Can trees survive Pit Bulls?

[curdy]

OK, here's the deal...got an awesome dog - Rocky. He's a 60 lb Pitt and he's a real baby at heart. The problem is that he likes to eat my trees...rocks too (not kidding, green limestone.) I'm not talking saplings here, I'm talking mature trees. He's still a little bit of a puppy...but he really doesn't chew anything else. Its actually more of a game to him. He hops up and grabs a piece of bark and then sees how much he can pull and how high he can get. No lie, some of the spots are nearly 7 ft off the ground. He's a real goofball. Anyway, need some help with what to spray and dress these trees with.

We're working on getting rid of this habit, and nearly done I think. I'm also in the beginning stages of making a toy for him out of a tall piece of lumber with a rope and weight attached to it for him to jump and pull for fun...I hope that will be more fun than eating our trees. I'lll post some pics of that when I can get to it.

 

[BlueRidgeMark]

Cayenne pepper.

 

[treeseer]

need some help with what to spray and dress these trees with. a tall piece of lumber with a rope and weight attached to it for him to jump and pull for fun. .

NO spray or dressing will grow new bark. Is pic#2 all Rocky's work? He's killed that tree, the darling little scamp.

Maybe you can take that tall piece of lumber with the weight and whup Rocky upside the head next time he does his tree-tearing thing. That may alter his behavior.:deadhorse:
I had a Shar-pei (any relation to a pitbull?) try to eat our horse once; it took about 10 whacks on the skull to change her dietary preferences.

 

[curdy]

Yup, that's his work...the worst of them. Well, he runs the second we catch him chewing, so we figured out something better. We already have him trained on a perimeter electric fence...and for a special present, we bought him a remote controlled collar. He already knows the *beep* means back off, so that worked pretty well. That reduced the chewings, but the occasional chew now gets the ZAP.

Quite the kodak moment seeing my wife and me peeking out the window waiting for him to take a bite...ZAP!

He's such a great dog though and thank goodness he doesn't a lot of trees, but its still awfully expensive to clean up after!

Rocky isn't interested in any other kind of chew toys either...unless you count my other dog. Kaya's a smaller pit mix...they wrastle all day, very entertaining!

Rocky did really like the wedge I cut from a maple I dropped recently...Maybe I should have Tom drop off a bunch!

 

[fmueller]

Sounds like Rocky has some frustration to let out. In the words of Cesar Milan he needs "Excersise, discipline, and affection" in that order. Have him pull you down the street on a skateboard for 45 minutes every morning. Then what do you do when he goes after a tree? Wear him out first then do the corrections when he goes for the tree. Nice looking puppy by the way.

 

[trevmcrev]

Teach him how to chew out a scarf and a back cut and he can help pay his way. Seriously though a Pitty can be a handful, ive known many and had one myself. Best they know who is boss early on or expect troubles. Mine was an incredible escape artist as a pup, climbing over spiked fences 8 foot high.

Trev

 

[curdy]

I don't really shy away from a crazy stunt, but I gotta be honest...I think I'd be scared to let him pull me around on a skateboard! This dog is stacked and can move too! I'm laughing to myself picturing that!

Yeah, I hear you about the whole tired thing. The chewing has gone way down since we got him in the spring. Its funny though, its more of a sport to him than frustration. It still doesn't make it right though, and we've been working on it.

I'm always happy to hear good people that have had good experience with pitts. EVERY single one I've ever met were great! Keep the positive stuff coming!

 

[fmueller]

Or you could get him one of those doggy back packs and put a couple of bottles of water in it to drink when you take him out for a walk or jog. That'll help wear him down too and make him feel like he has a job.

 

[curdy]

Didn't know there was such a thing! Makes sense though!

Ya know, I don't really take Rocky on walks as much as I should. We have 2 acres and he has an invisible fence and plays out there almost all day with my other dog and my wife and son...and me when I'm home. He certainly isn't lacking any attention or space, but I bet it would do some good to take him on some more walks...good for training too.

 

[fmueller]

I used to think that too. I got 5 acres and figured they have enough room.But to satisfy the dogs instincts they need to travel or migrate. So it turns out they have a 5 acre kennel, in your case 2 acre kennel. We need to hook em to a leash, walk out in front of them and go migrate down the block with them or wherever. Thats what dogs do in the wild. They follow the pack leader to wherever he takes them. This satisfies one of their primal desires and makes them easier to live with if that need is somewhat fulfilled. Its not only training its doggy psychology! Pretty cool stuff.