Serious question about Pit-bulls...

PiercePierce Posts: 71
edited January 2008 in All Encompassing Trip
i love animals..especially dogs...i have a 6 year old Old English Sheepdog...and i just saved a 8 week old part- pitbull and mutt from a horrible situation...what can i say...he is a puppy...which i named him Vedder..anyway, i know he needs to get "sniped" before 6 months....i just need some more tips...i know he will be harder than my sheepdog to raise..."help me, help me"
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  • BinGnarlyBinGnarly Posts: 508
    My roommates puppy is a pit. Well my old roommates and he was more my dog then his but he bought him. Anyways Marley (as some of you know him) was the easiest dog to raise. He doesnt get violent or anything. Pit pulls just want love and attention. Give little Vedder lots of that and you will be fine.
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  • lucylespianlucylespian Posts: 2,403
    Dog lover here, but sorry, pit bulls were bred to be nasty and they are.
    I met a guy a few years ago who still adored his, despite the fact that he had a massive scar on his arm from it.
    Castration will help but temperament definitly breeds on.

    Ask yourself, do you really want a dog that you can't trust in public or around friends and family, even if he is perfect with you ??
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  • wolfbearwolfbear Posts: 3,965
    Pit bulls are wonderful dogs, but definitely need training. I'd recommend checking out local services such as your Humane Society, vets, dog trainers, etc. for good recommendations. Also very important, is to get your puppy around other dogs and people, outside of your family. You shouldn't have too much trouble as you got him as a puppy. It's much harder when you have to overcome bad training and neglect. :) Good luck.
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  • WhizbangWhizbang Posts: 1,314
    A little something I learned in training my dogs.

    I was the one being trained....they knew it already

    If all you want out of training the pup is for him to love you, don't bother paying for training....he already loves you.

    If you want a relationship with the dog built on respect, see to it that he's put in his place based on "dog" rules: you eat first, you go through doors first, he gets out of your way when walking through a room, humans on the furniture, dogs on the floor. This isn't to say my dogs don't occasionally eat before me or that they're never allowed on the furniture. But as puppies, they were kept in their place. And now? They're only allowed up when I invite them and "off" means it.

    Keep him last on the totem pole in your house, giving your older dog more "privledges" (earned of course) will help him learn where he stands and what he has to do to earn those things.

    Get him in puppy kindergarden....he'll get socialized with other pups his age and you'll learn how to train him (it was humbling both times I did it....I found out that both my girls knew more about dog training than I ever thought I did!). Plus he'll be tired. My training company's philosophy? "A tired dog is a good dog. An exhausted dog is a GREAT dog!" Even now, at 7 and 8 years old, the both of my dogs have lots of energy to burn and they will get destructive if I don't burn it off them somehow (Frisbee, running at the beach, ball in the house, mind games). And two 65lb Labs are a handful, to say the least!

    Good luck....and post some pics of him!!!!!
    believe it or not, we don't "need" anything. that is only the spoiled brat in us trying to fill some temporary solution to an emptyness that does not exist.

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  • JeanieJeanie Posts: 9,446
    Sawyer wrote:
    til they turn on an infant.....they are unpredictable and should be illegal to own.


    Other breeds were also responsible for homicides, but to a much lesser extent. A 1997 study of dog bite fatalities in the years 1979 through 1996 revealed that the following breeds had killed one or more persons: pit bulls, Rottweilers, German shepherds, huskies, Alaskan malamutes, Doberman pinschers, chows, Great Danes, St. Bernards and Akitas. (Dog Bite Related Fatalities," Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report, May 30, 1997, Vol. 46, No. 21, pp. 463 et. seq.) Since 1975, fatal attacks have been attributed to dogs from at least 30 breeds.

    The most horrifying example of the lack of breed predictability is the October 2000 death of a 6-week-old baby, which was killed by her family's Pomeranian dog. The average weight of a Pomeranian is about 4 pounds, and they are not thought of as a dangerous breed. Note, however, that they were bred to be watchdogs! The baby's uncle left the infant and the dog on a bed while the uncle prepared her bottle in the kitchen. Upon his return, the dog was mauling the baby, who died shortly afterwards. ("Baby Girl Killed by Family Dog," Los Angeles Times, Monday, October 9, 2000, Home Edition, Metro Section, Page B-5.)


    In all fairness, therefore, it must be noted that:

    -Any dog, treated harshly or trained to attack, may bite a person. Any dog can be turned into a dangerous dog. The owner or handler most often is responsible for making a dog into something dangerous.
    -An irresponsible owner or dog handler might create a situation that places another person in danger by a dog, without the dog itself being dangerous, as in the case of the Pomeranian that killed the infant (see above).
    -Any individual dog may be a good, loving pet, even though its breed is considered to be potentially dangerous. A responsible owner can win the love and respect of a dog, no matter its breed. One cannot look at an individual dog, recognize its breed, and then state whether or not it is going to attack.
    To learn more about dog attacks, see Why dogs bite people To learn about how to take some of the bite out of the dog bite epidemic, see Attorney Kenneth Phillips' 10-point plan for Preventing Dog Bites.


    http://www.dogbitelaw.com/PAGES/statistics.html
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  • i know a person who has a pitbull, and i can honestly say that is the sweetest dog i have ever met. if you train them right and give them alot of love i dont see how they can be violent. Goodluck :)
  • WhizbangWhizbang Posts: 1,314
    Jeanie wrote:
    Other breeds were also responsible for homicides, but to a much lesser extent. A 1997 study of dog bite fatalities in the years 1979 through 1996 revealed that the following breeds had killed one or more persons: pit bulls, Rottweilers, German shepherds, huskies, Alaskan malamutes, Doberman pinschers, chows, Great Danes, St. Bernards and Akitas. (Dog Bite Related Fatalities," Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report, May 30, 1997, Vol. 46, No. 21, pp. 463 et. seq.) Since 1975, fatal attacks have been attributed to dogs from at least 30 breeds.

    The most horrifying example of the lack of breed predictability is the October 2000 death of a 6-week-old baby, which was killed by her family's Pomeranian dog. The average weight of a Pomeranian is about 4 pounds, and they are not thought of as a dangerous breed. Note, however, that they were bred to be watchdogs! The baby's uncle left the infant and the dog on a bed while the uncle prepared her bottle in the kitchen. Upon his return, the dog was mauling the baby, who died shortly afterwards. ("Baby Girl Killed by Family Dog," Los Angeles Times, Monday, October 9, 2000, Home Edition, Metro Section, Page B-5.)


    In all fairness, therefore, it must be noted that:

    -Any dog, treated harshly or trained to attack, may bite a person. Any dog can be turned into a dangerous dog. The owner or handler most often is responsible for making a dog into something dangerous.
    -An irresponsible owner or dog handler might create a situation that places another person in danger by a dog, without the dog itself being dangerous, as in the case of the Pomeranian that killed the infant (see above).
    -Any individual dog may be a good, loving pet, even though its breed is considered to be potentially dangerous. A responsible owner can win the love and respect of a dog, no matter its breed. One cannot look at an individual dog, recognize its breed, and then state whether or not it is going to attack.
    To learn more about dog attacks, see Why dogs bite people To learn about how to take some of the bite out of the dog bite epidemic, see Attorney Kenneth Phillips' 10-point plan for Preventing Dog Bites.


    http://www.dogbitelaw.com/PAGES/statistics.html

    thank you, Jeanie.
    Again, to my point in another thread - the #1 reason why the insurance industry has black listed certain breeds is the unpredicability of the people who own them.
    believe it or not, we don't "need" anything. that is only the spoiled brat in us trying to fill some temporary solution to an emptyness that does not exist.

    I have eaten so much gold I crapped excellence - drtyfrnk29

    Life is either a daring adventure or nothing at all!
  • normnorm Posts: 31,146
    Whizbang wrote:
    A little something I learned in training my dogs.

    I was the one being trained....they knew it already

    If all you want out of training the pup is for him to love you, don't bother paying for training....he already loves you.

    If you want a relationship with the dog built on respect, see to it that he's put in his place based on "dog" rules: you eat first, you go through doors first, he gets out of your way when walking through a room, humans on the furniture, dogs on the floor. This isn't to say my dogs don't occasionally eat before me or that they're never allowed on the furniture. But as puppies, they were kept in their place. And now? They're only allowed up when I invite them and "off" means it.

    Keep him last on the totem pole in your house, giving your older dog more "privledges" (earned of course) will help him learn where he stands and what he has to do to earn those things.

    Get him in puppy kindergarden....he'll get socialized with other pups his age and you'll learn how to train him (it was humbling both times I did it....I found out that both my girls knew more about dog training than I ever thought I did!). Plus he'll be tired. My training company's philosophy? "A tired dog is a good dog. An exhausted dog is a GREAT dog!" Even now, at 7 and 8 years old, the both of my dogs have lots of energy to burn and they will get destructive if I don't burn it off them somehow (Frisbee, running at the beach, ball in the house, mind games). And two 65lb Labs are a handful, to say the least!

    Good luck....and post some pics of him!!!!!


    perfect! ....well said....:)
  • JeanieJeanie Posts: 9,446
    Whizbang wrote:
    thank you, Jeanie.
    Again, to my point in another thread - the #1 reason why the insurance industry has black listed certain breeds is the unpredicability of the people who own them.

    All animals are unpredictable, just as people are.

    I think it's always worth remembering that dogs can't speak and they are carnivores. And we are all meat in the end. They will behave on instinct at any given time. ANY BREED.

    My thought has always been, you own a dog, you'd be best doing it thinking you own a tiger.

    Never leave your dog unnattended around other people, and certainly NEVER around somebody that is smaller and defenceless. It's the law of nature really. Pit Bulls are more capable of killing you, same as dobermans because of their physiology and instinct if it's sparked, but any dog can and will if the "right" circumstances come in to play.

    My dog is NEVER left alone with small children, or elderly or those that are defenceless. He is encouraged to spend time with all kinds of people, and all kinds of animals, always fully supervised. AND I am more than prepared to have to cut his throat if he does attack and must be stopped. Hate to be that brutal but I see no reason to pretend to myself that he is any different to any other animal or person for that matter. And as wolfbear and yourself said, it never hurts to get as much help with training him and yourself as possible.
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  • Phantom PainPhantom Pain Posts: 9,876
    Definitely socialize the dog with people and other dogs now !

    Get him around other dogs,take him to training with other dogs

    The more interaction he has the better off the puppy will be

    Take care of him and make sure he can trust you

    Good Luck with the pooch !

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  • Sawyer wrote:
    til they turn on an infant.....they are unpredictable and should be illegal to own.

    More infants are killed by their parents than pit bulls.
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  • i know a person who has a pitbull, and i can honestly say that is the sweetest dog i have ever met. if you train them right and give them alot of love i dont see how they can be violent. Goodluck :)
    For sure. Any dog that's treated well will generally treat humans well too. Pit bulls are just fine imo.
  • JeanieJeanie Posts: 9,446
    Pierce wrote:
    i love animals..especially dogs...i have a 6 year old Old English Sheepdog...and i just saved a 8 week old part- pitbull and mutt from a horrible situation...what can i say...he is a puppy...which i named him Vedder..anyway, i know he needs to get "sniped" before 6 months....i just need some more tips...i know he will be harder than my sheepdog to raise..."help me, help me"


    Hey Pierce. Congratulations! :)

    Bullies are awesome dogs! And big old softies a lot of the time.

    When I got smelly old Lukin ;) there a few months back I got a lot of really good advice from people here on the pit.

    The four best things I think that have helped me and Lukey come to an understanding are the following:

    1) The Gentle Leader ~ You HAVE to get one of these! Cutback put me on to it and it's the GREATEST INVENTION for dogs EVER!! I can now walk Lukin for MILES instead of him dragging me a few hundred metres and having to give up!

    2) Crating ~ I was a bit put off by the idea at first, but gee it's good! It's made such a difference to old buckethead that I cannot recommend it enough.

    3) Training ~ We've yet to go off to training school because the year was winding up when I got Lukin, but I know that I need help learning all about how he works and good training is so important. Me being the one that needs the training! So he doesn't know it yet, but we'll be doing that this year and already I know that the benefits will be many.

    4) *~*The Doggie Thread*~* : :D I know it's mostly a bunch of us posting pics and bragging about our pups, (well I know in my case!) BUT the folk on the Doggie Thread here have given me INVALUABLE advice on how to care for Lukin, from the Gentle Leader, to the Training School, to feeding him raw, to cooking him cookies, to wtf is wrong with him and all this itching! You name it, everbody has helped me and Lukin immensely AND we have lots of new doggy friends and their staff now too! So I reckon you should hop yourself over there and say g'day and you'll get all the help you'll ever need and make some great friends, furry and otherwise while you're at it! :)

    http://forums.pearljam.com/showthread.php?p=5077287#post5077287

    Good luck with Vedder Pierce, you guys are gonna have the best of times together. :)
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  • JeanieJeanie Posts: 9,446
    Sawyer wrote:
    thank you 'Statistic Steven'....have a feeling there are more humans to infants than pitbulls/infants.....your logic seems way off.

    Don't tell my you want to bring logic into it now? Seems you'd be out of your league to me.
    NOPE!!!

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  • JeanieJeanie Posts: 9,446
    Sawyer wrote:
    that couldn't be more fictitious......they snap for no reason and are a danger....people who buy them are generally fools.


    Way to go with the sweeping generalizations, stereotypes and ignorance.

    There is fiction here but it's coming from you.
    NOPE!!!

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  • corycory Posts: 736
    The knock on pitbulls is not that "all pitbulls are vicious killing machines." (which they are;) )

    Sure, a lot of breeds have the ability to kill infants. So can raccoons, bats, and fucking mosquitos.

    The problem is when a pitbull turns on you, in your home for instance, there is nothing you can do to stop it short of shooting it. They do not quit. They don't feel pain. They are unstoppable when they're set off.

    Again, not all pitbulls will harm a human in their lifetime. But EVERY PITBULL IN THE WORLD has it in their blood to become just what I described if the conditions are right.

    I'll break a Lab's jaw. I ain't doing shit to a pitbull. And neither are you if one gets on your ass.
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  • cory wrote:
    there is nothing you can do to stop it short of shooting it. They do not quit. They don't feel pain. They are unstoppable when they're set off.

    yea, and I'm fictitious..
  • corycory Posts: 736
    Saturnal wrote:
    yea, and I'm fictitious..


    Haha...I'm just telling you dude. A pitbull is the last breed of dog you would ever want swinging from your thigh by its teeth. Not that I would want anything with its teeth all up in my shit.
    Revive the heart of the heartless...

    Why would you start was has no end?
  • JeanieJeanie Posts: 9,446
    Sawyer wrote:
    oh i'm sorry....are you a rapper....because if you are or used to wear #7 for the Atlanta Falcons you have no business owning one of these animals.


    I know this will be hard for you, seemingly you are very insular, but I have no idea what you are talking about because I know this will be hard to comprehend, but not everyone comes from America. And a lot of us don't get your cultural references and we live perfectly happily with out them. :) Not to mention that I still live in a free country so you're "no business" assertion isn't gonna cut it much.

    There are plenty of people that have no business having pets. ANY pets!

    But until such times as we start mandating strict controls and education and licencing for pet owners we are going to have the same problems over and over. The animals aren't the ones that need to be trained and educated it's the humans that own them.
    NOPE!!!

    *~You're IT Bert!~*

    Hold on to the thread
    The currents will shift
  • JeanieJeanie Posts: 9,446
    cory wrote:
    The knock on pitbulls is not that "all pitbulls are vicious killing machines." (which they are;) )

    Sure, a lot of breeds have the ability to kill infants. So can raccoons, bats, and fucking mosquitos.

    The problem is when a pitbull turns on you, in your home for instance, there is nothing you can do to stop it short of shooting it. They do not quit. They don't feel pain. They are unstoppable when they're set off.

    Again, not all pitbulls will harm a human in their lifetime. But EVERY PITBULL IN THE WORLD has it in their blood to become just what I described if the conditions are right.

    I'll break a Lab's jaw. I ain't doing shit to a pitbull. And neither are you if one gets on your ass.

    Well I beg to differ cory. :)

    Twice now I have stopped a pit bull from attacking. And it wasn't easy but I was just as determined as the dogs. So yeah, maybe I was lucky, maybe I just brought it, who knows? But to think they've got you beat before you start only adds to their reputation.
    NOPE!!!

    *~You're IT Bert!~*

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  • JeanieJeanie Posts: 9,446
    Sawyer wrote:
    doesn't this just justify all my comments.....you are defending something you had to defend against.....bizarre.

    I've had to defend myself against men too, are you suggesting we exterminate all them? :rolleyes:

    Seriously dude, the guy got himself a dog and it's a good thing. If you wanna bang on endlessly, uninformed, with your opinions about particular breeds of dogs this aint the place to do it. Go start a thread. Obviously you have lots of silly things to say about it and no amount of stats, reasoning, logic or fair minded thinking is going to sway you. Just don't buy one. :)
    NOPE!!!

    *~You're IT Bert!~*

    Hold on to the thread
    The currents will shift
  • BinGnarly wrote:
    My roommates puppy is a pit. Well my old roommates and he was more my dog then his but he bought him. Anyways Marley (as some of you know him) was the easiest dog to raise. He doesnt get violent or anything. Pit pulls just want love and attention. Give little Vedder lots of that and you will be fine.


    Totally agree!! Guys like mike vick give pits a bad name...
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