Pit Bulls

[arlee453]

The thing that worries me most about this is not the breed of the dog, it's the quality of the neighbors. They sound pretty self-centered and inconsiderate to me - probably not the best choice for a pit bull owner.

Over and over again folks are saying if the people are good and responsible with it, it can be a good friendly neighbor dog. I belive this is very true.

However, in the previous description of the neghbors we hear that they have many many cats they obviously are not getting altered to prevent more unwanted litters, and i'm betting aren't getting basic & minimal health care either - ie rabies shots at a minimum.

The dog belongs to the son, who sounds immature and reckless and doesn't have consideration for others who might not want to hear his 4-wheeler and cars racing up and down the street, etc.

They let their cats roam & reproduce freely and poop all over her yard.

They ran over her kid and broke his collarbone.

Hmmmm....

I'm thinking once the novelty of that cute little puppy wears off as he grows into a big, powerful and goofy high energy dog they will do one of a couple of things...

1 either put the dog outside on a chain
2 get the dog a kennel and throw him outside in there
3 just let him run loose all over the neigborhood
4 OR do the right thing and rehome him if they can't take care of the dog properly, including keeping him in THEIR yard and socializing it well.

My bet is on option number 3. sadly, based on the other information provided about the neighbors...

 

[patandchickens]

My experience with pit bulls has all been with ones that were owned by sensible people, brought up right and trained well, and they were WONDERFUL gentle loving dogs.

That said, the drawback of pitbulls is that if they *do* decide to bite, for whatever reason, they are going to be much more determined about it than some other breeds might. So I think there *is* a *little* bit of extra risk -- not unique to pit bulls of course, there are other dogs like that too.

Still, I don't personally see pit bulls as being meaningfully more dangerous than any other dog, on a breed-by-breed basis. (That is, aside from how their owners sometimes raise them).

I don't fully trust ANY dog around my kids (1 and almost 4), though -- certainly I don't want someone's dog within jumping or biting range, no matter how well behaved the dog seems, unless I am *right* there with the kids. Maybe that makes me overly protective, but having seen some really horrible bite wounds I think it's only reasonable <shrug>


Pat

 

[ChelC]

Thanks for all the replies. Unfortunately fencing isn't an option right now. Our yard is already fenced, but it's a low fence that a dog could easily scale. Our yard is pretty large to put a privacy fence around, we'd be looking at a gigantic chunk of change that we don't have. I guess I'll just have to watch very closely and see how it plays out. Looks like I need to buy a comfy lawn chair for the summer and and a holster for the 40mm just in case.

Not sure about my son out on his bicycle though.

I'll try to make friendly with the dog and hope for the best. I don't want them driven from the neighborhood, they are nice people. My husband shoots a soft air gun in the direction of the cats when they come in our yard to try cutting down on the pooping. Sure is annoying when my son brings home some wormy kitten every year begging me to keep it. Oh well. One day maybe I'll get the acreage I dream of and won't have to care what my neighbors are doing.

 

[mooman]

Any idea who they have their homeowners insurance with? IF it became a problem then I'm sure thier insurance company will be very interested to hear that they are keeping a pitbull in a yard withough 100% containment. They've been known to drop people for that sort of thing.

 

[ChelC]

I don't want to get nasty, the thing is still a puppy. I'm just a planner and a worrier. We'll see what happens.

 

[Guitartists]

Maybe you can politely refer them to some websites that promote responsible pit bull/dog ownership so that they realize the importance of it and the potential dangers of not training/monitoring a dog, especially a power breed like a pit. Maybe, if their son is irresponsible, it will encourage them to seek a new home for it.

 

[Cheep Mama]

It's always good to be careful around dogs that you don't know well, but I believe that it all stems from how the owner treats them. We have a rotti and he is the biggest baby! My 3 kids crawl all over him and so do the neighbor kids. We also have an english mastiff and she is a baby too! We used to have a cute little pomeranian, but she was MEAN! We got rid of her because all she did was bite us. I would talk to your neighbors and tell them your concerns.

 

[fowlfriends]

The Pit Bull has been my breed of choice for a number of years, and I have spent too many hours to count on study of their history from the first bull-and-terriers, to the dog fighting, to the family pets and therapy dogs. The American Pit Bull Terrier and his counterparts, the American Staffordshire Terrier and Staffordshire Bull Terrier are amazing creatures. I have had the distinct privelage of working predominantly with shelter dogs. Most are adult Pit Bulls with no history, what so ever. No matter their past, the vast majority of the Pit Bull dogs I know are loving creatures - complete wiggle butts who live for the love of people. As others have stated, you should not trust any children alone with strange (and often familiar ) dogs of any breed.

Many Pit Bulls can live very well with chickens, but as a terrier (and a self respecting dog), many will chase and kill chickens, cats, rodents, etc.
I could go on and on, but for now want to provide you with some online sources for info about the breed.

I would also suggest you have a sincere conversation with your neighbors about your concerns. As a Pit Bull owner, I can tell you right now that I have met many people who were terrified of my dogs. I always try to approach each situation with an understanding of that fear, rather than a chip on my shoulder about it. Hopefully your neighbors will do the same and you can talk about their (or their son's) plans for the pooch as he matures.


PBRC (Pit Bull Rescue Central) really does an amazing job of telling the facts about this breed.
www.pbrc.net

BADRAP (Bay Area Doglovers Responsible About Pit Bulls) is the group who tested the Michael Vick dogs - they are renouned for their knowledge on the breed.
http://www.badrap.org/rescue/myths.cfm

I am the Vice President of PNWPBR. We have many handouts available that I would be happy to send to you.
http://pnwpbr.rescuegroups.org/info/

 

[chickiemom9]

Well I need to respond to rufus and all the others that think all pits are bad or automatically think DRUG HOUSE when you see one. I work a 49 hour a week job, volunteer for the humane society, volunteer at the childrens hospital and I am NOT a drug house, or an addict and I think that many people have a misconception about Pits. It is not usually the dog but the owners. My boy is an AKC Good Citizen and a therapy dog for childrens hospitals. He is very good around my chicks, usually not even interested in them, but that is because he has been TRAINED and socialized. My best suggestion to you is to watch how they care for the puppy, and build as strong a coop and run as you can for your chicks. Do you happen to live somewhere that has a pit bull law in place? That in turn may be your best line of defense if your area does. I am the proud but very responsible owner of a "bully" and I also have 6 chihuahuas and 3 rat terriers and I trust them much less around my chicks then the bully. But I would never leave any of my dogs out with them and not be there to monitor. I would seriously think of having a talk with your neighbors and tell them of your concerns. I think that if you have a bad expeerience with the puppy it will most likely be because of the lack of responsiblity on the owners part.

 

[papadekaitlyn]

My pitt scares the predators from my chicken yard and has been a good pet. I have a 4 year old daughter as well, so i certainly understand the concern over the children.

Pitts are dominance oriented. A child typically does not establish dominance to a large dog such as a Pitt so the pitts sometimes view them as a competitor or a threat to the pecking order and that's why they attack. This risk is increased if the animal has been allowed to roam and has marked your yard as part of its territory.

If your child is ever being approached by a pitt, step between the dog and the child to establish yourself as the dominant human present to the dog. This usually works. Dogs will typically respond to adults that assert dominance with submission; and an adult who displays fear with aggression.

It's just how they are wired.

If your neighbor refuses to confine their dog, I would consider buying an electric fence. or perhaps a good rifle... In the meantime, it wouldn't be a bad idea to allow the dog to become familiar with you while it is young and it will usually obey you as it gets older.

If the dog is treated well it will typically have a good demeanor (my dog is a brennel pitt bull and is as harmless as a kitten) and if they are mistreated (physically abused, underfed, allowed to roam a lot) they can become real monsters. They are kinda like people in that manner...

Of course that's just my take, I could be wrong...