Poor Elijah was shot twice by his owner in rural Nebraska, once between his shoulder blades and once in his upper hindleg. While it does not matter where he was shot, the tragedy is that he was shot in the first place. It is assumed that Elijah ran into the woods where his owner either chose to not follow him and finish his murder, or he let him run off in pain to let him die a miserable death.

The worst part is, the shooter will not be charged with animal cruelty or any type of criminal charges, because it is not illegal to shoot a dog in a rural area. Not only was this an unjustifiable act, it was down right horrible. We know it was unjustifiable, because the Pit Bull Elijah even after being shot, was good with humans.

Little did the shooter know is that Elijah would live to find hope. Noah’s Hope Rescue that is in Sioux City, Iowa. When they found him he was in “poor shape”. He had maggots hanging out of his skin with seriously bad infections. He has made it out of the darkness and will be adopted as soon as he has a clean bill of health. Despite all of poor Elijah’s pain, he’s “a licker”, as they call him at Noah’s Hope Rescue. He’s been deemed to be great with humans. Every time the rescuers enter the room, they are licked as if they had been Elijah’s owners for years.

Yet another example of the Pit Bull being a victim and the owner being the criminal who needed to be put behind bars. This guy didn’t just do this once. He’s shot other animals, you know this because he let Elijah go, and Elijah was shot twice. It’s possible the man did what he did just to cause Elijah pain. There is however no proof of that, so we cannot speculate that, but the evidence does lean towards it.

Source

General Pit Bull Features:

• Energetic
• Strong and Athletic
• Bonds deeply with their family
• Very intelligent and self-confident
• Loves People
• Very loyal to family
• Often perceived as tough (pro and a con)

These are Pros if:

These are Cons if:

You are already overwhelmed with work or are in general a lethargic person. You will see your dog as more of a bother than a playmate or friend. You decide your aggression can force their loyalty. They will probably still be loyal, but there will be no relationship. You plan on having a guard dog. Usually Pit Bulls will greet strangers with happiness. You must prove yourself loyal. Inviting a Pit Bull into your life and exiling them just as easy, would break their heart.

Never take for granted the great joy a Pit Bull can bring into your life. But you have to enjoy the same things your Pit Bull does. You cannot force a man to like a woman who looks great, but has the personality of a lump on a log.

Read More about Buying a Pit Bull Here!

Read more on the Pros and Cons of a Pit Bull Personality

Time

You may never think about the day after tomorrow, but in owning a dog of any breed you need to. If you plan on having a baby, or if you have your hands full already with children, understand that you need to spend a good deal of time raising a Pit Bull, because untrained they will become unreliable. They may chew things, urinate on your favorite carpet, or worse your bed and these incidents will make you regret getting a Pit Bull leading to the inevitable ridding of your them. Their bad habits come from your training, which takes time.

Money

The average estimated cost of owning a puppy in their first year is $1500 according to The American Humane Society. This is not a price to be taken lightly and can fluctuate depending on unexpected vet bills. If you’re living paycheck to paycheck, it may not be the perfect time to pick up another bill.

Facilities

Whether you and your Pit Bull, or a full family live in your house, the facilities will need to change according. Especially for feeding time, their bowls should be separated from playing, screaming children. Precaution for any dog is always responsible.

Energy

Your Pit Bull will seem to have unlimited reserves of energy. No matter how much you tire them out, they will be ready to play again in a few short minutes. Your Pit Bull will find ways to explore his hyper activity, if you do not take care of them. You may not like the result, which can lead to chewing family heirlooms or climbing all over your new leather couch.

If these responsibilities just seem too much to take on, you should reconsider any dog let alone a Pit Bull. Unless they are self reliant, like having a dog door to use the bathroom in a fenced in yard. That is considered a huge perk for many family situations.

Dry Dog Foods
This contains about 10% moisture and is the most popular among types of dog foods. It is economically choice, and the healthiest (depending on brand) for your Pit Bull. However it is the least tasteful.

How to Introduce New Food to your Pit Bull

Being responsible.

Buying Fresh Food!

When visiting a super market or PetSmart or Petco, etc., never buy bags that have defects. These can consist of holes, cobwebs, grease spots. Any of these will give you a quick insight as to how fresh the bag of food is. Dry food can lose nutrients as it sits, and the fats inside can begin to stink, effecting your Pit Bulls breath in the process. You could possibly jeopardize their health as well.

Never forget if you buy a 50 lb bag of new dog food and your Pit Bull has never tasted it before. They may like it at first but the taste may grow stale to them. They may refuse to eat after so much of the bag.

TIP: If you never show your Pit Bull how good human food is, you will never have problems feeding your Pit Bull.

Foods to Avoid!

• Chicken, pork, lamb or fish bones. If swallowed whole the sharp ends of the bones can puncture a stomach or intestinal wall.
• Any bone can be swallowed whole, can cause choking or intestinal blockage.
• No cooked bones. They are more likely to split and break, which means more bad puncturing in the stomach.
• Mineral supplements can be detrimental in many ways, ask a veterinarian before you attempt any home remedies.
• Chocolate (of course), it contains theobromine, which is poisonous to dogs. If you didn’t know why before it’s the theobromine, tell your friends and family.
• Onions, which can cause red blood cells to break down. This can cause serious illness in dogs that eat them.
• Alcohol

The components that vary most from one brand to another (besides preservatives) are protein and fat. Protein provides the necessary building blocks for the growth and maintenance of bones, muscle, coat/hair, and the production of antibodies, which fight infections. The quality is more important then the quantity. Meat-derived protein digests better then plant-derived protein. Most adult Pit Bulls do fine on protein levels of about 20% in dry food.

Fat is calorie-rich and most dogs prefer the taste of higher fat contents. Fat is necessary in aiding transport of important vitamins and providing energy. Pit Bulls who do not consume enough fat often have dry coats. More protein will only be necessary if your Pit Bull is under a lot of physical stress. If they do more then run around with the kids, such as weight pulling or any other sport, they may need more protein to keep the muscles going strong.

If your Pit Bull is obese or skinny, read more here to help diagnose the problem and choose a better diet or food choice for them.

Now choosing the food for your Pit Bull’s lifestyle!

You can find a food for just about any health problems or lifestyle your Pit Bull may have.

1. Puppies and pregnant and nursing mothers especially need higher protein and somewhat higher fat levels in their diets, such as the levels found in puppy foods.
2. Stressed, highly active, or underweight dogs should be fed food with a high protein level.
3. Obese dogs or dogs with heart problems should be fed a low fat food. This may mean they have a less shiny and full coat, but the health is more important here.
4. Older dogs, especially those with kidney problems should be fed moderate levels of food with very high-quality protein. High protein diets do not cause kidney failure in old dogs; but a high protein diet will do a lot of harm to a dog who’s already suffering from kidney stress. So decrease the overall level of protein, but increase the quality.

Avoiding Bloat!

• Feed several small meals instead of one large meal.
• Include some canned food or table scraps
• Make sure your Pit Bull chews their food some, no gulping.
• Help to create a more calming mood when your Pit Bull eats.
• Restrict water for an hour after eating.
• Discourage your dog from running or jumping for an hour after eating.
• Pre-moisten food, especially foods that expand when moistened. This means once dry food goes into the stomach and hits the water, it will expand with the stomach fluids.

What to do if your Pit Bull has Bloat!

YOU HAVE HOURS BEFORE DEATH! If you do not get your dog to a veterinarian within hours of the start, there is nothing you can do. Your Pit Bull will be dead, do not think there will be any other outcome. If you think your dog has bloat, get them to a 24hr Vet pronto. In early stages you can give your dog a Gas-X, but if they are a few hours into the pain and swelling, it is too late for the Gas-X. Once the stomach has reached full torsion, there is nothing that can be done unless you are in the vets office at that time. Even then the outcome is likely fatal. Hopefully you are not reading this article in emergency.

QUICK REFERENCE (Phases of Bloat)

Phase 1

• Stomach Starts to Dilate (gastric dilation)
• Then Stomach will Twist at the end of Phase 1
• Dry heaving maybe some white foam
• Restlessness, Anxious, Pacing

So how do we introduce new foods to your Pit Bull?

Gradual Transition

The gradual transition is the easiest way to introduce new foods. Basically all you do is add more and more of the new food to the old food for about a week. This means don’t wait until you are out of old food to get new food, so you have some for the transitioning process. An example regimen would go like this:

• Day 1- 95% old food, 5% new food
• Day 2- 80% old food, 20% new food
• Day 3- 65% old food, 35% new food
• Day 4- 50% old food, 50% new food
• Day 5- 30% old food, 70% new food
• Day 6- 15% old food, 85% new food
• Day 7- 0% old food, 100% new food

At a proper weight your Pit Bull should have a slightly hourglass figure, viewed form above and the side. The stomach should be slightly tucked-up and there should be no roll of fat over the legs or arm area. The ribs should be easily felt through the skin, but now showing, unless they are exerting much effort outside in which the skin needs to stretch or they are breathing heavily. The spine should never show lumps, then your Pit Bull is too skinny or needs to be seen by a veterinarian.

Choosing basic Foods for your Pit Bull!

Overweight

Obesity leads to nothing but trouble. It can lead to joint injuries and heart problems, as well as make pre-exisistng problems worse. In this case you should feed them a high fiber, low fat and medium protein diet dog food. Commercially available diet foods supply about 15% less calories per pound, and are preferable to starving your Pit Bull. If you feel you need to share food with your Pit Bull trade the snack for a rice cake or carrot. They will still enjoy it.

If your Pit Bull remains overweight, consult a veterinarian’s opinion. Heart disease, some endocrine disorders, such as Cushing’s disease, or the early stages of diabetes can cause the appearance of obesity. If your Pit Bull’s stomach is enlarged, without fat around the shoulders or butt, should be examined immediately by a veterinarian.

Underweight

A underweight Pit Bull is more rare then an overweight Pit Bull. In some cases they may be losing weight rapidly out of illness or are picky eaters. Whatever the case this is unhealthy and needs to be fixed.

Picky eaters are created when owners tend to give table scraps or spice up the dog food with treats and human food. There is nothing wrong with this if you intend to do it forever, and wish to deal with rancid breath as well. Nonetheless this is how picky eaters are born and will not eat regular food for any reason. The exception to feeding your dog human food is if your Pit Bull is sick and needs to be motivated to eat.

If they are underweight just out of their lifestyle, they may need to be fed puppy food. There are more proteins and usually more fats. If they will eat the food, this can be a good alternative. If none of this works, you should see a veterinarian ASAP, to assure the health of your Pit Bull is not compromised.

If you’re going to Introduce New Foods Read More Here!

Symptoms

• Increased water consumption and urination
• Hair Loss
• Excessive Panting
• Thinning of the skin
• Increase in appetite
• Abdominal enlargement
• Weakening of the muscles
• Calcinosis Cutis (calcified skin lumps)