Changing minds

I have been trying to find the words to write this post for almost a week now.

The entire purpose of this blog is to try to change people's opinions of pit bull type dogs. How am I supposed to do that though when I can't even change my mother's opinion? 

When we first got Frederick, my mother thought I was crazy. She kept telling me how dangerous they could be and how we would have to get rid of him once we started having kids. I brushed it off at the time. I have to be honest I was nervous at first too about him being aggressive. 

After getting to know him, and as soon as we stopped the wanting to chew on everything including our toes habit, I realized how much he just wanted to be loved. 

My mother calls him her grand puppy and she comes over to see him. She is at least willing to be around him now. She pets him, but I can always tell she is still scared. She is tense. This kills me. Frederick loves her and my brother and absolutely loves when they stop by. He is hyper, and tends to still jump on people when he wants their attention at first (something we are working on), but he has never tried to bite her or my brother or been aggressive around them. 

A few days ago her, my brother, and my nephew stopped by. My  mom and I were packing my nephew up in the car when she asked where my 13 year old brother was. I told her he was out back playing with Frederick and she turned and looked at me and said "Is he OK out there by himself?". I was amazed. It was literally like a slap in the face which is hard to explain why it hurt that bad but I hate when people judge him for his breed. If he was a lab or a beagle like her dog, she wouldn't have thought twice about it. Because he is a pit bull though, she was scared. 

My brother and Frederick 

Every day I try to educate other people about this breed and try to fight to end this discrimination, but how am I supposed to convince strangers that pit bulls can be loving family members if I cant convince my mother? 

Facts about Pit Bulls

I decided today that I would take a moment and do a post on a few Pit Bull facts. First off did you know that in Miami, FL it is legal to own a tiger but not a pit bull? DR and I thought about moving to Miami awhile back because I have a friend who lives there and he is a HUGE Miami Heat fan but after reading about their Breed Specific Legislation (BSL) we decided against it.

Seems a little ridiculous doesn't it?

Pit bulls attacks have resulted in more fatalities than any other breed. This is true. It is also true that the probability of being fatally attacked by a pit bull is lower than any other breed. Actually, the probability of being fatally attacked by a pit bull is .00125%. That doesn't seem very high now does it?

In canine temperament studies, pit bulls consistently score higher than a lot of other breeds. The average score was an 82.8%. American Pit Bull Terriers score an 86.8%, Beagle's and Great Dane's average was 80%, Pomeranian's average score was a 75.8%.

Male dogs are 6.2 times more likely to attack than a female dog. In 2006, more than 97% of attacks were from dogs that were not neutered or spayed. So be responsible, spay or neuter your pit bull. The facts show that this helps their chances with not attacking someone and will help to end this stigma that pit bulls are aggressive.

Pit Bulls used to be known as the nanny dog. When you had children, you wanted a pit bull to protect them. It was this way for over a hundred years. Pit bulls love to be around humans and are extremely good with children.

Pit Bulls form extremely strong bonds with their owners and want nothing more than to please them.  Pit Bull puppies actually prefer human company to their mothers on average 2 weeks earlier than any other breed. They can also be pushy and stubborn too though. If you don't set rules they will make up their own and try to test the ones you have. Most pit bulls also love going new places and meeting new people. I know Frederick is always ready to jump in the car and meet anyone we come across.

Thoughts and comments welcomed! Thank you!

Destruction

Usually when we are gone for more than an hour Frederick is in his crate. This is why...

this USED to be one of his beds 

DR was mowing the backyard and left him inside. We do this all the time and he hasn't torn anything up in a LONG time. I thought we were getting to the point where maybe we could leave him alone while we were at work or something. I hate leaving him in a crate. He is really good about it, he runs right in when he knows were getting ready for work or when we say crate.

He just runs in and waits for me to come shut it. I just feel really bad. Luckily we don't have to leave him alone for very long usually. I cant wait until he is calm enough to leave him out alone. Frederick is now laying on a sheet in the living room since he tore his bed apart.

It is definitely not as comfortable as his bed was and he looks so sad. I feel bad but haven't had a chance to get him a new one yet. Poor puppy...

Any advice on how to get him better at staying alone would be greatly appreciated. Thank you!

Dog toys that last

When we first got Frederick we tried ever toy imaginable. We tried the stuffing free toys, they lasted on average about a day, we tried squeaky toys, which he loved but also destroyed, tennis balls, ropes, and even the "durable" toys made out of tires or something but nothing lasted.

Here is what we have found that does last and is worth spending money on.

Rawhide rolls, Frederick LOVES them. I have read a lot about the dangers of rawhide and therefore I ONLY give them to him when I can watch him to make sure he doesn't choke. We have never had any problems though and he loves them.

Chuck it balls are probably Frederick's favorite toy. He loves to play fetch with them and chew them. They don't fall apart but they are hollow so when he squeezes them they make a noise when all the air comes out. He LOVES that noise he will sit there just squishing them over and over again for a good 20 mins. He has also learned how to play with himself with them. We have hard floors so he will drop the ball and as it bounces away he will pounce on it. Its pretty adorable.

He falls asleep with his chuck it almost every night. We have tried both the medium and the large sizes. I think the large ones work better. 

Nylabone Galileo bone is another that has lasted for awhile. Frederick only chews on it for about 10 - 15 minutes at a time but it has been great for when he is bored. 

Kong classic toys are next. Put some all natural peanut butter in them or some of the treats that Kong makes and it can entertain him for close to an hour. This is one of the toys that have lasted since we brought him home. When I break out the peanut butter jar and his Kong he goes crazy!

I hope this helps some of you out there. Especially those with new puppies. Pit Bulls are definitely chewers but these can help with teaching them what items are OK to chew. 

**UPDATE** The day after this blog was posted Frederick did this to his Kong toy

It did last a long time though and to be fair I think there was some peanut butter in there he couldn't get to. I was still upset though because it happened RIGHT after I posted this blog saying they lasted. I guess nothing is indestructible though right?

I am the typical pit bull owner

Recently there was a news story in my local community of a dog that got loose and over a period of time attacked three people. The owner is now being one of the first in the county to be charged under the Dog Attack Law. You can read the full story here. I am OK with her being charged and agree that the owner should be held responsible especially since her dog had a history of biting.

The thing that has me upset is the comments on the story. People are upset and calling it poor journalism because they did not mention it was a pit bull type dog. I completely disagree. I am SO thankful that finally a media source is not playing into the discrimination against pit bulls and that the breed has nothing to do with why this dog became aggressive.

The thing that really infuriated me though, was the comment about this behavior being typical of the kinds of people who choose to own a pit bull. Its straight out discrimination and its absurd. Some of the comments on there asked how we could possible own a dog that if it ever got out would just attack any dog or person it saw. All I could think was wow... Is this how people really think? How can someone honestly think that they are just these man eating machines or something? 

I understand that if you have never met a pit bull you might be scared of it. But the thought that some people wont even give them a chance and think EVERY pit bull will just attack anyone is amazing to me. How does that even seem logical? 

Anyways the point of this entry was to get the word out that I am the TYPICAL pit bull owner. I am a college graduate with a full time job that spends at least some time every day training and loving on my dog. 

Frederick is the TYPICAL pit bull who wants nothing more than to be loved on and to please you. He loves meeting new people and covering them in kisses. He is what the majority of pit bulls are really like. 

I am sorry for my rant tonight. The comments on the news article really upset me. I know I cant change everyone's mind about pit bulls and I know there will always be some people who just don't understand and don't care to, but my hope is that this blog will help to change at least a few minds about pit bulls. Maybe it will encourage you to meet one of these amazing animals. That is my hope, my dream. 

They can be messy 

and silly  

and love to snuggle

I hope you all have a wonderful night and as always comments are welcomed.

**UPDATE** Someone posted this link in the comments section today of the news article. I found the facts very helpful definitely some things I will bring up next time someone wants to tell me how dangerous pit bulls are. 

Lazy Dog

Frederick's favorite thing in the world to do is sleep, especially in our bed. When we first brought him home the bed was off limits. We wanted to keep some part of our home for ourselves. With in a few days though I realized all he wanted to do was snuggle and I didn't want to lay on the floor so the rule kinda just went away.

One of the first pictures once he was allowed on the bed

Every since then all Frederick wants to do is snuggle. Of course he will play occasionally but he likes sleeping way more than playing fetch.

This is what a pit bull is. They just want to be loved. They wont be happy tied up or left outside all the time. They want to be near their humans. Frederick literally wants to be touching us almost always.

Laying on my stomach

Wants to be as close as possible

Laying with me while I study 

I am so thankful for Frederick and the way he changed my view on dogs especially pit bulls. When I see DR and Frederick together I realize just how lucky I am to have this little one in my life.

The first year

So to catch you up on where we are now I thought I would share some pictures.

First trip to the park Aug 2011

He was so tiny at first Aug 2011

Before he was house trained, he wasn't allowed on the carpet and learned that quick!

I didn't notice the heart until we had him about a week but I love it. 

He took full advantage once he was allowed in the bedroom

When he sees another dog this is what he does at first.

First Christmas - 2011

It amazing to see the love they have for each other

He loves his ball 

One year old! His birthday cookie

Its amazing how much he grew in a year July 2012

Frederick went from a 10 pound puppy to a 60 pound dog. It felt like it was overnight. Coming from a person who never cared for dogs, its amazing how much I love this guy and how much he has opened my eyes to the fight against breed discrimination. To think anyone could ever hate him just because of his breed breaks my heart. If they would just give him 5 minutes he would steal their hearts just like he has stolen everyone's he has ever met.

To find out more about the fight against breed discrimination and the true nature of the pit bull visit some of my favorite sites Stubby Dog and Love-A-Bull. These are the two sites that got me interested in educating as many as I could about the love a pit bull could give and to help fight to end the stereotypes.

Hope you enjoyed! Comments are always welcome! Thank you!

How it Started

Growing up I was never a fan of dogs, or any animals in fact. I thought they were smelly and slobbery. I was scared of them. My mom says its because when I was 3 I had two dogs knock me down and roll all over me, before I used to say they had "attacked" me. Looking back now they probably just wanted to play but I guess it scared me.

So about a year and a half ago when my boyfriend ( we will call him DR) started bugging me about getting a dog I laughed. I told him maybe someday when we had kids but not now. I had never wanted a dog. For his birthday that year I took him to the local animal shelter though just to look around. They had just gotten in a litter of 4 pit bull puppies... They were the cutest things I had ever seen. That's the first time we met "Spanky". We fell in love immediately. We took him out to play and my heart melted so we turned in an application and left wondering if they would call. It took them 5 minutes for them to call and approve us.

We came home excited to get him in a few days. We were also wondering what we had gotten ourselves into. Neither one of us had really ever been around puppies let alone a pit bull. My mom was a nurse in an ER for awhile and all I had ever heard about pit bulls was how dangerous they were. So we went out and bought some books to teach us not only about puppies but pit bulls. I am so thankful that we were smart enough to educate ourselves before he came home.

The day we picked "Spanky" up was exciting. We were nervous but thrilled. The second we got him we changed his name I couldn't imagine calling out "Spanky" every time I wanted him to come to me. DR had always said he wanted to name him first son Frederick....( I think/hope it was a joke) I was not a huge fan of this name so I figured if we named the puppy this then we couldn't name our child that right? I must say it was a  perfect name. We get comments on it all the time. After we picked him up we drove right to the pet store to pick up supplies. Frederick loved the car ride and all the attention. He was immediately loved by everyone we met.

The day we brought Frederick home 8 weeks old

It doesn't seem like it has been over a year. I cant imagine my life without Frederick. He wants nothing more than to be near us. We knew when we got him that we had to teach him not to be aggressive. We knew that because of his breed, any sign of aggressive behavior could be fatal. We knew that people would judge him by what he looks like and not who he is. Sometimes I think we tried too hard to make him non aggressive because now, he is a bit of a pansy. But I couldn't love him more. He brought so much joy and happiness to our lives and turned us into a family. I wish everyone could experience the love that a pit bull can bring into your life.

10 weeks old - car ride

Pure innocence 9 weeks old

So that is what this blog is for. To show and to educate everyone I can about the true nature of a pit bull that is brought up in a loving home. They are not the scary and aggressive animals that many people believe. They are some of the most lovable creatures ever. All they want to do is please you and be your best friend. I hope you enjoy reading our story. Leave your comments along the way!