[Fekliopas]

First off hello everyone I came here to get educated more about the Pit Bull breed. I have a female spayed she is two years old I had a Bull mastiff and had her put down last year. The two of them were best friends, my wife and I think that our dog needs a playmate. So I looked on Craigslist and find a Blue Pit that the owners need to give up to a good family he is a male snipped and 8 months old and from what they tell me a very loving dog, they got to give him up because where they are moving to they cant have him. So I set up a meeting for this Sunday to meet the dog and bring mine so they can play and see if they are good match and then bring him home. So what I guess that I getting at would this be a good ideal to have two of them or just leave things the way they are???????? My dog is very loving and never been in a fight not even close to one.

[bellson]

Please do NOT get another dog if the reason behind it is thinking your current dog needs a playmate.

If you want another dog for YOU, then that is a horse of a different color so to speak.

[sam]

While a lot of pit bulls DO enjoy the company of other dogs, unless you're VERY familiar with the requirements of keeping multiple bullies, I would not recommend jumping right in!

Do PLENTY of research on what it means to own two pit bulls - separating when you can't supervise, knowing the signs of a possible problem between them, etc. before you decide if bringing another dog into your household is a good idea.

[JesikaFclq]

Please do NOT get another dog if the reason behind it is thinking your current dog needs a playmate.

If you want another dog for YOU, then that is a horse of a different color so to speak.

Agreed.

There are a lot of things to take into consideration when you are thinking of adding another dog to the house, especially when it comes to bully breeds.

Are you prepared to separate the dogs completely and forever should they become aggressive towards each other? (And while your current dog may not be DA, and the male may not be, things can change, and fast as the dogs mature)

Can you afford 2 or more dogs? (Because remember, accidents happen, medical emergencies arise, food allergies develop, not to mention more food, crates, toys etc)

Will you have the time to devote to properly training and exercising them separately?

Are you prepared to never leave them unsupervised EVER?

[IRMartin]

Originally Posted by CoolHandJean
I always advise against someone getting a dog for their dog.

As when you aren't home, they have to be separated anyway.

If you want another dog for yourself, then that's different.

If that's the case, ask yourself these two question.
1. Am I willing to keep them separated when I am not able to supervise?
2. If they ever get in a fight with one another, am I willing to keep them separated from then on out?

If you answered no to one or both, then stick to one dog. If you answered yes to both, then keep doing your research.

---------------------------------
this 100%

i have to bully mixes. i got the 2nd dog because tweek was getting old. i figured if i waited til she passed i may not want to get another dog so i got one while she is still alive so that when she does go, i'll already be attached to the new dog.

in all honesty, tweek would much prefer to have stayed an only dog. the only companion dogs need is their human (with the exception of certain breeds like huskies imo)

getting a dog for your dog is like getting a toaster for your toaster, its just not needed.

i walk my dogs separately, when i'm not home they are separated, and sometimes even when i'm home i have to separate them because their wrestling is getting too rough or more serious than usual (or they're just irritating me)

i always advise against having multiple dogs. its a pain in the butt, its expensive (vet bills, dog supplies *especially if they are not the same size*, dog food *especially if they have to eat different types of food, think regular dog chow and senior dog chow on my part*). you have to be able to spend equal amount of time with each dog as they will get jealous over each other which can result in fights.

there's just a lot you have to deal with.

---------- Post added at 03:25 PM ---------- Previous post was at 03:19 PM ----------

i also wanted to add that tweek a a very dominant female and sai is submissive. both are DA, but usually not with each other because sai is just too submissive. but sai is stronger than tweek and because of that things can get serious real quick with out sai noticing if i dont keep an eye and ear out for them.

and they are both indoor dogs
__________________

[ImapFidaarram]

Your dog doesn't need a playmate, it's a dog, not a kid. If you want a 2nd dog go ahead. I have two, sometimes they get along better than others, there have been times where I don't allow wrestling or playing at all because they get too revved and escalate into squabbling. There are no toys left out to fight over and both dogs are separated when we aren't directly supervising. I would never let them play alone in the backyard, they would fight over sticks or the springpole. I take them on separate walks, they get separate playtimes in the yard with toys. And these are dogs who get along for the most part. I'm sure both would prefer to be only dogs, with toys out 24/7 and our undivided attention.

Your dog may be loving as can be, that has zero to do with whether or not she may get in a fight or be dog aggressive down the line. Far too many of these dogs get dumped because people expect them to live in a "pack", some dogs can fine, some dogs need to be managed, some dogs can't be around other dogs without starting trouble. If you get this dog and the two of them fight, what are you going to do? Are you willing to keep both if they stop getting along?

[IRMartin]

If you get this dog and the two of them fight, what are you going to do? Are you willing to keep both if they stop getting along?

this is by far the most important question that needs to be answered before you do ANYTHING!!!

[Fekliopas]

Ok the dog will be for me we just wanted another dog to play with Jinx, also yes if the dog gets out of hand we have a ranch house with full basement finished and two doors going out side it can live downstairs if needed have no problem with that. I hope that they would get along well but like everyone is saying it just can happen out of the blue. Money not an option they will be well taken care of if anything was to happen. I have opened my eyes a lot more, there was lots of things that I didn't think of but you guy's filled me in on THANKS for that. We are going to look at him Sun will let everyone no what happened

---------- Post added at 11:44 AM ---------- Previous post was at 10:16 AM ----------

Ok lets just say I go and let my dog meet with the other dog and everything goes well any advise on bring the dog into my home , I guess like a home intro. I just want to do this right way and not have any problems

[nd90t3sf]

Personally I feel Pits are better in one pet households. I did have two as my female aged we adopted our current male. The female was very dog aggressive and even though she was old she had no problem putting the new male (both fixed) in his place. After a short time they seemed to get along just fine, but he was young (1 year) and accepted her as the leader. I never imagined she could ever coexist with another dog as she never tolerated the presence of any other dog before. He was so much bigger, younger and agile I just though I could try as I did not believe she could really hurt him at her age and he was a sweetheart with other dogs at the time. Eventually I had to put her down (age 17) but shortly after her death, our male turned on so to speak and now he is very DA.

There is a way to own more than one but with every addition the responsibility, work and risk grows exponentially. My best suggestion is this life is much easier with one and the dogs seem to prefer being the only pet. A friend of mine had two pits from the same litter, a male and a female. The dogs were raised together and lived happily together for years. One day, a scuffle broke out between them over a bone or toy as I recall and the fight that ensued was horrific. When they were finally separated both dogs were injured but the female suffered some serious wounds. He could never trust them after that incident and therefore was forced to give one away, and he was heartbroken by having to choose. My best advise is just think long and hard about getting a second dog and be sure you are willing to deal with the circumstances if things don't work out. I would never trust two pitbulls not to fight, therefore they must always be separated when left alone. Be prepared to crate and rotate if necessary

---------- Post added at 01:14 PM ---------- Previous post was at 01:01 PM ----------

Bullmastif135 - If you do decide to try the second dog here is what I did. We first took my female to the rescue and allowed the dogs to meet on neutral ground by just having them on leashes and walking them on opposite sides of the street. Eventually we allowed the to walk closer and closer to each other. My very aggressive female never really had a problem with a dog unless it got very close to her. As we walked closer and closer, when the new dog got to close, she would suddenly lunge at his face, but I would correct her. Eventually they would walk together without incident.

Then we brought the new dog home and kept both dogs on leashes. Slowly they both began to relax and would lay down very near each other. After a few hours I let them sniff each other and start to interact. Eventually in another hour or so they were able to coexist off leash. He was young and wanted to play and she was old and cranky and would snap at him until he learned to allow her to be the boss and he would leave her alone when she indicated she did not want to play. They did get along with only a few quick spats over food or something until her death. He was very sad for awhile but now he is not tolerant of dogs and happiest as the center of attention. It all worked out. I hope this helps. I definitely can be done, but it does require a lot of work and supervision. Just remember this is something you are doing for you not for your dog as he will be happiest being your loyal pet and having all of your available attention.

[JesikaFclq]

The way I'd do it would be a foster to adopt. (Although I suppose this doesn't really apply to OP since it's a CL dog). You'd have a bit of time to find out what you're getting into, how the dogs interact, and if it goes well, keep the dog. If not, at least you're giving a dog a place to stay until you find a new owner.

[Emapymosy]

I think dogs are social animals and often can be paired up. When my old dog was about 3 and my pit bull/ bull mastiff was about the same, a person doing work on the house left a gate open and they got loose. They were loose for about 4 hours and luckily a neighbor saw them and recognized them and brought them back home and closed them in. They were quite a ways away from the house but they were still together.

A dog doesn't need a playmate, but who's to say they wouldn't want one if they could make the choice. My current young two are always together exploring the yard, playing chase and sleeping together in the house or grooming each other. Samson will be laying on the ground, and as soon as Stell comes in and licks his face his tail goes crazy wagging and then starts to lick her face back. I couldn't imagine them not together.

[rikdpola]

"I couldn't imagone them not together." And there's the problem. You...and most other people...put your emotions and morals onto your pets.

Dogs don't work like we do...at all.

Say two humans grew up together and were best friends well into adult hood. Say one day they get into an argument over something...a human would generaly go no further than raised voices in such a confrontation...and after a period of avoidance due to hard feelings, they patch it right back up again.

Now...if these two good friends were to escalate into a fist fight...and were to continue to fight until one had killed the other...we would consider this an act of inhumanity...no sane person would react that way...especialy not to a lifelong friend.

Dogs aren't people. They do not have any morals...no sense of "right" and "wrong". They are governed first by instinct and second by training. A small doggy disagreement COULD escalate very easily into a kill-or-be-killed fight...especially in breeds whose instincts have been altered by selective breeding to heighten the fight and/or prey drive.

If you are not there to stop a potential fight from occuring...well...who's going to stop it from escalating?

---------- Post added at 06:35 PM ---------- Previous post was at 06:33 PM ----------

That's not to say you can't have multi dog homes where dogs get along...it's simply advising that one never allow themselves to think that their dogs can be trusted 100% alone together.

They have nothing...except your presence...to stop them from starting a fight, and nothing to stop them from continuing until someone is dead.

Humans are stopped from comitting such acts by either moral values, or knowledge of the consequences. Dogs have niether of these guiding points.

[Emapymosy]

How come your quote of my post changed the spelling of imagine?

I agree that some dogs aren't great together. Hell some married couples end up killing one another too after years of calm. But that doesn't stop people from getting married. I don't know the odds of 2 dogs going from years of civil into a fight so serious, but I don't want to let that be my deciding factor on keeping more than one bully dog together. Pure bred pit bulls though are different than keeping 2 pit mixes....totally can see how game dogs shouldn't be left together. One of the dogs in question in the OP though is a "blue pit". So that most likely isn't a game dog or a pure bred APBT. The other dog? Who knows, but I would bet it isn't a game dog either. And after looking at any local shelter and the dogs there in being 60%+ pit bull mix, I can't imagine how they stand a chance of being adopted to families that already have a dog. Yet it doesn't seem to be an issue when it comes to adopt the dog....they generally just want to make sure they can get along at their yard first. So I would think that some of the worry of having 2 pit mixes together isn't justified.

[ResuNezily]

Your dog doesn't need a playmate and craigslist is the worst place to pick up one of these dogs and from what you posted the dog more than likely is not a pit bull its more than likely a back yard bred ambully from someone trying to make a buck using sympathy to get it sold.

[Fekliopas]

My current dog is the one in the pictures the brindle one I don't think she is a pure breed I am not concerned with her Jinx, I will post a picture of Diesel the dog that I looking at. They say he has papers on him, also said that they paid 500.00 for him 8 months ago and that they are heart broken that they got to give him up. You never know

[Emapymosy]

Very nice looking dog!

[Alliopeti]

He looks a lot like my baby.

please keep in mind what others have already said. If the meet and greet goes well then you know what to do next

[Narkeere]

if you are seriously looking for advice from people who dont know you, your dog, or your situation, you dont need another dog.
if and when it goes bad are you gonna come back asking "what next?"

[Alliopeti]

Don't they always Lee?

But Lee, not matter what we say people are going to do what they want? At least they are asking for help? Better then going into it blind.

[Narkeere]

asking for advice is one thing...following it is another. anyone can say im gonna do this or that if they dont get along,
but when the shit hits the fan very few people are prepared mentally to deal with the fight, let alone the aftermath.