New addition to the family... APBT

[A5295]

His name is Bruiser, and we adopted him from the local shelter about 3 weeks ago. He is about a year old, and was already fixed, and has a wonderful disposition. I am doing what I can to help calm him down (no jumping/mouthing), and try and teach him to follow on a leash, rather than choke himself trying to drag me.

Anyone have any good online resources to look at? This isnt my first big dog, but definitely my first APBT. Any other suggestions you guys would give?

Question - how do you guys get your dogs to sit still enough to take their picture, rather than coming to see what's in your hand, lol?

Enjoy!

 

[blck04gt]

I have been in the market for another pit recently, I think this thread has sold me. Great looking dog man!

 

[A5295]

Thanks man... I hope that with time/work/good food, he'll continue to fill out.

He's a big baby, hence the name, lol.

 

[supercarkiller]

congrats! best breed ever!

 

[fiveohpoepoe]

Great looking dog. Time and patience.

 

[jerrad]

Thats not a pit, there isn't a child in his mouth.





Great looking dog. You can tell he has energy just by the pics. :beer:

 

[Winglesscobra]

Great looking pit. They are great dogs.

 

[Common]

Thanks to the rap community and ghetto shit for brain idiots, these dogs are on thier way to be banned in more places.....

Just the other day I was watching a local news station the other way, they have a segment where they bring a few dogs to be adopted from a shelter. They had a pit female and male german shepherd there, the female pit was the most adorable dog ever, all it did was not allow the reporter to speak because it kept licking his face for about 3 mins.....then it jumped on his lap and kept annoying him. German shepherd was jumping, bitting his leash, trying to go towards the pit and just didnt have nice disposition at all.


Guess who got adopted at the end of the show?.....german shepherd.

PS. I have a german shepherd too.

 

[Common]

[ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QcRLN5-S9TM&feature=related"]YouTube - Kitten and Pit Bull[/ame]

 

[canibus]

best way to stop the pulling is with a mouth collar, it did wonders for my pit. try to take him around other dogs as much as possible.

 

[01svtL]

Awesome Pit man. Mine is the best dog I have ever been around, hands down. He was also the easiest to train.

 

[A5295]

I couldnt agree with everyone more... They are great dogs, and are being dealt a severe injustice with the rumors and accusations that this breed carries on its shoulders on a daily basis. One of my plans is to ensure that my dog does its best to change people's mind about the breed.

Thanks for the suggestion about the collar... I'm looking at several options right now, to see if i can get a good feel for what I need to use. I've been told by several people to use a choke chain, but it gives a negative light to an already feared dog, and has the potential to be really detrimental to the dog's health. I'm looking at the martingale and mouth collars as I've been suggested. I really need to invest some time and money in some good lessons for the two of us, as well as keeping him socialized. I'll post more pics as his progress increases.

Thanks!

 

[KingJay]

Good looking dog. Pitbull forum

 

[bigjohnson4.6gt]

beautiful dog, my buddy has a blue haired pit and a brown and white pit as well. Some of the nicest dogs ive met

 

[themadgnome]

Thats a beautiful dog you got, best of luck to you and just remember to have some patience. There's no telling what his level of training is being a rescue dog, but it will all be worth it in the end.

Sadly though, you will probably have to start putting your flame suit on, as there are several ignorant people on this forum who will tell you that you just adopted a ticking time bomb that will kill you as soon as you let your guard down

 

[A5295]

KingJay, thanks, I'll check it out.

themadgnome, Thanks for the compliments - he is teaching me patience, even if I dont want to practice it, lol.

**** those people. They are the same closed-minded, ignorant folks that have put such a bad taste in people's minds about this breed. :fm: If I even had a question about my safety, or those I care about, I would have never gotten him. To be honest, from what I've read, and the experiences I've had, your girlfriends yorkie or lab is more likely to be aggressive, even with the proper training. It's just not slathered all over the news when someones lab nips the neighbor for cornering the dog in the yard trying to pet it. Consider my suit on and ready for action :rockon:

 

[Dogshark]

Good lookin dog. I love the brown eyes. Get ceasar milans illusion collar. I got one for my 90lb. American Bulldog and it works better than any other collar I've used. Have patience (like others have said already) during walks and all training. Build trust with him, and show him lots of love frequently, excersice the hell out of him. A tired dog is an obedient one. Use treats during training for rewarding good behavior. Socialize him a LOT not just with other dogs but with children of all sizes and never leave him unsupervised for obvious reasons but also so you can correct bad behavior and show him how you want him to behave. When in doubt, put a muzzle on him. People dont rant about a chihauhau biting a babys face but as soon as a pitbull does it, it makes the news, the papers, the police are called. Its sad. TRAINING, EXCECISE, AND LOVE. Sorry for the novel. Good luck!

 

[A5295]

Thats a big fella!!

No problem on the long post... I need to learn as much as I can. I'll look into that collar.

Thanks!

 

[Lawfficer]

First things first, Great find! Great Breed.

1.) If you want to stop the dog from pulling, get a prong collar.... NOT a choke collar. They look a little harsh, but they work well and don't hurt the dog at all. There is just something about the prong collar that they understand, that dosen't translate with a regular choke collar.

2.) Obedience. Do things that re-enforce you as the "big dog" regularly to make sure the dog knows it place in the pack. I do stupid things like take they toy she is playing with away and keep it for a couple minutes and not let them have it. Mine knows her role and I can just put the toy on the couch next to me, where if she wanted to get it should could, but she knows to leave it alone until I tell her it's okay. I also make them wait to eat. I put the food in the bowl then on the floor and tell them to wait, they know they can't eat it until I say so. I normally only make them wait less than a minute, but I bet it's an eternity to them.

3.) A way to pitbulls heart, like most dogs, is through their stomach. A tired pit,(long walk, 30min ball chasing session, etc) right before a meal is a prime canidate for training. You can get her to do just about anything at that time with a little work, and some cat treats. (it's something about the saltlyness to them)

 

[20psirabbit]

Thats not a pit, there isn't a child in his mouth.

LMAO!!

i love the pits too, some people give me a hard time till they meet my two vicious girls