Adopting a pitbull pup

“I haven't heard from him in awhile. He posts now as Richdude. He is back into his music again. Heck he may be trying out for INXS on TV”

“You mean he still posts here??”

“The only way a chihuahua could hurt a pitbull is if the pitbull choked on it as it was trying to swallow it whole.
last edited: 9/20/05 6:48:53 PM”

“Sorry for calling you "dude" ScorchFire, just checked out your pix, and you most certainly AIN'T no dude!”

“I am sorry for calling you a troll. I don't recognize all the names.”

“I'm sorry for everything.”

“Scorchfire - Good luck with the new pup. I too decided to adopt a puppy from a rescue society about four years ago. Lewis is a Boxer/Hound/Am Staff mix breed. He was picked up as an abandoned dog. We had to do a sleepover with him for a week before they would let us keep him to see if it would work. That week turned into two because they decided they really wanted us to be sure.

Lewis was an awesome dog from the first day. Friendly with other dogs, played in the park, and everything was good. Then one day when he was about two we decided to go camping with my sister who had a Rott/Shepard mix. Whiskey is a dominant bit@h who stalked Lewis the whole week. The night before we were to leave I was feeding the dogs and Whiskey got too close to Lewis’s bowl. He went for the kill. He had her (bigger dog) backed into the trees and no matter what I did to him, beating, kicking yelling, it didn’t faze him. Just as I was reaching in to grab his collar (he was the only one with one on that day), my brother-in-lay pushed me out of the way and grabbed Lewis’s collar and twisted as he pulled Lewis off the ground. As a reflex, Lewis swung his head around and bit down into his arm. He immediately let go as it was just a reflex to suddenly being choked. Of course my brother-in-law froze as he went into shock and Lewis was just dangling there from his collar. I had to pry Lewis’s collar from his hands whereupon I spanked his butt and told him he was a bad dog. He was very upset because he wasn’t used to being hit or yelled at and he ran under a table and whined. Now tell me did he do something wrong? He was protecting his food when he thought another dog was trying to eat it and not his buddy that normally eats with him and comes around his food dish all the time or was that the Pitt instinct?

Thankfully, it was a family member, as some good damage was done to his arm with just that one bite. Lewis is a fantastic guard dog – no one will ever be able to come in my home or yard uninvited. The backlash to this is we do not take him to the dog park as I don’t know how he would react with a dominant dog now and I won’t risk it. He is good with our other dog (Rott/Border Collie) and children and cat. So, even though he has been raised as a proper family dog with training – he still has that instinct to kill even if he was just protecting his dinner. We can walk him on a leash and he ignores other dogs and people as he is so busy smelling the ground as he runs. The end to this long tail is love him and teach him good manners; teach him that you are the dominant bit*ch in the house and you require his respect and he will be a good dog. Be ever vigilant though. One side note – Dachshunds bite more than any other dog but because they do no damage people laugh and think it is cute. I however, do not think any dog bite is cute – as I have been bit by a full blooded Pit.
last edited: 9/20/05 10:16:52 PM”

“Chihuahuas rip ankles apart with a vengence!!! Avoid them at all costs!!!

Funny story, my husband is holding my tiny chihuahua outside a grocery store while I run in and some guy comes up to him and says people don't know how vicious chis are and that he heard a woman died and her chis that had no food ate half of her body. Well, can you blame them? My husband said the guy did seem like quite the charactor.

Word of advise, keep your dog well fed, lol:)”

“all dogs deserve love. pit bulls as well as chihuahuas only bite humans if they have been brought up in a bad environment. would not you bite if you were a slave? if we would just show them love and attention they would be emotionally able to handle the humans that invade their personal space. if you absolutely must have a dog and are raising them in an environment which promotes biting, dog psychiatrists are a wonderful alternative for your dog to release her feelings. usually it is the people who need the help but usually will not admit to their need

"Don't walk behind me, I may not lead. Don't walk in front of me, I may not follow. Just walk beside me and be my friend." ~Albert Camus”

“What frikkin retard here on TT is getting a pitbull pup?????????????

Heh - that's exactly right.”

“pit bulls as well as chihuahuas only bite humans if they have been brought up in a bad environment.
moonglo
7:35:24 AM
9/21/05

yeah right!!”

“Well - as I said I have a pitt bull mix - and he has not been in a bad environment in four years. I understand everyone's sentiments and I can certainly empathize as I am as horrified as anyone else whenever I hear of yet another pitt bull attack - or any dog mauling for that matter - but one should not categorize ALL pit bull homes as bad. It is just not true.”

“but one should not categorize ALL pit bull homes as bad. It is just not true

The trouble is you never know if you have a "good" pitbull, as there's a metric #&%!$load of anecdotal evidence that even well trained, well behaved pitbulls can lose it - for no apparent reason.
last edited: 9/21/05 9:17:41 AM”

“Maybe that's not the right word.

My older boy was over at a friends all afternoon yesterday. they brought him hom eafter dinner. I was washing dishes at the sink. I heard the jingling of dog tags, and thought . ..wouldn't that be funny if they brought their pit bull over with them?


This is the family of the MOM of the pit bull/akita/rotweiler mix.

The Mom is a full pit bull.


I turn from the sink and the pitbull has its head in my kitchen door and is growling at me.

Seriously. I am not making this up.


I started to laugh. I mean .. .here I am all concerne about my kids over at the house where this dog puppy is . ..and she shows up at my house, sticks her head in my door and growls at me.

Anyhoo . ...the father of my son's friend called the dog and put her back in the truck. She is actually pretty well behaved and follows his commands .


It just was ironic to have the dog growl at me in my own house.

It wasn't a "I'm about to rip your throat out growl" More of an inquistive, I've never been here before, who are you growl.

Either way . ..I was within a half foot of the knife rack on the counter. A ten inch Henckel chef's knife might have helped . . .if I had the presence of mind to grab it.”

“All dogs bite. It's an instinctive reaction. The reaction is drawn out based on the dog's built-in instincts it gets from genetics and external stimulus. You can control the external stimulus but you can’t control the genetics. Genetics come from centuries of selective breeding (breed history) and the parents of a given dog. The genetics play a huge role in how a dog will behave under any given external stimulus.

A good example that isn’t from a pit bull: Huskies. I love these dogs more than I can tell you. They are a “working dog” that many people keep as pets, and rightly so. They have a high “prey drive” because frankly they aren’t that far removed from their wild cousins that had to hunt for food. That means that they have the “wiring” to kill small things that can be identified as food items. The instinct can be triggered almost instantly by something like a small dog running in front of them, for example. Once the programming fires it’s like you are looking at a different dog. There is nothing you can do to totally remove the drive, it’s built into the dog. Even with all the TLC in the world and good parents/breeding it’s still going to be there. The best you can do is substituting something else as a response when the drive kicks in so the dog has a lesser chance of hurting someone/something. The only way to really manage it, however, is to be aware of the dogs nature and be a responsible and informed owner.

Too many dog owners aren’t informed and kid themselves about the nature of dogs by overlaying human values, emotions, and behaviors onto their canine pals. Dogs are not people. Dogs are really good at doing one thing: Being dogs. I found that the sooner I recognized this the better off I was at understanding their behavior, knowing what motivates them, and relating to them.
last edited: 9/21/05 9:24:32 AM”

“Here in Canada there have been many attacks on children especially, I believe Ontario is making it against the law to own one! I believe other provinces, like New Brunswick is starting to think about it becauise of all the vacious attacks.”

“The laws that need to be created aren't breed-specific legislation. That's the output of the problem that plays to voters. The input of the problem is irresponsible breeding and breeders which is a topic that doesn’t play to voters. Pit bulls are out of control because they are being bred to be aggressive, so it’s the opposite of what responsible breeders do… selective breeding of dogs with positive and desirable attributes. It’s not just the dog-fighting people doing this, mind you. Ordinary people that think it’s best for a dog to not be spayed or neutered, think it’s best that a mother dog have one litter of pups before she is spayed, or just let their dog run loose to “have fun” are also major problems. Sex for dogs isn’t the same thing as it is for humans (oh man, that will throw this thread into the gutter) yet as I said, people mistakenly overlay their feelings, emotions, and beliefs onto dogs.

My heart breaks when I see all the dogs in the shelters because I know for every dog I see that has found a place to live until it can be adopted there are many, many more that won’t get that chance either because they are unwanted or because they simply can’t be adopted for behavior reasons. People can be so ignorant and cruel, which stands in stark contrast to the unconditional care and love a dog will give its owner under the right circumstances.
last edited: 9/21/05 9:53:32 AM”

“canada is very progressive. their government knows a lot about how people should live. i would love to move there someday, maybe when there are no more pit-bull slaves. the attacks on human cubs for food is unfortunate, but necessary for the survival of canines

pitts, with counseling you can remove that drive. the drive comes from being forced to live in an alien environment. dogs are wired to live free in the wild. it is unnatural for them to be held captive. you can let them free, or give them counseling, all hope is not lost”

“pitts, with counseling you can remove that drive.

Pppbbbtttthhhh....”

“pitts, with counseling you can remove that drive. the drive comes from being forced to live in an alien environment. dogs are wired to live free in the wild. it is unnatural for them to be held captive. you can let them free, or give them counseling, all hope is not lost

Respectfully, I really don't believe this is right. Instinctive drive comes from the genetic origin of the dog and its line of selective breeding. You can’t remove this from the brain of a dog nor would you want to. Not letting a dog express it’s natural instincts only leads to a very frustrated dog that lets it’s energies out in ways that are often more harmful and destructive than the behavior you were trying to suppress.

Border collies are a good example. I love these dogs, but when there was an article about how smart they were people flocked out to get one as a family pet. This is a working breed and they have a lot of energy they want to express through herding… an instinct derived from natural hunting skills. Deny the dog an outlet for this instinct and they literally go nuts. Many of these wonderful dogs wind up in shelters because people don’t understand why “Bingo” won’t stop eating their sofa cushions… the dog behavior equivalent to us smoking a cigarette to relieve stress. The dog is screaming, “Let me out!” but people think the dog is “broken” and off it goes to a shelter or pound. The dog isn't broken, its the people and their desire to make the dog into something it isn't that is screwed up.

Furthermore, domestic dogs have specifically been bred to need the companionship of people. That’s what it means to be domesticated. While some dogs are closer to their wild state than others, none of these dogs are like wolves, true wild animals that have an instinctive fear of man.

Huskies are another good example. In addition to their high prey drive (not a desirable trait for many people but common in a lot of breeds) they also have a built-in need for companionship of a pack. That pack can be other dogs and/or people. The husky doesn’t care. It just needs to know its place in the order and be surrounded by its pack. Too often these dogs get left alone for large periods of time and become very destructive. It’s the result of denying the dog a natural drive to not be isolated since isolation leads to death in the wild. These dogs can literally go insane if denied companionship.

What these dogs need is for us to understand what they desire and for us to provide them with outlets for their needs. For the border collie that could mean chasing a Frisbee for an hour or two a few times a week (they are GOOD at this). For the husky this could mean that you will need to get another dog to keep it company or not get one in the first place if you would have to leave it locked in a kennel all day while you are at work.”

“do not get me wrong, pitts, i certainly agree that it is our prime responsibility to let the natural instincts of our canine friends be expressed. i am against the owning of dogs, so you can imagine how strongly i feel about this inhumanity. that being said, we do control them when they are owned, which is why i call them slaves. if we let their natural instincts take over, we would not lock them in a house, force them to urinate where we want, and let them drink out of the toilet. but those that do decide to own them are left with another alternative. i have seen animal psychiatry work and it is very impressive. it is quite amazing to see a dog before and after a session of hypnotherapy and accupuncture. i do not think it has spread on to most of the country, but is quite popular in much of california. i applaud your efforts to try to bring out the natural instincts of your companions. cheers”

“ it is quite amazing to see a dog before and after a session of hypnotherapy and accupuncture.

Oh fer crying out loud. Only in Cali.”

“do not get me wrong, pitts, i certainly agree that it is our prime responsibility to let the natural instincts of our canine friends be expressed. i am against the owning of dogs, so you can imagine how strongly i feel about this inhumanity. that being said, we do control them when they are owned, which is why i call them slaves.


moonglo's one of these:

http://media.putfile.com/petaBS

have you ever heard of the term domesticated?

compare your average stray dog to one owned by a decent person. which dog's happier and healthier?

who the hell let this fruitloop in?”

“LMAO, good crack on Cali, dat funny.”

“i am against the owning of dogs

I can't change the fact that the dog is a domesticated animal any more than I could change the fact that a cow or a horse is a domesticated animal and neither can you. I do respect your opinion, however, and will say that my way of expressing this is to say that I think there are a LOT of people that should not own dogs and specifically breed dogs. When we domesticated these animals we took on a role as their caretakers and I think it’s clear in my posts that by and large I don’t think we do a very good job in this role.”

“"the attacks on human cubs for food is unfortunate, but necessary for the survival of canines"

I don't think that making light of a small child loosing half their face is called for!”

“It's a troll, Trailpacker. Don't feed 'em, they're worse than bears.”

“

That's my dog. The other pitty fell through as the foster mom decided not to adopt him out.

This one stole my heart.... he's one of the most submissive dogs I've met in my life... when introduced to my lab,.. my lab was the one barking and leery around the pup... this one rolled on his back and wanted belly rubs.

To all the people on here who were so god damn rude to criticize me for liking something they don't, you can all go to hell.

This pup will have a great, loving home and will be properly cared for with obedience training and getting CGC certified.

And, yes, I have already checked out with the home owner's insurance. As long as the dog is CGC certified, they will cover. I have it in writing.”

“What a cutie!!! Does he have a name yet?”

“Awesome!! Pitbulls can be the sweetest pets on earth, but the breed reputation is well-founded. Just remember what he is capable of and do not put him in a bad situation.


Is he dragging you down the street yet?”

“awww!!!! I know he will have a good home with you :)”

“Yah Scorch, he is pretty cute. And as for all those criticizing you and going to hell, reckon' that seems fair enough.”

“He has a very sweet face! looks better behaved then my new pup who needs some serious training classes lol Im afraid my pup gets along with dogs only if he is top dog :(”

“What a total boo boo face. He's a cutie. Good luck with all the training.”

“He'd look cute with some potatoes and onions, maybe a few pinches of parsley and a little bit of freshly grated nutmeg (drool).”

“Great looking friend you have. Looks like blue eyes and a chocolate nose, cool. How old is this one.”

“very nice looking pup scorch”

“He really is such a sweetie.. has been getting along great in the house and has made himself at home with his new toys and doggy bed. He's already crate trained so that won't be a problem at night (thank god).

He's 4 and a half months old and a ball full of energy for each month lemme tell ya. I'm exhausted!

wd, he actually has brownish green eyes and a pinkish red nose.”

“Well nice fella, what do you intend to name him.”

“you better get another leash because that one won't hold him when it decides to take off after something or someone.

crate a dog??? if your gonna have a dog don't crate it. How would you like to be put in a cage every night....geesh”

“Actually Ewker, creating is good. My pup knows the crate is his special place, and will go lie down in it whne its bed time of his own free will, he takes all his toys with him too and puts them in there :)”

“yes creating is good crating isn't”

“he is a pretty boy!

have fun with him!”

“if he's pulling when you walk him, then get one of those leashes that loop around the front legs. works kinda like a choke but your dog won't pull at all. doesn't hurt them either. i found a cheap one at walmart and now the kids are able to walk the dog without any tugging. works way better than the halti.”

“helinka what was it called?”

“Ewk - Dogs like to den. A crate is just that. I'm crate-training my new pup and my 8 year old dog (who was crate trained years ago) still goes in to the crate to nap. They like the small, private spaces.

I bet 90% of trainers encourage crate-training.”

“SC - She's referring to a Gentle Lead Training Collar. They work great!”

“Cute pup! Best of luck with him.”

“sorry tara, I don't believe in crating dogs. If you are going have a dog let it have space of your home to roam around while you are at work or asleep. That is assuming you don't have a yard to let the dog roam in.

BTW, I am talking about people who put their dogs in the crate and lock it up while they are gone or asleep. That way the dog stays in the crate more than it is out of the crate. No way to treat the dog
last edited: 9/25/05 11:45:24 AM”

“Ewker, how many dogs do you have?”