posted 10-26-2003 06:30 AM           

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Here's the deal, my friend and I moved in to a house together, she currently has a 10 week old female APBT. I will be getting a 10 week old male in a few days. I would really like to keep the dog aggression to a minimum, and I was wondering if there were certain steps that should be taken when the two housemates meet for the first time and get acquainted, such as a neutral place. Any other advice would be greatly appreciated. They will both be fixed and crate trained. Thanks!

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posted 10-26-2003 09:54 AM         

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It soudns like you're already well on your way by getting opposite sex dogs, and having them both fixed. I agree with introducing them on neutral territory, though usually at that young of an age, pups won't be territorial. Be careful where you take them though, as there's the risk of them contracting disease if they're not fully vaccinated yet. Seperate them when there's no one there to supervise, do NOT (not saying you would do this, but it bears mentioning) put them both in the same crate. It's always been said that the best way to keep dog aggression to a minimum is to avoid the first fight. Once a dog has gotten into a fight (especially a pit bull), they will look for it again, and be more quickly to fight if the situation presents itself, often fighting "better" and harder than the first time as they gain experience.

One more thing that doesn't exactly go with the dog aggression scheme... people with two pups should make sure that they give the pups plenty of time apart from each other, because if not, the pups often bond more strongly to each other than to their people. So make sure that while the pups get playtime with each other, they also get plenty of time apart to sleep, play, be trained, and just hang out. You don't want them to end up so attached to each other that they throw fits when they're seperated, and ignore you when they're together

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posted 10-26-2003 02:18 PM           

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Thank you so much.

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