[Aximus Prime]

My fiance picked up a male pug pup a few weeks ago. He has not met Axel yet (My 60+ lb male APBT). We will be moving in together in April after the wedding and I'd like to introduce the two dogs while the pug is still young.

How would you recommend I go about introducing them safely?

My APBT is 20 months old now and has never shown dog aggression, in fact he even gets along with a cat now! I don't think he'll attack the pug pup but if they get to playing around a 60 lb ball of muscle vs. a 6 lb puppy may end up with a trip to the vet! I plan to keep them both on leash till we see how they act together but still.

open to all suggestions.

- J

 

[Pitbull Palace]

My fiance picked up a male pug pup a few weeks ago. He has not met Axel yet (My 60+ lb male APBT). We will be moving in together in April after the wedding and I'd like to introduce the two dogs while the pug is still young.

How would you recommend I go about introducing them safely?

My APBT is 20 months old now and has never shown dog aggression, in fact he even gets along with a cat now! I don't think he'll attack the pug pup but if they get to playing around a 60 lb ball of muscle vs. a 6 lb puppy may end up with a trip to the vet! I plan to keep them both on leash till we see how they act together but still.

open to all suggestions.

- J

Only from my own experiance, and Im No DOG EXPERT...But When i put my AMSTAFF on a Leash he wants to get at the other dog MORE SO.. What I did when i just recently Brought 2 pups home, COuple wks ago, Was Put the Pup on the leash,lol..The Only time he gets DA is when the Pup Pulls on him biting and Crawling on him. He's Older though and doesnt want to be Bothered, as Long as i give him his Own space he's Ok..Your dogs Younger so he will probably play, Or Not Like the Idea at all, lol...I would put the pup on a Leash for some visits, Hold the Pup while your dog Smells Him and be right over the Older boy so you can react if needed, and keep the puppy held back as Not to Overwhelm your Dog....Im sure you will get alot of info from others on this thread !!!

 

[Lex's Guardian]

There are many different ways ppl approach this scenario. However I think you should talk to your vet about this one.

Just be aware pitbulls are not vicious but they are capable of dog aggression. There are some great books out there to help you with scenarios like this.

I like anything by Dr. Ian Dunbar. He may be hard to find on a shelf but is easily picked up on amazon (&cheaper) or you can go to your local bookstore & if they don't have it they can place it on order. Books I suggest are 'Before & After Getting a Puppy' & 'After You Get Your Puppy' & 'Dog Behavior'.

Those books will help you read key signs given out by the dog to let you know how they're interacting that may go missed by the untrained/inexperienced eye. If you have a friend knowledgeable about pitbulls & introductions have them help you. Make sure Leashes & crates are involved. It's also good to make first introductions on common meeting grounds in a safe & controllable environment vs. your home - because that's your dog's turf.. See how they react, then go from there. Take it slow, baby steps

Good luck & remember to take precaution in the introduction situation - not just w/Pit Bulls but any breed. Remember these are animals not ppl

 

[Aximus Prime]

Very good advice so far keep it coming!

Good point about not introducing them on the older dog's "turf", makes perfect sense. He is usually the most friendly of new dogs when he is in a new location such as at the beach or out in the meadow.

 

[Padlock]

you're pac leader, a good dog should follow suit with it's owners
body language and stress levels. you 'will' that dog to behave, as
if you're skittish and unsure, thats when the worst can happen.
be confidant, and hold the pup up at your chest and walk around the
house as if it were your own baby so to speak. let the older dog see
it's yours, and it will in effect want your approval and more than likely
accept it with open "paws". after you feel more comfortable, get down on
one knee and control the amount of space you want the older to have
by poking a ridged finger in his collarbone or ribs and give a corrective "EHT!"
(kinda like Cesar Milan would do)
and you'll know how much slack to give,.. basically what I'm getting at is don't
walk in the door and place the pup on the ground and hope for the best.
we are human,..we are smarter than any dog...atleast on paper. lol
also, those pugs eyeballs will literally roll out of it's noggin if they
play to rough...be careful...
why did your old lady get a pug anyway at this point without running it by
you first,...? not to get into your personal business but i foresee a power struggle
in your future. =]~

 

[MISSAPBT]

I go with my gut instict as the dogs owner you know what body launguage your dog is giving out to this pup. I had to keep Kyza way away from Stage for the first few week.

 

[Aximus Prime]

basically what I'm getting at is don't
walk in the door and place the pup on the ground and hope for the best.
we are human,..we are smarter than any dog...atleast on paper. lol
also, those pugs eyeballs will literally roll out of it's noggin if they
play to rough...be careful...
why did your old lady get a pug anyway at this point without running it by
you first,...? not to get into your personal business but i foresee a power struggle
in your future. =]~

:rofl: Good stuff! I have always maintained a good pack leadership over my APBT...he knows who is boss!

She got the pug with my approval, She wanted a dog...we decided against another bully breed because the negative attention from people we get with my APBT is enough. Both dogs will spend a lot of time in our house and the last thing we want is two powerful dogs horseplaying in the house breaking everything we own. On top of that we take the dogs with us any trip we take and it's much easier to travel with one larger dog and one smaller dog than 2 bruts! We felt that a smaller dog would be best but we didn't want a 5 lb toy breed...those things annoy the poop out of me! The Pug or the Jack Russel were the only options and she's always loved Pugs so....

 

[Padlock]

lol i see...makes perfect sense, just always keep a keen eye on them
and you may want to get a crate for the bulldog in times of doubt.
also never leave them alone together unsupervised, as well as food
and toy play can spark aggression, which in your case could be deadly.
routine, then more routine and you should live incident free.
just always keep in the back of your head to never let down your guard
and assume anything,...it happens that fast.

 

[Aximus Prime]

lol i see...makes perfect sense, just always keep a keen eye on them
and you may want to get a crate for the bulldog in times of doubt.
also never leave them alone together unsupervised, as well as food
and toy play can spark aggression, which in your case could be deadly.
routine, then more routine and you should live incident free.
just always keep in the back of your head to never let down your guard
and assume anything,...it happens that fast.

Very true. She knows someone who had a pug and a Pit-mix that got along reasonably well...one day the owners left them alone together and the pug was killed! This is why we want to take the necessary precautions. I can't imagine my APBT ever turning on another dog as he's never even been in a real fight and is submissive to new dogs but I know things can change in an instant...they are animals after all.

 

[Aximus Prime]

UPDATE: going on 3 months together now and the APBT and the PUG pup are both doing well together...they will play in the yard (pug following the APBT) around for hours.

They do wrestle around some (the Pug is now 15 lbs) and although he is at a huge disadvantage in size actually does ok. It's obvious that the APBT is purposeful playing "gentle" with the little guy. We never leave them out together unsupervised and so far so good. I believe the APBT actually accepts him as his own, they sometimes get tired and curl up on the mat together and will share the same large water bowl at the same time after a romp around the yard.

 

[Aximus Prime]

I wanted to come back and update this thread, now over a year later! The Pug (now 21 lbs) and the APBT (now 69 lbs) still are absolute best of buds!

The Pit thinks of the pug as his son and is VERY protective of the pug! During our last trip to the vet, our pug was getting its nails trimmed in the back room and started squealing and our pit about pulled me across the waiting area trying to get to the pug to make sure no one was hurting him!