We don't have guests (other than family) often enough to train the dogs adequately so they tend to rush up to guests and jump on them a little. They tend to not jump on us much when we come in- but strangers and guests affect them completely differently--
Winnie-ever the anxty teenager--thinks they are potentially going to rescue her from her suuuper annoying family and goes to greet them wild with happiness.
Bruno thinks they are perhaps going to hurt him so he barks and wags intermittantly, waiting for them to extend a friendly hand so he can calm down. So we have to explain that it will just take them a few minutes to adjust.
The hard thing for guests that I have come to realize is that Bruno looks like a killer--
rawrrrrr
...so it is hard for them to be freindly to him at first- which is the only thing that will calm him down (This is probably how Bruno developed this complex- he is scary looking- so people are frightened of him- so he is frightened back and the process if self-fulfilling unfortunately.)
Luckily we have two rooms- and gave Bruno some time to adjust (all he needed was 5 minutes) and when he came back and saw everyone sitting calmly, he was able to greet them more appropriately. I really appreciated how much of a chance my friends gave him- they really trusted me when I told them he wouldn't hurt them and confidently allowed him to get used to their presence. They petted him and scratched him and eventually I think he won them over.
After a few drinks, one of my friends remarked that we could make a lot of money having him play a scary dog in movies because of his scary look and giant head:
Of course, this is hard for me to imagine because I see him as a big cuddly teddy bear who saves me money on heating bills:
What do you all think? How do you deal with your pit bulls' appearence with strangers, friends and family-members?
Well, of course I don't think Bruno looks scary at all. I think he looks like a big mush. :)
ReplyDeleteI think part of it is the brindle thing. For some reason, people associate brindle with "bad, vicious pit bull." I often wonder if Mayzie was a different color if that would have an affect on how people view her.
At first it really bothered me that some people were afraid of her or steered clear of her, since she's such a lovebug and loves people so much. But now I've gotten used to it and I figure it's their loss.
My friends and family members are CRAZY about Mayzie, although they were a little leery at first. But she has completely and totally won them over. I just let her wiggle do the talking. ;-)
MayzieMom
MayzieMom, why thankyou! Mayzie couldn't be cuter- I'm glad someone out there thinks Bruno is cute too :)
ReplyDeleteIt took my family some time too--after about 5 visits to my parent's house, I think he has completely won them over- When he first visited my mom wouldn't let him under the table for fear he would bite her feet! Now they let him cuddle on the couch and greet him with big hugs.
Bruno is flippin adorable! He doesn't look like he has a mean bone in his body! I for one, if I was to come to your house, would bypass the humans and go straight to luvin on the dogs!
ReplyDeleteWe have the same issue with Bella. She is only 5 months old, but has the strength of a bull. She intimidates people and will literally attack them with love!
Aw I think Bruno's totally adorable!!
ReplyDeleteEmma needs lots of clothing in colder weather and I've noticed that when I dress her in pink girlie stuff people get a good chuckle out of it. Pair that with a Poodle for a companion, and unless people are generally scared of dogs, I don't get as much "OH MY GOD KILLER PIT BULL" as some other Pit Bull owners might get. Maybe get Bruno a cute bowtie? Colorful/playful collar (I've become addicted to Collarmania)?
If all else fails, you can get them a Poodle!
My mom had a serious bias towards Emma when she first came to us. She really thought Emma was going to kill Charlie, and then me. And it took her a long long time to get over it. Nowadays she loves watching her act silly, getting kisses from her, and my mom often holds her leash during our hikes together.
That said, I think deep down she still doesn't trust her, which is really sad.
That is way too bad- I'm sure with time she will grow on her- My mom has finally come to describe Bruno as "just a big mush" so I'm really grateful to her for having an open-mind (she is usually SO paranoid!)
ReplyDeleteActually we did get Bruno this bowtie- it is adorable but maybe just for special ocasions. http://passion4pits.blogspot.com/2011/03/pittie-photoshoot-fashion.html
I'm still working on getting my parents to rescue a pit bull haha-that might be pushing it :)
I don't see him as being scary. We like to use accessories (bandanas, raincoats, backpacks) on our walks and it makes the pooches a bit more approachable.
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