[Sancheeler]

I found a hurt pit bull on my run yesterday and she was too sweet to ignore. I called my husband took her to the vet and she has no major injuries, just some cuts that need attending. We did not plan to keep her, but she quickly changed our mind. Here's the problem: we have three cats that are indoor/ outdoor, but mainly indoor. We had decided that we would keep the dog outdoors, however, in wanting to be responsible pet owners we have been doing copious amounts of research. We have now seen that keeping her as an outside dog is not even considered an option. Is this correct? Should we hand her over to a kennel? She's a 54lbs dog. I have been reading these forums and I hear of people having them in apartment, I can't imagine her in our house all the time. help please

 

[Sadie]

If you have a proper chain set up, dog run, a nice dog house for her and a fenced in yard she can live outside no problems. If these things are not feasible for you, I would then recommend crating her indoor's when your not there to supervise. If none of the above are available options than I would try to find her a home yourself adopt her out to a family who can provide the above things mentioned. Also make sure she's spayed before hand so no one can breed her. If you turn her over to the shelter she will likely be killed. So that should be your very last option and even then before doing that I would try to find a pit-bull rescue group in your area to take her before I would just hand her over to the local shelter's.

 

[performanceknls]

A few questions for you..... Did you try to find her owners? She could have been lost for a few days to a week and hurt herself. It is always good to try and look for owners if she was in good health when you found her. (other than some injuries from maybe being lost for a few days)

Next is why are you going to keep her strictly outside? Have you considered finding her a good home where she could be an indoor/outdoor dog?

It's good your doing research on this breed they need an owner that understands what type of dog you have. An adult pit bull may not be ok with your cats and if she killed one, would you still feel the same about her?

I got one of my foster dogs that I thought had a forever home, I told them she did not like cats. They promised they could keep the cats away from the dog by separating them in different rooms. Well one day the dogs got into the laundry room where the cat was and killed her. They were so upset at the dog I got her back. This was not the dogs fault this was the owners fault for not making sure the door was properly closed. Dogs will be dogs and pit bulls are very driven and focused and she could find a way to get to the cats if she does not like them. I had one of my dogs go through a window to get a cat outside.
Pit bulls can be kept outside just fine but when the hot or cold weather is too extreme she should be able to come in. In my opinion you house hold may not be the ideal place for such a powerful breed consider finding her an experienced owner.

 

[ames]

One reason the dogs are better as inside/outside are because the thrive on love and being around families. Just being outside they may get bored and try to escape, and since they are very smart its sometimes easy for them to escape. Another reason is if your dog is on a run, another animal may come into your yard and be able to hurt the pup, and he is left with no where to go.

 

[angelbaby]

A few questions for you..... Did you try to find her owners? She could have been lost for a few days to a week and hurt herself. It is always good to try and look for owners if she was in good health when you found her. (other than some injuries from maybe being lost for a few days)

Next is why are you going to keep her strictly outside? Have you considered finding her a good home where she could be an indoor/outdoor dog?

It's good your doing research on this breed they need an owner that understands what type of dog you have. An adult pit bull may not be ok with your cats and if she killed one, would you still feel the same about her?

I got one of my foster dogs that I thought had a forever home, I told them she did not like cats. They promised they could keep the cats away from the dog by separating them in different rooms. Well one day the dogs got into the laundry room where the cat was and killed her. They were so upset at the dog I got her back. This was not the dogs fault this was the owners fault for not making sure the door was properly closed. Dogs will be dogs and pit bulls are very driven and focused and she could find a way to get to the cats if she does not like them. I had one of my dogs go through a window to get a cat outside.
Pit bulls can be kept outside just fine but when the hot or cold weather is too extreme she should be able to come in. In my opinion you house hold may not be the ideal place for such a powerful breed consider finding her an experienced owner.

:goodpost: agreed, try looking for the owners 1st . But if you just want a dog to live outside and thats it it wont work , if you commited to getting proper dog house where she can have proper warm shelter when needed and a place out of the hot sun and have her properly contained so she isnt escaping and causing problems elsewhere , and still get out and do stuff with her walks, play time , ect then being outside would work fine. keep researching the breed if its not a match for you and no owners sow up I would try and place her in a home yourself, most of this breed that end up in the shelters get euthanized. If you need some help with questions to ask potential homes to make sure its a good match just ask on the forum here many can help you. If you chose to keep her there are tons of people here willing to help with any questions that come up in the future or advice if needed.