Who has to crate and rotate?

[pistis]

I'm on high alert too because a friend of mine just had a horrific fight at her house. Three of her dogs (only one Pit mix) killed one of her dogs during a fight. As the three dogs ripped apart the one dog, her two other dogs (one formerly chained male Pit) got into a fight and she had to euthanize one. So, in one day, she lost two dogs. She is such an active dog advocate in the county, too, that it is so shocking. It happened on the same day as my last girl fight, too. Gosh, I'm just a big giant ball of stress!

Ok,really weird. I remember when you posted about your dog fight happening. That whole week I wasn't very involved on the forum because THAT SAME DAY, the same day your dogs fought, and now apparently this lady's dogs fought, SO did mine. I think I posted a thread about it happening.

I saw the warning signs too, but was about to leave for work so I thought I could wait 2 more mins. before putting them in their crates. Wrong. It was my first dog fight I had to break up alone. It wasn't good.

Ergo got rushed to the vet, got one stitch to hold his skin together under his chin while it heals up, ect. Both dogs got antibiotics. My finger did get in the way at one point, but it was my fault, they weren't trying to bite me, whoever did it didn't even bite hard (I think they knew it was my finger), and it wasn't bad. It is still healing though.

I just can't believe how many fights I'm hearing about happening in the same day. That whole day they were really excitable about something, running back and forth between the door and window, and when they went up for their last potty break their hackles were up and they were on high alert over something.

I knew I was about to leave for work so I thought that I had enough time to put them up. I brought them in, about a minute goes by, and they start fighting.

Now we crate and rotate for their own saftey. They can't keep getting on each others nerves and getting upset when they've had enough of the other one in their space in this small apt. There's just not enough room for all 4 of us. Poor dogs...can't wait to move into our first home.

[adoptapitbull]

My vet said this whole past month has been dogfight month!

Oh yeah, it is all our fault for getting in the middle. I learned my lesson on the last fight and stayed away from their heads. Grabbing collars never works anyway, so I grabbed and lifted the back legs.

Our home is kinda small, too. It's been cold in FL, so they don't want to be outside. When it's nice, we leave the door open and they just sunbathe for awhile. Can't wait to move to a bigger home for our next move!

[erpitrescue]

When I fostered, I crated and rotated. In a total of 14 dogs, I had some that could be out in groups of three, some in groups of two, and some dogs that were singles only.

Then and now, everyone crates singes when I am not home.

[adoptapitbull]

I've been thinking of doing some preventive C&R for 2 of the boys. Since they fought the same week the girls fought, I think I'd be less stressed if I C&Red than have something happen. That brings me to a question:

Is crating and rotating selfish for the owner?

I've heard some opinions saying that it's wrong to keep dogs if they don't get along. I've been told that C&R is cruel because they'll not be used to being crated as much as they will be.

My thought is, what are their chances of having a better life? Is anyone really going to adopt a Pit who has known DA issues? I know that doing the C&R dance is a safe way of having multiple dogs, whether they're Bullies or not.

Has anyone else encountered negative opinion when they mention C&R?

[michele5611]

I def. think you should crate and rotate. It sounds like the most viable option for you and the dogs. I do not think crating and rotating is selfish when you look at the alternatives. I am a single bully owner and I have to crate for the safety of my dog. I moved from a condo to a house about 4 years ago and my dog has never adapted to the house. I have tried giving her the run of the house, leaving her in my bedroom, gating her in my family room all to no avail. She manages to get out and wreak havoc on the house but more importantly herself. She has opened the pantry and eaten bottles of vitamins, opened cabinets and ingested bars of bakers chocolate, opened bags of flour and proceeded to run from one floor to the next in everyroom leaving a trail of white paw prints, knocked over lamps, pulled down blinds, etc....it is impossible to fully dog proof the house. I had such anxiety about coming home because I never new what I was coming home too. The last straw was when I got a call from my alarm company saying that the alarm went off due to the window being shattered. All I could think of was she tried to jump through the window. Needless to say in all her escapades that day she had just managed to set the sensor off. My point is I do not care what people say it is my dog and my decision and I know I am doing what is best for her safety and my sanity. Do I feel bad about having to put her in a cage - sure but at the end of the day it is about me coming home to my dog or in your case dogs in one piece. Also when you consider that if one does not crate and rotate and that may lead to re-homing one of their dogs it is a no brainer! Just my opinion and I hope it helps!

[adoptapitbull]

That was my thinking, too. I mean, it's not like I'd shove any dog in a crate for a whole day or anything. Some people have to crate their dogs for 8 hours when they work, so how is that different from C&R? The only difference being crating to keep dogs away from each other rather than crating for a reason like you stated. Cappy used to be that way when he was a pup. He was soooo bad if he managed to escape. We had to cable tie him into the crate, and even then he'd figure out a way to pull carpet up through it. Now he's good in the crate, thank goodness!

[michele5611]

I make no apologies to the "haters" when it comes to the precautions I take for the well -being of my dog (or dogs in your case) when I can not be with her.

[valliesong]

I make no apologies either. Since when is it loving your dog to add another body to the homeless pet population (and the euthanasia floor)? Do you really think your dog aggressive mature dog is that adoptable? Especially more adoptable than another pet that home may take in?

When you get these dogs, whether you are educated at the time or not, you make the commitment to keep them regardless of whether or not they develop dog aggression. If you aren't willing to accept that risk, you shouldn't have multiple pets of any species or breed. It happens with cats, guinea pigs, parakeets, and every breed of dog. People need to do research and make an effort rather than just giving up on the animal. THAT is selfish.

Rehoming should only be an absolute last resort. It is up to the so-called intelligent one (the human) to find a solution to the problem.

[adoptapitbull]

I do believe there are certain cases of aggression where you have to decide what is best for your dogs vs keeping them in the same environment causing the stress.

Of course I still feel awful about rehoming my Dane mix, but at the advice of many of my local rescue friends (most with more years experience than I am alive) and my vet (again, super experienced and unfortunately does see a lot of fight cases) everyone deemed it unfair to the other two females (not Pits) to keep her. My Cur has even had seizures, probably about 4 that I've seen, and the common thread was the Dane. She'd either fight with her, or just intmidate the heck out of her and the Cur would seize. Since she's been gone, not one seizure. The Bulldog is also much more laid back and less on edge. She was very nervous all the time. After seeing what damage the Dane has done to both girls, and once to Cappy, I felt that I would be the selfish one to have kept her.

With two of my boys now, I'm doing some C&R when I'm here alone. They still do interact wih each other, but only when everyone is calm. It seemed that too much playing would quickly become too rough. I'm not worried if they get to a point where it becomes necessary all the time. Neither of them mind the crate, and I think they get more idividual attention since we'll let the crated one out in the room by himself and have some mommy/daddy and doggy playtime. As long as you don't banish one dog to a room by himself and make crate time seem like fun time, I don't see it being wrong at all.

[AmyJo27]

I think you are doing a wonderful job adoptapitbull! Kudos to you!!

You are being a GREAT & responcible dog/Pibble owner!

[maryellen]

you can also use steel baby gates and rooms instead of crates for crate /rotate too.. this way the dogs can still see but wont be in a crate, but instead room with gates. or even sturdy tie outs in the house where both dogs can be leashed away from each other but still in same room.. double baby gates in doorways . dr foster and smith sells really nice metal pressure gates at different heights and i have one of them and they are super sturdy

[pitunia]

Having 15 pitties at the house, crate and rotate is very necessary. My personal dog and my foster dogs come from various backgrounds and have assorted behaviors.

Each one of my dogs and foster dogs get their personal time but we respect the breed and encourage positive interaction. The crate is a great tool to teach a dog life is good, no more fighting...or we do not fight in this house....The human either makes the crate a good place or a bad place...it is all up to us

[adoptapitbull]

Wow! How on Earth do you handle 15?! I don't think I have room in my house for 15 crates even without the rest of our stuff! lol