BASIC CARE

FOR YOURPIT-BULL

Types of Food and Food dishes

- Pit-bulls should have stainless steel flat bottom water and food dishes as many plastic dishes

present possible allergies to the skin.

- Pit-bulls need a high grade of dog food. The first ingredient should be meat, with crude pro-tein no less than 30% and crude fat no less than

20%, with fiber content 4% or less.

- It is also good to by dog food that contains no corn or soy product used. Many top well-known brands such as Pedigree and Purina use corn and soy for fillers, as these can promote skill allergies which cause increased itching in pit-bulls and skin breakouts. It is good to use a top quality dog food, such as Diamond, that says right on the package “contains no corn or

soy products.”

Muzzles, Collars, Leashes, and Tags.

- Muzzles can be a good product to buy just to insure safety of others due to reputation of the pit-bull breed, but most of the time collars are

the best fit for pit-bulls.

- The best collars consist of choker type collars, as these are best when controlling or training you dog by allowing them to not pull or drag you with the lease. Chokers should have no more than 6 inches in excess length in com-parison to neck length, so there is only a little room to spare, but not so much that the collar

slips over the dogs head.

- Making sure you have a sturdy leash that is strong is very important as pit-bulls are strong dogs. Leather is best, but a good thick leash of other material is good as well. Retractable leads are not recommended due to their ability

to break and wear easily over time.

- It is important to make sure your collar and leash fit well, and have a proper place to dis-play and attach all vaccination tags. Making sure your pit-bull is properly vaccinated, and displaying the right and current tags is very important due to the bad reputation of the pit-

bull breed.

Bathing aids, Clippers, and Brushes

- With pit-bulls being medium shedders most pit-bulls can be bathed as needed or when their owner sees fit. If you keep your pit-bull brushed regularly it will reduce the need for bathing. Buying a soft bristle brush or rubber brush and brushing in the opposite direction of the hair and then brushing with the grain of the hair will

help with shedding issues.

- When bathing, proper soaps should be used that do not promote irritation. A good flea shampoo, besides the over the counter flea shampoos, is basic blue Dawn dish soap. Fleas don’t like some of the additives within dawn dish soap making it a safe and effective flea repellent and killer shampoo. Using Dawn dish soap with a basic anti-shedding shampoo makes a good

combination and is less irritating to the skin.

- Pit-bulls need their toenails clipped on a reg-ular basis, about every two weeks. Good nail clippers are good to have so nails can be kept short. Buying guillotine or scissor type clippers that are sharp will be less painful for your dog. Purchasing your own clippers and learning properly how to cut your dog’s nails will save you costly visits to the vet for routine nail care.

Types of Toys, Bones, and Treats

- Making sure your pit-bull has the proper toys is necessary to reduce chewing and bad behav-iors. An occupied dog is a happy dog and is less

destructive.

- Pit-bulls like toys to play tug of war, so a good rope bone or tug toys are a necessity. Balls are good as long as they are hard and larger than their mouth, as pit-bulls are hard on toys and tend to destroy toys that are not well made cre-ating a choking hazard. Making sure toys are safe is extremely important for your pit-bull’s

well-being.

- Bones are good as long as they are not rawhide as rawhide promotes choking risks to pit-bulls. A good choo-hooves or large bones with dried meat on them make good treats as well as basic dog treats. Again, it is good to stay away from dog treats with corn, soy, or red dyes (red in col-or) as they can promote allergic reactions to the

skin and cause breakouts similar to humans.

Socialization and Pit-bulls

- Socialization is just as important as having the proper tools and home to care for you pit-bull. Pit-bulls should not just be kept in wired crates or enclosures as this creates lack of so-cialization and is a recipe for disaster. With proper socialization by walking your dog around other people and animals in public ar-eas, this can be a good socialization method to prevent unpredictable behaviors and help your

pit-bull develop an even temperament.