attacked another dog. now what???

My pit is about 4 years ols and is fixed. I would have put my life on the line that he NEVER would have hurt anyone or another dog. Good think I never made that bet....

A few months ago we brough a female American Bull Dog home because my brother in law couldnt keep her. Shes about 9 months now and possibly going into heat. The 2 dogs got along fine, they play rough but never had an issue.

We put up an invisible fence the other day and it seemed to be working great. I thought it would be nice to let the dogs roam the yard (3 acres). I knew I never should have allowed it and I told my wife several times, that even if my dog does not start the fight, he will surely finish it.

Well they were both outside this morning and another dog was attacked pretty badly. My wife went outside and saw the pitbull on top of the shelty. she was able to break it up and get the dogs inside. then she got me and we jumped in the truck and rushed the dog to the vet.

The vet told me its possible the female is in heat and the 2 males got into a dispute over that. what do you think?

Is he a bad dog?

What should I do? I know for a fact that they WILL never be outside w/o a leash or some physical cage. Should I find another home for them? Should they be put down?

BTW The owner just came and was real nice. She happens to own some german shepards and understands what happened. Since it happened in our yard, she says our dog was probably just protecting the female

 

I think ur dog did exactly what he was supposed to do in that situation. The other dog trespassed on ur property which in turn makes it fair game, ur dog is far from a bad dog and actually i would be proud of him for doing what he was born to do. the most advice i can suggest is have a break stick around just in case another dog happens to come on the yard while ur dog is out.

 

If you want to let the dogs roam the three acres of yard, you probably want to let them do so when you and/or your wife are able to keep a close eye on them.

What happened wasn't a case of the "bad dog"s.

My suggestion to you would to just make sure someone can be with the dogs when they are outside and roaming freely.

I bet your dogs like the big yard. Maybe just take them out one at a time to play in it if you have to.

 

I think when you own a APBT it comes with the package. You should never 100 % trust your pit not to fight. It,s like putting Mike Tyson in the ring and expecting him not to hit somebody.

 

Well, that is one reason I do not use invisible fencing. It may keep your dog in, but doesnt keep others out. I would recommend fencing in an area where they can play with supervision. I would also recommend getting the female fixed, as it would probably prevent a situation like this from happening again. You really cannot and should not discipline your dog, it is in their nature to be dog agressive. He was just doing what he knows. But I wouldnt praise him either.

 

You need to pick up a book about this breed, and do some serious reading on why this breed was founded, and what traits they tend to possess. Dog aggression is almost to be expected, and I'm not a fan of multiple-dog homes, electric fences on bulldogs, or letting the dogs run free. For your dogs sake I hope you make some changes, and the county doesnt put your dogs down. Just start reading and dont stop until you think you know everything about the breed, then go talk to an experienced dogman and he'll show you how little you really know, and you start over again.

 

I too have an invisible fence. It's nice to let ours roam our 2+ acres, but they do not do so without supervision 100% of the time they're out there. We've only had one stray dog come around thus far, and I chased it off before the dogs could get ahold of it. But, that makes me nervous, and I just bought a dog run set up yesterday, and I will be buying more. My youngest 2 are both un-spayed, and the last thing I need is them attracting males to our place once they come into heat, especially since my oldest does not tolerate males and will try her best to kill one if it comes around. Your dog did exactly what it should've done, IMO you did not. I don't want to rag on you, but you or your wife should have been out there with the dogs.

 

I think that is a bad idea. The dog has gone after another dog already, whos to say another dog doesnt come wandering into (or even next to the property) the area? With an off leash dog, you have NO control. Unless you are in the boonies where no one or nothing else is around for miles, i see no problem with letting your dog off leash for some exercise (obviously your dog must be able to come when called), i do this with a few of mine (the others would be gone in a flash if i unleashed them).

To answer your questions, NO your dog is not bad (he was doing what his ancestors were bred to do/love to do), and NO he should NOT be put to sleep. People need to research the breeds that they want. You dont go blindly and purchase a breed you know little to nothing about... that is how accidents occur. Sometimes people get APBT's that never show any urg/desire to fight, and wont. BUT its much better to be safe then you on the cover of the newspaper with fines out the wazoo and your dog killed all because of an accident.

If you have 3 acres, make a large cable run, or a long chain set-up if you want them to be outside and be able to move around.

You dont need to re-home them, you just need to be more cautious.

 

Yea but even with a cable run or a chain set-up a stray dog can still get to ur dog, the only way to avoid that situation completely is with a fenced in yard. Now we all know that is not always possible so basically i think the best advice is have a break stick close by and try ur best to chase away any dog that tries to get near ur's.

 

Your dog is a good dog. You should have killed the sheltie and buried it. No evidence no problem. The dog should have never been in your yard. The bad dog is the intruder not yours. No worries. don't say nothing more and kill that damn sheltie and get rid of the body. That is what I do. I shoot any stray that enters my property no questions asked. If they wanted the little bastard they should have kept it in their own yard.

 

First, your neighbor's dog/neighbor is at fault. Not you.

Second, NO your dog is not bad.

Third, NO you should not PTS or rehome your dog....he has done nothing wrong.

Miss Conduct brought up some good points. No one here is trying to be bitchy to you, but rather trying to raise awareness. Now you've learned first hand why invisible fencing sucks...for ALL breeds. It might keep your dog in (however the shock isn't strong enough to stop a determined dog) but it does nothing to keep other dogs out nor will it do anything to stop someone from stealing your dog.

I understand that fencing in 3 acres would be very very expensive. If you don't want to fence in them a yard, then I suggest a long chain setup or cable setup (cables are NOT meant for permanent tie-outs in this breed but are great when supervised) so the dogs can have some outside time....in the backyard of course. Although other dogs can still wander onto your property, it's their fault not yours & I'd make sure your neighbor's understand that you don't want their dogs on your land.

 

I don't think your dog was in the wrong at all to be honest. That's his property that the other dog trespassed on, and for all we know maybe the other dog tried fighting him or attacking the female, etc etc.

A pit bull terrier in a fight can be a scary thing, regardless of who started it. As someone else on this board said, they are an " untouched elite breed in canine combat"

Can anyone reccommend a good place to get a breakstick?

-c10

 

just by a hammer handle

 

your dog didnt do anything wrong friend,dont put your dog down for doing what he was bred to do.it would be like putting a lab to sleep because he played fetch.i hope you learned a valuable lesson though wich is never trust a bulldog not to fight period.at any giving time they could get into a fight.and i will give you a prime example from a richard stratton book.this man took his dog to a match and it was a hard match and the dog could barely walk and couldnt even go down the mans backyard steps to go to the bathroom and all he did inside was lay down and sleep,so this man seeing how the dog couldnt walk down his back steps figured that he wouldnt need to leash his dog because he couldnt even walk.so he carried him down the 3 steps and placed him in the yard wich had no fence and he just stood there looking at him and shaking because it was cold.well a german shepherd i think it was came up to where his dog could see it and barked at the pit so the pit took off like a rocket and hit the german shepherd so hard they rolled out into the street and before the german shepherd could swing around to defend it's self the little bulldog ran around the other side and got into another hold and another and another so the man runs into the house while this is going on and grabs a leash and a breaking stick and breaks them apart and the german shepherd runs down the street with his little bulldog trying for all he could to follow with only the leash holding him back.so the lesson of the story is never ever trust a bulldog not to fight because here was a dog that couldnt even walk 5 minutes ago and as soon as he seen the other dog you would have thought nothing happened to him.so just chalk your experince up to hands on knowledge and you wont make the mistake again

 

You own a pitbull and you're asking if dog aggression is okay? IT IS STANDARD WITH THE BREED and many Bulldog breeds. *smacks forehead* Your dogs were on your property. Your neighbor should be responsible for his/her own dog and its vet bills.

B

 

Thanks guys. I guess after some thought, you guys may be right. The dogs did get past the invisible fence but when my wife first saw them, they were only about 10 feet past the fence line so they were probably defending their turf. The victim dog lives maybe 1/4 mile away. The problem with the invisible fence is they play so rough, they start to tear off the receivers and then they dont make good contact. My wife drug both of them back over the line and neither one flinched. There goes that idea.

We'll start looking into some dog runs but we'll have to see how the neighbors react. we are in a very small sub-division with 16 homes. They werent thrilled when we moved in with our pit to begin with since some stray pits came in a while back and killed some dogs.

I feel like kicking myself because I have been a member of this board for some time (I started a new name, long story) and knew I shouldnt let them out by themselves. In this neighborhood, theres quite a few dogs that run around and my dog has played with the pack several times w/o any incident. Since then, a couple dogs have left and some people have moved so the whole neighborhood pack doesnt exist anymore but there are some dogs that still stay outside all day w/no fence

I appreciate the not so brutal comments. I was surprised you guys didnt call me every name in the book.....

Well they will NEVER be out unsupervised again, thats for sure

 

I don't think anyone here is out to ridicule people (unless they're absolutely deserving). We are a community with similar interests, and we look out for one another, and our dogs.

 

hey bro they make a stubborn reciever too. I used them for a while. but I have too many dogs and letting them run around tends to lead to yard accedents among my own dogs. If you never plan on getting more get the larger reciever and turn that sucker up so it warns them at 15 feet and builds up from there. Mine crossed it once or twice but they got the hint fast enough. I don't use the electric underground fence any longer and traded the system for a few sheep. I have some electrick hot wire fences I am going to put up to keep some damn horses off my land before I kill their owner for not fixing his fences. Any way I suggest getting a good 22 mag and some hollow points and start shooting intruders. It is only fare that people keep their problem dogs in their own yards. I shoot every tresspasser on my land. But I use buck shot as I want it down fast and dead. And don't ever tell your neighbors. They will learn to keep their damn pets in their own yard. I hate cats too they get on my antique cars and scratch the paint. That is a no go.

 

aint no need for brutal comments,like i said now you know exactley what you need to do.and i am sure it wont happen again if you can possiably avoid it.

 

lol, I had to put two receivers on my Bear. One was the strongest they make, and the other is the one that came with the system. She still crossed over once tryin to get at a chipmunk. Shoulda seen the poor girl, head all twitchin, baring her teeth, tryin like hell to get at that critter. I let her go a bit just to see how determined she was, and grabbed her up once she crossed the little patch of shrubs between mine and my neighbors property.