Wife gave me a Pit for Christmas!!

Hi,

I am new to the board. Just stumbled accross the board while surfing. My wife gave ma beutiful Pit puppy this morning. He is brindle with some white on his chest and a black muzzle. Cute as a bug. I owned one other pit in my life when I was younger (in highschool).. He was the BEST dog I have ever owned. However at the time of course I did not have children. Now I have three. Ranging from 9 down to 2 yrs. I am not one of those who believe pits are vicious by nature but I do know they can do some damage if not raised properly. My question is how can I insure him and my children have a great long term relationship with mutual respect.

Thanks in advance.

Glen

 

Congratulations on the pup! You'll have to get some pictures up here soon! We love pictures!
Pits as you know are wonderful dogs and can be wonderful with children (they put up with a lot).
To have a successful relationship between the dog and the kids, I would first make sure they are never unattended with the dog...as much for their safety as the dog's...that way neither dog nor child gets poked prodded, knocked down, etc...They should be involved in the training process as well...even though the 2 year old will probably not be able to do much..the dog must recognize that ALL of the children are above it in the pack and it can't run over, jump, chew, etc on them...starting this early will prevent a lot of problems down the road..This can all be done through postive training methods...I can't think of the book I want to right now..but I bet someone else will jump on here pretty soon with the title. Anyways, just a few quick thoughts...I'm sure more detail will come as I think about it and more people come with advice.
Again...congratulations and welcome to the board!

 

Thank you I am very excited about this pup. Its been 12 yrs since I had bogie (my first pit). I had him for 9 yrs.

I am still trying to come up with a name for the new pup. I tried telling the kids to name him buuut some of the names they came up with were....well they were not worthy .....LOL......told them to keep trying.

 

Congragualtions.Pits make great family pets.

 

Congrats on the new addition to your family, he will bring many years of joy and love. Someday touchedon some important topics, as far as training with the whole family, never leaving the children with the puppy unattended. I suggest you check out the training facilities in your area, I would steer clear of your local pet store trainers. I live in NC and since the AKC is based out of Raleigh here in NC we have a lot of AKC related training facilities. We have an AKC obediance facility here in my city where titled obediance instructors with many wins under their belts volunteer to train. It is very hard to get a class there, you have to book months in advance before you even get your puppy, lol. I don't know where you live but you should definately call your local AKC club and see if they offer anything like that near you. You definately need to enroll your pup in a puppy class, it is very important for their eary learning months and socialization, it sets the base of their personality. Also, I suggest you pick up any APBT breed book you can find to read up on the breed. Just make sure after he sees the vet and gets his next series of shots make sure you keep him quarantined in the house for a good week for his immune system to kick in. This breed is very prone to parvo and can get it very easily. If you have any more questions please ask.