New pitbull owner, under odd circumstances.

by **bubba123** » Thu Apr 19, 2012 8:56 pm

Hello everyone, My name is Josh, I'm from south jersey.

I just recently took in a 7month(ish) red nose pitbull. My brother passed away and "Champ" needed a home or he was going to a shelter. As of right now i know he has had his first set of shots, and is "around 7 months old". He is mostly tan but has some very neat markings such as a white "paint dipped" tail look, a neat white stripe on his neck, and white around his nose.

Hes in great shape, very friendly with people, dogs, and cats, but i wasn't able to get past information about his training, how he was raised etc. The family is still trying to track down vet records, or information of what vet he went to so I can get him transferred over. Hes still play biting, which i have researched and am trying to break. He hasn't bit hard enough to actually HURT me, but it does get annoying and after a few days of it my hands will get a bit sore just from the constant grabbing. As of current i have him sitting on command (which he didn't before), sitting for food, water, to get leashed for outside, toys during play, and for permission to get in my bed. Still working on getting him to stop jumping on the couch without permission.

From what i DO know, he used puppy pads in the house, and was on the porch a lot. Due to him being on the porch, he would just pee at random when he had to go. I'm not having TOO much issue with house breaking, the main problem I'm having is him not fully re-leaving his bladder when he is outside. Today i just had an incident where he came in from outside and taking a pee and as i put him in the kennel to leave to get myself dinner he peed on his blanket. I'm not talking a little bit, a good amount. I always praise him for his good deeds outside. I just cant for the life of me figure out why he wont fully re-leave himself.

Anyhow, i see a lot of good topics here i need to read more, such as breaking the play bites, and a long one about separation anxiety (i think he knows he lost his previous owner) which I'm going to read after i grab a bite to eat.

Hope to learn a lot here, I'm sorry i didn't get a chance to research the breed before hand, it just kind of all fell in my lap. I'm a single guy, live alone, and i really enjoy his company! I haven't had a dog since my miniature pincher passed years ago.

Thank you for your time.

by **Curly_07** » Thu Apr 19, 2012 10:07 pm

Welcome! Thank you for opening you heart and your home for this lil guy. You are doing great so far! Keep reading around, soak up as much as you can. Feel free to posts questions any time, and we will help you as much as possible, even if its a recommendation to somewhere/one else with better knowledge. I'm very sorry for your loss and the circumstances you've acquired this pup

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by **Stormi** » Thu Apr 19, 2012 10:23 pm

bubba123 wrote:
Hope to learn a lot here, I'm sorry i didn't get a chance to research the breed before hand, it just kind of all fell in my lap.

Truly, there is no need to apologize. These aren't exactly circumstances you could have planned for, and it sounds like you're doing the best you can to help this little guy. Many people would have simply let the dog go to the shelter, so thank you for stepping up and doing such a great job with him. Sounds like he's a lucky pup to have landed with you.

by **bubba123** » Thu Apr 19, 2012 10:43 pm

Curly_07 wrote:I'm very sorry for your loss and the circumstances you've acquired this pup

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I have already fallen in love with this dog., he isn't going anywhere. The circumstances are hard yes, but I won't give up on him. I've been around dogs all my life, but every breed has their own needs and quirks as well as specific ways to handle them. I just need to do some more brushing up on pits.

Thank you both for the warm welcome.

by **Curly_07** » Thu Apr 19, 2012 10:53 pm

I think you will fit in quite well here

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by **julie64** » Fri Apr 20, 2012 5:35 am

Welcome to the board. So sorry for your loss.
I'm glad Champ has you looking out for him. I would love to see pic Champ.

by **Ilovethepits** » Fri Apr 20, 2012 8:26 am

Welcome to you, Josh and Champ. What a lucky boy that you stepped up to take him into your heart and home.

My dog Lily was really mouthy when I got her at 1 year old. She was big too and like you said my hands were sore from all the mouthiness. I pretty much followed what the mouthy sticky says teaching her the word "gentle" for when my hand was in her mouth and teaching her to take treats gently. I think teaching calmness goes a long way with this too. She is a pretty hyper dog and will still occassionally snap at a treat when she is really hyped up. I have to get her calm and sitting and then it's like she remembers "oh yeah, gentle".

As for the peeing thing I wouldn't know. Advice would be to make certain he doesn't have any type of urinary infection. Then it might just be a matter of him having had to pee where he was before and maybe he'd just pee a little at a time so there wouldn't be a big puddle in his area?? I'm not sure.

I'd love to see some photos of your lucky boy too.

by **bubba123** » Fri Apr 20, 2012 9:24 am

I have been working with "nice" instead of "gentle" but should work for the same cause. Its what ive used in the past.
He actually lifted his leg this morning and peed for at least 30 seconds, that was more like it. I praised the heck out of him and he got a treat, hope it sticks.

As far as pictures hes so hyper its hard to get one thats good. Heres two decent onces, and a video of him the night my parents dropped him off to me.

by **Ilovethepits** » Fri Apr 20, 2012 10:24 am

Champ is Gorgeous!! Love his exhuberance!!

by **bubba123** » Fri Apr 20, 2012 10:44 am

Ilovethepits wrote::inlove: Champ is Gorgeous!! Love his exhuberance!!

Sometimes too much on the exuberance :-P

The second picture was taken from the bath tub, I heard a loud noise and called him in, he looked so guilty of something I had to take a picture with my phone. Turns out he got a hold a DVD I didn't know was out, but that can always be replaced.
Guess I gave him too much freedom too soon.

by **Ilovethepits** » Fri Apr 20, 2012 10:53 am

bubba123 wrote:
Ilovethepits wrote::inlove: Champ is Gorgeous!! Love his exhuberance!!

Turns out he got a hold a DVD I didn't know was out, but that can always be .

To his credit he does look guilty! That was the one thing Lily chewed up when I got her too. Oh and one time she took a whole block of cheese off the counter - I was downstairs and heard "something" and there she stood with this huge block of cheese in her mouth. Didn't chew it or anything. lol

by **bubba123** » Fri Apr 20, 2012 11:07 am

Haha yeah his guilty face was adorable. No cheese theft yet, but I will keep you updated haha.

When I'm in the same room as him he never touches anything that's not his. When I'm out of the room though he gets a little more curious of things. I try to only put him in the kennel when I leave the house, or if he does something wrong (which has been slim). Other than that we are playing, out for a walk/run at the park, or he's asleep in my bed.

After awhile I'm going to give more freedom and test quick trips away from the house and see how he does. Right now he's just so confused from switching people around until he got to my house. He's insanely attached to me right now, and won't pay anyone else any mind if I walk off to get something. Yesterday we went to my sisters house to see if he would play with my sisters dogs (he did great, they didn't like him!), I went to grab my jacket from the car and he paced until I got back not caring that my sister and niece were trying to get his attention.

by **Ilovethepits** » Fri Apr 20, 2012 11:54 am

I'm sure he's a little overwhelmed. There is a Sticky about the "Two Week Shutdown" which Champ probably doesn't need that whole thing but there might be some suggestions for keeping him calm and helping him gain confidence in his surroundings and new person and new home before going all out and about on the town.

I'm sorry, in my excitement about Champ I forgot to extend my condolences to you and your family. I am terribly sorry for your loss.

by **bubba123** » Fri Apr 20, 2012 1:03 pm

Ilovethepits wrote:There is a Sticky about the "Two Week Shutdown"

I'm sorry, in my excitement about Champ I forgot to extend my condolences to you and your family. I am terribly sorry for your loss.

I will give that sticky a read, thanks for the recommendation.

Thank you for your kind words, its been a rough situation, and honestly champ has helped me through it. He has kept me company and occupied to keep my mind off things while im off work for bereavement. Its also nice to have something of my brothers to always remember him by.

by **Leslie H** » Fri Apr 20, 2012 6:42 pm

It sounds like you are off to an excellent start. Welcome