Neighbors...

This is where to talk about Pit Bulls!

Postby pitsnok » January 6th, 2012, 1:28 am

When I got home tonight, our next door neighbor was outside and he was introducing himself to me, (he just moved back from San Antonio, and his ex wife and kids had been living in the house, but now he's there and the kids--who are both in college, and we sort of "know" just from being neighbors) and in small talk he asked if we had dogs...
He was hesitant to tell me (which I found quite hilarious) that they just got a "12 or 13 week old" pit bull girl. He didn't even know we had dogs (I have no idea how), but was just giving me a heads up because the fence we share is super crappy, just in case. I said, "OH! yeah! Thats what our three are!" and he seemed pretty happy about that. I explained that ours are never out unattended, so that's probably why he didn't know we had them. He said he was probably going to get a tie-down set up in the back yard for now since she is small and could squeeze through holes in the fence and whatnot. I took that as him meaning "when she is out to potty" and hope desperately he didn't mean like, as her daily-routine sort of thing. (They did have a chocolate lab who was outside a lot, but not all the time. When we got our dogs they started keeping her in more because she liked to bark while they were out.)

I am just so hoping they aren't idiots about her... He said they have gotten "A lot of interesting responses" from people...I just laughed and explained that's part of it, and people, especially here, just don't know the breed. (The city we live in is very "wealthy" and conservative, so pit bulls aren't all that common, and people often are afraid of them.) We chatted for a few minutes about the breed and whatnot. Since this was my first time meeting him I didn't go into my crazy dog lady shpeel, but I do want to be able to talk to them about responsible ownership and everything... he said it was great to hear we have that in common, and told me to come over and meet her any time, (which would be awkward but who can resist knowing a pit bull puppy is next door? not I) !!

So does anyone have any good advice for not coming off as judgmental or rude about it? Like I said, I haven't even met the dog yet so I may have nothing to worry about... I am hoping she is a rescue just because he said "12 or 13 weeks old" but, that's just me hoping for the best! He was telling me about some of the best dogs he has known have been pit bulls, and they had a border collie that was aggressive and blah blah, but I'm pretty sure it is their first time owning the breed, so I assume they don't know a lot of what it entails. I just want to be able to steer them in the right direction, but don't know how to do so without coming off as a know-it-all or overstepping my neighborly boundaries, since I don't know them that well.

And, I am pretty excited to have a pit bull puppy next door!
~Brittany, Degan and Harlow's mom


"It is true that Pit Bulls grab and hold on. But what they most often grab and refuse to let go of is your heart, not your arm."
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Postby pitbullmamaliz » January 6th, 2012, 9:36 am

Tell them to join here!
"Remember - every time your dog gets somewhere on a tight leash *a fairy dies and it's all your fault.* Think of the fairies." http://www.positivepetzine.com"

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Postby furever_pit » January 7th, 2012, 1:08 am

Honestly, just remember everyone makes mistakes. That could be anything from where they got the dog from to how they start trying to navigate their way through the training and ownership of the breed. Understanding that we are all fallible goes a long way in opening the door to education with first time owners I have found. Share your own experiences and stories and, I know it can be hard, but sometimes it is best to bite your tongue and lead by example. Let them come to you with questions instead of bombarding them with information. Too much, too soon is a huge turnoff to some people and can make some defensive.

As for the tie out, I don't see that as an issue at all. He knows she can squeeze through the fence so he is trying to prevent that behavior. IMHO, most dogs are happier on a tie out or in an outdoor kennel than in a crate anyway.
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Postby pitsnok » January 7th, 2012, 4:46 am

Oh I definitely didn't automatically assume they were going to be bad owners, I just figure I should share the knowledge, you know... help set them up for success with her. I met her today and OH MY GOD SHE IS ADORABLE. She may be a mix, but i mean who knows. She definitely looks pit bull even at such a young age, so I'm excited to see how she progresses.
He said that she was living in a yard with two or three full grown male dogs and she wasn't able to get to food often and so on...he said it was kind of a "thug" place, and she may have been stolen originally, (you never know how things get distorted through the grapevine) but they have no clue where she came from, or anything about her... someone they know was able to get her out of wherever she was and they adopted her. They have already been getting her socialized with some well-known dogs which I told him was of utmost importance since she was probably taken from her mom early. I don't think she looks any older than 10 weeks... and that's a generous estimate... I've never had a puppy so I really don't know, but she is small, and very "young puppy" looking.
BUT, she is an absolute JOY!!! I was peeking over our fence and she was so excited to see me, she was trying to climb the fence to get to me, and she just frolicked around like adorable puppies do, haha. I held her for a few minutes and she just licked my ears and my face all over.
They have been using the bathroom for "her space" and he said she is really good about being in there... I ordered two new crates today so I told him they could have Harlow's current one whenever they get here.
He is just going to get a tie out for potty time, so he doesn't have to hover over her. She was trying to sneak into our yard to play with Boss, so I think that's a really good idea until we are able to fix the fence.
He was saying how great and well behaved she is and everything. I was glad to actually talk with him about her and everything. I'm excited because he definitely seems open to any advice or info. Anyway, Here is Sassy, my new adorable neighbor:

Image

She was being super squirmy trying to play with Boss so it was SO HARD to get a picture of her... it doesn't even do her justice when it comes to her sheer adorableness.
~Brittany, Degan and Harlow's mom


"It is true that Pit Bulls grab and hold on. But what they most often grab and refuse to let go of is your heart, not your arm."
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Postby Ino » January 15th, 2012, 10:48 am

Aww- she is adorable. That is great that they are doing what they can to socialize her and are thinking her safety through. I also use a tie out in my back yard due to weak fence issues. The neighbor's dog is not socialized with people or animals and is pretty aggressive. He sticks his muzzle through one of the "patched" areas in the fence that the neighbor patched with lattice fencing and he snarls/growls at Ino. Ino is good with other dogs, but not this one. He sees him as a threat and if Ino is not in the pool and is just playing with me in the yard, he will run over to the fence and is ready to go. I do not want Ino to end up in a fight, and what makes it worse is this lady is not responsible whatsoever and is a compulsive liar. I know she would blame Ino eventhough she knows her dog is the issue and she would lie about being outside (she is never out with him and I never leave Ino out unattended). She does not walk him or attempt to socialize him (if someone comes over- he goes outside) and one time they did want to see if our dogs "can get along outside of the fence" and her husband did not have control of their dog and he put slack in the leash then lunged and bit Ino in the face. That was it for me- never again. I know now that it is not all talk with that dog and I am not risking Ino being a bite dog. It is frustrating for me, but Ino can be off leash if he is swimming (he becomes so fixated on it that nothing else grabs his attention) and he gets walked on leash daily so it is not the end of the world. It just sucks having a fenced in yard that you can't use for your dog. They are talking about moving though so hopefully Ino will be able to use his yard soon.
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