my son brought home a 1 year old pit bull it was a friends and he did take good care of him i am scared?

Question

i am scared it will attack my seven year old daughter but it seems play and all but you hear so much and i cant keep in the house i have cats what should do i dont want them it put down but i dont think i can keep it either

Answer 1

Give the pup a chance. I wasn't too happy when my husband brought home our first pittie, but he convinced me to give T-Bone a chance, and I am SO glad I did! He is great with the girls (after we broke him of his "shoe fetish"- he would knock them down and try to steal their shoes) and I am now convinced that there can be no dog more loving, more loyal, than the pittie. Not just based on my own experience, but getting to know other pitties, and talking to good owners.

Why is the friend getting rid of it now?

Answer 2

Although I sympathize with your situation, I can't help but feel more sympathy for the dog. If I were you, I would give the dog a chance. I have introduced 3 different Rottweilers to my cat (who is older by the way- and used to being the "king" so to speak) and all is well, the cat is fine, the dogs are fine.

Sorry, got off topic there. Give the dog a chance, you may be suprised how well you all will do. Since this is a DOG (does not matter what breed) SUPERVISE the dog and your daughter when they are together- ALL the time. I would say this if your son had brought home a Golden Retriever.
If you feel you simply cannot handle it, turn the dog into a rescue group. OR ask for some advice from a rescue group on how to evaluate the dogs personality, how to train it, and make it a part of your family. They will probably be glad to help you be his forever home.

Answer 3

A Pit can be a good or bad dog, like any other breed of dog could be. It depends on it's breeding and it's history, mostly. One important thing is to never leave a young child alone with any dog until the child is old enough to know how to act properly around a dog. I would also recommend doing a temperament test on the dog, to be sure it's okay. I'm not saying you should do it just because it's a Pit, I think every individual dog should have a temperament test. Especially if you will have young children. Here is a site that has a very good temperament test to try. It also gives lots of useful information on Pits.

http://www.pbrc.net/temperament.html

I recommend that everyone learn as much as you can about a breed of dog when you get one. Not just for your sake, but the poor dog's sake. So many people don't think before they get a dog and then they get upset with something it's doing (something it's bred to do or be like) and it goes to the pound.

Answer 4

First, why not bring the dog into the house on a leash and see how it reacts to the cats. The cats might not like the dog, but the dog may not be aggressive. At any rate, you could keep the dog restrained.

The next thing is that you have to get yourself together. Animals pick up on the adrenalin smell that we put off when we are upset. That makes the animals feel that there is a reason to be upset.

What kind of background does this dog have? How has it been raised. Were there young children in the other house? There are a lot of questions you need to answer before you can decide whether or not this dog is a threat to you.

Some pits are just great big babies. Others, especially the ones who have been mistreated, can be problems. I don't know how true it is, but I heard on Animal Cops, that some pits are actually bred for aggressive tendencies. I would want to know some background on the dog too. You have a lot to consider and I am not going to be the one to tell you it is perfectly safe. It might be, but noone on this internet can tell you for sure.

Answer 5

Not all pitbulls are dangerous as is the most commonly associated assumption for their breeds. Pitbulls cans be just as friendly as any other dog. It's all based on its upbrining. Some are brought up to be mean and aggressive, but when they are taken in as pets, chances are they will be more friendly.

Observe the dog and see what its tempermant is like. If you are unable to keep the dog, I would suggest bringing it to a shelter or a rescue group specifically for pit bull breeds as they may have an easier time finding a good home for it due to their experience with the breed. However, try to incorporated the pit bull into your family and see how it reacts to everyone in the household as well as the other pets in the house. It could turn out that it gets along well with everyone and would he a good addition to have. A dog won't bite the hand that feeds it....

Answer 6

The Truth about Pit Bulls
Don’t believe everything you have heard!
. There are an estimated 4.8 million registered American Pit Bull Terriers that have been selectively bred for
companionship and conformation dog shows. This number does not include the unregistered APBT’s,
which would add significantly to the 4.8 million.
. The pit bull breeds have NEVER been bred for human aggression. These dogs, like all other dog breeds,
are not born inherently mean or bad! They can, like any other breed, become mean through lack of train-
ing, abuse, neglect and irresponsible ownership and breeding.
. Pit bulls do NOT have locking jaws; the pit bull’s jaw is identical to any other dog of a similar size.
. Did you know that pit bulls consistently rate higher in the American Temperament Society’s tests every
year than many common “family” dogs? The three breeds that make up pit bulls rate around the 83% pass-
ing whereas the Golden Retriever is in the 82%, Greyhound is in the 81%. You can view the list at
ww.atts.org.
. The United States Custom Service recruits pit bulls from Shelters to train in detection. One of their all
time top dogs was Popsicle, who was rescued from a refrigerator during a raid. Popsicle currently has the
highest money bust to date.
. One of the top-rated Search & Rescue teams in the U.S. is Kristine Crawford’s American Pit Bull Terrier,
Dakota. Kris has two other SAR pit bulls! They were hand-picked by NASA to aid in the recovery of the
astronauts from the Space Shuttle Columbia disaster. They were also
involved in the Laci Peterson search and just recently saved a
woman’s life. You can learn more about Kris and her team at
www.forpitssake.org.
. President Roosevelt, Anthony Robbins, President Wilson, Fred
Astaire, General Patton, Humphrey Bogart, Helen Keller, Thomas
Edison, Bernadette Peters, Michael J. Fox, Ken Howard, Shannon
Elizabeth, Dr. Horatio Nelson Jackson, what do these people have in
common? They are ALL the proud owners of pit bulls!
. There are many pit bulls who are productive members of society.
Trained to be service dogs, therapy assistants, educational dogs, nar-
cotics detection, actors, search and rescue and more. Many have be-
come public heroes saving peoples lives.
For more information on pit bulls visit these sites: www.understand-a-bull.com and www.pbrc.net

Answer 7

yes you are right to be scarred in Ontario the pit bulls are banned no more pit bulls can be bought or sold in Ontario. all the rest have to be fixed no puppies and they all must wear a muzzle .
i am sure lots of people will come here and say there safe its the owner and so on but in Ontario the government looked into all of that and it not true any pit bull is more likely to attack people mostly kids
i say too bad for the dog but you should take it to the pound or if you can quickly find a adult only home suitable for the handling of the Strong dog then do that .

Answer 8

It's so sad what society has done to this wonderful and noble breed. I've had Pits for the last 19 years , 5 dogs in total. I will always have one my life. Some good reading for this breed is a good book written by Diane Jessup called the Working Pit Bull.There are some great breed Specific web sites for this breed. One is called Pit Bull Forum , PBRC , bull dog breeds, and pit bull smiles.These people have a lot knowledge about these dogs and can answer all your questions and concerns about this breed of dog.

Pittys can be great with kids as long as you have proper supervision between child and dog.Pittys can get along great with cats as long as you have proper introductions done. I have 2 pittys and 3 cats in my home .Both of my dogs get along great with all 3 of my cats .What it boils down to is proper introductions and supervision between the animals.

Please don't give up on this guy.

Answer 9

We had a pair of pit bull pups here at the shelter; they had been dumped off in a parking lot and were starving. We brought them in and they were the sweetest girls ever. They did well with all of our staff, the other dogs, and our assessment kitties. One went to an adopter in Sacramento, and the other went to an adopter in Canada!

However, if you are fearful of the dog and don't want it, then you should find another placement for it. Even if the dog is well-mannered and even-tempered (and most Pit Bulls are; you only hear about the few vicious ones), it will pick up on your anxiety and mistrust of it, and will never be wholly comfortable around you. No dog likes to live in an environment where it's uncomfortable, and where the reactions and actions of its humans are "unpredictable" because of the human's fear or anxiety.

You should never have pets in your home if you don't want them whole-heartedly.

Answer 10

If your son is under 18, the dog is legally your responsibility. If you do not feel comfortable with it, do not keep it as you are liable for anything it may do. You must put your foot down if you do not feel confident enough in its temperament to be responsible for its behaviour.

Yes it would be sad for it to go to a shelter, but you should not feel obliged to take on this kind of responsibility. It may take advantage of you and become dominant if it knows you are wary of it, or may pick up on your cautiousness and become nervous. Neither if these are desirable characteristics in any dog, let alone a pitbull. Why not let your shelter find an appropriate home for it, so that both you and the dog have the best outcome.

Answer 11

Human aggression and animal aggression are two entirely different things. While pit bulls (and their mixes) can show some form of animal aggression, behavioral modification and training (as well as how they're managed in the home) can help to maintain any potential animal aggression (not eliminate it since it's a terrier thing. ;) - but a true and stable pit bull will NEVER harm a child.

If you are concerned, you can help by getting the dog altered (spayed/neutered) and get the dog into training or to see a licensed animal behaviorist to evaulate the dog. :)