New Dog

[Mercury]

So ... my Wife went down to the pound with our two kids yesterday to look for a new dog. They had their eyes set on a black lab/retriever mix that apparently my wife fell in love with. Well, as they were waiting in line talking about the dog, the person behind them said, "You aren't talking about "dog's name" are you? That is my dog." Apparently this dog was picked up and they contacted the owner and he said he couldn't afford to come pick her up. Well apparently ... he came up with the money. LOL! So my wife was heart broken but happy at the same time since the dog ended back with its owner.

So today, they went back down there and upon return, I see this small, muscular looking Pit Bull come walking in through the door. She is a cute little 2 year old thing but I have always been kind of edgy around that breed of dog. Now, before you all jump down my throat about that breed being just fine and it all depends on the owners and so forth ... I KNOW THAT ... but I still can't help but have this stereotypical image of a pit bull. So, I was a little shocked to see them come in the house with her. Her name is Ava, btw. So far, she has shown to be a pretty nice dog ... a little nervous in ways but that is to be expected ... new house and surroundings and all.

Here is the funny part ...

She must know about my stereotyping of her breed because she has been pretty friendly with everyone ... but she won't come near me. If I try to get near her, she looks at me with that, "yeah .... I don't trust you" look and walks away. I just got done sitting on the floor offering her treats to get her to loosen up and she has a little bit.

I am very interested to see how she turns out and I am sure I will fall in love with her in very little time. I'll post a pic of her in this thread later ...

 

[Darrell]

Congrats on the new dog, Freddy. I'm sure she will warm up to you. It's possible she was abused by men in the past, and that's why she is scared. I think that's pretty common for dogs who are abused.

 

[Mercury]

Congrats on the new dog, Freddy. I'm sure she will warm up to you. It's possible she was abused by men in the past, and that's why she is scared. I think that's pretty common for dogs who are abused.

I kind of wondered about that too since she is more comfortable looking around my wife, her sister and the kids. They said that she was at the shelter for two months after being found on the streets. Needless to say, I have been keeping a SHARP eye on the kids around her but so far, she seems to be very comfortable around them.

 

[Joe the meek]

Congrats on the new dog, Freddy. I'm sure she will warm up to you. It's possible she was abused by men in the past, and that's why she is scared. I think that's pretty common for dogs who are abused.

Plus 1.

Being that the dog is two years old and absolutely new to you, it will take time to "figure out" it's past history, and what may affect the dogs behavior.

You'll find the "bully breed" (rarely can people identify a "true" pit bull as most identified as such are a terrier breed) a remarkable pet if handled and cared for properly. Common sense, but ALWAYS be in supervision of your dog, particularly with a bully breed, and be VERY careful on monitoring how the dog reacts with other strange dogs.

Do you research and read up on them, you will find the breeds interesting and remarkable. I know 10 years ago I would NEVER want a Pit Bull in my house, and now in the present, after coming across them and having them, I have yet to find a more loyal, trainable pet and would never thought I'd hear myself say that they are the best pet I ever have had.

Please excuse the opportunity to post a pic of a couple of my girls

 

[Mercury]

Here she is


Those are beautiful pups, Joe. :thumbup

 

[Natasha]

Congrats on the new dog, Freddy. I'm sure she will warm up to you. It's possible she was abused by men in the past, and that's why she is scared. I think that's pretty common for dogs who are abused.

Definitely a valid point.

My Shadow is a rescue...my brother found her after she was dumped off at a construction site. She was VERY skittish when she first came to us and it took her a long time to warm up. She's a completely different dog now...spoiled beyond belief, LOL

 

[Joe the meek]

Here she is


Those are beautiful pups, Joe. :thumbup

Buy yourself a "chuck it".

Mine wil run for the tennis ball ALL day long LOL



On a side note, you'll find dogs that have a keen interest in objects (such as fetching) make VERY good drug sniffing dogs, not just the GSH breed as most people would think.

 

[Natasha]

That picture is awesome. Too cute!!!

Aww, what a pretty girl!!!

 

[Mercury]

LOL, good Lord! She is a fast little thing! I guess I'm used to our old Lyndy who would walk after balls lol. Yeah, she definitely loves to chase balls.

 

[Joe the meek]

Yeah, she definitely loves to chase balls.

That is a VERY good thing.

With practice, you should be able to have her catch them in mid air without the ball hitting the ground.

Don't be afraid to run her into the ground running after balls. High energy dogs need outlets, and running after balls are a good, easy option.

Being the dog is a bully breed, NEVER let your guard down. NEVER let her play unsupervised with other dogs for at least a couple of years. Not trying to frighten you, just make sure you realize with a bully breed, the responsibility get's stepped up a notch. Do try to socialize the dog as much as possible, ALWAYS under your supervision.

I'd also suggest a training collar that has a vibrate option to help with training. Keep in mind though, a training collar will generally NOT work with aggression, and in some cases, could make the situation worse.

You're dog may have a high prey instinct (which is normal and isn't always considered aggression), but you need to ensure you can control her if that prey drive kicks in around a smaller animal if she's off lead.

 

[Mercury]

That is a VERY good thing.

With practice, you should be able to have her catch them in mid air without the ball hitting the ground.

Don't be afraid to run her into the ground running. High energy dogs need outlets, and balls are a good option.

Yeah, she definitely doesn't want me near her balls right now (but this is only day 1) but I'm sure after a while she will warm up.

 

[Joe the meek]

Yeah, she definitely doesn't want me near her balls right now (but this is only day 1) but I'm sure after a while she will warm up.

Don't worry, I don't want you around my balls either.

 

[Johnfromokc]

Make sure your homeowners insurance is OK with you owning a pit bull breed. Some flat out refuse to cover you if you own any "dangerous" dogs on their list:

http://petnewsandviews.net/2010/05/pit-bulls-and-homeowners-insurance/

“I wanted to adopt a Pit Bull from a shelter because I think they’re cute and need to be adopted by people who can handle this type of dog,” she says. “But, the home insurance agents I talked to told me if I get a Pit Bull, German Shepherd, Husky, Chow, Akita, Doberman, Rottweiler, or a mix with any of the above, I forfeit my coverage and no one else will cover me either.”

 

[Joe the meek]

Make sure your homeowners insurance is OK with you owning a pit bull breed.

The term would be "Bully breed"

If anything, the term "terrier breed" would most likely be used as most dogs who have Terrier lineage are confused with the American Pit Bull.

The news media does the exact same thing firearms. Calling a Sig 226 a revolver is wrong anyway you cut it LOL

Looking at Mercury's dog, first quick guess would be a run with the American Staffordshire Terrier.

 

[Johnfromokc]

The term would be "Bully breed"

If anything, the term "terrier breed" would most likely be used as most dogs who have Terrier lineage are confused with the American Pit Bull.

The news media does the exact same thing firearms. Calling a Sig 226 a revolver is wrong anyway you cut it LOL

Looking at Mercury's dog, first quick guess would be a run with the American Staffordshire Terrier.

Hey Joe the minutiae boy - your opinion on the issue means nothing to the insurance company. Mercury needs to be aware of the FACT that insurance companies can, will and do refuse to cover you if you have certain breeds of dogs without approval or some kind of insurance rider.

I posted this so Mercury could make an informed decision to protect his assets, not to argue with your dumb ass.

 

[Mercury]

Don't worry, I don't want you around my balls either.

LMAO! I knew someone was going to go there!

Make sure your homeowners insurance is OK with you owning a pit bull breed. Some flat out refuse to cover you if you own any "dangerous" dogs on their list:

http://petnewsandviews.net/2010/05/pit-bulls-and-homeowners-insurance/

That's interesting ... never heard or knew about that. I will have to find out about that.



She is doing a bit better around me ... she's pretty funny. She will bring her ball up to me and then drop it about 3 feet away from me and wait for me to get it. She will back up when I reach for it hehe. Finally got her back inside the house now so she can become familiar and more comfortable inside the house. She is doing pretty good inside. Starting to let me pet her and she will lick my hand. Just watched a really good documentary on the American Pit Bull ... A LOT of good information! It wasn't sugar coating the animal nor was it against the animal but instead brought a lot of information from a neutral stand point.

 

[Joe the meek]

Hey Joe the minutiae boy - your opinion on the issue means nothing to the insurance company. Mercury needs to be aware of the FACT that insurance companies can, will and do refuse to cover you if you have certain breeds of dogs without approval or some kind of insurance rider.

I posted this so Mercury could make an informed decision to protect his assets, not to argue with your dumb ass.

You're correct about the insurance aspect, incorrect on the terminology. Ignorance promoting ignorance will never lead to education, and since you're terminology is wrong, I don't feel like you have anything to argue about as I wasn't correcting that part of the insurancet

On a side note, watching the news tonight, just a reminder to NEVER let small children alone with any animals. Looking at the picture of the dog in question on the news, it doesn't fit the bill of an "dangerous breed".

Mercury, from my own experiences, you will never find a dog as loyal to your family as you will with a bully breed. As mentioned though, they need to be handled/supervised more carefully. Doing rescue work with dogs led me to our first bully breed, and looking for an adoptive home for her, I was amazed at the people who wanted her, and I don't mean that in a good way. Dog fighting and people wanting "tough dogs" to scare people do nothing to help the breed's reputation, along with people who only want a dog for security.

 

[36gamer]

Is a very cute dog. I absolutely love dogs. I have two, one is a German Shepard/husky mix (absolutely beautiful dog), and the other's mother is the first dog I mentioned and the father is a bull mastiff. Both are amazing dogs, except they are really happy. The mom is actually under two years and the pup is under a year so they are both really hyper. That gets annoying, but they are very loving dogs.

Your dog looks and sounds really cool.

 

[Mercury]

Mercury, from my own experiences, you will never find a dog as loyal to your family as you will with a bully breed. As mentioned though, they need to be handled/supervised more carefully. Doing rescue work with dogs led me to our first bully breed, and looking for an adoptive home for her, I was amazed at the people who wanted her, and I don't mean that in a good way. Dog fighting and people wanting "tough dogs" to scare people do nothing to help the breed's reputation, along with people who only want a dog for security.

That's what was mentioned in that documentary ... very loving dogs that want to please their owners so badly! ... I can see how society has turned the original "American Family Dog" into an animal that is surrounded by fear and aggression.

Is a very cute dog. I absolutely love dogs. I have two, one is a German Shepard/husky mix (absolutely beautiful dog), and the other's mother is the first dog I mentioned and the father is a bull mastiff. Both are amazing dogs, except they are really happy. The mom is actually under two years and the pup is under a year so they are both really hyper. That gets annoying, but they are very loving dogs.

Your dog looks and sounds really cool.

Thanks! She seems to be pretty cool so far.

Ah yeah, the super hyper dog syndrome LOL! Its cute for a little bit then ya get a bit tired of the constant craziness hehe.

 

[Minderella]

Awww, Freddy--she's adorable!!

She'll warm up to you, just keep trying--but don't push it. Once she realizes that you are there to love her and not hurt her, she'll come around.