Life with Pit Bulls

Basic Rules of Pit Bull Ownership

1) Properly confine your Pit Bull in a safely fenced yard or kennel (or better yet, in the house with you), protected from teasing children, stray animals and potential dog nappers.

2) Provide adequate daily exercise, love, attention and human interaction for your Pit Bull.

3) Properly socialize your Pit Bull to a wide variety of people (including children), places and animals.

4) Keep your Pit Bull under control at all times, whether on a leash or in an escape proof enclosure. Never allow your dog off leash in a public area.

Reasons not to get a Pit Bull

1) You are looking for a “big, bad dog” to impress people.

2) You want a dog to stick out in the back yard or tie out on a chain.

What does my Pit Bull need?

Most APBTs need a fair amount of exercise. A tired Pit Bull is a happy Pit Bull. Long walks, hikes, games of fetch, games of tug o’ war along with obedience training and tricks are all good ways to tire out your dog, both mentally and physically.

A crate is high on my list of essentials. Teach the dog a specific command for him to go into his crate (around here, it is “kennel"). If you leave him in his crate while you are gone, he will feel safe and secure and, you won’t come home to torn up belongings and messes to clean up.

What about the dog park?

Dog parks are not a good idea for any dog but, especially for an APBT. A dog park where any and all dogs are let off leash to run together is not a good idea. Regardless of how well behaved your dog may be, other dogs may not be. If your APBT were to be involved in a fight at a park, the entire breed suffers as a result. No matter who starts the fight, the APBT will always take the blame. Being a responsible APBT owner means avoiding any situations that might result in harming the image of the breed, as a whole.

Also, you have no idea what kind of health care hazards the other dogs may pose. Many owners do not properly vaccinate their dogs, etc. All in all, it is just a bad idea for any dog. A dog should never be off leash at any time, unless they are in an enclosed (fenced) area. In fact, this is a standard clause in all of our adoption contracts.

Being a responsible Pit Bull owner means avoiding any situations that might result in harming the image of the breed, as a whole.

Enjoying your APBT

Pit Bulls are extremely human oriented. They thrive on your love and companionship. If they could tell you their fondest desire it would likely be to spend more time with their family. They will happily keep you company night and day. They are very adaptable and will do well in any lifestyle, as long as it means that they can be with you. The APBT is a great choice for someone who enjoys the companionship and adoration or a loyal pet.

Tips for multi dog households —

* NEVER leave any animals alone together, unsupervised! When no one is around to keep an eye on them, the dogs should be safely crated, even if they are the best of friends. You must remember that above all else they are still animals and you never know what might trigger a fight, in you absence. And, with their strength, if a fight should happen, the consequences could be fatal.

* Always monitor your dogs while they are at play with other dogs. Do not let them play to rough. They LOVE to play and many play rough, you have to keep an eye out to be sure that things do not go too far.

* Always supervise them when they have food, bones, toys, etc. If (like kids) one decides that the other has a better toy, they may have a disagreement over it. Small disagreements are usually just that but, you never know when one might escalate into full scale war.