Ummm...that has got to be one of the biggest load of crap I've ever heard in my life. The two pits I was taking care of a while back NEVER fought. However, I constantly find that if left to their own devices, my two Siberian Huskies will duke it out when they get the chance. I'm constantly breaking up fights between Amaya and Ryou.

 

XX, thanks. that makes me feel better. I am 100% certain I read this in that Bully Breed Dog mag. I was shocked and it seemed like a real disservice to the breed.

Note-I want to be clear here...I'm not talking about the typical scuffle that some Dogs get into from time to time. My guys will snap at each other once in awhile if a treat or bone is involved. Its usually over in 5 seconds or less.

This article made it sound like they would go at it if you leave them...almost like a dog fighting ring.

Scared me because I've always wanted a Pit but reading this type of crap causes you to pause and think..."can I have one if I have other dogs?"

 

Nope.

It all depends on the dog. How it is raised, as you mention.

I have a pitbull, who was, until recently, intact (rescued) and I never seperated him from my other dogs. He is extremely submissive, if anyone wants to show him they're the boss, he rolls over, tail wagging (and snorting), until the coast is clear.

Are they bred for fighting? Often, yes. Are they capable of doing severe damage? Yes. But I do believe that it is all how a dog is raised.

If you do have one dog that is unpredictable, or particuarly agressive/territorial, I would reccomend seperating them when you leave the house... just because a pitbull (or any dog) isn't agressive doesn't mean they won't fight back if they are attacked.

Hope this helps answer your question.... :smile:

 

It has nothing to do with breed, although people feel this way because pitbulls can do alot of damage. When they lock on, it's very very hard to get them off. Plus they have very powerful jaws, that can break bones easily. That's the big difference between them and alot of other breeds. My meaning of dominant means dogs that want to be top dog. So you can have a dominant rottie and a dominant chihuahua, and they will constantly fight for alpha position. The chihuahua might win, don't think so ahahahahaaha. I'm not sure you can teach two dominant dogs to live together in perfect harmony. They will probablly fight every so often. My dog's dominant and my friends dog is dominant. They had some nasty fights and were best friends 5 minutes later. I think that's the best we can do between the two. We tried and they do get along, but they both want to be top dog. I feel fights between them, are unavoidable, unless your there to seperate them before the adrenalin kicks in. We have left them alone a few times, and I did think about them duking it out. I was nervous, because my dog is a bullybreed. Luckily we never had any problems. To be safe, I never recommend leaving two dominant dogs together unsupervised. That's goes especially if one is a bullybreed, only because of the damage they can do and no one will be there to break it up. I know I'm making them sound like savage beasts, but there's alot of responsibility with a dominant bullybreed. Only certain people should have dominant dogs, because of the extra responsibility. That goes for even a dominant chiwahah. You know how many times little dogs tried to bite my dog:yell: Alot of owners have no control over them. Any submissive dog is fine to leave alone with another submissive or dominant dog. Hope I do not get to much heat for this post:yield:

 

To be on the safe side, I would never, ever leave my pit bull alone with my Doberman.

APBTs are born to fight. It's in their genetics. You can't socialize it out of them. Some APBTs are social enough with other dogs that they can be with other dogs while supervised, but it's a dangerous risk to leave them alone. This is because small triggers can make a pibble want to fight, and when they start, they finish. They do a whole lot of damage in a short span of time. And even if you break it up, the breed as a whole is not a dog who will just forget it and go back to normal. These dogs can never be expected to peacefully reside together again.

Anyone who owns an APBT in a multiple dog home should be prepared for a fight. They should have a break stick, and be aware that one day they may have to crate/rotate their dogs.

You cannot train away so many generations of DA. It will always be there. APBTs have been my breed of choice for ten years and I can honestly say that they find great joy in killing other dogs.

 

It's crap like you just posted that perpetuates the ignorance against the Bully breeds.

 

I'm sorry you don't agree with the facts that every APBT breeder/handler in the country knows.

ETA: Good link: http://www.pitbulllovers.com/two-pit-bulls-is-a-bad-idea.html

 

Cliffdog I think your totally wrong. It has nothing to do with dna. It has to do with two dominant dogs of any breed will fight to be leader. My dog wants to be leader 100% of the time. That's because he has a high hunting prey drive. He wants to be the leader in a hunting pack. He has never started a fight in the 7.5 years I had him. He will always fight if challenged. It sux but this is how he is and I have accepted it. The only area dna comes into play are in the physical characteristics. Dogs do forget right after they fight. I've witnessed my dog and my friends dog fighting three different times and they were best friends right after. They were fighting for alpha position. The key is to stop this behavior before they get it in there head. That means constant supervision between two dominant dogs of any breed.

 

Well, having been around as many pit bulls as I have, I have to say that pit bulls are very dog aggressive by nature. All of the dogs at the shows I've been to (weight pull, OB, ABDA conformation) have been VERY well mannered and have been well-behaved around other dogs because their handlers keep such tight control of them. However, if two dogs decide to fight, they just decide to fight, and there is not much rhyme or reason behind why they do (at least to humans; to them it makes perfect sense!).

I am not saying that pit bulls are a ticking time bomb ready to explode at any minute. What I am saying is that it is in their genetic code to be dog aggressive. And yes, they will fight for dominance. And while most dogs will forget a fight has ever happened, with pit bulls, that is simply not the case. Of the hundreds of pit bull owners I have spoken to in the last few years, about 90% agree. And 100% agree that dog aggression is a nigh-unavoidable trait.

That said, there is a huge difference between dog aggression and human aggression. They have absolutely NO correlation to one another. A properly bred and socialized pit bull is one of the absolute best family dogs that an owner could wish for. But they are simply not a dog who thrives in a multiple-dog household. Owners with more than one pit bull need to keep them separated when they are not at home. They should also take care to exercise their dog, because two bored pit bulls are more likely to fight. Owners should also have a sound idea of what it looks like when play escalates to aggression.

 

Than you have been around alot of dominant dogs. I still say that dominant dogs will fight. That's the only reason there fighting. There simply fighting for dominance. Dogs pick up the smallest behavior that you would miss. Even when it doesn't look like two dominant dogs are looking at each other, they are observing every movement. Once they sense dominance and they get the idea in there head that they want to be dominant, they charge. This goes for any dog and is not bred in specific breed dna. Again, the only thing DNA is controlling is physical characteristics. Dogs have the same basic instincts. There physical characteristics might influence there instincts. Like a blood hound has an awesome nose, so he likes to track more than another dog. All dogs like to track though. To say pitbulls are very aggressive by nature is insane. There are submissive pitbulls and there are dominant pitbulls. It's simple. Is every pitball dominant? No! My friends uncle had three pitpulls and little children living under the same house happily ever after. I only met him twice, but he never mentioned any dominance issues. He did say his little children are very rough with the dogs and they just take it happily. Not to get off the main subject too much, I think the bottom line is, there is extra responsibilities that come with dominant dogs. If people can't handle those responsibilities, they should look for a subbmissive dog. That goes for any breed. Pitbulls do fine around other dogs in the same household. You just have to observe and make sure you have compatible animals. To kevin who is interested in adopting a pitbull, you can always take one home and see if it gets along with you other dogs. Rescues are understanding and usually test the dog to see if there ok for multiple dog homes;0) Pitbulls need as much help as any other dog in rescue and they will love you until they die like any other dog:llama:

 

I highly doubt that of the hundreds, maybe thousands of APBTs I have seen, they have all been dominant. The thing is, a dominant pit will fight with a submissive pit. It just happens some times. Still, I don't actually believe that you should never have multiple pitties. I just think they should be supervised. Why take the chance? I love pitties and every time one gets into a fight it adds to the bad rep of the breed.

 

Cliff.....dear boy....I believe you are severely misguided in the idea of breed stereotype.

Dogs first and foremost are INDIVIDUALS that form their identities, personalities and dispositions from both nature (DNA) AND nurture (environment). While some dogs have traditionally been bred to "fight" that doesn't mean that through PROPER dog rearing that they will always want to fight. In my experience nurture plays a MUCH bigger role in development of an individual than nature does. It just might be that pitties (and other bully breeds) just need more guidance and leadership to overcome their genetic faults (the need to fight).

Any dog can be made to be aggressive through the right kind of training and environment....even a cuddly poodle that can do MAJOR damage in a short amount of time. The exact opposite is true for bully breeds...in the right environment and the proper socialization and care these dogs can be the most loving and dog/people friendly dogs out there.

You really do need to realize that dogs are INDIVIDUALS :thumb: :wink:

 

I, personally, never leave Harleigh & Rebel alone.

Mainly due to the fact that APBT's were BRED to fight - it is genetics. Yes, some can be more submissive, etc. and Rebel is one of those, but I'm not taking the chance. The fact is, this breed was bred to fight dogs and its hardwired into them. They may not always START the fight, but most times they will finish it. JMO.

The thing that most people have a hard time wrapping their brain away (at least the ones I talk to) is they can't comprehend that Dog Aggression is different than Human Aggression. Drives me insane

(And I don't see how CliffDog is the one who is making people be irresponsible about the breed. APBT's are known for being DA. Any responsible Pit owner would know and agree with that - if they try to push them off as a being no different than any other breed and its all about how you raise them, that is what makes people irresponsible about the breed. imo.)

 

I separate my dogs when I am am not home to supervise as a precautionary measure. I have had dogs that were raised together and once got along beautifully together get into some pretty serious fights which, if I hadn't been around to break up, likely would have resulted in serious injury or worse.

I also had a fight break out between three dogs, who never had issues, over my stupidity; putting a bag of garbage on the floor and turning my back. One dog approached to sniff, the second dog approached to sniff, first dog growled at second dog, dogs went at it like two freight trains and third dog jumped in. In this situation, I know that one of my dogs would have been killed had I not been able/been home to break up the fight.

Many pit bulls absolutely do have a propensity to be dog aggressive, even when well socialized and raised with other dogs. Very often when they reach maturity, things have a tendency to escalate rather quickly and intensely. What was once rough play may very well turn into something more serious if people aren't there to intervene. Don't forget, these dogs were bred for generations for their tenacity, pain threshold and incredibly muscular jaws. If a fight does break out and is allowed to continue, they are very capable of inflicting far worse injury than a lot of other breeds.

These things are well known in the pitty community and most of us separate our dogs when they can't be supervised as a precautionary measure. That's NOT to say that every pit bull is going to fight, but I'd certainly rather be safe than come home to one dead and one severely injured dog. Believe me, it wouldn't be the first time it's happened to otherwise well trained, well socialized, friendly dogs who always got along just fine. And actually, many pit bull rescues require that adopters crate and separate in multiple dog households.

It's something that responsible pitty owners should accept and work around.

 

I also had a fight break out between three dogs, who never had issues, over my stupidity; putting a bag of garbage on the floor and turning my back. One dog approached to sniff, the second dog approached to sniff, first dog growled at second dog, dogs went at it like two freight trains and third dog jumped in. In this situation, I know that one of my dogs would have been killed had I not been able/been home to break up the fight.

How did you break up three dogs? I ave a problem breaking up two dogs. Me and my friend grabbed there back legs and tried pulling apart. My dog would not let go. It's pretty scary when this happens. I know about break sticks, but I do not know how to use one and would be afraid to break his jaw. There has to be a safer and easier way to break him away.

 

Same can be said for most breeds out there. We have had our fair share of bitch fights with our pack...and it wasn't pretty and we have Danes (who pack a pretty hefty punch when motivated) and mutts! They were ALL determined to finish the fight if we didn't intervene. Luckily enough it happened right in front of us AND we know what triggered it (foster Dane was throwing off the pack dynamic).

I think it comes down to ANY dog that cannot be trusted when left alone...not just pitties.

 

Same can be said for most breeds out there. We have had our fair share of bitch fights with our pack...and it wasn't pretty and we have Danes (who pack a pretty hefty punch when motivated) and mutts!

I think it comes down to ANY dog that cannot be trusted when left alone...not just pitties.

I do agree with this, and after the fights I've had in my house I don't think I will ever leave any of my dogs together unsupervised regardless of breed.

 

I too witnessed carnage. That's why I'm trying to learn alternatives. Everyone recommends break sticks. I don't like that idea, because you can break there jaws. I was thinking of shooting a shotgun with blanks in it, up in the air next time. I know it sounds hickish:mullet:, but you guys think it might work.

 

Its called a zapstick, you don't actually have to use the zapstick on the dogs but just the noise of it pretty much stops the dogs in their tracks.

Remember I don't have pits but I do have "bull terriers" and they were originally bred for bull baiting and then dog fighting. Their unwillingness to "let go" when they have ahold of another dog is by far the worst situation I've ever been in before the zapstick.

 

I really appreciate your input. Do you have some decent web links I could check out. Thanks. The breakstick is something different. You use it to pry the jaw open.

Edit: I already have a zapstick. I never heard that name for it ahahaha. You sure that sound is going to break up a dog fight??? If so that's good news.

 

Dogs are individuals, but saying aggression isn't bred-in is like saying prey drive, guarding, herding, and pointing isn't bred-in. Dogs can be trained not to fight, but it is still pre-programmed into an APBT to do so, so leaving them together unsupervised is just a way to encourage trouble. Ask any APBT breeder who has been in the breed for 10, 20, 30+ years and they will agree.

For breaking up fights in which an APBT or other bully breed is involved, most pit breeders use a break stick:
Pit Bull Rescue Central | Break Stick

Why Should Responsible Pit Bull Owners Have a Break Stick?
Because canines are pack animals, fights are possible in any multi-dog household, no matter what breed of dog you own. A responsible owner should take measures to prevent such fights, but he or she should also be prepared for the worst. The goal of any owner should be to break up a fight quickly and efficiently. The majority of breeds will snap erratically at their opponent, biting and releasing repeatedly. As terriers, pit bulls will usually bite and hold. Contrary to popular myth, this is not some kind of special pit bull behavior; it is merely terrier behavior. As its name suggests, a break stick is designed to break this determined terrier hold. This is the safest, easiest, and most effective way to stop a fight.

Do not attempt to use a break stick on other dog breeds.

Attempting to use a break stick on other breeds could result in serious injury to the person using the stick. Since other breeds will unpredictably snap and bite instead of getting a grip, you are far more likely to be bitten. You also should not attempt to use a break stick with other terriers. While all terriers grab and hold, pit bulls are far less likely to redirect their bite on an intervening human than, say, a Jack Russell Terrier. For the same reason, you also need to be very careful when separating your pit bull from another breed. Your pit bull will probably not bite you, but you might get bitten by the other dog.

BUT be careful. Like the page suggests, this is a tool that will make some people think you are a dog fighter, same with a spring pole or flirt pole. It's all raving idiocy, but until people wisen up about these amazing dogs, just owning one will make people suspicious of you.

ETA: Most pibble breeders/owners/handlers prefer a breakstick over distraction methods like zapsticks, because if you do it right it will never fail. It is actually physically separating the dogs instead of distracting them off of one another. That said, I also own a zapstick.

 

I would hate to not trust my dogs not to kill each other. If I knew my dogs had the capability to do that...I wouldn't own them together. Because fights can and do break out when you are right there watching. I know that some dogs are just not good around other dogs on a very basic level...

I'm sure my dogs could kill each other but I trust them not to when we are not around

 

Well, Danes aren't as DA prone as pit bulls. What most APBT breeders/enthusiasts suggest is that each dog has an outdoor doghouse and run. They are expensive to install, but so worth it for the peace of mind. It may seem restrictive, but what it really does is gives each dog their own safe zone, like a crate but with room to run around in, their own 'territory' that the other dog cannot bother them in, and they tend to prefer it this way from what I hear.

 

The pitt owners that I know don't seem to have the issues that would need for such confinement and restriction....so this whole concept is completely new to me.

Some of the pitts that we have come stay at our boarding facility definitely have severe dog aggression and I wouldn't trust around any dog either supervised or not. Most are rescues and a few are original owners.

 

The thing is, it really can happen to pretty much anyone. Dogs can be fine together for years and one stupid little thing can trigger a serious battle. That's not a reason I'm going to decide to rehome one of my dogs, I'm just going to become more vigilant and better learn how to prevent such situations. If people are present and a fight breaks out, it's usually not a huge deal, in the scheme of things. If nobody is there to manage the situation, it can easily become a disaster.

Maybe I'm just overly cautious, but I never expected them to brawl before it happened. It just suddenly happened and I am so thankful I was there to do something about it.

 

Oh, I totally know that fights can happen with any dogs, anywhere, for any reason and at any time. THAT concept isn't new to me at all.

I just have complete trust in my dogs that they wont fight when left alone together. They all pass out on the couch and snuggle while we are gone. When we have a new dog or foster or dog sitter in the house, thats another story...

 

I envy you that!

I guess as a multiple bully breed mom I have chosen this lifestyle, and it can be a tough, taxing one. But I do love all these big doofuses and I wouldn't have it any other way!

One thing is for sure, though... I will never have this many dogs EVER AGAIN! Haha :shocked:

 

Yeah, most pibbles I know can't sit still for that long, ha! They're very obedient but they just have sooo much energy, just like most terriers do.