What do yall think I should do?

Ok. I posted this on the All Dogs, I should have posted it here too. Yall are the experts:

http://www.auspet.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=6845


Basically what I want to know is: If these dogs, and I have No idea howmany, get confiscated and surrendered to me, How should I handle them? I know with caution. But be more specific. Everything I've been researching say's not to EVER allow them near eachother. So my kennels aren't adequate if thats true. They can see each other through thte chainlink. I have row of kennels like the Shelters, partitioned off by chainlink. As far as handling. Should I be cautious and keep them muzzled??? Should I be worried about them biting me? One site tells me that most fighting dogs will have human agression, yet here yall say they shouldn't. In any case how should I handle them? Any specific way?

They will all undergo health inspections and tests, temperment testing.....and animal contact testing.

What would yall do?

 

I should have added, I've only rescued a few pits and they were absolute dolls. I had absolutely no problems with them what so ever. But never fighting dogs like these are. This will be new to me. Also If anyone is intrested in helping out with this let me know.

 

I would treat each dog (as far as how you handle them, muzzling, etc) as you would any other dog you were getting in. It is true that the majority of "real" game fighting dogs were/are human friendly dogs, but also true that many owners today do not understand the breed's past and abuse the dogs tryign to make them tougher, better fighters. This may or may not affect the dog's temperament (much of this also has to do with genetics, I'm sure you've seen the beaten up little dogs they tote out of fighting raids on TV, still wagging their tails), so it's best to judge on a case by case basis. If any of them ARE aggressive to you, you'll have to consider that placing a human aggressive pit bull is not only a liability for you (this is true in any breed, but pit bulls especially), but the the entire breed, as every incident tarnishes the breed's rep even more.

On your kenneling situation, I don't know how many kennels you have, but I would definitely not house any adult or adolescent (over 6 mos of age) dogs together in the same kennel, even if they seem to get along. There's the possibility that even younger pups will be "hot" and have to be kept seperate from other dogs. If possible, put the most dog aggressive dogs in end kennels, and leave the kennel nest to them empty. I not, I would at least try to put up some sort of barrier to keep them from seeing each other, and avoid putting two dog aggressive dogs in adjoining kennels, as they probably WILL fence fight (actually, I'd try to avoid putting two dogs of the same sex next to each other, dog aggressive or not). Do your kennels have roofs? If not, prepare for the addition of some in case the dogs manage to climb out. I'd initially keep the dogs seperated until they're settled in and you get a feel for their temperaments, then you can start supervised interaction for dogs that can get along if you feel comfortable.

I'm not sure how many dogs you're talking about, but chances are that at least a couple of them will be dog aggressive to some degree. No matter how careful you are in preventing a fight, there's always the possibility of an accident. This page: http://www.pbrc.net/breakfight.html has information on safely breaking up fights between pit bulls. You can also make a breaking stick by sanding down an end of a hammer handle or similar shaped piece of hard wood. You might not need this info, but better to have and not need than to need and not have.

 

Thats great info! Ok. Well, I don't kow how many there will be.
As for the agression problems. If I feel in the least that ANY breed of dog no matter size or sex or past life, has any agresssion tendancies toward any persons, I have no choice but to euthanize. I do however go therough various stages of temperment testing.

As for the housing. I'm limited. I've got 5 open and I'm borrowing some others just in case. I could use tin to "blind" ehtm from seeing each other if necessary. As for the roofs. yes, they are all covered

 

I would temperament test all of the dogs, I wouldn't keep them muzzled which I don't believe in. I dont believe in keeping a certain breed muzzled just because they are a certain breed. If you have to keep them muzzled because they are aggressive then they should be culled anyway because they are a danger to people. Most fighting dogs I have met are very friendly and outgoing animals, but with dogs like these with owners like that you never know. Some of them do have human aggressive dogs so I'd reall evaluate them before placing them to make sure they are safe. I read the other post and the sire sounds like he could potenially be aggressive and might not be adoptable. If you don't have adequete kennels then you might be able to find other foster homes to help you out. You can never have them together unsupervised because a fight break out. I seperate pups at 3 months to prevent fights and injuries. So they will need to be kept seperatly.

 

Depending on the setup of your kennels, you may be able to drape a large tarp down in between each kennel. I agree that you should treat these dogs as you would any other foster you've brought in. If need be, I would be able to take in one foster. No more than that, though (our dogs are plenty for us). Best of luck with this. Let us know how it all turns out.

 

well it didn't go down last night. I think they got word the police were on to them.... I drove by the barn where it was supposed to be held and someone had spray painted in Big red letters "NO"

SO now I'm worried about when it'll be held.....I'm debating on whether I should call the guy up and play out the game of "what happened, I waited for you thing".....

 

It's great that you want to help... but honestly I'd have to say your safety comes first and you really need to think about that above all. The cops know where the guy lives and that they're involved (the big red NO is a huge indicator) in fighting.... Since you haven't seen the guy etc... I would leave it alone for your own safety. Either from the people fighting the dog or the authorities who WILL go after who they feel is a part of it... The more you associate with these folks the more you will be implicated in this activity... Seriously...I feel for the dogs but there's only so much you can safely do in this instance...

 

I guess you've got a point there. I really want' the cops to nail these B*****s!!!! They deserve nothing but a life of torture, and pain. I cry every time I think of those poor babies. I wish I knew what happened to them all. Surely he didn't sell them.....thats what worries me.

I just can't sit back and let things like this happen. There's got to be a way....

 

Are there any larger scale dog rescues in your area that you could contact? They might have more muscle with the SPCA, cops, and maybe even the media. Or, you could let it slip to the SPCA that if they can't help you, you'll turn to the local television stations. I wouldn't imagine they want any bad press.

 

You could try contacting Spindletop refuge to see if they can give you any advice or ideas. They're one of the biggest single APBT rescues in the country, though I don't think they're currently taking in any more rescues, I'm sure they'd try to help you some other way. I don't have a site, but if you search for 'Spindletop refuge pit bull rescue', it should be there. They have two locations in Texas, I think Austin and Houston.

HSUS and a couple other humane groups also have specific dog fighting task forces, and from what I hear, take reports more seriously than some local groups, so you might look into reporting it to them instead.