Pit puppy with small dogs

Hi, I just took in a 4 month old pit puppy (male) who is extremely calm and very sweet, he doesnt seem like a typical puppy (chewing, playing nonstop, etc). I do have a 5 yr old male shih tzu at home and I am reconsidering adopting the pit to save my shih tzu from any issues that may arise down the road as the pit gets old and any DA we dont see now kicks in. Doesnt anyone have any advice or similar situations to help?

 

How do you know what breed that 4 month old male pup is? Do you have papers? If not it could be an Am Staff or something else. Anyway regardless if he is an APBT then he should be DA although he may not be, but to be safe always assume he will be. Also your shih tzu may start a fight and if it does and you're not around it could be the last mistake it makes. Never leave the dogs together unsupervised. Get a break stick and learn how to use it. If he does show DA and/or animal aggression don't blame him, it's not his fault. It's your responsibility to ensure he doesn't get himself into trouble. If he turns out to be a bulldog you may have to adopt a crate and rotate strategy to keep him permanently separated from your other dog. These dogs weren't bred to have dog friends and as long as you meet his needs he will be fine. Do not let off leash in public places, no dog parks etc. Even if he is mellow and calm a fight could start over anything like a toy or a piece of food and when these dogs fight they can go hard and fast and may be shocking to you what can quickly escalate, so arm yourself with the knowledge in advance and be prepared.

 

Show us a picture of him and best of luck cause your going to need it

 

I would expect them to be fine if they are of opposite sex. I agree with the dog park advice however.

 

keep em separated when you are not around..

 

Basically you can do what ever you want, just make sure your prepared to live with and deal with the consequences.

Experience equals less consequences.

Little to no experience equals a lot of consequences LOL.

 

All good advice. I've seen dogs that were raised together be the best of friends until that one day. Supervision is the best route.

 

Dogs are dogs.

If your shi tzu is a stable one, your APBT puppy when matures will just be as friendly as a toy.

But i'll tell you one thing, i dont like mixing toy/small dogs with APBT because if one day for some reason, toy/food/attention... your APBT feels confrontated/challenged and decides your shi tzu needs a leason... the result will be a small poor dead dog, even if you are there with your break stick in your hand, with a single bite a small dog could be fatally injured.

 

...is there a ""FULL-MOON""...ALL THESE PEOPLE JUS POPING UP WITH THESE ...Q-ING'S/?????.....w.t.f............lollllllllll

 

An APBT and a Shi Tzu? You won't need to get a break stick, go get yourself a good shovel.

 

Crate and rotate when you cannot supervise. Get yourself a breakstick and do your research the pit bull breed and dog aggression. No dog parks, ever.

 

Do you really want to change your whole lifestyle for a rescue dog?
crating and rotating,avoiding the public when on walks,potential for chewing when it grows up and wants out etc

and even then without any experience there is a good chance something will go wrong with your dog or someone else's at some point.

Plenty of people will take the pup off your hands just try and find someone clued up.

 

In my college days, I'd bring my very DA pit bull home on breaks and vacations and my parent's bossy miniature schnauzer (also a male) yapped to no end at him over the years, and a mark was never left. There were times the miniature schnauzer would push too far and my pit bull would have the schnauzer on his back and in a completely submissive position within a breadth of a second, but he never hurt him. And it only happened rarely (and said Schnauzer would go off humbled like Scut Farkus).


That said, an intact male my pit bull's size or larger? That was all he ever really got aggressive over.