A couple questions

[shay19]

So I have had my female since she was a puppy, got her in like October I think, and she was instantly a momma's girl. So my fiance wanted a puppy that he could play with and be his dog, so my friend had to get rid of his pit lab mix so we took him.
Well, he failed to mention the puppy could climb fences so we've had to keep him chained up by the dog house cause my neighbor was getting mad that he'd go play with her dog in the backyard (now he wouldnt eat her dogs food, play with his toys, cause troublr, nothin but play). But my question is any suggestions to keep him in the yard without being chained up cause he really cant run and play like I want him to. And another one, my female will take every toy away from him and keep it just out of his reach so he can't play, is that something I need to fix or is this just normal for her thinking like everything is her's like it used to be? The 2 get along great but she wants everything he has no matter what it is, she wont fight or anything but she doesnt share either?

[adoptapitbull]

Become a fan of "Pawfriendly Landscapes" on Facebook. Great tips for dog-proofing fences. You could also get a large outdoor kennel to keep him in when you can't be outside watching him. We supervise all yard time to prevent any digging under the fence. If you don't do something soon, it could result in tragedy if your dog gets out and gets hit by a car.

[michele5611]

Is this an outdoor dog?

[sugar]

He probably shouldn't be alone in the yard then if he is known to scale fences. I understand that your dog just wants to play with the neighbor dog, but you don't want something bad happening to the dog because he got into the wrong yard (people have been known to poison/shoot/maim other 'trespassing' dogs). Since yo have pits now you have to be the best possible neigbor (just think of it this way, you wouldn't want someone else's dog always getting into your yard).

The toy thing is something others can help you better with (the female might just trying to be play a "keep-away' game or it could turn into a possesion thing).

[RealPitBull]

The simplest way to solve this problem is to just take your dog out on leash and then bring him back in when he's done with his business. Find creative ways to exercise him on leash, like walking, jogging, hikking, taking him out on a long leash that he can run on, etc.

Chaining isn't safe for a long list of reasons (namely the dog could get tangled, choke, stolen, attacked by another loose dog, teased or hurt by strangers, etc. Chained dogs are also one of the biggest bite risks, and often you'll read stories in the newspaper about Pit Bulls who were chained in their yards and attackedor even killed other animals or children (not saying that your dog would hurt anyone, or another animal, but especially in the case of animals, it is always a possibility that something bad can happen when a dog is not supervised).

As far as the situation with your own dog taking toys from the other, dogs tend to be possessive creatures - sharing isn't typically in their repertoir, especially when it comes to favored toys and treats. I really wouldn't worry about this behavior in general.

What you DO need to be aware of however is the fact that dogs, especially Pit Bulls, can likely get into fights over valued possessions, so you should monitor play time carefully and if one dog seems to be getting frustrated, remove him or her, or simple take the item and put it away. I would also suggest that you not leave toys, etc laying around, and only take them out when you are carefully supervising. Valued posssessions are known as "triggers" that can cause fights, even with dogs that are typically non-aggressive and good friends.

[shay19]

Just to clarify a little bit:

These 2 are not totally outdoor dogs, only in good weather are they in our backyard (and its just cause they arent fully potty trained yet, doing good but still ahve accidents) and only for like 5 hours.

Bruiser (my male lab/pit mix) loves kids and every animal he's seen and loves to play, I had issues with little kids petting the dogs and running away which didnt help with keeping him in the yard, so we put garbage cans in front of the agte so kids couldnt get to the dogs directly, then we had someone opening our gate to let them out, so we got a padlock. Bruiser will stay in the yard until my neighbors kids or dog is out, then he'll go over and play fetch with them. My female doesnt know how to get it and I want to keep it that way (she has a lot of muscle and looks scary if she's running at you, even thought she's not mean its just her body). Therefore he's chained up until we can be outside to supervise.

As far as the toys go, when bruiser is off the chain my female, Aida, plays tug-o-war and runs around with him... this only happens when he's on the chain she'll take close toys away and only when she wants to she'll bring it close and then run away again if he trys to grab it to play with her.

They're great together, my female wont even walk on a leash unless he's there with her, I just don't quite get the toy thing i've never seen another dog do it before.

[erpitrescue]

I have seen similar behaviors, though not with one chained and one unchained, but that might just be because I don't chain my dogs.
When I have one dog crated, and another not crated, I've seen the uncrated dog bring a toy up to the crate and lay down with it and chew on it or play with it, where the crated dog can't get to it. In my mind (this isnt very scientific) I've always pictured the uncrated dog going "neenerneenerneener". Heh.
In my experience, this behavior can cause frustration issues with the dog that is not allowed access to the toy while the other is basically allowed to "" the dog with no access. I would not allow this behavior to continue if it were my dogs. I would remove toys/high value items that the unchained dog has accesss to, so she can't "" the tethered dog.

[maryellen]

make sure the chain cant get to the fence or he will hang himself on the fence as he tries to go over ...

[patchopits]

You may want to put a kennel run with a roof on it in the yard, if you aren't going to be outside with them; though it is better not to have them out unattended. JMO though...

[loverocksalot]

Yeah that happened to a dog down the street they did not have stops on his trolly and he tried to jump the fence as he did on several ocassions before he was on trolly and he hung himself and died.
Before my yard was fenced I had Rocky on a trolly but I would only turn my back for short periods like going to the bathroom or around front to get something. I would put him on and watch him from the door as he did his business and came back. But I hated the thing cause when they play it hurts like an S O B when that cable gets you in the back of the legs.

[shay19]

Thank you all for your opinions, We've fixed almost every problem we've had with these guys. I had Bruiser chained up and watched how they played and Aida only took the toys away from him so he'd pay attention to her and play tug-o-war. She's not being mean at all she just keeps his attention on her.
As far as chaining him up, I'm home all day now due to being layed off so he's only chained when I need to claen their room or mine so only about an hour usually.
We;ve also talked to our landlord about being able to put something in top of our fence to keep him in and even if we pay for it she won't allow it she thinks it'll be too tacky. And at this moment we can't afford a dog run, right now it's either feed the family or buy a dog run so we gotta keep the chain for now. I hate it but i was hoping to have a job still grr.
But I just found out last night that I have a new problem, my neighbor told me that there is people throwing things at my dogs cause they bark, but they're extremely quiet, the only times they bark is when they hear me or my fiance come home or to the gate, or when they see/hear kids and want their attention. We're not sure who it is yet, but my neighbor says she hears people yelling at them when they're outside and I dont know what to do now. I don't want them trapped in my house cause people dont understand them, but I don't want them to get hit with something when I cant be out there with them. So what do I do?

[adoptapitbull]

Can't you crate them inside? Instead of a chain outside, buy some dog crates from Craigslist and crate them for a short period of time (no more than about 4 hours) if you cannot watch them. If this continues, you may be evicted, end up with Animal Control/Cops at your house slapping you with fines for barking, or someone may be pissed enough to poison/shoot them. Please think of your dogs' well being. Chaining is not the way to go. Try some used crates for now and only take them out on leashes so you can be sure they are safe.

[shay19]

They have full run of my house, they stay inside with me now, it's just when I'm cleaning they either have to stay in my laundry room or outside cause my male uses my bed as his toilet, we don't know why and the easiest way to stop him os to not allow him in. We are going outside and watching them now every time they are let out since we heard this so they aren't left alone. But I guess my real question is that is it meaner to keep them in the laundry room while I clean to reduce the accidents in my bed or to let him outside? I just don't wanna do something wrong with this little guy. Aida already knows the rules and is house trained, but Bruisers previous owner let him use the house, bed, whatever he wanted as a toilet, and also taught him to climb and it's been so hard to try to break him of these habits.

[maryellen]

i would rather put the dogs in the laundry room or a crate when i clean instead of taking the chance that someone will throw poison food over the fence and kill them

[sugar]

I agree with MaryEllen on this one. The laundry room would be a safer option (you never know who hates pits enough to harm them). Back when I had my rottie, there was some nut job in my neighborhood poisoning rotties, pits and any other big scary dogs he/she deemed worthy to die. It was awful and I still carry that paranoia with me all these years later.

Craigslist is great to find super cheap crates (even the collapseable kind so you won't have to worry bout them taking up space 24/7).

[michele5611]

I would def. suggest leaving him inside. In my opinion it is the safer and most prudent decision all the way around!

[shay19]

Alright cool I just didnt know if it would be mean to keep them in there. Is it ok to have them sleep there at night as well? We've lost a ton of money because they like to tear things up playing tug-o-war at night...

[sugar]

Shay, thats the reason my Chubs gets crated while I'm at work, because I will not have a house anymore if he gets his way.
I know a lot of people here prefer unsupervised dogs to be crated separately (to prevent any possible fights, especially if there are toys/treats around). I don't see anything wrong with them sleeping the in the laundry room as long as its properly pittie-proofed (detergents/cleaning supplies/anythign harmful should be all locked up with an actual lock. My dog knows how to open cupboards). Still would prefer if they were crated separately though.
I still think you should look into Craigslist for second hand crates.

[shay19]

Ok cool, and all cleaners are kept up also because I have ferrets that know how to get into cupboards. But I don't worry about the 2 fighting they both love each other and rarely leave each others sides. And we don't keep anything in there they can fight over, they each have their own blanket and no toys in there.
Thank you all for the opinions I just wanna be a very good pit momma!

[michele5611]

Amazing how many of our dogs can open cabinets, drawers, etc! As Sugar said I am one of those people who believes in crating unsupervised dogs seperately or crate and rotate. I think that is great that you have removed a lot of possible fight triggers such as toys and so forth. But in my experience on any give day even the best of friends have the potential to get into a fight. Better safe than sorry!
By the way I love ferrets...post some pics of them!!