Expert: Lee Meyer - 7/25/2007

Question
we got a little puppy at a shelter called project rex and at the time we just new he was a lab mix but after 2 or three 3 weeks we notices he looked a lot like a pit bull. My dad says we have to give him another home because he is going to hurt our cats but he seems to like them. Please can you tell me more about lab/pit bull mixes I need to convince my dad he is not a killer. P.S. we have taken him to the dog park about 6 times and he seems great with other dogs.

thank you sad bubbles

Answer
Hi,

I am not an expert on dog breeds.  What I do know is that labs themselves are generally very friendly dogs and I would think that a lab/anything mix would seem to get some of that friendliness characteristic of the lab breed.  How much of that is in this particular dog is anyone's guess.  

Given your observance of him around other dogs and your dad's cats, it seems that he may have a pretty good temperament overall.  You probably will not find a lot to convince someone who's already pretty much written off all pit bulls or mixes as bad news.  What you can do, however, is this: based on what the behavior you are seeing from this dog, he seems like he has a good temper and the lab mix is a benefit too.  I would strongly recommend taking him through obedience training, beginning and advanced, to ensure that he responds to commands and is much more controllable (and enjoyable) for everyone.  It shows you are responsible and taking your dad's concerns seriously.  I would probably want such a dog obedience trained and that would listen to commands very well if he was a pit bull mix.  Especially with other smaller animals in the house.  

Taking him through several levels of obedience training may also help you if one day an incident does occur, whether with another dog or whatever, you will have a dog that has gone through training and that you were a responsible owner to make sure you could control your dog.  I think this is an important thing to consider with ANY dog.

AS he is young it is an excellent time to get him trained to listen to commands at an early age, so that it will be 'like he's always lived that way' and doesn't know anything different. It also establishes YOU and the other people in the house as the alpha dogs (above him in the pack hierarchy) so that he will listen to all of you or face discipline.

Check the shelter you adopted him from to see if they offer obedience training.  Many shelters do and it isn't that expensive.  They can assess your dogs temperament too.

Lee