Socializing

Socializing your dog is a very important part of owning a balanced dog. You must start early and promote good social interactions. You do this by throwing your young puppy into the mix with a lot of different experiences so that they are not scared by new things. Scared dogs turn into dangerous, nervous dogs. You have to expose your dog to people and dogs at a young age so they learn to play nice, before they get older and bigger to the point when they can damage.


PEOPLE:
This is actually very easy. To introduce your dog to people is as simple as inviting friends over. The only thing is, is that you have to pay attention to every little thing they do because you want to nip bad interactions in bud as soon as you see them, and stop them immediately. Things like jumping up on/at people is NOT acceptable! I personally hate dogs that do this, and while its cute that they want your attention when they're little, this is not so cute when that 60-80lb dog can now knock you down, is it! So please if your dog, is doing this to you or other people, DO NOT ALLOW IT! Also, tell your guests to do the same, not to let them attempt to jump at all.  To stop this behavior is simple, say no and put your hand in their face to stop them from jumping in the first place, also turn around and ignore them, it also helps to not get excited and stay calm when meeting the dog. If you let them jump up and then push them down, that's only halfway done, because they are still jumping up in the first place,  DON'T LET THEM OFF THE GROUND!  That's the key on this one. Get them to understand that jumping is illegal, and to never even leave the ground.
Another thing with people, is to get your dog to understand children also. Dogs understand the difference between "big people" and "little people" but however they still don't understand the limitations sometimes. For instance, they will sometimes accidentally bump a little kid which might knock them down, and not an adult. So you have to make sure your dog is slower around children. Another thing with kids is that they don't differ good dogs from bad dogs, little dogs from BIG dogs, so that means you have to prepare your dog. Little kids love to pull tails, ears, poke, slap, hug, scream, and everything else kids do when they're excited. So the best way to prepare your dog for this is to do it to them yourself. I pull, poke, slap, and tease my dog at every opportunity I get, just because I love to annoy him, but also because I want him to not care if anyone else should ever do it. He just ignores me, which is no fun for me when trying to bug him, but it's the perfect reaction. Your dog should not care, or make any aggressive action towards unwanted touching.

I have a three year old niece and she love to just to touch him with one finger and lay eye-to-eye with him on the floor. Some kids are gentle and even maybe timid of bigger dogs, don't ever force them to meet your dog, or your dog to meet them, always let the child approach at their own will. On the other end of the spectrum some children are overly excited to see any dog. When approached by this type of child, your dog needs to be able to stay calm even around the most rambuncious child, and you should also take the opportunity to maybe educate that child how to "play with dogs nicely." That's actually something I end up doing a lot, because I don't like any person, or dog, running up into my dogs face excitedly. I don't like it when people do it to me, so why she he have to deal with it. So if I come across an excited child, or dog, I tell them that have to be calm, and nice, to play with the doggy. The child usually understands, and I tell them how to be nice and approach and deal with dogs, so hopefully they don't continue bad behavior.

DOGS:
To introduce your dog to other dogs, I suggest finding a friend with a very well behaved dog. Dogs learn very well from example, just like kids. If you let them hang out with gangsters, they'll end up in jail, and if you let them hang out with the nerds, they'll be Harvard grads in no time! LOL!! This is true though, give your dog the experience of how good dogs socialize, not bad ones. Your dog should meet other dogs with loose or wagging tail, not tail and hair standing and barking.  Do not let your dog show aggressive behavior.  If they do give the leash a small tug and get them to pay attention to you again, divert their attention to being focused on you not the other dog. Your dog should be able to run, and chase, and play with other dogs nicely and not overly rough. Overly rough play, can turn into fighting as soon as growling and noise comes into play. Don't let the game turn into a show of dominance. Jumping up, humping, growling, barking are just a few of the actions your dog is doing to show dominance and cause bad dog interactions.  
That is the key with dog interactions. Dog do tons on non-verbal communication (body language) that humans most of the time don't even notice and/or understand. This is the key to knowing your dog. YOU HAVE TO KNOW YOUR DOGS BODY LANGUAGE!! When on a walk with my Maximus, I can tell you exactly when he's going to pee, poop, or even does or doesn't want to play/meet another person or dog. Your dog will tell you all of this too, you just have to pay attention and learn what they are trying to tell you. Pitbulls especially are very "responsive" they will give plenty of warning signs before they ever do anything dangerous. It's like a skunk raising its tail and hissing before it sprays. Your an idiot if you don't take yourself out of the situation and wait to see what the skunk is gonna do next! It's the same with a pit, you're an idiot if you don't see your dog is unhappy or uncomfortable with a situation and protect him from it. That's the thing your needs to know, that you will protect him. It's already a given that he will protect you should you need it, he needs to have faith that you will protect him from dogs/people that are unwanted by him!If you see your dog is in a situation that doesn't want to be in and might do something bad to stop the situation, remove them from it! That's all they are asking you for!