one running and yelping out of fear and hurt feelings, and the older dog is punished for making the baby cry, so to speak. This is never a good action to take. The dogs have to know their place in the pecking order, and a situation that may be taken as a challenge to one's rank should not be allowed to occur.
Currently I have four dogs in my house: two - a male and a female, are proven gamedogs and multiple winners; a 15-month-old daughter of the two, who is just pure fire; and a female chihuahua. They all get along because they know their place in the order of things. This takes a lot of work, dedication, and vigilance on my part. With that being said, I have a couple of 4-month-old pups inside as well, but they have to be kept in a totally separate part of the house due to the fact that the older ones - minus the chi - would kill them if given an opportunity. It's as simple as that. Now I have other dogs that absolutely do not get along, but they are outside dogs with no learned pack order. They have to be separated from one another at all times.
The bottom line is that even the most aggressive dogs can learn to get along if their pack order is enforced by the "alpha" dog, which is you!

 

Re: Fearful of what my pit may become – please help with advice

Being a pit bull owner means being extremely responsible. If you choose to own more than one, you should be very prepared to take extra precautions. Never leave your dogs unsupervised, prevent anything that can cause possibly cause a fight, etc. If you have four dogs, you should make sure that the pack is in order, with YOU being top/alpha dog. Every one has given you great advice here. Most important, though, NEVER TRUST YOUR PIT BULL NOT TO FIGHT!! They are pit bulls and no matter how you raise them, no matter how much you socialize, and no matter if they are raised together or not, they are still inclined to fight. You cannot deny what they were bred for. I'm glad to hear that you aren't giving up on your dog, though Some people are so quick to dump whatever they don't understand.

 

Re: Fearful of what my pit may become – please help with advice

"Currently I have four dogs in my house: two - a male and a female, are proven gamedogs and multiple winners; a 15-month-old daughter of the two, who is just pure fire; and a female chihuahua. They all get along because they know their place in the order of things."

did you not read rockstars post? and if you did then how did you come up with this statement? and raising them CORRECTLY has everything to do with it. i have two that stay in the house, one is 6 months and the other is almost three years old. like said before, they know their place. they have no reason to compete for attention because they both get the same amount. the older one hates other dogs with a passion, while the younger one is still ok around them (for now). all "pitbulls" arent the same, so just because one (or more) acts a certain way, it doesn't mean the next one will act the same.

"Never leave your dogs unsupervised"

i leave mine unsupervised all the time and never had a problem. once again it goes back to how they were raised and if they know their place.

 

Re: Fearful of what my pit may become – please help with advice

It All Depends On How You Raise Them... They Can Be Aggresive Or Be Friendly... I Seen Alot Of Friendly Dogs As Friendly As A Black Lab... Its All Up To The Owner And What Purpose He/she Raises The Dog For...

 

Re: Fearful of what my pit may become – please help with advice

Badnews, perhaps I didn't say it the way I wanted to come out. What I was trying to say is that no matter what, there is always a chance your pit bull could get into a fight. This doesn't make it a bad dog, but they are more inclined than other breeds to fight with another dog. I think that for the experienced pit bull owner, we know what to expect, we know how to prevent the obvious from happening and are generally more prepared for the possibility of anything. From the sounds of this person, this is her first pit bull, she clearly doesn't know anything about their temperment, and should not be so lax in his training/socializing. In my opinion, first time pit bull owners believe that the dogs temperment is all in their raising. I just don't believe this to be true. I did read rockstars post. I noticed that her house dogs can live in a particular order. But, I also noticed this"

Doesn't this basically prove what I said? That you can't trust your pit bull NOT too fight. Now, I do not know the whole situation, so I am not sure why her other dogs would kill the pups. But, she is responsible enough to be aware of this and keeps her pups totally seperated from the other dogs.

Again, I feel that an experienced pit bull owner could keep his dogs in line at all times. But pit bulls are not like other breeds. This person is a first time pit bull owner, and I think that it would be wise of her to keep her dogs seperated when she is not their to supervise. It's just my opinion, not gospel.

 

Re: Fearful of what my pit may become – please help with advice

No offense to everyone, but to try to say that how you raise them will determine if they'll fight with each other or not is retarded. I have a few female dogs that got into fights with absolutely no encouragement - they were raised 'right' - were healthy, etc. Maybe I missed something somewhere, but there are some dogs that are much more inclined to get into fights - no matter how you raise them.

 

Re: Fearful of what my pit may become – please help with advice

ok i agree with what you're saying on this post. but your last post was if you were telling her that no matter how you raise them, they are still gonna fight. and that is true sometimes but not all the time. for this to be her first pitbull and know little about the breed, you were teaching her that all pitbulls can not live with other dogs no matter what you do or how you train them, and that wasn't true. if you're gonna teach her then tell her the good things with owning this breed and also tell her the bad things that COULD happen. you told her the bad things already, but you left out the good things, and that right there could turn another person against this breed. my advice to her is to read read read read read, and when you're done reading read some more cause you will never know everything about this breed. in order to be a good owner of this breed, you have to have the will to learn.

"This person is a first time pit bull owner, and I think that it would be wise of her to keep her dogs seperated when she is not their to supervise."

i agree 100%

 

Re: Fearful of what my pit may become – please help with advice

no one said you could raise EVERY pitbull not to fight with each other, but that it could be done with some of them, and even with that some it takes time. maybe you misunderstood what was said. go read a few post back and you will see that some of us have pitbulls that live together without it being a problem. so, just because yours CAN'T live together doesn't mean the next person will have the same situation. once again all pitbulls are not the same.

"there are some dogs that are much more inclined to get into fights - no matter how you raise them"

this is true, but the key word is SOME.

 

Re: Fearful of what my pit may become – please help with advice

Thanks so much for all of your replies. I have gone into hardcore training and reading mode these past few weeks. I am almost finished with Pitbulls for Dummies and when I am done with that I will move on to some more advanced books. I have been taking him on about 3 to 4 walks a week (he loves them!) around my neighborhood to get him used to being around other dogs and people, and last night we went out around significantly busy intersections and strip malls with lots of loud noises and people. He did really well aside from being scared of a few big trucks.

We have also been practicing new commands (he has pretty mastered sit) using treats and the clicker method, as well as stay. He already heels during walks like a pro. He was getting stopping, sitting down, and staying until I give the command to go before we cross the street last night. <O:p</O:p

He got a new bone yesterday, when one of the other dogs got near it he jumped at her (the Yorkie) and was reprimanded for it. The hard thing for me is that if he gets scared he pees, so he started pissing all over the floor. It breaks my heart but I know it has to be done. <O:p</O:p

I really appreciate all of your help, it’s helping me come to understand and responsibly own the puppy I love so much.

 

Re: Fearful of what my pit may become – please help with advice

My post was mostly directed at Jeep's comment. I know there are instances where pit bulls can live together in harmony. I also understand that Jeep didn't mean ALL pit bulls, but to someone unfamiliar to this breed they may take his comment to mean any two pit bulls can live together peacefully.