DON'T Leave your Dogs Unsupervised

There have been a few posts around lately that some owners think it's OK to leave their Bulldogs out in the yard unsupervised, or leave their 2 dogs in the house unseparated when at work. The excuse is usually, " I know my dogs, and they won't fight, their not like that" or "It never happened before so it probably won't" or " my yard is secure, they can't get out and nothing can get in".

Well here's a little reality check for ya, this is just 2 examples of the many stories I've come across over the years from both seasoned bulldog owners and newcomers to the breed.

PLEASE NEVER LEAVE YOUR DOGS UNSUPERVISED


I love my dogs and have always made sure they did they right thing and I protected them. Today I let my dogs down.
okay i am in shock right now and feel like I am going to pass out and I feel like a bad pet owner right now.
PLEASE Keep in mind I am in a very emotional state right now and just need some help because I dont know how to handle this situation
I am a pretty responsible owner never had any issues have always taken care of my dogs they love people and whatnot This morning my husband let the dogs out to use the bathroom we always watch them and make sure they go and they run back onto the porch we have a fenced yard. Today we let spoon and baby out and let them go I was doing something inside and went back out to get them to notice baby and spoon were nowhere to be found. they had dug a hole under the fence and were attacking the dog dog next door. My first instinct was to try and seperate it and that is what I tried to do I flew around the fence no shoes and all and grabbed baby and I did EVERYTHING I could do to try and get them off of her I hit them sticks I almost broke babys leg trying to get her off but spoon and baby would not let go for anything I tried I did everything I could do to help and got bit in the process but I did not even notive it until I got inside . So I ran back inside and grabbed my gun..... I have NEVER in my entire life thought I would ever use it unless it was at the gun range and I shot my dogs Baby died instantly cause I shot her in the heart but spoon I shot her once and she still kept attacking her so I shot her again animal control is having her humanely euthanized immediatly that is what I wanted them to do. I KNOW in my heart I did the right thing because it was not the neighbors dogs fault. What if there had been a kid outside...I dont want to be responsible for my dogs killing a child. I LOVE pitbulls and I know they have that aggression issue but I never thought it would happen to me i even tried to prepare myself for it if it ever happend but I never thought it would be like this and I just feel like such a bad owner for letting this happen. I feel I set my dogs up to fail... its my fault.
I had someone at my house during the whole situation when i ran inside to get the gun I told them to call the cops. when the pooce got her I could barely hold my self up and explained to them the entire situation and they even told me I did the right thing and so did animal control. I am covering all the vet bills on my neighbors dog but I just dont know what to do with myself. I feel like I let my dogs down.... and I did not even hestitate to shoot them..... I just cannot stop crying and If my dogs would have killed shiba... I would not be able to live with it. I say the pain in her eyes as my dogs tried to kill her..... its so heart renching to see what they were doing to her I had blood all over my body that the police thought I got bit.
I dont know what to do with myself. Please Please dont press the issue or say I am a bad owner because I am not a bad owner I feel like one but I know I am not. I made one mistake and I set my dogs up to fail and I accept that it was my fault and I NEVER should have let this happen.
My dog was even on the new yesterday for watching the veterans parade
Shiba was taken to the vet clinic and is doing fine she is in shock and just freaked out she has alot of cuts and gashes but they got her cleaned up really well and she just got home. The neighbor is very understanding and grateful for what I did to save her dog. I am just not in the right state of mind right now and dont know how to deal with this.

I would really need some prayers.

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In seems to be a trend on this board, that when someone does something stupid and then share it on the board, they get flamed to death and never hear the end of it.

I debated on whether to even post this, but decided that it could probably benefit someone who read it and maybe that is my reason for posting.

As many of you know, I have three dogs, all of them Pit Bulls. For the most part, they get along well. Just minor scraps over triggers like toys or bones etc. I have always made a point to keep triggers to a minimum and not let things get out of hand.

In my backyard, I had three kennels set up and had got into the habit of leaving my dogs in the kennels while I wasn't at home. However , every since our house got broke into, I have made it a point to leave Bella my female dog inside the house when I am not home and leave the male dogs outside in the kennel.

However, I have a confession to make, I had gotten lackadaisical lately. It started where I would let the dogs play in the backyard unsupervised for an hour or so when I cleaned the house or vacuumed, because Bella goes crazy barking whenever I do so.

Over time, I guess I just let my guard down and would leave the dogs for longer periods of time, always without incident.

However recently something happen that will change the way I handle my dogs for the rest of my life.

I went to work like any other morning, and I put the dogs in the crate..my girlfriend was just going to drive me up there and drop me off. When she got home she let the dogs out of the crates and they hung around the house with her for a few hours. She had to run up to her school which is about 20 minutes away to pick up some papers. It was a nice day so she let the dogs into the backyard and left to go to school. She was only gone less than an hour

In reality , it is my mistake. The dogs are MY passion. I should have stressed the importance of not leaving them alone even for a minute. She has never been around Pit Bulls and everything she DOES know comes from me. I am the one who reads the books, browses the forums, works the dogs. It kills me.

I guess I will stop beating around the bush. My big boy Bane is dead. I received a phone call from tiffany on my lunch break, she was hysterical. Screaming that bane was dead and Bella had killed him. I asked her if she was sure he was dead, and she told me yes that she was sure. I told her to put the other dogs in their crates and to come pick me up.

I was sick to my stomach , the whole way home I was thinking it wasn't real and when I got home I would find Bane there and he would be ok.

When I got home, I didn't even check on the dogs, I went straight to the backyard. I could see Bane laying on his side. I approached him and he was very cold and stiff to the touch.

There wasn't much blood that I could see. He had some puncture wounds in his legs but he was covered in dirt so I really couldn't see where his injuries were. I went and got some warm water and soap and some rags. I cleaned him off the best I could. I removed his collar thinking I would find the wounds there under the collar. Tiffany brought some blankets. I closed his eyes and said a few words, his death was my fault.

When I went to move him onto the blankets, that is when I could see his wounds. Under his front legs, in the pits on both sides were huge wounds. It looked like both of his front legs had been ripped almost all the way off. I wrapped him in the blankets, and buried him. One of the hardest things I have ever had to do is dig a grave for my own dog.

I then went and took care of my other dogs. I know it was Bella that did it, even though really that is irrelevant. The blame belongs only to me. She had blood matted and dried all around her mouth. She had very minor wounds. Elvis also had puncture wounds on his face and his side, also on his legs.

I don't know if Bella fought Elvis as well, or if they ganged up on Bane. This really tore me up. However I know that I am the only person to blame for his death. Tiffany took it worse than I did however. She just can't understand that this can be a reality with these dogs if you handle it irresponsibly.

I understand people are going to say some things and have some words for me. I understand and respect that. I just ask you realize we are still mourning our dog and to have some kind of respect for that. Like I said the only reason I posted, is because I don't want to hide in the dark.

My dog is dead, and that is reality. I just hope someone can read this and learn from my experience. To realize that it doesn't matter how well you think your dogs get along or how much you can trust them. NEVER leave your Pit Bull alone with another animal.



R.I.P Bane, your blood is on my hands.

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They say everyone has thier favorite, one that changed thier life. That one was Duke. He came to me as a pup, from good lines. He is the one that I always brag on, but most importantly, he was mostly a pampered bulldog that was my childrens' best friend. Duke had proven himself a good bulldog to me several times over and will always have a spot in my heart. Duke was down from mostly Hemphill lines with a Colby cross, which is hard enough to come by, but the breeder that he came from was the result of nearly fifteen years of hard work.

Well, I guess it's partly my fault, stupid me. I had been keeping him outside because Nala was in heat, which was punishment for him because he usually sleeps inside. There was a storm last night, and as much as I wanted him in, I didn't want to have an accidental pregnancy. He must have gotten scared or seen something, because... when I went outside this morning, there he was, hung by his collar. I freaked out and tried everything to bring him back, but it was too late. I feel stupid, and depressed at this same time. He was more than just another one of my dogs, he was my best friend. All of this happening not more than four months after my German Shepard passed of old age.

At this time, I have already taken his body to my dad's in the country and buried him on the hillside. I... don't know what else to say right now as I am in tears writing this. I will post a pic of him with my daughter soon, to show how much he will be missed, but I need a few days and a few more beers right now.

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Last nite I took Smokey Over my parents house he got out of her fence and got hit by a vehicle. He was gone when we found him.

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the morning of Nov. 29th my sons 6mth old pup was poisoned and later died that afternoon. ive gotten tips of who has done it but no actual evidence. So no justice will ever be served for her. which is bull shit! I dont know what else to do ive tried everything! So Rest In Peace

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I got a call this morning from my mom's boy friend, my puppy ran off of the ranch and was hit by a car. His daughter found her, must of been this morning. I have been super busy working in the city; being trained as a manager, building my race car, and starting up my business. So I left her out there this past week with my mom's dog and her boy friend's dog, which all for the most part get a long well. There was people there of course my (mom and him), but I wouldn't of had time to walk her or play with her this week. She has a lot of fun out there, well with forty acres and her best friend Rayzen to play with I thought that would be more enjoyable for her. Well she must of missed me and that is the only reason that I could see her running away leaving all that behind. I am just really shaken up right now, so if my blabbering doesn't make sense let me know. I don't know what I am going to do with myself now.

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well i was hesitant about posting what happened but i'll go ahead.

It was all my fault I already know that. Well that night I worked the dogs alot so I cut corners and put princess on magyar's chain spot. I aleady had magyar out and getting ready to put princess up. I put her on his chain spot and magyar stayed inside with me that night. Well 1 am everything was fine because the dogs were barking and I went out to check on them Well 9:30 my neighbors came to me with princess in her arms. She managed to jump the fence next to the chain spot and hung her self. Well before all of this i moved the chain spot closer to the fence so the dogs were not so close together. I have no problem with magyar jumping on the fence so when I put princess there it didn,t cross my mind at the time. It happend to be 13" to long to be able to jump over the fence. turns out the neighbors but there little yappy dog right next to the fence next to the chain spot on the other side.

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Glad you posted this...it should be a sticky

 

That second story is how I got my DH to understand why we need to separate Maddie from the other dogs during the day. Prior, he would not believe me and thought they live together so they will get along. Well, I sent him the post about Bane and next day he agreed that it was the right thing to separate the dogs.
So, I hope the OP knows that Bane did not die in vane.

 

Hopefully, these stories will prevent many future tragedies from happening

 

great post..even a male and female will fight..it happened to me when i let both dogs go after one wild turkey in a creek..it is not easy to break two dogs by your self..i had to leave one dog tied in the creek while i took the other one home..then go to the creek to take the other one to the vet..and in five years they never fought each other..one day it can happen

 

great post...glad we are making this clear. I err on the side of assunimg a bulldog will fight period, but atleast once you've seen the first signs of turning on...supervise closely! No bs...bottom line.

 

if anyone else has any stories pot them up and we will make it a sticky

 

This was a great idea to post this. I agree with Chia, this needs to be a sticky and should be read by everyone.

 

Thank you for posting these again. Like I said, I think it will hit home a little harder if people can read about the experiences from the people who have lived them.

 

If no one else will, I will... this is a very important thread and hopefully will save some dogs life's :p

 

Awesome sticky! People are often appalled to find that my dogs are crated when not supervised.

Another great thing about the crates...should there be a fire, emergency personnel won't have to debate about whether or not to 'risk' trying to catch my dogs. Just carry the crates out into the fresh air!

It's also been a deal maker when looking for rentals. My pets can't damage the apartment if they aren't loose in it!

 

that's a great point

 

I grew up out in the country, no fences, no crates. If the dog got out and got killed that's the way it was. It did not matter much if the dog was killed by a car, poisoned, or shot for chasing the neighbors animals. Dogs served a purpose and that was it, cold.
This is a great post. Dogs are living creatures. It is our responsibility to care for them. We are not perfect, but I think this post will help many to become better and understand why. It's not just our bulldog breeds that do these things or that things happen to!! Every dog owner coudl benefit from this post.

 

unsupervised

I never leave my dog alone.I have a friend who left his 3 pitbulls alone in the house when he got home there was blood everywhere they all had to be stiched up.so i learn from his mistake.

 

just got Daisy and we crate her, along with our 4 yr old Yorkie..naw.. I won't let loose in the house without someone home...nope

 

Thanks for sharing the stories.. I have two and this was a good reminder for me.

 

I always thought I was cruel for leaving Pablo in his cage for the 8 hours I am at work. I have 2 cats and have always been worried about them in the back of my mind. Now I know I am right to worry. Good lord all the stories above are so heartbreaking. I don't know what I would do without pablo.

 

Dont leave your dogs unsupervised

Not only will they steal your dog down here, it is not responsible to leave any type of animal unsupervised. We had a recent outbreak of Distemper and Parvo down here. That stuff scares us and we deal with that all the time being a rescue. I am not one for the parks either, I think that if there are 100 incidents at a park and one is a Bull Breed that is the one that will make the paper, that is just my opinion.

 

I never take my dogs to a dog park, just too dangerous and I will not risk my pupper's lives.

 

Never thought of it that way. Actually funny thing being I was just thinking last night wouldn't a crate be bad for the dogs if there was a fire(not that I would decide the crate had to go) but that gives me a much better way to think about it.

The stories were all good examples as to why a dog should be left alone. Thanks for the wonderful post, such hard words to here but better to here them now then to decide later that leave the dogs unsupervised.