New member with questions about my rescue pit.

Hi! I'm an 19 year old girl, from Chicago, and I've had dogs all my life - but never a Pit, so this is all new to me. I have a 3 year old female Black Lab and just recently put down my 14 year old male Black Lab, and now I have a black and white pit - about 6-7 months we're guessing (and I believe around 39 pounds from the last vet visit). A friend of mine was working on a home that had evicted it's owners six days earlier when he found a baby pit locked up in a cage without food or water - for a week. He was not tagged or chipped and I had been talking about how badly I wanted to adopt a pit-bull (I live in Chicago, and they are not the most loved breed of dogs around here, to put it gently, and I know how hard it is to find families for them). So, he brought Thor by my house for the night to see how he'd do with the other dogs and he hasn't left since that night 3 months ago. Thor is the love of my life, so sweet and snuggly, truly one of the most loving, loyal, protective dogs I've ever seen. However, being a rescue with no known background, it's hard to tell a lot of things about him - age, breed, expected size, temperament, etc., which is why I made an account on here to see what you guys think about it, since every vet I've seen has something completely different to say.

So now that I've introduced Thor and myself, here are a few of the questions I'm looking for answers to.

Breed
When I first saw Thor, I wasn't sure he was a full pit. Partially because I'd never seen a pit in real life - or at least up close, and the ones I'd seen in movies and pictures always had the cropped ears and tails, and he did not. I thought maybe a lab mix, but when I went to the vet, they suggested maybe a boxer. We put him down in the books as Boxer Mix, only because living in Chicago with a pet pit-bull is a pain in the ass. However, when I had to take him to the animal emergency room, the vets there laughed when I said that he was a Boxer-Pit mix, saying that he was full pit. I know it's hard to tell at his age, and we'll just have to wait til he's full-grown to tell how big he'll be or anything like that, since I don't know anything about either of his parents, but in your guys' opinions, what does he look like to you?

​

Temperament/Behavior
If there's anything I've learned from browsing through this site, it's that I should not bring Thor to the dog beach/park (which, in Chicago, I've felt weird about doing anyways). I've brought him to the beach once, and he was great. Thor is not an aggressive dog (though I know this could change any day), but he love, love, LOVES to play. And he is completely unaware of his strength. It's easy now for me to pull him out of a situation that looks like it could get out of control, but I know it won't always be, so I've decided not to take him anywhere off of his leash.
However, he and my 3 year old female lab play all the time. Tails wag and they both instigate it and seem upset when we separate it, but I wonder if it's alright for me to allow it to continue. She's a big girl, almost twice his weight, and can fight back pretty well when they play, but he's incredibly strong and I don't know if it could get nasty. They usually clash their open mouths together and growl, but sometimes he goes at her neck (the part that worries me). Is this okay for them to continue? Obviously I'd never let him go at another dog like this, I only condone it because they are friends and live together.

​

Also, since I cannot take him to big dog-socialization places such as the beach and the park and the only dog he regularly socializes with is my own lab, how do you suggest I get him used to other dogs? He goes crazy whenever I take him to the vet - barking and snarling and jumping and whining if he cannot get at another dog (and I'm still convinced this is not malicious, rather him wanting to play) - even the other day, when we brought him to get neutered, they said that most dogs come out of anesthesia calm and kind of out of it, but he came out of it jumping around and pouncing at other dogs and picking on an old, blind chihuahua.`I understand puppy energy, and I'm sure with age and being neutered, he'll chill out, but are there any other training techniques I could use?

Sorry for the lengthiness of this post, just trying to cover a lot of ground in one thing. Thanks so much for reading and hopefully you can help me out with this rowdy puppy!

​

 

He looks like a pit mix to me although there is no real way to tell. But in Chicago call him a boxer mix. I would watch him carefully because although he may be fine with other dogs now, that can change at any moment. Even the most socialized pit can flash if another dog needs to get checked. Socialize him as much as possible now that he is a pup. You might want to prepare to seperate him from the other dogs. Its better to be ready than to try to scrammble once he turns on, if he turns on. Use the search feature on this site and get as much info as you can.

 

Id be laughin at them vets for sayin it a pitbull, years of school n dnt know the difference between pitbulls n bullys.

 

Most vets now would call a bully a pitbull and look at a game dog and ask if its mixed with Lab. lol

 

Oh God I'm so bad at differentiating these bully breeds, and I'm going to be very cautious trying to use them, because I know the people on here are very proud of their APBTs and I don't want to be that obnoxious, uninformed new owner throwing out terms I don't understand. I do intend to keep him down as a Boxer Mix - as I have no paper work or family to look at to prove otherwise and it makes it easier on everyone if I don't acknowledge the "Pit" in him, or whatever else it may be - like when I brought him to the beach and everyone was commenting on how beautiful he was but when I answered their breed questions that he was a pit, they immediately retreated and asked me to take him away (I've never been so angry). He's a beautiful dog and I'm not worried about him being a purebred or whatever he's mixed with, just a matter of curiosity and I'd rather not pay for one of those genetics tests, though my vet would love me to because she's just as curious as I am.
So is it safe for me just to say that he's a pit-mix then? (Keep him boxer mix on paper, obviously).
And I'm definitely being very careful around other dogs with him, because I never realized how common it was for bully breeds to suddenly go from dog-friendly to dog-aggressive, and I do not want to take the risk - especially living in the city where they will just take any chance to hate on the breed. Thanks for your advice, SacRedboyOwner

 

Looks like a mixed breed of some kind without a pedigree or knowing the bloodlines of the parents you have no way of knowing what you own and no one can tell you otherwise. Most people including vets, and the so called media experts have no clue what an APBT looks like let alone what the true temperament of the Apbt is. You will hear people say all kinds of crazy, ignorant things about the APBT sadly most of it is from uneducated people who have never owned a real APBT and most of what they have seen or observed has been from shelter dogs who have no known background. The average Joe will call your dog a pit anyway because they just don't know what a real APBT should look like and represent trait wise. Your dog is very young so socializing him with your house lab will not really be a problem. HOWEVER when your pup grows and matures do not be surprised if that same cute puppy that loved it's lab friend growing up tries to kill your lab. It happens as these dogs begin to sexually mature their genetics begin to come front and center and you will see what these dogs are made of. This is not to scare you rather to prepare you for the truth no matter how well you raise them or train them genetics always overrides everything else. The American Pit bull Terrier was created and genetically hard wired to fight they are a combat breed so Dog Aggression is in the genes and it's passed along from generation to generation. You can socialize your pup as much as you need to using controlled methods always keep the dog leashed and never take your dog to a place where there will be other dogs let to roam free off the leash. Obedience classes are a great place to take a pup not only will your pup learn basic obedience he will have a chance to socialize under a controlled environment. Never leave your dogs alone at home unsupervised if you have to leave them crate them separately. These dogs because of their nature do not need dog friends even with proper socializing and training there is no guarantee that it will stick with the dog once it fully matures. But basic obedience will at least give you control over your dog so when it's in public you can get in and out without any real problems that doesn't mean the dog won't bark at other dogs it might but you can quickly focus their attention back on you and get the dog out of any potentially dangerous situations. Never trust your dog not to fight and be prepared for a fight by having a parting stick or a break stick readily available and you will be ok. A parting stick should always be in the home of any responsible APBT/Pit Bull Mix Owner's home. You should get one and learn how to properly use it because god forbid the day should come where you need it and don't have one available. Don't be afraid or ashamed to acknowledge the fact you own a breed with such a history the reward or pay off to dealing with this breeds genetics is that they will do absolutely anything for their owners the loyalty that they have to their owners and their families is like none other. Welcome to game-dog.

 

Will neutering him curb at least some of these aggressive tendencies or is that something that is different for each dog? We got him neutered a few days ago and are hoping that will calm him down at least a little bit. And it's not the energy and playfulness we're trying to stop, I can handle him running through the house and yard all day, I'm not the least bit worried about that, it is just the thing that everyone keeps bring up about these sweet puppies getting older and something just switching and becoming aggressive. After reading through pages and pages on this forum, I have decided to buy a break stick and sign him up for training (as it has proven to be much more difficult to train him than it was for my two labs - not to say he isn't smart, he's brilliant, it's just a different world of things I need to cover with him). Thanks so much for all the information, I will absolutely keep all of that in mind while raising and training him.

 

No neutering him will not alter his genetics. That's why I am trying to be honest and upfront with you because most people will feed you a bunch of lies about how great these dogs can be with other dogs if they are raised right. It's a big lie and a painful disappointment to the owner when they find out how the dog really is once it hit's 2. Sometimes the owner can't handle the dog it's genetics are just way too much and so they give them to a shelter and the cycle continues. That's why they say these dogs are not for everyone. If you can love and accept them for what they are you will have no problems keeping your dog safe by not setting them up to fail. We have to protect our dogs from themselves if that makes sense. If they fail we do too and we are the ones ultimately to blame. Just use common sense and don't get upset or frustrated with your dog for displaying what's completely normal for this breed. Dog Aggression is not a big deal and with these dogs they are not Dog Aggressive because of lack of socialization. They are dog aggressive because of their genetics they were selected and bred for dog fighting so years of breeding for this purpose is why training doesn't eliminate that trait from the gene pools or the dogs. Training does help control the dog aggression but most of it again depends on the owner and how willing they are to accept the truth and reality of the breed. Training will never turn the Dog Aggression off but it will allow you to gain enough control over the dog to prevent something awful from happening.

 

You should of neutered him when he was around 1 year old. Dont expect that because he got snipped that he will not become dog aggressive. I think buying a break stick is smart. Enjoy him and give him some activity to keep him tired.

 

I agree with neutering the dog just because it's technically a mutt and you have no way to prove it's linage or the traits behind it so breeding should not even be something you would want to consider with a dog from unknown traits. So IMO it's always wise to alter a dog that is a product of these situations unknown breedings from unknown traits.

 

I don't see the boxer mix part.Although a mixed breed terrier is always how you identify your dog to the public. The muzzle and the tail seem to be a little long for a pure pit. Good luck with him. I think him and your lab will get a long fine. I just wouldn't leave them alone together. Neuter him.

 

wow, great advice from sadieblues, my pit type mutt is already DA at 10months old yet she loves on any human, child and stranger alike. I have raised male pits through maturity and I do see warning signs that lead up to `the switch` if you will, but honestly your time would be better spent teaching them that being locked in seperate rooms when mommy is gone is not a punishment. Best of luck, and welcome to the forum

 

Welcome to Gamedog! Good luck with your rescue, listen to Sadies she's pretty honest in a non sarcastic way. Good shit on rescueing the pup.

 

Yo cailin I wouldn't worry abt it to much, it'll only be a Lil scruffle