[Kilsimpaile]

How long do you wait to get a new dog after you have PTS your friend? Also, is it a good idea to foster pitbulls with small children around (under 2)? How do you know when the time is right?

We had to PTS our gorgeous 2 1/2 year old pitbull Tinkerbell on Saturday, 3 days ago because of her HA. It absolutely broke my heart and I feel a little lost without her. I fell in love with the breed. She was amazing with us, just not with others. I know that this is the type of dog that I want to have until I grow old. The only question is, I wonder if it's too soon. After reading about HA in pitbulls my husband is a little concerned bringing a new pitbull into the house, wondering if they could possibly turn on my son. He isn't exactly gentle all the time, of course we're working on it though.

Do you leave your dogs alone with your children (unsupervised)? I was able to do that with Tinkerbell but with a new dog would I be able to? How long would it take before I'd know? Tinkerbell and Logan were best friends, playing in the yard together for hours. Of course I checked on them, but I didn't have to watch closely. Maybe that was a mistake. I'm not sure.

Well I guess that's all for now, I'm sure I've got more, but I just can't think of them! Thanks for your help!

[IRYzouNv]

I dont have a child but i do have a litttle brother and sister that i live with and i will not allow them to be with Callie unsupervised

[lopaayd]

I'm so sorry to hear the news....and I would take a long time to think on that decision before getting another dog, put your famil's needs first.

check out rescue organizations first and get a dog that already has been fostered...and hopefully they can tell you the truth.

We just got a young dog from a local rescue organization who was in foster care that we are now "fostering to adopt" only to find out she has FA towards men. If this can't be resolved we do have the option of returning her, in fact that is part of the contract.

[dfuzioniag]

You shouldn't leave any dog unsupervised around children. Especially small ones that haven't yet learned how to be gentle with animals.

I am sorry about your loss. As to when to get another dog....That's all up to you and how you and your family feel. Nobody can give you that answer because everyone is different.

[kiosokkn]

I think you will know when you are ready. Many people get new dogs after their last ones passed, nothing wrong with that as long as you are prepared to properly take care of the dogs needs and treat it as an individual dog, not your past one.

[sbrscnds]

I think you will know when the time is right to bring a new dog into your life. Sometimes the decision is made for you.

As far a leaving a dog alone with a child or children? I would never leave any dog unsupervised with a child or children. Not even my collies. Anything can happen and it's just not a good practice.

My Rottie and Am Staff currently work with me and my ex mentoring foster children. They are great with the kids and have helped tremendously in building these kid's self esteem and confidence. As much as the kids love the dogs and it is obvious the feel the same about the kids, I would never leave either dog unattended with them.

[DownloadADOBEsoftware]

Everybody here gave good advice. Your husband should rest assured knowing that its unfortunate that Tinkerbell had HA but its NOT a usual symptom of the breed.

And children shouldnt be left alone with a dog until theyre old enough to know how to treat it and read when the dog had enough and needs to be left alone.

Im so sorry youre going through this, my heart goes out to you and your family. Tinks in a better place now!

[Kilsimpaile]

Okay, so I guess asking when to get a new dog was kind of a no brainer right?! Oops. Thanks for the advice on kids though. I guess we were pretty lucky that most of the time when they were unsupervised they were outside and he wasn't actually touching her. I will make sure to always supervise with a new dog.

[Abarricoss]

Or maybe get a dog from a reputable breeder? There are reasons why HA is in some of these back yard bred "pit bull" type dogs. It's because they are mixed with other things with incorrectly scatterbred/inbred bloodlines and who knows what hiding in their pedigrees from dumb folks letting whatever dog that has papers run willy nilly....but anyways, maybe get an older dog that has an established temperament.

[Mereebirl]

ill be one to point it out i suppose, if you think HA is part of this breed, you dont need to have one. sorry.

[Kilsimpaile]

I absolutely know that HA is not part of the pitbull breed, in fact quite the opposite. What I meant is that in trying to come to terms with having to put our 2 1/2 year old dog down for her HA, we read a lot of stories of dogs who have turned on their people suddenly, which can be a little bit frightening. I know that it's not the norm. It was the most difficult decision of my life to PTS my dog for HA. I loved her like crazy and she was amazing with us, but no way was I going to take the chance that she'd hurt someone else and then have that guilt on top of how I already feel about putting her to sleep.

So the reason I even brought that up is how do you know if a dog is HA? In an older rescue dog you should know immediately right? Tinkerbell didn't start out that way. She gradually got worse to the point of being capable of anything, and when we couldn't fix it we euthanized her. That is my only concern. I never want to have to go through this again with a dog I love. It was so difficult. I hope this makes sense. I would never consider getting another pitbull if I thought HA was the norm, especially around my 22 month old son. I'm not stupid, I've been researching since we realized Tinkerbell had a problem, and I know that the norm is for pitbulls to be super human friendly.

[masterboyz]

How long do you wait to get a new dog after you have PTS your friend? Also, is it a good idea to foster pitbulls with small children around (under 2)? How do you know when the time is right?

There is no "right" or "wrong" amount of time... Everyone handles loss differently, and heals differently. Some people need to go out and immediately get another dog to have something to focus on; to feel like they're doing something productive while they grieve... Some people can't bear the thought of another dog for years - and every spectrum in between.

I would say if you're going to foster rescue dogs, to make sure they are properly evaluated for soundness. No fearfulness, no human aggression - neither are accepted in this breed. My son was raised with multiple Pit Bulls - both purebred dogs from breeders, and a multitude of foster dogs. I would recommend NEVER leaving children and dogs of any breed unsupervised, just the same as I would recommend NEVER leaving two dogs unsupervised, or a dog and cat. We are talking about living animals with their own ways of doing things... Even accidentally or in play, dogs can inflict serious damage to small children. And don't undermine that children can inflict serious damage to dogs as well!

---------- Post added at 04:38 PM ---------- Previous post was at 04:34 PM ----------

I absolutely know that HA is not part of the pitbull breed, in fact quite the opposite. What I meant is that in trying to come to terms with having to put our 2 1/2 year old dog down for her HA, we read a lot of stories of dogs who have turned on their people suddenly, which can be a little bit frightening. I know that it's not the norm. It was the most difficult decision of my life to PTS my dog for HA. I loved her like crazy and she was amazing with us, but no way was I going to take the chance that she'd hurt someone else and then have that guilt on top of how I already feel about putting her to sleep.

So the reason I even brought that up is how do you know if a dog is HA? In an older rescue dog you should know immediately right? Tinkerbell didn't start out that way. She gradually got worse to the point of being capable of anything, and when we couldn't fix it we euthanized her. That is my only concern. I never want to have to go through this again with a dog I love. It was so difficult. I hope this makes sense. I would never consider getting another pitbull if I thought HA was the norm, especially around my 22 month old son. I'm not stupid, I've been researching since we realized Tinkerbell had a problem, and I know that the norm is for pitbulls to be super human friendly.

Dogs do not suddenly turn on people. People are just too unaware of dog body language to recognize obvious warning signs that there was an issue.

Yes, in an older rescue dog who has been properly evaluated... any issues would be readily apparent. In puppies, the situation isn't always so. Just like any trait, some don't show up until maturity - so a dog could be fine with people up to 12 months, 18 months, 24 months even.. then slowly start to mature into its genetic predisposition for human aggression, if that dog is unstable.

If you are considering a bully breed and that worried about HA, I would not recommend fostering. I would recommend getting an adult dog who was fostered in an experienced home for several months, so you know EXACTLY what you're getting.

[dfuzioniag]

And don't undermine that children can inflict serious damage to dogs as well!

Yes. When my nephew was little he had my mom's puppy out on the porch on a leash, I wasn't home at the time so I don't know exactly what happened but apparently my nephew tried to get the dog to go down the porch steps and the puppy didn't want to, so he pulled on the leash, the pup fell down the stairs and broke his leg. My nephew was very young and he didn't mean to hurt the puppy, it was an accident but it still happened.

[Kilsimpaile]

Thanks Teal. I'm not that worried about HA, but it is a small concern for my husband, which I think can be understandable. We are definitely going to get an adult dog who was fostered, well, hopefully. We may end up fostering to adopt an adult dog. I guess the whole fostering idea just comes from seeing how amazing these dogs are and wanting to help. I couldn't help Tinkerbell, she had a screw loose, but there are sound dogs out there that need a hand up.

[Kayakeenemeds]

It honestly depends on you, how long it takes you to be willing to let another dog into your heart. While I was ready for another dog straight off the bat when my beagle mix Buddy died, my family wasn't. I hated being without a dog, but they needed time. It took half a year before we were all ready for another.

As for allowing children and dogs alone... NEVER. Kids can get a little out of control sometimes and spazz out and just get weird randomly. It takes a while for them to learn self control. It also takes a looong time for kids to learn to follow rules and when a parent says they are not allowed to do something, they need the self control to be able to not do it. Some dogs are not okay with being messed with, their ears and tail pulled, paws yanked out from underneath them, getting hugged, etc. And a lot of people don't understand that while a dog may tolerate a LOT of crap from kids, there might be a breaking point where they just get sick of it and may lash out. So no, if you aren't there to supervise, the dog and kids are not around eachother.

It's really just common sense. Kids are humans and dogs are animals.. there's a huge language barrier there, and if a dog can't tell a kid, "HEY, I don't like that!!", and are left with only their body language and teeth... when a child ignores the body language, the teeth come out. You really have to teach a child how to act around a dog, and even then you can't exactly leave them alone (for the simple fact that sometimes kids loose their self control).

I'm really sorry for your loss, and I wish you the very best luck in finding another companion! But please, be careful allowing kids and dogs interact when you aren't there.