[kenowinnumberss]

Thank you for you unhelpful comment. Obviously I am not "comfortable coming home to a bloodbath" - I asked people what THEY do.

It doesn't matter as to what everybody else does.. and this person is, honestly, giving you the best advice. There is no way to predict what YOUR dogs will do one day. Everybody does their own risk assessment and decides for themselves whether they THINK that their dogs won't get into it.. and that is not always the right call. You have to be prepared to come home to a bloodbath if you leave them together. If YOU think it is unlikely to happen.. there ya go. I have two dogs that pretty much stay together. One of them is 13 and the other is 10. They did have a few scuffles. As long as I keep bones, toys or treats out of the picture, I figure the risk of them killing each other is pretty low. BUT: I do realize that they still COULD eat each other... and that it will be MY fault.

Everybody else stays separated while I am gone. Some of them used to hang in pairs until they decided for me that this wasn't a good plan. Since I never left them together while I was gone, I was always able to ward off major damage.. but there always was damage. If your checking account has a buffer for this learning experience.. go for it. I have decided that my check-book is in too much demand as it is.
I had two dogs go at each other blood-bath style in the cab of my truck within 10 minutes after getting to agility class. They never had issues with each other before.. but another dog walked by and a re-directed bite turned into zombie-ville.

I had two dogs, who had hung out with each other since puppy-hood, go at each other when I got home and they bumped into each other on the way down the stairs to greet me.
I even had one dog get out of her crate and get along just fine (apparently) with my most dog aggressive bitch... until the dog aggressive bitch saw me and decided that she was not about to share me at greeting time.

soooo.. shit can happen. Any moment. If you are prepared to deal with it.. and think it's worth it.. more power to you. If not.. keep them separated to be sure.

[Zhgrlpil]

im not sure where people were being rude and unhelpful. this is our members being pretty respectful actually. usually theyre all up on people's asses about this. BUT, they gave you a choice, shared what they do, and told you that its up to you to do what YOU want. im really not sure what else you want from it. people gave their experience on the matter. heck, here's mine. i keep all of my dogs separate. depending on the dogs, theyre monitored on my watch. if at ANY point in time, im not watching, theyre separated. simple as that.

[Sleflanna]

i did not mean that everyone was being rude & unhelpful (there was only one Pretty In Pink poster that I commented that to). Everyone else's comments were very helpfull.

AND for the record (for those that claimed so), I don't need to be babied and I can take blunt responses. I guess because I have asked a question that many others have asked before, I should have just searched those posts instead of creating my own.

Now I know.

---------- Post added at 05:24 PM ---------- Previous post was at 05:23 PM ----------

YOU asked, and I quote "Do I HAVE to separate my pitties?" I answered your question....



If you are looking for a more "supportive" answer to your question here goes......

Yes you should. A responsible owner will never take the chance that their Pit bull type dogs will not fight.

Funny though, cuz it kinda means the same thing... and I also made the font pink and pretty for you.

So glad you found the Pink Font. That makes it all better.
I don't need a "supportive" answer - for the millionth time, I agree with what everyone said about separating them.

You, buddy, need to relax (and maybe find a hobby)

[XqrkN4a0]

think of it this way, you might love your brother or sister, and get along great together, but you also will fight sometimes where mom or dad have to separate you. you like to have your time and space alone, think of the separation while your not home as the dogs' time and space alone.

[RarensussyRen]

I don't have multiple pit bulls.

I have a mutt pit bull type (rescue) and had a Rott/Dobe rescue.

Hades (male, pit bull mutt) is not dog aggressive at 6 years old, he is mildly reactive/tolerant. My Roxy was a dominant bitch. She was very clearly the leader between them. They never got into a scuffle, meaning Hades never fought back, but Roxy did correct him a handful of times throughout their 6 years together (rightfully so, the dog can be psychotic when doing prey driven activities).

Hades was crated until he was around 2 for reasons completely unrelated (he was a destroyer, separation anxiety) and then he wasn't crated. My job at the time (teaching dog obedience classes) allowed for very little gaps in time where the dogs were unsupervised. If it were ever more than a couple hours, both were shipped off to my parents to be dog sat.

Hades is a mutt pit bull. He looks kind of like a pit bull, he kind of acts like one, but he is not by any means a pure blooded specimen. Something that I personally feel is an important factor.

I did not have TWO pit bulls. I know my dog inside and out, spend more time with him than your average person who works a 40 hour week and leaves the dog at home and I've spent many hundreds of hours over the years training him. He is not your average family pet in regards to training.

Your situation does not sound like one where I think it's a good idea to not heed the advice given here. Your dogs have already been in scuffles at a young age, specifically over a bone (lack of training/desensitization).

As others have said, you don't HAVE to do anything, SHOULD you separate your two pit bulls when unsupervised? Yes. And a set of dog obedience classes with a reputable trainer never set anyone behind the starting line either!

[Sleflanna]

I adopted my female when she was 1 year old and 6 months later, adopted my male at 5 months. The female has always had the run of the house, while I crated my male whenever my husband & I were not home (initially, the male was crated at night too but we stopped that when he reached 1 year old).

So now the dogs are 2 & 3 years old. My husband thinks we do not need to crate the male anymore (he believes the crating was more to keep the male from destroying the house - which is now under control).

The dogs eat and play well together. Over the last 2 years, there have been a few scuffles (always over a bone), but I have always been there to snap them out of it by clapping my hands or spraying them with water from a water-bottle. There has never been more than a tooth-puncture wound, but after reading so many posts here I am afraid to come home to wounded/dead dogs.

I know most will reply that the safest thing to do is crate them (or at least 1 of them) but does anyone have any advise/experience with multiple pittie homes where they do NOT separate their dogs when they're not home? One of the biggest reasons we got the 2nd dog was for play time (obviously not for fight time) - that ends up a mute point if they are separated all the time.

I want to do right by my dogs & with their breed, I understand the reality of a potential deadly fight.

[WumibBesowe]

I have 3 pit bulls living in my house right now, and I ALWAYS seperate them when I leave... I even have a gate separating my 2 females almost all the time even when I am home and busy doing things. If you have ever seen or had to break up a fight between two or more there wouldn't be a question, if they get into a fight they WILL NOT STOP ON THERE OWN, one or both dogs will end up dead. So to answer your question I would and I do seperate my mine.

[Seiblybiozy]

I know most will reply that the safest thing to do is crate them (or at least 1 of them) but does anyone have any advise/experience with multiple pittie homes where they do NOT separate their dogs when they're not home?

Yes they will reply that way and so will I.

However comma, I had one bulldog and one non-pit for almost 5 years and the bulldog would get into my non-pit a couple of times a year while playing together. Like you, I was there to separate them immediately, but blood was drawn from time to time.

The thing was, when I left them together alone and in the home for up to several hours ON OCCASION ... they would settle down in separate areas and sleep until my return (unless a noise outside distracted them). I DID worry at times that an incident between them might happen ... but it never did. Regardless, I was Very Lucky.

That said, I was perhaps foolish to take the risk I did. Since all they did while I was gone was sleep ... I should have just separated them for peace of mind if nothing else.

You could separate them with or without crating. As Tiffseagles pointed out you could use closed doors. You could also use well installed tall baby gates ... which I now have. If a bulldog is determined, can it jump over a baby gate even if almost 4 feet tall ... yep, easily ... it can also go through a door (trust me on that one. I had to replace a door LOL) ... on the other hand, they've also been known to escape crates as well. Nothing is 100% foolproof unless it is maybe industrial Zoo equipment rated HA !!!

Given their history, the bottom line is ... separate them unless you are there to supervise them and fuggitaboutit.

[Seiblybiozy]

If one of those dogs ever got hot, a door wouldn't stop it, let alone a baby gate. I wouldn't risk it. There really isn't a point.

That's why I also have a chain spot and use when necessary. A crate wouldn't have worked either ... at least a crate you'd get at PetSmart or Walmart wouldn't.

[Desflahd]

I don't expect to have a flat tire every time I leave my driveway but I always have a spare just in case. I don't ever expect my dogs to fight but I keep them separate just in case.

[Sleflanna]

Well then is it worth it to you to possibly come home to one or two dead dogs? It really makes no difference if they have fought in the past or not, it's a possibility and if you aren't there it won't end well. Why on earth would you get two dogs of a breed created to fight other dogs, with a well known propensity for dog aggression to be playmates?

Thank you for your opinion, but you did not answer my question...do you have multiple pitties at home (your avatar seems like a picture of a few pitties)? If so, do you keep them separated when you are not around? And also if so, I guess you could ask yourself the same question you asked me - "Why on earth would you get two dogs of a breed created to fight other dogs, with a well known propensity for dog aggression to be playmates?
Read more: http://www.pitbull-chat.com/showthre...#ixzz1rrBHlv6Z"


---------- Post added at 12:40 PM ---------- Previous post was at 12:38 PM ----------

If one of those dogs ever got hot, a door wouldn't stop it, let alone a baby gate. I wouldn't risk it. There really isn't a point.

I'm confused - there really isn't a point of what? Owning 2 pit bulls?

[Sleflanna]

If you are comfortable with the possibility of coming home to a bloodbath then by all means let them be unsupervised when you aren't home.

Thank you for you unhelpful comment. Obviously I am not "comfortable coming home to a bloodbath" - I asked people what THEY do.

Get a life.

---------- Post added at 12:55 PM ---------- Previous post was at 12:54 PM ----------

everyone answered your question. you just didnt get the answer you were looking for i suppose. do what you want.

no, actually i agree with what (most) people said about separating them. i was asking what EVERYONE ELSE DOES.

thanks for your time

[PefeFoesk]

Unfortunately what one person considers helpful advice, someone else considers as jumping down someone's throat. After awhile when there are stickies that cover a topic explaining why certain ideas or methods are good or bad, or when the question has been asked again and again as though this time the answer will be different because this time it is their dog and their dog isn't like other dogs, etc. some people can and do get very blunt and to the point with their answers. But often the real problem isn't how they answer it is that the answer itself really wasn't what the person asking the question wanted to hear. Generally it is a mix of both.

Gotta be thick skinned to have a bully, regardless of how "mean" someone may think someone in here is being it doesn't hold a candle to how mean the bully haters out there will be towards you and your dog.

[HotDolly]

I would only allow supervised play time, especially if there is a history of scuffles. If you don't want to crate either, you could always give them separate areas of the house to roam with closed doors to separate them (depending on the set up of your house, an example may be that one has access to the living room and the other gets free roam of a rec room).

[QualityReachOut]

Since dogs sleep most of the time anyways I have no problem crating 3 of mine when I leave. I let the 4th free roam. I crate them to prevent a potentially deadly scuffle and because I don't want to risk one or more of them chewing my stuff out of boredom and ending up with a blockage , getting into the trash and eating something they shouldn't, chewing a power cord and electrocuting themselves or getting into household cleaners and poisoning themselves.

Just because a dog hasn't done it before doesn't mean they won't when left home alone. Rita was 2 years old and had never gotten into anything when she randomly ate a couch cushion while my husband and son were about 20 feet away not paying attention. Before that day I never thought she would do something like that.

Picking up toys and food is no guarantee 2 or more dogs won't fight. I have had dogs get snarky and start something just because one really wants to play and another is not in the mood.

No, you never have to crate or otherwise separate your dogs. But erring on the side of caution is always a good idea.

[Boveosteors]

I don't have multiple bully breeds at this time, but there have been several times where I've had more than one under my roof.

The most memorable time was after my girl Lucy got into a fence fight with a loose pit bull (we had to mace the loose dog to get her away from the fence so we could bring our dogs in). The loose dog had no tags, no micro chip, and we'd never seen her before, so we took her in until we could find the owners or her home. We ended up having Sheebs at our house for about 4 months before we found her owners..

Did we separate them? Oh you bet your sweet ass we did. Sheebs and Lucy wanted nothing more than another chance to go at each other. When we weren't home, not only was Sheebs crated, but we crated her in our room, with the door shut, with Lucy crated in the main part of the house.

Now I have 4 dogs. A Rottweiler and a Brussels Griffon, both male. And a Saint Bernard and an APBT, both female. All the dogs are separated from one another when we're not home/can't directly supervise them. And all these dogs get along well together. Why? Even though only one is a bully type dog, I don't want to risk coming home to a dead or injured dog/dogs.


Really, it's up to you. To me it's kind of like playing Russian roulette.

Yeah, the dogs get along NOW, but who can say what goes on when you're not home? Pit bulls can get into it over ANYTHING. Sunbeams, dust motes in the air, someone walking by outside with a dog, crumbs on the kitchen floor. Just because your dogs get along now, doesn't mean they always will, which is a chance all pit bull (and multiple dog) owners take.

ANY dog breed can be aggressive towards other dogs. My Rottie and my Saint are both DA to some degree, and if a dog rubs them the wrong way, they'll go after it.

It's a personal choice. Just don't be surprised if you come home to a blood bath if you choose not to separate them when you're not around.

[TheLucyLee]

I want to do right by my dogs & with their breed, I understand the reality of a potential deadly fight.

Well then is it worth it to you to possibly come home to one or two dead dogs? It really makes no difference if they have fought in the past or not, it's a possibility and if you aren't there it won't end well. Why on earth would you get two dogs of a breed created to fight other dogs, with a well known propensity for dog aggression to be playmates?

[Desflahd]

As far as WHAT I do, my dogs live in outdoor kennels. When they are out to stretch there is somebody on hand to keep an eye on things. When nobody is watching they go back in their kennels and stay there.

[TheLucyLee]

Thank you for your opinion, but you did not answer my question...do you have multiple pitties at home (your avatar seems like a picture of a few pitties)? If so, do you keep them separated when you are not around? And also if so, I guess you could ask yourself the same question you asked me - "Why on earth would you get two dogs of a breed created to fight other dogs, with a well known propensity for dog aggression to be playmates?

I have three dogs and yes they are all separated whenever we are not around. They are also separated for eating, chewing or toy time, pottying, walks, yard exercise with me (flirtpole/springpole/tug). I have all three dogs apart right now. I did not get them to be "friends", I got them because I like pit bulls. When I added the 3rd, dog #2 still wanted to eat her and they were not allowed around each other. If they get along great, if they don't they get kept apart, you don't get a dog for your dog. You stated you got the dogs so they could be playmates, this is not a bright idea in this breed. We often don't allow the dogs to wrestle or play because it gets out of hand too quickly. No one can make you do anything, there is no guarantee your dogs will ever get in a serious fight when you are gone, it's a risk you have to decide if it's worth running. Most people here would not risk their dogs lives knowing the breed traits.

[nilliraq]

look, i get it. being a pit bull owner is a huge responsibility and i am learning as i go. i don't think i know everything or have all the answers (hello ego!), otherwise i wouldn't have joined the community to ask for feedback.

these communities should be a place that we SUPPORT each other as owners & share our experiences. i have been reading through many posts/replies on this site & with the exception of a few truly ignorant remarks, people are jumping down each other's throats when we should just be helping each other.

We are very supportive here. But we support educating yourself and making proper decisions for dogs.. We don't support ignorant or uneducated egos.

We lose our patience when people come here and ask the same question/s someone else asked two days earlier. For YOU - It's your first time asking a question. For US - It's the millionth and a half time someone has asked THE exact same thing, and most the people think THEY should get a different answer because THEIR dogs "aren't like those dogs that fight" (whether it's about dog parks, getting on with other dogs in the house, etc.). Sugar coating isn't an option with this breed - If you can't handle the firm, blunt responses you're going to get here, I don't recommend sticking around!

So, don't take it personal and don't get offended. There is a TON of information here, and a lot of really knowledgeable folk who don't at all mind helping you if you don't get an ego or attitude because no one is babying you!