We have 2 pit bull puppies, 2 doors up. That are somewhat nelgected. They are around 4-5 months old a male and female. Female is looking kind of skinny. The boy seems to be picking on her. He is growling and biting her. I hear this every morning around 0730 at feeding time also I see him fighting her over toys. Well yesterday afternoon they were tied to the fence close together and the male was growling and biting the female and she was yelping. I yelled loudly at them and he stopped. By the time I got to their yard the next door neighbor had come out and moved them far enough apart so that he could not get her. The owners were not home so I called the ASPCA, but no one would come when I told them that the neighbor had gotten them apart. I am sure that there will be more instances like this one. I need suggestions on how to separate them when they get older or if they do not stop fighting when I yell. I am sure that this will happen again. This is really very upsetting and the owners seem to be clueless about leaving them water and properly watching them. I am so afraid that something terrible is going to happen.

I know you feel your hands are tied, but there is no way you should have to separate them. To do so would probably be risking life and limb and, being on their property, probably a trespassing situation.

You will have to keep calling the SPCA siting neglect on their part of the dogs.

I am quite sure, bushy, you will think of something to resolve this issue, but would not like to see you get bitten.

Messing with other people's dogs is touchy business. You might try to get pictures to show the ASPCA. Since they are being tied outside, anyone local from Dogs Deserve Better: No Chained Dogs! might help. Not all bad situations have good answers. Hope Ruby pops by with a good post. Good luck.

bushg, I was under the impression from our conversations that you did rescue work from time to time with your local shelters and you knew what should be done in these situations. From other posts you have written, it appeared to me that you seem to know the laws in your area. What are the laws in your municipality regarding noise and dogs in general?

Pitbull puppies aren't any different than any other puppy. They play fight. Usually the aggressor will stop when the other one cries out from being bitten too hard. Is it possible that he didn't hurt her but it just sounded like it?

In any event, as tickle and labman point out, you can't trespass on someone else's property if the dogs are contained. What you can do is document the incidents, keeping an accounting of the noise level and the condition of the dogs. Keep track of how long they are left outside without food and water. Do they have shelter? Take pictures of the dogs. If the female is too skinny, the ASPCA or the Humane Society, whichever is responsible for handling neglect cases will check on the situation. You will probably need to stay on top of them to see if they continue their home check. The police should be involved with the noise problem. I wish there was an easier way to get those pups rehoused but by law, pets are considered property. Since the owners don't take their responsibility seriously, the best thing that we can hope for is to have someone like you watching and documenting the situation carefully and allowing the proper authorities to handle the owners.

P.S. in keeping the documentation, also note the temperatures. If it is very hot and they are left outside for a long period without water or shelter, that is considered neglect in most municipalities.

Tickle thanks for the biting concern. I have been bitten but only a bite then release.Your right I don't like being bitten. Labman Thanks for the suggestion and link. Ruby I do some cat rescue mostly, capturing feral kittens, taking and having cats spayed/neutered and fostering some. My mom rescues dogs( 300 miles form me). But, I will pick up any stray I see, usually they go back to owners, if they have tags, or I recognize them from the neighborhood. I live very close to the park so a lot of dogs come my way. I have found tagless, emaciated dogs that I do not trust the SPCA with, so I call no kill rescues until one takes them. But normally, I only keep dogs for a night or so. I am pretty persistent when I am trying to find an animal a home. Ok, my problem with these puppys are that they are not tied all of the time. For instance yesterday they were tied to the fence close together again and he was hurting her again. It is not play, he is getting very mean with her. They were both on a 3 ft leash tied to a chain link fence. I have seen them tied there for 4-5 hours. The way they are tied they are barley able to lie down. But never overnight. They do have shade but not a dog house. There was someone home and I suggested that she not tie them close together, I also relayed that this has been happening daily. She did not seem concerned. Btw a lot of people live there so it anyone's guess who owns them. A few weeks ago, I also saw their water bowls empty, How I knew this was I was watering my yard and as soon as I turned on my hose the poor things started howling and pawing at their bowls. I went to the house and the lady went out and gave them water. I see them feeding them. But they young son does the feeding and he teases them with food before he lets them have it, as soon as he goes in the boy takes the girls food.The people are not rude to me (yet). But they seem so unconcerned. The police say that it is a SPCA matter that they can not do anything. But I am going to bring up the noise issue, of the fighting. Maybe that will at least get them out here. I am going to call the SPCA and talk to someone at length about the situation. I do not know if they will help. Per ruby suggestions I am going to start documenting, starting with what happened Friday. I am also going to print off labmans guide to the how an animals body should look if feed properly. ( I'm sure the girl is underweight) Also I am going to print off breed info and off spay/neuter benefits and give them numbers to the spay/neuter clinic. This I am going to put in their mail box. Also some of the neighbors happened to mention it Friday night , that they heard the dogs fighting off and on all day. So at least, everyone that lives close by is aware and on the same page. So I am sure if all of us call something will be done. I am very worried over these dogs. To the point of letting it affect my sleep. Also. I am trying to stay in the back yard as much as possible so if he gets too bad I can intervene. Thankfully we are stripping wood work so I have gotten a lot of that done out there this weekend. Also grilling out our food. Lol Bet the neignbors think my hubby has kicked me too the backyard. I am just waiting for the SPCA to be fully staffed on Monday so that I can talk to them. Thanks for the suggestions and I am sorry that it has taken me so long to acknowledge, but be sure that I am grateful for the suggestions.

Update late Sunday evening they got into another fight. This one lasted about 5 minutes. I was in the showere and could hear it over the running water. I went to the house and there was a lady outside and I talked to her at great length. I also offered her some material and she took it. She was very nice, but the dogs are not hers. But she did agree that the 1 was very aggressive and she will talk to her nephew about having him neutered. That is going to be my last conversation with them about this matter. But good news was no fighting at all today! Yipee I have spoken to an police officer/not a dispatcher and he says that if it is disturbing the peace then they can come out. Thanks ruby. I also talked to the SPCA and they said to keep the record and if I see their health and well being compromised that I need to call and report exactly what I see and they will send out an officer asap. Btw I am going to keep a record just in case I need it.

Thanks for the update bushg. I wish more people were as proactive as you have been, when they see this kind of thing. If I felt that it would do any good, besides the neutering of the male & spaying of the female, I can never stress enough to owners how much daily training sessions along with intensive work on the problematic behavior is so crucial with these dogs. It may very well turn out that the male is not a good candidate to keep as a household pet. The fact that there are a lot of people living in that house and they are owned by a nephew is troublesome to me. It makes me wonder how old he is, and what his purpose is in getting two puppies of different sexes. For everyone's well being, especially all children & pets in your area, it is important that you and any neighbors that live near the house, continue to keep a very close eye on the situation. Keep us updated.

I'm glad this seems to be sorting itself out, however slowly. Just to put my tuppence-worth in here, my mother-in-law had similar concerns over a German Shepherd being neglected over the road from her. We're in the UK so it's the RSPCA over here, she just kept ringing up and sharing her concerns. Now she may be the in-law, but she isn't a busy-body. Eventually the dog got taken away and the last she heard he was being trained to join the Army in their K9 unit!

My point is not to give up, even if it is just constant anonymous phone-calls.

Cheers :-)

Update it has been quite all week. Ruby I was told that these dogs are brother and sister. The male belongs to the nephew and the female belongs to the son of the lady that rents the house. I sure hope they do not let them breed. Btw they are very people friendly dogs.