Anonymous wrote:My ex dogsat someone's 'sweet' pit. The dog went crazy when it saw our cat. Imagine if it had lost it on a person. We had no idea we brought a killer into our home. I had never seen the animal. I don't think they are allowed in the old country.
I grew up on a farm and have seen dogs attack other animals, but nothing like a pit (more like a bear attack). Just hope it loses its top on an animal rather than a person.

You brought an unknown animal into your home and allowed it access to your cat?

Handler issue.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I don't get why you'd need to talk to the owner at all, just don't invite the dog onto your property anymore. Tell your kids they are not to approach or play with the dog. There is a pit pull that lives two houses down from me. I have never been close enough for that dog to growl at me. A new neighbor just moved in directly across the street, and they have a pit. I will not be inviting that dog to my yard to meet my kids or any of that. Keep your dog off my property and we are good!

Get a fence. Dogs growl for all kinds or reasons. Ours has different growls to let us know what she wants.

This is absolutely unhinged. If your dog has gone all the way to growling to communicate, it's because you missed the first eleven signals it gave your dumb ass.

I'm not the person you quoted but that poster is correct. There are many reasons dogs growl. My poodle growls when we play tug of war with him. He used to attention growl; (he would sit next to me and stare and growl). I trained him to stop growling at me, so now he just sits and gives me the death stare. lol A dog will also growl if he is in pain or resource guarding.

Clowny, I've been training dogs for decades. While a growl is a last-resort communication, it's never the first signal, and only necessary when the human responsible for the animal doesn't know what they're doing. Well-trained dogs don't growl at people, largely because their well-educate handlers never put them in situations where the dog feels compelled to growl. Pain and resource guarding also have primary and secondary signals, long before it gets to growling.

A growling animal is either in truly dire circumstances, or poorly trained/handled. Period.

My 20 lb rescue pup growls at children also. They make him super anxious, as we’ve learned. We’ve spent thousands on training and now know what to do - but our kids are never allowed to walk him and we cross the street as soon as we see kids on the sidewalk ahead. This is with a small dog who couldn’t do much damage in the first place, but I would NEVER want a neighbor to be uncomfortable by being growled at or lunged at.

I would make sure to stay outside with your kids when they play, and bring them inside as soon as you see the dog. Do not invite the dog over to pet. If you want to talk to the neighbor, just tell them your kids are scared and request a heads up when the dog usually will get a walk (or maybe they can take a different route).

OP here. I can assure everyone that I did not aggrandize or exaggerate anything -- I simply relayed what happened. I did not assign any intent to the dog's behavior.

I think I'll have a family talk with the kids tonight. Will instruct them not to approach or play with the dog if it's being taken for a walk in the neighborhood, and not to invite the dog into our yard. I'll tell them that if a teenager is walking the dog, my kids should move toward the door until the dog has passed by. I'll ensure they know not to run around the dog. And I'll instruct them to cover their faces and necks if attacked.

There's definitely a risk that any dog could bite. However, the damage that this dog could do is extreme, with its massive jaw strength and bulldog instincts. Whereas a Yorkie might bite and run away, a pitbull tends to behave very persistently in wanting to bite, clamp, and rip at their prey, and can be extremely difficult to dislodge.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I don't get why you'd need to talk to the owner at all, just don't invite the dog onto your property anymore. Tell your kids they are not to approach or play with the dog. There is a pit pull that lives two houses down from me. I have never been close enough for that dog to growl at me. A new neighbor just moved in directly across the street, and they have a pit. I will not be inviting that dog to my yard to meet my kids or any of that. Keep your dog off my property and we are good!

My neighbor was attacked by a pit bull being walked by a young woman on a leash when she was walking around the neighborhood with her baby. The neighbor’s baby started crying and the dog bolted across the street and went for the baby. The young woman was horrified but could not hang onto the leash because the dog was so strong and took her by surprise. My neighbor lifted her baby up and managed to keep it from the dog but was badly mauled on her arms and legs. Fortunately, a retired military officer lived at the house and shot the dog.

That's a sad story, but I don't get what it has to do with the OP. Are you suggesting she go to her neighbor and share this story?

Anonymous wrote:I don't get why you'd need to talk to the owner at all, just don't invite the dog onto your property anymore. Tell your kids they are not to approach or play with the dog. There is a pit pull that lives two houses down from me. I have never been close enough for that dog to growl at me. A new neighbor just moved in directly across the street, and they have a pit. I will not be inviting that dog to my yard to meet my kids or any of that. Keep your dog off my property and we are good!

My neighbor was attacked by a pit bull being walked by a young woman on a leash when she was walking around the neighborhood with her baby. The neighbor’s baby started crying and the dog bolted across the street and went for the baby. The young woman was horrified but could not hang onto the leash because the dog was so strong and took her by surprise. My neighbor lifted her baby up and managed to keep it from the dog but was badly mauled on her arms and legs. Fortunately, a retired military officer lived at the house and shot the dog.

If anything you can ask your neighbors about their rehab/training plans. The 3-3-3 rule is very real. Our rescue pup (not a pit - larger breed) is still getting used to living with us a year plus in. He barks far less now but training is ongoing.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I don't get why you'd need to talk to the owner at all, just don't invite the dog onto your property anymore. Tell your kids they are not to approach or play with the dog. There is a pit pull that lives two houses down from me. I have never been close enough for that dog to growl at me. A new neighbor just moved in directly across the street, and they have a pit. I will not be inviting that dog to my yard to meet my kids or any of that. Keep your dog off my property and we are good!

Get a fence. Dogs growl for all kinds or reasons. Ours has different growls to let us know what she wants.

OP said they are not allowed to have frontyard fences in their HOA.

So play in the backyard. At least until this buddy has had time to settle in. It’s a neighborhood, not just for her family.

Sorry … a dog so dangerous that kids cannot play in the front yard should not be let out of the house.

They weren’t let out of the house they were on a leash. And they’ve lived with their new family for a few days. OP is being overly dramatic and over responding before knowing about the situation.

I mean I don't like pit bulls either, but my dog, a derpy yellow lab, has growled at people before. Once at me when he had an ear infection and once at a strange man that just appeared out of nowhere on our normal walk (we've never seen him before or since...I think he sensed danger).

Just keep your kids away from the dog.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Another day, another anti-pit post in the pets forum.

The shitposter made bait by alleging the dog is an 80-pound pit bull, but I don't want to be growled at by your 8 lb yorkie, either.

People who can't train their dogs shouldn't have dogs. No teenager has any business walking a recently-rehomed rescue. They're just not psychologically stable yet. New dogs should be kept to their own pack and property for a week, at least. There's plenty of new stimuli to explore in a new home environment. The first few weeks with any dog are NOT the time for meet-and-greets, and this is all the more true of rescues and rehomed dogs with possibly-unknown history.

Some of y'all shouldn't own dogs, because this stuff is basic dog-handling 101 and y'all still screw it up!

I wonder if much of the OP is exaggerated. Pits are not 80lb dogs unless they are extremely overweight.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I don't get why you'd need to talk to the owner at all, just don't invite the dog onto your property anymore. Tell your kids they are not to approach or play with the dog. There is a pit pull that lives two houses down from me. I have never been close enough for that dog to growl at me. A new neighbor just moved in directly across the street, and they have a pit. I will not be inviting that dog to my yard to meet my kids or any of that. Keep your dog off my property and we are good!

Get a fence. Dogs growl for all kinds or reasons. Ours has different growls to let us know what she wants.

OP said they are not allowed to have frontyard fences in their HOA.

So play in the backyard. At least until this buddy has had time to settle in. It’s a neighborhood, not just for her family.

Sorry … a dog so dangerous that kids cannot play in the front yard should not be let out of the house.

Anonymous wrote:My ex dogsat someone's 'sweet' pit. The dog went crazy when it saw our cat. Imagine if it had lost it on a person. We had no idea we brought a killer into our home. I had never seen the animal. I don't think they are allowed in the old country.
I grew up on a farm and have seen dogs attack other animals, but nothing like a pit (more like a bear attack). Just hope it loses its top on an animal rather than a person.

I’m confuse. Went crazy meaning attacked or barked?

My ex dogsat someone's 'sweet' pit. The dog went crazy when it saw our cat. Imagine if it had lost it on a person. We had no idea we brought a killer into our home. I had never seen the animal. I don't think they are allowed in the old country.
I grew up on a farm and have seen dogs attack other animals, but nothing like a pit (more like a bear attack). Just hope it loses its top on an animal rather than a person.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I don't get why you'd need to talk to the owner at all, just don't invite the dog onto your property anymore. Tell your kids they are not to approach or play with the dog. There is a pit pull that lives two houses down from me. I have never been close enough for that dog to growl at me. A new neighbor just moved in directly across the street, and they have a pit. I will not be inviting that dog to my yard to meet my kids or any of that. Keep your dog off my property and we are good!

Get a fence. Dogs growl for all kinds or reasons. Ours has different growls to let us know what she wants.

OP said they are not allowed to have frontyard fences in their HOA.

So play in the backyard. At least until this buddy has had time to settle in. It’s a neighborhood, not just for her family.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I don't get why you'd need to talk to the owner at all, just don't invite the dog onto your property anymore. Tell your kids they are not to approach or play with the dog. There is a pit pull that lives two houses down from me. I have never been close enough for that dog to growl at me. A new neighbor just moved in directly across the street, and they have a pit. I will not be inviting that dog to my yard to meet my kids or any of that. Keep your dog off my property and we are good!

Get a fence. Dogs growl for all kinds or reasons. Ours has different growls to let us know what she wants.

OP said they are not allowed to have frontyard fences in their HOA.