Need a little advise

Need a little advise, time to put down?

Our 6 y/o APBT has been deemed vicious for some fights he got into with neighborhood dogs a couple years ago. We have done a pretty good job after that of keeping him out of trouble, walking on a leash etc.

Well tonight the family came in the house after soccer, hurry to get to bed, etc and he got outside. As I went to get him, he went to the front yard and was just mosing around (Driveway is 150 feet or so to the road). Two joggers came by in the road and he ran up on them barking and jumping on them. He didnt bite but he did get close enough for them to swat/swing at him. Then he retreated back to me. It all happened so fast.

Anyway I am prepared to call the vet and make an appointment to have him put down.

Is that the right move?

 

He didn't bite them. He barked and jumped. Only put him down if he bites someone or if AC gets involved. Other then that keep him in check. If you didn't let him out he would not have been out.

Ferk out

 

I agree with Ferk.
And better contain your dog so he cannot get out of your house!
Because your dog is going to end up paying with his life for your irresponsibility!

 

is he an inside dog, or does the dog live in the backyard.

if inside, than find him a chain spot. makes life easier..

 

hes an inside dog. he does have a chain and a 100 foot cable run.

Some members may remember the issues we had in the past where we were just downright irresponsible. Since then we have been very diligent on keeping him out of trouble. But with 2 kids, these things happen, somehow the door got left open and he decided to take himself out.

 

I understand. My dog would bolt out the front door just about any chance she got as well. Most dogs, I think, would. It's FREEDOM! And, dammit, things smell GOOD out there!
But I have a 3 1/2' baby gate with locking door between my livingroom and foyer. There are 2 doors before my other exit/entrance.

How old are your children? Mine are 8 and 11. My dog bolted out my front door ONCE. And, I am doing my hardest to make sure it was the LAST TIME. Because she happened to get my neighbor's dog who happened to be walking right by my house at that exact moment. No, she didn't kill her, she could have, she slipped her collar as I tried to grab her, which left me with not a single tool to break her off the other dog. My son, 6 at the time, ran inside to get me a leash, and luckily a neighbor ran up at the same time with a broom and got my dog off the other dog. And what's really odd about this whole deal, is I had JUST ordered breaksticks from O'briens, but they hadn't reached my house yet. Anyway, we did what responsible owners do in situations like that (since accidents DO happen) and paid any and all vet bills.
AND, we made damn sure, to the best of our ability, that it would NOT happen again. I also now buy her better equipment, no slipped collars here, EVER AGAIN.
Mistakes do happen, but it's you what you do to make sure that same mistake doesn't happen again, that determines whether or not you are a responsible owner.
My children were 6 and 8 when that incident happened. We taught them, and fast, the NEW rules of the household when it comes to entering and exiting the house. Things got serious then. My children know that that front door does NOT open until that babygate has latched shut. They know that the baby gate doesn't open until that front door is shut. They shut ALL doors behind them.

You do what you have to do, man. Good luck.

ETA: D'oh, I meant you do what you have to do to PREVENT your dog from getting out of your house.

 

Re: Need a little advise, time to put down?

Are you out of your mind? put him down????? Man thats why most people dont even need to own a real dog! He ran up and jumped on them, BIG F'N DEAL! you know how many dogs do that, FIGHT for you dog I am sure he would do the same for you dont be a puss, its a dog being a dog if you cant handle that find him a new home with some one that has the balls to handle him. J

 

when a dog bolts out of the yard barking and jumping on people, yes it does concern me. He has almost killed 3 dogs in the neighborood, so his track record isnt the best.

He also does the same thing to strangers in the house. If he is around when strangers come in, he barks his head off, and wants to jump on them. We have to hold him by his collar, let them meet, then he sniffs, calms down some, then we let him go and he walks around them once or twice, maybe a couple more barks, then leaves them alone or wants his head scratched.

Another time a couple years ago, I was walking him on a leash, and he jumped on a kid, scratching his chest. Earlier in the day, this kid was antagonizing him though.

Its this initial reaction to new people that concerns me.

The neighbors have 3 dogs that bark pretty aggresiveley at anyone that walks by, but those dogs never leave the yard and they dont have a fence either

My kids are 7 and 12.

I dont even remember what exactly happened. Sometimes hes locked in our bathroom (Big bathroom) and maybe since he wasnt at the front door, the kids assumed he was locked up. We were getting things out of the car. Maybe someone opened the bathroom door, maybe he wasnt in the bathroom to begin with.

 

get an experienced apbt trainer to take a look at ur dog... that way u can talk to him face to face. and u can explain the 2 incidents u mentioned better. its hard to explain things over the net.

did the dog bite someone before..

 

I don't want to be a bitch here, but uh, no, YOU don't have the best track record. You're the owner. YOU have the ability to reason and think moreso than your dog does. Take responsibility for what is yours. If your dog is getting out repeatedly and harming other dogs, that is YOUR problem, not your dog's. Though, if you don't do anything about to better the situation, it'll become your dog's problem. And he'll pay with his life, and by the looks of it, you're ready to let him.

I am unclear as to if your dog is jumping on others out of aggression or out of excitement.
My dog barks her head off when others come in my house, until they cross that baby gate. Then she runs and gets her ball and sniffs them. Then she wants to play.

If your dog ran up and jumped on people when he got out of your house, I would think if he was aggressive and REALLY wanted to hurt those people, he could have.

 

It sounds to me he maybe very territorial,,, maybe electric under ground ,across the front yard maybe an idea.. I really hate to see you put the dog down...

depitlady

 

Keep your dog on your yard. Problem solved.

 

Electric underground fence :eek:! Oh no.

Bad advise for our breed. plz dont recommend that.

The OP already stated that they had a 100 ft cable run. Use that or a proper chain & axel set up.

IMHO board up the doggie door. you are just asking for problems.

to the OP when was the last time he was on the cable run? how much daily exercise does he get?

remember a tired pit bull is a happy pit bull!

 

I don't understand why not, I don't keep my dogs collar on all the time(don't have too) but I did use it to teach boundaries.. she goes to the gate now and turns around.. I even leave the gate open and she goes no further....

Whats the problem using it as a training tool.

In-light me here:confused: PLEASE

depitlady

 

With these dogs you cannot assume that they will never see a cat or neighbor and bolt right through the underground fence and never even slow down. And once outside of the fence they cannot come back in.

I am sure that you use yours as a training tool and when your dog is out and about you are there to keep a close eye. And that I commend you for, but following the OPs track record do you believe that they will be responsible this time around?

 

He has NEVER bitten anybody.


Chewbecca, you are right, I dont have the best track record.

To be honest, I am really surprised at the answers here. I thought for sure the consenus would be thats a sign of HA

I certainly dont wnat to put him down. I was really upset about it last night and thought that was what needed to be done.

And the electric fence. Yeah, not a good idea. We have one, dont use it though

 

all you can do is firmly instill to your kids to be careful,, extremely careful,,,because of the dog,,, the dog wasn't biting, just checking them out, it is your responsibility to keep the dog up, but i have had one in the past that would sit and wedge his nose in the door the second it opened and you had to be careful or he'd get out,,,and he'd kill a dog in a second,,,

my kids are slightly older than yours but every since they was small they were told when you own APBT's (pit bulls) you have to make sure the doors stay closed,,,or you may have to kill the dog,,,,, then they'll look at it different,,,

i wouldn't kill the dog,,, i'd kick myself in the ass and take responsibility for it,,i have been in your spot and a dog like that is alot of trouble to really watch all the time but its just the fear of what may happen,,,i always say that it won't happen and in 5 years the only time the housedog i have now got out was once when my mom left and left the door cracked and he managed to get it open,,,, be careful and watch that dog,,,,

 

I understand what you are saying about darting through. Again it was used to teach boundaries and worked for me, maybe, I have a dog that just didn't take much to train her. (oh by the way to make sure you know I didn't even use high volts setting to train and I did train her when she was very young.) And it was to prevent her from darting into the highway.

I do regret making a suggestion here... Although I don't quit understand why you buck it so....

PEACE
depitlady

 

Because it ends up just being a bandaid fix for his problem, one that's bound to backfire. E-collars tend to be a general no no because a dog with a high enough prey drive and decent pain threshold will be more than happy to ignore it

 

i have a electric fence that goes around the bottom and top of the chainlink,,, and it works get but its a true electric fence,,, for cattle,,, and mine really stay away from fence,,,lol,,, no digging