New member of the family
 

No it's not a baby, sorry to disappoint
We, myself and the 4 guys I'm living with, have decided to adopt a 2 year old, super playful, pit bull mix breed! We are getting her from a young family who is moving and cannot take her with.

We're living in a 2100+ sqft townhouse with a completely fenced in back patio area thingy

http://i45.photobucket.com/albums/f8...DSC_2908-1.jpg

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Wondering if anyone else has had one of these dogs before (advice?) and if this is ample play room for a breed that I've read has very high energy levels and needs lots of aerobic exercise.
I've had a dog (female Alaskan eskimo/chow) for about ten years now at home, so I know about care and whatnot, but I also know that every dog is different.

Terriers need a lot of attention, and a firm hand start him young and don't be afraid to use gentle discipline. Set parameters and stick to them establish yourself as the alpha dog and maintain that position.
Pit Bulls are very loving and loyal, and will be a wonderful companion. Don't let him rule the house, because he will destroy the place, not out of spite, but just being rambunctious.
I can't see him, is he taking the pictures?

bullitt: psst, that guy you're living with has breasteses. ;)

Want to see doggie!

Frankly B, I think this is a bad environment for a pitbull. Because they can be dangerous, consistent discipline is critical. Four guys in a temporary housing situation probably won't provide that.

you may also want to reinforce that fence. he's gonna be under that bad boy in no-time.

Here's the pooch:
[[sorry will get pictures up soon hopefully. I'm currently in Antigua and our internet connection is a far cry from dialup]]

Apparently the previous owners made sure to get the dog under control ASAP (they have owned her since she was a puppy), so she is well behaved and has been living with a young child for some time. Never barks, never makes any aggressive moves towards people or other dogs. @ Griff, we are all going to be living there for minimum two years straight, so that will be a non-issue I think.
@ shawnee, well I would hope so, otherwise I guess I didn't get breastfed as a youngster (IOW, that's my mom haha)

I gots one of those. Ask me anything.

If you and your house mates intend on giving her 2 walks a day, I would say it would suffice.

Pitbulls are awesome, loyal, loving and gentle (IMO), but sometimes boisterous and yes, energetic.

If she is going to be cooped up in there daily with no walks...I'd say no.

Get her some toys, but those ones that will keep her occupied on her own, not ones that require you to throw to entertain her.

If she gets bored, she will be destructive and I agree she will be under that fence in no time.

Dont forget, there isnt much room for poop/pee build up in that backyard.

Okay here's the gal!

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I should clarify, the fenced in area will be for her to run around outside for a little bit with her leash off. And yeah we will have to reinforce the bottom of those fences, but we don't plan on leaving her out there by herself ever. All 'business' will be taken care off across the street of the front of our place (open grassy lot).

What kind of food would you feed a two-three year old? Is that into the "adult" range of food? Specific toys they like?

Yes, that's adult.

Not breed specific advice, but I can highly recommend James Wellbeloved kibble.

Well, my first impression was "Awwwwww, so cute".
My second impression was "Wait a minute, it's a pit bull, it's mouth is open, and it's nose is pointed at my balls!!:eek:"

She is incredibly, one might even say dangerously, cute.

She's gorgeous Bullitt.

Congrats on the new addition.

Thanks, yeah she's a real cutie. Sorry those are just cell phones pics, I'll give her a proper photo shoot when I get back. We're all uber excited about her, so she will def. not be starved for attention!

That would fall into the "tweens"...juvenile stage of development. You can get away with good quality adult dog food. A good name to try is Purina One, available at most groceries. There are other brands including the newer "organic" and private labels available at your local PetSmart or the like. Mine is a garbage-gut and will eat nearly anything.

His favorite toys include Wilson tennis balls (I hate cleaning up the little balls of fuzz he loves to pull off though), Kong chewies, ordinary rawhide bones, rag-ropes (made of old rags, sold in Walmart and PetSmart) and a rubber ring that I cannot remember the maker of but is well-nigh indestructible. I read about it here. Pit bulls like to bite and chew but are rarely destructive with this if given sufficient proper outlets.

My dog enjoys tug of war second only to Tag. We have a fairly small backyard but it is enough to exercise a smallish pit bull terrier and a minipoodle, whom Junior regards as the ultimate playtoy.

Here is a pic of Junior in post #15

Okay that's good to know about the chew toys, thanks! We will get her a mix of things, rawhides, string knot ropes, tennis balls, etc. (that rubber ring link didn't work) I read that you ought to use a "rubber brush" on short hair dogs such as these, any truth to that?

A standard rubber grooming mitt will be perfect for her.

Its just one that slips over your hand and is soft and flexible, she will swoon at the massage giving by this mitt.

Be carefull of rawhides and pigs-ears, from third world countries, that use nasty chemicals in their processing.

eew. I did not know that.

Sorry. That site went down. I really need to clean my bookmark file again!

Look around for Labrador Retriever info sites, they are really enthusiastic chewers and anything that survives them should survive a pit just fine. Try here for a start.

Nylabones are good. As far as rubber rings are concerned. I have yet to find the rubber ring my dog can't destroy.

He's not a destructive dog, except with toys. Those solid, heavy rubber rings he just dismantles...literally. He breaks them, very carefully into near uniform segments. Takes him a while, but he's quite determined. If he ends up with a segment that's twice the size of the rest he chews it down into two segments.

You should be aware.

awww. Depression.

Be careful of regular table scrap bones too, all dogs are different, most everyone knows not to have chicken bones but our dog gets sick on EVERY kind of bone, something about her stomach not digesting them properly...it makes her ill for weeks if she gets ahold of one. I suggest trying it though, cause doggies love a treat every now and then, just watch her.

Also, talking of bones: modern domestic dogs have much thinner tooth enamel than their wild ancestors and bones are often too hard. It is not uncommon for dogs who are regularly given bones as treats, to wear their teeth down early and end up with dental problems. So, my advice is if giving bones, make it very occasional and get bones which have been treated rather than just from the butcher.

For more general chewing/gnawing much better to get nylabones which mimic the features and textures of a bone, but have a little give to them so that they don't wear the enamel down. They also are made with fibres that clean the dogs teeth as they chew.