Had my first dose of reality today

ok so as you all know i have a now 8 1/4 week old puppy and she is GREAT!! i love her soooooo much and i am so glad that i waited and got a good girl that came from a good home and everything, but today we were at petsmart for our weekly meet and greet there (that is what we call it since pepper is usually covered in admirers) and i had a couple come up and of course pepper's tail was "fwip fwip fwip" and just being as happy and sweet as always, and then the lady asked what she was....oddly i get asked that A LOT! and I could tell by her tone that she was suspicious and knew the quick "pit bull" answer wouldnt do, so i said "she is an american pit bull terrier puppy" and quickly added "that has obviously found a new friend...she is so happy to have so much attention!" and smiled...the women stood back up and shook her head and said "oh, ...well....um....*why* would you want a dog like *that*?" I said "well, i dont know what you mean, but i wanted a good dog for my son to grow up with and she won our hearts" and she said" you have a *child* with that kind of dog???" and then huffed a little and turned and walked away from us in the aisle while pepper's tail was still fwip fwip fwipping away....good thing she doesnt know an insult!!! how sad was that feeling! wow! now i know a small bit of what the rest of the APBT owners have to go through all the time!

 

I hear you, but you just gotta grow a thick skin & educate when you can. Ignoring ignorance like that is sometimes best- Lest you end up beating your head against a wall for hours on end.

 

It happens constantly. When people make a big deal all we can do is educate them as best we can. I always say Id rather stick my son in a room full of APBTs than a room full of ankle biters.

 

Get used to it, people are prejudiced over more than just skin color.

 

thanks guys! i hated to complain to you all but my fiancee has the "just fu** it" attitude and approach and no one I know would understand! thanks guys!

 

You can only educate those who wish to be educated.....

 

It happens to pit owners all the time. I had my 9 week old puppy in petco the other day and a little girl ask if she could pet him. The little girls mom ask what kind of dog he was. When I told her that he was a pit bull she about passed out. She grabbed her daughter and walked off and told her she couldn't pet dogs like that because they are dangerous. You just have to over look stupid people.

 

Silly woman!im with your guy f*** it,you probb` wont see her again .
if you do ask`sorry but what is wrong with my little puppy?????
,she is the
one at fault not you.
dont worry,just forget it.
people like this should NOT own a dog (any breed).


ps.she looks lovely

 

I know the feeling, I took my dog to my sons grandparents place a few weeks ago & heard the mother of the young guy next door tell her son to stay away from where we were , that there was a man eater over there, it does upset you to hear that. I,m wondering if there is such a thing as a pitbull complex, I think I have it. For example where I live there is a chow next door to me,, 2 golden retreivers across the road, and various other dogs around the neighborhood, who all bark at people or other dogs that go by, but when I,m outside and my boy starts barking I quickly take him in the house because I don,t want the neighbors thinking I have the big bad pitbull & this is do to all the hype you here on the news and read in the papers. Anyone else feel like this in their neighborhood???or am I just a nutzoid,,,lol.

 

baker that sucks!!! your baby is only a 1/2 week older than mine!

thanks luke, maybe i will adopt the f*** it attitude too! you can make all the people happy all the time right?

aceman i am the same way!! pepper sound like a lion when she wants to play growling and barking at other dogs but her tail is just flippin like crazy but i can always feel myself getting all red and i apologize like crazy trying to let the people know that she is JUST wanting to play and nothing bad!!! and yes, i will make a speedy get away if she starts getting loud!! so i think i too have the complex!

 

At that age, it probably is nothing more than play....but understand for many mature bulldogs, fighting is play. Dont always accept a wagging tail as proof the dog has your intents in mind! When two gamedogs went at it (historically) their tales were going 100 miles an hour. Many dogs wont even bark or growl, they whine and whine to be released. I know it doesnt mean much to you now, but its something you should store in your memory banks for later being a new APBT owner.

 

thanks, although that scares me a little, i am soooooo scared of having a mean dog, not towards people....she OBVIOUSLY loves people!!! but towards other dogs....how do i curb this.?

 

You should have gotten a different breed then. They are DA, they are known to develop DA and sometimes cannot handle themselves around other dogs. Red was really good around other dogs till about a year old adn then she was snippy. Now, She is Da and I really don't care as I realized this was a breed trait when I got her. She can work around other dogs and will hold a down-stay even when approached by another dog(happened in PetsMart today). But let me make a handling mistake and she's going to take advantage and try and eat the other dog. For me it's a given, just means I have to be more aware and a better handler than most. We get on the training field and she doesn't even notice the other dogs cause she is working. I socialized Red since she was 6 weeks old. She was around all sorts of people and dogs and like I said at around a year old she developed DA. Sometimes no matter what you do and you can do everything right and they are still DA. I would have told that lady, "Yeah, she's an APBT puppy and she's probably better mannered around people than any other dog in here." I'm not nice to ignorant people as I believe in culling and believe we should start with the "stupid" people first.

 

no i am happy i got the breed i did, i also do as much socializing as i can with her, all i was saying to 14rock was that i didnt know that the behavior she was expressing may have been aggressive, thats all. i plan on getting her properly trained.

 

That's what I was trying to relay to you. I DID all the PROPER socializing and training (do it myself) and as she "came into her own", she started getting DA and has been ever since. I DID EVERYTHING right. Up until she was 10 months old she'd play with all sorts of dogs and loved every dog she met. Not now. What I am trying to say, IS THAT EVEN WITH HAVING DONE EVERYTHING RIGHT, THERE IS STILL A CHANCE SHE WILL BE DA. This breed is not like a lab or golden, they are generally not good with other dogs. Thnak goodness, she ahsn't shown it to my other dogs that she lives with yet. I'm waiting though, cause I have a Rottie bitch that is dominant and they are arounf the same age. When it happens, if it does, it will be crate and rotate. DA is just a breed trait and you just have to accept that these dogs are NOT Dog park dogs.

 

Socialization is important, and you need to train some serious obedience work to get her to focus on you and not another dog when/if it becomes a problem. The truth is, APBT's are descendants of hunting dogs and fighters for hundreds of years...its not something you can "love" out of them in a few generations. There is absolutely nothing wrong with dog-aggression in this breed, if you are responsible enough to handle it! I just dont understand the logic in acquiring a fighting-breed-dog and wanting it to play nice with the pups at petsmart is all. I recommend some stratton books, they'll teach you the basics on which you can build more education on. Good luck, hope for the best, but prepare for the worst and you'll be fine.

 

Good Posting 14Rock. I never assumed my dog would get along with other dogs, just wishful thinking. My girl works and when in training mode will not break adown to get another dog. These aren't like labs.

 

i,m only a newbie so correct me if i,m wrong, but from what I read DA could come out at anytime throughout the dogs life, you could have the dog for years & be fine around dogs , then could just happen???

 

Ace: What you have read is correct, dog aggression (DA) can come out at any time. That is why is it never a good idea to let adolecent or adult pit bulls play w/ other dogs, even dogs they were raised with.

I would however, hesitate to say it comes "out of nowhere." It may appear to come "out of nowhere" to those who aren't versed in canine body language, but if you watch closely you will see the first fight is usually triggered by the other dog either overtly or subtly challenging the pit bull's territory or dominance. And once that first fight has occured, the dog is almost always lifelong DA after that.

I once had a female that we aquired as a pet. The fellow we got her from sold her to us b/c she was 2 years old, but wouldn't fight. This was fine with us as again, we were only looking for a pet. Well, shortly after we brought her home, our yard dog, a Rottweiler challenged her. The first time, nothing. The second time, nothing. We didn't think anything about letting her w/ the Rott b/c she seemed submissive to the Rott & the fellow we got her from assured us she was stone cold & wouldn't hit a lick. But the third time the Rott challenged her she grabbed that Rottie & killed it. And evermore after that she was looking for a fight.

Pepper's Mom: While pit bulls are great animals, if you are wanting a dog that plays nice with other dogs, the pit bull is not for you. You cannot train DA out. At the very least intensive training can give you a measure of control over your dog, but like Chrome said, you will have to be on your toes at all times b/c since the urge to fight can be great in this breed & some dogs will exploit any opening they see to engage in combat.

I have had dogs climb 6 ft. chain link fences, bust the doors off crates & even jump through windows to get at other dogs. So if Pepper ever "turns on" (becomes DA) you must always have your wits about you. As Chrome said, these dogs aren't Labs.


And don't let their sweetness & cuteness as puppies fool you. While they are cute as buttons & sweet as sugar as puppies those same cute, sweet little puppies can grow up to be dogs that will shred a dog with unmost prejudice.

And as a side note, in pit bulls DA is not "meanness." It is an instinct that has been bred into the dogs for 100+ years. To fight other dogs is as natural to a pit bull as running rabbits is to a beagle or treeing squirrels is to a feist. It is a completely natural behaviour in the breed & has nothing whatsoever to do w/ being "mean."

 

ok guys, thanks. i do have a qustion though....just b/c i am a little confused. are *all* or *most* APBTs aggressive like this? i am wondering b/c if they are, what happens at shows for them? i know its not a bloodbath, so what i am asking is, how do you have a social dog (whcih they obviously can be b/c everyone stresses socializing) and keep them "under control" if they are very DA? i know harnesses and collars and leather leads...we always used leather with the rotts, so what do you do? i am asking you all b/c i keep buying these books and all of them give different info on raising them. and no, i am not fooled by my puppy's charm....she is hell on wheels already and i am axiously awaiting obedience training time...another time frame by a book. thanks for any help, i am just wondering how you take a DA dog out in the world. ::lightbulb goes off:: maybe that is the toughness and frustration that makes many owners stick them in a yard forever and then they get mean?