# Pitbull?? I thought he was a staffy x....



## showaddy1 (22 November 2011)

Hi all,  my baby dog Bart has had an accident and snapped his cruciate ligament... anyway, second trip to the vets today when the vet said... 'these pitbull are known to suffer with this type of injury due to their size and strength'... What??? I thought he was just a staffie mongrel!! 
'Well', she said, 'where did he come from??' I got him from our local pound when he was eight weeks old... 
The vet wasnt negative about him in anyway, Bart mixes happily with other dogs/ cats/ kids and horses... 
Although he's still our baby, at 18months and 25kgs!! but I am slightly shocked...
Anyone own these types of dogs?? Are they ok with kids?? (I have 4) and is it just the way they are reared that shapes their personality??


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## honeymum (22 November 2011)

Firstly, hugs to Bart, that sounds painful.

Second, you need to find out what he is, especially if you live in the UK as Pits are illegal here and on the DDA list. If he is a Pit then you could risk him being taken away and PTS, I believe certain people are allowed licenses to keep them if they are neutered/muzzled.

 As far as I know they are no better/worse with kids than any other breed, but there are probably people on here that are more knowledgeable about that than me.


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## Mlini (22 November 2011)

I think it just depends on how they are brought up.. But I'm no dog expert  

I know of two pitbulls, one is a pure bred looks like a staffy and is soooo well behaved and friendly - one of the nicest dogs I know. Kept in a normal family situation as a pet and been brought up around other dogs and children; the other is a pitbull cross, and is nasty - really nasty. He is kept in kennels, away from people and muzzled at all times in public. If he had the chance to bite you, he would. He was brought up on his own, taken from his mother at 4 weeks and bullied by silly young boys all his life!


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## PucciNPoni (22 November 2011)

showaddy1 said:



			Hi all,  my baby dog Bart has had an accident and snapped his cruciate ligament... anyway, second trip to the vets today when the vet said... 'these pitbull are known to suffer with this type of injury due to their size and strength'... What??? I thought he was just a staffie mongrel!! 
'Well', she said, 'where did he come from??' I got him from our local pound when he was eight weeks old... 
The vet wasnt negative about him in anyway, Bart mixes happily with other dogs/ cats/ kids and horses... 
Although he's still our baby, at 18months and 25kgs!! but I am slightly shocked...
Anyone own these types of dogs?? Are they ok with kids?? (I have 4) and is it just the way they are reared that shapes their personality??
		
Click to expand...

There's a better chance of him being a staffy x than being a pure pitt in this country.  And even if he was, there are millions of pitts in the USA that are living with children and haven't eaten them as yet   Sadly though they do get persecuted as a breed.

That's not to say that one should be complacent when teaching and rearing this (or ANY) breed of dog.  They are powerful and when they do bite, they can really make a mess.  But why should he want to if he's raised correctly and kindly?  And then you probably have more of a chance of being licked to death.  

Got any photos?  Might make it easier to tell you what breed he is from that.


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## ladyt25 (22 November 2011)

I am a little bit confused to be honest as, as you got him from the pound (so essentially a rescue) wouldn't they have known if he was a pit bull? At 8 weeks old I would have thought the pound would have known where he'd come from as you don't get many 8 week old puppies roaming the streets surely? If he had been deemed a pitbull then I would have thought they wouldn't have been able to rehome him to just anyone or they'd have had him PTS there and then (that's what the RSPCA tend to do to all pit bulls don't they whether they're the nicest dogs in the world or not!).

I would guess that it's far more likely your dog is a staffie x TBH as there seem to differ so much in size and shape I think some could resemble a pit bull.

Personally I think it's so wrong a breed gets banned because of what people have and do use them for. Shame that the dog ultimately suffers and ends up being PTS just because of what it is and its temperament is not taken in to account.


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## lexiedhb (22 November 2011)

PICTURES!!!!! 

I doubt very much is he is a true APBT....... this country is becoming a nightmare for calling anything Staff X a Pit. It is not even a recognised breed here, just a type, oh and also not allowed to be owned without huge restrictions and even then some are seized and destroyed...... so I would stick with Staff X or mongrel if I were you.


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## SavingGrace (22 November 2011)

I had a staffie cross boxer who looked like an overgrown staffie.  He was 32kg and fit and well muscled.  We sadly lost him to cancer last summer.


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## Silent Knight (22 November 2011)

realy good web site about them i think its called poppys place ther'res an identification pages and pro pit bull


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## showaddy1 (22 November 2011)

Thanks for your replies... Bart was a litter of pups born at the pound, his mums a 'pure' staff.... he just looks like a staff with long legs.
Tbh, he's our family dog and we love him, so we have decided to ignore the pitbull comment and to us he's still a heinz. If the vet was concerned then surely she would have said something?


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## Supertrooper (22 November 2011)

Depending on where you got her from rescue wise it would be unlikely they would rehome a pit bull type dog as they are breaking the law. My OH works for a dog charity and they are very careful what they will accept for re-homing.

To be honest it is such a grey area as to what is or isn't a pit bull type dog even the experts find it hard to say if a dog is or isn't. They basically go off the American breed standards of pit bull terriers and see if the dog in front of them meets a substantial number of characteristics! 

You could ask your local police dog legislation officer to have a look at your dog for you but you may not get a definate answer.

And no your vet doesn't have to say anything, as vets arn't 'experts' in what is or isn't considered to be a PBT there is nothing legal to say they have to tell a owner. They can if they wish advise a owner to seek police advise.

Hope this helps xx


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## Supertrooper (22 November 2011)

Sorry, just realised he's a boy ;-)


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