Violet

We recently adopted a new little puppy who we have named Violet. We had been thinking about getting a new puppy for awhile and I had been looking at pit bull rescue website but we just couldn't find one that would be a perfect fit. Then a few weeks ago I was driving home and there was a free puppies sign... I had to stop and that when we found Violet.

She was only 6 weeks old at the time. We are not sure what kind of dog she is. The lady said the mom she thinks is part Chow (I didn't think she looked chow) and she thinks the dad might have been a Rottweiler from the neighborhood. She had 10 puppies that she just couldn't afford to keep any longer. So that how we got Violet. She is now 9 weeks old has been to the vet twice and so far has a clean bill of health. 

Her a Frederick have been doing ok together. At first he was a little rough. I mean he is a 60 pound dog used to playing with dogs his size and here we bring home a 6 pound puppy. He had to learn to be gentle. It didn't take Violet long to learn how to play rough though. Even though she is only 10 pounds now she runs up and try to tackle him. We are having a little bit of trouble with her nipping at him which has cause Frederick to regress a bit and nip back. Luckily with other dogs he is still just as nice as he always has been. Most of the time they seem to get along unless they are fighting over a bone. The best time is when they are tired and fall asleep together. 

This is what I pictured when I thought about getting a second dog. Hopefully as she gets bigger we will stop the biting and she will grow up to be just as behaved as Frederick. Only time will tell. 

Holidays

We have had a busy holiday season around our house this year. I am a little amazed at how good Frederick is around our Christmas tree. We never even had to tell him not to touch it.

Our Christmas card photo this year

I also got a new camera for Christmas which means... A lot more pictures!! I took some while he was playing ball tonight out back. Tried to take some action shots.

DJ and Frederick

I hope everyone else had a good holiday season and after the new year I will get busy on posting again!

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.