When I saw this thread it brought back bad, bad memories. I grew up with 2 dalmations, the most lovable dogs. My sister 'rescued' a pitbull puppy from our neighbor who told her he was going to put them down if no one wanted them. (yeah, tell this to a 14 year old) she was devestated so we gave it a try. For the first 6 months, everything was great. The pit, Breena, got along great with our dalmations, cats, and people. We were set on the idea that if they are trained to get along with other animals then they really were good dogs. One day in December, the dogs were all lounging around and the cat was walking by, Breena got up, snatched the cat in her mouth and shook her to no end. We couldn't get the cat out because apparently pits lock their jaw. It took screaming, crying, and my mother actually prying the dogs mouth open. We were speechless, put her in a crate and rushed the cat to the vet. Luckily she only had a few sprained ribs but all four paws needed to be bandaged because she lost her claws and was bleeding. After that first attack, Breena didn't stop. She attacked my 2 other dalmations (even though she was confined) and began growling and nipping at people. We have since surrendered her.
It was hard considering we are all animal lovers but pit bulls are vicious. Once they taste the blood of anther animal, it is done. From experience, I strongly urge you to talk to you husband or hold off on getting either dog. I also read that pits have some sort of chemical inbalance in their brains. so it is not always that they are trained to fight, just that something triggers this behavior.
Please reconsider, some people may know of great experiences with these dogs but everytime I see one, I walk the other way. |