Best. Thread on adoption. Ever.
I’ve been away for a while, and have been catching up—this thread has such informed expert opinions and advice…wish everyone looking to adopt could see it!
3 Jack Russels + 2 Pitties + 4 cats = my small house.
The jacks rule, the pitties submit. The cats just give evil looks and guard the water bowl.
I have a small yard, and one of my pitties hates walks. Both are lazy, but do enjoy a small run now and then…but to be honest, they would rather curl up on the couch and enjoy a good movie with popcorn 
They are both crosses, one a pit/lab, one a pit/greyhound.
Best suggestion - find a young adult that you can try out - or at least has a good history. Ie. good with cats, kids, other dogs, strangers, non destructive etc. Putting a stereotype to them is like doing that with horses - ie. all hanoverians are high strung and aggressive towards ponies. Everyone knows that horses, like dogs, should be assessed as individuals.
and regarding dog parks - personally, we see a lot of serious dog injuries at these parks and its just a risk I wouldnt want to take with mine.
Dare I hope you are working with Red Dog Farm? They are WONDERFUL folks!
I hope you come back and give us regular updates on what dogs you are looking at and what you decide…
I’ve adopted 3 pitbulls, all adults when adopted, I got them all from our local animal control. The 1st dog was abused and had bites and wounds all over her, the 2nd dog was a stray who had recently had puppies and the 3rd was a court case for neglect and abuse, so all dogs came with some sort of history. 2 of them have passed on due to old age but I had them at elast 10 years before they were put down, the 3rd one has been here 3 years. None of them had anymore of a transition period than my other breed dogs, in fact they were easier to transition than the hounds into being pets.
None of the girls wanted to be outside dogs, they all lived inside with going out in the yard 4-6 times a day, none of them wanted to go for a walk for more than 5 minutes, they preferred the couch. I have cats, no aggression to cats or the other dogs, all 3 were kinda passive. I have made some adjustments because they are pitbulls, I don’t take them out in public, when kids come over they go in their crates and they are never ever loose, I have had shepherd type dogs who were able to be off lead or unconfined because they really did not go anywhere away from the house, the pits would have to wander off once and get picked up by ac and that would be it for them. I live on a farm, we rarely have visitors, dogs don’t even go to the vet, vet comes here, I don’t take them anywhere, the hounds are all hard case rescues, they can live out their lives here, so can the pitbulls.
In fact with this last pitbull the a/c officer allowed me to adopt her because while they generally did not adopt out pitties this one was too sweet to pts and animal control knew I had 2 pitbulls i adopted in the past and there were never any complaints about them.
Before I took these 3 home though, I muzzled them at the pound and walked them through the dog and cat areas, I would not bring a dog or cat aggressive dog home if I could identify that beforehand, all these animals that I’ve rescued have a right to live in peace and harmony here.
Thanks Yellow Horse. I loved hearing your story.
I met two Pitties last night. Both were pulled off the street last Monday with badly sunburnt noses, feet, and suffering from pretty severe dehydration. They are both coming out of their shell in their new foster home and were very friendly and a little shy upon my meeting them last night. I was able to watch the most outgoing of the two meet a strange, larger dog last night and she was very submissive about the whole ordeal.
While my HOA allows pitties, my Homeowners Insurance does not. My coverage will not change, however if the dog were to bite someone, it would not be covered under my Homeowners. Now, if I had owned the dog prior to being covered under my current insurance, they would not pick me up as a new client.
So, there is a lot to consider. We are continuing the doggie search, but will definitely keep an eye on the girls that I met last night.
Oh please, seriously? That’s one of the dumbest statements I’ve read in awhile. I have an intact Am. Staff (he’s a show dog) and he is certainly not an accident waiting to happen. I know numerous other show dogs who are intact who would never dream of any type of aggressive behavior. Either way, OP is planning on adopting, so the dog would be spayed/neutered regardless.
Anyway.
I have 3 Bully breeds, 2 are mutts, one is the Am. Staff whom I show. They are amazing dogs. Period.
OP, have you contacted Carolina Care Bullies? They’re in NC and are GREAT.
If your homeowners insurance doesn’t cover Bully breeds, you can always switch… I made the switch to State Farm last year and it ended up being cheaper than what I was paying with Progressive, so it worked out well for me!
Others have made great points, so I won’t add too much. Definitely NO dog parks.
I urge you to come join PBC, http://www.pitbull-chat.com/forums.php
I’m very active over there (my username is kady05) and it’s a great place to learn… we can be a bit harsh sometimes, but as long as you’re willing, most newcomers do just fine 
PLEASE Double and Triple check you insurance…I to have plenty of land but my farm policy dropped me because Dobies are on the “bad dog list” Because I have horses I had a very difficult time finding a policy and the one I do have is ridiculously more expensive.
Because my farm looks like a wonderful place for dogs I have had a number of people offer me dogs because they have found their renters policy, contract or home owners does not allow them to own a specific breed.
Locally at the end of the semester we have a large number of dogs dumped because students discover they can’t find housing that allows their dog breed and their parents policy doesn’t allow them.
I really didn’t expect it to be that difficult for me but it definitely is. Ranger is 9 and I do not believe I will ever get another dog on the list because of the hassle.
[QUOTE=Chester’s Mom;5650434]
Dare I hope you are working with Red Dog Farm? They are WONDERFUL folks!
I hope you come back and give us regular updates on what dogs you are looking at and what you decide…[/QUOTE]
Yes! I’m using Red Dog Farm. Wonderful people! I met the dogs Katie and Jessie. A friend of mine is fostering Gary, a shepherd mix. I will be meeting him this week, however I think he will be too large and too young (5-6 months). I’ll keep you updated 
Oh, and I specifically asked my homeowners if they would kick me off their policy. They said no, I just won’t be covered if a bite should occur.
[QUOTE=smilton;5650732]
PLEASE Double and Triple check you insurance…I to have plenty of land but my farm policy dropped me because Dobies are on the “bad dog list” [/QUOTE]
State Farm Insurance does not discriminate based on breed. Another option with rescued pitties is to call them a boxer mix or a terrier mix on any paperwork. My vet said I could put whatever I wanted in their records for backup.
[QUOTE=diffuse01;5650693]
Oh please, seriously? That’s one of the dumbest statements I’ve read in awhile. I have an intact Am. Staff (he’s a show dog) and he is certainly not an accident waiting to happen. I know numerous other show dogs who are intact who would never dream of any type of aggressive behavior. Either way, OP is planning on adopting, so the dog would be spayed/neutered regardless.)[/QUOTE]
My statement was directed at the OP, a nonexperienced dog owner. I’m all for people who show and know what they are doing with an intact dog. Just about every incident I’ve ever seen regarding any dog has been intact males. I also know many people who don’t believe in fixing (mainly men:)), and I just wanted to stress that for these people, a neutered/spayed dog was the way to go without question.
