Bad pitbull situation( sorry its long) (bites, vet, wound, aggressive) - - City-Data Forum

charlieb7 · 10-23-2011, 07:20 AM

Hi I was wondering if anyone has some advice to give. About a year ago we rescued two pit bull mix dogs from our local dog pound. We were told the female was 2 years old and the male was also 2 ( they are not related). They got along fine, however during this time we noticed the male was more of a pup and was chewing on items and such. During the year we noticed the male was losing weight even though we feed the dogs in two different spots the female was not letting him eat and seemed to be the dominate one. We have encountered them having spats as time has progressed. We have thrown water at them and they usually stop. However this week, my husband was playing catch with them, one of them got the ball and the other took the ball away. In turn they jumped on each other, we could not get them to stop, blood was flying we tried the water hose, sticks, yelling, finally my husband had to laso them by the waist to pull them apart.

It was a very horrible sight to see, my children and I litterally were sick over this. The male suffered bites to his ears, nothing major. However the female had bites down to the bone and required surgery to repair her wounds. This was over 1400 dollars. We have her home now, with three drains and tons of staples/stitches. We do have them separated, but long term I am really scared this will happen again. I believe they would have fought to the death if my husband would not have pulled them apart. Our vet didnt seemed concerned only said they were finding out who was the dominate dog. Has anyone had experience with this type of behavior? We thought our dog was not going to make it. Im really scared putting them together again. For the most part they are very loving and kind even sleep indoors with us during the winter, never have been aggresive to us. They just cant seem to get along. Any thoughts or suggestions?

charlieb7 · 10-23-2011, 07:24 AM

I forgot to add that they dont seem to fight until we are around. It has something to do with us, I believe, as they stay alone together during the day,. The incidents only occur when we are outside or playing with them. Also my husband has a few people over on weekend to work on vehicles and they had an indicent of fighting when his friends were present also.

Driller1 · 10-23-2011, 07:55 AM

Are they neutered???

charlieb7 · 10-23-2011, 07:58 AM

Yes both the male and female are fixed

subject2change · 10-23-2011, 08:58 AM

You really need to have a behaviorist come in and evaluate the dogs, help you figure out what has triggered this and if it can be worked through.
There are many pit bulls that are not dog aggressive, and many that are. With any breed, dog aggression doesn't always show up until adulthood.
Until you can get someone to evaluate your dogs, you will need to keep them separate. Even though this hasn't happened when they're alone so far, that's exactly when you don't want anything to go wrong. These injuries are too serious to take chances with. This situation will take a lot of work, either retraining, or a permanent "crate and rotate" lifestyle for the dogs. If you are really ready for one of these, you will be able to keep them both, but you may have to return one of the dogs to be adopted out as an only dog.
Sorry, rereading the OP the dogs came from the pound, so returning them there wouldn't be an option. If a behaviorist doesn't see a resolution to this problem, I would contact local rescues, perhaps offering to keep one of the dogs as a foster until a home is found.

phonelady61 · 10-23-2011, 09:20 AM

I think maybe these two dogs need to be in one dog only homes . Some dogs are just like that and will always be that way and I would keep them seperated until you get some rescue to come and get one of them and stress that most likely they are only one dog home dogs . You have to think about your children and family first . One of the children could get caught in between these dogs and could end in disaster .

mrs1885 · 10-23-2011, 10:05 AM

You need a trainer. Based on your statement that you even let them 'sleep inside in the winter' I'm guessing they're outdoor dogs. Outdoors dogs generally speaking don't get nearly enough training and socialization. The behavior you were seeing when they were little - especially the female not letting the male eat - was a massive red flag that you missed. You should have been getting involved THEN.

Your vet is right. They are deciding which is dominant. The answer should be the HUMANS should be the leader, not either of the dogs. Now you need a professional trainer with experience with aggression. It's not going to be easy to fix. They've got learned behaviors and they'll need to unlearn them. And it's very possible - look at the Vick dogs. They CAN be rehabbed. You're just going to have to make a commitment to that. If you can't look for pit rescues and see if they can take the male since he's the submissive.

Sad. Good luck.

subject2change · 10-23-2011, 11:19 AM

I need to read more carefully. I missed the sleeping indoors in the winter thing too. Pit bulls make horrible outside dogs. Beside the thinner coats that don't help them enough with cold and heat, they are really attached to their people. They don't want to be outside by themselves, even with attention and playtime, and this may be the problem. Your family is important to them and you've made yourselves a scarce resource they don't want to share. That would be something to discuss with a behaviorist.

LuvABull.Denver · 10-23-2011, 12:21 PM

I have to agree with Subject2Change, you need a behaviorist, not a trainer and yes their IS a difference. That assessment is spot on!

Please let us know how things work out!

TFW46 · 10-23-2011, 02:58 PM

Yes, you need someone to help you teach your dogs some manners -- but most novice owners arent equipped to handle the desire of two pit bull mixes to determine who's the boss.

I've posted a solution to this kind of problem in this forum in the past.

There is one fairly-easy solution to the dog aggression issue. You can have a doggie dentist grind down the canine teeth (under anesthesia) of the aggressor. If the canine teeth are ground down even with the other teeth, the dog cannot bite; he can only pinch. With pit bulls, I'd probably have the canine teeth ground down on both dogs.

I've had it done to my dogs twice...once, in the mid 1970's, before I was aware of dog training, and again in 1998, when I was recovering from a heart attack and my physical activity was severely limited. Both times it worked like a charm.

With the first two dogs (in the 1970's), it had become a habit for the older dog to attack the younger one and the canine-grinding was my last option. The first time the aggressor tried to attack the other dog after his canines had been ground down, all he could do was pinch -- and not even break the skin. The look on the aggressor's face was priceless. He realized that something had happened to his "power" and he couldnt figure out what. After that, the two dogs became fast friends and I never had another problem for the rest of their lives.

I saw the same immediate resolution the second time (in 1998). The resolution was immediate both times because the dogs themselves worked out the issue. Once the aggressor realizes he no longer has the power to hurt the other dog, you can almost see him relax (after a bit of confusion). And any time you can have the dogs solve the problem themselves, you're way ahead of the game.

I was a dog trainer for 25+ years and, in all my years of dog training, I suggested canine grinding to maybe 20 owners. Maybe 6-7 owners took my advice and every one of those 6-7 owners saw the same immediate resolution.

To those who will ask if the canine-grinding hurts, the answer my doggie dentists gave me was always no. Something was done to the nerves there but I cant recall what. I do know that, once the dogs came out of anesthesia, they showed no sign of discomfort at all.

The charge for this procedure was @ $100 total in 1998. I've also heard of owners having the canine teeth pulled for aggression, but I think that's extreme...much more so than grinding.