Adopted a PB from Vancouver animal shelter.

[Dag Sabot]

Hello, Im new here.

[CyberKitten]

I do not always know acronyms- what's a pb? Pit bull? Pure bred? (I was thinking cats when I responded sooo.. Persian something????)

[babyrocky1]

Well, Im no expert, but I do have an am staff, he is my first dog and is now six years old. He has never been in a fight but is toy possesive, that being said, you were asking for advice on curbing "prey drive" I was always told by his early trainers that exercise is the best way to give them a positive outlet for prey drive. My dog has always retrieved his Kong. He sees his kong as prey, not other animals. However I did end up with a toy possesive dog, but I think if I were more experienced in training, (mostly not Alpha enough at the time) that would have been dealt with as well. Im not from Vancouver, Im from Ont. were muzzling will be the law until we defeat it in court. Why do you feel that you need to muzzle your dog? Is he showing signs of agression? If so there are many here with much more experience than me for more serious problems. I guess theyll be along shortly and by the way, welcome to the board. Oh and BTW thanks for adopting a doggy from the shelter

[Luba]

Congratulations on your adoption.

You may want to look into some obedience training in your area.

We love pictures here

[Lucky Rescue]

Hi, I"m in Montreal, but have a pit bull as well. I'm lucky in that my dog LOVES cats and all small animals, although she is somewhat intolerant of other dogs if they are rude or annoying. She is also a big time couch spud.

We need a little more info.

How old is your dog? Male/female? Spayed/neutered? Dog aggressive?

What experience do you have with this breed? What other pets do you have, and what is your dog doing when he/she sees them?

I don't know what BSL exists in Vancouver, but don't think muzzling is required...?

If you like, I can give the addy of a pit bull-only message board. I'm sure there are other BC owners there!

Pictures please!

[twodogsandacat]

Congrats, thank you and good luck.

Regarding Vancouver and breed specific legislation...they are smarter than that as somebody posted the other day.

Vancouver is about to implement new dog laws. Some people are upset at the additional restrictions but one thing is sure…..VANCOUVER WILL EXCLUDE REFERENCES TO BREEDS IN “VICOUS DOG” definition. This is great news. Now if you want to muzzle your dog that is your business but you won't HAVE to. Also if you want to only muzzle in populated areas but not always you won't HAVE to. Good law if you ask me.

Other Miscellaneous Changes in the New Animal Control By-Law
C. Exclude Reference to Specific Breeds of Dog in “Vicious Dog” definition

Chief License Inspector – New Animal Control By-Law and Amendments to the License By-Law and Noise Control By-Law June 13, 2005 7
During Council’s consideration of the “Dangerous dogs: Protection Strategy” report in February 2005, many speakers were opposed to breed specific legislation designating certain dog breeds as vicious. In this report, “vicious dog” refers to a dog with a history or known propensity for very aggressive behaviour toward people or other domestic animals. It was felt that most dogs could be kind and loyal pets if raised in a caring and loving home environment. Singling out pit bull breeds under the existing “vicious dog” definition is regarded as unfair, discriminatory and unnecessary. In the past, the City has never found it necessary to rely upon the breed specific part of the vicious dog definition to deal with vicious dog issues. Therefore, the exclusion of a reference to specific breeds in the definition is recommended.

http://vancouver.ca/ctyclerk/cclerk/...uments/pe3.pdf

[Lucky Rescue]

Also when i had him leashed, under supervision and tied to a boat trailer (which i was working on at the time) he had lunged at a toddler and snapped at two girls after initially allowing them to pet him

Oh my! I have to be blunt here. Pit bulls should show NO human aggression whatsoever, especially towards kids. Correct temperament is submissive/friendly to all humans, and intolerant or aggressive to other dogs.

This is extremely dangerous and has nothing to do with being a shelter dog. It has to do with bad breeding and highly incorrect temperament.

If you want to keep this dog, yes, please do keep him muzzled at all times in public, and keep him far away from kids. He is not only inappropriately aggressive, but unpredictable and with what is happening now with pit bulls, you need to take all precautions to keep everyone safe.

Dog aggression and prey drive is to be expected and I wouldn't worry about that, but human aggression is not.

[Luba]

I wonder if he was a pit dog re the scars

[babyrocky1]

He looks just like my Rocky in that pic. So Ill hold back on telling you how handsome he is LOL I really hope you can get everything worked out! Maybe he could be seen by an animal behaviourist at some point. I understand why the muzzle now. Thats probably the most responsile thing you can do until you feel completely secure with him. Please let us know how you guys are doing and I would love to see more pics. My Rocky is black and white but in pictures you cant see much of the black on his face.

[Lucky Rescue]

That seems to be the "knee-jerk" response

I am just stating facts.
As you know, pit bulls are being banned everywhere, and the sight of one lunging at a child is fuel for the fire.

A Lab (for example) who did the same thing your dog did would never have people screaming for Labs to be banned.

Just last week in my town a husky attacked a kid and gave him 200 stitches in his face. The husky is still in it's home and no one is talking about banning huskies. Had it been my pit bull, I fear the reaction would have been different and could have started people calling for BSL.

In some places (like ON) a pit bull chasing or killing a cat is euthed! It's insane, but that's how it is now.

Tied or not, ex-pit fighter or not, a correct pit bull loves kids. My dog comes from crappy breeders too, but a kid (or anyone) could bonk her over the head and she would just wag her tail and get into a submissive posture. That is correct temperament.

[Lucky Rescue]

As i am in my formative stages of ownership i would welcome any comments and or criticism you all may have

You asked. Of course you are free to believe that everything I said is wrong.

[chico2]

Dag Sabot(Dag,Swedish first name??)Thor is a very good looking dog..
I unlike Lucky and others have very minimal experience with dogs and none with pitts.
But I remember my youngest son being bitten by a chained-up GSD,a dog he was used to and knew,wouldn't a tied up dog react different,defensive??
Would the shelters not have euthanized any Pit suspected of having been a pitfighting dog???
Anyway,I wish you luck,I believe love and care can work wonders,hopefully Thors aggressiveness is something that can be worked out of him,but then again,what do I know??I've only ever been attacked by a cat

[Luba]

No Anita because fight dogs are dog aggressive and not usually people aggressive (my mentor LR )

However here in ON it may be a very different situation for pits now and it's shameful that it may spread to other provinces as well.

Best of luck with your dog, I hope it all works out for you two and it appears you're going to be responsible and safe with the public muzzle situation.


I've seen some muzzles that allow more room for the dog to open the mouth and pant to release the heat. Some are too closed and the dog can overheat easily.

What type of muzzle do you have? Although they look worse I would prefer the cage type head harness ones but i"m not sure they'd fit on a pbt.

[White Wolf]

Please keep this thread civil or it will be closed. Rudeness is not tolerated here. Thank you.

[LavenderRott]

That is not a fact.They are not being banned everywhere. In fact theres few 'facts' in your post.

Actually, it you read Lucky's post - everything is fact unless you take the word everywhere literally.

As I belong to several BSL groups I can tell you that rarely does a week go by when we are not alerted to some city, county or state thinking about enacting some type of BSL.

Here is a link that has a very good list of cities in the U.S. that have BSL. I think you might be surprised at the number of cities included. Also, you might notice that there are 12 states that have laws prohibiting BSL in there state. Colorado is one of them, yet Denver AC is (or was) actually going from door to door collecting pit bulls and putting them to sleep.

http://www.understand-a-bull.com/BSL...SLocations.htm

[marko]

Please keep this thread civil or it will be closed. Rudeness is not tolerated here. Thank you.

Thanks White Wolf.

Dear dag - We have had a problem with rudeness - please follow the rules, our Zero tolerance policy on Rudeness is new.

Please do not post back that you were not being rude.

Feel free to continue on politely in this thread.

Thanks

[Dag Sabot]

Thank you very much, i have deleted all my "rude"posts. Good-Bye!
Thank you also for the supportive PM's Its good to know i am not alone.

[White Wolf]

Well, if you are not coming back, case closed.