18 month Pitbull (type) General Chat

Hello all, I'm new here, my name's Tom.

I come here from Google searching for advice on Pitbulls.

We have recently acquired what is said to be a pure Pit. The previous owner was terrible, having fought and maltreated him, and was going to have him shot as he could no longer care for him. My brother turned up at 10pm with the poor thing leashed and looking very tired but nevertheless pleased to see us.

He (Pat - yes, Pat the Pitbull) is now very well and more or less recovered, though has a slightly scarred face and neck. Not noticeable unless you really examine him.

The problem I have is he is just too much work for the family. My brother walks him at 7am (a god-forsaken hour for a 15 year old!), I walk him at 9am, and mum does so at midday, then when my brother returns he does so again at 6pm and 9pm. He eats like a horse, which is understandable, we've had Dober's and Lab's before, but Pat eats like it's going out of fashion.

We also have an ageing Cavalier, and a young 3 month pedigree Staff, along with a fairly useless cat. Pat is currently housed in my mum's study and hasn't been introduced to the other animals through fear of their safety.

He is safe on walks, though the type of dog he meets often governs his reaction - the other day two cocksure Lab's thought fit to lurch towards him, to which he replied with a deafening bellow of a bark, sending them scampering, however he completely ignored a yorkie today.

Long story short, he's a soppy thing who loves us and other humans, but is unsure with other dogs, naturally. He's intimidating in the village, and people cannot help but stare. The vet says he's "Pitbull with a capital 'P'", so not a cross at all.

Please help, what do we do? We need him rehomed, but don't want him to go back to fighting, and obviously can't advertise a Pitbull in the local pet shop. Would it be kinder to have him put down? Also, any information would be grand.

Sorry for the lengthy story, I appreciate any and all help you can offer. Thank you.

Hi hun and welcome.
I have no advice apart from that pits are illegal in the uk so i wouldn't mention he's a pit to people.
Would love to see some pics x

I would imagine rehoming an illegal animal would be very difficult no rescues would take the chance of rehoming one either.

Hi Tom welcome to Dogsey

Firstly I really admire what you have done and taken him in - it's really good of you and I would do exactly the same!
If you don't mind me asking - why is it that you have to re-home him?
I understand that you say that you haven't introduced him to your other dogs, is that still the case?

As Jem and Julie have said Pit's are illegal so you must be careful who you tell.

The problem here is that even if the pitbull becomes part of your family, becomes a soppy lump and you get attached to it...it may be seized and destroyed unfortunatly.:-(

This could be in a months time or in 5 or 10 yrs time.

It is a very difficult decision and i am afraid i do not know what i would do or what you should do:?

Poor dog..... being an illegal breed in the UK, I don't hold out much hope for his rehoming....

I would contact these people for some advice http://www.egar.org/

They are an Irish bull breed rescue and, as Pitbulls aren't illegal in Ireland, they may be able to give you the benefit of their experience.

However, I wouldn't be too optimistic about his future, unfortunately :-(

A 15 year old should not be walking an ex fighting suspected pitbull under any circumstances.

Vets are often rubbish on dog breeds- so I wouldn't take his breed id as gospel ....

He does not need to be walked so much every day, I think you said 5 times? - he will become fitter and fitter and start to need even more exercise ....

I hope he is muzzled as if he is an ex fighter it is the only responsible thing to do - if he is a pit bull however it is illegal to own him - I too would fear for teh safety of your other dogs

The ex owner should be reported - for owning a pitbull, for fighting his dogs, for owning a gun, for intending to kill an animal ....... else he will be doing this all again with his next dog

This is JMO but if I were you and to give this dog any chance of a happy life, I would seriously let this be the last time you ever call him a pit. Call him a lab cross, a staff cross, a boxer cross, anything that is feesable but if word gets round you have a pit he WILL be ceased and killed, despite his temperament. A lot of people (even vets) cannot tell a pit from a staffy. There are a lot of knowledgeable people on here who can tell you what he really is.

As has already been said his best chance is over in Ireland where pits and 'pit types' are not illegal. If rehomed privately over here (as there is absolutely noway you can go through any rescue over here) the chances are very high that he will end up back as he started, if he is not a good fighter he will be used at bait to train other dogs which is an even worse fate as he would not stand a chance.

Please contact the rescue that ShaynLola has suggested and if you care for this dog and his future try and get him over to them. Otherwise, as racist as it is it might well be better off for him to be PTS sadly.

Best of luck.

yes. do not ever use the p word!

you are even breaking the law giving them away for free, let alone rehoming.

Crikey, thanks for the replies, guys!

I'll do these replies individually in chronological order.

Firstly, Jem, we've already been quizzed and coined him a Bull/Staff. The photo's can be seen at the bottom of this topic. Very obedient, though I think holding a dog biscuit in the air for 15 seconds whilst saying, "sit... siiiittt... goooood boy... siiitt..." is a tad too much temptation, as you can see in the third photo he is practically ready to take it from my fingers! He's roughly knee height at his shoulders, though can put his paws on my chest and almost kiss me, if it were not for his slobber.

Julie, I know. All trusts and associations have said any Pit's they take are immediately destroyed.

Sam: thanks! I don't like to admit it, but I'm a softy. I have a hard heart for the homeless humans, but animals being treated badly just makes me sick. We have to rehome him because we just cannot cope, and we are realistic that he is dangerous, is a born and bred fighter, and is illegal.

We are very careful who we tell. Though in the middle-class Cotswolds nobody really even knows what a Pitbull looks like, let alone knows they're illegal...

Honey: This I know, too. Also part of the reason to rehome him, or have him PTS (as you say).

Shayn: thank you so much. I've just finished work but I'll get onto them immediately. You're a star. Presumably they vet applicants so they don't simply head back into the Irish ring of dog fighting?

Muddi: my brother is far from the average 15 year old. He's more capable with the dog than I, a well-built 21 year old rugby player/kickboxer. Also, this vet is one who assists police prosecute dog breeders by officially identifying breeds as illegal/legal in court - trustworthy? He isn't muzzled unfortunately, we've tried, but he constantly rips it off. I know, very bad of us.

Random: thank you, not much to reply with, but your reply was insightful.

Same for you, Danish!

Thank you guys, I hope you enjoy the pics below!

He's gorgeous hun i'd definatly call him a staff cross boxer something like that but like i said i no nothing of pits but good luck with him he's lush x

Have you decided what you are going to do with him??

He looks a great boy, such a shame.

Does everyone think he is a pure pitbull??

There are a lot of pitbulls about here, and no-one seems to bother. The fact they are illegal actually endears them to the would-be Hard Boys unfortunately - so the animals really don`t stand a chance.
Re. muzzling - I had a GSD bitch who suffered severe injuries after being attacked by a pitbull. My dog was being lead-walked on the roads while recovering from spaying - the dog shot through a hole in a fence and tried to kill her. The owner had to dislocate the dogs hind leg to get him off. So I do think you should (a) muzzle your dog - regardless of what he feels about it and (b) be aware he will kill.
No, I`m not against the breed as such. I just know what they can do, particularly when trained to fight.

I'm no expert but I see a few pure pits every week and they have a similar body but the snout looks a bit off to me. It looks a bit long he reminds me a lot of my friends Staffy x english bull terrier.
As for you saying he rips off the muzzle you HAVE to make him keep it on because my dog looks nothing like a pit but the ammount of times someone has phone the police because Fido got in a fight and said there dog was attacked by a pit is unreal. So you need to make him relise the muzzle is a posative thing (I'm sure you will find a few posts on good ways to introduce a muzzle in the training part of the forum).
As for him needing walked alot pits are more inteligent than people give them credit for and have a decent nose so you could try stimulate him mentaly aswell.
Someone I know has one and he gets him to search for things and he will find them quicker than his beagle but is totaly knackered after a few searches.

you can need to see the dog for real and see him moving, as well as sitting, to get a full assessment.
but from first impressions, he doesnt have the 2 main dimensions of a pitbull.
his legs arent long, his neck isnt long.
however, he called be borderline in other areas.
he does have some of american bulldog look.
but that isnt a saving grace, as they get seized as pitbull types as well. am bull and pitbull share some lineage.
the point is, he may have 'enough' features to qualify under 'type', as opposed to purebreed pitbull.
and if you add his temprament and history to the mix, he called easily get seized under section 1.
dont think it couldnt happen in your area.
you've already said he has raised concerns in your village.
as long as you keep a low profile, keep him on the lead and muzzled, away from other dogs, and dont let a 15 yr old walk him, and come across as good citizens yourself, you should be fine.
i wouldnt go round telling everyone you own a pitbull - its like shopping yourself to the police. even your profile on here needs changing.
i think you have done a great thing helping this lad, but you need to change the approach you have been using thus far.

a few months ago there was a young lad near me who had a PB she was a lovly dog but very energetic. we rang the rscpc for advice, we was told she had to be registered with the courts and the council. plus she had to be muzzled everytime she was out walking. no off lead runs, but he ignored the advice, and there was quite a few calls to the police, so in the end they came and took her away. she was pts im afraid.
so please take care in how u discribe him.
is he entire. because its not a good idea is it, also it could calm him down a bit (i think )
but welcome to the site.

Whether he is pure pit or not, he looks of pit type, whether you call him a lab/boxer mix, or anything else , unless you have papers to prove it, if he is seized as a suspect dog , he will be pts..


And as sad as it is, this is what happens when we have people flouting the law and breeding these dogs... at the end of the day they are illegal, whether you agree or not, and we will continue to see cases such as this till the law is enforced... 100% .

I know this may sound harsh, but this scenario keeps coming up, people are buying these dogs either through ignorance or defiance , getting attacked to their dogs, then finding out they are illegal, resulting in them being seized and destroyed...

I commend you for taking this boy in from a abusive home, and if you suspect the has been bred for fighting this dog is and could be a time bomb waiting to go off...

And as been said before a 15 yr old should not be out walking him, as you have already said he can react badly to certain dogs...


The rescue that has ben mentioned may be the way to go, but I have to say this may not sit well with you or others..but if he was mine and I could not be sure 100% he was going to go to the right home... I would have him pts... as I cant see any reputable rescue taking him on.... and as we know NI , has one of the biggest dog fighting rings .... so unless you can be sure (even through the rescue) he will not end up in a fighting home, he would be better off being PTS..worse things can happen to a dog than being pts.... living a life of cruelty /fighting is one of them.

I wish you the very best of luck in your search for a safe place for him...

But for me, there is only one safe option I would take!!

P.S , I have to add for those who recommend to lie about his background and advise you to say he is not a pit... lets hope that one day your dogs dont end up on the wrong side of one of these dogs you would see walking freely , knowing it is illegal, and more than likely been bred to fight.

hi tom i would see how it goes, see if he settles down and is ok with other dogs. when walking him dont mention him being a pit bull, describe him as a cross with a staffy. it,s a shame that all pit bulls get tarred with the same brush . i no if after a few months i grew to love him and he seemed ok around other dogs it would be hard to let him go,surley the dog deserves a chance, un like the previous owner . let me no how you go on

If I were you I would ask to have this thread removed because the police and others do check forums for evidence of pitbulls and pitbull type.

To me he doesn't look at all like a pit (from what I've seen of them on TV) although he could easily be classed as type.

Looks more like a mastiff cross to me.

Good luck x