[anolbom]

I am considering getting a 2nd pitbull as i have always been used to having 2 dogs.. Both my boxers passed away due to the chinese poison chicken treats.. So i have a female puppy now 6 1/2 months and i am thinking of getting a male. I have read about pits not needing a buddy and how they are human lovers not dog lovers so i know what many believe but there are plenty of people with 2 and id like to hear from them.

I have a huge fenced yard and while my pup loves me she absolutely loves playing with others in the yard.. With me i spend each day with the flirtpole or in the pool so she gets exercise and i have plenty of time for her but she doesnt play until exhaustion like she does when i have another dog for her to run with.. i think its healthier for them to be active more than an hour a day or a few hours per weekend. If we are in the house she doesnt play as much and sleeps like a lazy bum without a buddy..

What are your thoughts on a 2nd given she is 6 months and the puppies im looking at are 4 months.. is it better for them to grow up together or better for her to grow up and then have a puppy she may be more dominant over even though hes going to be much larger?? I have time for both so time is no issue.. I work 6-7 hours a day 5 days and they can come to work with me too since i own my own business.. Bella my female sleeps all day at work with me.. I know the rules of keeping them apart when not at home cause of course anything can happen ( fight ) and i have read after 10 years together it has happened.. so i know the risks..

Thanks for the advice!!!

Mike

[ArraryTauTDew]

If you want two, get two.

But understand that the reason why people say what they say is because the American Pit Bull Terrier was bred to be Dog Aggressive or to have a very low tolerance of other dogs. Owning two means you have to watch both your dogs at all times. I currently own an APBT mutt and a American Bulldog mix. Different genders, the male is younger being about 9-10 months old. I let them run and play together. At the same time, they are separated at night. The female sleeps with me and my husband some nights and other nights the male does. The other is locked away in a kennel.

Owning two, you need to keep in mind that there could be one day that your dogs might decide they hate each other, and when that happens, your dogs can no longer live together. Always be on edge when they are together. Never expect them not to fight and feel damn lucky if they don't. You will need to consider different outlets to burn their energy, every dog is different. Where one likes to chase the flirt pole the new dog might not; which means you need to figure out what drives them.

If you have to be away for any amount of time, make sure you kennel both dogs or have them placed in rooms and make sure they are dog proofed. I have heard of too many times that people have left and come back to dead dogs. And this isn't just limited to the Pit Bull.

I personally have only had tiny scuffles from time to time with my two dogs. I have never had a full blown fight. I also Pray that I never will. However, if it does happen I am prepared to keep my dogs apart. There is no particular age where they can show DA. It can be anywhere from 6 months to the day they die. Just be prepared. A good tool to have on hand is a break stick. Even with just owning one APBT.

I'd type more but my fingers are taped up. I hope this little bit helps. There are also some wonderful stickies through out the site that has great reads that will help in caring for single and multi dog homes.

[fluoxet]

In my house, I have 3 APBTs and two sighthounds.

Having multiple dogs were at least one is an APBT means you are on your toes 24/7. If you want to take a shower... dogs have to be crated. Running to the store? Crate the dogs. Feeding time? Crate the dogs?

Whether you get another puppy now or get a puppy when your dog is an adult is not going to change their behaviour towards each other. Your dogs' genetically predisposed levels of dog aggression are going to manifest when their little hourglass of dog friendliness runs out, and you must be prepared for that to happen at ANY moment of ANY day.

Also, many people do not realize that having two (or more) dogs means those dogs need to the same amount of INDIVIDUAL time as well. No matter how much the dogs interact, if they are dog friendly, they still need one on one time training and bonding with their human.

So, it is up to you if you want to handle two puppies, or an adult dog and a puppy... and whether you want to handle two dogs who could potentially want to kill each other on sight, for the rest of their lives.

[YpbWF5Yo]

just remember any dog can fight, there was a person on here that was in a parking lot, had a guy pull up in a van, run in and as soon as the guy got inside heard a horrid sound, the guy came out to a dead dog and I don't beleive either dog in the van was a pit bull or even a bully breed (can't remember)

I have 2, and kinda regret it, every time I have ever had 2 dogs I regret it lol I really need to stop myself and stick with one dog...anyhow my boys get along great and all but I know there is the potential for DA so they are not left alone togeather ever

[Indessasp]

Like others have said, nothing wrong with getting another as long as you realize that there is always the potential that they may decide one day to not like each other anymore.

I have 3 dogs, 2 males (one intact, one neutered), and a female (spayed). They get along great and I have never even had a scuffle here. I wouldn't say I'm "on my toes" 24/7 at all, but I am vigilant with them, especially when they're playing.

I personally prefer my dogs to be close in age. My oldest is 3 1/2yrs., then my female will be 3 in Nov., and the youngest will be 2 in Nov.

[StevenS]

It sounds like you're pretty aware of some issues that might come up, so that's a good start. Your female is still very young, so there's really no telling if she will develop any type of DA later, and there's no guessing at all about a new puppy either, but as long as you're aware of that, and take certain precautions, you'll be OK.

We have an APBT, and a pit/hound?/lab? mix. Both fixed females, and about 6 months apart in age. (Mix is 1.5 years old, other is 1) They're OK together....but I would NEVER leave them alone together, our mix is somewhat DA, and gets snarky very easily. There's some days that they can't be out in the yard together because she's just in one of her "moods"; MOST of the time, they're fine and have a blast...we just make sure we're prepared, and watching them at all times, and we make sure that there's never any "high value" objects around to cause an argument.

They honestly aren't out of their crates at the same time in doors very often, because quite frankly, they drive me nuts very quickly. LOL They LOVE to wrestle and roll around with each other all over the living room carpet, and they get loud and very hyper quickly. I'm sure they think it's a blast, but it gets annoying pretty quickly to everyone else. We have a big family, with 4 kids, so having the two dogs really works well for us in alot of ways too. There's more puppy love to go around, and less bickering between the kids about "doggy duties". It works for us!

[HBPujWBe]

What are your thoughts on a 2nd given she is 6 months and the puppies im looking at are 4 months.. is it better for them to grow up together or better for her to grow up and then have a puppy she may be more dominant over even though hes going to be much larger??

This, as others have said, is pretty much irrelevant. They're either going to get along or not.

There aren't a lot of people that come here and ask about getting a second dog that get a lot of "you should do it" comments...but in your case, you pretty much covered the basic concerns and I think if you're up for it-you should totally do it.

I have two resident dogs in my house and a foster right now. The last time we had a foster was over a year ago, so for the most part our home is a two dog home (both are PB mixes). I would suggest getting a male, it seems opposite sexed couples tend to do better. Previously when we had a foster, she (also PB mix) and the resident female dog.absolutely.without.a.doubt wanted to kill one another.

Currently our two resident dogs can get along, but it's easier for us to keep them separated...and I think it's less stressful for them. Our female can be bitchy, and really isn't very playful. Our male is extremely playful (almost obnoxiously so) and does not take correction (from another dog) well.

For me, personally, I would not get dogs close in age. Our dogs are (male) almost 7 (will be in Dec) and (female) 6.5 (will be 7 in March/Aprilish)...that likely means they're going to come into old age health problems at the same time...and we could end up losing them very close together. I know my heart can't handle that...so in the future, I'll plan accordingly. For others that may not be a concern...and overall, really there's no way to tell. One of my dogs could live to 8 and the other to 16. I guess, it's just something to consider.

Good luck!

[alskdjreyfd]

I think when people ask question like this, typically they want reassurance that their decision is a good one. Of course nobody knows. Multiple dogs is very time consuming and costly. When those dogs happen to be pit bulls there are a whole other set of issues.

If you have never owned a pit bull I would never get a second one until the one you own is at least 3 years old minimum. Why? Because when you have a pit bull puppy is it exactly like almost every other puppy. Unfortunately a great majority of pit bulls develop various levels of dog aggression as they mature, typically between 1 and 2 years of age. Forgive me for being blunt, but you have a 6 month old pit bull which means you have no idea what owning a pit bull is like. Your dog is immature, probably loves other dogs and frankly you have not dealt with owning one pit bull let alone two.

I have owned two pit bulls at the same time and can tell you it is a lot of work and personally I would not do it again. You must always be prepared for the possibility they will always need to be separated. This is fine for many and management is the key. It can be done very successfully but make no mistake it is constant vigilance and home management.

Do yourself a big favor, before you start collecting them, do right by the one you have now. If you find that after a couple of years, when you have dealt with a mature and possibly dog aggressive pit bull, managed to keep the dog out of trouble with other dogs, neighbors etc, have a stable home situation (not renting or room mates) and feel you still would like to take on the responsibility of another one, then go for it. Unless you do what I have suggested, I would strongly recommend you stick with just one.

Remember pit bulls are the most euthanized dogs in America and it is difficult to find a decent home for one if things do not work out. Don't be part of the problem be part of the solution.

[WeestDype]

Regardless of breed you could run into issues of them not getting along, you just run a higher risk with the APBT. For the first time in a long time I am not in a multidog home and am actually enjoying it . My dogs weren't APBT but my last two could sure get into their share of scuffles. My male could be a total asshole to my female and my female was considerably larger than him. Over all they got along but I never left them loose alone together. If I had to leave the house for any reason both were crated. If I had to take a shower and no one else was home to keep an eye on things. Either one or both were crated, or I took one in the bathroom with me. Overall they got along pretty good, but they did step on each others toes a lot too. I mean they would snuggle up on the couch or in one of the dog beds together, but that didn't mean in 5 minutes they wouldn't have a minor scuffle. And I think it tends to be that way with a lot of dogs. After my male passed away I considered getting another dog but never did. And honestly my female has been an overall happier dog being the only dog. She gets a lot more attention. She never really has had much interest in other dogs. She gets along with them fine, but she is a lot more people oriented.

Like I said, you run into scuffles with any dog of any breed. You also run the risk of the dogs not getting along regardless of breed. That is the risk you take when you bring in another dog. However the risk of that is a lot higher with the APBT being that they are genetically predisposed to be DA.

You just have to decide if its something you can really handle and if you are up for the challenge. Also remember that DA doesn't usually show up until the dog Matures. So they could get along great until they hit maturity and then all the sudden hate each other.


Oh and if I were you, I would wait until your dog is a few years old and you have spent time training this dog and then you will have a better idea if you are really prepared to handle two. Two puppies of ANY BREED is no picnic and a lot of work. Been there, done that, never again. I claim temporary insanity on that decision. Once I brought home 2 pups that were approximately 4-5 months apart in age. We made it through no worse for ware but what a poor decision on my part. It's double the work, double the training, double the exercise, double the pooping, and double the trouble. I don't regret having those dogs I just would never do it again. lol

[Stoottnoiciek]

I got an American Bulldog first. Kind of "Pit Bull Lite". Stubborn, can become Dog Aggressive, need a lot of time, training, socialization, and exercise. Not quite as energetic and athletic.

Then I took in a Pit Bull because a family member could no longer care for her. She was 1.5 and my AB had just turned 1. They had been around each other all their lives, played well together and wore each other out. I knew there was a chance that when either reached full maturity they may not get along anymore and I would have to crate and rotate. I got lucky. When my Pit became DA at 3 years old she decided she still liked my AB, but would try her best to kill other dogs including the dogs she had been living with before I took her in.

About a year later I got a Basset Hound that thinks he's a Pit My AB has no use for puppies as they cannot play hard with them, but my Pit mothered him and they all 3 got along just fine.

About 8 months after that I got another female Pit Bull. She is 16 months old now and has been DA since she was about 9 months old. Fortunately, she gets along with my other dogs. BUT I have to constantly supervise her when they are playing because every once in a while she takes play a bit too seriously and needs to be separated before a fight breaks out. No matter what I am doing, I drop it and separate my dogs if needed.

When I leave the house, go to sleep, cannot supervise for any reason, the dogs get separated. Ike gets free roam of the upstairs, Rita gets free roam of downstairs, Owen and Renee get crated in their individual crates.

When I feed them their morning ration and their afternoon ration I feed them in their crates so no fights break out over one dog stealing another dogs food and so I know that each dog is eating and how much since not eating can be a sign of illness.

Either myself, my husband, or my adult daughter go outside with the dogs at potty times to supervise them. If the weather is crappy, too bad. Someone is out there until all dogs have done their potty and they can be brought back in.

Every day we work on obedience with each dog individually and then as a group.

Every day we walk the dogs individually or in groups of two.

We keep the floor picked up and do not leave out toys unless we are supervising so there is not a fight over a toy.

And every day I wonder if as she matures Renee's dog aggression will change the situation and I will have to crate and rotate. But if it comes to that I have no problem changing the routine and doing that.

[Grorointeri]

Good luck to you.

Owning multiple dogs is a risk no matter the breed, but with an APBT you need to be even more careful. With the dog you have right now being as young as she is you don't know if she is DA yet so be careful.

Fights IMO are bound to happen since they want to determine who'll be the dominant one/leader. However major fights can be prevented by carefully watching them and making sure that there are no opportunities for them to fight over a prized possession.

I hope that if you're committed to owning two dogs you'll also be responsible for any mess they make. If they grow up to hate each other I hope that you'll step up to the plate and realize that you're committed to them for life.

Good luck to you and keep us posted.

[xqkAY7Lg]

Thanks for all the replies.. yes some reassurance is partly why i ask and those with regrets who say they wish they just had only one i was interested to hear also.. I did own a few year old pitbull for over a year.. i found him on the street.. he was dog aggressive and could be people aggressive at times too.. HE stayed in my bedroom while my 2 boxers lived in the house.. when the boxers went outside he was let out.. was like crate and rotate with a whole house.. It sucked but i loved the pit and of course my 2 boxers who were like 8 and 12yo too so i dealt with it..

it does make sense that my 6mo wouldnt show dog aggression so young.. I do the dog park thing with her now for socialization only because she is small and non aggressive but i know the dog park rules for adults is a no go really.. I wouldnt risk it even if she showed no aggression as an adult because no matter what the pit is blamed always.. so far she has played with 2 adult females in our yard and a large female shepherd with no issues.. she is very submissive.. she lays down for the others always but as she gets older i would assume it may not always be the case..

I guess im going to think this thru some more and decide if i want to be a prisoner in my own home to my dogs again or not.. My boxers scuffled but they could fight for a minute straight and neither had a mark on them.. the same isnt going to happen with a pit i know..

[lE3l6Lgn]

Multiple dogs is very time consuming and costly. When those dogs happen to be pit bulls there are a whole other set of issues.

To add to this, owning multiple dogs can be a real pain in the ass.

More work, more supervision, more room for error, more money spent, more keeping on everyone in the household's ass about following specific instructions about the dogs, more time spent interacting and working with each dog individually when you could be doing other things. And you definitely want to have a decent chunk of cash squirreled away in case there's a fight, or someone decides to eat something inedible.

Is it rewarding? Yes. But it can also be insanely stressful some days.

I have 5 dogs in my care right now. My dogs (4 y/o female pit bull, 4 y/o female Saint Bernard, 3 y/o male Rottweiler, and a 2 ish Brussels Griffon. And one 6 y/o Staffy mix female foster dog) all get along well. Except for the foster dog, who has always been pretty DA, and can never be around my other dogs.

[Futfwrca]

I would not consider owning two pit bulls as a prisoner in your own home. I take my dogs out to the park together, Walk them together, let them run together, take them to pet approved stores together. You may luck out, you might own two dogs who never show a low tolerance for other Animals. You might end up with two dogs that do. In that case you walk them separate, and rotate who you take with you to do what.

As for socializing, the dog park is really one of the worst places you can do that. It would be safer to find a pet store, like petsmart, Petco or a farmer market store that allows dogs and take them in and let them socialize in a more controlled environment. You can look around and call around and see what stores also allow to take pets in. I think its Homedepot that allows pets... I'm not sure. I don't take mine there. But there are members who do (its either that or was it Lowes?)

Another thing, A dog can show DA at 6 months. Remember, it can show at any given moment irrelevant to age.

[remstaling]

I personally think the most inconsiderate thing a pit bull owner can do is to take their dog out in public and use other unsuspecting dogs and their owners as experiments while he is socializing his pit bull or trying to figure out if his pit bull is DA.

Now if you want to go up to people and say "excuse me, I have this pit bull and he seems pretty dog friendly, would you like to bring your dog close so we can see how they interact?" I am all for it. Just don't be surprised if other dog owners aren't jumping at the chance to use their dog as a guinnea pig for you socialization experiment.

[kictainiSot]

Two puppies at a time is a terrible idea no matter what breed. Puppies need a lot of socialization and stuff that grown dogs don't. I'd wait until the first was 3-5yrs old.

Please never ever take your pit bull (or any dog for that matter) to the dog park. There's a whole huge, long sticky thread on it that I sincerely hope you take the time to read though in totality.

Honestly, I would not necesarily recommend two pit bulls to the average pet owner. In fact in 9.5 out of 10 cases I would not recommend it.

Ditto for working mixes like I have. I ultimately ended up with Scout because my best friend's mom thought Lily was so super awesome and did not heed my multiple disclaimers about how much work and time goes into Lily being such an awesome girl and figured the more pets the merrier, just stick em in the backyard and it'll be fine! So she went and got her own despite being warned that these dogs are not for the average pet home now I have two dogs because sled dogs don't make good pets.

[patuvammnogoo]

The best advice is don't do it.

[Sellorect]

I personally think the most inconsiderate thing a pit bull owner can do is to take their dog out in public and use other unsuspecting dogs and their owners as experiments while he is socializing his pit bull or trying to figure out if his pit bull is DA.

Now if you want to go up to people and say "excuse me, I have this pit bull and he seems pretty dog friendly, would you like to bring your dog close so we can see how they interact?" I am all for it. Just don't be surprised if other dog owners aren't jumping at the chance to use their dog as a guinnea pig for you socialization experiment.

I would agree.. Thats why i took her as an adolescent @ 25lbs with no fight drive at all.. Shes submissive.. a boston terrier pinned her down and bit the crap out of her for 30 minutes.. play biting of course.. i think allowing her to play amongst several breeds at 25lbs is better than taking your full grown never been in the past DA dog to the park only to find out there is 1 dog it didnt like and it attacked or even got attacked and just defended itself.. at 25lbs and a puppy her bite was harmless should she have decided to get a little feisty... now with all her full teeth and her developing jaw muscles from months of eating raw food i dont plan on bringing her back. just incase something was to go down.

[mloversia]

Please remember that DA doesn't necessarily happen at maturity. Very young dogs can also be dog aggressive. Not to mention that not only are dog parks full of rude dogs and owners who may or may not have a clue, they are also cesspools of disease. Not just what you vaccinate for but also internal and external parasites. If you want to let your dog play with other dogs avoid the dog park and try to get a select group of people you know that have healthy and well behaved dogs meet for dog play dates.

I wouldn't say owning multiple dogs makes one a prisoner, even if one or more is DA. I crate the dogs to avoid a fight and to protect my stuff. Owen will eat ANYTHING, Renee likes to get into the fridge and both have been known to chew. Rita and Ike can be trusted not to chew my stuff. So, Renee and Owen go into crates. Ike and Rita get separated by doors or I will let Ike have free roam and put Rita in her crate, too. Then I can safely leave with no worries.

Owning a DA dog doesn't make you a prisoner, either. I take my DA dogs walking through our neighborhood, to the pet stores, to friends homes, to family members homes, to the city and state park walking paths. I use a short lead and keep my dog away from other dogs.

[Pdarasenko]

I would agree.. Thats why i took her as an adolescent @ 25lbs with no fight drive at all.. Shes submissive.. a boston terrier pinned her down and bit the crap out of her for 30 minutes.. play biting of course.. i think allowing her to play amongst several breeds at 25lbs is better than taking your full grown never been in the past DA dog to the park only to find out there is 1 dog it didnt like and it attacked or even got attacked and just defended itself.. at 25lbs and a puppy her bite was harmless should she have decided to get a little feisty... now with all her full teeth and her developing jaw muscles from months of eating raw food i dont plan on bringing her back. just incase something was to go down.

Its not unheard of to have full grown female apbt's that weigh 25lbs... a 25lb bulldog can still do some heinous damage.

To put it succinctly taking your puppy to a dog park ever was a very irresponsible decision given the breed of dog you own.

Spend your time working on responsibly owning your current puppy. Start training in a sport like weight pull, rally, or SOMETHING with her. Take the ATTS and CGC tests with her. Go biking and running with her. Spend all your time with HER! Pit bulls don't need doggie friends. They need RESPONSIBLE owners who will give them their all they deserve.