Hello from Salt Lake

[jeam97]

Hi everyone,

My name is Jeff. I'm 38 am married to an amazing lady, Amanda. We have two beautiful children, ages 11 (boy) and 8 (girl). I am originally from Michigan but have been living in Utah for the past 16 years.

My family and I had two Shih-Tzu's a couple of years ago - Oscar and Cocoa. We had to move out of our home and apartment hop for a year before getting into another home. Unfortunately, we weren't able to keep the dogs during the apartment hopping year, but we found incredible homes for them that we felt very, very good about.

My wife has recently stopped working and is now a stay-at-home mom. She is feeling a bit lonely and the idea of bringing another dog into our home has been a hot topic. She is not a fan of dogs that shed, so we already had to cross of Labrador's off the list. (I had one growing up - "Mork" whom I loved dearly.) We liked the Shih Tzu's but have talked about getting a larger dog that is more playful and loyal. Yes, a guard dog was the original idea, but when I started reading about Pitbulls I learned that they are not great guard dogs. However, they seem to be wonderful companions.

As cheesy as this may sound, we got interested in this breed after getting hooked on the TV show "Pit Bulls and Parolees" on Animal Planet. I admit, up until this point, I believed what the media has told me. However, after watching last season and reading more about Pitbulls online, I believe they can be wonderful, gentle, loving companions.

We're a bit hesitant, at the same time, because of the stereotype, and we don't want kids to stop playing with our kids if we do end up getting a Pitbull. Also, most everything I've been reading - owners give rave reviews of Pitbulls. There are some reviews I've read, however, where people have said that their gentle loving Pitbull 'snapped' one day and attacked someone. Is that typical? Would that be because it wasn't socialized properly?

Any advice would be appreciated. Thanks for taking the time. - Jeff

[Leslie H]

Hi Jeff,
The American Pit Bull Terrier has been bred for generations to be good with people. In fact, I compare their attitude towards people as being pretyy "lab-like", they should be indiscriminately friendly. Now, they may not feel the same towards other animals. They are, like many of the terrier breeds, more prone to dog aggression. Not every APBT is, but anyone considering this breed should be prepared that their pet, even if well socialized, may mature to be intolerant of other dogs. On the other hand, being aggressive towards people is way outside the norm, and considered unacceptable.

APBT's are no more prone to "snapping" than other breeds. True cases of dogs "snapping" are very rare. More common is the case of dogs that were giving off plenty of signals, but their owners were not reading or respecting them. If you had your schih tzu's out and around, you've probably run into people who claim (and believe) their dog is friendly, but you could tell by its facial expression and body language that it was not. So no, APBT's are not prone to "snapping". No dogs are.

I would recommend that you might try meeting some bullies in person. Is there a pit friendly rescue or shelter in your area, that you and your wife might visit? I commend you for doing your research. We got our first APBT when my son was 2 1/2, because we wanted a breed that was good w/children. 20 years later, we've still got them.