Need opinions on new puppy's breed

[KanoasDestiny]

Last week my husband brought home a puppy that was found in a vacant yard. My husband thought he was half weimaraner, but as soon as he showed him to me I saw pit. I have NEVER wanted a pitbull, and I tried really hard to find him another home. We tried word-of-mouth because I was scared he'd go to a really bad situation if I posted free-pitbull flyers around town. As of now, it looks like we're keeping him.

He really is a sweet little guy. I took him to the vet for his puppy shots on Friday and they said he looks to only be 8-10 weeks old. But he is HUGE! He is underweight and weighed in at 18 pounds. They believe he may have some mastiff or another breed in him as well because his paws are HUGE!

What do you guys think? I know he has pit in him, but do you see anything else? Right now I'm trying to think of ways we can socialize him. We live in an area where there aren't alot of neighbors, and we seldom have new company come over. But I don't want him to get aggressive towards strangers. The nearest place that offers obedience classes is over thirty miles away.

 

[Marty]

I think you are right on target with pit bull X mastiff!

He's a chunk a chunk of burning love too!

 

[Mona]

OMG!! He is absolutely ADORABLE!!

Sorry, but I do not see Pit at all!

 

[REO]

He is a "thinking" dog

He's going to be mighty pretty!

 

[KanoasDestiny]

Thank you guys. I sure hope he doesn't have the pitbull personality as he gets older. Right now he's a complete love bug, but he does like to play rough with our two big guys (lab/chow mix and our border collie mix). I'm still teaching him that our chi mix and the cats don't like to play so much. He's an extremely smart little guy, he's doing great with crate training and potty training, not to mention he knows what 'no' means.

 

[REO]

I feel that if you talk to him & explain things, it'll go a long way. Like, some kids you yell at & some you talk to. He's a talking to type

Thinking dog. Just the way I feel him.

Am I the only one who thinks he looks like an EARL?

or DUKE?

 

[KanoasDestiny]

That is sooo funny that you say that Mona. We actually mentioned Earl when we were thinking about names. We didn't want a name that made him sound mean or scary, so we decided to name him Andre.

 

[KanoasDestiny]

Oops, sorry Reo...meant to say your name but I was thinking about Mona's little guy when I responded. Lol

 

[mydaddysjag]

Well socialized, properly raised pittbulls have excellent personalities, not the bad rap they often get. Where you get in trouble with pitts are when "thugs" get them and they arent raised right, or spend their life tied to a tree with no socilization. Infact, if pitts were allowed in my apartment, I wouldnt hesitate to own one. I think you will find that they are very smart, loyal, and lovable dogs with the right upbringing, just like any other dog. He sure is pretty! Do you have a tractor supply, or pet friendly park? I know our TSC allows you to bring dogs in if they are on a leash, and we have parks where you are allowed to take your dogs. I only go to leashed parks, after seeing someones dog being attacked at a "dog park". Never something I want to risk with my own pet. Do you have children that you could walk to the bus stop and take the puppy too, he would get to see a lot of children, see the bus drive up, etc.

 

[REO]

I "heard" the name Earl when I looked at him. I guess I now know why!

Andre the giant puppy paws! OH OH!!

 

[Lizzie]

Adorable pup! Definitely some PB there. I would get him neutered as soon as he is healthy enough and definitely socialize as much as you possibly are able. I would not worry so much about his being nasty to humans, as with his probable future dog aggression. So allowing him to mix with as many friendly dogs as possible, will go a long way to making him a super boy. Look up and find some reliable obedience courses on the net or purchase a good book. You should be able to obedience train him yourself.

I think he looks like an 'Edgar'.

Lizzie

 

[Minimor]

Where you get in trouble with pitts are when "thugs" get them and they arent raised right, or spend their life tied to a tree with no socilization

Not true--I can name off a number of dogs that were well socialized family pets who one day just "snapped" and attacked someome or something.
He is a handsome fellow and if he is a pit cross hopefully he will give you no trouble.

 

[Sonya]

He is very cute. I personally know of 2 pitts and a pitt mix...they are all sweet as pie.

 

[Lizzie]

Something we must remember, is that some dogs and several breeds, are extremely high-prey. PBs being just one of the high-prey breeds. We hear people say that there are no bad dogs, just bad owners. This is really a bit of both. A high prey dog is not necessarily a 'bad' dog, but one who's instincts are very close to the surface. In the wrong hands, this can prove deadly. So what are the wrong hands? They could be macho idiots who encourage bad behaviour, a person who spoils the dog and allows bad behaviour or a person with a high prey breed, who just doesn't set boundaries and obedience train.

Most Terrier breeds are high-prey. They were bred to catch and kill vermin. According to their size, they can do quite a bit of damage, upon catching their intended prey. Their intended prey can be a mouse or even a human. Unlikely things can set of high prey breeds. An animal or child running and/or screaming for example. In fact, often anything running can cause excitement in such a dog or breed and often, an attack. It is not the dog's fault. He/she was bred to do this. It is instinct.

All purebred dog breeds were originally bred for a job of work. Be that hunting and killing prey, herding, retrieving or even just lap-sitting. Humans get into trouble with dogs, when not fully understanding what that breed was originally bred for. Many purchase dogs completely alien to their life style. This means the dog is often the one which suffers and ends up in the pound.

So it is up to humans, to thoroughly investigate the background of any breed we choose and decide whether or not we can provide the right set of circumstances, to keep that breed trained, happy and under control at all times. This means extreme socialization from puppyhood, careful and dedicated obedience training and strong and secure fencing.

Lizzie

 

[MeganH]

I have owned 1 full pit bull, and now have 2 pit mixes..

One of the mixes is 2 parts pit, 1 part english bulldog (dad was pit, mom was pit/english bulldog mix) and she is an outside dog. She is a good dog we have never had an issue with, but she has to warm up to strangers before she 'trusts' them (she just barks at them and looks at them like she is not sure of them) and we don't let her with the kids or horses alone just to make sure she is ok with them. She has always been skiddish a bit which you just want to watch in ANY dog. This is her:



The other is a pit mix with boxer for sure and some other breeds in there and she is the sweetest and best dog I have ever known. Never ever had any issue with aggression and is super friendly. This is her:



Now with my old full blood pit, we rescued her from a known fighting operation. She was around 4-5 months old and was bred with her parents being fighting dogs. We knew the risks and took her in and everyone had high hopes for her. She was dominate, and she would nip at my other dogs sometimes. As she got older she got a little worse. I had her spayed and she was fine at that time meeting new dogs. She started to dominate my other two dogs more and drew blood a few times. Then a dog snuck up on her in my yard when I had her on a leash and she bit him. After that- it was all down hill. She started to act strange with strangers and even us sometimes. She then became very aggressive to other dogs and humans. We did not like how she looked at children in particular. We worked with a rescue and shelter and talked of having her placed in a home without other dogs or children but she went after several workers and she was just too dangerous. It was a very sad situation.. but there were signs all along the way. She did not just snap.

That being said- not all pits or pit mixes are bad. The way they are treated and cared affects them greatly. Negative attributes can be bred into them as well. In my opinion you can see some negative traits before they 'snap'- but you have to know what to look for.

If you are not confident of comfortable with the breed and being able to care and handle them properly then it would be best for the dog if it was with someone who was.

That puppy is adorable.. I do see a little pit, but I also see more then just pit. He could end up being a wonderful, harmless dog. Rough play in puppies can be normal. You would need to watch him as he grows and see how he treats other dogs/animals/humans and how he interacts as well.

Good luck and hope for the best for him!

 

[Carolyn R]

Very cute puppy. Hopefully, if he does indeed have pit mixed in, the prey drive that is known to be associated with pits will be tempered with the mastiff attributes.

It is possible to have a subdued pit, but people must understand that it is not rational to think that one can undo generations of selective breeding to fine tune prey instincts/drive in one or two generations.

Look at it this way... if he is a stray and no new home is available, you can do your best to give him a fare shot at life, which is more than he would have otherwise. You are aware of the issues that may arise, and I am sure you will be keeping a dilligent eye on him (especially when it comes to him thinking he needs to protect his family and home and issues that may come about with insticts to prey on animals, esp. those that like to flee, it is about the enjoyment of the chase). With that said, it sounds like you have already made up your mind, LOL. Enjoy him,proceed with a watchful eye and an open heart. It sounds like you have your wits about you, and if the situation should arise that you realize genetics were not kind to him, you know you did your best to give him the most opportune chance to know he was loved and had a fair shot at life.

 

[KanoasDestiny]

Thank you everyone. I greatly appreciate the opinions and advice. I went a full week without wanting to keep him but darn that thing called attachment. Lol. One of the deciding factors for me agreeing he could stay is that he doesn't show any kind of food aggression, and he allows us to touch him everywhere on hs body. I can rub his tummy, inside his legs, his lips, and between his toes. He seems really mellow to me. He does love to play and chew but when he sleeps, he's dead to the world and will sleep all through the night. I'm extremely scared of parvo right now because he's always lazy. I have him around our indoor pets daily, which includes cats, a small dog and a rabbit. We also take him down with the horses and will be taking him for walks.

 

[Reignmaker Miniatures]

Your puppy is almost exactly the color and build of one of the mastiff breeds. My neighbor owns one...can't think which...perhaps the Pressa or Cane Corso. Hers is a smaller more refined breed of mastiff (not square like the bullmastiff). The other breed that pup makes me think of is a great dane, I know they come in that color but haven't seen one personally. I really don't see pitty in him. I do think you would be well served to take it with you as much as possible to get it socialized and definitely put some obedience training into him. Large dogs need guidance or their very size makes them a risk IMO. Very nice looking pup BTW

 

[KanoasDestiny]

Sorry, my phone doesn't allow me to post too much at a time. I feel like I'm constantly watching him, as we had an aggressive dog years ago and I refuse to ever have another one. We don't have children but we hope to someday. That also scares me because I don't want that jealousy or excitement there. Right now, I'm teaching him things like no, no bite, sit, and lay. He does have an issue with coming when called but thats just because he's lazy and doesn't want to get up. Lol. Lots of treats has his attention constantly on me. He also wears a collar full time, is learning to walk on a leash, and will be neutered in 6 weeks. My husband is trying to teach him fetch because that has done wonders for our border collie.

 

[MindyLee]

What color is the inside of his mouth and tounge???

That will help with what breed he is too.