How to Care for an American Pit Bull Terrier

Video Transcript

"Hi, I'm Nancy Frensley with the Berkely East Bay Humane Society, I'm the training manger. And this is my friend Lolly who is my dog, she's an Australian Shepard, and she's going to help me today to talk about the American Pit Bull Terrier. She has a lot of friends who are American Pit Bull Terriers, and they have become one of the most popular breeds, simply by default, that we have in this country today. And part of that is that they have a very sad heritage having come from the fighting bids and been bred and bred and bred and bred until they're so many of them, that if you go into a municipal shelter in a city you'll see mostly American Pit Bull Terriers. They make really great pets with a couple of cautions. You couldn't ask for a dog that would be better with people, that would be better with you, with your family, but they have to be socialized from a very early age, and from a very early age socialized with other dogs. Your American Pit Bull Terrier might not, because of their heritage, be able to read the signals of other dogs or know when to stop, and that's when they're playing with other dogs, when they are inclined to get into trouble. So your American Pit Bull Terrier will need all the standard things that you need to take care of a dog, veterinary care, they need good coat care, they need a good diet, the need enough exercise to really wear them out a bit, and they need good mental exercise to keep them inside themselves so to speak, because they get excited really fast and could go out of control really fast. But if you start from the very beginning with your American Pit Bull Terrier, putting boundaries on them, letting them know how far they can go, stopping them when you're ready to stop them, and always rewarding them for the good things that they do, you're going to have a great life with your American Pit Bull Terrier."