Adopted my new girl

[doglover84]

Hello!

My name is, Cindy, I am in my late 20's, and I am from the Northeastern US.

I recently adopted what I thought was a 4 month old lab mix from a kill shelter in GA. Nope, turns out she is closer to 6 months and is a lab/APBT mix.

She is a really sweet, loving, and laid back puppy. I had many, many animals all of my life, and grew up with dogs of all sizes. I never had anything against "pits", but our society at large seems to.

The main problem I have is her beating up our smaller, year old, 8.5 lb mutt, and Kels is 30lbs. He nips her back legs, jumps on her head, and is a general nuisance. She does not retaliate until he really drives her nuts, then they give chase around the table, ending with her pinning him by his neck, but not biting, or literally sitting on him!

She is UTD on shots, spayed, and is starting doggie training this Sunday. I got her just over two weeks ago, and she already knows sit, down, come, her name, Easy-which is when they both go crazy, and she needs to calm down before she eats him, , and needs to learn off-from jumping on us/counters/etc. Really smart girl. She grew up in a dog run with other puppies, a communal water/food bowl, so she should be better than the other dog, but isn't.

Any advice on how to further work with her? She is going to be about 50 lbs, so a good size dog for y 120 lb self! How do I keep her in check, without the whole dominant/alpha/submissive stuff, but still let her know that Mama's boss with love?

pS- I am in trouble as she is much of a lap dog!

PPS- How do I post pictures?

[Curly_07]

Welcome and thank you for adopting! Once approved, post your concerns in Training section. You should go ahead and start the "2 weeks, give em a break!" thread in training as well as read up on "introducing a new dog" thread. They are both stickies and it is not too late to do. Also, check out the NILF thread (aka nothing in life is free, also referred to as NILIF) in training. Clicker/marker training would probably work great for you too.

Pics can be posted via Tapatalk app from your phone, or via a host site like Photobucket from your computer. There is a sticky at the top of Intros for how to do it from your computer.

Sent from my HTC using Tapatalk

[Nickdawg]

welcome - check out this link for some great tips especially on keeping the peace, multi dog homes, a new dog etc. http://www.badrap.org/favorite-how-links

[doglover84]

I know the mods have lives outside of this forum, but howcome I have not been approved as of yet?

I had a quick question: I mentioned the smaller dog that tourments Kelsey, and as of now I am having to crate them because he is just soooo obnoxious around her I am afraid she will eat him, no, not literally, if they are both loose together.

Also, is there anything "training' that you guys thinks is bogus in regards to pits? I mean, like the whole dominant/alpha dog stuff, that you do certain things so the dog sees you as the leader, such as:human going first in doorways, stairs, etc, walking next to you instead of in front on a leash, waiting for food/told "ok" after sitting to eat? That sort of stuff. I know she will top out around 50lbs, and I am just double that weight, so I HAVE to be able to be in control of my girl, and be boss, so that I won't have an unruly, big dog, which is a mjor no-no to me for anyone.

Can anyone give me advice while I somewhat patiently wait to be approved ?

Once I figure it out, I will post pics.

[AllisonPibbleLvr]

The dominance stuff is nonsense when it comes to all dogs, not just pitbulls.

I also wouldn't follow the two week shut down necessarily as its meant for adult dogs, not pups.

You need to intervene in the interactions between the two of them if the little dog is "tormenting" him. You have said that you are worried about the pup, but it would seem that your small dog needs some work too.

Also, don't buy in to any "breed specific" advice you get-- without knowing the parents, what you have is a mutt. There's no guarantee that she even IS a Pitbull. So take her for what she is, an individual.

For now I would keep their interactions short and sweet and separate them when things get too rambunctious. Let them interact during activities and times when they are less likely to get wound up, such as when you are out on a walk.

[doglover84]

Allison-

Thank you so much for your quick reply, with a wealth of info.

See, I thought that dominance stuff, for any breed, was true, and I responsibly had dogs all of my life, and my parents have too!

The smaller dog, Benny, is neurologically impaired, as he acidentally ate rat poison only a few days after we got him. I was away for a funeral, and my Mom had to bathe him, as the puppy peed on himself (he wasn't too bright before the poisoning either it seems), and thought she closed the door to the laundry room, where the tub and poison (on the floor was kept-mouse in food pantry). SHe went upstairs to get a blow dryer, and when she came down, not even a minute later, the door was open, and a ripped open bag of the most toxic brand of poison on the floor! She felt so badly that she "almost killed my puppy", and still does. He now walks on his toes on his back leg, falls over if he jumps too high, usually on his head, and just doesn't act like a normal dog does.

Kelsey is my baby, no matter what mix she is. We always, and still do, have mutts. To us, they are the best!

I start training with Kelsey in not this weekend, but the next. Bentley, went through two trainers before we got him, and another after, and he still doesn't listen. We kept up with the lessons and everything, and never had such a badly acting dog before. We, and our vet, think he just will be this way due to the rat poison, and we will deal with him, and his issues, accordingly. He is out little brat, and we love him too.

[AllisonPibbleLvr]

Oh no! My childhood dog ate rat poison once!

Because of the eventual size difference, I would be inclined to always supervise interactions and separate them when you aren't home.

[doglover84]

It is hard, isn't it? Especially when one is a good dog owner, and a tiny mistake happens that hurs your pet. What happened to your dog?

Yeah, Ben is crated when we are away as it is, so one Kelsey may be loose as an adult, while the nut is crated. I think they will be fine if we watch them when loose together.

Thanks, again.

[AllisonPibbleLvr]

She had to take Vitamin K injections but she had no lasting ill-effects.

Once you get posting permission you'll have access to a wealth of good info

[Leslie H]