Anyone else have a pit mix?

[Anonymous]

We adopted a rescue dog about a year ago. We were told that he was a greyhound mix but according to one of those DNA tests, he is ~ 24% pit and the rest is Golden Retriever, Chow Chow, and Chihuahua.

Anyway, I'm just feeling a little unnerved by him because of the news about that horrible pit attack on the two babies.

He's a sweet dog but can be skittish around strangers. For this reason, we require our kids (youngest is 11 and oldest is 15) to be very careful about how they approach him or pet him. They know to gently put their hand out to allow him to sniff first and not to put their hands on top of his head. We're careful about observing his body language and respecting his boundaries if he seems tense, if he's yawning or licking his lips a lot, if he's giving whale eyes, and especially if his tail is tucked. They know not to approach him on his bed and to never bring friends or strangers around him. He's very open and affectionate with me and DH, probably because we feed him. For exercise and boarding, he goes to a specialty daycare and his file is accompanied by a warning that he might bite so I don't worry about that too much. They know how to handle dogs like him and he has warmed up to the staff considerably. Daycare has definitely been helping his socialization issues. But how do we know if he is a ticking time bomb at home?

He doesn't have the typical pit musculature or jaw, does that matter? He has a long narrow snout and long skinny legs (which may be why the shelter thought he was part greyhound).

I'm just a little unnerved by this idea that a loving family dog who has been nothing but perfect for years can suddenly snap and maul two kids and their mom.

[Anonymous]

What prompted you to test his DNA?

[Anonymous]

Why does your dog have a bite warning at daycare?

The kid in this case were babies. Your kids are older. It's incredibly rare for there to be any fatal dog attacks at all - but when there is one, it's usually babies or very old people, because they are most frail.

My family had a pittie for 15 years. She died 10 years ago, without having harmed anyone in her whole sweet life.

Don't get weird about your dog. We also don't know the whole story with what happened here. It is very unlikely that the dogs just suddenly became Cujo out of nowhere. But that said, no matter what type of dog you have - exercise caution. Never ever ever leave a baby alone with a dog, especially a big dog.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Why does your dog have a bite warning at daycare?

The kid in this case were babies. Your kids are older. It's incredibly rare for there to be any fatal dog attacks at all - but when there is one, it's usually babies or very old people, because they are most frail.

My family had a pittie for 15 years. She died 10 years ago, without having harmed anyone in her whole sweet life.

Don't get weird about your dog. We also don't know the whole story with what happened here. It is very unlikely that the dogs just suddenly became Cujo out of nowhere. But that said, no matter what type of dog you have - exercise caution. Never ever ever leave a baby alone with a dog, especially a big dog.

^ Also, start having your kids feed the dog. Make sure they know the dog, and know how to behave around him. Make sure they have a relationship. Part of dog safety - at home, and out in the world - is learning how to interact safely with dogs. Leaning how to read their body language. Perhaps take the dog for some classes and have the kids participate, too. The dog might not need to learn anything, but it will help them all bond and teach them how to read and behave around each other.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:What prompted you to test his DNA?

Op here. Just idle curiosity.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:We adopted a rescue dog about a year ago. We were told that he was a greyhound mix but according to one of those DNA tests, he is ~ 24% pit and the rest is Golden Retriever, Chow Chow, and Chihuahua.

Anyway, I'm just feeling a little unnerved by him because of the news about that horrible pit attack on the two babies.

He's a sweet dog but can be skittish around strangers. For this reason, we require our kids (youngest is 11 and oldest is 15) to be very careful about how they approach him or pet him. They know to gently put their hand out to allow him to sniff first and not to put their hands on top of his head. We're careful about observing his body language and respecting his boundaries if he seems tense, if he's yawning or licking his lips a lot, if he's giving whale eyes, and especially if his tail is tucked. They know not to approach him on his bed and to never bring friends or strangers around him. He's very open and affectionate with me and DH, probably because we feed him. For exercise and boarding, he goes to a specialty daycare and his file is accompanied by a warning that he might bite so I don't worry about that too much. They know how to handle dogs like him and he has warmed up to the staff considerably. Daycare has definitely been helping his socialization issues. But how do we know if he is a ticking time bomb at home?

He doesn't have the typical pit musculature or jaw, does that matter? He has a long narrow snout and long skinny legs (which may be why the shelter thought he was part greyhound).

I'm just a little unnerved by this idea that a loving family dog who has been nothing but perfect for years can suddenly snap and maul two kids and their mom.

I am unnerved about all the considerations and modifications you have had to make.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Why does your dog have a bite warning at daycare?

The kid in this case were babies. Your kids are older. It's incredibly rare for there to be any fatal dog attacks at all - but when there is one, it's usually babies or very old people, because they are most frail.

My family had a pittie for 15 years. She died 10 years ago, without having harmed anyone in her whole sweet life.

Don't get weird about your dog. We also don't know the whole story with what happened here. It is very unlikely that the dogs just suddenly became Cujo out of nowhere. But that said, no matter what type of dog you have - exercise caution. Never ever ever leave a baby alone with a dog, especially a big dog.

OP here. When he's around strangers, especially indoors, he gets anxious and then growls and snaps. He's never actually nipped or bitten anyone though, as far as I know. He just looks like he's going to. Outdoors, he's a happy go lucky, friendly dog. It's very strange and I assume has something to do with his shelter experiences.

We were incredibly lucky to find this daycare because they specialize in rehabbing dogs after surgery. So they are used to grouchy, irritated dogs who don't want to be there. They take healthy dogs for day play and overnight boarding as a side hustle. He goes 3 mornings a week for exercise and to keep him acclimated to the staff so we can leave him overnight when needed.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We adopted a rescue dog about a year ago. We were told that he was a greyhound mix but according to one of those DNA tests, he is ~ 24% pit and the rest is Golden Retriever, Chow Chow, and Chihuahua.

Anyway, I'm just feeling a little unnerved by him because of the news about that horrible pit attack on the two babies.

He's a sweet dog but can be skittish around strangers. For this reason, we require our kids (youngest is 11 and oldest is 15) to be very careful about how they approach him or pet him. They know to gently put their hand out to allow him to sniff first and not to put their hands on top of his head. We're careful about observing his body language and respecting his boundaries if he seems tense, if he's yawning or licking his lips a lot, if he's giving whale eyes, and especially if his tail is tucked. They know not to approach him on his bed and to never bring friends or strangers around him. He's very open and affectionate with me and DH, probably because we feed him. For exercise and boarding, he goes to a specialty daycare and his file is accompanied by a warning that he might bite so I don't worry about that too much. They know how to handle dogs like him and he has warmed up to the staff considerably. Daycare has definitely been helping his socialization issues. But how do we know if he is a ticking time bomb at home?

He doesn't have the typical pit musculature or jaw, does that matter? He has a long narrow snout and long skinny legs (which may be why the shelter thought he was part greyhound).

I'm just a little unnerved by this idea that a loving family dog who has been nothing but perfect for years can suddenly snap and maul two kids and their mom.

I am unnerved about all the considerations and modifications you have had to make.

OP here. Really how so? All we do is observe his body language and leave him be if it seems like he wants space. We let him come to us when he wants attention (which he often does! He's a sweet dog). He likes our family. I think he sees the five of us as "his pack." He just doesn't like strangers, probably because a stranger scooped him off the street once and stuck him in a terrifying shelter. He's a great, easy dog in other respects - doesn't bark, doesn't shed much, doesn't beg or try to get up onto our counters, he's not clingy, doesn't have any separation anxiety, he gets along great with a wide variety of dogs at his daycare, etc.

[Anonymous]

24% is not very much.

If the growling at strangers indoors is in your house, it’s probably more guarding than anxiety.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Why does your dog have a bite warning at daycare?

The kid in this case were babies. Your kids are older. It's incredibly rare for there to be any fatal dog attacks at all - but when there is one, it's usually babies or very old people, because they are most frail.

My family had a pittie for 15 years. She died 10 years ago, without having harmed anyone in her whole sweet life.

Don't get weird about your dog. We also don't know the whole story with what happened here. It is very unlikely that the dogs just suddenly became Cujo out of nowhere. But that said, no matter what type of dog you have - exercise caution. Never ever ever leave a baby alone with a dog, especially a big dog.

OP here. When he's around strangers, especially indoors, he gets anxious and then growls and snaps. He's never actually nipped or bitten anyone though, as far as I know. He just looks like he's going to. Outdoors, he's a happy go lucky, friendly dog. It's very strange and I assume has something to do with his shelter experiences.

We were incredibly lucky to find this daycare because they specialize in rehabbing dogs after surgery. So they are used to grouchy, irritated dogs who don't want to be there. They take healthy dogs for day play and overnight boarding as a side hustle. He goes 3 mornings a week for exercise and to keep him acclimated to the staff so we can leave him overnight when needed.

I would be much more worried about the fact that your dog growls and snaps at people than what the DNA test says. I wouldn't trust any dog that growls and snaps at people around my kids.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We adopted a rescue dog about a year ago. We were told that he was a greyhound mix but according to one of those DNA tests, he is ~ 24% pit and the rest is Golden Retriever, Chow Chow, and Chihuahua.

Anyway, I'm just feeling a little unnerved by him because of the news about that horrible pit attack on the two babies.

He's a sweet dog but can be skittish around strangers. For this reason, we require our kids (youngest is 11 and oldest is 15) to be very careful about how they approach him or pet him. They know to gently put their hand out to allow him to sniff first and not to put their hands on top of his head. We're careful about observing his body language and respecting his boundaries if he seems tense, if he's yawning or licking his lips a lot, if he's giving whale eyes, and especially if his tail is tucked. They know not to approach him on his bed and to never bring friends or strangers around him. He's very open and affectionate with me and DH, probably because we feed him. For exercise and boarding, he goes to a specialty daycare and his file is accompanied by a warning that he might bite so I don't worry about that too much. They know how to handle dogs like him and he has warmed up to the staff considerably. Daycare has definitely been helping his socialization issues. But how do we know if he is a ticking time bomb at home?

He doesn't have the typical pit musculature or jaw, does that matter? He has a long narrow snout and long skinny legs (which may be why the shelter thought he was part greyhound).

I'm just a little unnerved by this idea that a loving family dog who has been nothing but perfect for years can suddenly snap and maul two kids and their mom.

I am unnerved about all the considerations and modifications you have had to make.

OP here. Really how so? All we do is observe his body language and leave him be if it seems like he wants space. We let him come to us when he wants attention (which he often does! He's a sweet dog). He likes our family. I think he sees the five of us as "his pack." He just doesn't like strangers, probably because a stranger scooped him off the street once and stuck him in a terrifying shelter. He's a great, easy dog in other respects - doesn't bark, doesn't shed much, doesn't beg or try to get up onto our counters, he's not clingy, doesn't have any separation anxiety, he gets along great with a wide variety of dogs at his daycare, etc.

I agree with pp, it sounds like you are walking on eggshells which your dog will feel insecure about. The listening to body language is great, don't change that but you have to give some trust and lose anxiety so your dog will respond in kind.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Why does your dog have a bite warning at daycare?

The kid in this case were babies. Your kids are older. It's incredibly rare for there to be any fatal dog attacks at all - but when there is one, it's usually babies or very old people, because they are most frail.

My family had a pittie for 15 years. She died 10 years ago, without having harmed anyone in her whole sweet life.

Don't get weird about your dog. We also don't know the whole story with what happened here. It is very unlikely that the dogs just suddenly became Cujo out of nowhere. But that said, no matter what type of dog you have - exercise caution. Never ever ever leave a baby alone with a dog, especially a big dog.

OP here. When he's around strangers, especially indoors, he gets anxious and then growls and snaps. He's never actually nipped or bitten anyone though, as far as I know. He just looks like he's going to. Outdoors, he's a happy go lucky, friendly dog. It's very strange and I assume has something to do with his shelter experiences.

We were incredibly lucky to find this daycare because they specialize in rehabbing dogs after surgery. So they are used to grouchy, irritated dogs who don't want to be there. They take healthy dogs for day play and overnight boarding as a side hustle. He goes 3 mornings a week for exercise and to keep him acclimated to the staff so we can leave him overnight when needed.

I would be much more worried about the fact that your dog growls and snaps at people than what the DNA test says. I wouldn't trust any dog that growls and snaps at people around my kids.

Isn't it normal for dogs to do this, especially adult rescue dogs? When we first got him, we were strangers to him and he was scared of us. It's not like we raised him from puppyhood. I looked it up online and it said the last thing you want to do is train these behaviors out - because this is how they warn you that they are uncomfortable with whatever you are doing and how to ask you to stop. If you train it out, they'll just lash out and bite without warning you first.

He doesn't growl and snap at us anymore and he's especially tolerant of me and DH (for example, he lets us take things out of his mouth that he picks up on walks when we need to) but we're still careful about checking his body language.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We adopted a rescue dog about a year ago. We were told that he was a greyhound mix but according to one of those DNA tests, he is ~ 24% pit and the rest is Golden Retriever, Chow Chow, and Chihuahua.

Anyway, I'm just feeling a little unnerved by him because of the news about that horrible pit attack on the two babies.

He's a sweet dog but can be skittish around strangers. For this reason, we require our kids (youngest is 11 and oldest is 15) to be very careful about how they approach him or pet him. They know to gently put their hand out to allow him to sniff first and not to put their hands on top of his head. We're careful about observing his body language and respecting his boundaries if he seems tense, if he's yawning or licking his lips a lot, if he's giving whale eyes, and especially if his tail is tucked. They know not to approach him on his bed and to never bring friends or strangers around him. He's very open and affectionate with me and DH, probably because we feed him. For exercise and boarding, he goes to a specialty daycare and his file is accompanied by a warning that he might bite so I don't worry about that too much. They know how to handle dogs like him and he has warmed up to the staff considerably. Daycare has definitely been helping his socialization issues. But how do we know if he is a ticking time bomb at home?

He doesn't have the typical pit musculature or jaw, does that matter? He has a long narrow snout and long skinny legs (which may be why the shelter thought he was part greyhound).

I'm just a little unnerved by this idea that a loving family dog who has been nothing but perfect for years can suddenly snap and maul two kids and their mom.

I am unnerved about all the considerations and modifications you have had to make.

OP here. Really how so? All we do is observe his body language and leave him be if it seems like he wants space. We let him come to us when he wants attention (which he often does! He's a sweet dog). He likes our family. I think he sees the five of us as "his pack." He just doesn't like strangers, probably because a stranger scooped him off the street once and stuck him in a terrifying shelter. He's a great, easy dog in other respects - doesn't bark, doesn't shed much, doesn't beg or try to get up onto our counters, he's not clingy, doesn't have any separation anxiety, he gets along great with a wide variety of dogs at his daycare, etc.

I agree with pp, it sounds like you are walking on eggshells which your dog will feel insecure about. The listening to body language is great, don't change that but you have to give some trust and lose anxiety so your dog will respond in kind.

What does this mean? Can you give some examples?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Why does your dog have a bite warning at daycare?

The kid in this case were babies. Your kids are older. It's incredibly rare for there to be any fatal dog attacks at all - but when there is one, it's usually babies or very old people, because they are most frail.

My family had a pittie for 15 years. She died 10 years ago, without having harmed anyone in her whole sweet life.

Don't get weird about your dog. We also don't know the whole story with what happened here. It is very unlikely that the dogs just suddenly became Cujo out of nowhere. But that said, no matter what type of dog you have - exercise caution. Never ever ever leave a baby alone with a dog, especially a big dog.

OP here. When he's around strangers, especially indoors, he gets anxious and then growls and snaps. He's never actually nipped or bitten anyone though, as far as I know. He just looks like he's going to. Outdoors, he's a happy go lucky, friendly dog. It's very strange and I assume has something to do with his shelter experiences.

We were incredibly lucky to find this daycare because they specialize in rehabbing dogs after surgery. So they are used to grouchy, irritated dogs who don't want to be there. They take healthy dogs for day play and overnight boarding as a side hustle. He goes 3 mornings a week for exercise and to keep him acclimated to the staff so we can leave him overnight when needed.

Your dog sounds like a grump! I like grumps. In your case, just know what is a trigger for him and try not to expose him to it. If he doesn't like strangers indoors, try to avoid having him be around a lot of strangers indoors. You may want to try teaching him to use a muzzle, even, if it makes you feel more comfortable. You can work with a trainer, too - could help, could not.

Your kids aren't strangers with him. Don't let this story get you spooked. Have them be smart around the dog, and enjoy your grumpy gus. Set him and yourselves up for success.

And yeah your daycare sounds like a great fit. Tip well at the holidays!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We adopted a rescue dog about a year ago. We were told that he was a greyhound mix but according to one of those DNA tests, he is ~ 24% pit and the rest is Golden Retriever, Chow Chow, and Chihuahua.

Anyway, I'm just feeling a little unnerved by him because of the news about that horrible pit attack on the two babies.

He's a sweet dog but can be skittish around strangers. For this reason, we require our kids (youngest is 11 and oldest is 15) to be very careful about how they approach him or pet him. They know to gently put their hand out to allow him to sniff first and not to put their hands on top of his head. We're careful about observing his body language and respecting his boundaries if he seems tense, if he's yawning or licking his lips a lot, if he's giving whale eyes, and especially if his tail is tucked. They know not to approach him on his bed and to never bring friends or strangers around him. He's very open and affectionate with me and DH, probably because we feed him. For exercise and boarding, he goes to a specialty daycare and his file is accompanied by a warning that he might bite so I don't worry about that too much. They know how to handle dogs like him and he has warmed up to the staff considerably. Daycare has definitely been helping his socialization issues. But how do we know if he is a ticking time bomb at home?

He doesn't have the typical pit musculature or jaw, does that matter? He has a long narrow snout and long skinny legs (which may be why the shelter thought he was part greyhound).

I'm just a little unnerved by this idea that a loving family dog who has been nothing but perfect for years can suddenly snap and maul two kids and their mom.

I am unnerved about all the considerations and modifications you have had to make.

OP here. Really how so? All we do is observe his body language and leave him be if it seems like he wants space. We let him come to us when he wants attention (which he often does! He's a sweet dog). He likes our family. I think he sees the five of us as "his pack." He just doesn't like strangers, probably because a stranger scooped him off the street once and stuck him in a terrifying shelter. He's a great, easy dog in other respects - doesn't bark, doesn't shed much, doesn't beg or try to get up onto our counters, he's not clingy, doesn't have any separation anxiety, he gets along great with a wide variety of dogs at his daycare, etc.

I agree with pp, it sounds like you are walking on eggshells which your dog will feel insecure about. The listening to body language is great, don't change that but you have to give some trust and lose anxiety so your dog will respond in kind.

NP. I agree with this also, and with having the kids feed meals and treats and do trick-training and/or walks - but actually you've had the dog for some time and he's a nervous wreck and you/your family/your kids are scared of him. I'd recommend rehoming or humane euthanization. And try again with an easier happier dog that everyone can love without being scared of it. There's a resaon that labs and retrievers are family dogs - they're big lugs who give kisses and no one is worried around them. A Chow-pit-other stuff mix that is nervous and snappy? That's a terrible family dog.