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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

Anonymous wrote:What prompted you to test his DNA?

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.