Hoping that Stevie is on the mend and I am partial to any dog named Stevie!

I am really surprised that your brother was able to pry his jaws open. Almost impossible for one man to do it with out a break stick. We have one large and 3 small. We always watch them but trust the large guy as he has taken a lot of abuse from the newer brothers. Best of luck.

Accidents will happen but I would never leave a small dog near a large dog without supervision. We have a yorkie a shorkie a shih tzu and two basset hounds. Our little yorkie Zach is always biting the basset hound's ears. A couple of times our bassets went after Zach and I had to grab Zach. My friend said "Well Zach started it because he bit them first" That's not the answer. The thought of a bit bull near my small dogs give me the chills.

Agreed! Those dogs must really trust your brother's judgement that they let stevie go once you're brother got involved. That's a very good thing! Also, break sticks are an amazing thing to have, now that I won't be fostering this pitbull I've educated her new owners about the use of them and how a pitbull is NEVER to go to an offleash park, be left unattended with other dogs of anysize, or to be walked off leash as they might be the nicest dog ever but if another dog bites them, goodluck! and I carry one on my walks with any dog just incase we cross a bully breed that is aggressive.

Glad to hear stevie is doing okay :D hopefully he isn't too traumatized!

I think he was only able to do so because my other brother put the dog between his legs and put him in a choke hold while the other pried his jaw open. My brother had to go to the ER to get stitches as he was bitten in the process.

We were all naive in thinking nothing will happen. :confused:

Sure hope Stevie will be ok. Don't understand why everyone just stood there and watched this happen.

wow.. I am glad Stevie is ok.

I agree.. all dogs should be trained to follow commands. We tend to put up with bad behavior from little dogs. We shouldn't

I disagree on the 20 lb rule.. I have a 25 lb dog that would not hurt a flea..and one under 20 Lbs that I would not leave along with children.

I understand some peoples love of pits.. but the difficulty the op's brother had in getting little Stevie out .. the locking of the jaws .. is what scares me.
I don't think the pits are to blame here, it was a bad decision or mistake to have them in the back yard without warning to not let the yorkie out. We all make mistakes..

I am just glad stevie is ok...that is the most important.
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I don' understand why a 3 lb dog wasn't IMMEDIATELY picked up! Pure stupidity on all involved!

Pit bulls do NOT have locking jaws...

I agree, why wasn't the 3 lb dog picked up immediately?

Seconding Kalina82. Pit bulls do not have locking jaws, any more than the yorkie that hangs from a dust mop has locking jaws. They both hold on because they want to.
I also agree that Stevie should have been picked up as soon as he started displaying aggression towards the pits and removed from the situation, especially knowing that pit bulls can be dog aggressive, especially when challenged.

And a break stick is a tool every responsible pit owner should have, as well as the ability to use it properly (you leverage it back and forth like a motorcycle throttle, not side to side).

The best thing that can happen from this is that the family becomes more mindful not just of the big dogs, but of the little ones as well, and monitors their behavior. I'm sorry, but I have seen far more nasty little dogs than I have with big dogs, because we just don't tolerate bad behavior in the big dogs, but in the little dogs, it's cute.
I know it can be difficult socializing a little dog. I almost had a heart attack when Pixie wanted to play with a malamute that was so big he could have sucked her into one of his nostrils sniffing her, but I allowed them to have limited interaction, because she MUST know how to behave around other dogs, and that includes big dogs too. I just prayed he wouldn't step on her.

Many little dogs are injured because they challenge big dogs, and then somehow it's the big dogs fault. No, it's the fault of the owner that allowed the little dog to act like a bully around other dogs.
I'm so sorry he got hurt, BDLD is always bad on the little dog, and I hope he makes a full and complete recovery.

I am so glad to hear that Stevie will be ok. Things can happen so fast.

I was dog sitting for my brother, he has a boxer (male) and a mini pincher (female) They were outside playing with Peanut. I threw the ball, Leo (boxer) and Peanut ran to get it. Leo grabbed it first, Peanut got pissed off and started to attack him. Leo didn't go after him, he kinda of pushed him away with his paw.. DH and I both ran over there to take Pnut away.

They both were unharmed and seconds after they were fine and playing again.

One of my brothers held the dog while another had to pry open the dog's jaw so he can release Stevie and got bit in the process.



The above quote was what I was refering to when I said "locking of the Jaws"..that is the term that came to mind to me. The jaws may not "lock" but they are known to hold on.

I will always state that not every big dog attack on a yorkie is because the yorkie is acting aggressivly. My Remy was "attacked" by a standard poodle while she was rolled on her back showing submissive behavior. She wasn't hurt.. just scared thankfully. Lesson learned by me.. I pick up Remy around larger dogs