Looking to get a White Pitbull, and would love to find out as much as you can about these wonderful canines? This definitive guide contains all you need to know. Now, what exactly are White Pitbulls?
A White Pitbull is a variation of the American Pitbull Terrier characterized by its completely white coat. And while White Pitbulls are popular for their rare appearance, they are also renowned for their sturdy build, and playful disposition.
In today’s article, we’ll be going over all you’ll need to know about raising White Pitbulls, from their feeding requirements, down to their social needs, and how to handle potential health issues – basically all you’ll need to take good care of your furry friend.
However, before we proceed, let’s take a look at how you can differentiate a White Pitbull from other dog breeds, and the reason for its rather unique appearance.
What Does A White Pitbull Look Like?
Appearance
The most distinctive feature of a White Pitbull is its striking, smooth-textured white coat, which sometimes, can feature patches of solid colors like brown and black.
And apart from its coat color, you can tell what a White Pitty looks like by noticeable traits such as high-set ears, brown, black, or hazel-colored eyes, and thick, medium-length tails. It is not uncommon to come across White Pitbulls with blue eyes, but these are considered breed defects.
Size
White Pitties have an intimidating, muscular build, and have been known to reach up to 75 lbs in weight! Also, a fully grown white Pitbull stands anywhere between 17 to 21 feet tall, with a shoulder that is between 18 to 24 inches wide.
Are White Pitbulls Albino?
If you’re not in the know, it is quite easy to mistake the White Pitbull for an albino dog due to its predominantly white coat. But make no mistake about it.
The Pitty’s rich white fur is considered a standard coat color, rather than albinism.
And while a White Pitbull, like other dog breeds, is susceptible to albinism, it will be quite difficult to tell if your pooch is albino, simply because its coat is naturally white!
To tell if a White Pitbull is albino or not, examine its nose; Pink or pale-colored noses typically indicate albinism.
How Rare Are White Pitbulls?
Due to their unique genetic make-up, and limited availability on the market, you will rarely encounter a pure White Pitbull. What you’ll occasionally come across, instead, are Moo-Moo Pitbulls with black, brown, or tan patches on their white coats.
How Long Do White Pitbulls Live?
A White Pitbull will, on average, live up to anywhere between 12 to 16 years.
White Pitbulls are generally healthy dogs, and throughout their lifespan, you can expect not to treat your canine buddy for any unique diseases.
However, due to either poor feeding, bad hygiene, or negligence, your pooch might suffer from any one of the diseases typical with other Pitbulls such as:
Hypothyroidism
Hypothyroidism in White Pitbulls refers to a condition in which the doggie doesn’t produce enough thyroxine hormones required to convert food into energy.
This condition usually results in hair loss, unhealthy weight gain, and general sluggishness. In extreme cases, your dear Fido might even suffer seizures and heart problems.
On the bright side, this condition is fairly easy and inexpensive to treat.
Hip Dysplasia
White Pitbulls are typically heavy dogs, and if you don’t watch your canine’s weight, chances are that its skeletal joints do not form properly. This will, in turn, result in painful movement and irregular muscle distribution.
Deafness In White Pitbulls
Studies have shown that, due to their unique all-white coat fur, White Pitbulls are more liable to suffer from congenital deafness, compared to their colored counterparts.
There is no known treatment for congenital deafness in dogs, therefore you have to give a pooch suffering from this condition the required time, attention, and training to keep it healthy and happy.
Skin-Related Issues
Thanks to their unique pigmentation, White Pitties are susceptible to skin problems such as sunburn if left outside without shade. Hence, ensure you try as much as possible to keep your doggie away from direct sunlight.
Other Health Issues
Other health conditions common among White Pitbulls include cataracts, retinal dysplasia, and environmental allergies. Thankfully, none of these conditions are incurable, and with the right treatment, your furry friend will be up and running in no time.
How To Take Care Of White Pitbulls?
What Do White Pitbulls Eat?
Due to their strong, muscular build, White Pitbulls require high-protein and low-grain dog food to maintain their body mass. Like every other Pooch out there, Pitties love meat, and if you want to give your canine buddy a treat, you should feed it the PetPlate Barkin’ Beef.
The ideal dog food for White Pittes should contain a minimal amount of fillers, with little to no grain. And this well-formulated Pet Plate meal takes this and more into consideration, thereby providing your dear Fido with the essential nutrients for strong, healthy growth.
If you would rather feed your pooch homemade food, consult a vet to draw up a diet plan, and ensure the diet contains, at least, 70% protein.
You should also, by all means, avoid feeding White Pitties cooked bones to avoid choking incident with bone splinters.
Multivitamins will do your Pitty a world of good, and you should consider incorporating appropriate canine multivitamins in your pup’s diet plan. However, since most commercial dog food products already contain the required amount of multivitamins, you might not need to bother with this.
Exercise
White Pitbulls are super-active and playful animals, and they require regular exercise to maintain their athletic body structure. For one, you could play a fun game of fetch with your pooch, using the iFetch interactive ball launcher.
With this automatic ball launcher, you can teach your furry friend how to initiate and maintain a game of ‘Fetch’ with minimal supervision, and at the same time, develop its mental capabilities.
Alternatively, you could regularly take your Pitty on walks, or allow it to run around in an enclosed area.
For White Pitbulls suffering from congenital deafness or blindness, the Pet Qwerks Blinky Babble Ball Interactive Toy for Deaf Dogs, is always ready to play. This motion-activated toy features flashing lights to keep your canine enthralled and mentally-stimulated.
Engaging your Pitty in these activities will not only keep it happy and engaged, but also helps with proper muscle development, thereby keeping your canine fit and energetic.
Hygiene
Wash your White Pitty once every eight weeks to keep it smelling fresh. And you should ensure to brush its coat, at least, once a week to keep its fur shining.
White Pitbulls are super friendly and playful animals that enjoy giving out kisses and licks to trusted persons. And if you’d rather not be kissed by a pooch with bad breath, we suggest you purchase and clean your doggie’s mouth with dental water additives.
Are White Pitbulls More Aggressive? Temperaments Of White Pitbulls
Due to their intimidating muscular appearance, and history as fighting dogs, it is not difficult to see why anyone would attribute ill-temper and violence to White Pitbulls. However, this could not be further from the truth and is an injustice to the sweet temperament of these pooches.
Temperament
White Pitbulls are fun-loving bundles of energy and are friendly, loyal, affectionate, and easy around kids. Pitties are gentle giants, and only turn out aggressive either due to bad handling, poor socialization, or a combination of both.
Due to their history as fight dogs, Pitbulls are instinctively aggressive towards smaller dogs, and animals. But by proper and early socialization, you can teach your pooch to be friendly towards other doggies.
Intelligence
White Pitbulls are quite intelligent, and they require constant exercising and training to keep them mentally stimulated. Pitties are stubborn and set in their ways, hence they can prove difficult to train, but if you’re strong-willed, you’ll earn their respect and trust in no time.
White Pitties can understand and obey basic doggie commands, such as sit, stay, and come. And they’re also receptive to recalling commands during emergencies or when they’re spiraling out of control. You can also train a White Pitbull to follow these commands in different social settings such as public gatherings or among other pets.
Security
White Pitbulls are playful around family and loved ones, and will also get familiar with non-threatening strangers, hence they do not make the best guard dogs. However, Pitties are typically protective of their family, and will not hesitate to alert their owners in cases of pending disasters such as fire outbreaks or intrusion.
Do White Pitbulls Shed? Grooming Tips For White Pitbulls
Shedding
White Pitbulls have relatively short hair, and like every other dog, they need to shed to get rid of dead fur from their coats.
The good news is, White Pitbulls are single-coated, hence they don’t require heavy shedding to maintain their coats.
However, White Pitbulls tend to leave pieces of fur around the house, and this can accumulate over time to cause a mess; This is why we recommend you buy the iRobot Roomba i3+.
This vacuum machine boasts automated cleaning and waste disposal features, multi-surface rubber brushes that are ideal for picking pooch fur, and filter traps that eliminate the majority of dog allergens. Thankfully, due to its fur color, you can spot where your White Pitty has shed at a glance, and clean up after it with the iRobot.
Brushing
Because Pitbulls have relatively short fur, grooming and brushing them is quite easy. Typically, you’d only need to brush your White Pitty about 2 to 3 times per week, and you should do this with a top-quality pin brush.
However, if your White Pitbull tends to shed more often than others, I’ll recommend you buy the FURminator Undercoat Tool to get rid of dead fur before it starts falling on your furniture.
This FURminator features a curved blade for easy removal of loose fur, a comfortable grip, and a quick-release button for the ejection of collected hair.
Washing
Due to their snowy coats, it is easy to spot dirt on White Pitbulls, hence we recommend that you bath your pooch at least once or twice per month to keep it clean.
When you need to wash your furry companion, it is best you do so with specially-formulated products for White Pitbulls like the Seamus Cherry Blossom Whitening Dog Shampoo.
Not only will this sweet-smelling Shampoo provide your pooch’s skin with the nourishment required for it to glow at all times, but it will also help keep the coat fresh, soft, and radiant with its whitening effect.
Related Questions
How Much Is A White Pitbull Worth? White Pitbulls are quite rare and prized among dog lovers, hence you should be ready to pay a premium price to acquire one. The average price for a White Pitbull falls anywhere between $1,000 to $3,000 depending on several factors like the dog’s age and your dealer.
Why Are So Many White Dogs Deaf? Most White dogs are at risk of going deaf due to the absence of melanocytes that produce endolymph fluids essential for hearing. Melanocytes are also responsible for a pooch’s hair coloration. And a predominantly white coat on a doggie indicates the absence of melanocytes on the skin, which can, in turn, mean it’s not present in the dog’s ear.
Do All White Dogs Go Blind? No, not all white dogs go blind. Unique skin pigmentation and high sensitivity to direct sunlight do mean a white dog is at a higher risk of suffering skin burns. But there is no direct evidence to link this with loss of sight. And with the appropriate safety and health precautions, your pooch will live a long and healthy life.
