[QUOTE=HydroPHILE;5750031]
We also learn how to manage them to prevent any incidents.[/QUOTE]
Oh. Well, that’s good then. I guess all the ‘incidents’ as you call them are just media bias and a few naughty owners who didn’t get the memo. The HA/DA BS is too silly to argue. The most cursory look at dog-on-human bites shows a huge number of them start with the human trying to prevent the dog from killing another dog. The trigger doesn’t matter, the damage is the problem.
Oh my. You should join a Pit Bull forum (or go read one) then… because we have specific threads on break sticks and how to properly use them. So do many well known Bully breed rescue sites. I’ve never known anyone in the Bully breed community to be hush hush about break sticks… in fact, it’s the complete opposite!
And FWIW, I know many DA dogs that are perfectly fine in the world. It’s not a death sentence for them at all. I’ve also had my dogs launched at, growled at, snapped at, etc. by other breeds and my dogs have never done a thing… go figure.
[quote=HydroPHILE;5750031]I recommend you contacting the breed clubs then and having them change the dogs’ breed standards and rewrite their history as well. As a bully breed owner, trainer, and volunteer with a legitimate bully rescue, we, as responsible bully owners, are keenly aware of our dogs’ history as well as their breed traits. We also learn how to manage them to prevent any incidents.
Just to clarify: DA and HA are not the same thing. HA is most definitely a breed flaw, and most definitely HA dogs (dogs with a wholly unpredictable temperament, no triggers, that will randomly attack a human for no provoked reason) are euthanized: as they should be.
[/quote]
Good post. Agree with everything here.
[quote=vacation1;5750886]Oh. Well, that’s good then. I guess all the ‘incidents’ as you call them are just media bias and a few naughty owners who didn’t get the memo. The HA/DA BS is too silly to argue. The most cursory look at dog-on-human bites shows a huge number of them start with the human trying to prevent the dog from killing another dog. The trigger doesn’t matter, the damage is the problem.
[/quote]
Do you truly think there is no media bias against Pit Bulls? Labs attacks person… eh, no need to report that. But a Pit Bull? Front page! That and, half the time a “Pit Bull” bites someone, it’s not even a Pit Bull… I watched my local news show a picture of a (very obvious) black Lab and called it a Pit Bull attack… they got reamed for it and thankfully corrected their story!
[QUOTE=bort84;5749851]
I don’t think there has to be an “us vs. them” mentality on either side here. I love bullies and have found that many of them make better family pets than a LOT of other “family” breeds - they are often far more tolerant of children and make goofy happy companions.
Fact: many many bully breeds have issues with DA.
Fact: many individual bullies are the most wonderful pets in the world.
Fact: many non-bully breeds also have DA.
Fact: many non-bully breeds have bitten humans more than once (I’ve actually met far more non-bullies that have made me nervous to be around.)
Fact: BECAUSE bully breeds have been knowingly bred by jerks to have increased DA, owners must always always be hyper aware that it’s an issue.
I find the negative bias towards bullies annoying even as a non-bully owner. Still, a LOT of bullies have really bad DA or develop it as they get older. Because of that, owners must be prepared and be extra diligent. It’s annoying, but it’s a necessary part of owning a bully. That’s why I think it’s important that rescues are very careful about who they adopt to. Education is KEY.
*** More on topic: Now that the OP knows it’s a problem, she has a couple of good solutions: crate and rotate + work with a good trainer or rehome responsibly.[/QUOTE]
Smartest post yet
And please visit Pit Bull Chat, not pit bull forum. Two very different forums
I am looking for help on how to BREAK UP THE FIGHT. For that moment in time when they are not separted.
I have not read the replies so this may have already been said, but kick them apart.
I witnessed a horrible dog fight at a barn once. The pit went after the dal and it was so ugly. I was screaming and yelling and it did nothing. There was serious damage done to the dal. I wondered what to do if this ever happened again and was told to kick the dogs apart.
Once at my farm a boxer stray I picked up went after one of my dogs. I kicked her off my other dog and it did work. You’d obviously need to be careful that the dog won’t turn on you though.
[QUOTE=Philibuster;5744532]
And get a good baseball bat and pepper spray to have for emergencies.[/QUOTE]
MY Male german shepherd has taken to doing this to my male JRT. I wallopped him with a wiffle ball bat. Now, if the 2 are together and the GSD is grumpy, then all i have to do is carry the wiffle ball bat. He knows I mean business. I FEEL YOUR PAIN. I have been there twice, with 2 different sets of dogs, and it SUCKS.
PM if you need to commiserate…
We have two spayed females of another breed, and they fight badly from time to time. They grab each others face, pull and shake, and truly would rip the other due to losing any ability to ‘snap out of it’. This does not happen with any other dogs, just these two ‘alpha’ females.
We use a large glass of water on their noses while they are locked on each other. They feel like they have to let go or drown. Like waterboarding? Not sure, but it works every time.
They are not a breed known for aggressive behavior, but I do know why they call female dogs what they do because of these two.
Yes… I’m on PBC, kady05 is my user name over there. PBF is way too… rainbows & butterflies for me LOL.
I didn’t read every reponse yet but had to comment as the few I read seemed to suggest this was a hopeless situation-
I don’t think so, if OP has had them from puppy-hood and is committed to being creative & persistence with prevention & problem solving, all can become a happy pack at some point.
I had a similar problem when my two Caucasian Ovcharka’s were 6 mos & 1.5 yrs for about 6 months.
Think two giant breed apex of the aggression scale behmoths staging a full blown wolf fight in the living room! :eek: My friend refers to it as the “clash of the titans”.
If I have dog savvy company, each one grabbed a tail, backed away, and secured each dog someplace else until they could chill out (never took more than 10 mins for my dogs to forget they ever did anything but love each other again).
When I was alone, I devised a system as such: glass of water (or whatever beverage I happened to be holding lol - dumped some good beer & wine on the floor during this stage, durn dogs!) splashed in their faces caused a hesitation, hooked one up to the ever present chain bolted to my living room wall, dragged the other over to her crate. Leave for 10 minutes, wala, happy dogs again.
So I had my emergency fight breakup technique down, next it was up to finding & preventing the triggers. I think this is going to be different for each pair of dogs. For mine, it was, 1) control food (no food when we are together) 2) visitors - if I have company I only have one or the other loose - I’ve found otherwise they will find an excuse to become jealous of my or the visitor’s attention 3) get everyone plenty of daily exercise.
Once I had all 3 prevention steps down, I haven’t had anymore fights. I also think it was a growing stage thing - now they are 2 & 3.5 yrs old, seem to be mellowing out.
Yes this means to some degree I’ve rearranged my life to accomodate my dogs -
But it sounded to me like the OP is the type willing to do this too, rather than give up on one or both!
One caveat, my dogs fights never resulted in blood - they were just a lot of noise & posturing. Scary as h*ll but they obviously could have done each other damage and did not. If a pair of dogs are constantly, intentionally tearing each other up, I’d say that’s a different deal maybe requiring more permanent separation.
Good luck with your pack!
I am involved in dog rescue and often have bully and other ‘more aggressive’ breeds, some with issues, pass thru my farm. And have had some nasty fights to go with it.
What i have done is get about 8 axe handles and place them in strategic locations around the farm where I have experienced fights as the op has described. I have one on the front of the barn, one near the water trough in the pasture, one near the front gate, one at each pool gate, one on the front porch, one on the tractor etc. When a nasty fight (more than just a squabble) kicks off, I grab my axe handle and jump in swinging like Casey at bat. That usually stops it pretty quick. Then the offending party gets moved into a crate unless he is closely supervised. I have 2 on house arrest now.
[QUOTE=diffuse01;5753771]
Yes… I’m on PBC, kady05 is my user name over there. PBF is way too… rainbows & butterflies for me LOL.[/QUOTE]
Where’s the like button.
Sweets is me.
LOL, it’s so funny when I start talking to others on different forums who are members there and then realize who they are!
It’s a small world!
[QUOTE=Serigraph;5752259]
I have not read the replies so this may have already been said, but kick them apart.
I witnessed a horrible dog fight at a barn once. The pit went after the dal and it was so ugly. I was screaming and yelling and it did nothing. There was serious damage done to the dal. I wondered what to do if this ever happened again and was told to kick the dogs apart.
Once at my farm a boxer stray I picked up went after one of my dogs. I kicked her off my other dog and it did work. You’d obviously need to be careful that the dog won’t turn on you though.[/QUOTE]
I don’t have much experience with this type of things, but I will say that a pit bull (loose no less) attacked my little terrier at a horse show once. It was more of an attack than a fight, my little old girl cowered and tried to get away. I kicked the dog instinctively, one time and it let go right away. Thankfully it didn’t try to bite me, but instead looked quite ashamed. So I know this worked at least twice
By submitting your email, you agree to our Terms of Service and Privacy Policy. You may also receive promotional emails from The Chronicle of the Horse. You can opt out at any time.
For Customers
Company
Terms of Use
