# Want to own a APBT? Get used to giving up.



## Marty

*Lately there is a lot of talk about dog parks and other things that we DO NOT do with our Pit Bulls. It got me thinking of a crap load of stuff I cant do anymore with my dog. Things I choose to not do FOR the betterment of my dog and this breed in general. Granted, not all the things I miss were good to start with, BUT, I did em, and I learned not to again where these guys are concerned.

No more dog parks.
No more walking without a leash.
No more letting the dog outside alone.
No more allowing my dog to just play with another dog worry free.
No more walks without being mindful of my environment.
No more laid back attitude about bad habits.
No more easy teachings.
No more community love for my dog.
No more letting my dog have the run of the house.
No more letting other dogs come visit.
No more taking them to the park and letting them run.
No more taking for granted that they wont fight.
No more taking for granted that they wont bite.
No more lazy attitude where alpha position is concerned.

With these dogs comes HUGE responsibility and I honestly had NO idea how much easier it was to own almost ANY other dog as opposed to these guys. I think thats why I love them so much.. they aint easy, in any way, shape or form. IF you want to be a responsible owner, you MUST readjust your way of thinking.

Anyone care to add anything?*


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## hell no they wont go

yeah yeah thats some good stuff! so how ya feeling today ne better?


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## BedlamBully

Its worth giving up to have such great dogs.


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## Marty

hell no they wont go said:


> yeah yeah thats some good stuff! so how ya feeling today ne better?


Not till I get over this, did you read what I wrote about your newbies post?


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## los44

BedlamBully said:


> Its worth giving up to have such great dogs.


:goodpost::clap::goodpost::clap:

I Concur


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## PeanutsMommy

no more being lazy with training or exercise. Both need to be done all the time


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## Ninja Monk3y

PeanutsMommy said:


> no more being lazy with training or exercise. Both need to be done all the time


^^^
:clap:
One of the most important things new pit bull owners need to know "A tired Pit Bull is a good Pit Bull" Physical and mental exercises are so important with them.


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## hell no they wont go

hmm lets see you better give up your self doubt because with an american pitbull terrier there will sure be some nasty comments about you and your dog you need to be prepared for this an dont take it to heart.



do not worry with owning an apbt it isnt just rules and guidelines its also about FUN if you want an apbt you better have a love for life and preferrably a need to get out there and work your butt off because if you dont your pit will most likely do it for you i reccomend this breed to outdoorsy very active people because this is a highly athletic wanna go do something all the time breed im sure this breed would drive most couch potatoes crazy unless you luck out and somehow get a lazy pit. again you should not see owning this dog as a hastle or extra work i think it should come naturally to an apbt owner i mean i surely am not new to thi breed by any means but i can say i do everything an apbt owner should do and i know it should come naturally either at first or once you get used to your first pit because i do not even notice myself carrying on the responsabilities of being a pit owner it just happens just like blinking, breathing, changing your clothes brushin g your teeth so on and so forth. i find this is a very loving humorus breed i mean there is not a day that goeas by when my onyx doesnt do something so goofy i ant help but lol.


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## dan'sgrizz

Ya know I take grizz out to the woods and let him off leash i think thats ok .... Nobody else around. I do agree with everything though it really is just a more demanding dog. Leave them unattended or unsupervised for even a moment and the amount of damage that can occur is 10 fold compared to most other breeds.


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## hell no they wont go

dan'sgrizz said:


> Ya know I take grizz out to the woods and let him off leash i think thats ok .... Nobody else around. I do agree with everything though it really is just a more demanding dog. Leave them unattended or unsupervised for even a moment and the amount of damage that can occur is 10 fold compared to most other breeds.


yeah but they are little angels when they are sleeping. i say tat because onyx is on the bed sleeping between me and my laptop only got one hand to type he is usig my other arm as a pillow but he looks so sweet and innocent you wouldnt think yesterday he chewed up 6 rolls of paper towls while i was taking a shower! he is usually great around the house alone but he does have his moments cant wait till he fully learns the leave it cue


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## buzhunter

Marty said:


> No more dog parks.
> No more walking without a leash.
> No more letting the dog outside alone.
> No more allowing my dog to just play with another dog worry free.
> No more walks without being mindful of my environment.
> No more laid back attitude about bad habits.
> No more easy teachings.
> No more community love for my dog.
> No more letting my dog have the run of the house.
> No more letting other dogs come visit.
> No more taking them to the park and letting them run.
> No more taking for granted that they wont fight.
> No more taking for granted that they wont bite.
> No more lazy attitude where alpha position is concerned.


That's just the way it is. People who can't wrap their mind around that can only hurt the dogs.


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## smith family kennels

I would like to add No more family filled vacations in the fun filled location or hotel of your choice. 

You may have to cancel your trip to a place that has bsl or no hotel that will except your dog or you can't take him with you and he will have to stay at a boarding clinic while you are gone


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## PeanutsMommy

smith family kennels said:


> I would like to add No more family filled vacations in the fun filled location or hotel of your choice.
> 
> You may have to cancel your trip to a place that has bsl or no hotel that will except your dog or you can't take him with you and he will have to stay at a boarding clinic while you are gone


Good point. I just made a thread recently about vacation ideas with our dog. If he cant go we cant go..have to make new plans


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## smith family kennels

lmao I have 9 dogs I haven't been on vacation in almost 10 years even when it was only 3. Dog shows are my vacations. My poor son wants to go to disney world but we don't have anyone to care for our 9 dogs while we are gone. So I just tell that disney world is overrated lmao


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## PeanutsMommy

^^Vacation of sorts is eaiser with 1 dog compared to 9 I can only imagine! I think our vacation is going to consist only of going somewhere and doing nothing once we get there but I am okay with that after not seeing Josh for 6 months just being together is good enough...but Josh wants Peanut to come so...as long as we find a pet-friendly hotel  (of course not in a BSL area)


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## dan'sgrizz

LOL havnt seen eachother in awhile huh? is peanut gonna watch you guys?


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## smith family kennels

lmao now that is messed up dan get your mind out of the guter this is a educational thread geez


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## PeanutsMommy

hey..... didnt mean that. I was talking about just time together is going to be nice. That is vacation enough Plus Peanut misses him too Josh can play rougher then I can...they are like 2 little kids together.

Yeah what she said


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## smokey_joe

You also have to give up letting other people walk your dogs.


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## PeanutsMommy

no more letting others "dog sit" for you


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## nate

this geting out of hand i have had a bulldog's since i was born hell i think i was 12 or 13 before i knew my dog's real name was APBT bulldog's have been in my family forever i got got a pic of my papa and his bulldog when he was 9 and he is in his 80s now my greatgrandfather is rolling over in his grave these dog's put food on the table's of family's for over 100 years now that the byb are going end the best breed of dog man has ever knew 
we got stop licking or wounds and start fighting back our dog's would give there life's for us in the blink of an eye it's time we show them the same kinda love they show us


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## PearlJamGirl

Well, I am so glad to see that I have come to the right place! Finally, people that understand because they are dealing with the same thing. I think I can learn alot here.


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## ptw

I guess I'm lucky. I have plenty of room for Cara, and plenty of friends who CAN dog sit for her. Of course they are fellow APBT owners who are well socialized with her and able to handle her. Granted she's still really young. I never had a problem with my last two boys either. Maybe it's because I've always had pit bulls that it doesn't seem like such a drag to me....guess I never knew any different.


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## bluefamily

Give up what???? Maybe I have become suspicious in my old age bur you mean give self absorbed know it alls at a dog park? Have a non-resident of our house offer to walk our dog and perhaps scan our possessions and then it disappears or the police gets called because something is planted in our house or property? Vacation? I am with Smith Family Kennels. We have 9 kids too and if the dogs aren't going then we're not going.
Not just anybody comes to visit at our house. Isolative and ssuspicious maybe but we love it because we're having good clean family fun in the backyard, in the swimming hole, on a trail watching our kids fall over exhausted after we come inside. What better way to live. It keeps the "gimme Gimme" types away.


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## MY MIKADO

The one I noticed. I give up money for just me. I'm too busy buying good food and exercise stuff and dog classes for Vendetta to have anything left over for me. Also I give up NOT having a headache talking to other people about the breed.


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## HoneyMiPit

I am a single mom and my two furry kids are my joy.Unconditional love.They are worth the sacrafice.


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## Proud Marine Dad

Marty said:


> *Lately there is a lot of talk about dog parks and other things that we DO NOT do with our Pit Bulls. It got me thinking of a crap load of stuff I cant do anymore with my dog. Things I choose to not do FOR the betterment of my dog and this breed in general. Granted, not all the things I miss were good to start with, BUT, I did em, and I learned not to again where these guys are concerned.
> 
> No more dog parks.
> No more walking without a leash.
> No more letting the dog outside alone.
> No more allowing my dog to just play with another dog worry free.
> No more walks without being mindful of my environment.
> No more laid back attitude about bad habits.
> No more easy teachings.
> No more community love for my dog.
> No more letting my dog have the run of the house.
> No more letting other dogs come visit.
> No more taking them to the park and letting them run.
> No more taking for granted that they wont fight.
> No more taking for granted that they wont bite.
> No more lazy attitude where alpha position is concerned.
> 
> With these dogs comes HUGE responsibility and I honestly had NO idea how much easier it was to own almost ANY other dog as opposed to these guys. I think thats why I love them so much.. they aint easy, in any way, shape or form. IF you want to be a responsible owner, you MUST readjust your way of thinking.
> 
> Anyone care to add anything?*


I agree Marty and yes this breed is a handful at times. 
I was just wondering the other day what we will all do when we are in our 60's as these dogs can be too much to handle for someone not in good physical shape. I am of course talking about those incidents where you are walking the dog just fine and then a squirrel or cat runs across the sidewalk in front of you and the dog becomes a Union Pacific Railroad freight train.


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## StaffyDaddy

Hey marty... next time we have a discussion of do's and dont do's with apbts, can i post this up? I think it will make the ignorant reconsider some of their activities LOL


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## Marty

Sure go right ahead


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## StaffyDaddy

Marty said:


> Sure go right ahead


haha that might save me from having to go off with a half page argument lol

i think you know what recent thread i'm referring to..


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## MistaMista

No more dog parks.
No more walking without a leash.
No more letting the dog outside alone.
No more allowing my dog to just play with another dog worry free.
No more walks without being mindful of my environment.
No more laid back attitude about bad habits.
No more easy teachings.
No more community love for my dog.
No more letting my dog have the run of the house.
No more letting other dogs come visit.
No more taking them to the park and letting them run.
No more taking for granted that they wont fight.
No more taking for granted that they wont bite.
No more lazy attitude where alpha position is concerned.

With these dogs comes HUGE responsibility and I honestly had NO idea how much easier it was to own almost ANY other dog as opposed to these guys. I think thats why I love them so much.. they aint easy, in any way, shape or form. IF you want to be a responsible owner, you MUST readjust your way of thinking.


I find this very true!!!!!!!!!! Alot of these things I had to just accept....like no more letting my dog run free without a lease.....I sure hate it but it is a very important responsibility. With that said, I also took my dog for granted and I have had the mentality that he wont bite or fight......but I know in the back of my mind that this is not the case.


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## Carriana

A huge responsibilty but a huge reward! These dogs love like no other. No other dog in your life with ever be as devoted to you as your ABPT!!!


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## SageeWritesLove

My pits NEVER do any thing wrong. 
I've taken my female to parks and let strangers pet her, and my pits run free all over the yard and never attack any one or hurt neighborhood dogs.(which there are plenty of) 
They come when they're called and do what they're told. 
I've never had any of the problems you've listed above..


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## Carriana

Never have doesn't mean that they never will. Some dogs can go their entire lives and nothing bad could ever happen, but why give them the opportunity? With BSL jumping at every chance to take our breed away from us why even set your dogs up in a situation where they could fail? Whether or not you think they ever could?


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## coppermare

I find those "no mores" true with other breeds as well.


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## jayandlacy

coppermare said:


> I find those "no mores" true with other breeds as well.


Agree with that 100%! (grew up with gsd, they're a handful too)

I will not allow my dogs to become victoms of circumstance or victoms to their own breed! I will not set my dogs up for failure!


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## Kiah

Why would you not let your dog have run of the house?


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## Lex's Guardian

Ah, I miss Marty... He was no nonsense & straight to the point... Never trailed off topic & easily interpreted.

Everyone says how difficult these dogs are to own. If you hold your ground & stick to the rules these are the easiest dogs to own... So easy to train & so quick to please. One of the most loving breeds & easy to love


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## coco

Marty said:


> *Lately there is a lot of talk about dog parks and other things that we DO NOT do with our Pit Bulls. It got me thinking of a crap load of stuff I cant do anymore with my dog. Things I choose to not do FOR the betterment of my dog and this breed in general. Granted, not all the things I miss were good to start with, BUT, I did em, and I learned not to again where these guys are concerned.
> 
> No more dog parks.
> No more walking without a leash.
> No more letting the dog outside alone.
> No more allowing my dog to just play with another dog worry free.
> No more walks without being mindful of my environment.
> No more laid back attitude about bad habits.
> No more easy teachings.
> No more community love for my dog.
> No more letting my dog have the run of the house.
> No more letting other dogs come visit.
> No more taking them to the park and letting them run.
> No more taking for granted that they wont fight.
> No more taking for granted that they wont bite.
> No more lazy attitude where alpha position is concerned.
> 
> With these dogs comes HUGE responsibility and I honestly had NO idea how much easier it was to own almost ANY other dog as opposed to these guys. I think thats why I love them so much.. they aint easy, in any way, shape or form. IF you want to be a responsible owner, you MUST readjust your way of thinking.
> 
> Anyone care to add anything?*


This is a list for owners who have no control of their dog. If you have a dog who thinks he/she runs things, you need to put him/her into submissive mode. You can't do this if you're scared of your dog or under powered, sometimes they will refuse to go down and you have to put them down hard; place your forearm on the neck and hold the body with your other hand, maintaining this position until they calm down and understand you run things. The strong, stubborn ones will try to wiggle out, but you must apply more pressure and put your body weight on them. If you can't get them in this mode, you will not be able to train them or have them obey your commands.


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## Sadie

Oh jesus lord you have been watching the Dog Whisper too much I see. Bulldogs don't belong anywhere near a dog park. You can't control genetics you can avoid situations that would allow those genetics to surface. A bulldog was bred to fight dog aggression can be monitored and controlled by means of prevention. You should always be one step ahead of a bulldog once they get a head of you that's it you lost I don't care who you are.


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## American_Pit13

coco said:


> This is a list for owners who have no control of their dog. If you have a dog who thinks he/she runs things, you need to put him/her into submissive mode. You can't do this if you're scared of your dog or under powered, sometimes they will refuse to go down and you have to put them down hard; place your forearm on the neck and hold the body with your other hand, maintaining this position until they calm down and understand you run things. The strong, stubborn ones will try to wiggle out, but you must apply more pressure and put your body weight on them. If you can't get them in this mode, you will not be able to train them or have them obey your commands.


Um no regardless of what your imagination is telling you about these dogs, they should not be doing many of those things list. Hopefully no one listens to you on how to handle there dogs either because that is no way at all to assert your self as leader. Thats a quick way to ruin a good dog.

In fact No Breed should be doing most of these things.

From the posts I have seen from you it seems you need to be doing way more researching and educating yourself before offering advice to others.


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## apbtmom76

good posts Holly & Tara


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## geo fishtown

You say get use to giving up but in my eyes I gained so much more with my dog.I may not be able to do those things but gained so much more.and I will never own another breed I prefer pitbulls and if I have to give up that stuff listed to gain what I have gained then so be it(if I listed every thing I gained from this breed this would turn into a huge post).call me weird but I like my dog more than most people.the responsibility comes with so many rewards.


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## aus_staffy

geo fishtown said:


> You say get use to giving up but in my eyes I gained so much more with my dog.I may not be able to do those things but gained so much more.and I will never own another breed I prefer pitbulls and if I have to give up that stuff listed to gain what I have gained then so be it(if I listed every thing I gained from this breed this would turn into a huge post).call me weird but I like my dog more than most people.the responsibility comes with so many rewards.


Excellent post. There are far better things to safely do with your dogs.


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## VaBeachTennis

Wow, that's a pretty huge list. I don't take my dogs to dog parks. I've been into Malinois and Dutch Shepherds since 1993 and just got my first Pitbull puppy last month. I will treat her like I have always treated my Malinois;love, attention, control, exercise, and vigilance when I take them on a walk and when they meet new people and animals. House wise, she's a puppy and she is caged when i can't or don't feel like supervising her every move. Now I have a Malinois and a Pitbull, they are fun to take on walks and fun to live with.

There are better ways to establish the "alpha" position than that outdated way described above. Think "Iron hand in a velvet glove".


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## zohawn

alpha nothing,these dogs were breed for a purpose. you dont want them doing what they were bred for then dont put them into the situatiion


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## bonliveson

i have had just one pit, and as far as worrying about her biting...that's laughable! my pup absolutely LOVED all people, and the majority of people that approached us petted her without hesitation. once i got to a certain point with her, she also had the run of the house when i was gone, and the only issues were with blankets being on the floor. as far as the dog park goes, it was always other dogs that wouldn't leave her alone that prompted me to take my dog and go. not sure if i was lucky or good, but i expect that when i get my next pup, things will be the same.


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## ThaLadyPit

Bonliveson, I just have to say that just because your dog is friendly with people, doesn't mean you should trust your dog won't bite. Remember, your dog has a mind of its own, and will eventually think for itself at some point. 

It takes diligence to own this breed. Not every dog is easy going and soft when it comes to temperament or personality. As zohawn said, if you don't want your dog to do what it was bred to do, then simply don't put it in that situation. 

I do have to say though, from the way you talk (your dog loved everybody), you've obviously never had your dog to alert you of someone who wasn't a good person (untrustworthy). The saying about "liking dogs better than people" rings very true. Dogs will tell you when someone is dishonest and that person wouldn't admit to it. My boy hasn't liked my neighbor since he first met him, and my dog was on point with letting me know this guy can't be trusted. Trust me, when a dog tells you a person is no good, you should listen.


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## ashleypru

I 100% agree that apbt's should be kept out of certain situations so as to not set them up for failure, but I also find it a little crazy to always expect your apbt pup to bite someone. as a kid, my parents raised 2 pits who never even growled at them. we had a yellow lab that bit through my dads hand once. my friend had a chiuaua that always tried to snap and was mean all the time. its not just this breed. even if sharing a breed, every single dog has their own personality. raise your pup the best you can and use your best judgement on the situations you put them into. you are ultimately the one responsible for the outcome. I only hbreed post this because a lot of these comments (not only on this thread) have almost scared me away from my own pup! thinking about how everyone else feels about something shouldn't be a factor in your own decision. I've gotten some amazing advice from this site and most people are extremely helpful, but I dont want anyone to be scared out of owning this breed!


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## MamaTank

We don't necessarily worry about them biting someONE, rather than someone's dog. But some people are just stupid and will deliberately goad dogs, trying to get a reaction. So really, it's not a matter of not trusting your dog, but not trusting other people.


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## BullHeaded

smith family kennels said:


> I would like to add No more family filled vacations in the fun filled location or hotel of your choice.
> 
> You may have to cancel your trip to a place that has bsl or no hotel that will except your dog or you can't take him with you and he will have to stay at a boarding clinic while you are gone


I NEVER go anywhere out of state without my pups. The wife and I got Jade with the mindset that she would never be ditched by her owners ever again. Even if it was for less than a week. Not gonna happen. And when we got Jaxx, we follow that principal with them both.


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## Sandy.klo

I noticed some of these things are related to human-aggression. Is it the general consensus on here that pits are more likely to be human aggressive?


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## BCdogs

Sandy.klo said:


> I noticed some of these things are related to human-aggression. Is it the general consensus on here that pits are more likely to be human aggressive?


Not at all. Rather the opposite, actually...


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## Rudy4747

Sandy.klo said:


> I noticed some of these things are related to human-aggression. Is it the general consensus on here that pits are more likely to be human aggressive?


As BC said it quite the opposite. most bully breeds in general especially the APBT have a willingness to please people and this plus other handling traits bred into this breed for generations makes for dogs that are generally not human aggressive.


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## BlueNoseRiley

Thought i would post this here while i figure out where to post, even though it is an old thread.

My girlfriend and i are moving and i never realized how hard it is to find a place that accepts a "dangerous breed". Our dog is named Mellow for a reason. He shares food from the same bowl as 2 chihuahuas, ignores them if they snap at him, and just looks at you sadly if you take his food bowl away while he is eating. The only thing is he doesn't like our cat so he stays seperate from her.

WAKE UP PROPERTY MANAGEMENT COMPANIES!!!! Meet the animal first before making assumptions.


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## Richnix

From your original post
This goes for ALL dogs

*No more dog parks*. All I see in dog parks is Dog poop and Dog Fights ( All Dogs )
*No more walking without a leash*. The Calgary bylaw states all dogs must be on a leash at all times except in designated dog parks
*No more letting the dog outside alone*.
*No more allowing my dog to just play with another dog worry free*. Never have Never will
*No more walks without being mindful of my environment*. This applies to all dogs
*No more laid back attitude about bad habits.* See Above
*No more easy teachings.*
*No more community love for my dog.* So far ever one I meet loves my dog/ My friends and neighbors must all be open minded
*No more letting my dog have the run of the house.* This applies to all dogs
*No more letting other dogs come visit.*
*No more taking them to the park and letting them run.* See my first comment
*No more taking for granted that they wont fight.* This applies to all dogs
*No more taking for granted that they wont bite.* This applies to all dogs
*No more lazy attitude where alpha position is concerned.* This applies to all dogs

So what am I giving up by owning a PB vs a Husky or Shepard ?


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