neighbor's pit bull

I'm sorry, I don't mean that I let my dogs run loose and unsupervised - at least, not outside of our yard.  I do take them into the front where we have a short fence around the yard - etey and Winnie can't clear it, but Precious can; she leaves us a "present" almost every morning because she apparently prefers our tree as a bathroom.
 
My dogs are never unsupervised, and if they leave the yard, they're on a leash.   
 
Precious simply has free run - the neighbors open their gate when they leave in the morning and don't call for her and close it until they return at night.  She wanders from warm spot to warm spot taking naps. 
 
How would I tell the difference between my dogs being agressive and afraid?  And is there anything I can do about it?  I don't baby them; I don't sooth them.  I'm very concerned about taking them walking tomorrow, but if I don't get them out of the house soon, they're going to make me nuts.  The walks are a necessity or they become destructive.  It's been difficult for the past month or so not to be able to take them out.

Have you sternly told the neighbours to keep their dog in their yard? Maybe you need to be tough, and tell them that you will not put up with it, you have dogs as well and they need to be out.

Try this site... [linkhttp://www.badrap.org/rescue/]http://www.badrap.org/rescue/[/link] 
 
They have a lot of information on responsible pit ownership. You may want to give them a call, maybe they have an outreach coordinator who can contact the family.
 
As far as I am concerned,  the owners negligence constitutes abuse. They are putting their dog at risk by letting her roam loose when they are not even home. If they don't shape up soon, I would call AC. To me, it would be like calling DYS on a family who allowed a small child to roam the streets while the family was out....tough to do, but you may feel worse if something happens to the dog.
 
In the meantime, is there any chance you could, before a walk, go outside armed with some dog biscuits, and lure Precious back into her yard and shut the gate?  May be a simple solution until you get this resolved.

Until  a better solution is reached is there any way you can load your fur kids in the car and take them somewhere else for a walk? I know you shouldn't have to do that.. but at least for now it gives your dogs the exercise the walk they cravek.

Never in a million years would I take my dog out if there was a pit pull running loose, friendly or not.  These people need to keep that dog in the yard![sm=no%20no%20smiley.gif]

I very much agree. I would not take my dog out if there was any dog running around. I am afraid of dogs myself so I would not be ok with it, and Sara is not used to other dogs being here.

I like bellarose's solution.  Is there anyway you could lure the dog back into it's own yard and shut the gate?  This would solve your problem.  If the neighbor complains about you locking their dog in their own yard, then you can go the route of "hit by car", "BSL", etc of explaining why you've done it.  if they never say anything, well you've taken care of the problem.

I agree that the dog should definitely be confined, but I agree with you that I would hate to call AC on a dog that doesn't seem to be viscious and that has been a family pet for years.  I am wondering how the thing has made it 11 years, though, without closer supervision than this.  I'd expect the worst - poisoned, getting hit by a car, AC picking her up because they think she's a stray, etc. 
I would try talking to your neighbors again.  If you're not comfortable with talking, then leave them a note on their door, so you can say everything you need to say.  I do this when I have issues with my neighbors and it usually goes over really well.  They are receptive and nice.  I alays apologize in the notes for being "a pest" or "a pain", but then explain why the issue is important and thank them.
Maybe if you could go over to your neighbors and ask them to bring her in while you're taking your walk, OR if you're comfortable with Precious you could just call her and put her in the back yard yourself.  You could lure her with a treat, and then leave a note for the neighbors that you had to put her up so you could take your dogs out. 
I would hate to see this poor dog get put down.  It doesn't sound like she's really causing any problem, her owners just won't put her up like they should.  And YOU shouldn't have to worry about walking your dogs.  I've had situations where I've been walking Romy (pittie) before and little dogs would come up to her and be very viscious acting.  I was SO worried with the situation, because if she decided she wasn't going to take it she could certainly hurt them.  She was a good girl and when I told her to "leave it" she did, but you could tell she wasn't enjoying them growling and nipping at her, and neither was I.  So I think it's best just to avoid those situations if you can.  You're absolutely right.
Best of luck!

I'm going to try bellarose's solution and lure Precious back into her yard.  She is a well-behaved dog and she does respond well to commands.  She really is one of the better behaved dogs that I've ever met - she's much better than mine - but then, she's also 11 and doesn't have the energy of 9-mo and 18-mo dogs.
 
If that fails to work, I'm going to follow Trishanne's solution and drive my dogs a little ways away to walk - they'll enjoy the new smells.
 
My hubbie went and talked to them again last night, and they said something along the lines of "we'll try to keep the gate closed, but Precious is harmless, she won't hurt anyone" which to me meant "yeah right, not going to happen." 
 
Failing my ability to get Precious home, I'm calling AC.  If they won't listen to us and they won't listen to the PD, maybe they'll listen to someone who can take the dog away.

I don't care what KIND of dog it is, I don't want to be around it if it's loose with my dog or alone--loose dogs are a pet peeve of mine. I would try Bella's suggestion. I don't know how you feel about white lies, but you could casually mention that you have heard that dogs in your neighborhood are being poisoned/stolen. Again, you would have to be dishonest but in this case it might be worth it. Do you know exactly what the law is regarding loose pits? If it's a first offense and the law is not that the dog be taken away I would consider calling animal control. Actually, if the law IS strict, and you don't mind going out on a limb with these idiots, you may try telling them that if the dog is not properly contained you WILL call animal control, and that you have been avoiding it but if they do not keep their dog on your property you will be forced to take action. That might light a fire under it.

As the owner of a bully breed, this kind of stuff makes me CRAZY. People see this and think that ALL owners of pits, rots, etc are that irresponsible. I don't know what kind of experience you have with bully breeds, but please don't assume that all of their owners are like that! Sally is better supervised than most kids I know!

I am so sorry these people are giving you this much greif. Everyone should be able to move around their neighborhood free of loose dogs. Good luck.

Risking their pet's life by letting him run loose, I wonder how much they care and love him!
I would never understand this kind of owners.

ORIGINAL: oylin

Risking their pet's life by letting him run loose, I wonder how much they care and love him!
I would never understand this kind of owners.

 
That's how I feel.  [&o]

After posting yesterday, I went out and found Precious sleeping in the sun in my front yard, so I told her to go home, which she immediately did, and I closed the gate on her only to discover as I went around the back towards my backyard, that their gate in the back - where the pull in to park - was not closed.  I would have closed that, but it's electic and won't just slide.  So, I only took my dogs to our backyard to play, which is just not enough exercise for them.
 
Last night, my hubbie went and talked to the guy again and the guy kind of unloaded on him.  He and his wife moved here because their sons had joined opposing gangs and they wanted them out of the situation.  He claims that he and his wife are closing things, but apparently the boys are pissed about being forced to move so they're opening things back up - anything to cause trouble.  Will was out there for a long time; I guess this guy and his wife are really having a hard time with the boys and Will got the whole story.
 
So, then I was thinking, what's the point of calling AC - they're going to give the parents a fine they don't need/deserve, and it's not going to do any good anyhow if the teenage boys are the culprits and the parents don't have control of them.
 
I'm back to the socialization idea, but very, very hesitantly back to that.  Further suggestions?

Wow....I think that's really good that you are taking an interest in their situation.  It would be nice if everyone were as compasionate.  Thank you!  It sounds like they have it tough.  And how sad for Precious to be used as a pawn by the kids.  So sad.
 
Okay, you said that you do walk your dogs on a leash.  When you take them out on a lead, if Precious just continues to sleep or shows no interest in your chis I wouldn't think you'd need to worry.  Does precious terrorize the neighborhood cats??  If not, I say go for a walk.  I'd take a stick or another family member with me the first time, and if she does begin to walk up to you, just tell her to "go home!" like you did last time.  To me she seriously doesn't sound like a threat.

lexibelle - I've never seen Precious run much less try to terrorize any cats.  She's an old dog, she mostly sleeps, so I think I'm going to try your suggestion.  Hopefully, she'll just ignore them and we can get to walking.  Maybe my husband and I will try that this afternoon.  I've already seen Precious wandering, so I know she's loose.