Question- on doggie introductions

[zannli]

My DH and I came home from a trip to a suprise. We have new neighbors in the rental house next door. And these new neighbors have a Pit Bull in their fenced back yard adjoining our fenced back yard. The fences are chain link so the dogs can easily see each other. The dog appears to be a fully intact male pit bull.

Our dog, Sasha (female husky/shepherd mix -fixed), was being boarded at her trainers so she has not yet seen this dog and we haven't been letting her in our yard off leash accept when the other dog is inside since seeing the new dog. I've heard that non-neutered male pits can be very aggressive. And Sasha, though socialized and a sweety - is not known to back down if challenged. My fear is territory aggression and fence fighting. We've written a note to our new neighbors welcoming them to the neighborhood and asking if we could let the dogs greet each other on neutral territory and with much positive re-inforcement before letting them loose in their fences (this is what the trainer recommended).

But if they don't respond or seem dismissive of the idea, does anyone have any ideas as to how to get the dogs to be friends rather than warring over territory all the time? Any ideas on any of it? Although I've known some very sweet Pit Bulls over time, I'm still a bit wary of unfamiliar ones - even though this one seems to be well taken care of (i.e. is let inside when they are home, has lots of toys in yard). So any advice is welcome particularly from owners of Pits or people with them next door. How do I read his behavior? So far over a two day period he has just now come close to the fence when we are outside. Before he would just sit on his porch and bark at us from across the yard or run up to the fence after he thought we were going inside. His tail is low and wagging. His ears stay about the same all the time.

Thanks in advance for any help anyone can provide. I'd really like to give Sasha the run of her yard again, whether he's outside or not.

[Scooter]

That's a tough situation. You're right, unaltered pit bulls can be very aggressive. That's why in SF there's a mandatory spay/neuter law for pits, because almost every attack was by an unaltered pit. So I think it's good you're being cautious.

One thing I wanted to suggest to you is that if the yards are separated by a chainlink fence, it would be good to keep an eye on the dogs, once they are acquainted, to make sure they don't dig underneath. It would be easy enough with that kind of fence. The other thing is that is the neighbors leave the dog alone outside for extended periods of time, it's important that he's not out there digging, once he figures out there's a dog in that yard. We have this problem next door and it took months for the neighbors to stop the dogs from doing it, but luckily they never got into our yard. Just something to be aware of, so you're not caught by surprise letting your doggie out and seeing him out there waiting to play!

If there is aggression, you may want to invest in some kind of barrier to keep them from seeing each other, because that can lower anxiety. I think if the neighbors don't respond to the note I'd probably go knock on their door. Talk about the situation, find out if he's aggressive and if he does guarding, protecting behavior. And introduce the dogs in a neutral space, like on a neighborhood walk or at a dog park. Sorry I don't have more ideas!

[Chile]

I've heard that non-neutered male pits can be very aggressive.

You're right, unaltered pit bulls can be very aggressive.


Actually, ANY intact male dog can be aggressive. It does NOT depend on their breed.

[zannli]

sorry about that Chile... didn't mean to offend
I've just always heard Pit Bulls were bred to be even more so.
But I have also heard that of Chows and I had one of those and it was pretty unfounded so I'm sure its the same with Pit Bulls.
I didn't mean for it to sound as though <i>only</i> Pit Bull males were aggressive. It's just that the one that I'm worried about at the moment happens to be a Pit Bull. I think Pit Bulls in general are very sweet dogs.

[katiadarling]

I don't mean to be a b*tch, but pit bulls were historically bred for dog fighting, so now matter how sweet the dog is with people... (and pits tend to be VERY sweet with their families), they have the propensity to be dog aggressive (which would come out between 1 and 3 years old, upon reaching sexual maturity).

I might suggest putting up a privacy fence to lower the stress (I would suggest this with any dog living next door). Some dogs fence fight that aren't actually agressive (barrier aggression where they display "aggressive" behaviors because of frustration from not being able to reach the other dog... not from actual aggressive tendencies). Regardless, I think it'd be better for both dogs to have a divider and not have to see each other constantly when they're in the yards at the same time.

I do realize that any dog can be aggressive, not just pits.. but because of their historic use, I'm more wary of them than many other dog breeds. That's not to say that you couldn't find an outright aggressive golden retriever... or to say that I dis-like pits. They're great dogs, they just have a few more dog-dog issues than other breeds.

[zannli]

You know you raise a good point. The more DH and I discuss this the more we are leaning toward a privacy fence. Not only will it help with this dog, but also as I mentioned the house next door is a rental... so other dogs could come into that yard after these folks have moved on and we'd have to go through the same ordeal. We're looking into the cost for that now.

Thank you for all the suggestions and help. I appreciate it. You've all certainly helped me work through the issue in my head. Just by giving me some different perspectives and possibilities.

If anyone one else has ideas... I'd certainly be open to them.
All the best,
Z

[Chile]

Edited because it's just not worth it wasting my time on. They are tons of myths surrounding that particular breed and a lot of people are miseducated about them.

zannli - good luck on introducing to the two dogs, I hope that they end up being doggie playmates and everything goes well when they meet.

[greenbunny]

Just as an FYI, here's some pit bull info regarding the debate on the nature of the breed:

http://www.furryfriendsfoundation.com/Truth03/Truth03.htm

[zannli]

Okay.. Let's just get back on topic here.
This is not a Pro-Pit Bull or Anti-Pitbull discussion here.
I think "Buddy Boy" (as I've taken to calling him since I don't know his real name) is probably a well loved and well behaved dog and very loving dog from all I can tell. He seems to be a bit skiddish of us right now, but we are new to him and he's beginning to warm up to us coming and going by the fence. But there is a fence and there is territory involved. I would post this question if any dog had moved in next door. This just happens to be the first couple who had one and it just happens to be a Pit Bull. The fence and territory and their affects on the dogs interactions is the problem. I did not mean to imply in any way that I dislike Pit Bulls or that it makes him any more dangerous- all it does is make him big. My point in mentioning his breed at all was to see if any Pit owners could give me clues as to reading his behavior. I think I've heard they normally keep their tail low so I'm having trouble telling whether he's feeling subordinate or dominate - happy or aggitated. This thread is about ways to aquaint the two dogs and help them get along if the owners don't respond to our request to introduce them on neutral ground. This was certainly not a thread that was meant to start any type of battle over Pit Bulls or any other breed of dog.

[AlisonCO]

My male boxer is a fence fighter but is absolutely fine if he can see the other dog. We used to have a chain link and he was always fine with the neighbors dog even when they had strange dogs over. We recently moved to a house with a solid fence and he was a big PITA until he was able to meet the dog next door. We arranged for a meeting and they did the normal meet and greet and ever since they have been fine. It actuallly led to a weekly or so play date with the dogs - hope it all works out for you.

[Scooter]

This was certainly not a thread that was meant to start any type of battle over Pit Bulls or any other breed of dog. You know, since we were talking about this specific dog next door, I think it's perfectly fine that we made those statements quoted above. The question is about your neighbors' dog, not unaltered dogs in general. And different breeds have different qualities. I was just checking back in to see if there was any update--you'll have to let us know if the neighbors respond to the note.

Out of curiosity, how do the two dogs act when you take your into the backyard on a leash?

[zannli]

they are both quite aggressive toward each other when they see each other. If we are on the other side of the yard and she just hears him, she's fine.

You can definately see a difference in the behavior of Buddy Boy when I'm by myself as opposed to when I come out with Sasha with me. His posture is completely different. Sasha too gets her hackles up when we've gone to that side of the yard and he barks at her. But I can't tell if it is because she is feeling protective of me, defensive or fearful or just protective of her own territory. She is obedient though and follows my lead on the leash. She hasn't tried to pull to get to him or anything.

We've still heard nothing from the neighbors. They are hard to catch in person because my DH and I work days and they apparently work nights.