Pit Bulls?

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Originally Posted by PitOnTheProwl

A halti will work with all the power breeds "with" training but I dont like the fact that a lot of the morons think its a muzzle:rage::rage:

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THIS. XD I use one on my husky, and people always assume she's vicious. Not even close. XD It keeps her from pulling like a sled dog, though, which I love.

Okay so this is not how I expected this to happen... at all. I thought I would have a very, VERY long time to research more and figure out exactly what we wanted, then fate slapped me in the face.

I was on Craigslist last night and happened upon an ad that stated that a person had a 5 month old pit bull puppy that they needed to get rid of. They were being evicted that night from their apartment and if they could not find somebody to take the dog by midnight they were going to leave her out on the street. To make matters worse the dog had been a rescue dog to begin with and not just a normal rescue, but an SPCA cruelty seizure. She has burns all over her paws and one quarter sized burn on her ear from where somebody put a cigar out on her.

I went over and picked her up, sure enough there were several people helping the guy move his stuff out when I arrived, stuffing it into cars. He handed me the puppy and all the medicine for her ear, since it still needs to be flushed and iodined. She's been fixed, has her rabies shot, and all others. She's been around his daughter who was 1.5, sure enough my 2 year old doesn't phase her one bit. Despite all she's been through she is still all happy tails and cuddling.

I know it was spur of the moment and I am not even sure we're prepared for a dog, let alone a puppy, but I couldn't let her get thrown out on the street.

Good for you... I think its an amazing thing you're doing by taking this puppy in and giving it a loving home. Sure, it may have been a quick decision, but now that you're in if you do it right you're going to have a wonderful companion and addition to the family.

Oh, one more thing... Pictures!!!

CONGRADULATIONS!!!!! im sure that this will be a special dog!
spooky

I just couldn't let any animal end up out on the street, especially not after all she has been through already. She's still so curious it's hard to get her to sit still for any real pictures. I got one of the burn that's still being treated though. It's about the size of a silver dollar on her head. I don't think I have ever even seen a cigar that big... somehow I doubt it's just that, but it is DEFINITELY a burn. What kind of sick person does that to a puppy?! She's so sweet and loving... it's just wrong.

http://a6.sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphot...91873158_n.jpg

Oh... does anyone have tips for jumping? She hasn't jumped on my daughter, but she does try to jump up on me. I don't want her to accidentally jump on the baby or swat her. I've just been pushing her down and saying no, not sure if anyone has a better method lol.

A couple more pictures. I snapped one of her sleeping and one when she was barking at the reflection of the television in the window lol. Good little guard dog.

http://a2.sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphot...24346706_n.jpg

http://a4.sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphot...87822033_n.jpg

http://img.tapatalk.com/62d8e919-22ae-c9ae.jpghttp://img.tapatalk.com/62d8e919-22c2-3d82.jpg


1.0 pastel
0.2 female normal
1.0 pinstripe
0.1 het albino
0.1 chocolate
0.1 spider
1.0 yellow belly
0.1 black pastel
1.0 fire

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Originally Posted by Crawly's Mom

Oh... does anyone have tips for jumping? She hasn't jumped on my daughter, but she does try to jump up on me. I don't want her to accidentally jump on the baby or swat her. I've just been pushing her down and saying no, not sure if anyone has a better method lol.

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Bear with me, because this is going to be long... But I just freakin love bully breeds! As a dog trainer, they're some of my fave breeds to work with.

OK, so jumping... The key is consistency, so make sure every one in the family gets on board. There are several methods I use all at once, so you kinda pick and choose what method to use in different situations.

1.) Walk away. If she starts to jump up, turn your body away, don't make eye contact, and walk away. As soon as all 4 paws are on the ground, praise her in a soft, gentle voice. If you use an excited voice, it will just get her all riled up again.

2.) Prevent the jumping. Start teaching her "sit", "stay", etc. When you see her about to jump, interrupt her with a command. Then praise.

3.) Use a command. I like to use the word "off" to mean get off of me, get off the couch, get off the table, etc. *NOTE: You don't have to use the word "off". Just pick a word and stick with it. Most people will say "down" to mean get off of me and then use the same word to mean lay down. It confuses the dog to have a command word mean more than one thing. Again, consistency is your friend with dog training.* She jumps up, you say "off", and then use the walk away method.

4.) "Time outs". I use this phrase loosely because they really aren't time outs, its just a chance for the dog to calm down. So say no matter what you do, she just keeps jumping up and refuses to listen. Take her gently by the collar, lead her to her crate, a bathroom, or some place she can be safely confined, and let her stay in this safe place for 2-3 minutes. Don't use an angry voice or be visibly upset. You're not punishing her, you're just giving her a safe place to be to calm down. After 2-3 minutes try again. Dogs hate being ignored, so this can be a great teaching tool. Eventually, they'll figure out that when they do X behavior, they get ignored. But when they do Y behavior, they get love and attention.

Personally, I would get her into some group training class ASAP. The class will help you bond and give an active puppy something to do. Bring the whole family because again, consistency is key.

Congrats on your new addition! They make such great family dogs. Ya'll are going to have tons of fun with her! :)

Alright. So far I have been working with her using off, it doesn't always work, but she's getting a bit better about it. The main time she jumps is when she's excited. IE: When my husband came home or when you have something she wants. She does seem to know what sit means, she is slow to it sometimes, but she definitely knows the word.

I got to look her over a bit more when she was asleep. Found several more burns on her paws at different stages of healing, some close to completely healed and others still red and raw looking. I made an appointment with a vet tomorrow at 9:30, so I will be taking her down to get her all checked up. At that time I will probably grab some info about training too. :)

Consistency, positive reinforcement and love are key... Also I cannot stress enough that you should take every opportunity you can to socialize her. Whether it be with strangers, dogs, small children. She is already large enough that if she wanted to she could cause some damage, but still young enough to make any aggressive behavior she may have go away. Once she is healed, UTD on all shots, and on a heartworm and flea preventative, I suggest taking her for walks where you will come across other FRIENDLY dogs. If not call w.e friends you have, that have dogs, and go to a park and just chill. Even if it a 2 lb chihuahua, you need to make sure she is well socialzed. Also, and this applies to EVERY dog, make sure she is not food aggressive. Get her use to you putting your hand near her face while she is eating. I have a dog that is food aggressive, luckily I have no small children, cus I can defintiely see a child going to mess with the dog while he's eating, only to get bit.

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Originally Posted by that_dc5

Consistency, positive reinforcement and love are key....

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They can also be bribed very easily with treats in the begining too

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Originally Posted by PitOnTheProwl

They can also be bribed very easily with treats in the begining too

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Lol that falls under the positive reinforcement and love category

So far we have learned in the day that we have had her:

She is not food aggressive. My daughter walked up grabbed her bowl and walked away with it, she was also hand feeding her at one point, one piece of kibble at a time. Oddly enough she only seems to eat if you are in the room with her.

She is afraid of rats. She was sniffing the cage of our two full grown female pet rats. One hopped on the bars and scared her, now she will not even go near the cage.

She doesn't like the vaccum cleaner. She attacked it when I turned it on, it took a no three times and a sit before she would leave it alone. Now she just growls at it from the couch while I vaccum.

I think she might have been hit with sticks. She was playing with my daughter at one point, they were both running around, baby was squealing and excited. She picked up a stick and the dog immediately turned around and ran under the table. She didn't even make a motion to hit her or anything, yet she tuckled tail and ran off quick.

In general she's been really good though. We have some stuff to work on with her. Obviously the jumping needs to go. I am gonna get her to the vet. I do have the paperwork on all her shots, including rabies. I will get her on heartworm. She's already spayed. So hopefully I can get some cream for her burns and get her on the right track. Soon as the doc says she's okay to be around other animals, I'll look into some training classes.

That sounds great! From time to time, while she is eating just randomly go up to her and just grab the bowl, it should help keep from being food aggressive. You have to do it while she's eating, just go grab while she's eating. As for the stick, show her the stick without moving it around and get her to come near it, perhaps by using a treat or something. When that works great, that she no longer worries about it and acts like it's not around, trying moving it around while continuing to give her treats. She should realize that the stick is not going to be used to hit her and that stick= treats.

Aw, poor puppy! I'm glad she'll be taken care of now. :) You did a good thing. She's really cute. Lots of good advice in this thread, too. I think the lack of socialization as a puppy is one of the biggest issue my boyfriend's dog has. Definitely not one to skip!

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Originally Posted by that_dc5

That sounds great! From time to time, while she is eating just randomly go up to her and just grab the bowl, it should help keep from being food aggressive. You have to do it while she's eating, just go grab while she's eating .

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Actually that's a great way to train a dog to be food aggressive, seeing as you keep going up and randomly taking their food. Dogs that guard stuff do so because they are afraid you are going to take it, doing just that isn't going to help matters. Instead make you near their bowl a good thing, drop some treats in while they are eating, once they are comfortable with that, take it away for a milisecond and drop something really yummy in and give it right back, pretty quick you'll have a dog who loves people by their stuff, not one who thinks people are out to steal it. I'll never understand why people are so dead set on messing with dogs while they eat anyways, I expect my dogs to leave me alone while I eat and they get the same respect.

So far we have had zero signs of food aggression. Like I said my daughter was over petting her while she was eating and even was hand feeding her pieces of kibble. At one point I caught her holding the water bowl for the puppy to drink out of too. My daughter already loves her. She squeals and runs around and the puppy chases her. At one point she fell and the pup stood over her and gave her kisses. It has gotten to the point that when my daughter wakes up from her nap the puppy runs to her door and whimpers and it's only been one day lol.

I trimmed her nails today with the pedi-paws (aka dremil with a guard lol), which she was perfectly good with, just sat there and let me clean them up. I figure if she is going to jump she needs her nails to not be so sharp!! So far all is going well... except I am struggling with a name. I can't think of anything to call her. My husband and I were batting around the possibility of doing something Christmas/Holiday themed, since it's just around the corner. Anyone have any ideas?

The jumping up when excited thing will take some time to work through. Again, consistency is key. So when your husband comes home, have him ignore her. Walk through the door and don't make eye contact. When she's better at "sit", have her sit as soon as you walk through the door. If your not excited, it'll keep her from getting excited. Make a routine, so she knows what to expect.

For example, here is my routine for when I come home. I walk through the door and if I speak to the dogs, its in a soft, soothing voice. I let them out of their crates and let them outside. They do their business and we may throw the ball around to get that pent up energy out. Then we head back in. They have to sit at the door and wait to be invited in. I tell them to come in and by that time they've pretty much settled down.

As for the food aggression thing and taking food away from her... It works in certain situations with certain dogs. Both of my dogs have a happy past. No problems with abuse, etc. So we practiced sitting for food/toys and having me take away food/toys. So when its time to put up the toys or rawhide or what ever, I have no problems from removing the item from their mouth. So far, she's shown no issues with food. As she gets more comfortable with you, she may see how far she can push you. In this situation, I would put my hand near the bowl, in her bowl, or hold the bowl while she eats and then treat for good behavior. Same with toys. Then, when you've become a more established "alpha", practice gently taking toys away from her and treating for good behavior.

There was something else I was going to mention, but now I've forgotten... Maybe after the baby goes to bed I'll remember. :rofl:

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Originally Posted by GoingPostal

Actually that's a great way to train a dog to be food aggressive, seeing as you keep going up and randomly taking their food. Dogs that guard stuff do so because they are afraid you are going to take it, doing just that isn't going to help matters. Instead make you near their bowl a good thing, drop some treats in while they are eating, once they are comfortable with that, take it away for a milisecond and drop something really yummy in and give it right back, pretty quick you'll have a dog who loves people by their stuff, not one who thinks people are out to steal it. I'll never understand why people are so dead set on messing with dogs while they eat anyways, I expect my dogs to leave me alone while I eat and they get the same respect.

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I've never had that issue with any dog I've owned. Especially if I'm petting him while trying to remove the bowl. The point is to show dominance and who is the alpha. As for you not understanding why this is done... It's just in case any little kid tries to mess with the dog while eating, you wouldn't want the dog to have a bad reaction. When I eat I like to eat in peace, and when my dogs eat I like to let them eat in peace, but since they don't speak english, I can't tell them "hey don't bite anyone if they stick their hands in your face while you're eating". Difference between us and them.

Also when I said just go up to her and take the food away, what I meant was that while she is eating go up to her, pet her, tell her what a good dog she is, gets closer to her face and eventually just reach for the bowl. Eventually you can just skip the whole petting process. Actually if she isn't food aggressive now, I would just let her know you're there and let her know you're going to take it from her. But she has to be eating, because if you get her to stop eating, let's say to sit, while you grab the bowl, it defeats the purpose. Dog's usually show food aggression while actually eating or sticking their face in their bowl.

All finished with the vet visit! She is a whopping 25 lbs. A little underweight but not drastically. The burn has a bit of an infection, so I got some antibiotics that she gets to take once a day. She also has some infection around her spay incision, so the antibiotics should clear that up too. They are going to try and use the number on her ID to get some info on her shot record from the humane society, however, if they can't get anything she'll need to have her puppy shots again.

We get to go back in two weeks to have her checked out once more to make sure all is well. Everyone absolutely loved her, said she was the sweetest thing. I think I have ten different people approach me to say hello to her. So much love for my little pit puppy. We've decided to call her Cinnamon or Cinny. So we'll see how it all turns out from here! :)

:bow::bow::gj:

Great to hear that the vet visit went well and congrats on your new baby she is so adorable..

Side note to all of you bully lovers:

I'm sure you've heard of Villalobos Rescue Center (from the tv show Pitbulls and Parolees). They are in a contest to win a LOT of money to help pitbulls. This contest would be huge and amazing for them. They need votes so if any of you are on facebook and can vote it would be so great. Also share it with as many of your friends as possible!!! There isn't much time left!!!

Here's the link. http://bit.ly/uoWhxW

Congrats on your new pup, she is a cute little gal! Good luck with her and nice job stepping in to rescue her! :gj:

Our guy Chewee says hi....he's also a rescue dog.

http://img135.imageshack.us/img135/9664/snowdog.jpg

Congrats on the rescue!! You have a great heart!! I dont think thats a full-blood pit though, maybe I skipped over information?

According to the vet she is a pitbull, using the definition of any bully breed that has no real record of lineage. So we are going with it lol. I think she looks a little mixed too. To me she seems a little taller than most pits I have seen and more narrow, but I adore her, no matter what she is lol.

i've had Several Pitbulls through out my child hood and i have got another one a few months ago and he not one bit aggressive i have a 6 month baby boy and he very protective of my son he lets us know when my son is getting into thigs he will come and grab our clothing for us to follow him. There Only As Bad As There Owner Train Them To Be......

http://i275.photobucket.com/albums/j...unterthai2.jpg

I know this is an old thread but.... I figured I'd give my thoughts.
I love the breed and they do make wonderful pets. I'm a member of the pit-bull chat forum. This is by far the most educational forum for this breed. The people there are 100% devoted to the breed. There are threads on care and training, weight pulling,showing, breed history, ect. Also sections for the different bully breeds ( Am staff, bull terriers, APBT, am bullies, ect ).
I have to disagree with the " it's all in how you raise them "..... " the owner makes them mean and dog aggressive " This is false. It's in their blood. It's what they were bred for for 100s of yrs. I didn't read past the first page but I did see one person state the truth. They are not naturally human aggressive and the trait of HA is a trait that is strongly frowned upon . A lot of breeders will cull HA dogs. That's one trait the breed should never have. They were bred to be like stated pit dogs. If they were HA the owner wouldn't have been able to separate the two dogs. Dog fighting is not what it used to be. I DO NOT at all agree with fighting dogs! But the media and todays idiot breeders and fighters have made the breed frowned upon. It's complicated to understand and I didn't really until I became a member of pit bull chat.
They are a hyper breed for the most part and need a lot of attention and exercise. They love people and make good pets for a family setting. As I said being dog aggressive is in their blood and some are and some are not. But with any new bully breed you need to watch them with other dogs. They also have a high prey drive. So make sure a new addition will be ok with cats lol.
http://img.tapatalk.com/c6e4e0d8-f3e9-5ec6.jpg
This is Kylie. She is an American pit bull terrier. Besides being crazy lol shes the sweetest dog!

I will chime in.. no, I didn't read up on the entire thread :P

I have a pit.. he was a rescue.. he is now almost 6 years old..

He does great with cats, other dogs, even my bird..

Only downfall is they have a LOT of energy, so he would get too excited sometimes and topple small kids..

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Originally Posted by PitOnTheProwl

Actually you are debating on FOUR different dogs/breed.
There is the Staffordshire Terrier, American Stafforshire Terrier, American Pitbull Terrier, and now also the American Bully.
They are all different and have different standards.;)
There IS NOT a "pitbull" per say, it is a blanket term that covers A LOT of bully breeds as those listed above and include Mastiffs, Corsos, and Shar Pei.
Looks may be close but dna and blood are not. Its all about whats in the mix:gj:

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Thank you!!! Someone with a know-how of the breeds and how they are DIFFERENT. They are all different. An APBT looks way different than a staffie.

This is a true APBT
http://img.tapatalk.com/463f17ca-0309-d38b.jpg
Picture is from Stillwater kennels.

This is an American bully
http://img.tapatalk.com/463f17ca-033c-70cc.jpg
Picture is from bullybros kennels

This is what poor back yard breeding has done to the breed. These dogs are nothing but eye candy for people with a poor knowledge of what a APBT should be. These dogs have horrible joint problems. They can't be active because they can't move and get around properly. They can't breath right. The blue coats have skin issues...... I'll stop now lol

This is an Am staff
http://img.tapatalk.com/c6e4e0d8-0d58-7555.jpg
Picture is from sbigstaff.com

Staffordshire bull terrier
http://img.tapatalk.com/c6e4e0d8-0e08-0ac4.jpg
Picture is from massiesstaffys.com

Credit was given to the breeders of each dog.

See big difference in the breeds.

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Originally Posted by Amon Ra Reptiles

Thank you!!! Someone with a know-how of the breeds and how they are DIFFERENT.

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Thank you, I didnt make up my screen name because it was cool;) It was given to me and I have kept it for almost 20 years now:rofl::rofl::rofl:

A friend of mine when I was a kid had a pit that was amazing. Babysat kids. Never started a fight with another dog.

However.... let there be a ground hog, possum, or a coon and Patty turned into Satan, only less genteel. She was one heck of a varmint dog (back in the sticks where nobody cared what breed they were if they could do the job) and not so good but still OK on squirrel too.

Best dogs ever.. Great with kids.. Had them since i was a baby.. raise them right like anything and they will be loyal and loving to the end... The meanest most agressive devil dogs I ever had were Min Pins,,, :O

Abby and my new pup Rocket checking out my son Declan..they are best friends now!
http://i64.photobucket.com/albums/h1...0/20122345.jpg

pup
http://i64.photobucket.com/albums/h1...0/20122411.jpg

I love Pit bulls but they are banned in my area, however mixes are allowed, so I got a mix he's a pit/beagle. He was nippy at first with the kids, luckily my kids were older and we would correct him together. I've always believed it's the owner that makes any breed 'bad' and not the dog's breed itself. However they are very powerful dogs, therefore could cause a lot of damage so proper training is a must! You have to be the leader, not the dog and consistancy is the key with anything really... even when you're tired!

Sorry for the weird pic, but there's no other pics of Buster (the brindle colored one) on this computer

http://i1110.photobucket.com/albums/...occoBuster.jpg

Old topic, reply to an old post, but re: AmBullies it's really all structure structure structure. Personally, I don't see healthy dogs in the Pocket, XL, and Extreme variety, but Standard and Classic do have very nicely structured dogs that aren't hippos and aren't as prone to problems with their backs, hips, and joints. For comparison...

Standard
http://i39.tinypic.com/2qcpn4m.jpg

Pocket
http://i43.tinypic.com/10dfdya.jpg

XL
http://i41.tinypic.com/3486gb4.jpg

Extreme
http://i40.tinypic.com/29fxct1.jpg

Classic
http://i43.tinypic.com/2ev5itj.jpg

All images taken from the ABKC official website; theabkcdogs.org. None of these dogs are particularly my cuppa... technically pit bulls as a whole aren't really my cuppa as I tend to prefer the larger German working breeds, but having worked with an ex-fighting dog I was rather forced to learn the difference between the breeds. Speaking of...

http://i955.photobucket.com/albums/a...3-03143217.jpg

This is Baby, a dog that my sister got about 6 years ago. She's an APBT/AmStaff mix that was purposely mixed in an attempt to obtain a better fighting dog by her previous owners, who were street-level fighters that had absolutely no idea what they were doing (A: AmStaffs aren't good fighters, B: breeding for both dog and human aggression = bad fighting dog, C: neglecting, starving, and beating their dogs to make them "meaner" = bad fighting dog, all of which any actual dog fighter knows, not that I support those either). She "wouldn't fight" and was used as bait instead, my sister heard the dogs going at it and bravely went over to give her neighbors an earful. They in turn dumped all the puppies on her in an attempt to get her to not call the police. She took the pups and rehomed all but one, but called the police anyway :gj:

It's covered up well in this picture, and the scars aren't nearly as bad as one who spent their whole life in the ring, but her chest, jowls, muzzle, and ears are rather torn up under the thin fur. We've managed to work out most of her dog aggression out to the point where she's just reactive in certain circumstances, and she was never human aggressive, just a bit fearful, which she's managed to overcome in her 6 years in a good home. My nephew and their other dog can get in her face, play rough, even bug her while she eats (my nephew likes to freak his friends out by putting his face very close to her when she's eating... she backs up and waits for him to be "done" at her bowl) and she takes it all without a growl but with lots of buttwiggles and kisses.

I currently use her alongside my parents' dog as a therapy animal for my mom's special ed students... nothing better than having a low-functioning autistic kid open right up to a pit bull's adoration.

Me and my girl Sassy... She is Pit Bull/ American bulldog mix..

http://i1156.photobucket.com/albums/...92493155_n.jpg