[MyPemCharlie]

It has been our habit to go out in the back yard for an hour or two every morning for Charlie to pee, poop, eat and play with toys, play a round or two of soccer, go on leash to get the paper. We used to end up with me reading the paper on the patio with Charlie lieing out in the grass chewing on his toys.

This last week, the dog-aggressive pit bull in the back yard next door (shared fence dividing the yards) and Charlie have started to challenge each other through the fence. This dog charges the fence and slams against it, shaking the whole fence, barks and growls aggressively. His pack-mate, a boxer, just sits close by him, but does not offer aggression. Prior to this week, when Charlie got close to the fence and the pit bull charged at him, Charlie ran away.

This week Charlie has decided to return the challenge, stands inches from the fence and barks incessantly back at the dog, fueling the pit's aggression. I've watched closely, and the pit always starts the trouble but Charlie is egging him on. This is spoiling our morning routine, as Charlie is now more interested in "protecting his fence" than in playing with me and his toys.

I keep a stash of extra fence pickets for repairs, because the pit bull used to charge the fence at my rottweiler when he was alive and would occassionally break a picket off the rails or break a picket in half. The difference is that my rottweiller never offered to bark or growl in return. He peed really high up on the fence to "mark it" as his, then sat down by the fence with his back to it, quietly ignoring the charging pit bull until the pit gave up and quit. Then he'd just calmly walk away. This dog also charges at me when I mow the yard or garden close to the fence line.

When Charlie gets into this challenge, he won't come to me when I call him. I have not been able to distract him away with favorite toys or with treats. Most days I have gone to him, picked him up moved him away from the fence and tried to distract him in play. He goes right back to the fence. I end up bringing him back into the house, cutting our exercise/play time down to about 20% of normal. One day this week I sat and watched without trying to call him back or distract him just to see how long they would go on before quitting. After almost 30 minutes I went a picked up Charlie and brought him inside. I don't know how long it would have gone on, but they never did stop.

Obviously my first concern is Charlie's safety. It only takes one guess who would win if the pit were to successfully break through the fence. Secondly, Charlie's play and exercise time gets cut to almost nothing now so he can't peacefully enjoy his own back yard. After sleeping 8 hours in his kennel, he needs to stretch out and exercise. After our (used to be) long morning playtime, we generally take outside play/potty/training breaks every couple of hours the remainder of the day for about 15-20 minutes each...which are now also cut short. Third, I'm afraid the pit bull may be "teaching" Charlie that dog aggression is a normal canine behavior.

Any ideas on how to get Charlie to IGNORE the unfriendly pit bull and walk away from the fence? Should I keep carrying him away with a stern "No!"? (As soon as I put him down, he runs right back and I go get him again...until I give up and take him inside.) I need to be able to refocus him on healthy exercise, training and play.