Who has any experience with pit bulls?

[Andre46996]

First 2 years are going to be rough, they like to chew and are very energetic puppies. I recommend a Kong ball.

A DOG IS A REFLECTION OF ITS OWNER, if you teach it to be friendly it will, on the other hand if you teach it to be aggressive IT WILL!
If you choose to get one please take the time to train her or him correctly

Mine ate the Kong Ball, most of it anyway till I caught her!

They are very stubborn, smart, strong willed and training is a fulltime job.

 

[Jerry]

Mine ate the Kong Ball, most of it anyway till I caught her!

They are very stubborn, smart, strong willed and training is a fulltime job.

I caught my finace's pit eating one....

Try one of the BIG nylabones. The one her dog has has already lasted 5 months... Which is unherd of with that dog. Before the nylabone, the record was a week for a toy to last. Usually, within a week, it will be turned into a bunch of tiny pieces.

I remember reading that pit bulls need to exercise their jaws frequently (I forgot where), which would explain the frequent chewing.

 

[slimplmbr]

Bully breeds are the most loyal and loving dogs i have ever had or met. Some of the best tempemented dogs I've have met are pits. I've got 2 Boxers now and like any other bully breed the most loyal dogs. One thing though most bullies think they are lap dogs The only reasons that pits get a bad rap are ignorant owners and pits are such a strong dog. If you get an ignorant owner they can ruin any dog and make it a killer. Just like our trainer tells us "Bad dogs aren't born they are are taught."

 

[Timjoebillybob]

Never owned one, but have been around a few. All have been good dogs. But I don't hang out with the type of people that like "thug" dogs. As has been stated many times already it's the owner not the dog for the most part.

My wife had a Rotty (you know, the evil dog before we discovered Pit Bull Terriers). He was a doll-baby. Not too smart, but obedient to a fault (would "stay" and not move until she remembered to tell him to). Nearly perfect dog, until her cousin taught it to attack an arm guard (without asking her if he could). He got aggressive after that.

Any dog can be a good dog. Some breeds make better "pets", and others are working breeds. I'd say 75% or more is the owner, and the rest is the breed. I would not hesitate to adopt a pit or pit mix, assuming there were no obvious issues.

And before Rotties it was Dobermans and before them it was GSDs and before them it was....

But yep almost any dog can be a good dog, but I have to disagree that some make better "pets", some breeds do usually require different amounts of exercise and training but all of them can be good pets if you meet their needs.

They are somewhat STUBBORN, and training will require patience and time.

You must establish YOUR dominance with this breed as I mentioned earlier they are somewhat stubborn.

Qx2FT, my nephew has one and it had a tendency to play a bit rough (puppy teeth hurt) So I shown them the roll them on the back and wait for submission trick. I have never had a dog fight so hard or so long as that little . No joke I had to hold it on its back for well over 5 minutes before it settled down the first time. My brothers GF thought I was killing the dog from the way it was acting. They were all amazed though the second time I did it and the dog settled down in about 15 seconds.

But once again, killers are made, not born.

Almost entirely true, some dogs if they were human would be considered sociopaths. I have had the unfortunate experience of running into one. And for the record it wasn't a pit bull, it was a newfie that dog was just plain . Actually I have ran into 2, the second was a Dobe, I have never seen a dog other than that one attack nothing but air. Litterally it would jump at and bite down and shake it's head at nothing. It was like the dog was hallucinating, I actually think it was.

I've never seen a bad dog or a dog that's beyond redemption.

Josh

Josh I think you have worked with the "dog whisperer" if I remember correctly, the newfie I mentioned above was checked out by someone that supposedly had also. He recommended putting the dog to sleep as it was "insane" it loved my dad who adopted it from the previous owners when they couldn't keep it, it had bitten someone(for the third or fourth time).

I was known to the dog, fed it, lived with it, took it for walks etc. One day I gave it a treat as it was lying down and as I was turning away it went to attack. I got lucky and got hold of it's collar and was able to restrain it with only a few bites. I had hold of it's collar pinning it to the floor punching it in the head with everything I had and it's head would hit the floor and come up biting. I thought I had it choked out at one point and started to relax and dang if it didn't bite me again. I eventually dragged it down the hall and locked it into a bedroom because I didn't have a weapon handy and the bedroom was closer than the kitchen with knives.

 

[Benny]

Josh I think you have worked with the "dog whisperer" if I remember correctly, the newfie I mentioned above was checked out by someone that supposedly had also. He recommended putting the dog to sleep as it was "insane" it loved my dad who adopted it from the previous owners when they couldn't keep it, it had bitten someone(for the third or fourth time).

What? You mean he worked with Cesar?

 

[Wabatuckian]

Hello,

Not quite.

I was taught a few tricks over the course of a year by a student of the same teacher by whom Caesar was taught.

Different class, same method and lineage.

I totally subscribe to the dog "psychology" as it is just pack instinct.

Tim, I would have loved to work with the dog you mentioned.

Josh

 

[Timjoebillybob]

Hello,

Not quite.

I was taught a few tricks over the course of a year by a student of the same teacher by whom Caesar was taught.

Different class, same method and lineage.

I totally subscribe to the dog "psychology" as it is just pack instinct.

Tim, I would have loved to work with the dog you mentioned.

Josh

Ahh okay, I was close

And I believe in dog "psychology" also. But this dog was just plain nuts imo. It would go from a relaxed attitude to full on attack with absolutely no warning. Literally. When it attacked me, I had just given it a treat, it was lying on the floor relaxed ears and tail wagging, as soon as my back was to it, it went for my head/neck.

It did almost the exact same to my brother. It was laying down by my dad and my brother got up to get a can of pop from the kitchen. He got up from the chair and when his back was turned the dog went into attack mode and leaped for his head/neck area. He wasn't going towards my dad he was walking away.

 

[garlic_b]

My friends in Chicago have an American Pit Bull Terrier. (Imagine a pit bull, but bigger and lazier!) Wonderful dog. The gangbangers always ask about him. (They live on the south side of Chicago)

 

[GSPBirdDog]

Just like all my german shorthair pointers i have evr owned, genetics plays a big part in the game! I am not a big fan of pits but i do know there are some good bloodlines for them out there that has no aggresion in the genetics....Choose a reputable breeder and you will be fine...and get it at 8 weeks old as well

But the best advice i can give you is to scrap the idea of a pit bull and get ya a GERMAN SHORTHAIR POINTER That's my

 

[Benny]

But the best advice i can give you is to scrap the idea of a pit bull and get ya a GERMAN SHORTHAIR POINTER That's my

I was on board up until "ORTHAIR POINTER."

Replace that with "EPHERD" and I completely agree.

 

[linzal12]

I have two and they are by far the biggest lapdogs I have owned. The only problem I have had is keeping bones in the house for them to chew on.

 

[feriil]

Yep, my bothers is a huge lap dog, LOVES attention - starts to breathe heavy when you pet him, he plays with my moms Toy Poodle all the time and is very gentle - never hurts it.

If you raise them properly they are amazing dogs. He is protective of his territory from strangers and has bitten several people walking in unannounced though. Perfect dog IMO, defends from strangers and a huge heart towards those he knows.

 

[Disposable Heart]

Had experience fightin' one off once...



Would not suggest it....

From what I have heard, get a darn good trainer (or do so yourself) and they are GREAT animals, unlike the one that I wrestled with until the owners came out. FYI: City gassed the darn thing... All because the owners were foolish enough to not train it right.

 

[Wabatuckian]

Ahh okay, I was close

And I believe in dog "psychology" also. But this dog was just plain nuts imo. It would go from a relaxed attitude to full on attack with absolutely no warning. Literally. When it attacked me, I had just given it a treat, it was lying on the floor relaxed ears and tail wagging, as soon as my back was to it, it went for my head/neck.

It did almost the exact same to my brother. It was laying down by my dad and my brother got up to get a can of pop from the kitchen. He got up from the chair and when his back was turned the dog went into attack mode and leaped for his head/neck area. He wasn't going towards my dad he was walking away.

Turning away did two things: First, if the dog was looking at you and you looked away first, it took that as a sign that it possessed dominance over you. It then sought to establish that dominance through a fight - this is how it is done in the pack.

As well, if the dog viewed you as food, then the turning away could have very well triggered a hunting instinct.

But I vote for my first theory, without having seen the dog. Reason is you're still alive and it didn't back off when you fought back - you were answering its challenge!

There are several methods that can be used to break this type of behavior. One does utilize a "spiked" choke collar or a shock collar (my preferred method) to keep hands-off. It imitates a nip to the neck, signifying dominance on your part.

Too many people abuse these tools however, and I'd never recommend using either unless you are familiar with what results you will achieve.

For example, there was a man in the gun store who hit is dog with full voltage when it took off after a squirrel instead of a raccoon. The dog stopped hunting at that point. The man postulated that he zapped the dog too hard (gee, you think?) It's just supposed to be a small nip on the neck - nothing more.

Heck, my retriever/husky/wolf only needs the tone to obey. I only use the lowest setting that will get through her fur when she is really on to something.

If the dog yelps or acts scared, it's set too high. If it acts a bit annoyed, you've got it about right.

But I digress.

I still would have loved the chance to work with that animal.

Josh

 

[DougBarnes101]

My hypothecical question is why are say pit/lab mixes called pit mixes and not lab mixes so that when and if they attack someone it is the lab breed that gets the bad rap?

I will answer my own question it is because the pit genes tend to be dominant and throw thru more than other breeds so to the untrained eye they are pit bulls. So the attack was by one of those violent pit bulls. Bu**sh*t.

If you can't show me papers from a registering body (AKC - American Staffordshire Terriers, UKC - american Pit Bull Terriers or the ADBA - American Pit Bull Terriers) then

THEY ARE MUTTS!

I raised these dogs for over 20 years and never had on attack me or my kids. I would not tolerate a dog that even acted like they wanted to take a chunk out of me. I could take the feed away from any of my dogs while they were eating and never worry about it.

But the **humane Society needs a cause to beg for money so the Pit Bull is it.

This is my opinion only and you know what they say about opinions.

 

[Benny]

I will answer my own question it is because the pit genes tend to be dominant and throw thru more than other breeds so to the untrained I they are pit bulls. So the attack was by one of those violent pit bulls. Bu**sh*t.

Let me first agree with you that Pits are excellent dogs...But if Pit genes tend to be dominant, doesn't that carry over to the instinctual side of things? If the genes are dominant, why shouldn't it be labeled as a "Pit Mix?"

If you can't show me papers from a registering body (AKC - American Staffordshire Terriers, UKC - american Pit Bull Terriers or the ADBA - American Pit Bull Terriers) then

THEY ARE MUTTS!

Not entirely true...My full blooded German Shepherd is now 13 years old and paperless(I never got around to turning them in.)

 

[turnandshoot4]

1. The breed is originally from England, where they are now outlawed.

Then I must have one.

I've been around many. Like with everything else, it's how you use it.

 

[DougBarnes101]

Let me first agree with you that Pits are excellent dogs...But if Pit genes tend to be dominant, doesn't that carry over to the instinctual side of things? If the genes are dominant, why shouldn't it be labeled as a "Pit Mix?"



Not entirely true...My full blooded German Shepherd is now 13 years old and paperless(I never got around to turning them in.)

Joe,

I guess what I was really trying to say is that they can be as much or more of another breed but because of their appearance they are a pitbull. They should just be called MUTTS.

And as far as the papers yes they can be purebred and not have papers but the likelyhood is that they are not. And I know (because I have seen it) a can have papers and no more be of a specific breed than the man in the moon.

I guess this thread brings my blood to a boil because until the HSUS started there big push againist this breed in the late 70's the dogs weren't popular with the thugs and drug dealers.

I am done now! My blood pressure has probably risen 100 points.

 

[Disposable Heart]

You are right on the mutt part: The one that jumped me was literally a mutt, but had the charectoristics externally of a "pit bull". Pretty much the police report stated it was a "pit bull mix" according to the owners.