Pit Bulls?

[ShockBunny]

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

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.

[Crawly's Mom]

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.

[Inknsteel]

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.

[Inknsteel]

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

[mr.spooky]

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

[Crawly's Mom]

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.

[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.

[Crawly's Mom]

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.

[Brass City Reptiles]

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

[spygirl]

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.

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!