My family (3 kids - 8, 6, and 4) just adopted this puppy from a rescue that stated her mother was a Border Collie and her father was a Lab. Many, many people have asked if she is a Pit Bull. We are new dog owners and were hoping for an easy to train, gentle dog that would love, but not hurt our kids. We know that Pit Bulls can be sweet and easy going and lovable so long as you are great trainers, but we are dog owning newbies, so we are worried that we are not the right family for a dog that needs really, really good trainers.
By Debbi
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I agree with the previous answer - your gorgeous pup looks like a Lab-Border Collie. That head tilt, those stunning blue eyes, the quintessential BC 'snout blaze' plus the chocolatey Lab coat colour are dead give-aways.
Ask your vet to be sure, a DNA test will tell you absolutely but is pricey - last I heard in the US a canine DNA test can run $300USD.
I raised Boxers in the US 40+years before relocating to the UK. The uninformed (read silly hysterical types looking for an excuse to moan) frequently insisted my Boxers were 'pit bulls' - no matter what your dog looks like there will always be some uninformed person trying to be a know-it-all. Don't let people upset you but rather go with your vet's advise.
For everyone's sake, if the dog makes you nervous please rehome it with a family able to take on a Border Collie-Lab mix - the growling you're hearing now whilst at play is part of the BC trait behaviour. As the dog grows expect herding behaviours too, should you choose to keep the dog. After consulting your vet to be sure of the breed mix, get some books or go online to those breeds sites to learn what to expect from your puppy as it matures - including how long the breeds take to full maturity. Boxers and many of the large breed dogs (erm, like Labs:) aren't fully mature until around three years old!
If you love the dog and are fair, patient, and conscientious, there is no need to be the next Barbara Woodhouse (Walkies! Lol:), your local recreation and leisure centre more than likely offers low cost puppy training classes.
You can also learn from breed-specific library books, YouTube videos, and first and foremost - a good canine vet.
I'd like to ask, if you think these puppies may be boxsets. We know for a fact that the mom is a basset hound, no one has seen a stray male dog around but the little guy we got looks a lot like a boxer. Our vet refused to acknowledge the mother was a basset hound :( he said "there is no way this is a puppy from a basset hound mother." Malarkey!!!
Look up photos of Black Lip Cur's. It is an acknowledged breed made up of a mix of breeds. My dog had that same snout when he was a pup and I heard pit bull a lot too. It stretched out as he aged (13 years). I never hear it now. He too was a rescue. Best dog ever and very trainable. Good luck to you!
We have a "maybe pit bull" too. (We were told she was a "boxer mix" when we got her, but she is very VERY much like a pit bull!) We have solved the problem of "We don't want people to freak out about her being a pit bull" by being selective about our answers to the question, "What kind of dog is that?" True to a pit bull's nature, she is very sweet and loves her people (and all other people, as a matter of fact!), so when she is being her regular sweet self, we say she is a pit bull. We figure it's our "duty" to help folks get educated on the greatness of the breed. However, if she is being excessively jumpy, or otherwise not being well-behaved, we answer the question with, "We aren't sure, but we think she is a boxer mix." Works like a charm! :)
Despite their bad reputation, pit bull pups are not aggressive unless provoked (like many dogs). When I say provoked, I mean someone is trying to hurt his or her family. They are not vocal dogs. However, labs and border collies can be very vocal.
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