The KInd Life Community Forum

Good for you!! A great source is the Dog Whisperer, Cesar Milan. He has raised and trained many pittys and gives great direction. I have 2 myself and they are fabulous! They are hard headed and need strong direction and guidance. Strong guidance does NOT mean force, just clear guidance of you as the alpha dog. Some pitts that attack have been treated badly, but many have been too babied and feel they need to protect their weak owner. Pitts and all bully breeds are fantastic dogs and by adopting/rescuing them and giving them clear and loving guidance, we can change this BAD RAP that they do not deserve!

yeah i already havbe been researching online and it said to not take her to dog parks, it might be too overwhleming. it said its better to let her play in small supervised groups with dogs you both know well. thanks for responding guys!! i dont know what else to do to be "alpha". people keep saying that to me, i mean she doesnt pull on the leash at all, shes house trained, when i say NO she doesnt touch something, she can sit..she really has been perfect so far so i dont know what else to do. i dont want to yell at her or something for not doing anything.

@Catherine: Our sweet Buster boy was great around other dogs until he turned about 1 year old. He was neutered over 6 months prior to the first attack. Our older territorial male Border Collie mix was rutting in the grass one evening when Buster charged at him from about 50 feet away. My husband was bitten while trying to separate them. Every attack thereafter was more violent. Yogi would start the fights most of the time by growling over a snack and Buster always had the last "word." The last attack was nearly deadly for our 12 year old Yogi. There was a dead bird frozen in the snow. I am sure Yogi tried guarding it with his mean growl and snaps, but Buster showed him. It was the most terrifying event in my life. There seemed to be nothing I could do to get Buster off of Yogi as he pierced Yogi's neck several times in his jaws. Yogi had emergency surgery on his jugular and went to "rehab" at my parents' home where he still lives today. We struggled with our effort to find Buster a new home and finally gave up because we just couldn't imagine our lives without him. We resolved to supervise him at home and simply don't invite other dogs to our house anymore. Yogi has never returned to our home, but he is very happy with his own big backyard and lots of activity at my parents' house. We visit him regularly. Buster is a large pit bull/Rhodesian Ridgeback mix we rescued at 3 months old. He sleeps in our bed most of the day and night, cuddles with us on the couch and plays well with Annie, our 7 year old female Husky/Heeler mix. He has responded very well to our 7 month old, but we remain cautious. Buster is like another child and we love him to the moon and back. Just be cautious with other dogs because it can happen so fast and unexpectedly. I definitely encourage you to enroll your pup in well regarded socialization and obedience courses. I wish we would have. The best of luck to you and your baby girl!

Catherine, I would also advise on training and plenty of exercise. We have a pit bull in my neighborhood that gets out of his house all the time. The first couple of times it would just run around the neighborhood until it was exhausted. It has snapped at me and my year old pomeranian and frightens me every time I see it. I've been told that the dog is very friendly and wouldn't hurt anyone but I'm still nervous every time it's out. I guess I'm saying make sure you have enough time for the dog.

I have had experience with numerous pitt bulls from all walks of life, from abuse, to puppies, to ones that have simply been neglected on the streets at my animal shelter. I will tell you this, there are tons of mixed assumptions about pitt bulls most in which are false, yes they can be very strong amd NO they are not aggressive or vicious by nature, it is all in how you train them. It is a flase presumtion that they should be kept out of dog parks and not socialized. I have brought many of my pitts to dog parks and socialized them, this is very important especially since it is a PUPPY! you want to have her experience the parks other dogs and of course humans! as much as possible. If you go to ATTS.org you will see as of December 2008 American Pitt Bull terrior ranked at 85.3% for temperment testing that is higher than a Bichon Frise or a CHIHUAHUA even and that is just to name 2. As someone who has experience in handling puppy to adult pitt bulls, I am a FIRM believer in it is the DEED and not the BREED. Cesar millan is also a great source for tips and advice. Training a dog (any dog) requires, patience, time, CONSISTENCY!! and devotion to making your pet the best it can be! The media will only tell you all the "bad" horrible stories about pittbulss, that probably were not raised the right way, But have we ever heard about all the MIchael Vick dogs that were rehabilitated and adopted??. Use your own best judgement and do the right thing for yourself and your baby! Good Luck to you! and my hats off to you for having a pitt bull!!!!!