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I own a 4yr old APBT named Louie. He is my baby and I tell everyone that he is my son :0) but recently, about 4months ago, our border collie/mix, Rocky (who Louie grew up with) passed away at the age of 17. Louie took it just as hard as I did.
Rocky was a well mannered, gentle, kind dog who got along great with people and most other dogs. Now Louie on the other hand only likes puppies, humans, and his pack members. I guess you could say that he is dog aggressive towards fully grown dogs. We want to get a puppy, and I want more than anything to get another pit-bull, but the problem im having is, can I handle another APBT.
I mean, Louie is perfect and listens wonderfully and LOVES people and children. But, even though as APBT owners, we don’t want to admit it, most APBT are dog aggressive to dogs outside there pack, especially if its a dog posing a challenge (which it is in most cases)& that’s my problem. Do I really want to have not one dog that I have to watch like a hawk around other dogs, but two? I don’t know if I can handle it, but im in-love with the breed and they are the only breed I love, apart from the Great Dane breed. Do I get another pit-bull, and if I did, would they fight each other? Louie and Rocky never had 1 single fight, they were best friends, but i worry that 2 pit-bulls may fight each other for dominance, bones, toys, etc.
What do I do?>?>? A pit bull or a great Dane?
Having two dogs makes some things easier, and some things harder.
If you play it right, they will wear each other out often. However, you still need to supervise.
And having two wads of canine muscle around the house can be a bit too much to handle for some people.
I have three large sized dogs, one is Zulay, my pit, and then 8 year old Shaman who is a similar sized blue heeler mix, and six year old Precious, her first puppy who is blue heeler-Aussie-border collie mix. Shaman was always the “alpha female”, and enjoyed terrorizing everyone, human or animal, but never did any harm. She just liked the show. Precious has never been aggressive to anyone other than a kitty threatening her food dish. Zulay around a year and a half old, is the recent addition. She has so much energy, it is disheartening, because I just do not have the time to spend, and I know sometimes it has to hurt her feelings. She must think I don’t love her, and I do.
BUT! She is so BOUNCY, I have to be careful! She has given me a couple of near black eyes, once from her bouncing up and down and hitting me in the edge of the eye, and another time from giving me an overly aggressive “kiss”.That was more like a punch in the nose I guess, but she didn’t intend to harm me. Still, she made me see stars once, and practically knocked me down both times. She and Shaman go through the “GRR” process at each other, but have not, thankfully, engaged aggressively. However, with Precious, the most timid of any dog, Zulay will grab by the back of the neck and force down. This makes me NUTS! I am afraid she will at some point actually hurt her, because Precious has had two surgeries on her right front leg, both requiring pins.
I just CRINGE at the idea of that leg being reinjured, because I don’t believe she can tolerate surgery on that leg again, and I certainly can’t afford it any time soon. At present, I have to keep both Shaman and Zulay tied, Precious is not a risk, and she is always free. Once the fencing is completed (I have NO IDEA when that will be), I would LIKE to let them all loose to be comfortable in the yard where ever they WANT to be and be able to put their feet in the kiddie pool, etc. Am I ever going to be able to do this? Or is this always going to be a risk? For now, I have to be gone quite a few hours a day. I am still a full time student, and I work part time. Any suggestions?
We have two female pits, one around 2 y/o and the other around 1 y/o. They’ve gotten into a few little tussles, mostly because the younger one is overzealous, but for the most part they get along great. They sleep together all day, they walk together great, etc. If you get a second dog, regardless of the breed, plan on doubling the amount of time and effort you put into your animals now. If you are willing to do that, you can handle it and it will be worthwhile.
Have you thought about getting some training for Louie before you decide about getting another dog? They will train u as well on how to handle him properly. Louie seems to be having dominance issues and that won’t stop until you show that you are the alpha and not him. The trainer will help you with showing Louie the proper ways to act towards other dogs and how you can keep control of him even though he is stronger. It is definitely something to look into before getting another dog so that the new dog doesn’t pick up Louie’s bad habits.
I have 2 pits…..I agree..some things are easier and some harder.
They love to play but sometimes too rough for my taste…
so I am still working on that…
overall they are great and I would say..with some training you will be fine with 2 pits.If anyone has any ideas about how to get them to stop play biting each other..
please email me @Thanks
I have two and initially was dead set against getting two APBTs because I had read a lot of warnings. I was in animal rescue and that’s how I got my first, Indie. Indie has issues… she’s a bit off in the brain but we love her anyway. I fostered a few dogs and although Indie got along with them, I wasn’t compelled to adopt them. One day, I brought home an 8 month old APBT stray to foster and he and Indie were a perfect match. She’s dominant, he’s submissive. My hesitation went away quickly as Indie use to lay around so sad… then when Elvis came, she lit up and they play and cuddle. It’s a really good match. I say if the dogs have great chemistry, then it’s a match.
Louie doesn’t really need training as much as socialization with other dogs. He knows that im alpha and listens to me wonderfully. I can have him off leash with other dogs roaming around and he will sit and stay right by me and not move a mussel. It’s not until another dog comes up to him and gets in his face, that he will start a fight. He is 100% trained and gets along GREAT with my moms toy poodle max and grew up with a border collie that was literally his best friend and they NEVER even growled at one another. Even if he sees another dog out the window, he will just sit there and growl until I tell him to stop. I don’t think it is a dominance issue either, because he will fight female dogs as well as male dogs, and size doesn’t matter to him, little or big. I believe he has dog on dog aggression but cant find a trainer in my area that’s decently priced that will take on a dog aggressive APBT. I’m just worried that if I get another pit-bull, that will mean 2 APBT mentalities and that will equal trouble.
I have 2 APBT and while having 2 is great its also intimidating. before we got our second dog i set up some personal rules for myself so that the chances of them getting aggressive are slim. i only let 1 dog eat at a time. they have not fought over food yet but it only takes a second. i also make sure i dont leave them alone for long periods of time in the same place. just know what your dog likes or dosnt like and use that. Doja hates when other dogs lick her feet. so whenever i see mary jane too close i warn her. I go with my instincts and step in when i think its getting heated. but the more you relax the more they will relax so just take it easy and if they start to play a little rough break it up.
*Just like kids; if you haven’t heard from them in a few minutes you better go check…
We recently adopted another male Pit and at first our female Pit wanted nothing to do with him. They didn’t fight or anything like that, but she didn’t want anything to do with him and would avoid him. After awhile she got over it and accepted him into the pack and now they’re awesome friends, etc.
The first thing I would recommend if you do get another Pit is to walk them right off the bat. That will establish a connection with them. That’s what we did with our Pits and even though she wanted nothing to do with him, she wasn’t aggressive at all.
Good luck!
I have 6 pits and I will admit it is a lot of work but well worth every minute of it. They all get along, I feed all of them together but only when I’m there. Occasionally there will be a little growl but all I have to do is say hey in that voice that they know to quit. I work 8 hours a day so I need my babies to be very tired when I leave. Walks and playing catch with them in the yard works very well. And by walks I mean an hour long walk. I walk 2 at a time now and am about to try 3. eventually I intend to be able to walk all of them togehter. I work at Petsmart as a groomer so my dogs visit there a lot. Socialing is the most important thing you can do for your dog. Dog aggression should never be allowed. A little can turn into a lot then you have a problem.
I think some mix of the above responses will help answer this question.
It really depends on which 2 pits you have.
I fostered a young female pit for a while with my resident, then 3yo female pit. There was entirely too much competition between them and in the interest of my resident girl, I had to return the foster to her owners (who decided to keep her, thankfully).
My original dog is socialized out the wazoo, gets along with *every* dog, but gets along with them all differently. I’ve dog sat many dogs here and observed different levels of chemistry.
I finally brought home an approximately 7 year old male pit, and they instantaneously got along better than any two dogs I’ve ever seen. Laurelai, my female, is like kid sister, endlessly playful and annoying, also very touchy feely and cuddly. Percy, the newcomer has just the right level of playfulness to keep her happy and can step it up to hold his own, but there’s no competition, he lets her climb all over him with the patience of a saint. He’s literally the perfect companion for her. As a result, my life is not more stressful by having two dogs, it’s just twice as fun.
In your situation though, you are considering a puppy, which is automatically more work, but if your dog gets along with puppies and you can be there to supervise their interactions, AND I would suggest picking a puppy of opposite gender only because your dog already shows tendencies toward competitiveness and a small submissive female is less likely to create drama than a male who when he turns 2 or 3 decides it’s time to challenge your existing dog.
I should also say that Percy shows some mild dominance and intense interest in other dogs that he sees on the street, but not allowing him to focus on other dogs this way shows him that it’s not acceptable to attempt to challenge other dogs, or be that interested in them, because wherever we are is my territory and not his. And once he meets them he’s fine, but if you can get break your dog’s focus on other dogs by not allowing him to actively patrol the window or organizing supervised play dates with dogs he gets along with, you can gradually expand his socialization and circle of friends. If your dog is truly dog aggressive, he might be happiest as an only dog for a while, but if he’s only aggressive to strange dogs, you might be okay introducing a carefully selected friend for him. Grabbing some books on the issue will help prepare you for what’s to come as well. Good luck!
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