Pitbulls

[Kazzo]

Really sorry if I am repeating anything, I don't have time to read all replies.

I would not keep him and I would be putting him down.

There are strict laws regarding owning a restricted breed and they should be followed if you choose to keep you dog. It also depends on where you live that you either can not own a Pittbull or if you do and no longing want to keep it is must be put to sleep. It is against the law to sell them on. (As well as breed with them). So yes if your going to keep him, get him desexed ASAP and like Krysalyss wrote. Get some professional training that is designed for his breed.

You have a really tough choice to make.

[ss_storm]

Must say I'm a bit astounded at all of those telling you to kill your young family pet, who sounds like a lovely dog. No, not all pitbulls are bad. Don't believe everything you hear in the media, I can bet that the majority of those dogs reported as 'Pitbulls' are some mish mash of mastiff/pit/staffy etc breeds. Just because it might look somewhat like a pitbull does not mean it is a purebred pitbull, and often journalists just jump on the fact the dog looks a little like a Pit and go on a crazy rampage saying all pitbulls are dangerous... Take a look at Cesar Milan's pitbulls, I bet you couldn't find a nicer, or more easy going dog than his Pitbull 'Daddy' or Daddy's successor, Junior. It's about training, being the right sort of owner for your Pitbull (they need a strong leader and clearly defines rules & boundaries, as well as secure fencing and training).

Hun, it sounds like you are working towards having a beautiful family pet, his breed is irrelevant. how many dog bites are inflicted by Chihuahua's or other little yap yap dogs! Sure, they don't kill, but they can pretty severely injure someone with a bite in the right area. Be a responsible owner, seek training for yourself and your dog and you should be right! The majority of pitbulls are not dangerous, and I think it's wrong to create public panic and fear over these dogs. And if you haven't already, check out Cesar Milan's work

[Blixie]

Must say I'm a bit astounded at all of those telling you to kill your young family pet, who sounds like a lovely dog. No, not all pitbulls are bad. Don't believe everything you hear in the media, I can bet that the majority of those dogs reported as 'Pitbulls' are some mish mash of mastiff/pit/staffy etc breeds. Just because it might look somewhat like a pitbull does not mean it is a purebred pitbull, and often journalists just jump on the fact the dog looks a little like a Pit and go on a crazy rampage saying all pitbulls are dangerous... Take a look at Cesar Milan's pitbulls, I bet you couldn't find a nicer, or more easy going dog than his Pitbull 'Daddy' or Daddy's successor, Junior. It's about training, being the right sort of owner for your Pitbull (they need a strong leader and clearly defines rules & boundaries, as well as secure fencing and training).

Hun, it sounds like you are working towards having a beautiful family pet, his breed is irrelevant. how many dog bites are inflicted by Chihuahua's or other little yap yap dogs! Sure, they don't kill, but they can pretty severely injure someone with a bite in the right area. Be a responsible owner, seek training for yourself and your dog and you should be right! The majority of pitbulls are not dangerous, and I think it's wrong to create public panic and fear over these dogs. And if you haven't already, check out Cesar Milan's work

Yeah that ^
Ps. YAY for Cesar! I love him and the work he does with pitbull's and rotti's. Was hoping someone would mention him and his work

[Mum2Romone]

We had a beautiful Pitbull puppy... And we raised him as though he was a baby.... We bathed him in our bath , walked him several times a day, took him everywhere with us and cuddled in bed all night long and he was a very lovable,playful, quiet dog until about 1yr old when we moved house.

He wasnt desexed, Something I definately regret as he really became more wild and unsettled.... We couldnt keep him inside our fences even though they were high colourbond fencing with concrete underneath, He removed the concrete and was soon clearing the 6ft fence by running from one side of the yeard to jump high enough. He was only about 30-50cm tall...

Soon he wouldnt let me wash him without carrying on and wouldnt let me cut his nails anymore. he started to get snappy around food and would often steal our food off the bench or out of the fridge and have a go at you if you tried to stop him

After several escape attempts and quite a few scares in regard to him turning on us at times....He eventually went feral after we had to keep him in the house to contain him.
We didnt have DS then. thank ....whatever god you pray to .....

Our beautiful little puppy grew into the vicious animal he was bred to be and after three years of love and tears , because it was hard trying to keep him, with him escaping and no one wanting to mind him when we went away..... and finding rental properties to suit HIM rather than us....

Eventually when I was 8 months pregnant , I was in the laundry and went to pick up hubby clothes off the floor, Barkly our dog had been acting weird with me since becoming pregnant ... preferring DH over me ... so when I went to pick up hubbys clothes Barkly latched onto my hand....and didnt let go for over two minutes.

My hand was crushed sideways in his jaw and all my fingers were broken and I needed 6 stitches. Which i had to drive myself to the gp for and sit there trying not to pass out at 8 mths pregnant whilst my hand was stitched up. I was in such shock I didnt even think about the dog. or what I was going to have to do wit him...

When I came home he seemed to realise he had hurt me but this wasnt the first attack, it was about the fifth on me , I just didnt think it was bad at first because I wasnt scared when he was a puppy but now he was weighing about 50kg and pure muscle... I have scars on my hand from the attack still (was in 2008) and on my thigh from a previous bite... (looks like a 20 cent piece of deformed skin) and two different scars on my back that happenend when he was much younger and learning to jump and went to nip my neck/or shoulder but got the middle of my back.

Long story short.... I loved him, but he did turn on us in the end. And we had to take him to the RSPCA and they put him down.... When he was 3 yrs old just before DS was born ( 2 weeks) I cant imagine what would of happened if DS was inthe middle of what happened to me. my hand took months to heal. And i was lucky. I know my dog didnt want to hurt me but the instinct is there for them to attack always ....

BTW He was a staffy when advertised too. We thought he'd be a american short legged staffy.. the really quite "Nanny" dogs....

He was a handful but we had alot of fun, I wouldnt give away that time with him for the world but I would give him away for my son....

[YoYo]

Such a tough call. Cranky kitten said it perfectly to me....it's what pit bulls were bred for.

I have an old English sheepdog and I really do trust him, but he, like any other dog is a descendant of a WOLF! So bearing that in mind I would never leave my dog alone with my kids.

My dog was bred to guard sheep, yours, to fight. Does my dog know how to round up sheep? No.... But he's not been trained.... He does round the kids up though!! You wouldn't train your dog to do what it was bred for, which is fight.... But their instinct is still there, and those pitbull jaws are powerful.

Im sorry that your feeling like this about your pooch. It must feel so conflicting.

Eta - agree meow..... Dodgy byb lying about the breed!


---
- Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk - I wonder what the kids are up to....Better go!

[PumpkinZulu]

no reet, i wouldnt get rid of the dog!
any breed can turn - we had a border collie that attacked me when i was little
we have 2 staffies, i have 100% faith that they wouldnt attack anyone!
all our little neices and nephews play all over them and they love it,
but in saying that, id never leave my or any kids alone with them, or any dog, you just dont
thats just my opinion!

My brother is close friends with the family of this child that died. The child was not left alone with the dog, the dog came in off the frigging street. It went for one child, the mother of the child that died went to protect the other child, and the dog attacked and locked onto her daughter instead...the little girl was clinging to her mothers leg the whole time

You absolutely CANNOT trust an ANIMAL 100%. Although I do people have different opinions pre- and post-children, I cannot believe anyone could say that they can completely trust something that cannot rationally reason. I love my cats to death, they were and are my first babies, but since having DD, huge changes have been made. They are not allowed in our bedroom during the night anymore, and they are never, EVER alone with her.

My neighbour has an Aussie bulldog. She actually picked up the bloody thing and shoved it in DD's face to 'introduce' them! **** that, I was livid. My neighbour is mid twenties, no children. Silly, silly cow. She didn't even understand how furious I was.

Anyway, I'm ending my rant now, and Alish and others, I hope you can take what I have said for what it is and not get offended/caught up in the possibly blunt way I have worded sone things...young baby, little sleep etc etc. But god, after reading about mauling after mauling after mauling...how can anyone rationally say that they trust an animal 100%?

[meow]

How devastating PZ

You brought up something I meant to say too- that 100% supervision is really irrelevant with such a strong dog.

[alish]

pz, i will take offence.

it was my opinion, im entitled to one. just because you dont agree dosent mean my opinion is stupid!

you wanted a confrontation. im so over this forum - people singling out other people.

[PumpkinZulu]

Oh god.. Maybe you'll 'get' things more when you actually have your beautiful baby in your arms. Yes!!! You are totally entitled to your opinion! Ofcorse you are, who isn't. Maybe stupid was the wrong word, in sorry. Uninformed was probably more suited. Uninformed and dangerous. And the opinion that you can trust animals around a child 100% IS uninformed and dangerous, no matter if that makes you feel offended or not.

ETA as for singling you out...well, yes, I quoted you because I chose to address something you said. That's generally how a discussion like this rolls. I don't have any issues with YOU per se, just your opinion. If you trust your dogs *100%*, then I can only imagine you'd be slightly more lax with them than if you didn't trust them...which as a parent makes me feel uneasy...the dog that attacked the girl was not the families dog.

[alish]

oh dont even start with that comment! pot calling the kettle black?

as for "getting it" when i have my child - ive had babies and kids around those dogs since they were puppies! always supervised no matter what - you know nothing of my situation! AT ALL

even with the dogs ive had that havent been the "high risk" dogs ive always supervised.

i have a right to have faith in my animals.

im out of this thread now.

[Mum2SweetCs]

Reet whart a tough call hun. Looks like your pitbull is part of the family already.

ok, this is my opinion only. Although your dog has been trained to love your children, how ould you train them to not attack others? There has. Been many incidence where the dog hasnt attacked the owners but other people.

Like this sad story.

I read another one a few months ago where the pitbull attacked another child because the child was play chasing with one of the owners child. The dog saw that as a thrreat.

I hope you make the right decision for you and ur family. Huge

[ellasmummy]

We have a staffy, and they too have lock jaw. I would never trust him 100% around my babies as he is an animal with animal instincts. At the same time I would never ever think he is capable of hurting them. They are his babies, and he likes them better than me or DH lol. I am a big believer that dogs behaviour is reflective of how they are raised from birth. Sorry I haven't really answered your question, I personally wouldn't get rid of him. Has he been to dog training? I think the owners being in control is so important......gosh its such a tough call......I would also be getting him desexed ASAP. We got our pup done at 6mths and he's fine + he calmed down sooooo much after it was done.
PZ - when we bought DD2 home from hossy I sat on the floor holding her and DH was holding the dog and we let him sniff her for a bit, and let him sniff her blanket for a bit after that. Before I had a dog I could never imagine letting a dog that close to my child.

[Marley&Me]

I think the biggest problem is useless owners who are too lazy to build adequate fencing!!
If you choose to own a dog like this, YOU MUST ensure that there is no way possible the dog can escape. And if that means 3 metre fencing, then so be it.
I understand how hard it would be to give the dog up, I don't think i could do it (I loooooove dogs). But also the precautions you must take when owning a dog like this sometimes aren't fair for the dog.

Where would you take it if you did give it up?

[njon2]

Wow, that got a bit intense for a while...

I don't think any pet, whether it is dog, cat, bird or fish, really can be 100% safe regardless of your feelings for them. Everything needs to be considered from breed history, behavior, care and handling, etc. when choosing a pet regardless of children/no children.

What you need to think about is if your dog ever attacked someone (not that I am saying it is inevitable but what if). Could you live with the knowledge that you were the owner of a dog that mauled or killed someone?

But again, my opinion is that some breeds of animals, in this instance pit bulls, should never have been allowed in Australia.

[skybie]

The concerning thing with pitties and dogs like that is their jaw, when they lock on, they lock on really well. tey arent the biggest of dogs, but they are very very strong.
Personally i wouldnt keep it, but thats just me. i also wouldnt visit if the dog was inside, or let my kids play outside with it if it were out.
We have a teeny tiny little little jack x chiwawa (spelt wrong i know) and she is so lazy and gently with the girls, but even then, theres no way in hell id let them play unsupervised, and im alway vigilant with new children going into the backyard to play. i make her sit by my feet. shes used to my girls, but another child might do something different that she doesnt like, or gets a fright from. i'd never forgive myself if she went anyone\

In purchasing a pit bull you have supported an illegal business. i highly reccomend u get the dog desexed asap, if you're found with an undesexed pit bull u can cop major finds as theyre trying to stop the breed from being in autralia

Found this on wiki, specific to qld
A person who owns a "restricted" dog must:

keep the dog within a child-proof enclosure
display warning signs at the entrance to the property where the dog is located
muzzle the dog in public and have it under effective control at all times
ensure the dog is spay/neutered, wearing a collar and a prescribed tag, and is microchipped

[KimmyF]

Reet, I think you're right to question whether you're dog still has a place in your home and noone can really answer for you as what it comes down to is whether you and your family are comfortable with keeping a breed of dog that is known to be aggressive and from most things I've heard or read can turn at anytime.

It sounds like you have done as much as you can and are really dedicated to socialising and training this dog properly which is great. But the fact that the people you bought the dog from didn't advertise their breeding properly sets alarm bells to me, maybe it was ignorance but maybe it was because they know people are wary of buying these breeds of dogs.

I guess what you have to ask yourself is "is the risk that your dog might turn one day worth it?" Now I know any dog can attack and it doesn't have to be a particular breed etc. but the facts and evidence out there suggests that these breeds are more likely to do so than other breeds.
good luck with your decision xxx

[nickle730]

I think the very fact that you are questioning whether you can keep this dog (whilst very responsible) shows that there is doubt in your mind. Will you ever be comfortable keeping him, or will you always feel doubt and concern due to his breed?

Very few owners of dogs who attack say 'yeah, I thought he might do that'. Far more common is, 'OMG, I can't believe my beloved, docile, gentle family pet attacked someone!!!'. All dogs can attack, but as many others have said, for generations pitbulls have been bred for their strength and fighting instinct. It's in their genes.

Personally, I would not keep the dog.

[AnyDream]

I know you're attached to your dog, and that you are undertaking to ensure that he is always supervised. But there were several adults present when that little girl was killed and they were all powerless to intervene. While any dog can "snap", these dogs were originally bred to fight bears, bulls and other large dogs. The by-product is a much higher lethal ability than many other breeds. I think the question here is whether you are prepared to live with that level of risk near your children. Or someone else's. I wouldn't be.