[sanddrareyk]

Hello everyone!

While I am new to owning a pitbull puppy, I was wondering how many of you have kids?

When I brought my new pup home today I recieved alot of negative comments from my mom as well as my ex. They told me I dont care about my daughter, and I will be sorry when shes killed or ripped apart.....

Please someone enlighten me here, as I am so sad I am dealing with this....

[SallyIsNice5]

I don't have kids but a lot of people here do with their 'pit bulls'...

They are usually good with kids but you always have to supervise with any breed of dog. Ignore the comments, with this breed you must have a thick skin with all the negativity people give you!

[rasiasertew]

Bullies tend to be good with kids however you should never leave kids and dogs unattended. Accidents do happen. Dogs tend to get excited or don't realize how big they are and can hurt children unintentionally. This is where you come in and teach the dog (and children) how to behave - obedience training is key so I would suggest obedience classes if possible. How old is your daughter?

BTW I have a niece (8 years old) and Mater is wonderful with her but I would never leave them unsupervised together.

[Enjknsua]

I have two kids and they have been raised around a mass quanitity of bull and terrier type dogs as I was involved in rescue and I dog sit. The biggest chance of success is, like already mentioned, MONITOR THEM. Teach the kids PROPER interactions with dogs. Respect is a two way street and both kids and dogs should be taught how to behave properly around each other and if you are too distracted to monitor, or the dog, or kids are over excited, it's best to safely confine the dog. There are those dogs that DON'T do well with kids, in my experience they have been the exception rather than the rule, but you still want to be realistic that not all dogs make good family dogs, so don't just assume that they will be good family dogs because someone elses ''pit bull'' is. If your dog is displaying inappropriate temperment for a family dog, your kids safety should be first priority.

[Juersdodfs]

oh, my mom LOVES to bring up all the negative press every time we see her. I have a 19 month old, and the dogs respect her, and like her. Zephyr doesn't really like other kids, but he puts up with Sofie. Chansey and Rosie love all kids. Monster (min pin) was raised with Sofie, and he puts up with anything she dishes out. Of course, they are ALWAYS supervised, and NEVER left alone for even a second. I call the dogs to come with me when I make a trip to another room. Or I carry Sofie. The only animal she's with unsupervised is my cat, Sadie, who was also raised with Sofie. And even then, Sofie gets minor scratches on her arm from the cat.

[Avaindimik]

I know people who have pits around their children and my dog has been around several kids but you have to remember three key things; supervision, socialization, and training! Since he's a puppy you have a great opportunity to start him off right by getting him trained early and properly socialized with kids, cats, everything. lol

[sanddrareyk]

My daughter is 3.

Thanks for the info, I am just sitting here stressed thinking I made a mistake. I was always scared like I said, and people attacking my choices, etc makes it hard

[Enjknsua]

Are you crate training the pup? With a toddler and a puppy, your going to want a way to safely confine the pup when things get hectic so you aren't pulling all your hair out.

[leacturavar]

I have an 8 year old son and a 4 year old daughter. When I had my first child, we had 3 pits. The father, son, and daughter. We were having to keep the father and son seperate because the son started showing some aggression toward the father when I first learned that I was prego. The father was my fav, and still is even though I had to have him put down 2 years ago due to neurological poblems. Anyway, my kids love the dogs, and vice versa. I do want to stress that you must teach your children how to respect your dog and teach the dog how to respect your child. My kids are normal, they have done thier share of poking and prodding, however, I am always there to monitor the situation. My dogs have never shown not one sign of aggression to my children or thier friends or other family members. Now, they are 14 and 12 so I have stressed to the children that they are older and need more rest. Which is true, now my main concern is keeping them (dogs) free of injury due to the innocent play of my kids. Everything is in good harmony. Don't fall for the hype. The only dog that ever showed aggression toward my kids was my Mom's poodle. If you find that your dog is not feeling the kid, then you should not waste time in finding him another home. It's not a pit thing, could be a kid thing. Some dogs are more suited for adults.

[DurryVony]

Read everything Zoe said and then re-read it

[bawayTeen]

I got Harley when he was 6 months old and my son was 18 months, they are 1 and 2 now and WONDERFUL!

Harley is so patient with my son who, when we first got Harley, was into pointing out eyes nose ears and mouths (and sticing his finger into them as he showed me) Ive pretty much got that under control but I still occassonally catch him sticking his finger in Harleys eyes and nose just because and when I catch him and tell him no Harley lays unmoving (he just squints his eyes if thats whats being poked) and wags his tail like hes all proud that hes getting attention. Hes so tolerant when my son tries to sit on him as well (also a no-no but as kids do, they try anyways when they think no one is looking) and hes been WONDERFUL.
I dont fully trust him, as he is a dog, but I trust him as much as I would any other breed thats good with kids (and proves such).
He even rats out my son to me when my son tries to sneak into the kitchen (and vice versa as well LOL)
I agree with Zoe on the crate training. When I need to leave the room and cant keep an eye on them I do crate Harley for safety (because I know my son will take advantage and poke eyes or try and sit on him, or who knows what else he may come up with)
As long as you teach your child how to be kind to dogs and teach the dog/puppy to be kind and gentle around kids you should be good to go. Just dont leave them unsupervised for any reason (that is reguardless of the dogs breed, my pit bull I would trust 100 times more over the dalmatian I grew up with). Accidents can and do happen so be prepared and odds are it will work out wonderfully. Just take the time to learn your new puppies personality and teach it how to behave properly around kids.

[WaicurtaitfuT]

Hello everyone!

While I am new to owning a pitbull puppy, I was wondering how many of you have kids?

When I brought my new pup home today I recieved alot of negative comments from my mom as well as my ex. They told me I dont care about my daughter, and I will be sorry when shes killed or ripped apart.....

Please someone enlighten me here, as I am so sad I am dealing with this....

Okay I don't have a Pit Bull perse, but I do have a Terrier mix we don't kow what she is. But I recently had a baby and everyone in my family said "You need to get rid of Sasha". It wasn't so much her breed or mix, it was her size in their opinion. She has a very big mouth and yeah if she bit it would hurt. But everyone kept saying "That dog is going to kill her or ruin her pretty face". Now that they have seen how wonderful Sasha is with my daughter and they see that she is a well trained well behaved dog. They can't stop singing her praises. So when there are kids involved its not always a breed thing. Now you have a Pit bull and people have such a bias against the breed, which sucks because they are such wonderful people loving dogs. My advice to you is Actions speak louder than words. And people fear what they don't know and don't understand. Train your puppy up right, maybe even have your dog take the CGC test. And just show them by example how great the breed can be. That is my best advice to you.

Also depending on the age of the kids, regardless of breed never leave them unsupervised together. I mean its one thing with Older children but young children, babies, and toddlers its always best to keep a close eye on them and the dog at all times. I see you said your daughter was 3, perfect. At this age supervise supervise supervise. But she is also at a perfect age to learn how to properly be around a dog, how to properly treat and interact with a dog. Teach her how to properly act around the dog and train the dog up well and you should have a wonderful dog owning experience. Can things go wrong? Yes. A dog is animal and it has teeth. If it has teeth it can bite. So always be on your A game. Whether you have a Poodle or a Golden Retriever or a Pit bull.

Good luck and keep your chin up.

[prpaims]

nuff sed my 6 yr old and her best friend dead asleep like everyone sez just gotta watchem kids are mischviouse lil things as are pups

[Wckcvhsg]

great advice thus far.

i don't have a child, but i have a younger brother who is 7 and his little brother who is 3. they come over quite often and i have an APBT female who is 3 as well and weighs 50lbs. she LOVES them, but it's a one sided love. lol. she is too much for them b/c she loves HARD. she doesn't realize how big and strong she is, so she overwhelms the baby (3 yr old) with how fast she zooms around and my brother is starting to get more confident around her (i've been training him how to command her and be confident in doing so) but i crate her most of the time if i'm not in the room to command her.

the boys' comfort is most important and i can put up with my girl's cries b/c if she knocked the baby down or scratched him in her play, his mom would have her head. and it's not a risk i'm willing to take.

supervision is key as training. good luck.

[Averti$ingGuru]

I got my pit bull when my son was 6 months old. At almost two years old my son has pretty much grown up with Brutus. Brutus is very respectuful of my son and the only problem we have is Brutus' tail smacking my son in the face every now and then. Other than that, my dog is pretty much bomb proof. Granted, I don't leave them alone together but if I had to choose a dog to leave my son alone with it would be my pit bull.

Brutus is very tolerant of my son. Bless his heart he has patience out the wazoo. Whether it be being used as a pillow, a foot stool for my son to climb onto the couch, being sat on like a horse or even poked in the eye Brutus tolerates it all without a grumble or a sideways look at my son. Like others have said, just always supervise and separate the dog from the kids if things get out of hand.

[BoBoMasterDesign]

I do know how you feel, apbt are adorable and very smart. I also own a 6 month pup. I am also hearing that I have made a mistake. It is scary to ever think that maybe I have, but I want to try my hardest to make him a great dog. So far he is very lovable and sweet. he is skidish of new things, but I just just stay with him and socialize him every chance I get. Don't give up to easy. Good Luck.

[WaicurtaitfuT]

Brutus is very respectuful of my son and the only problem we have is Brutus' tail smacking my son in the face every now and then. Other than that, my dog is pretty much bomb proof. Granted, I don't leave them alone together but if I had to choose a dog to leave my son alone with it would be my pit bull.

Brutus is very tolerant of my son. Bless his heart he has patience out the wazoo. Whether it be being used as a pillow, a foot stool for my son to climb onto the couch, being sat on like a horse or even poked in the eye Brutus tolerates it all without a grumble or a sideways look at my son. Like others have said, just always supervise and separate the dog from the kids if things get out of hand.

Our biggest problem with Sasha is that darn tail. Its always wagging and it hurts. I'm comforatable with Sasha around my daughter, but I don't trust her 100 percent. I'm always right there with them when they are together. She is still a dog and she still has teeth. But she appears to love my daughter very much and I think she realizes that my daughter is above her already. She lays at her feet a lot when she is in her bouncer seat and I sit on the floor with them. She is a very tolerant dog, just the other day my daughter was bouncing in her seat and next thing I know Sasha gets kicked in the head. She just looks at me like "Oh well". I then got her to get up and move and she goes right back and lays down where my daughter is kicking around and I'm thinking really are you that stupid? She got kicked again. I got her to get back up and then she goes and lays back down at her feet. Finally I put food down for her and she got out of the way. She also tolerates the occaisonal fur grabbing. My daughter is almost 4 months old. The only other issue I have is Sasha loves to give kisses and I don't mind her giving her a kiss on the hand or the leg but Sasha tends to go overboard with the kisses.

Now as far as my daughter goes I've already started teaching her a better way to pet a dog. I doubt any of it will sink in right now but atleast I'll be in the habit. When she goes to touch Sasha she always goes for the Nose/Mouth area and luckily Sasha just licks. But that is never a good idea to stick your hand where a dogs mouth is. So I take my daughters hand and I move it to the back of Sasha's Neck/Shoulder area and pet with her hand saying "Nice Puppy, this is how we pet Nice Puppies" Obviously its not sinking it yet at 4 months old. But Sasha has gotten to the point that when my daughter grabs for her face she turns where my daughter gets her leg/shoulder/side area. So if anything its trained Sasha. LOL She is also pretty good about leaving my daughters stuff alone. She knows boundaries. I don't think we could have asked for a better dog to have around a child. Very calm and even tempered

I say this all with the mindset though that a dog is an animal and you have to expect your dog to react like an animal, so supervision is key. Just because Sasha handles it well today and always has doesn't mean that she will tomorrow, KWIM?

[bawayTeen]

I was looking though my pictues and came across this one.. made me think of this.



Yup, looks like Harleys is about to attack my son right? Anytime my son goes up to pet Harley this is what happens, pretty horrible huh? My 60 something lb dog melts (I also realized Harley looks really small in this picture lol) We also have that dang tail problem, anyone who sits on the floor does... along with that dang tongue problem too... horrible it is.. just horrible.

[nasdfrdg]

I have 3 kids, ages 16, 11 and 9. I own an American Bulldog and an APBT. I got my AB from a breeder and made sure to check his parents tmperaments before I selected a pup. My APBT came from my brother and was well trained and raised with other dogs and around a ton of kids including mine, so I knew what I was getting.

My brother has a 1 year 4 month old son and a 4 month old son with 2 APBT.

My sister has 4 daughters from 2 to 8 years old and she owns 2 APBT. Her roommate has 3 kids, 2 of them special needs and she owns an APBT.

Neighbor across the street has 2 APBT and 5 kids.

I think Pit Bulls are fine with kids provided they have solid temperament, are trained and exercised, are supervised at all times and the kids are taught how to behave nicely to the dog.

[Crilosajsamq]

Are you crate training the pup? With a toddler and a puppy, your going to want a way to safely confine the pup when things get hectic so you aren't pulling all your hair out.

Zoe this is very true.

I have had my children and all the neighborhood kids come through my door all these years from babies to now 24 and 20 years old and my dogs have always been stable, loving and behaved with the kids.
Children and any animal should always be supervised.