im thinking about adopting this dog. (photo) what do you think?

02-10-2005, 10:24 PM

she is a pitbull mix but i think she is soo cute she kind of looks like buffy by the way look for new pics of buffy soon

Solarsis · 02-10-2005, 10:46 PM

there's much more to picking a dog than the way they look. Has her temper been assesed? What were the results? What is her medical background? How friendly is she with humans? Other pets? Children? Does she have training? What are you looking for in a dog? Does she fit that profile (other than being gorgeous)

I'm not trying to say she's not perfect for you. Just hoping you have asked and thought about all these things rather than basing your decision only on looks.

Candycane · 02-10-2005, 10:53 PM

Yep, there's a lot to consider when adopting the dog. How much do you know about pits? Does the breed/dog fit your lifestyle?

suzoo · 02-10-2005, 11:40 PM

He looks very tense to me.. I'd make sure he was temperment tested.. if you already have dogs, make sure to do an Intro with your dogs at the shelter (on neutral territory).. he doesn't look like a pitbull to me... I would have guessed a Rotti mixed with maybe Shepherd. Find out his 'profile'.. what he needs in a suitable home and go from there. You may like his looks and even his personality when you meet him but you & your lifestyle may not be suitable for 'his' needs.

sha3472 · 02-11-2005, 03:32 AM

I Think She Is A Cute Dog,i Have Had Bad Situations With Full Grown Dogs So Look Into It And Go With Your Heart

02-11-2005, 12:06 PM

thank you all for your advise! she was a stray this shelter does not do temperment testing only on food aggression and she passed she does look tense i think because the other dogs are barking at her Buffy will meet her today they are both about the same age and female so i hope it works but we will see the sad part about my local shelter is they dont try to find out about stray dogs temperment or about them at all it really is adopter beware they destroy dogs after one week if they are not adopted or claimed the biggest problem in kitsap county is dogs that are allowed to stray and thats how most of the dogs get picked up and impounded the shelter is also small and when the dogs are being shown to potential adopters the dogs are so happy to get out that they are more interested in thier surroundings instead of the adopters anyway Thanks all.

Solarsis · 02-11-2005, 12:28 PM

I would still recommend finding someone who could asses her temperament. It doesn't take much to provoke an agressive dog and I'm sure you would like to avoid any possibility of something happening to you, your family, someone else, or your other dog, simply because you brought this one in without a temper assessment. The risk is very big in my opinion.

Also Candice brought up a good point. Have you done research on pitts and whatever other breed she is mixed with? Do you know what they require in terms of care, exercise, attention, etc? I think it's great you are trying to help this dog but you need to make sure she will be a good fit in your family and with your lifestyle.

fertmom · 02-11-2005, 07:03 PM

She is very pretty, but looks nervous to me- ears back and tail down....I hope she has a nice personality for your sake. Everyone has given you good advice so do your homework thoroughly before deciding.

clearjade · 02-11-2005, 10:24 PM

Hera, I hope the meeting goes well with Buffy. Is your whole family going to meet the new dog as well? Since the shelter only tests for food aggression I'm going to post some articles on temperament testing that you or one of your folks can read and use.

http://www.shelterdogs.org/pdf/asses...helter_dog.pdf <--This article has a simple 8-step test you can conduct.

http://www.paw-rescue.org/PAW/PETTIP...emperament.php

Plus if you use 'canine temperament test' to search in Google, there are lots of other articles as well. Otherwise perhaps your local vet would be willing to conduct a temperament test for you?

Don't forget to let us know how the meeting went!