Is my Pitbull safe around my 6 year old son?

You need to read more about pitbulls. You need to not be worried or scared around your wonderful dog, or you will teach him that you are unstable, it will frighten him, and he will aggress, like any other dog.

You just got Clyde. Of course he's scared. Let him settle in for a few months. Give him his own space, like an open crate he rest in, or his own bed. He seems like a real follower. That's a great temperament. He will be great with your son.

I have a pit bull, and let me tell you, yours is a terrific boy. You couldn't ask for a better temperament in a dog. You really have to read more about dogs though, especially dog body language.

My little girl is a peach. That's what the neighbors call her. She has the most patient temperament. We were at my sister's house and my dog Mona was laying on her side. One of the toddlers went up to Mona and pulled hard at the sensitive skin on her poor stomach. Two handfuls. My poor dog just got up and walked away. Later, she was playing with the kids again, licking their faces.

She's amazing because pitbulls are amazing. They are bred to be human submissive. That means they were made to love people. They are the only breed made this way. Your dog will only aggress if you are neurotic and inconsistent (and I am sure you are not), train him to be, or abuse him.

The only thing annoying about a pitbull is that you will have to forever advocate the merits of your dog. People don't understand, and the sooner you learn about them, the better off you and those around you will feel. Too much insecurity around any dog makes them unstable.

You have a wonderful dog, and you are on your way to being a great advocator because you wrote such a loving essay about him.

Good luck!

No matter what breed this dog is, you don't have any idea of his past experience. That in itself is a huge warning sign, whether it be a Pittie or a Poodlette.

It does sound as if he has some serious issues about being left alone, and the poor guy is terrified - I would suspect that he had been in a group situation where he was perhaps never left alone before.

Above and beyond whatever his past history has been, he is of an age when dogs start to mature and get hormones - and compete with others around them. Even if he weren't a rescue dog, and no matter what breed, he should *NEVER* be left alone with a 6 year old child. EVER.

While rescued dogs can be wonderful and sweet, and Pitties can make great pets, any dog that is fearful can be an extremely dangerous dog in the wrong situation. The fact that you know there are questions is the very definition of questionable...as in iffy.

Please have him neutered immediately for his own safety, and then quite honestly, I would contact a good bully breed rescue and ask for help rehoming him with an experienced adopter that does not have small children.

There is nothing about this situation that would make me think it was a good idea, and that has nothing to do with his breed. Your first responsibility is to your child, and I see this as a bad thing waiting to happen. Not only will a kid (or you) likely be bitten, but the dog will lose any chance he has at developing into a reliable pet.

You have instincts for a reason - please, please listen to them.

Pitbull Safety

Absolutely. I have a five year old son and a PB. She has never so much as growled at him. Around her food, with her puppies, running in the back yard, and play tug-o-war. They are very good with each other. I believe that it is %100 how she has been trained. We have not had her that long and she was pregnant when she was adopted. If she was going to be aggressive toward him it would have been around her puppies. I was cautious at first but she showed no signs of aggression and happily played with him and she lets him handle her pups. PBs can be amazing family dogs. If your dog is trained there should be no problem bringing children into your family. At the rescue, people with children under 6 are not allowed to adopted an adult PB. They can adopt a puppy because the puppy will be raised in a house with children. I adopted an adult PB from the pound with a child in my house because i had all the confidence in my child and my obedience training abilities.

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RE:

Is my Pitbull safe around my 6 year old son?

Ok, I'm going to lay this out for all you APBT owners or those that are educated about the breed. PLEASE, give me honest and unbiased adivce.. meaning dont sugar coat it because your Pit is sweet.

First of all, my Pit seems to be a big teddy bear. So far he is quite possibly the best dog I've...

Could it be possible someone is coming into your home while you are gone? It is strange behavior. I would not think it has anything to do with your child. You know better than anyone if your dog has ever showed aggression (or jealousy). Jealousy could motivate aggression. Was the dog ever subjected to cruel treatment? Was it ever used as a sport dog to fight with others. regression is a possibility.

There must be something which has caused his odd reactions to things which never used to bother him. Dogs are quite sensitive to change and things that happen that shouldn't. It could be something as simple as say, water leaking from a ceiling that has somehow triggered something in him or it could be as I said, someone entering your home or ATTEMPTING to enter your home. If someone came and loudly banged on your door your dog would perceive it as a threat understandably. He knows you are not there and something isn't right. Dogs don't like unpredictable behavior.

There's no way to know without some investigation on your part. Asking someone who has never met your dog to judge whether or not he is safe around your child is probably not the best idea since YOU know him better than we do. The fact that he has never caused any problem or exhibited any aggression before leads me to believe that no he is not a threat but I can only guess. Does he feel protective of the child? Or does the child chase him and do things like pull his tail and how does the dog react? Some dogs have incredible patience with the antics of children and others are frightened or threatened by such behavior. Its very individual. Please investigate what goes on at your home when you are gone.

I don't think there will be a problem why? Simply because the dog doesn't have any aggression problems.

When people ask me if there dog will be safe with kids i tell them to ask these questions to themselves:

-Has my dog shown aggression to strangers?

-Has she/he shown aggression towards small animals?

-Small children?

If no, then usually there won't be a problem. I can tell you are a little aphrensive which is normal. I don't recommend letting your dog chase rabbits anymore either.

This dog needs a crate it seems to me. Dogs need a private place of their own to retreat especialy senstive dogs like clyde. Tell your son not to bother the dog whenever he is in his crate.

Try some tests as well like when the dog is eating, move the bowl around and see what happens. Remember though the dog is the lowest rank in your family, lower than your son and the dog should know that.

From my opinion, the dog is great! It's a fine dog. Just make sure you take the dog through proper basic obedience and implicate strong pack structure for the dog.

Firstly you're going to want to get him fixed... doing this will decrease the likelyhood of testosterone based dominanace behaviors, amongst other things.

Secondly, you don't really want to leave your son alone with the dog at all until he's older. A strong dog like a Pit can really do some damage, and you don't know the dog at all well enough yet to know if he has any poor breeding, or history of aggression.

Another reason to keep your son supervised around the dog, is fear-biting is a very very common thing. Especially since your dog is already showing a strong attachment to you, and stress when you're not there. A stressed dog, faced with a 6 year old who moves strangly and sounds strange compared to you, and doesn't nkow how to read signals from a scared dog, is a child who's going to get bitten.

You're going to want to get your dog to obedience classes pronto.. preferably not pet-store classes. I've never been to these but I haven't heard the best about them. The more you can build confidence in your dog and instill a people-are-leaders role with your dog, the better off you'll be.

The thing that does concern me is the separation anxiety that seems to be building... I suggest just googling "separation anxiety in dogs" and doing some reading of your own, lots of good stuff out there. But you do need to nip it in the bud, it's easy to get out of control.

Also while you're at it, google "dominance towards people in dogs" or something, as a lot of the signs of dominanace are again extremely subtle, and if you catch these things early they're usually fixable.

Good luck to you.

It's very difficult to judge a dog in 2 weeks. This is the time they really need to have to get used to their new living environment. It's really best if you keep their activities to a minimum for this time so they can readjust and calm down. It sounds like he may be developing separation anxiety, so you should talk to your vet and a trainer/behaviorist about this to treat it before it gets worse. He has some issues with submission and fear that need to be addressed. You should always supervise your dogs with children, particularly when you do not know them well (6 mos - 1 year period).

So glad to hear that you are so passionate about your Pit bull !!

Congrats by the way !!!

But to be honest w/ you , it seems like the dog has been abused (maybe a little ? ) because ur dog is very UNSURE of himself and YOU ! I'm not saying u did it , but previous owners ?

First

-You have to gain his Trust

If a dog doesn't trust you he will never respect you !!

Because an Unsure/Scared dog - Are always the ones who attack !!!!!!!!!!!!!!! They are confused & aggravated!

So you have do do something NOW !!!

- Buy some treats and Reward him every time he does come , and always in a Nice voice Say" Good boy "

HE NEEDS POSITIVE ENERGY so he will know it is a GOOD thing !!!!!!!!!!!!!

And of course take him 2 obedience classes !!!!!!!

BUT ONLY ONES THAT U CAN ATTEND TO

THERE ARE A LOT OF CONS OUT THERE !!!!!!

This takes a lot of time and patience .....

Do u have a crate yet ????????

If not .....you need to get one .. Petco .. Petsmart. .. Wal MArt

$50-$200 but worth it ......

Because till ur Pit knows u are the ALPHA MALE it is not safe for any-1 really !!

I really hope you the best bcuz

u sounds like u really love him .................

Go to this website it explains a lot of questions that u will have .... very informative !!!!!!!!!!!!!

http://www.pitbulllovers.com/