6 weeks ago our pit bulls Shadow and Hillary had 2 puppies. 2 male pups, that is. 1 of them, Sambo, I have absolutley fallen for and MUST find a way to keep him in our pack. That will give us 2 males and a female, but my husbands says there is NO way this male pup can live in harmony with Shadow his dad. He is determined that they will kill each other simply because it is "in their blood". I can't accept this. Some advice please from anyone who has "balanced" pit bull experience. I am desperate while Sambo is still a puppy to get this right!

Hi lyddalton ~

I must say that I'm a bit surprised that you own Pit Bulls and your husband still buys into the, "it's in their blood" argument.  I believe dogs are what we make them but that's just me.  Also, JMO, I see no reason why 2 male Pit Bulls can't live together, harmoniously but...that would be up to you and your husband being very strong pack leaders.  2 intact  males, if you intend to keep them intact, may be a bit more difficult but it really still boils down to our pack leadership.  I am curious as to whether your husband watches Cesar and what he thinks of him.  He must know that there are several Pit Bulls there, likely at all times.  Daddy doesn't seem to have any issues with other males.  If your husband doesn't watch Cesar, that seems like a great place to start.  I can't imagine anyone not being in awe of what he does.  That would be my best advise to you is to get your husband watching the shows & DVDs and, read his books if he's willing.  It can be done, IMO, but it is very important that your husband and you are on the same page with this, and in agreement with the whole process.  Best of luck!

 

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Tammy Hartwig
Cesar Millan Ambassador

I'm not going to say much, as I've never owned a pitt myself.  But a couple of points.  A neighbor of mine had 2 neutered males. They were great together, and both somewhat fearfull of people.  Sweet natured, but would shy away when I went to pet them.

Cesar has a number of pitts in his pack.  Daddy is one (whom I believe is an INTACT male).  Popeye is also male. I'm sure there are other males there too, but not sure.  I'm not sure of Daddy's past, but I'm pretty sure Popeye was bred for fighting; which is how he lost his eye.  It sure seems that Daddy (intact male) and Popeye (with "checkered" past) seem to be totally fine, once under the right leadership and control.  If these two are fine, then I have to question the logic behind an "it's in their blood" mentality.

IMHO, with the right exercise, discipline and affection, you should be fine. :)

I’d like to pick up on the comment ‘its in their blood’. I think its fair comment but needs to be kept in context, that is ‘killing’ is ‘in the blood’ of ALL dogs, they are predators after all.

 

Here in the UK Pitt-bulls are illegal but we do have its cousin the Staffordshire Bull Terrier (Staffs). We (my family and I) do volunteer help at a local dog rescue where we encounter quite a lot of Staffs. I shouldn’t think the breed needs explaining here as such but its worth keeping in mind that it was bred to be friendly to humans and lethal to other dogs. What we tend to see at the rescue kennels is just that, the Staffs come in typically very human friendly but not safe with other dogs. HOWEVER… my feeling is these dogs have resorted to basics, they are just being what they are in the absence of a human pack leader. One thing is true, I can take these so-called troublesome fighting dogs and have them walking together within minutes thus proving what’s ‘in the blood’ can be managed.

 

We have an ‘all entire’ male pack of 7 dogs, 4 Mastiffs (bred for fighting originally!). a Rottweiler, a Collie and a Springer x Lab. Many people have said to us ‘you can’t keep males together they will fight!’ Some even say ‘You cannot keep two male Mastiffs together they will fight to the death’!!! Our logic is this… with good leadership we (the humans) are the Alpha dogs and therefore (in nature) the subordinate males have no reason to fight and that, thus far, has been that case.

 

I totally agree with the concept ‘it’s a dog first and a type or breed of dog second’ but it would be foolhardy to totally ignore inherent characteristics of a breed type. So you are right to be concerned but you are also doing the right thing in seeking advice. For your 3 dogs to live in harmony with each other and you, continue to research and acquire the knowledge and skills to manage them.

 

I’d  have to underline CharlieChance comment…

 

With the right exercise, discipline and affection you’ll be fine.

Hi there - Some good replies here for you.  My experience and opinion - In terms of pack dynamics male dogs can be much easier to bond together  in a pack than multiple females, in nature there would be more males than females, it is a humanized myth that females of the species dog will get along better - this is not the case in dog psychology -  females are more likely to fight on to death.  So, breed aside, I always have more males in my pack (all neutered) than females, currently the ratio is 8 males to 5 females and this just works!  Sure the "middle ranked" males did fight during their social climbing stage (up to about 3 years) even though they were neutered, but before they reached that age we humans became the Pack Leaders and the inter-male fights stopped completely - no rank issues to fight over.  The way to have a balanced pack is to have all dogs as equal followers to me (this is how Cesar runs his large pack), and we follow exercise then discipline then affection, discipline is key - rules. boundaries and limts.

So now on to breed, "yes" it does have a part to play, though of course breed can be blocked through energy draining exercise.  Though this is much harder when one has dogs of the same or similar breed as dogs can and do "breed-up"!!  I have Terriers (8) in my pack, many said to keep a large pack of Terriers will indeed lead to fighting - it did but following rehab it does not now, Cesar's Way is the only way I know of to have a dog pack of Terriers (more than 2) living together in balance.  Terriers can indeed have excited energy - highly reactive as this is in their DNA to work and hunt alone, excited energy preceeds the kill of a rat for example, but this energy in a pack of Terriers can lead to fighting amongst themselves, so when contexts arise that could trigger excited energy which caan then trigger aggression, I have to step-up my leadership and boundaries etc to control the pack, redirecting the Terriers.  We cannot change DNA but we can control and manage our own dogs, just because my high energy Terriers need to displace their triggered reactions they are now taught to disperse the energy on a toy not on each other!  The best way to fulfill breed is through various types of  mental and physical exercise, I am not out "ratting" every day, yet my Terriers are all fulfilled dogs.  With not enough rules, boundaries and limits dogs can and do behave with more primal instinct as their DNA tells them to do.

My advice would be to be sure you have the calm assertive energy to raise an equal balanced pack of Terriers, I cannot stress enough the importance of Pack Leadership of multiple Terriers in the same home, it can be done my pack are indeed proof as well.  Well done to you for asking the question, consistency would be key as well.  Best wishes Suzie.

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Suzie Crystal
Cesar Millan Ambassador & SWC Ambassador

Pack Leader of 14 Dogs!
http://crystal-dogblog.blogspot.com

CrystalDogs, Canine Psychology and Behaviour Services, UK.
Dog/Owner Coach