Found a pitbull puppy in the road today...

[iceman]

...she's about three months old, really sweet and nice. No tags or collar, very underweight. No report of a lost pit bull at the county Animal Control office. Our best guess is that somebody drove out here and kicked her out 'cause she wasn't tough enough.

Everybody's freaking out, saying pitbulls can snap with no warning. My perspective is that a nice dog is a nice dog, it's the environment and training that matter much more than the breed. I've had a lot of dogs in my life, I have two now, and I think I'm right. But pitbulls and rotties are specifically excluded from my homeowners policy: If she attacked somebody it would come straight outta my pocket, which makes me pause.

We were talking about getting another dog anyway, and if we hadn't come around the corner when we did, this one would be dead, she was in the middle of the road.

Seems like fate to me.

What say ye?

[The AD]

It's fate. Congrats on your new pup, Iceman!

[3o3]

I understand the whole "bad owners make bad dogs" thing, but for me it wouldn't be worth the risk. You can't dispute the fact that Rots and Pits can do a horrific amount of damage if they get triggered. It may never happen. This could be the mellowest dog ever. For me, it's not worth the gamble with kids in the house. I know a lot of folks here will disagree with me, but that's the way it is for me. I couldn't ever trust him with my kids, and that's no good for the dog or my sanity.

[release]

Tough decision Ice. Being a father of three and sometimes having a little bit of paranoia about the family's safety, I have considered having an intimidating pet such as a pitbull, but I am not educated enough about pitbulls and I am not willing to take the risk. Just too much liability. No telling what one incident could do to family finances. If you don't keep it, good luck in finding it a good home.

[Crinkle]

Keep it seperate from your other dog and children for a few days and slowly introduce them to the pup, if you are interested in keeping it. I know plenty of people with rots and pits, both pure bred and mixed. Not one is a bad dog or has bitten another. Ultimately its your decision.

Saving a dog is a good thing, whether or not you decide to keep it.

[Anxious Mo-Fo]

My wife watches "Animal Precinct" about 19 times a week, and she says the thing all the ASPA types on that show talk about is "food aggression."

Put a bunch of food in a dish, let the dog start chowing down, then take a broomstick with a glove attached to the end and try to take the food away from her. See how she reacts.

I love pitbulls (the nice ones) and hope you can keep her.

[skiguide]

ice, it's fate.

you're spot on about excellent training & home environment when it comes to these breeds- but it's also true of any dog. any dog is capable of snapping at any moment with no warning. (and large labs are plenty strong enough to inflict the same amount of pain & damage as my 125 lb rottweiler)

being an experienced dog owner, you're probably in a good position to take good care of this dog, and give it exactly what it needs for training to be a good example of the breed and help fight stereotypes of it. at around 3 months old, you have a really good chance of that. (that said, you also don't know the breeding history, so that's a minor strike against predictable behavior) - but you can do all that you can to read up on issues with pit bulls, behavioral signs and specific training needs, etc.

"pit bulls" (which are technically not even a real breed, so in theory the media should never use that terminology, and nor should an insurance company be able to hold suit on that term & w/o AKC papers to prove it, it's really just a mutt- a deviation of a staffordshire terrier) are more often than not, the sweetest, most loving, smart & loyal dogs - and especially with rescuing one - they know it, and they will do anything they can to please you to keep your protection as its master.

as for homeowners - switch to a company that doesn't have breed discrimination clauses - State Farm is one, there are two other biggies that don't - maybe allstate or progressive. but be aware of local bite laws as well.

and the kid /safety argument is more about training kids as much as it is the dog, when raised in the same environment from a young age, it's rarely an issue. kids should be taught rules that apply to all dogs- don't harass it/poke it/kick it ever, don't bug it when it's eating or sleeping, and be gentle at all times. dogs should be taught the same. but kids and dogs should NEVER ever be left alone together, even for a second.

[skiguide]

Originally posted by Anxious Mo-Fo
My wife watches "Animal Precinct" about 19 times a week, and she says the thing all the ASPA types on that show talk about is "food aggression."

Put a bunch of food in a dish, let the dog start chowing down, then take a broomstick with a glove attached to the end and try to take the food away from her. See how she reacts.

I love pitbulls (the nice ones) and hope you can keep her.

great show. always adopts out wonderful pits & rotts that have been stuck in bad situations. (can you tell I'm a bit fanatical about misunderstood breeds like that?)

but just to be clear, that 'food agression' test isn't an immediate thing he should do right now- because the dog was obviously underweight & starving, it's got to be hungry - so it will immediately protect anything you've given it -that's just natural instinct, nothing to do with breed.

it's something you do after an initial bridge of trust is built.

[13]

I've done a lot of research about pit bulls because we suspect my puppy has some pit bull blood in her.

Pit bulls were bred for their strength, not for their fighting ability, and unfortunately, few people have their facts straight, and the negative publicity they receive when a fighting dog attacks reinforces that stereotype.

I've been told by my vet that labs or lab mixes are more likely to attack than pit bulls -- this is due to the sheer number of them out there, and many of them are with fuckhead owners.

On the other hand, she also said that if a pit bull attacks, it does some serious damage due to their sheer strength.

The most vicious attack she's ever heard of was a pair of Jack Russell terriers ripping a black lab to shreds -- to the point that there was blood splattered on the ceiling. Chihuahuas are known to be more vicious towards babies and kids than any other breed that I know of, and they don't receive the same amount of negative publicity because they are too small to hurt adults.

I'm willing to bet that your homeowner's policy doesn't cover Pits and Rotties because so many people breed fighting dogs from their homes.

I understand 3o3's point about risk with kids, but pit bulls are some of the most loyal dogs and they are TERRIFIC with children and they tend to be very protective and that can be an asset if your kids are with the dog and approached by potential abductors.

AKC - American Staffordshire Terrier

[iceman]

Too late for the "keep it away from the other dogs and the kids" business, she's already been curled up sleeping in my daughter's lap, my son was rolling around in the mud with her and she already got a beatdown from Sasha, my 6-year-old German Shepherd-Great Dane-Greyhound mix (it wasn't much of a beatdown, she jumped up on Sasha, Sasha made it very clear that she don't play that way), otherwise they got along fine.

It's also WAY too late for the "don't leave kids and dogs alone for a second" as the kids and the dogs spend half their time alone together and have for years.

I want to keep the little beast but I'm not sure whether I can deal with the hostility of a rabid pit bull, by which I mean my wife.

Ohhhh, SNAP!

[seldon]

Originally posted by iceman

I want to keep the little beast but I'm not sure whether I can deal with the hostility of a rabid pit bull, by which I mean my wife.

Ohhhh, SNAP!

SPEWAGE- You owe me $20 for a Logitech Elite Keyboard. Or, as an alternative, you could just buy me a pair of Legend Pros or a Blur .

[Schmear]

Look at it this way, now you can be that family on the block that everyone points to and says, "They have a pitbull."

[splat]

Just get rubber caps for her caninie incisors. That'll make everybody feel better. If you do it now, the dog will grow up and never notice the difference.

[warthog]

I have done a lot of research on the Mollosser breeds. My dog is a derivation of some of those breeds. I have Boston Terriers(look at my Avatar). They(Mollossers) are great dogs, but very mis-understood. I regularly have people afraid of my dog- he is 20 pounds!!!!! The media has done this, along with very irresponsible breeders.
I will say, you have one thing on your side already. The dog is female. This is a big factor in aggression. Male pits tend to "snap" a lot more. Just don't fuck with a pregnant female. They are understandably pissed.

Go to this site:
Web Site



another is Mollosser World. I can't seem to find it right now. Both those sites will give you all the info you need on training, breeding, etc.

Here are some of my favorite Mollossers:

Cane Corso-
http://www.cane-corso.nl/images/chingalana.jpg
This is possibly the most perfect Cane I have ever seen.


Mastino Neapolitano-
http://www.xs4all.nl/~squamish/carnera.jpg

http://www.xs4all.nl/~squamish/dorem...s/Qwintus1.jpg

This is a whole bunch of dog- up to 180 pounds.


Here is a good link to see all the dogs in this group. Notice there is no"Pit Bull". The Am Staff and American Bulldog are the closest matches to the mutt they now call Pit Bull.

If you hadn't noticed, this is a passion of mine. Good luck with the puppy.Mollossers

[Dexter Rutecki]

From what I know, and my own personal experience, pit bulls tend to snap onto things (people) with their jaws, and not let go. But I've never done research on it.

Nine or ten years ago I'm skating around a park (playground) area here in the city, stickhandling with a puck, and a little puppy starts chasing the puck around. So we play keep-away, it grabs the puck a few times, I get it back, the game goes on.
Well, after a little while, the dog realizes that it would be a lot easier to get ahold of me, rather than the puck (I guess it was 'playing the man' instead of the puck). So it leaps onto my leg and snaps shut with its cute little jaws. There I am, still moving, with a tiny pit bull latched onto my leg, and the damn thing wouldn't let go. It's hanging off my leg like a boxing bag hanging from the ceiling. After a few seconds of taking wacks at it with my stick, and connecting solidly once or twice, it releases, falls down, rights itself, and just sits there like nothing happened.
Fortunately, it had grabbed mostly a mouthful of sweatpants (which had a bunch of holes in them), and only scratched my leg not even breaking the skin (it was bloody under one of the scratches, but nothing had punctured). But I had no idea whether or not it had really gotten me until I got him, and it was sort of scary.
With that sort of biting ability in mind, I couldn't imagine keeping such an unpredictable animal around kids. Or anyone, really. But I'm also not at all into dogs of any variety.

[Benny Profane]

http://www.tetongravity.com/usergall...normal_pit.jpg

[ShadowBoxer]

But I'm also not at all into dogs of any variety.

No wonder the HugeAirDog disliked you so much!!!

[The AD]

Originally posted by warthog
http://www.xs4all.nl/~squamish/dorem...s/Qwintus1.jpg

This is a whole bunch of dog- up to 180 pounds.

That is one scary dog.

[Snow Dog]

Originally posted by skiguide
"pit bulls" (which are technically not even a real breed, so in theory the media should never use that terminology, and nor should an insurance company be able to hold suit on that term & w/o AKC papers to prove it, it's really just a mutt- a deviation of a staffordshire terrier) are more often than not, the sweetest, most loving, smart & loyal dogs - and especially with rescuing one - they know it, and they will do anything they can to please you to keep your protection as its master.

I was going to say that but it's easier to quote. Stop calling it a pit bull -- it's a mutt. A mutt with a really strong bite, but still a mutt. The temperament comes from the home environment so it's all up to you. At that age bad habits haven't started yet.

You'll never know why she was abandoned -- maybe some yahoo brought it home as a suprise and the significant other said no. It's amazing how many guys buy "wolf" or "pit-bull" crosses from total strangers at the bar.

By the way, when dog bites man, poodles top the list.

[phUnk]

Personally, I would bring it to the shelter and adopt a different dog.

The balance of nature is maintained, the dog still got saved, and you still new to adopt a new dog.

[random]

The only dog I’ve ever had a problem with are the little mini ones. I was attacked by a schitzu/ bichon-Friese whatever when I was 8, and it tore all the muscle in my left arm.

[Sublime]

I agree with phunky.

Pit bulls/mutts are crazy dogs. I was working at this house that had one. The dog got loose from the owner and bolted out the door. I was outside getting some things from the truck. This dog stops maybe 3 feet from me and starts showing teeth.

I shit myself.

Grabed my 24 oz claw hammer turned backwards so claw was facing outwards.

Thing just growls and shows teeth at me. Owner comes running to get the dog after about 3 tense minutes. Sad thing is the dog would have won if he attacked me.

Bad sterotype? Yes, but I wouldn't trust a pit around my children. Could grow up to be a great dog or a nightmare. I would turn it in the pup's life is saved and you can get a new doggie. My advice a Golden Retriver i've never seen a mean one in my life. They rather lick you to death then bite you. I'm biased though.

[Redskea]

From what I've seen the breeding and the background off the dog are both involved in its temperament. I've had a pit bull cross pound dog. we had some problems but she was an 3 year old when I got her.
In general the terrier breeds including pit bulls are a bit more likely to be dominant and less eager to please. This is a generalisation though. Consistantly showing the dog that all humans are dominant pack members and good socialisation are the most important. Dominance is through expecting obeidience, never allowing the dog to get away with challanging behavior etc but not through hitting the dog.

The pit bull I had never had the same desire to please and work drive as my collie cross avy search dog but she could have been a better obeidiance dog. (Also better than a lab cross and a foxy cross I've had)

Hope she works out well.

[Snow Dog]

Originally posted by phUnk
Personally, I would bring it to the shelter and adopt a different dog.

The balance of nature is maintained, the dog still got saved, and you still new to adopt a new dog.

There's no balance -- if she's a "dangerous pitbull" then she's not saved. You're just making her somebody else's problem.

[warthog]

Originally posted by The AD
That is one scary dog.

Scary how? Is it the look, or do you have experience with them. They are extremely loyal, but HATE other dogs. They were originally bred to guard large estates in Italy. I wanted one of these, but thought otherwise when I saw that they were about $3,000. That, and I don't think I would have much luck contolling something that weighs as much as I do.