re: Godson just got a Staffordshire Terrier puppy

hmmm...

that's a frickin daily decision made by parents in everything their kid does...

seems easy to rule out the ridiculous ones...

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Neither his dad or I have owned a dog before, however we want it to be his dog as much as possible. He is 4, what kind of things can we get him to do to feel responsibility for the animal? TIA

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I'm guessing you've never seen a good dogfight before.

I had a scottie and westie for 15 years. Something would trigger them to fight about once a year. They would grab each others neck and shake like hell, literally trying to kill each other. Both would usually come out bloody, the white one looking much worse.

The first few times I got bit trying to separate them. Frick that. I learned to just let them fight it out.

We never let them have toys or bones, in an effort to eliminate their annual fights. But they're just dogs, and don't always understand a logical conversation. (kinda like humans)

Once you've witnessed this, you realize that a small child has somewhere between very little, and no defense against a big dog.

No one on this board expects you to change your mind about this ownership. You seem set on taking the risk.

Parenting isn't always fun. Telling kids "no" is not a cool thing to the kid. I'm not sure what the role of God parent is. I thought it was something like helping to protect the kid. Wrong?

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Chance any dog will bite in their life? 80%?
Chance said dog will do major harm to an adult if he bites them? 10% dachound? 80% big dog?
Chance said dog will do major harm to a 4 year old? 20% or 90%?
Chance dog happens to bite the 4 year old, because neither understand each other very well? 60%?

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Link? Surely you didn't just make that up on the spot.

I made up every one of them. And put question marks behind them.

I also wrote to make up your own odds.

You think my numbers are close?

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Staffys are not Pits. At all.

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He got the dog for free, from 'some guy'. It's a pit.

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Yes they are. "Pit Bull" is a term used to describe multiple types of dog, mostly American Pit Bull Terrier, American Staffordshire Terrier and Staffordshire Bull Terrier

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Incorrect. A Pit Bull is a Pit Bull. Classifying a Staffordshire Terrier as a Pit Bull is like classifying a Labrador Retriever as a Flat Coated Retriever. That's retarded. They share similarities, but they are not the same dog.

This is the most frustrating part about dealing with people who do not understand the origins of the breeds. In fact, in the groundswell against violent dogs, many breeds have been mistaken as Pits, including Labradors, which is absurd. Generalizing violent dogs as Pits is ignorant and causes other breeds to suffer.

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I came on here to get tips on raising the dog right since I've never had one so it doesn't do everyone just said

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You have never owned a dog before, yet the FIRST one you buy is a PITBULL??

For a 4 year old?

Of course the guy you bought it from said it will be fine. He was trying tomsell it to you. Telling the truth would not have gotten him paid.

Damn, you are dumb.

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And maybe the OP is misleading, what kind of things can we allow the 4 year old to do to feel responsiblility and learn some things by being a dog owner

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Nothing!!!

Its a 4 year old. The most brilliant 4 year olds have the attention span of a fruit fly. The concept of ownership and responsibility is boyend what their brains can understand at that age.

And by the time he's old enough to underatand, the dog will likely have seriously injured him and he'll never want another dog again.

Congrats on being a terrible person.

Often I drive a big truck, so it's easy to see inside passenger cars.

The other day I noticed a guy about 25 years old driving a big, ragged out white crown vic. Sitting on the back seat was a kid, looked to be about 1 to 1.5 years old. No car seat, no seat belt, just sitting on the edge of the back seat.

1970, this was the norm.

Now it just seems stupid.

Gotta have the sense to pass a license test to drive a car, but not to have a baby.