Owning a Pit Bull is a responsibility and one that should not be taken lightly. There are a few key characteristics that anyone interested in owning a Pit Bull should make themselves aware of. Here are the key characteristics I have learned from my dog.

Needs to be socialized at a young age - spend time with your pet letting him or her get use to being around kids, other animals and other adults. Pit Bulls are known to be aggressive towards other animals. From personal experience my dog has been raised with cats and a Pekingese so we have seen very little issues with animal aggression. We did at one time adopt a Siberian Husky that she fought a lot with but in all fairness he, the Siberian Husky, did start most of the fights. For the most part my dog has gotten along with most animals she has come in contact with.

Make sure you also socialize your dog with kids. My wife and I adopted our dog before our kids were born but we have always closely monitored the kids with the dog. No matter how good your dog is, irregardless of the breed, it is your responsibility to monitor your pet around young ones.

Very active and destructive - If you have plans to win “yard of the month” with your backyard then buy a poodle. Pits are very active and will tear up a yard in record time. Now my dog is an inside dog buy when she plays outside there is no doubt that the backyard is her domain. She likes to chew up the kids toys and occasionally rips the boards off of the fence. To help cure this problem we have bought her an indestructible ball for her to play with. She loves that thing so much that she has already destroyed one “indestructible ball” and is currently working on destroying the second one.

Territorial and protective - the older my dog gets the more protective she becomes of her home. She has already given several Pizza men a slight heart attack when they come to the door. This is a behavior that we have noticed when someone is outside of the house. Once we invite someone in she is very loving and will usually try to lick you to death. Moral of the story, don’t break into my house.

To keep from being boycotted by the local pizza joint we use an indoor shock collar that shocks my dog when she runs at the door. In all fairness she gets a beep as a warning before crossing the plane where the color is activated.

Hyper - actually the word hyper is an understatement. At nine-years-old my dog still acts like a puppy at times. She has slowed down a little but nothing like other dogs her age. Again, this is another reason why you must spend a lot of time with your dog. Otherwise you may come home to half your furniture being eaten.

At times a Wus - maybe this only applies to my dog but she is afraid of thunder. This is important to note because she becomes destructive when she gets scared and has eaten half of a door, several cages a few important books in my house.

If you think I am exaggerating the picture to the right is my half-eaten door to the laundry room. My dog was locked in the laundry room one evening and tried to eat her way out to freedom. It’s funny now but was not very funny at the time.

All joking aside Pit Bulls are very powerful dogs and should not be taken lightly. If you put in the time with your pet then the chances are you will end up with a great dog. My wife and I love animals and have always been responsible with all of our pets. We spend time with all our animals and make sure that they are raised in a healthy and productive environment. My Pit Bull has been the best dog that I have ever owned and I highly recommend this breed to anyone who is serious about raising these dogs in a loving and disciplined home.