Pit bull owners: what nobody tells you before you adopt

My dog’s name is Lucky

The business is named after a gray and white pit bull who has been with me for years. He is the dog in most of the photos on this site, usually with a ball in his mouth. He is the reason I do this.

He is also the reason I know what it is like to be judged in a parking lot by somebody who has never met your dog.

So this is the article I wish somebody had handed me. Some of it is about the world and how it treats you. Some of it is about the dog and how honest you need to be with yourself. All of it comes from somebody who loves the breed and has no interest in pretending it is a Labrador.

The label goes everywhere with you

“Pit bull” is not one breed. It is a label that gets stuck on American Pit Bull Terriers, Staffordshires, American Bullies, and any blocky headed mutt with short hair. Your dog’s DNA test may say something else entirely. It does not matter. The label is what people see.

Here is where you will feel it.

The vet. Some clinics are wonderful about it. Some put a muzzle on your dog before he has done anything and hand you a form. A muzzle is not an insult, and I train every big dog to wear one happily. But being treated as a problem before you have walked through the door wears on you.

The park. You will watch people pick up their small dogs. You will hear “is he friendly?” said in a tone that means “is he going to kill mine.” Your dog will do nothing and someone will still cross the street.

The rental office. This is the one that actually hurts. Breed restrictions on leases and homeowner insurance are common, and they are the reason a lot of these dogs end up in shelters. Before you adopt, read your lease. Call your insurer. Ask about breed restrictions by name. Do it before you fall in love, because you will fall in love.

The internet. Do not read the comments.

I am not going to tell you it gets easier. I am going to tell you that the best answer to all of it is a dog who is so obviously well handled that the stares turn into questions. That is a training goal, and it is one you can hit.

Honesty about arousal and strength

Now the part pit bull people do not like to hear, said by a pit bull person.

These dogs were bred, at some point in their history, for tenacity. Many of them are intense. They love hard, play hard, and when they get worked up, they stay worked up longer than a lot of breeds. That is arousal, and managing it is the single most important thing you can learn.

They are also strong for their size, and they have a strong bite. I am not going to quote you numbers because most of the numbers on the internet are made up. What I will say is that a bite from any dog over fifty pounds is a serious event, and a bite from a dog that does not let go quickly is worse. Being afraid of your dog is not the answer. Taking management seriously is, in a way a Chihuahua owner never has to think about.

Add the label on top, and the math is simple. If your pit bull gets into a scrap at the park, even one the other dog started, your dog is the one who gets blamed. Fair or not, that is the world. So the bar for a pit bull owner is higher, and I would rather you know that walking in.

What good management looks like

Management is the stuff you do so training never gets tested at the worst possible moment.

A leash that does not retract, and a harness or collar that you have tested against a full lunge in the yard before you trust it on the street.

A muzzle your dog wears comfortably, even if you never need it. Basket style. Teach it with peanut butter, over weeks, until he shoves his own face in. A pit bull who wears a muzzle at the vet without fuss changes how the whole clinic treats you.

A rock solid “place” at home, so the front door is never a scramble.

Separation when you are not watching. If you have two dogs and one of them is a bully breed, they do not get left alone together loose while you are at work, at least not until you have years of evidence. Crates and gates are cheap. Vet bills are not.

No dog parks. This is my opinion and I hold it firmly. Off leash strangers in a fenced box is a bad deal for most dogs and a terrible deal for a dog who will be blamed for everything. Find a friend’s dog you trust and do parallel walks instead.

Reading the dog. Stiff body, hard stare, closed mouth, tail up and still. Learn what your dog looks like thirty seconds before he does something. That is the window you work in.

The point of all this is to be the person who never has to explain what happened.

Why I love them anyway

Because when a pit bull decides you are his person, there is nothing like it. The whole body wags. The head on your knee. The sigh when he finally lies down. The way Lucky watches me put on my shoes to see which pair, because the trail shoes mean something good is about to happen.

Because they are athletes. Lucky has cleared logs on trails I struggled to climb over. Give one of these dogs a job and a decent handler and they are some of the most trainable dogs I have worked with.

Because most of the ones I meet in rescue are there for reasons that have nothing to do with the dog. A lease. A move. A baby. A divorce. They wait longer in a shelter than almost any other type of dog, and they walk out grateful in a way that is hard to describe to someone who has not seen it.

And because being an advocate for a misunderstood animal is something I would do anyway. I just get to do it with a leash in my hand.

If you are thinking about it, or already did

Read your lease and call your insurer. Get a good harness and a six foot leash. Start muzzle training on day one, as a game. Learn “place.” Skip the dog park.

And if your dog is already here and the walks have gone sideways, or everyone keeps telling you he is “aggressive” and you are not sure, that is what the pit bull and large breed work is for. Everyone who has adopted in the last six months gets the assessment free; details are on the adopters page.

Bring the dog everyone else is scared of. I am not.