i have a pit lab mix her name is Daisy i just got her like a week ago and she was abused and neglected... she is six months old and you can see every rib in her body i feed her the pedagree dog food and a lot of treats... but she is not gaining any weight does any1 have advice?

NAVYwife...

The food you are feeding is not a good food. She need a food with high protein and calorie. Put her back on puppy food, Eukanuba Small Breed Puppy food is good. It's got a higher protein/calorie then the Large Breed puppy so stick with the small breed. Also, watch how you switch. If you switch too fast she's going to get the runs. You need to take her to the vet and get her fully examined for parasites and worms if you have not already done so. She is going to need a really good vet exam. Glad you rescued her. Good luck

NAVYWIFE: I highly recommend feeding a better quality food. Pedigree is at the bottom of the barrel as far as quality (anything from the grocery store really) Those foods contain many ingredients that dogs are allergic to and can cause digestive issues as well. Stay away from any foods containing corn, wheat, soy and by-products. Some foods I recommend are:
DVP Natural Balance
Innova
Canidae
California Natural
Merrick
Wellness
Natures Variety


If you are on a big budget, here are some more affordable foods that are better quality:
Diamond (lamb, chicken or beef and rice formulas)
Nutro Naturals (not Nutro Max)
Costco's Kirkland Signature (made by Diamond)

There are many other quality foods out there... just make sure you purchase a food clear of the ingredients I mentioned at the top of this post, and your dog will be in much better shape.

You can also supplement your dog with a high calorie supplement... DYNE is one I recommend. Even adding some cottage cheese, plain yogurt and maybe some chicken and brown rice, will add a few extra calories. adding fish oil will also help.

NAVYwife I agree you should try to feed a better food.

I am a American Pit Bull Terrier Mommy. I love the breed. They are my heart!

I used to have neighbors who had a pit lab mix that was very sweet. The term we use on other forums for this mix is Pitradors

To the people who were purposely mixing APBTs with other breeds and then trying to sell them here ... shame on you for being a BYB. Please get your dogs fixed. There are enough mixes and purebreds alike in shelters thanks to irresponsible owners and breders.



***Edited By: PatchOPits on 7/14/2007 9:14:57 PM***
Reason: fixing

I have one, and they are REALLY SWEET dogs. I love him, his name is Jack. But some people are so terrified of him, but he is NOT, I repeat, NOT vissious! He is very nice. He is a light brown, kinda like a deer's color. I also have a 5 mounth old puppy named Bailey, who has the same personality as Jack. My friends mom and dad don't like him AT ALL. Well they also don't like pit bulls period. But they are a very good dog, like you said.

I have a pit/lab mix :) She's 4yrs old and when we got her, she was a HUGE puff! And still has the softest fur. She's VERY protective and does NOT like strangers. Or anybody that walks by 'her space, yard, street or car'. LOL

LeaLou4 The way you are describing your dog's temperamnet is not cute or funny as it isn't typical of labs or pits to act that way. I'd get her some training asap

wow im surprised so many have a mix breed like this. i to have a lab pit bull mix and he's not my first. after my first one died (of old age) age i had to get another one. i searched specifically for this combo of a dog. they keep many of the temperaments of a lab and the strength and looks off a pit bull both of mine have the musclure build of the bull dog but are a little bit taller and heavier. my new pup even retained it's mothers brindle coat.

FriedFish, actually you have no way of knowing which looks and temperment you will get with this mix. My daughter has a pit/lab mix. His build is more like the lab. He is very friendly with kids, other dogs, and even cats. My daughters husband has a twin brother, that has the brother to their dog. He is shorter and stockier and looks more like a pit. He is not friendly towards other animals at all. when their sister brought her purebred pitbull puppy over to visit, he attacked her and punctured her in several places. It cost them over 200 at the emergency vet and they said she was lucky that no major arteries were hit. I was surprised that a dog would attack a 10 week old puppy, especially as she was a female, and just sleeping by his owners feet when she was attacked.
point being. two totally different temperments and build , but both out of the same litter.

I wanted to just add many pups and dogs are NOT labeled properly and say mixed when in fact it is more likely they are purebred because shelters want to get them into homes. Others are mislabeled simply because you can't honestly say what a dog is unless you see both parents and know the heritage on the dogs

Sadly some would not adopt a dog that said pit on the kennel but add a mix tpo that like lab which is a very popular family dog and viola they have a home.

I'd love to see a thread with everyone posting their pit mixes to see what they all look like

For example one of my friends a few streets away brought home a dog she was told was a lab mix. and not even what mixed and she called me to come see her and let her know what I thought. LOL... well if there was any lab in her it surely was not apparent to me.

There are quite a few possible labX pits on other forums too

For breeders that are purposely mixing their is no need. Both breeds stand alone with wonderful qualities and abilities. I have nothing against a mixed breed dog, but have alot against irresponsible breeding practices

I have a pitbull/lab mix and he is the greatest dog I have ever owned. I got him when he was 2-3 months old when I got him and I have never had to raise my hand to him. He is very obedient and all it takes is a 1 time yelling and he knows that he did something wrong and he never does it again.
He is great with smaller animals as well, I also have a chinchilla and he used to bark at him until on day I took the chinchilla out and he sniffed a bit and from then on I could let the chinchilla out and they chase each other around. One day I had them both out and I left for about 20 minutes and because they were both out they kept each other company. If you get a dog a companion when they are young they don't seem to have seperation anxiety. It worked for me but I wouldn't suggest it for everyone. It all depends when the introduction takes place, the chinchilla cae before the dog so he is the boss and Maddix respects that.

Maddix, no mater how good of friends your big dog is with your chinchilla, I would say it's a bad idea to leave them alone, unattended. The fact is, your dog could easily hurt the chinchilla, without meaning to, because of the size discrepancy. Just my opinion.

I rescued a Black lab/pitbull/chow mix from norshore animal league. At first she was so shy. But once she became apart of the family she was just like every other hyper pup. And a little out of control with her biting b/c she was teathing. We had to go away and put her in a kennel and when we got back she was amazing. she acted like a grown dog. She was so well behaved. And hasnt bit anyone at all. And for those of you who say its b/c she's a pit your wrong its b/c she teaths and is a puppy but she is the best dog i have had so far. She is loving, very protective and loves to play with other dogs. The only resemblance she has to a pit is her muscular body and when her ears flop back her face. She is amazing and i highly recomend getting one.

P.s. Anyone who talks bad about pits is an idiot. they are loving dogs its just how they are raised.

Hi, I'm new here but have a question for you folks. We have a 1.5 yr old pit lab mix. Honestly, she may actually be all pit. We got her at the pound as a pup and she really REALLY looks like a pit and not much like a lab. Overall she's a really good girl, like a lot of others have mentioned though she is very protective, doesn't like strange men, etc..she also 'growls' at me whenever she wants something like a treat, to be fed early, etc.. but never barks at ME.
Ok, here is the reason for my post - We would like to get a new puppy so she's got a buddy to play with and wondered if anyone has any suggestions. A few other things to note; we already have another dog, a male 15 yr old beagle that our pit has been around since she was 8 weeks old and he's like her dad and he's also on his last leg :-(
We had some friends bring over their female puppy a few months ago though and Sadie was not happy at all..I guess my fear is that she'll attack the new puppy. Any advise??

WOW it is so weird how alot of people name their Pit Bull Lab mixes Shadow! I have a Pit Bull Lab mix and his name is Shadow! LOL

That is weird!
My friends dogs name is Shadow too!
Weird! Must be a breed thing!

Hello to everyone! I'm not usually the online chatter, but I googled 'pit/lab mix' so here I am.

This past spring we adopted a dog from the shelter--we just love him, first off. We were told he is a purebred lab, and I'm sure many of you will tell me that's most likely a lie. He looks very much like your average black lab but was at the pound because of his aggression with other dogs. A very responsible manager there made sure we knew the issues with Cole; my husband grew up with Labs while I really didn't have dogs, but felt comfortable since my husband knew how to be 'master' and responsibly train a dog. (turns out I guess I am a dog person, ha) My first question is, is there any way to determine if he is part pit? I suppose it doesn't matter; we know Cole's personality. It just occured to me after a while that he likely is; when I read about some of the characteristics. I suppose a lab could be raised aggressively and since we don't know his past, it's possible. We've just never seen a lab so aggressive with other dogs. Would a breeding expert be able to tell us from looking at his physical attributes? He is great with our cat and plays with him--he's also a wonderfully loyal family pet who is careful with our 3-year-old son. I don't know what he would do with another dog if allowed; he is just hyper alert and pulls at his gentle leader...would he really fight?

We easily avoid situations with other dogs, we have wooded land and are not close to dogs so Cole can be out here and he's very homebound and knows his boundaries. I can run him on a nearby trail off hours. But when we do encounter other dogs, is there a way to keep him calm I should be using? I try to keep him moving on by and use soothing words while keeping a firm handle on him and warning the other dog owner. It's rare, but sometimes it happens when I take him out with my son.

Just looking for some help as I would like to know and learn more about Cole. He was labeled 2 1/2 when we got him and I realize that early socialization with other dogs isn't possible now, and I'm not sure it's necessary. We're fine with just him as long as we have him. It would be nice, though, because sometimes we have to leave him penned when we shouldn't have to if he got along with other dogs! Also, he has separation anxiety and we crate or keep him in an outdoor larger pen when it's nice; as he ages, might we be able to just keep him in the house uncrated?

Thanks to anyone who reads and responds! Sorry about it being so long!

Momma,

Hello and welcome to the forums

Any breed of dog can have dog aggression. This issue does not make him a different breed. Labs are very popular family pets and unfortunately as a breeds popularity grows so do the breedings by BYBs which are breeders only looking to make a fast buck who don't care what issues a dog has that they are breeding and sadly many pups end up with behavior and genetic issues because of it

No you can never just look at a dog and know with 100% certainty what breed they are. But often you can see traits that may look like a specific breed. There are many dog breeds that reassemble American Pit Bull terriers so that makes it even harder. But if you post or Pm me picts I'll gladly take a peek

What kind of training have you done to try and address the aggression issues


Also properly bred APBTs are not in any way shape or form people aggressive and usually make very poor guard dogs due to their love for all.

lab pit mixes are the best. they are full of energy and very loyal - temperment is important as well - you just need to know what you are getting going into it...

Hi everyone, I'm new on here. I found this forum topic by a search engine because I was thinking maybe that my 8 mo puppy is a APBT/Lab mix and was looking for pictures. Here is some of his pictures:
http://www.dogster.com/dogs/672059
Can yall look and let me know what you think? He's 8 mos old and 45 lbs. Thanks!