The words Dog Breed Info with the letter D inside of a black paw print

The Adventures of Bruno the Boxer and Spencer the Pit Bull

Spencer and the Fox

Spencer the Pit Bull Terrier outside standing over a plush toy

Spencer loves his toys. Every day when I get up in the morning he walks over to his toy bin and picks up one of his toys. He then proceeds to slowly walk around me half curled in a U-shape, wagging his tail as I pat his back and thank him for bringing me a toy. I say, "Thank you for my toy, baby, thank you." It is as if he is saying, “Look mom, while you were sleeping I went out and fetched you some breakfast. Do you want to share it?” He will let me take it from him, but I usually just let him keep it and give him hugs and pats. He will do the same thing when a visitor shows up at the house. He gets them a toy and walks around in a happy, submissive way.

Spencer the Pit Bull Terrier play bowing over a plush toy on a hardwood floor

His favorites are the stuffed animal types without the stuffing.

Spencer the Pit Bull Terrier in motion running outside

He loves to take them outside. He will run around the yard tossing them in the air and pouncing on them. When we buy him a new toy he will play with that toy over any of the others for a few weeks.

Plush skunk toy laying out in the field

I had started noticing something strange. Whenever Spencer would leave a toy outside it would start to smell like a fowl skunk. Oh my gosh, it would reek. I didn't understand it. What would make the toys smell so bad?

A plush skunk toy ripped in half spread out in the goat field with barns and a house in the background

Then one day I realized what was going on. I picked up one of the toys and it was wet and something yellow dripped off of it. What the heck? A little while later the same day I found one of Spencer’s long lost toys outside in the goat field. That is an area the dogs do not have access to.

Plush Skunk toy being held in the air by a person

I began looking around and found them in the woods, the horse field and the goat field. I started paying attention. I would let Spencer outside with one of his toys and remember which one he brought out. Spencer never brings his toys back inside on his own. He always leaves them outside wherever he lost interest in them. The next day I would go out and look for the toy. I started finding the toys outside the fenced area and they were always stinky and I knew the day before they were fresh and clean.

A piece of a ripped Plush Skunk toy being held by a person

Sometimes they were ripped to pieces in the middle of the goat field, a place where I knew for sure the dogs had not been. That is when it dawned on me; the fox was coming around at night and peeing on the toys and half the time carrying them away out of the dogs’ area!

Spencer the Pit Bull Terrier laying in a field with his plush raccoon under his chin

Sometimes the fox will leave them in the dogs’ fenced area after peeing on them. If I do not get the toy picked up quickly enough Spencer will roll on top of it, spreading the smell of the fox urine on himself. YUCK!

Spencer the Pit Bull Terrier standing in the living room with a plush squirrel toy in his mouth

I contemplated not allowing Spencer to take the toys outside anymore, but look at that face; that is him asking to go outside to play. He just stands there giving you those soft baby eyes as if to say, please mommy, please can I go outside to play? He has the most fun with the toys outside where he can run far and fast with them. I also think he knows what the fox is up to and rather enjoys it. He leaves a toy outside and the next day there is fox all over it.

Three Fox sitting outside of a fence

Sometimes at night Bruno and Spencer will start barking. When I get up to see what the issue is I can hear the foxes calling outside and sometimes I see a fox. They are everywhere. I will let the dogs chase them away. Foxes are cute but they have killed our chickens, guinea fowl, peafowl, and have even carried off a kitten as if it were a rabbit! We never saw the kitten again. It was a sad, tasty meal for the fox. They have also gotten into fights with our adult cats in the past. If it were not for our Great Pyrenees, Tundra and Tacoma, we would not have any birds left.

Spencer the Pit Bull Terrier laying on his dog bed on top of a skunk toy

I also thought about throwing the toys in the trash can after they have been peed on. However, if I did that Spencer would have no toys left. Therefore when I find them I toss them into the washing machine with soap and bleach. They come out smelling fresh and clean. I am sure Spencer would prefer to have the fox pee on them than the fresh smelling bleach, but this is my house and I ruled on the bleach!

Fox Pictures

  • Understanding Dog Behavior