some people just shouldnt be allowed to have a dog!

Rescently a friend of mine came over and told me his friend had a 4month old paperd female brindle pit he had to get rid of due to his living situation. so we went over just to look at it, and the guy was like 150$ blah blah blah! i wasnt looking to get the dog yet alone pay for it. So i asked to see him because i know someone who may be interested. So the guy leads me into his back yard and in the far corned with no food or water or shelter was this pretty but extremley under weight dog! she is so damn skinny you can see all her ribs and all of her spine, i mean this dog was about at the point of death! so after i went off on the guy i took her, he wasnt happy but after i told him either i would take her with or with out his concent he laid off a little and even gave me her papers. i took her to the vet and got her checked for heart worms and all that good stuff and the vet said she is fine other that being so skinny. So when i got her home i made her a nice place to rest in my kitchen and have been feeding her as much as she will eat. She is gaining weight and finally calmed down enough for me to be able to walk up to her and all that good stuff. does anyone know a good food for me to give her to help her gain weight? I just cant believe that someone would have done that to such a pretty dog and actually expected to sell her in the condition she was in. i just cant wait for her to get a little healthier so that i can let her anr rowdie play together because he is getting verry jealous of me working with her. any suggestions on how to help this dog would be greatly appreciated.

 

You did the right thing! I would have done the same. Told him I was taking her or calling the animal control or something. You should feed her a high fat/pro diet and add rice to it, this will help her gain weight.

 

yeah i fighured that was the best thing to do.... now i have the wonderful task of training this dog! i almost have her house trained and she will sit in command now. but a few days ago my daughter crawled up to her and went to touch her and she growled at her and barred teeth and both rowdie and myselfe went to interveen. so now i have had her outside in the kennel because i am worried she is gonna bight one of my kids. what can i do to help insure that dosent happen. i think she is just still scared. sometimes when i try to call her to me she will run the other way like i am going to beat her. and i still have to either drag or cary her into and out of the house because she seems to be afraid of the carpet for some odd reason. i am still unsure if i am going to keep her or not but even if i dont i dont wanna give her to someone unless she is at least healthy and trained, at least knows the basics.

 

Toddlers/young children and dogs


Toddlers are at higher risk for a dog bite than older children, because toddlers don’t know how to read dog language. They don’t know that dogs may not like to have a bone taken away, or what it means when a dig stiffens, flinches or growls. It works both ways: Toddlers are unpredictable. They lurch and grab, and dogs can feel uneasy about their behavior.


If you see your dog doing things that make you uneasy i.e. growling, glaring at your child, guarding food or acting fearfully – Finding a good dog trainer and getting some professional advice is always a great way to begin. It’s far better to invest the time and money to work with your canine now, rather than deal with the sometimes tragic results of a dog bite down the road.


Begin teaching your toddler/child strange-dog etiquette. Kids should never pat a dog without first checking with the owner. Show your child how to offer her hand to sniff first, and then slowly pat her new friend.


Begin by teaching/cueing your toddler/child to be gentle. You need to praise the dog as well as the child for being calm and tolerant, and make sure the dog’s play and exercise time is not neglected.


Try using a sticker chart to reward the toddler’s/child’s good behavior around the dog. Have the parent stick stars on the chart when the child is behaving well around the dog. The bottom line still remains: Dogs, even friendly dogs, and toddlers should ALWAYS BE SUPERVISED because you just don’t know and can never take chances!


A great way for a toddler/child to interact with pets in a positive way is through play. Allow your child to play SUPERVISED GAMES that foster cooperation and control-games such as fetch with a football or Frisbee, blowing bubbles, hide and seek (with your dog finding the kids for a toy or treat), kicking a soccer ball around or learning fun tricks.


Begin setting limits on play. Avoid tug of war, wrestling, ear pulling, pony riding, toy hitting, fur grabbing, chasing and any type of rough play. All of these activities teach your dog to be rough with humans and to grab and bite. Do not allow any family member, including adults to engage in rough play with your dog. Your dog will attempt to play those games with your children and the results will not be harmonious. Don’t allow or train your dog to do anything that you would not want him to do with your toddler/child.


If your dog is high-energy, make sure an adult exercises him through jogging, biking or a hard game of fetch before he interacts with your children. If your dog becomes too excited during play, end the game immediately and try again later when your dog is calmer. Some dogs get excited and may even become more dangerous when children scream and run. Teach your child appropriate safety behaviors around dogs.


Ensuring the safety of your children and pets:


One to three years of age is a time of exploration and for putting things in the mouth. A pet who is possessive about his toys and food can be potentially dangerous to a child, so set ground rules from the beginning. Teach your toddler basic dog safety rules and NEVER ALLOW THE DOG AND CHILD TO INTERACT IN AN UNSUPERVISED ENVIRONMENT! Work with your dog regularly until he understands and obeys signal words. For example, repeat “EASY, EASY, EASY” to your dog so he will know when it’s time to be calm.


Teach your children not to take a toy out of a dog’s mouth or to be near an animal when it is eating. Toddlers and crawling babies don’t recognize the imaginary special boundaries that adults see. A child 6 months to one year old will grab at whatever is in his or her path, so ears and tails are targets. Children have to be carefully supervised around animals to avert any unexpected reactions. For the pet’s sake and your child’s safety, keep pet food and feeding areas away from crawling and toddling children. It’s easy to maintain child-pet harmony by simply minimizing the chances of your pet’s feeding time being unpleasantly interrupted.


Teach your children the possum stance. Children are small, move erratically, yell and generally act crazy. Most dogs either would like to chase them or become fearful of them. Teach your children that if a dog is chasing them, and possibly even barking, growling or nipping, to immediately stand still. Arms should be folded across their chest or over their face. Their voice should become soft or completely quiet. By doing this, your child instantly becomes a lot less interesting to the dog. Odds are the dog will calm down and go off to do something else in a matter of moments.


Teach your children to report to you whenever they hear the dog growling and it is clearly not during play. A growl is a warning that your pet is not okay with the immediate situation at hand. Unless your child understands to back away immediately, they could be bitten. If you hear your dog growling at any time other than playtime, consult a professional dog trainer immediately. Aggression problems, unless addressed quickly, tend to get worse.


To ensure the safety of your children and your pet, hire babysitters that have experience with pets and carefully instruct them on how the child and the pet are allowed to interact.


Teaching your children to treat a pet respectfully:


Teaching your toddler/young child to respect animals, and your pets in particular is a valuable lesson that will serve him across many aspects of his life. To toddlers, treating a pet with respect is as simple as the Golden Rule, but there are many ways to approach this.


Here’s what you can do:


Read books about animals to your toddler to help him understand that pets have feelings too.


While your child is watching, rub your dog behind the ears, talking in a low soothing voice to your pet.


Demonstrate for your child how to approach a pet ~~ slowly from the side.


Communicate off-limits behavior. Teach toddlers/young children that tail or ear pulling, poking eyes or feeding a pet is not acceptable behavior and that a gentle touch is needed for petting.


However, teaching toddlers to “Play Gentle” can be challenging. Choose key words to communicate gentle behavior, like “Easy”, “Gentle”, or “Nice”. Practice using the words with a toddler while demonstrating gentle behavior on a stuffed animal. Stroke the stuffed animal with the toddler’s hand as you repeat the words.


Lead by example, the best way you can teach respect is to show respect for the dog yourself. Give your dog a place to retreat to when he has had enough human interaction or you cannot provide supervision. Your dog will need some daily time off from the children. Use an indoor crate that is off limits to the children or baby gate your dog into a safe room such as a kitchen or bedroom.


Children need to learn the rules:



Children need to learn the rules. Children should be taught to pet softly, stay away from food dishes, toys and bones and not to startle the pet when he is sleeping.


Child-pet respect is a two-way street. As much as your child is being taught to give respect, the pet must be taught to give it as well. The best way to ensure that your pet respects the family hierarchy (with the pet at the bottom) is to give your dog his own bed, on the floor and out of your child’s bedroom. Letting your dog sleep with your children is not only unsanitary, & it increases the risk of zoonosis, but it also relays a message to the dog that your child is a litter mate. Litter mates sleep together, litter mates get bossed around by being jumped on, pushed over, growled at, snapped at and finally bitten. You can protect your child by preventing your pet from viewing them as an equal. If your child insists upon having the dog in the bedroom, crate train your pet and put the crate in the child’s room for sleeping only.


The importance of parental supervision:


The normal sudden movements and high-pitched noises of a toddler may cause your pet to become overly excited or agitated. It is important to continue monitoring interactions carefully. Never leave a child, no matter what age, alone with a dog. Every dog bites under the right circumstances. Make adult supervision a strict rule in your household.