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Post by pipesgirl on Dec 3, 2012 19:17:27 GMT -5
I have fallen in love with a beautiful female Pit Bull. She is currently in a rescue shelter and was abused by her previous owner. The shelter says that just a raised hand or yelling cowers her down into submission. I played with her a little bit and she's incredibly sweet. They are stating that she is about 2 or 3 years old and she has already had at least 1 litter. Now here is my concern. She is an abused dog. If we adopt her, I will be bringing her into my home with 4 kids. 2 teenagers and 2 toddlers. I'm worried about her snapping since she was abused.  I have had other dogs before, but never a pure Pit Bull. Has anybody rescued an abused Pit? I'd LOVE to hear some success stories, please? |
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Post by catstina on Dec 3, 2012 20:43:03 GMT -5
As a breed, Pit Bulls tend to be great with children, but I would be concerned about such a nervous dog not being happy in a rambunctious home. There are a few members on here whose dogs were abused in their former "homes." Hopefully they'll be on soon and they can help you with your questions.
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sharron
Full Fledged Poster
Posts: 191
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Post by sharron on Dec 4, 2012 4:04:02 GMT -5
My Beau was horrifically abused in every possible way. He was used as a 'bait dog' because he refused to fight !
I got him at 1 1/2 years old. He did have issues from the very begining though. My roommate went to open a window close to him , he would bite and immediately let go. He never bit or attempted to bite me.
Every dog is different though . I suggest if you adopt this dog and take her home. Please introduce all of your children to the dog by letting her ( leashed ) go up to the children and sniff them. Please don't force the dog to do anything she doesn't want. If the dog chooses to sniff one child and walks away , that's fine.
However , if the dog decides to greet each one with a sniff and walks away. Great ! That would be enough for the day.
To avoid stress for the dog being in a new place. I suggest you take her to her crate and let her rest overnight. Feed , water her and take her out to relieve herself . Tomorrow she will have a very busy day with your children,
Many times , the 'new dog' when brought to his / her new home, the dog is nervous , the entire family is excited and nervous. This combined with the dog being tired if coming from a distance.
A case where a family brought a new dog home. The dog had been in the car for 2 hours travelling.
Upon arrival , the family immediately became excited and went up to the dog and the kids started hugging on him and wanting to play. The family,in their excitement did not consider the dog's travel time and that he was tired.
One of the little tykes was sitting on the floor with the dog, when all of sudden the girl got bitten in the face. No one saw what happened and or,what the little girl might have done for the dog to react ! Of course the father called to go and get the dog that very night. His wish was granted. The dog had no bite issues before the adoption, and none after. He was adopted out to another family with children,,,and nothing has gone wrong.
Personally , I think the dog was exhausted from the travel time. Met the excited family that was so excited they didn't give the dog time to rest and the little girl did something for the dog to bite her. Just my opinion !
}My concern is your two toddlers. Kids are on the same height level as a dog. Many dogs are nervous to begin with , coming into a new home. and enviroment. Toddlers know no better and their movements are fast. Kids want to touch the dog, pull at his ears , tail in their excitment and with this excitiment sometimes scream or make loud noises. These actions might scare or cause the dog to react in a negative way.{
SORRY, MY COMPUTER SKIPPED THE ABOVE AND ADDED IT IN THE WRONG PLACE. I APOLOGIZE !
Because you don't know how the dog will be with your children. Always have an ADULT SUPERVISE !!
This supervision does not include your teenagers!
Knowing that a waved hand can set her off. Please talk with your children about not speaking in a loud voice or screaming , yelling or playing rough with each other. The dog might take rough-housing as a threat and go into 'protection mode'.
sharron
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Post by loverocksalot on Dec 4, 2012 7:23:49 GMT -5
Look at the two week shut down for sure. It should be in management section on here.
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Post by RealPitBull on Dec 4, 2012 8:13:13 GMT -5
Where are you located? For your first Pit Bull and especially since you have children, I think you would be better off adopting from a rescue that has had the dog in a home setting and has thoroughly evaluated the dog.
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Post by pipesgirl on Dec 4, 2012 10:58:57 GMT -5
Thank you for the info so far. The article on the Two Week Shutdown is awesome. If we are able to let this sweet girl join our family, I will definitely have the whole family read that article and follow it. I'm heading to the shelter in a little bit with my 2 toddlers just to make sure they aren't scared to death of her. I look forward to more stories and suggestions.  |
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Post by RealPitBull on Dec 4, 2012 14:01:22 GMT -5
Let us know how the visit goes!
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Post by loverocksalot on Dec 4, 2012 14:17:32 GMT -5
Looking forward to hearing about the visit with her. Are you a stay at home mom?
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Post by pipesgirl on Dec 4, 2012 16:11:26 GMT -5
Yes, I am a stay home mom. Our visit went well. She just laid on the ground and let us love on her. It was a bit chilly out, so we didn't want to keep her outside very long. She didn't mind the little ones touching her. However they were more interested in just running around cause it was someplace new for them. Unfortunately the only man that was able to help us with our visit did not know a whole lot about her. We are planning another visit tomorrow night. We are still waiting on our adoption application to be approved. |
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Post by emilys on Dec 4, 2012 16:47:37 GMT -5
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Post by pipesgirl on Dec 5, 2012 10:29:57 GMT -5
Thank you emilys. I'll definitely look at that too. |
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Post by pipesgirl on Dec 5, 2012 10:35:59 GMT -5
<<<<<< Here is the shelter's picture of her. <3
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Post by loverocksalot on Dec 5, 2012 15:38:03 GMT -5
It is hard to see her can you post a bigger one. She looks very cute. BTW I asked if you are a stay at home mom because that is a plus in this situation. I am also a stay at home mom.
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Post by pipesgirl on Dec 5, 2012 15:58:45 GMT -5
I don't think I can. That is the biggest pic I could find of her. I agree that being a stay home mom will definitely be beneficial for her and for our bonding. |
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Post by suziriot on Dec 5, 2012 17:35:24 GMT -5
I was able to get a better look at the pic by right clicking on it on my computer. She looks so soft and sweet!
I'll just echo what others have said. As a new pit bull owner with a house full of very young kids, it would be best to find a dog that has been temperament tested extensively and has spent some time in a foster home. That way you will have a better idea of whether the dog's personality is a good fit for your family. This is true whether the dog comes from a background of abuse and/or neglect or not. Regarding the abuse issue... it really depends on the dog. All of my personal dogs come from situations that range from minor neglect to severe abuse, and they all have different temperaments. As a rescuer, I'm not comfortable placing a dog with an unknown background in a home with children unless that dog has spent time in foster and I am confident of their temperament and any potential triggers.
Hopefully they will be able to give you more detailed information about her temperament and behavior. She sure is a cutie!
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Post by pipesgirl on Dec 5, 2012 21:56:32 GMT -5
We went as a whole family to visit her tonight. Having my husband there and holding the leash made her very nervous and she kept rolling onto her back and peeing. I feel so bad for her. My little guy (23 months) tripped at one point and fell into her, we all froze, her eyes got huge, she looked up and my husband and just cowered down. We are still in love with her. However, we learned tonight that there are 3 other families interested in her. I guess it's all in God's hands now as we are still waiting on our application to be approved. If she is meant to be with us, she will be. |
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Post by loverocksalot on Dec 6, 2012 7:44:08 GMT -5
Poor Girl.
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Post by michele5611 on Dec 6, 2012 9:30:28 GMT -5
She is a cutie and I hope she finds a good home. If it is meant to be with your family time will tell. There are plenty of wonderful dogs out there that would be very lucky to have you as their owner.
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Post by sugar on Dec 6, 2012 12:03:21 GMT -5
I will agree with others, since you have such young kids it may be better for you to find a good rescue that has had a dog in a foster home environment (they will also be able to tell you a lot about the dog since they have lived with him).
That dog looks very sweet, but personally I feel that having such tiny kids (being kids, because at two they are exploring everything and too young to really get the concept of "if the dog looks stressed, leave him alone". I mean they are toddlers, lol.) and little kids around a potentially nervous/fearful dog can be a problem. Like if the kids do something like accidentally step on the dog's tail or if the dog is having a frazzled day and more on edge than normal.
I love my rescue dog, and I knew from the start he would going to be more work than a different dog from his rescue. I had to devote 95% of my time to his training (very sweet, but no manners and no idea about house breaking lol). It took lots of love and training and patience and effort and now he mostly a model pit, but I also don't have kids to take care of on top of it.
Regardless of breed, I would always be a bit cautious about bringing home a nervous/fearful dog around such young kids (who, lets face it can be a little unpredictable themselves, lol).
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perseus
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Post by perseus on Dec 6, 2012 12:06:50 GMT -5
I want to commend you on wanting to adopt a shelter PB and you seem to have a lot of compassion and are trying to educate yourself - right on!
I want to bring up one other point that I don't think anyone mentioned yet and I am not trying to be negative here just real. I know you mentioned having had other dogs in the past and I am sure you have probably read or had someone tell you by now that PB's need to be exercised a lot. I only bring this up because I don't think a lot of people are truly aware of the extent of that commitment. If they don't get it in a good way they are going to find some way to get that stimulation and it usually gonna be in a way that's gonna destroy something and end up pissing you off. Then a lot of folks dump them back at the shelter or on the street. I hope it works out for you all. As Emily said, they are indeed the best dogs in the world.
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I have had other dogs before, but never a pure Pit Bull.
