Responsible Pit Bull Ownership
This week, we had the pleasure of meeting Stephanie, the Director of Marketing of Our Pack at a Pit Bulls 101 class in San Diego.
Our Pack Pit Bull Rescue’s Mission is to, “promote compassion and kindness toward Pit Bulls by creating breed ambassadors through both in-shelter and foster-home training of dogs and their people.”
Although Our Pack is based out of the South San Francisco Bay Area, they are taking their Pit Bulls 101 class on the road to help new Pit Bull owners or those considering the breed learn Pit Bull basics.
One of the items Stephanie shared during this class was the profile of a responsible Pit Bull Owner. This includes:
– An owner that is committed to meeting the dog’s basic needs. This includes a lifetime of vet care, quality food, exercise and mental stimulation.
– Getting your Pit Bull spayed or neutered to avoid unwanted litters and reduce disease and risks. (Feel free to email us if you need low cost or low income spay and neutering at Agent@EinhornInsurance.com).
– Making sure your Pit Bull is socialized, trained and under control.
– Keeping your Pit Bull on a secure leash and collar with an ID while out in public.
– A responsible owner does not leave their Pit Bull in a yard unsupervised.
– Pit Bulls should be house pets and part of the family (not just a resident dog, outside dog or guard dog).
– Make sure your Pit Bull is well socialized with all different types of people and different age groups.
– Learn your Pit Bull’s body language and preferences.
– A responsible owner does not set their Pit Bull up to fail by placing them in an inappropriate situation with unrealistic expectations.
– Make sure you manage all Pit Bull interactions appropriately (dog to dog or dog to child).
– When you are not home or unable to keep an eye on your Pit Bull, make sure all dogs/pets are separated (put in a crate or in a different room).
– Acknowledge that signs of aggression should be recognized and may warrant a call to a trainer or behaviorist.
Another important item to being a responsible Pit Bull owner is to have the right insurance to cover your Pit Bull. Insurance claims are not just about dog bites. If your Pit Bull accidentally knocks someone over, scares someone, their tail whips a child in the face, accidentally plays too rough with another dog…etc, these are all items that can result in a claim.
We recently had a claim where a Pit Bull got out of a yard and saw a dog across the street being walked by its owner. The Pit Bull ran over to say “hi,” and the owner of the dog said his dog was a show dog and was traumatized by the interaction. Apparently, this dog was so “traumatized” it could no longer perform as a show dog or win any more prizes.
I’m telling you, we’ve seen a lot of Pit Bull claims and this one is just one of many.
For more information on insurance for Pit Bulls, call Einhorn Insurance at 858-336-4644, email us at Agent@EinhornInsurance.com or look at our dog liability insurance page at https://einhorninsurance.com/dangerous-dog-liability-insurance/. As proud Pit Bull parents, we understand the need to love and protect the breed.
Thank you Our Pack for providing such great info and for helping promote a positive image for the breed through education. For more questions about Pit Bulls 101, visit www.ourpack.org.
