What to get?

I am going to be in the market for a female companion to for my Lou. Not for breeding, but someone to bounce around with. She will be fixed if she isnt already. The thing is I want to adopt from a shelter. So should I get a dog more his age, or is an adult female ok? What signs should I look for when I take him for a doggie meeting? I know he'll bow-up & strut his stuff like always, but how can I tell if she would be receptive? I know adopting from a shelter is a crap-shoot on health & temperment, but right now there is around 20 female pits in shelters around my area. Why buy a puppy when I can help one of these dogs.

 

PBRC has some good information on adopting a shelter dog, as well as a temperament test you can use to evaluate possible cantidates. Here's a link to the temperament test page itself. Remember that even two APBTs who get along should not be left alone together, as even best buddies get into arguments, and an argument between two APBTs (or even pit mixes) could prove to be deadly with no one there to break it up. You can try to minimize chances of problems by getting a dog of the opposite sex, and it's sometimes better to adopt an adult dog (at least 2-3 yrs old), so you have a better idea of the dog's temperament, as well as how dog aggressive they are. You might also look towards dogs that are currently in foster homes, as you can sometimes get a better idea of how the dogs are in a home environment, with other dogs, etc. Good luck!