I need a drink, welcome to my nightmare

He took my wrist with a soft mouth, a grip with inhibition. In a golden retriever I would understand that as a friendly manuver. This guy doing it while trying to mount me, I don't know, I can see him being rowdy playful, as inapproptriate as that is.

Bully rescue has no foster homes but this is second hand info from a club member who kept a pit dumped in her neighborhood two months ago...

Hoping to see neighbors tonight.
 
Well, i will play devil's advocate and vote that we not euthanise a young dog just because he pulls on leash and jumps on you and mouths your arm. While this is definately undesireable behavior I don't think it warrents death...half of the dogs (labs) that come into work(vet hospital) about pull me off my feet and many young dogs mouth my arms- rude but not deadly. Probably more than the owners can handle though, and I understand about all the pit hype .Please help them find a pit rescue that can give a young dog a chance to have a good life.
 
I'm really torn about the pit bull thing. I totally understand that they were originally bred to be aggressive machines. But so were german shepherds, and even some terriers.

That being said every pit or pit mix that I've ever had in my store has been a gentle giant. This is because of their training.

I had a 10 month old in my store today. Along with another little poodle mix of some kind. The two of them sniffed at each other and it was the little poodle that barked first and bared her teeth. The pit just sat there complacent.

I guess all I'm saying is generally speaking, if you raise an aggressive dog to be aggressive, like many pit owners will do, they will be aggressive.

But if they are raised well-socialized and trained, then I think then can make wonderful dogs. The keyword here is socializing and training.

I know this goes against the grain our so gentle Shelties (:gaah) but, I would still like to find a world where pits can be socialized and live a good life. The reality is that you cannot erradicate the breed overnight. They've been bred and cross-bred over and over. You'd have to "kill" thousands to get rid of it all together.

And if you target one breed, where do you stop? I've seen Chi's more vicious than a Rottweiler!

Just saying Ducking now! :hide
 
The only thing I dislike about this forum is the breed bashing that happens on here.

The neighbours shouldn't have left town with a new dog at the house - it takes at least 3 months for dogs to settle down and their true temperament to show. Leaving the house so soon after getting the dog would be very stressful for the dog. They also should have a fenced yard - for any dog, but especially an active, athletic one.

If you can't handle a large dog or you're afraid of it, you need to be honest and don't agree to look after it - that's your responsibility.

He's in a new environment - of course he's curious, and of course he's going to want to mark everything. Clearly, he was bored in the garage - it's not a surprise he ripped his bedsheets and ate the cat food. I'm shocked he didn't do it sooner.

If a Golden or a lab had done any of these behaviours (ie. the grip with inhibition), people laugh it off...but when it's a pitbull the automatic reaction is it must be people aggressive, which equals a death sentence. Can they be dangerous? Yes - but so can any dog. The breed I actually am most cautious of is the husky - I have seen far more incidents with huskies than I have with pit bulls.

Your neighbours do sound inexperienced, and even with the best intentions that is clearly a powerful dog. They need a fenced yard, a good vet to get him neutered ASAP, a good trainer, and to commit to meeting this dogs mental and physical needs...but I would say the same thing if it was any dog exhibiting these behaviours. If they can't do this, they are better off without the dog - but not because of the dog - because of the people.

I do realize that my opinion represents the minority here, but I have worked with and trained a wide variety of dog breeds, including many pitbulls and pitbull crosses. I have never had a pit bull try to bite me or show aggression towards me, which is more than I can say for some other dog breeds. I wasn't going to post on this thread...but I just came back tonight from working with a wonderful pit bull who is available for adoption. She would be a fabulous pet or working dog, but we couldn't bring her to our adoption event last weekend because she would have had to be muzzled the entire time because of her breed. She is the nicest, best behaved, most biddable dog at the shelter...but breed bias is working against her. It's not fair.
 
lol...Mellie and BarbV - it looks like we were all on the same track at the same time. Great minds think alike :lol:
 
I am so sorry you had such a frightening experience. It definitely sounds like he came from a fighting background. Humans have been so cruel to this breed for their selfish and greedy entertainment. :(
 
I actually don't have a problem with pit bulls in general. There are several in this area competing at the agility trials... most notably Buster Brown, and he is just the coolest, sweetest dog. It all comes down to how they are raised and trained. I could make my shelties mean (or at the least fear aggressive) with the wrong handling. I don't like writing an entire breed off as a whole, as there are a wide range of temperaments within any breed. In my mind, it is the people who raise the dogs, and not the dogs themselves that are the issue.
I guess from a breeding stand point where we're all being attacked by the AR crazies I feel we should stand tall together and not divide ourselves with labels....
I have come from Saddlebreds, where I constantly had to defend my breed of choice. Everybody thought they were crazy and unnatural. I'm used to coming from a misunderstood breed. Mine were never crazy, or unnatural, and they were raised the same as every other horse in an all breed barn. People would believe they weren't good trail mounts, couldn't make good western, hunt seat, dressage horses, kids horses... etc etc etc and my horses and I were always changing peoples minds about the breed. They were truly wonderful embassadors for their breed and introduced many people to Saddlebreds in a very approachable way.
That all said, it sounds like they are too inexperienced for this dog, and he needs to be placed with someone who is more dog savvy, or placed in a rescue/foster situation where he can be better evaluated and it be determined whether he can be worked with to be placed in an appropriate home.
 
Jaynie said:
While I do feel sorry for the wasted life of this dog, he's too dangerous to trust as a pet. I live in a neighborhood where some people think owning a pit bull is trendy and cool. They also think it is OK to just let their dogs out unrestrained in the mornings. I've actually had to stop walking my dogs in the neighborhood due to encounters with random unrestrained dogs (leash laws mean absolutely NOTHING to these people).

I believe these owners just might actually listen to your reasoning on why they shouldn't keep this dog. Maybe there is a pit bull rescue (who are all very well-versed in how to better deal with this difficult breed) nearby you could recommend to them instead of the pound?
Click to expand...

I had exactly the same experience in my neighborhood with a pit. What is it about letting the pit bulls run unrestrained? Had a very close call with my two shelties two years ago while out walking them and just recently the neighbor's son across the street thinks it ok for their Pitt dog to run off leash and they don't have a fenced yard.

My two are in a fenced yard, we gave up walking them since there are so many pits in the neighborhood. I worry that a pitt will come inside the fence sometimes.

Pitt bulls are great, just not off leash and certainly not one who so obviously got ruined by a selfish and mean human, poor baby. But our babies need protecting also. Call a rescue for pitt bulls.

Kate
 
I had a lab mix one time that we could not keep in the fence and she had the worse ear infections ,I was always taking her to vet for them. We got new neighbors across the street and I was so worried that she would jump the fence and go over to the sounds of children and that one would pull he ear playing.So after some thought over it, we decide to take he to the county and hopefully find her another home but once I told them my concerns they would not take her saying she wasnt a adoptable pet, and I would have had to sigh a consent form giving them permission to put her down if she wasnt adopted, I couldnt so I brought her home and found her a home.
 
2GoodDogs you were a good neighbor to go over and take care of the "wild child" and I am sorry you had a rough time with him...I apologize if I seem passionate about pits, but I feel that they get a raw deal a lot of the time...so many are PTS-you wouldn't believe how many and young too- just pups !! They aren't my breed of choice really, but they do deserve a caring master just like any other dog but unfortunately they don't always get one. :no:
 
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