Anyone else have a pit mix?

[Anonymous]

The OP knows the situation is problematic and is seeking some validation to say it’s okay.

[Anonymous]

Why are pychopaths not helpful to society? Why do they adopt pit bulls instead of exterminating them?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Your dog isn't viewing you as the pack leader/alpha dog. YOU set the boundaries. A quick Google search will tell you how to become dominant over your dog. it's not that hard, they have "pack mentality ".

the number of people on this board that are so quick to re-home the dog, you are part of the overcrowding of shelters. Pets aren't people! Take the time to work with the dog and get the help of a reputable trainer
Do you rehome your children if they do something wrong?!? Give the animal a chance, for God's sake.

Oh, look, the Cesar Millan ignoramus has showed up. Dominance theory is garbage.

OP, does your dog ever approach your kid's friends after they've been over a lot? Or are all strangers to be avoided? Not saying the latter would be a problem, exactly -- some dogs just aren't minglers. Some are turned into non-minglers by bad experiences. Some lose interest in mingling after a certain age.

Respecting that sometimes a dog wants to be left alone is a skill everyone should learn. Years ago, my sister's kids were obsessed with my dog. They were too young to control their impulses to follow her everywhere no matter how many times I reminded them that when she was in her bed, she needed to be left alone, so after one particularly exhausting Christmas, I started leaving her home with a petsitter. "Oh, the kids will be so disappointed!" my sister told me. "They were really looking forward to spending time with her!" Yeah, I know. That's why she's not here. Not because she'd have bitten them, but because your kids are making her miserable.

Really? You clearly haven't had many dogs. You absolutely let the dog know who is in charge. Find me a reputable site that backs up your claim that it's "garbage".

OP, aggression is any dog is born out of fear. And there are many things you can do to correct the behavior. Dogs need training! I am amazed at the number of people that just say "get rid of the dog". For starters, you can muzzle the dog when your children or visitors are around. If the dog is approached by someone and doesn't growl, reward with positive reinforcement. Lots of praise! This is just one of many things a good trainer can help you learn and implement.

Do you consider veterinarians "reputable"?

https://vcahospitals.com/know-your-pet/dog-behavior-and-training-dominance-alpha-and-pack-leadership-what-does-it-really-mean

Big deal. You can do a million searches on the internet until you find the answer you want. There are two million more that contradict this article.

And they are all based on outdating thinking that ignores science. So yeah, gonna go with veterinarians, animal behaviorists, and anthrozoologists. You know, the people who stay current with peer-reviewed research?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Why are pychopaths not helpful to society? Why do they adopt pit bulls instead of exterminating them?

What? You’re calling the OP a psychopath now?!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:We’ve had him 13 months. He’s very bonded to DH and I and let’s us get away with stuff I wouldn’t trust him to tolerate in the boys (like hugging him or spooning him when cuddling). He’s also very tolerant of our 11 year DD.

He’s given the boys more warning growls. So that’s why we read up on dog body language and taught them to approach hand first, turned backwards for a sniff, before reaching out and to scratch his chest, along his ears, or his back instead of patting the top of his head.

I’m making it sound like he doesn’t like or trust them and that’s not true. He is happy to see them in the morning and after school. He’s happy to see them if we come upon them outside on one of his walks. He runs over to actively solicit pets.

I guess the thing with the dog is, it has to be on his terms, especially with the boys. He does have a defined personal space and is not shy to protect his boundaries.

OMG OP. There are so many glaring red flags here that I don’t know where to start. Why are you making your children live this way? What lessons are you hoping they absorb by putting them through this?

Your dog needs a new home, without kids. And your sons need to understand that you care about their safety and that their safety is important to you.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I haven’t read anything that screams “rehome asap” yet. He sounds like a typical rescue who is slow to acclimate and trust. Some dogs take yearS to fully settle in and relax.

All the more reason as to why the dog needs to be rehomed. Not in a home with children.

There's a reason that many rescues will say that a dog needs to be in a house with no kids.

Some dogs are fine in a house with kids, people coming in and out. An aloof, reserved, cautious and aggressive or fear-aggressive dog is one of those. He will be happier with a different family.

Consider your time as a long foster, OP. You've done well by him. Now find his forever home for him.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We’ve had him 13 months. He’s very bonded to DH and I and let’s us get away with stuff I wouldn’t trust him to tolerate in the boys (like hugging him or spooning him when cuddling). He’s also very tolerant of our 11 year DD.

He’s given the boys more warning growls. So that’s why we read up on dog body language and taught them to approach hand first, turned backwards for a sniff, before reaching out and to scratch his chest, along his ears, or his back instead of patting the top of his head.

I’m making it sound like he doesn’t like or trust them and that’s not true. He is happy to see them in the morning and after school. He’s happy to see them if we come upon them outside on one of his walks. He runs over to actively solicit pets.

I guess the thing with the dog is, it has to be on his terms, especially with the boys. He does have a defined personal space and is not shy to protect his boundaries.

I see you are dug in on this, but your boys can’t even hug their dog they’ve had more than a year. That is NOT OK.

They have to let him sniff their hands like their first time meeting a new dog. But this is a dog they live with for over a year. It’s NOT OK. This dog does NOT trust them.

Dogs are pack animals and usually don’t have such a large personal space bubble. I worry that someone’s going to maybe trip and fall near the dog and set it off. Or boys roughhousing and the dog gets upset and bites someone. Especially if the dog starts protecting your DD.

My brother had a very similar situation with his German Shepherd, and it did end up biting his nephew (other side). Did significant damage and he had to shoot it. Awful. This dog needs a kid-free home.

+1

It’s also likely to get worse as the boys grow and start having a stronger “male” scent to the already young-male-threatened dog. The safety of OPs sons is at stake here.

[Anonymous]

OP never answers the questions about what lessons she thinks her kids are absorbing about the importance of their own physical safety to her (as opposed to the clear importance she places on the dog’s boundaries).

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP never answers the questions about what lessons she thinks her kids are absorbing about the importance of their own physical safety to her (as opposed to the clear importance she places on the dog’s boundaries).

Op here. That’s because I do think they’re safe. One thing I didn’t mention is that the dog stays n our ground floor. He won’t go up or down steps. He is also somewhat scared of the kitchen. He’ll go in the living room, dining room, and the sun room which is “his” room. The little sun room is the only room he is somewhat territorial over. If he wants space, he’ll scuttle away from where he was lying in the dining room or living room to the sun room.

So it’s not like the dog ever barges into their space and growls at them to get out.

Also it’s not like he growls at them that often! It happened a few times in the first six months but has been rare since then.

To the poster who said it takes some dogs longer to settle in, I think this is true for him. But he is def getting much better. My father came over this morning, a person who is largely unknown to him, and he was hesitant at first but when I started baby talking to him saying “friend” he calmed down and went over to solicit pets. He knows the word friend for some reason.

[Anonymous]

Man, you can really tell who hasn’t had any experience with rescue dogs in here. You don’t get rid of a traumatized dog over minor issues like this. I mean you can but it’s really shitty. Putting the dog back in a shelter will traumatize it even more.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP never answers the questions about what lessons she thinks her kids are absorbing about the importance of their own physical safety to her (as opposed to the clear importance she places on the dog’s boundaries).

Op here. That’s because I do think they’re safe. One thing I didn’t mention is that the dog stays n our ground floor. He won’t go up or down steps. He is also somewhat scared of the kitchen. He’ll go in the living room, dining room, and the sun room which is “his” room. The little sun room is the only room he is somewhat territorial over. If he wants space, he’ll scuttle away from where he was lying in the dining room or living room to the sun room.

So it’s not like the dog ever barges into their space and growls at them to get out.

Also it’s not like he growls at them that often! It happened a few times in the first six months but has been rare since then.

To the poster who said it takes some dogs longer to settle in, I think this is true for him. But he is def getting much better. My father came over this morning, a person who is largely unknown to him, and he was hesitant at first but when I started baby talking to him saying “friend” he calmed down and went over to solicit pets. He knows the word friend for some reason.

OP, gently, you know they aren’t safe. You wouldn’t have started this thread on DCUM if you truly thought your children were safe. And to validate the instincts that made you start the thread: your children are not safe. The details you add in each subsequent post make the situation seem worse, not better. I understand you love this dog. But you are prioritizing the dog over the safety of your children.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Man, you can really tell who hasn’t had any experience with rescue dogs in here. You don’t get rid of a traumatized dog over minor issues like this. I mean you can but it’s really shitty. Putting the dog back in a shelter will traumatize it even more.

I’ve worked with many rescues as a volunteer and owned rescues myself and I think there is absolutely no question OP needs to rehome this dog immediately. I’m worried for the safety of her kids based on what she has posted.

There are many rescue dogs that should never live in homes with children. If you don’t understand that, you don’t have any experience with rescue dogs.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP here. I do t think I am back tracking. I’m just trying to explain the situation accurately. He’s not a bad dog. He actually has a lot of great qualities. I’ve met way worse dogs. He rarely barks, he’s not clingy, he doesn’t have separation anxiety, we can easily leave him home for 4-6 hours, he’s not destructive in the house, he doesn’t have onerous exercise needs, he doesn’t shed much, he doesn’t beg or jump up in our counters. He doesn’t even come up our stairs. He has utterly *fantastic* recall. He has great bite inhibition. He’s snapped at all of us but very gently with his mouth. He’s never nipped or bitten, he must have been trained about how much pressure to apply by someone else.

The main drawbacks are: he doesn’t like strangers in his house (not a big deal to me personally) but he’s fine with people outdoors at the park or on the street or even in our backyard. And he’s not open for pets and affection 24/7. Now that we‘ve known him for a while, we can usually tell by his body language. You know how sometimes dogs will curl up in a tight ball to sleep? If he’s like that on his bed or “his couch” in his room he might give a very low, soft growl if you approach hand out to pet. But just as often he’ll stretch out and invite tummy scratches. We let him lead and have not had problems since we started doing that. When we leave the house and come home, he’s excited and happy to see everyone and get pets from everyone including the kids. He runs up to them as soon as they get home from school for pets. Then he goes back to doing his thing (he really likes to sit on the couch and look out the window).

He’s a very regimented dog. He likes to eat and do the same things at the same time every day. He likes to play in the evening and will play tug of war with the kids. But he ants to be asleep and left alone by 9 pm. I don’t feel like it’s that hard to respect this boundary?

Does this really sound so bad?

Would it sound less bad if he weren’t half pit?

Him being half pit is important though. The dog's behavior is overtly not friendly and to a certain extent difficult ("it has to be on his terms"). Him being a pit is important because if, God forbid, he does snap one day it can be lethal.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP here. I do t think I am back tracking. I’m just trying to explain the situation accurately. He’s not a bad dog. He actually has a lot of great qualities. I’ve met way worse dogs. He rarely barks, he’s not clingy, he doesn’t have separation anxiety, we can easily leave him home for 4-6 hours, he’s not destructive in the house, he doesn’t have onerous exercise needs, he doesn’t shed much, he doesn’t beg or jump up in our counters. He doesn’t even come up our stairs. He has utterly *fantastic* recall. He has great bite inhibition. He’s snapped at all of us but very gently with his mouth. He’s never nipped or bitten, he must have been trained about how much pressure to apply by someone else.

The main drawbacks are: he doesn’t like strangers in his house (not a big deal to me personally) but he’s fine with people outdoors at the park or on the street or even in our backyard. And he’s not open for pets and affection 24/7. Now that we‘ve known him for a while, we can usually tell by his body language. You know how sometimes dogs will curl up in a tight ball to sleep? If he’s like that on his bed or “his couch” in his room he might give a very low, soft growl if you approach hand out to pet. But just as often he’ll stretch out and invite tummy scratches. We let him lead and have not had problems since we started doing that. When we leave the house and come home, he’s excited and happy to see everyone and get pets from everyone including the kids. He runs up to them as soon as they get home from school for pets. Then he goes back to doing his thing (he really likes to sit on the couch and look out the window).

He’s a very regimented dog. He likes to eat and do the same things at the same time every day. He likes to play in the evening and will play tug of war with the kids. But he ants to be asleep and left alone by 9 pm. I don’t feel like it’s that hard to respect this boundary?

Does this really sound so bad?

Would it sound less bad if he weren’t half pit?

Him being half pit is important though. The dog's behavior is overtly not friendly and to a certain extent difficult ("it has to be on his terms"). Him being a pit is important because if, God forbid, he does snap one day it can be lethal.

Just out of curiosity, does it matter that he doesn't have the typical pit head/jawline/musculature? OP described this in the first post. I am curious about pit mixes and safety issues as well.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP here. I do t think I am back tracking. I’m just trying to explain the situation accurately. He’s not a bad dog. He actually has a lot of great qualities. I’ve met way worse dogs. He rarely barks, he’s not clingy, he doesn’t have separation anxiety, we can easily leave him home for 4-6 hours, he’s not destructive in the house, he doesn’t have onerous exercise needs, he doesn’t shed much, he doesn’t beg or jump up in our counters. He doesn’t even come up our stairs. He has utterly *fantastic* recall. He has great bite inhibition. He’s snapped at all of us but very gently with his mouth. He’s never nipped or bitten, he must have been trained about how much pressure to apply by someone else.

The main drawbacks are: he doesn’t like strangers in his house (not a big deal to me personally) but he’s fine with people outdoors at the park or on the street or even in our backyard. And he’s not open for pets and affection 24/7. Now that we‘ve known him for a while, we can usually tell by his body language. You know how sometimes dogs will curl up in a tight ball to sleep? If he’s like that on his bed or “his couch” in his room he might give a very low, soft growl if you approach hand out to pet. But just as often he’ll stretch out and invite tummy scratches. We let him lead and have not had problems since we started doing that. When we leave the house and come home, he’s excited and happy to see everyone and get pets from everyone including the kids. He runs up to them as soon as they get home from school for pets. Then he goes back to doing his thing (he really likes to sit on the couch and look out the window).

He’s a very regimented dog. He likes to eat and do the same things at the same time every day. He likes to play in the evening and will play tug of war with the kids. But he ants to be asleep and left alone by 9 pm. I don’t feel like it’s that hard to respect this boundary?

Does this really sound so bad?

Would it sound less bad if he weren’t half pit?

Him being half pit is important though. The dog's behavior is overtly not friendly and to a certain extent difficult ("it has to be on his terms"). Him being a pit is important because if, God forbid, he does snap one day it can be lethal.

Just out of curiosity, does it matter that he doesn't have the typical pit head/jawline/musculature? OP described this in the first post. I am curious about pit mixes and safety issues as well.

While important, it's not just about the dog's physical make-up. It's also the instinct and drive and viciousness they attack with. Pits and bully breeds are bred to kill -- they aren't deterred by pain or other typical counters. I'm not sure how his % of pit is a factor here but that would be my concern.