APBT advice

I'm not an expert, but with the experience that I've had with some APBT you really have to work on animal aggression. Most of the APBT's that I've met are great with humans, but they have deadly instincts when it comes to other dogs and especially small animals. I would suggest making sure he has a lot of supervised play time with other dogs, and make sure you get after him if he starts to play too rough. Another thing to keep in mind is that most of the time APBT are fine until they are around 18 months (I think that's the right age), then they start to show their aggressive tendencies more. He's a cute little guy, I'm sure you son will do a great job with him!!!

I have an Am Staff ( a Pit relative), so can relate to you wanting to make sure you do things the right way.

Take Thor out every day to meet and greet other dogs, cats, kids, etc.  Make sure he gets into as many new situations as possible. He needs to learn that dogs and cats are potential playmates, not chew toys!

Also, take him to a pet mart=type place on a regular basis.  Have him visit your vet's office just to weigh him and have the office staff make a fuss over him.  IOW, take him to see everything so he can see that going places is a good thing!

Make sure he understands that you (or your son, whomever is going to be the primary owner) is in charge.  Terriers in general seem to think they need to be in charge of everything!  This can be a problem if you are not a "take charge" kind of person.  Soon, Thor would be running the show and there would be MAJOR problems with this.

Thor may never become dog aggressive.  Do NOT assume this is to be the case!  Some aren't ever safe and some, like mine, are good with all sorts of animals (even our Guinea Pigs[sm=eek.gif]).  Many Pitties don't "turn on" (become aggressive) until they are a couple of years old. For this reason, as a first time Pittie owner, DO NOT take you pup to a dog park. Many, many fights have erupted the day a young male suddenly has testosterone coursing through his body. He may not even START the fight, but it's a good bet that he will finish it, maybe permanently.

It goes without saying that a neutered dog will be less likely to fight, but even this is not for certain.

Make sure Thor goes to obedience classes as soon as he's old enough. A well mannered dog is a good member of both doggy and human society.

Thor is an absolute cutie, BTW!

Have your son take Thor to class, too.  Find a trainer at one of these sites:
[linkhttp://www.clickertraining.com]www.clickertraining.com[/link]
[linkhttp://www.ccpdt.com]www.ccpdt.com[/link]
[linkhttp://www.apdt.com]www.apdt.com[/link]
 
I second what everyone else has said about the need for extensive socialization with dogs as well as people, and to not be surprised if the switch does go off anyway when he's an adult dog.  If that's the case, be sure you have him well trained and managed.  When Thor's done with basic class, have him continue! 

Thanks for the information. It seems that I have been doing something right, lol. Since we have had him, he has been going to work with me and interacting with cats, and other dogs (small breed adults) and I have chi's that will put him in his place when he gets too rough. He has learned to respect what's acceptable.
He's very bull-ish when he plays (he weighs almost 20lbs) and wants to be the center of attention which can be an issue. I need to find a way to discourage him from pushing his way into EVERY situation without using physical forces (to excess). He's not at all aggressive, but does want to use his teeth to play, which I try to redirect or stop the "game". We have been working on NILIF and is made to sit for every thing, which he is getting the hang of, so I feel he will be very easy to train.
My real desire is that he grow up to be a polite, well-trained, and dependable family member. My son is 22, has temporarily moved back home (soon to be moving out) and is going to be getting married to a lovely girl who has a small son. I have been pounding into his head that this is a breed of dog that is going to take LOTS of work and socialization to acheive reliability and trust. Also, I have explained to him that no matter how much training Thor receives, he should NEVER be left alone with Dylan or any other child(ren). My son (and all my kids) has grown up with animals and understand alot about their behaviors and care, but as a parent (and animal lover), I want to ensure that he take heed to ALL the care and patients that Thor is going to require for their protection as well as Thor's.
 
Keep posting suggestions please. They are all much appreciated.

I have come to the perfect solution. You can just send Thor to me[] He is such a cutie, seriously though I would just keep up with the training and socialization. G'luck with the pup.
 

He really is a sweet "big" boy. I have become attached [] My son keeps telling me that Thor will be leaving when he moves out.
 

Try  telling your son that wherever Thor moves,  you will be  moving along with him. [sm=biggrin.gif]  Maybe that would be enough to make him agree to leave Thor with you.

Pretty much waht everyone else has said--socialize, socialize, socalize the hair off the little guy--AND obedience training. That way when he matures if he does end up having issues with other dogs you have a solid foundation to work with.

Thanks bunches everyone!

Hello, I see you are looking for information for your apbt I have a forum dedicated to Apbt's as i love this great breed, If you have any questions or need advice please register over at **Link Removed**thanks a bunch

Alphamale,
 Our members are more to promoting the positive LEGAL aspects of APBT ownership and promoting your forum/personal website is not allowed here

and my site is for legal apbt owners anything you see different is for people in different countries and if you took the time to read my site you would have learned that instead of stereotyping my site and saying that i dont deal with my dogs in legal ways. Thanks alot.

Just because something is legal doesn't make it moral.  Just because something is legal somewhere else doesn't make it ok.  And, IMHO, if your site doesn't discourage dog-fighting, you may as well be condoning it, and in my book that makes you and your site reprehensible, and responsible for your members getting inhumane and cruel advice and information.
If it bothers you so much that we don't approve of animal cruelty, then there are other message boards that would probably be a better fit for you.  But, please spare us from the excuses for a site that clearly glorifies dogmen and dogfighting.  I have no problem with information on the history of the pit bull breed, but in this day and age, one would think that's all it should be - history.

Well if that makes me wrong then so be it. if the law in that country allows dog fighting their is nothing i can do. And im not gonna worry about it until  their country outlaws it. I dont fight my dogs so thats all i have to worry about.