[chelliez]

Two days ago we adopted an 8 week old female pit mix puppy. She is very loving to my husband and daughter (4 years old) and seems to be doing ok our 4 year old boxer/australian cattle dog. (she annoys him but nothing major yet)
Tonight my husband was playing with her and grabbed her snout and kind of shook it. Not in a mean way just playing around. She sort of leaned toward him and began barking agressively. My husband is now on a tangant and thinks she is evil. Now I do realize that grabbing her snout may have instigated it but we are trying to play slightly hard with her since we do have a small child. Is this something that I should be concerned about? I tried to test her as well and she didnt react the same way. I told my husband that he may have hurt her but he believes she should not have reacted in such a way. She shows no signs of agression toward my daughter and if anything lights up when she is around. After the incident she cuddled up to my husband as if nothing happened. In addition to that she met our neighbors dog tonight. They were playing and she went at him like she was 100 pounds. No fear at all. (just a slightly loud bark but leaning at him) Is this normal behavior for a puppy. I believe she was in the shelter for three weeks prior to me adopting her which leads me to believe she didnt spend a great deal of time with her mother. In addition to that she has had an upset stomach since we got her. (im taking her to the vet tomorrow) Could the transition effect her personality or should I be concerned. Sorry so long, I'm just nervous!!!

 

[chelliez]

Thanks to all for your opinions.

I really do believe that she is just being a puppy. My husband knows now not to do that. I appreciate your responses as I am new to all of this.

Thanks
Michelle

 

[chelliez]

One more question

ok..so one problem here is she has no bite inhibition... if she has been in the shelter for 3 weeks and is 8 weeks old she did not have time with her littermates to learn to play "nice".
When she puts her mouth on you let out a sharp yell and turn away and refuse to play.
This is what her littermates would have done.

She did have her brothers and sisters at the pound with her. She was spayed at 6 weeks (seems a little young to me) which i believe may have delayed her play time as well. One more question. My older dog Rocko 4 year old boxer mix plays with her and at times gets rough. Do I allow him to or do I break it up. Everyone says pits can turn on their housemates and it makes me nervous to let them play now. Any thoughts????

 

[chelliez]

We got Nelson when he was 5 weeks, his mother died a couple of days earlier, we think its been beneficial having him from so young, because he has been taught what we want from the start - no bad habits are able to form...the stomach thing is probably just the change of diet, what are you feeding her?[/quote]

Update on the stomach thing... I took her to the vet because I could tell she was feeling horrible. She had a UTI infection and a bacteria infection of the intestine. $300 later she is happy and perky again Seems like her tummy is doing well. Thanks for your advice, we love our new baby, I think all should be well!!!!