confronted by a pit..but my fault?

[Nikitta]

You maybe should have had him on a shorter lead BUT the pit should not be able to get out of his yard either. He might be defending his yard but loose he is a dog at large.

[Debbieg]

Benny used to be highly reactive to dogs in fenced front yards who would run at him. I weigh only 7 pounds more then he and once he started fighting back I couldn't contain him .

I taught him solid leave it, look at me ,and heel and worked him across the street, far enough from the other dog so he would not react and gradually decreased the distance. I would never ask a dog to sit while another dog is fence fighting because sitting; especially if they are making eye contact with the other dog will just amp them up.

He is good now, but I still avoid passing close by houses where I know dogs will run out to fence fight because I don't want issues if the fence breaks.

I use a 4 ft or 6 ft leash on walks around town. The long line is just for recall at the park or tracking.

Many dogs who fence fight are just posturing. We had a dog, happened to be a pit, who was running along a fenced yard barking at Benny and happened to break through to our side. Immediately the dogs viciousness melted and he ha a look like "my bad, just kiddin" and rolled over on his back!

[Kyleigh]

If there is no threat to your dog and the other dog is going bonkers on the other side of the fence / in the living room window ... what is so wrong with having your dog sit and ignore the other dog? This is what I was suggesting.

You are teaching your dog to ingore distractions. And once your dog can ignore dogs going bonkers on the other side of the fence / through living room windows you won't have to worry about your dog making eye contact with the other dog, thus ... no challenging. You simply walk by and laugh with your dog at the crazy dog on the other side of the fence!

I agree that if a dog is charging you / your dog - placing your dog in a sit is the dumbest thing to do, you're just making him a target.

[blackshep]

My issue with working on sit and leave it right in front of the other dog is also that it's kind of mean to the other dog. You might be working on settling your dog, but if there's nobody to settle the other dog, it is working itself into a frenzy, and frankly, you're probably setting your dog up to fail, as it's unlikely you'll be able to get your dogs focus back onto you.

If something should happen, like what happened to the OP, then the other dog is now seeing red and I don't see how you could avoid a full dog fight at that point.

I think increasing the distance and having more control with a shorter leash is good advice. Keep moving and keep working on it. I think once your dog does better with that, you could work on the sit and ignore the other dog from a greater distance.

OP - as was stated, we all make mistakes. Things like this happen so quickly, you did great at protecting your dog (and the other dog). Next time you'll be more prepared.

[Kyleigh]

I agree with some of your post LOL ... which is why I added dogs in a living room window. My neighbour has two cairn terriers that go absolutely ballistic when they see Kyleigh outside. They are in the living room window ... you can hear them clearly, and you can also hear the window rattling (good thing they're small LOL). Is it mean to the other dogs? Personally, I wouldn't leave my dogs out in the house to bark constantly at every single thing that walks by (which they do), and for a 30-45 second time period that I'm working with my dog, I don't really think it's mean to the other dog.

The first couple of times Kyleigh heard them she barked back. I took this opportunity (my neighbours were NOT home at the time to hear their dogs) to simply stand in my driveway, have Kyleigh in a sit and looking at me.

She would look over, but if she barked I gave a quick correction on her leash (martingale) and said NO BARK.

After three sessions of this she doesn't even look over to that yard / window when the dogs are barking at her. She simply ignores them because I let her know that they weren't a threat.

I agree that with fence, it can cause the other dog to become more aggressive ... but the dog behind the fence will USUALLY only get more aggressive if there is a response from the dog on the other side of the fence.

Kyleigh and I walk past numerous fenced in dogs and I did the same thing with her. I would stop for a couple of seconds and have her sit. If she turned to bark / charge the other dog, a quick correction / leave it, and we would move ahead 10 feet and then I would have her sit again. 10 seconds later we move on.

Do the people appreciate me "teaching" my dog with their dog? Honestly, I am not really there long enough ... 30 - 45 seconds and we are moving on.

Now, please keep in mind, I did this with Kyleigh as a puppy ... no "previous" experiences with her to work through, so training her was much easier than a dog that had already displayed issues on leash / charging, etc.

This was why I suggested that the OP contact someone that has a dog on the other side of the fence so they could both work it through.

[blackshep]

I guess I'm going by my dog who's a bit leash aggressive (out of fear until she meets the other dog).

There is no way I'd be able to get her attention in 30-45 seconds. lol Maybe 30-45 minutes when she tired herself out a bit

And yeah, I think if they're secure and inside the house, then you don't have the danger, nor are they able to make eye contact (unless it's really close), so in that situation it's maybe easier to work with your dog.

[jang]

!

I agree that if a dog is charging you / your dog - placing your dog in a sit is the dumbest thing to do, you're just making him a target.[/QUOTE]


Nicely put.....

[debbiebrown]

if that had been me, i wouldn't have made him sit close to the fence. he was clearly not ready for that experience. not that you had any control over the pit bull, but having your dog near the fence feuled both dogs. definitely need to counter condition at distance and this can take a while. i would also avoid any known aggressive dog behind fences, this isn't going to help your dog. set him up in successful situations that you both can handle. i would also carry some kind of deterant spray to keep you guys safe. unfortunately these situations can happen. we all have had situations where we could kick ourselves and wished we'd done something different. with time and conditioning and common sense about exposure to things you will get there.

[jang]

Originally Posted by debbiebrown

if that had been me, i wouldn't have made him sit close to the fence. he was clearly not ready for that experience. not that you had any control over the pit bull, but having your dog near the fence feuled both dogs. definitely need to counter condition at distance and this can take a while. i would also avoid any known aggressive dog behind fences, this isn't going to help your dog. set him up in successful situations that you both can handle. i would also carry some kind of deterant spray to keep you guys safe. unfortunately these situations can happen. we all have had situations where we could kick ourselves and wished we'd done something different. with time and conditioning and common sense about exposure to things you will get there.

I am sorry if I did not make this clear..We were on the sidewalk the pit behind the fence..Since this a very small neighborhood ..only one walk available, I went for another walk yesterday...I carried a stick this time and intended to walk right on by...however the pits neighbor stopped me having had seen the event last week..she told me that the pit has jumped the fence and attacked her 2 dogs and she has called AC..Last night I heard of another attack of a border collie by same pit...There is going to be a petition going around to get the pit out of the neighborhood..I am reluctant to be part of anything that looks like breed bashing and don't know what to do..sign or don't sign..However, I do believe the dog is a detriment to our neighborhood...Please don't take this as pit bashing,,,any dog who is this aggressive is a problem..

[gagsd]

Originally Posted by jang

I am sorry if I did not make this clear..We were on the sidewalk the pit behind the fence..Since this a very small neighborhood ..only one walk available, I went for another walk yesterday...I carried a stick this time and intended to walk right on by...however the pits neighbor stopped me having had seen the event last week..she told me that the pit has jumped the fence and attacked her 2 dogs and she has called AC..Last night I heard of another attack of a border collie by same pit...There is going to be a petition going around to get the pit out of the neighborhood..I am reluctant to be part of anything that looks like breed bashing and don't know what to do..sign or don't sign..However, I do believe the dog is a detriment to our neighborhood...Please don't take this as pit bashing,,,any dog who is this aggressive is a problem..

It is not breed bashing. If the dog got out once, and the owner immediately took proactive steps to secure the dog, that would be one thing.
But its sounds like the dog has gotten out many times and the owner has not made changes to keep the neighborhood, and the pit, safe.
Whole 'nother ballgame.... IMO.