It definitely felt like I aged 10 years in a few minutes this am. I must have looked like a complete crazy person. My neighbors don't know me because I moved up here mid-winter, and only recently has it warmed up enough for chance encounters with neighbors outside. I went running outside at 10:30 am with 2 leashes, 1 dog, a sample bag of cat food, wearing Christmas themed pj pants, a bright yellow Georgia Tech hoodie sweatshirt, no glasses so i can't see, randomly shouting "HAVE YOU SEEN A LITTLE DOG RUNNING AROUND!" at my neighbors.
Both of my girls are microchipped. I know there is a lot of debate about collars. I fear, especially with the martingale style, that mine will strangle themselves if they get caught on something when I'm not around. In this case, I'm glad Callie didn't have a collar on because the rungs on the porch are so close together, she may have caught the collar without realizing it & jumped & hung herself. I do worry that they will get out & somebody will find them but not know to check for a microchip, but even dogs with collars can lose them while running around loose. So I don't think there is a right or wrong answer for when to collar them. Mine don't usually dart out of doors, so I don't worry about it too often.
As for the porch; that will not be accessible to them if I can not supervise them from now on. Fortunately I will only be here for a couple more weeks, so I won't worry about adding chicken wire or anything. I'm already saving up for a basenji proof fence for the new house though. Callie is quite the escape artist when she has motivation (clearly!)
Pit Bull Attack
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. . Needless to say, despite the majesty and beauty of this dog, and despite what pit bulls owners say about their dog being really friendly, I have a wariness of that breed anytime I see an owner with a pit bull. BaMicas mom
Pit Bulls tend to be very friendly with PEOPLE…...obviously, as with any breed, you will encounter some that are not, but as a breed {that's why law enforcement officers LOVE them; they actually bite the trainers/handlers less often than other breeds like German Sheps and Labs believe it or not}...... but you do have to watch the males closely sometimes with other male dogs.
Most pit owners that I know won't own two male pits, and those that do often have to keep them separate from one another -- kind of the way we do our Basenjis and our cats -- and it's a real PIA.
I've never known a pit that was not goofy-friendly with people, but I know one right now that will attack any male dog it sees. It's weird to see him transform from a giant puppy-like personality into a crazy dog that has to be peeled off another dog's haunches. I won't let that one anywhere near my house/dogs -- and when he was a puppy he used to play here!
His owners sort of "accidentally" got a second male {rescue that never went away}, and THAT dog doesn't mind other males. But the first one does. They used to be able to have them in the room together as long as the people were home, but the first one started picking fights even when the people were in the room. Around Easter time, he started and it took THREE adult males and a woman to separate the dogs. I'd have gotten rid of one of them, but these folks opted to keep both, keep them separated {by a door, because gates don't work} and play "musical dogs" all the time. It's crazy.
I love the breed, but I would never own them. I don't want to own a dog that I can't handle on my own in the event of a fight. They are NOT for novice dog owners, and sadly I think many people who haven't a clue get them because they are "cool".
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Pit Bulls tend to be very friendly with PEOPLE…...obviously, as with any breed, you will encounter some that are not, but as a breed {that's why law enforcement officers LOVE them; they actually bite the trainers/handlers less often than other breeds like German Sheps and Labs believe it or not}...... but you do have to watch the males closely sometimes with other male dogs.
I would imagine you are talking about well bred pits, where the breeders have selected for nice temperament, and the dogs have been handled by experienced dog people all their lives. And, I definitely believe you about the German sheps, but find it very hard to believe that either breed bites less than Labs….
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I would imagine you are talking about well bred pits, where the breeders have selected for nice temperament, and the dogs have been handled by experienced dog people all their lives. ..
Isn't that the case with any breed, though. A poorly bred dog of any variety is going to be a problem. If you couple that with an inexperienced or ignorant owner, you've got a huge problem.
Anybody here ever look at the American Temperment Test Society stuff? They test dogs by breed for temperment. http://www.atts.org/testdesc.html
The dogs are tested for unprovoked aggression, panic, avoidance, etc.The American Pit Bull scores an 84.1% passing rate {slightly higher than the popular golden retriever}, while our beloved Basenjis came in at 66.7%.
I know the test doesn't "prove" anthing, but it makes for an interesting read to see how the various dogs scored.
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I worked in vet clinics for several years and we didn't mind the pits that came in. I also worked in the ghetto so I am pretty sure at least one for sure was a fighting pit. Anyway, they were very friendly even being at the vets office. There aggression towards dogs was unbeliveable. A Fighting pit it's expected but most pits we saw would tolerate dogs that were part of their home pack but that was it. The problem I have with the breed as a whole is their potential to do so much damage. That is what makes them dangerous.
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While we were stationed in Puerto Rico my husband's diving buddy had a Pit Bull. He would come over sometimes with his owner and seemed really mild mannered. The owner told me that he was good and would not hurt a flea, well, sorry but I didn't trust that dog. Yea, he seemed to be sweet, but, I just couldn't let my guard down. This was when I didn't own a dog to protect, so I know I wouldn't like my sweet Sahara around a pit. I was worried about his pit hurting my son who was 11 at the time. I have been told that Pit Bulls were bred to attack and kill and that their jaws lock once around anything they go after. Enough said, I don't like the breed.
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I never meant to imply that a pit WON'T attack a person, whether it has first attacked another dog or not. I apologize if that's they way I came across.
I was just saying that the typical pit will not attack a person; they should not be feared per se. This is not to say that one should not be cautious, as you should with any dog, particularly those breeds that are powerhouses.
The German Shephard was the "bad boy" dog of the '60's; Dobies had the '70's; Rotties had the '80's, and the Pits have the 90's onward thus far.
Eventually some idiots will begin to misbreed and misuse some other powerful strong-willed dog and we'll have a new one.Frankly, I'm still more leary of German Sheps than any other breed, but then, it's the only breed I had a scary experience with as a child [not even that scary, but I was a kid!LOL] so that probably feeds my discomfort. It's sad because my neighbors have this beautiful Shepherd, great with the kids, etc, and I am always nervous about him. AND they keep him off-leash a lot so I get very nervous every time I walk my dogs past his place. Which is stupid when you consider the only time he's ever fought any dog of mine was when Gypsy got out the gate once, went to HIS place, and attacked HIM. Yikes!! that was the only time she's ever been in a fight. She has hated him since he moved in; she watches his every move through the fence. It's weird.
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I definately think that too many people get pits because they think they are cool and have no idea what they are getting into. I also think that these people really don't understand the amount of training any dog needs before they can walk in public without a leash, let alone the training for a real guard dog(The lady who owned the pits said "i'm so sorry-they're guard dogs").
A friend of mine bred pit bulls for several years. His mating pair were very sweet and got along well with both people and animals… until he stopped training them. Once his girlfriend moved out and he had to work for 12 hours a day they got completely out of control. Eventually they killed a horse (a champion arabian) and he was forced to put them to sleep.
Training, training, training..... -
I hate the term "guard dog" from most people. 9 times out of 10 it means they have a poorly socialized, inadequately trained BIG dog.
And you are so right: Like with Basenjis, only way moreso because of the sheer power of the breed, training must be constant and consistent.
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Guard dog is exactly what the name implies. A highly trained, socialized, temperment tested dog that obeys every command the owner gives the first time, every time. I cringe when I see the cops on TV with their poorly trained dogs. In the private sector that we train, if a dog doesn't obey the first command in a consistent manner he goes back to basic obedience before moving forward. Yes, I understand sometimes 2nd commands happen-but they should be few and very far between. If I say return to a guard dog, I mean return and let it go. Again training doesn't happen overnight and any idiot can train a dog to bite someone-scary isn't it!
