Help!!!!

[Ninabeana26]

So I have a little bit of a situation here & need some opinions…

Mark & I bring home Dallas (our new B puppy) on Thursday of this week. He will be 9 weeks + 1 day when we get him. Now the issue is the possibility of adding another dog in April. Not just any other dog either...a pittbull :eek:

So here's the deal...Mark's brother is in the Marines & found out that he is being deployed to Iraq in April for 9 months. He has a 1 year old pitt (pure bred - got from a reputable breeder, etc). that as far as he tells me is well trained, great with other dogs, loves women, etc. BUT can be very territorial of his home.

He asked us if we would take him for the 9 months he will be deployed. If we say no, he is talking about giving the dog away all together since there is no one else who could possibly take him He absolutely doesn't want to do this since he says it's his "baby". I've outlined some pros/cons that I have thought of but please let me know honestly what you guys think!

Pros:
We'd be helping out Mark's brother a great deal
Dallas would have another dog to play with…hopefully
Dallas would get used to having another dog in the house (we're already talking of getting another B after Dallas is about 1-2 years old)
He is well trained so I wouldn't have to worry on that aspect (as far as I know)

Cons:
What if he & Dallas fight?!? He could literally eat a B!
He is territorial of his home so would that make him be territorial with Dallas as well & cause chaos?
Dallas will only be with us 3.5 months by then & I don't want to freak him out bringing a new dog, one three times his size & could literally eat him in one chomp, into HIS home...

I'm really battling with this so any opinions would greatly help!

[hdolbow]

although im no expert, i do know that pits have a horrible reputation. I know people with pits and they are the sweetest dogs ever. It's really depends on how the dog is raised. If it came from a good breeder, and is well taken care of, it doesn't matter WHAT breed it is, if it's uncomfortable, you will know. B's can even be this way.. If his pit is not aggressive towards the puppy, you or anyone else in your house, i dont honestly see a problem, because you probably wouldnt be leaving them alone together.. and you're right, it does get your puppy used to having another dog in the house.. It's only a year old, so it, itself, is still a puppy in nature. I would never say just do it on a whim.. its something you would have to really put effort into, you know? they'd have to spend time together WAY before you made a firm decision..

[Ninabeana26]

@hdolbow:

they'd have to spend time together WAY before you made a firm decision..

Yea the problem is that couldn't really happen. If we decide to take him, Justin (Mark's brother) would send him via airplane to Orlando from Cali (where he is currently stationed) & that'd be it. So we couldn't really expose them to each other before agreeing to keep him. That makes it even more of a big decision…

[hdolbow]

wow, that situation is really horrible..:( i could never imagine giving my two little rascals away..

Rocky is pretty territorial. well.. EXTREMELY territorial.. one night my boyfriend couldnt even walk in our bedroom because rocky was laying with me in bed and growled when he came in the doorway.. like i'm HIS. lol he doesnt like dogs really.. Max, (my boyfriend's aunts dog.. about the size of a great dane.. and the biggest WIMP out there..who runs around in the horse pasture with the horses) is acrosss the street and rocky tries to attack him through the fence.. and pees everywhere.. hes attacked my parents lab/rotty mix the first couple times they were together.. but now LOVES playing with her.. (the actual reason we decided on getting the puppy) but we got the puppy and im not gonna lie, he actually went after her, like not playing.. and i had to put him in a different room. three hours later when i wasnt here, my boyfriend had them together and they were completely fine, playing and talking to each other.. so my crazy, territorial, bipolar dog, (LOL) was perfectly fine after warming up to the pup.. he's still not 100% with her.. but he is VERY gentile. and he is 2 1/2.

anythings possible.. they could be best friends or worst enemies, you just gotta decide if its worth trying..

[Jylly18]

If it was only a year old, and from a good breeder, could the pit bull be returned to the breeder for the 9 months?

[ChaseandZahrasmom]

I was thinking the same thing about contacting the breeder for help, given the circumstance I would hope this would be an option.

I know you should ban the deed not the breed but I still have a hard time with Pit Bulls, they scare me. It could be the loose ones once that I have met in our neighborhood one morning that backed me into our house and probably would have bitten me had Chase and Zahra not have been in the yard and started making noise and distracted them. I know that could happen with any dog but maybe it is the reputation that made that so much scarier to me.

Also, does your apartment or housing association (I don't know if you own or rent) have any breed bans? This could be something to consider also.

I know what a tough situation you are in and you want to do the best thing for your brother-in-law, you are being smart to think this through.

@Jylly18:

If it was only a year old, and from a good breeder, could the pit bull be returned to the breeder for the 9 months?

[agilebasenji]

@ChaseandZahrasmom:

Also, does your apartment or housing association (I don't know if you own or rent) have any breed bans? This could be something to consider also.

Your homeowner's insurance is also something to check.

I think that before you decide, the bully breeder should be consulted. Even if you're leaning on taking the dog in. How would/could you deal with things if the two dogs did not get along? Also, is the dog neutered? Personally, I'm not sure I'd take an unneutered male bully into my home. Crate trained?

[Ninabeana26]

@agilebasenji:

Your homeowner's insurance is also something to check.

I think that before you decide, the bully breeder should be consulted. Even if you're leaning on taking the dog in. How would/could you deal with things if the two dogs did not get along? Also, is the dog neutered? Personally, I'm not sure I'd take an unneutered male bully into my home. Crate trained?

Our apartment complex does not have breed limits. I checked that before I even gave this idea the time of day.

The dog is NOT neutered, which is another reason why I am not so quick to say yes. Dallas will only be 5 months by then so also not neutered & having two un-neutered dogs in the house kind of scares me! I'm afraid they could be more aggressive towards one another, even though Dallas will still be so young. If the bully decided to be aggressive with Dallas I would fear that I'd be uncapable of stopping them since I am not strong enough. Mark says he could certainly handle the pitt but he also cannot be there 24/7!

He is crate trained, stays in his during the day while Justin is working. I actually think he sleeps in his crate as well.

He contacted the breeder befiore contacting us and the breeder said that as of right now she didn't think she'd have extra room for him with her own dogs to manage. She said to contact him about 3 weeks prior to deployment & see if that has changed but she also said it's unlikely. She said she'd take the dog back all together though so…I'm not sure what is going on with that...

[Mia]

Would Midge consider keeping Dallas with her for the next 9 months until the pitbull is gone? I know that would be hard to be away from the new pup for that long, but it might be a solution to help keep your borther in law's pictbull in the family…or I could even see if we could take Dallas here for the 9 months, and then you could come and visit anytime

[Ninabeana26]

@Mia:

Would Midge consider keeping Dallas with her for the next 9 months until the pitbull is gone? I know that would be hard to be away from the new pup for that long, but it might be a solution to help keep your borther in law's pictbull in the family…or I could even see if we could take Dallas here for the 9 months, and then you could come and visit anytime

See I thought about that for about…1 second. But I don't think it is fair to Mark, me nor Dallas to send him away when it's HIS home you know? Plus. after getting him I can almost guarantee that I couldn't live without him for 9 whole months.

If I were to take the pitt it would be on a trail run to see how he reacts & if he has any aggression towards Dallas, or even me or Mark, then I will be forced to put him somewhere else. Problem is, if this happens, where would he go?!

There is just so many aspects to consider. It's frustrating too because when it comes down to it they could be best buds & not have any issues at all...but then they could try to kill each other & so it's a huge risk either way...

[renaultf1]

I have another idea…
Could you have Mark's brother ship the dog to you at least a month early. That way you could have some time to see if there are problems and the dog could go back to Mark if there are problems. If the breeder is willing to take the dog back like has been said, Mark's brother has an out if the dog comes back. Granted Dallas will only be 2.5 months at the time.

Yes it would be an outlay of cash for Mark's brother to do it, especially if the dog had to go back, but I don't think I could make a snap, permanent decision that could affect my household for 9 months without giving the dog a try without an "out" for myself...especially when I didn't know the dog.

The only other thing I would work out in advance is if you don't give it a trial period and decide to take the dog, if it doesn't work out I would be sure the brother gives you the breeder info...especially if he plans on giving it back if he can't find a foster before his deployment.

Tough one.

[Barklessdog]

I would think the basenji would challenge the pit right off the bat to determine who is the boss, which may not fare well for the basenji.

[Craigh]

No way I'd consider doing this without at least a couple week trial run.

I know how my neutered male Basenji would have reacted to a situation like this - and the outcome wouldn't have been good.

[wizard]

I might also suggest asking the brother if he will get the pit neutered now.

[tanza]

IMO, I think it would be a big mistake to bring an "in-tact" dog of any breed into your home, let alone a bully, especially with a puppy bitch… and take the chance she comes in season??... and with your statements about Rocky... I for one would never chance it....

[BasenjiDiva]

A couple more ideas: Around many military bases there are people or groups who are sympathetic to the plight of deploying service members with pets. There are often people out there who will foster their pets. Best case scenerio would be to see if there is a pit bull rescue group near his current base who has a member who will foster his dog.(He might be able to find that info on the internet.) The Humane Societies and animal control facilities are overburdened when whole military units deploy and so they might be willing to help find a solution rather than end up with another animal. If your BIL checks with the local humane society, they may be able to point him in the right direction of people who might foster. If he did get the dog from a responsible breeder, that breeder may want to have a say so in where that dog goes….especially in view of the potential of how a pit bull can be misused.

Follow your intuition: If you feel too uneasy about this DON'T do it! Your responsibility is to your puppy and your family.

This is the point where I am going to get up on a soap box and open myself up as a target: 1st let me explain that my husband was career Army and was a helicopter pilot in Vietnam and Iraq. I was an Army nurse when DH and I met and married. My father was career Army. My two brothers and 2 of DH's brothers were in the Army. I currently live within a few miles of a military base. I say all that to show that I am very much in support of and sympathetic to service members. Having said that, let me also say that it is irresponsible for anyone, especially a soldier who knows he will be deployed, to get a pet without making arrangements BEFORE he gets the pet for that pet's care when he is deployed. The local rescue groups, humane society, pound, etc get absolutely hammered with these animals when units get deployed. It just isn't right that YOU have to feel bad if you don't want to take the risk and responsibility for a pit bull. Your BIL should have asked you if you'd take it BEFORE he got it! I don't plan on anything happening to me or DH but we made contingency plans before we got Cory.

Just my humble opinion….Now I'll step aside and run for cover.

Pat

[tanza]

@BasenjiDiva:

A couple more ideas: Around many military bases there are people or groups who are sympathetic to the plight of deploying service members with pets. There are often people out there who will foster their pets. Best case scenerio would be to see if there is a pit bull rescue group near his current base who has a member who will foster his dog.(He might be able to find that info on the internet.) The Humane Societies and animal control facilities are overburdened when whole military units deploy and so they might be willing to help find a solution rather than end up with another animal. If your BIL checks with the local humane society, they may be able to point him in the right direction of people who might foster. If he did get the dog from a responsible breeder, that breeder may want to have a say so in where that dog goes….especially in view of the potential of how a pit bull can be misused.

Follow your intuition: If you feel too uneasy about this DON'T do it! Your responsibility is to your puppy and your family.

This is the point where I am going to get up on a soap box and open myself up as a target: 1st let me explain that my husband was career Army and was a helicopter pilot in Vietnam and Iraq. I was an Army nurse when DH and I met and married. My father was career Army. My two brothers and 2 of DH's brothers were in the Army. I currently live within a few miles of a military base. I say all that to show that I am very much in support of and sympathetic to service members. Having said that, let me also say that it is irresponsible for anyone, especially a soldier who knows he will be deployed, to get a pet without making arrangements BEFORE he gets the pet for that pet's care when he is deployed. The local rescue groups, humane society, pound, etc get absolutely hammered with these animals when units get deployed. It just isn't right that YOU have to feel bad if you don't want to take the risk and responsibility for a pit bull. Your BIL should have asked you if you'd take it BEFORE he got it! I don't plan on anything happening to me or DH but we made contingency plans before we got Cory.

Just my humble opinion….Now I'll step aside and run for cover.

Pat

No need to run for cover, very well put…. your entire post....

[Ninabeana26]

@wizard:

I might also suggest asking the brother if he will get the pit neutered now.

He won't get it neutered because he is going to breed him upon returning from Iraq. He has been asked by someone who received their pitt from the same blood line to be the stud. He told me he got permission from the breeder and everything…

[Ninabeana26]

@tanza:

IMO, I think it would be a big mistake to bring an "in-tact" dog of any breed into your home, let alone a bully, especially with a puppy bitch… and take the chance she comes in season??... and with your statements about Rocky... I for one would never chance it....

Our B is a male, not female. We don't have a female in the house. Our male puppy will come home THIS THURSDAY. Thus, he'll be with us only about 3 months when we would (if we do) get the bully.

[Ninabeana26]

@BasenjiDiva:

This is the point where I am going to get up on a soap box and open myself up as a target: 1st let me explain that my husband was career Army and was a helicopter pilot in Vietnam and Iraq. I was an Army nurse when DH and I met and married. My father was career Army. My two brothers and 2 of DH's brothers were in the Army. I currently live within a few miles of a military base. I say all that to show that I am very much in support of and sympathetic to service members. Having said that, let me also say that it is irresponsible for anyone, especially a soldier who knows he will be deployed, to get a pet without making arrangements BEFORE he gets the pet for that pet's care when he is deployed. The local rescue groups, humane society, pound, etc get absolutely hammered with these animals when units get deployed. It just isn't right that YOU have to feel bad if you don't want to take the risk and responsibility for a pit bull. Your BIL should have asked you if you'd take it BEFORE he got it! I don't plan on anything happening to me or DH but we made contingency plans before we got Cory.

Just my humble opinion….Now I'll step aside and run for cover.

Pat

Thank for the well-put opinion. I completely agree! When he told us he got the bully the first thing I asked was "where are you going to send him if you get deployed?!?" He, at the time, was living with a girl (also owner of a bully pitt) & so said that she obviously could watch him in their home. Well, they recently (about 3 months ago) had a nasty break up so her watching him is out of the question now. He was also thinking of using his mom (since she currently has a dog as well) but she said no because she's in the process of splitting from her fiance so it's too sticky of a situation for her to take him. Their other brother is also a Marine, who lives in the barrack's, thus he also cannot take him.