Want to help your pit make friends?
Whether your dog is apprehensive about other animals or a little too over-zealous, we’re here to help!
Today, I’ll tell you all about how I helped my pit bull make some new friends!
Check it out!
Why is your pit having a hard time making friends?
My pit is a snob. Maybe a better term is a mean girl. She wasn’t always this way. When we first brought her home as an itty bitty pitbull puppy, we took her everywhere. We spent a lot of time at our friend’s house and she was always with us, and playing with the other dogs there. She started to learn she could go further and further away from the house she was difficult to get back. We had to start keeping her at home when we went out.
Fast forward a few years and I felt the need to bring home a Chiweenie (that is a mix of Chihuahua and Dachshund if you have never heard of it). They got along great! My pit took on a motherly sort of role with the little new addition and they have been the best of friends ever since. I can not say the same when I take her out in public and she comes across another dog.
I even stopped at my aunt’s house once while driving across country and she has a male pit. He wanted so badly to play, but not my Chowda. Nope, she wanted nothing to do with him and she let him know it. Poor boy was bullied in his own home. So what do you do when your dogs get along with each other, but no other dogs? How do you help your pitbull puppy make friends so you don’t raise a snobby adult pit? Read on for tips!
How to help your pitbull puppy make friends
Socialize: I am sure you have heard it before, be sure to socialize your pitbull puppy. Bring him to dog parks and other places where you run into other dogs. He needs to learn how to do around other dogs. Think of this in terms of humans. If you were kept away from other people your entire life, and then from time to time ran into them, how would you react? Puppy school and dog parks are great for socialization.
Let them handle it: I don’t mean just let them go at it, no. What I mean is let them feel each other out. One is more than likely to be skittish around the other. With the safety of leashes of course at first. Dogs work in a hierarchy system. There is always an alpha dog in every relationship. When they meet a new potential friend, they need to work that out. I did this with my Chowda at my aunt’s house but we weren’t there long enough for them to establish that. Also, my poor girl was taken out of her element and had been on the road for a bit and had a few days to go (little did she know!)
How does your pit act around other pits or just dogs in general? Does he prefer females to males? Small dogs to larger dogs? Get to know your dog, bond, it is the best way to help him socialize and befriend other dogs he comes across. What has been your experience with your pit?
Share below how your pit has reacted when meeting other dogs other than his BFFs in his own home!
