Twist on two dogs

[Dixie_Girl]

I have been reading all the posts on introducing a new dog and how to get dogs that have aggression issues to get along. But I have a situation that is a little different.

 

My daughter, who has been living with us since Sept. has a rott/rednose pitt. Otis is just the sweetest dog. NEVER has shown ANY type of aggression towards people. He, along with daughter, has lived with us several times since he was a pup. He is now 7. I have had him in the house with our cat and Cheyenne. Never been a prob. But now I have Jackson. Both intact males. At this point Otis "lives" in the kids room, and Jackson and Sammy and Cheyenne have run of the rest of the house. When it is time to let Otis out in the front (we have a doggie door for Cheyenne and Jackson that goes out to the fenced "backyard") Jackson knows and will go under the bench in the dining room. It is about 6' from BR door. He stays there til Otis is outside. Same scenerio when Otis returns. Otis knows he is to come in and go straight to BR. So far NO probs. DH has had both of them outside together. He is braver than I! He said they pretty much ignore each other, but he said the other day, Jackson got up in Otis's face, kinda growling like. He told Jackson, Hey, what are you doing? And he said Jackson immediately backed away and Otis just wandered off. The real prob is that I have a feeling my daughter is planning on moving and if she can't take Otis with her, she said I was to do what ever with Otis. (yes I know what y'all are thinking, there are many issues on this!) He is a great dog, I care a lot about him. I won't give up Jackson for him though. And I know because of the type of dog he is, it would be difficult to place him. But I don't really want that either. He has only known this family.

 

When Otis is outside, and the kids are playing with him, Jackson is running back and forth along the fence and in and out of the house to look out the window at them playing. He acts like he just has to be in on it. When they or I have Jackson in the back yard playing, Otis won't run back and forth but just kinda stands at the fence, with a longing look on his face.

 

I am scared, I admit, because IF they get into it, Jackson won't stand a chance. Otis has been in dog fights before. Jackson hasn't. Plus Otis is way bigger and stronger than Jackson. There are 4 youngins in the house, ages 7 to 14. Both dogs consider part of their pack. Jackson has his toys thrown and played with in the house. I have these terrible visions of kids playing fetch with Jackson, Otis wanting in on it, and TROUBLE! Jackson also doesn't care what is in the way of getting to toy. If Otis is laying there, then what?

 

I guess we could go on like this, but there are times when I have to leave my house over night. No prob with MY dogs as I have the doggie door. I do have a pen I could put Otis in. But, he is a sissy house dog!

 

So, here we have a situation where there has been the one outside incident, and none other. But, my prob is, if it happens, I am afraid of the physical damage Otis could do, plus what it will do to Jackson mentally. Plus, what if the youngins were in the middle of it? I thought of putting Jackson in a crate so Otis could have time with family but I thought Jackson would just learn to resent Otis. As it is, even if the BR door is left open, Otis stays in and Jackson stays away.

 

I know this is long but I wanted to put out as much as possible on the situation.

 

One other thing, as an inside to Otis. The other day, 4 stray dogs came into our property, looking for goodies at the burn pile. Anyway, two were just lil ol dogs, one maybe a puppy, but the other two were big. One looked like a ACD and the other much bigger dog looked like a ACD/X?. Otis came around the corner just as I noticed them. There was raised hair and posturing. I yelled at Otis to get back and he did then I yelled at strays and they took off, and Otis went back to front porch.

 

Will I ever KNOW they will be okay? If they start playing together will that mean they won't ever fight? Will they fight without killing each other? I think my fear of them fighting is one of the main things to deal with. But I just couldn't stand to see Jackson hurt!

 

With all the combined experience on this board, I know someone will have advice on this situation!

 

Knowing me, I am probly worring way too much!

[prosperia]

Pitts worry me.

Most are great with people. Thats why so many people consider them great dogs. Other dogs are a whole new ball game though. Most are dog agressive. Even if they aren't "agressive", they dont realize the power they have, and even in play they can be dangerous. I personally know a dog who is like this. She loves people, and is genuinely a nice dog, but she cant be around kids or other dogs. Her owner is a good guy, he never mistreated her and she was raised well. As much as he loves his dog, I dont think he realised how much of a liability she would be. Anyway, his girlfriend moved in with her two little girls and China is now living with his sister.

I guess what Im saying is that if your gut is telling you that it would be dangerous, then you should be careful.

[Kyrasmom]

The safety of your dog depends on you so if it were me, I would not leave the dogs alone unattended. They can go from playing to fighting in 0 seconds because often times, even play is nothing more then testing boundaries.

 

I have 2 pit mixes and for the most part, they get along with my other dogs but I will not, for example, leave the female pit mix alone with my BC female because there is some posturing going on, they've already tackled once and given that one is twice the size of the other, the only reason Gracie came out of it OK is that we were there and pulled them apart right away. So now, if we leave the house, I kennel the Pit. She's the "trouble maker" so to speak and I will not leave her alone with Gracie under any circumstances.

 

And I must say, that the Pit mix is a bombproof dog with people and she respects all of my male dogs. My other pit mix is her son and he's 85lbs of wuss for now, we'll see as he gets older if that changes.

 

It would probably help A LOT if your dogs were neutered, at least you wouldn't be added all that testosterone to the mix but that's still not a guarantee that they won't squabble.

 

So, I guess my reply is that either one is rehomed or you take it upon yourself to ensure Jackson's safety by either supervising or eliminating their interaction.

 

Maria