Questions about Pitbull/Lurcher cross.

Astaneh

Hi guys,

I'm currently fostering a pitbull/lurcher x puppy. He's about 10 weeks old give or take. Now the thing is I'm hoping somebody will adopt him soon - but I'd like to give him a home until he finds somebody to adopt him if possible, so if that means keeping him for a couple months then I'll try to make that happen. I have a couple of questions though if anybody is able to answer them:

-> I saw that it says pitbull crosses cannot legally be walked off-lead. Now, I live in an estate where there's a lot of green and most dogs here are walked off-lead, including my 5-year old springer/collie x. What is the situation regarding walking pitbull/lurcher crosses off-lead while they are still only puppies? I'm a bit confused because I am told it's necessary for lurchers to be allowed to run around off-lead, but on the other hand pitbull crosses aren't allowed to do so...

-> How much of a threat is he potentially to my own (very gentle submissive female) dog? Right now she's much stronger than him of course, but I worry about the constant reports about how dog-aggressive pitbulls can be. I really want to be certain to never put my older dog at risk. Is there a certain age until he could get aggressive? I mean, is it safe to say that up until they're perhaps 9-12 months they're not going to exhibit much aggression? Currently, they're best of friends.

By the way, if anybody is looking to adopt this kind of dog and is based in/near Cork feel free to get in touch with either me, or with <snip> for more info on him. I can say he's a very affectionate / intelligent dog and I'll be sad to see him go. But I just don't have the resources to take on a second dog at the moment.

Mod note: named rescue removed, as per forum charter.

kylith

Aww, I'd love a bull lurcher but I'm not set up for a puppy

There are plenty of full and half pits walked off lead near me and no-one minds. Any chance you could just say he's a lurcher if asked?

Keep socialising him and he'll be grand with other dogs. They don't get to a certain age then 'turn' aggressive, it's a mix of bad upbringing and lack of socialisation and any dog can suffer from it.

PHOTOS!!!

VonVix

Where I work we have a bull lurcher who attends daycare regularly and he is an awesome, friendly dog. Don't get too caught up in the whole "pitbull" side of things, there is an awful lot of misinformation as well as incorrect breed descriptions when it comes to a lot of these articles where a dog has allegedly bitten someone. Most of these articles are NOT written by dog-savvy people, but most are done by average Joe soaps when it comes to dog knowledge.

I think learning good social skills with other dogs and people is priority right now for such a young puppy, regardless of breed. Do what you can to get him interacting with other friendly dogs, or even better other puppies. And I'd say this to anyone with a new puppy, whether it's your classic family pet Golden Retriever to any sort of breed with a stigma/restriction attached to them.

aonb

We have a huge number of pitbulls and staffies in our shelter. They have such a bad rep - undeservedly so in most cases IMO. They tend to be very loving, relaxed dogs - total softies in my experience. When they are handled, bred and reared to be agressive - like any dog - there is an issue, but as I say, Ive come across more wimp/easy/friendly/gentle/loving pitbulls and staffs than aggressive ones. Your job now is to make sure that your puppy is well socialized, well handled, shown only gentleness and love, and his personality will be just what you would want in a dog!

While he is a puppy I dont think you should worry about him being half a restricted breed. Does he look more pitbull than lurcher or vice-versa?

The lurcher cross will be very interesting :cool: yes to photos too please!

Astaneh

Sorry guys, I cannot post a picture of the dog because the system doesn't let me. Something about being a new user (even though this account has been registered for a year, so I don't understand.)

If a mod will allow me to post a picture, I'll go ahead and do it. He's pretty damn cute I promise!

VonVix

Astaneh wrote: »

Sorry guys, I cannot post a picture of the dog because the system doesn't let me. Something about being a new user (even though this account has been registered for a year, so I don't understand.)

If a mod will allow me to post a picture, I'll go ahead and do it. He's pretty damn cute I promise!

Probably more to do with how few posts you have, rather than account age. Keep talking about your little puppy and I'm sure that can be resolved quick enough for you to be able to post photos.

Astaneh

Haha, that's likely true alright. But I'd be worried if I start making a whole bunch of posts in quick succession I'll get banned for spamming or something to that effect!