Part Pit, rescued, now I need advice!

[samandruss]

Hello everyone!
The info on this site is overwhelming! Here is my situation. We used Petfinder to pick a new dog for our family. We had a god for 13 years and he passed away from cancer a while back. Anyway, after researching the local dogs at the shelters (I love rescue dogs), we found one. Her story from the shelter is that she is a part lab/part border collie. They rescued her from a high-kill shelter. Before THAT shelter, she was found to be abused, neglected, and starving. She had mange and an absess in her cheek. The last shelter where we got her nursed her totally back to health. All she needs now is a surgery on her eyelids and she has to be on a grain-free diet because of skin issues. Anyway, since we got her, which has just been a couple of days, we have bene told more than once she looks like a pit bull. Well, today when I was out walking her, someone else told me the same thing, so I came in and starting googling pictures of the different types of pits and she looks a lot like some of the pictures. I admit, a pit bull would not be a dog we would choose. But I don't believe in breed banning or anything like that. But they do make me nervous. But this little girl we got, her name is Abby, is so unbelievably sweet. She's about 1 year and 5 months old. She just wants to be close to us all the time, and she does well at being in her crate at night - totally content! But when we realized that we have at least a part pit, if not full, we got a little nervous. Not the kids because I don't need to tell them this. I don't believe in taking her back to the shelter. We adopted her and now she's our family, and we really have fallen in love with her. But I have no idea how to teach this dog. Our last was an australian shepherd and was very easy to train. I know that pits can be strong willed and need special training. I have signed her up for obedience training once a week which she will start after she has and recovers from her eyelid surgery. Any advice would be great. Is she honestly totally safe around the kids? My 5 year old just wants to follow her around and pet her every second. My kids are very calm, not crazy or loud or try to get on her or anything. I'm just a bit worried so any advice you can give to us would be much appreciated. Thank you so much!

[Novy]

Welcome, share some pictures if you have some!

IMHO, you may need to shed your past perceptions about pits. They are great family pets, very eager to please and should not give you any unusual issues training.

[AllisonPibbleLvr]

A dog is a dog is a dog and before you consider breed, you must consider her as an individual.

Your dog isn't a "Pitbull" she's a mutt. And as such, the only special training you need to consider is to find out her weaknesses as an individual and work through them with positive methods.

As for if your children are safe, that's a question that EVERY dog owner should be asking themselves when adopting a new dog, regardless of breed type. But if your dog is a pit mix, your children aren't in any danger simply because of that.

Welcome, thanks for adopting and I hope you stick around to realize what an awesome "breed" this truly is.

Also, we love pictures.

[samandruss]

Thank you! Yes, I do think about the safety of my kids with ANY breed dog. Please keep in mind that I came to this forum knowing NOTHING about this particular breed. All I know is what I've heard so I wanted to be honest about that right off. We have always had dogs and I know a lot about a lot of dogs and have been through dog training and all of that. But like I said, I know nothing about this breed in the least. I don't think that this breed is "bad" or anything. If I really believed that, she wouldn't be in my home right now. Currently she has her head on me sleeping while my 5 year old is petting her and constantly petting her. I'm glad to know so far that maybe we don't have to do anything special like I thought. I have no problem with teaching her. I love dog training. And so far she seems to be soooo smart! I just had a few concerns that I wanted eased.
Here she is:
http://www.petfinder.com/petdetail/2316 ... n_ref_map=" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;[]

[Megan]

Is she honestly totally safe around the kids?

Just wanted to touch on this quote. No child is "totally safe" around any pet. Dog, cat, ferret etc. Anything with teeth can bite. It doesn't matter if she would be a lab, a pit bull, or a toy poodle. I have heard of ferrets getting out of their cage and attacking toddlers and them needing plastic surgery. The same amount of caution should be used with any pet. Supervised interactions, and never totally trust any dog with a child. Children make quick movements, can easily scare dogs. My greyhound for instance was NOT child safe. She would startle if she was sleeping and they ran past her--causing her to wake up and snap at anything that was near her.

I am due to have my baby in Feb. I have no more concern bringing her into a home with 2 pit bulls(mixes) then I would if I owned any other breed of dog. The same rules apply--supervised interactions, common sense

That said, welcome to the world of pit bulls and Pit Mixes!! I would make sure your trainer is a positive based trainer. I agree to try and loose your thoughts on pit bulls in general. Forget what you've heard in the news and media-- You will hear the "truth" here. Research, research, research. Don't be afraid to sit and just read posts and get to know the breed.

We would LOVE to see pictures of your new family member!

[Leslie H]