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I have a one year old pocket pit and he has jaws of steel. His name is brixx and he is about 60 lbs and under 17″ tall on all fours but dont let his small height fool you because he can chew through anything. We used to have him in the wire crates for when we left the house and he would use his jaws to snap the wire around the latch so that he could get his nose out enough to open the latch, so we then swithched to a plastic crate which he did the same thing to so we tried putting zip ties on the door just when we had to leave him alone and he then chewed two huge holes through the side of the plastic cage big enough for him to squeeze out of. We have tried putting toys in his cage and they are destroyed with in 15 minutes of him getting them, he chewed up his plastic bowls so we got him metal ones and he chewed those up too. He destroys ropes rubber toys knong toys rawhide bowns the hard bones and anything else that he can get his teeth on he even trims his own nails by chewing them i have run out of ideas to keep this boys jaws occupied and ways to keep him contained so any ideas or advice would be greatly appreciated!!!!!!!
Our Rosie has also chewed through almost every “tough chewer” toy on the market. However we found a ball called The Almost Indestructible Dog Ball that she loves to play with. She has a big one for outside and a smaller one for inside. She’s had both for over 6 months and, although they have chew marks all over them, they are a very hard plastic so they can’t pop. They aren’t chew toys though…she chases them around and plays nose soccer with them. For chew toys, we get her the Nylabone Big Chews. Sorry, I’ve got no idea how to keep him contained. Concrete bunker in the basement maybe (just kidding!).
lol its tempting but i do love him to much to do that i just wish he would behave and not chew up the whole house when we left him out he also love to mark EVERYTHING so he deffinately has to be contained. As far as the chew toys i will have to see what he does with that ball but the nyla bones are a no go for him he shreads them so fast and then eats them and those things are soooo not easy for them to get out on their own and i hate sting pulling duty if you get what i mean lol. but thanx for the advice tho!!!
^Glad someone said it.
Is he neutered? If not, neutering along with training will help the marking problem. Does he enjoy being in his crate? Has he had a recent vet check lately? There are things like thyroid problems that I believe can cause anxiety issues in dogs.
Really it sounds like all he needs is training. Train him not to chew on things that he isn’t supposed to (reward for chewing the right things, take away and put up the bad things, maybe try bitter apple spray for the things you can’t put up) and train him that his crate is a good place to be.
Have you tried raw bones? Not only are they fun to chew, but there’s also tasty marrow and meat on them. I haven’t tried this yet, but I plan to start getting some nice bones for Dandi to play with this summer.
I love the term “pocket pit”…it describes the size perfectly. Pits are built for work instead of show, so there are so many different sizes. My Rosie is a little over 50 lbs with longer legs instead of a “Daddy” body type. I think it’s funny how people who don’t know pits very well don’t realize there is such a wide variety of height & weight. I’ve gotten “isn’t she a little big for a pit” as well as “isn’t she a little small for a pit”. Hmmm…maybe I’ll call her a “stilt pit”;-)
I agree with the training issue when I read how he distroys his crate I became very worried for his saftey. What we do with ours is take him out for a facepaced walk before we leave the house and wear him out real well so for the most part he takes a nap while we are away we have to do this with our pom mix also who has awful seperation problems once we took the kids out for lunch and came home to find our pom/mix was left in our bedroom that little monster dug out a 3ft section of the carpet infront of the door! so crate for him from now on…
With the marking if he is un nutered hmm I would say best of that males love to own everything LOL
I also agree with the best toy is the undistructable ball the one thats is super heavy rubber type and the wonderful kong toys that you can fill with treats and freeze I love to freeze peanut butter in ours for Zilla when we have to crate him for more than just a small outting
lol you said it …. pits come in all shapes and sizes one of my pocket pits is about 50lbs and less than 15″ tall (the one pictured)and the other is about 60-65lbs and approximately 17″ tall so yes they are very pocket sized maybe a little to heavy for a pocket but still pocket size lol … i love them cuz you get all of the great qualities of a pitbull just more compact, they are perfect for apartments!!!!
he loves being in his crate, when we are home we leave the door open for him and thats usually where you will find him but as soon as we leave the cage is in some serious trouble. As far as the walking before i leave, its not always doable in my life for one i have 3 small children who i am alone with 99.9% of the time also most of the time when i need to leave its very last minute. Also i have five pits so just walkin one of them is not possible or very fair so walks usually have to wait until i have someone to sit with my kids cuz i can only take 2 at a time and one has to be walked by herself cuz shes way to strong. So yes things are very hectic with my army of dogs and i am trying extremely hard to train them but i really have no help and it is exhausting work so the process is slow but i will get there eventually. but thanks for all of your advice and ill have to check out those toys and see how they work!!
Pyrozilla – I never thought of freezing peanut butter in a kong. That’s a great idea!
Cynja – Do they make saddles for pits? Each child could ride a pit so you could exercise the dogs and get the kids out of the house all at the same time:-) Just kidding!
If your life is this hectic at the moment, is there a reason you own so many high energy dogs? Pits are terriers; they need exercise or they will be destructive. That’s just how they roll. They don’t only need a romp in the yard, but also mental exercise, something they get from walks with all the new scents and sights.
Maybe you should look into a dog walker or something. It sounds he’s just a frustrated, bored and untrained animal.ETA: Although there are many different kinds of ‘pits’, the American Pit Bull Terrier is meant to a sleek animal. ‘Pocket pits’ are a mixture of different breeds sold at high prices that often come with health problems because of their build.
I dealt with a similar problem, but divided between two dogs. Sounds like your dog is just bored and under exercised- though before you get offended, that term is broad because I have a 4 year old female pit, who still has energy after 2 or 3 20 minute sessions of fetch over lonnnng distances and a daily hour long walk/run. She is just that way, if there’s a ball it doesn’t matter how much exercise she’s had. So getting to the point- when she was a puppy she went through all of her toys in milliseconds so I got very creative about keeping her busy:
1. Black rubber kong (indestructible) put kibble in first, then load it up with peanut butter, then more kibble, then a little more peanut butter so the kibble stays in, then pop an ice cube in the top and freeze the whole thing over night. If your dog doesn’t like peanut butter you can use hot dogs or canned dog food, though I wouldn’t really freeze the hot dogs…
2. Marrow bone* you can get these from the butcher section at the grocery store or in a pet supply store for the dried version. Jones makes some seriously delicious (according to the dogs) marrow bones with some dried jerky still on the outside.
3. Sterilized beef bone* filled with peanut butter or dog food or whatever, and frozen
4. Safety Knotted rawhide, different than traditional rawhides because the end knots are huge and designed to last longer- however, you should see how long it takes your dog to get through a rawhide before you leave him alone with one, if he gets through them too fast- like my female, don’t leave him alone with one.
5. Nylabones- flavored or non. Nylabones are great for tough chewers especially the galileo bones, which are a unique rounded shape. These are safe for really tough chewers and last forever.
6. Big knotted rope toys- again, watch how your dog eats these if he’s like most terriers he will tear it into tiny pieces but not eat any of them, but if he’s going to eat it, you don’t want to leave it.
* A note about bones:
– use caution leaving your dog with beef bones or any animal bones: for one, make sure the bone is thick enough that your dog can’t break pieces off and ingest them; second, watch your dog with a bone and see how he chews it, if he seems to want to eat the pieces, you can’t leave him alone with one. Most dogs will spit the pieces out, but even one that’s accidentally swallowed can cause stomach problems or even require surgery.Another issue with bones is dental safety. My female is 4 years old and has excellent teeth, she’s never broken one on a bone, but my 7 year old rescue just broke one of his major incisors on a bone this week and it’s not a fun situation, it will require some pricey surgery to fix.
So- it really comes down to you knowing your dog. I really don’t think a 1 year old dog in good health should have a problem with beef bones, but if you’re not sure, go with nylabones instead and fill some kongs with food.
If you do fill the kongs with lots of delicious food you might want to cut down his meal portions a little bit unless you want the world’s heaviest pocket pit.
If your dog plays fetch, this will really help you, he might not even need that much exercise to mellow out, but even one of your kids could throw the ball for him if you can’t, assuming they’re old enough.
And this seems like boredom, but it could be separation anxiety, does your dog seem anxious when you leave? Or when he sees you getting ready to leave? Or is he fine when you go and then just destroys things when you’re gone? If he’s anxious about you leaving you can talk to your vet about medications and training you can do and he should be better in just a few weeks.
Good luck!
thank you so much for all of your helpful advice, and i do think that its seperation anxiety and both my kids and myself spend hours outside everyday playing with all of the dogs and trying to train them but he sits by my side and dosent really want to play with the kids or other dogs or me he just wants to sit there so i attempt to train him and he looks at me like im nuts lol i think he’s just a crazy little pudge ball but i will try some of your advice and let you know how it goes … once again thank you
They can absolutely vary in size, however proportion/conformation is vital to their ability as working dogs. It has nothing to do with show.
I’d like to know what type of work a ‘pocket pit’ is bred to do?
It seems to me that people are breeding for a certain look/fad, rather than for a specific job. Responsible breeders breed for excellent conformation, and stable, correct temperaments, working titles and clean health.
Obviously this dog’s job is to be a pet, and I have no doubt that it excels at that job. What is unfortunate about fad breeding is the fallout seen in shelters across the country.
Sorry for the rant. Back to the original subject, a kong with peanut butter frozen in the freezer works wonders and will keep them busy for a good while.
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