Pitbulls

[Brill Weave]

Wife and I are picking up a 2year old male pit bull that is a rescue dog. He came from a good family that loved and took care of him. He is the calmest dog I've ever seen. I've owned small dogs before but never a dog of this size. Does anyone have any advice?

[Jonny]

Training Training Training and socialize about all you can do. Pittbulls get a bad rap because of the idiots that own them.
They can be great dogs tho

[Brill Weave]

Training is the first thing I will be looking into. Is a break stick something I should be picking up as well?

[Jonny]

I would, just to have one for walks and such.
"it’s better to have it and not need it than need it and not have it"


good link on Pitts Pitt Bull Facts

[Brill Weave]

Thanks. I will check it out.

[Kwijiboe]

Most of the problems with pit bulls are that they had bad owners. If it's true that it was friendly with the other family, socialized often with people outside of the family home, and has a calm manner... I wouldn't worry.

Typically rescue pit bulls are horrible because they come for a horrible home. In addition, while the breed has a bad reputation currently--that doesn't mean anything. A few decades back, German Shepherds had a bad reputation for being a 'dangerous dog.' A large part of the problem is public perception and bad upbringing.

[archibaldcrane]

Have fun with buying insurance for the rest of the dog's life. How is he a rescue coming from a good home? Did they all die in a fire and the dog was miraculously saved?

[Lucavi]

Didn't we have this thread last year? That one spiraled into a cesspool of shit; hopefully this one doesn't.

Good luck with your pooch.

[Brill Weave]

Have fun with buying insurance for the rest of the dog's life. How is he a rescue coming from a good home? Did they all die in a fire and the dog was miraculously saved?

Family had to choose between the dogs or their allergic newborn.

[zoobernut]

Training and socializing the dog with other dogs and people is key, just like any other dog. Also plenty of exercise and stimulation like tricks or games.

[Bregor]

Family had to choose between the dogs or their allergic newborn.

Sounds like the dog version of "this used car was only driven by a little old lady to church once a week."

Good luck man. At least if this ends horribly there will be an interesting story/Uncle Brill post.

[Brill Weave]

The family are the ones that run the shelter lol. That's the ONLY reason I believe what they are saying. They are a cat shelter. It's the only dog there.

[Bregor]

How many cats did it eat?

[Lucavi]

^ First thing I was wondering. Then I wondered if their last kid was eaten.

Dog owners really love their dogs, man. They'd cover that shit up.

[Brill Weave]

That was the first thing I asked lol. I'm mostly looking for advice from people that have experience with the breed.

[BaneTheBrawler]

There's a thread on here about the pitbull bad rep, im sure there's a lot of info in it that you could use. it's pretty long though.

anyway good luck, hope the dog fits in well with your family.

[zoobernut]

There's a thread on here about the pitbull bad rep, im sure there's a lot of info in it that you could use. it's pretty long though.

anyway good luck, hope the dog fits in well with your family.

I don't think there is very much useful information in that thread for a dog owner. It is a lot of arguing back and forth about bite statistics and what "inherently dangerous" means (Semantics). Having owned several different breeds in the medium dog size range I haven't seen much difference between them in their needs with respect to taking care of them. Socialize them with other people and other dogs regularly, keep them busy and interested in stuff by taking them on walks and stuff. Bored dogs get in trouble.

[archibaldcrane]

I just don't get why out of all the dog breeds out there, you'd pick one of the only ones targeted by insurance companies to fuck up your rates.

[Brill Weave]

We were planning on a larger dog to begin with Arch but after getting a heads up from a friend about this dog and meeting him we decided to go with this particular dog. The attitude and characteristics were exactly what we are looking for. It is without a doubt the most laid back dog I've ever come across.

[Salodin]

All pits I know, owned by friends, are needy attention whores. Nothing worse then a 30 pound dog who thinks its 10 pounds jumping all over you trying to get you to pet it and love it over ANYTHING else.

What I'm trying to say is, even though its already a little older then a dog you'd probably get on your own, invest in training. Some good training will go a long way, especially with a breed that already has such a bad rep.