Pittie of the Week: Joy (fmrly Freckles)

This week's Pittie of the Week comes to us from Luzerne County Pit Bull Owners (LCPO) Northeastern Pennsilvania's (NEPA) Avail-a-bullies.

Joe (formerly Freckles) was at NYC Animal Care and Control because her family moved and was originally at risk of not being spayed or rescued due to a mammary tumor. Joy has been cleared by her rescuers' vet for her spay, she will be getting spayed and having her tumor and skin tags removed next week! 


She is so unbelievably cute and happy-go-lucky, just look at these pics!



Here is what the shelter says about Joy:

Per the information that her previous owner shared she did not live with other dogs so will need a little work on socialization with other dogs, she seems to do ok with cats as long as they are dog friendly and she does well with children. Her previous owner also indicted she has never laid on anything like a hard floor, she enjoys soft bedding.. so she is clearly in shock being in the very scary shelter. Roxie will be staying in one of our foster homes to de-stress from the recent events, to receive vet care for the probable skin tags and/or growths she has and will also receive work on socialization. For more information on our adoption process you can visit: http://www.lcpoinc.org/nepa-avail-a-bullies.html We do have many other wonderful dogs looking for homes as well: nepabullies.petfinder.org.

 

Reader Mail!

Here we have another edition of Reader Mail! If there is a particular question you have about pit bulls, please drop me a line at passion4pits@gmail.com, I'd be more than happy to answer any and all questions!

A red-nosed pit bull

This one comes from Elizabeth. She writes, "I have a 2 yo Red nose Pit. His name is Capone. He is a wonderful dog when he is with my boyfriend but when I'm with him he doesn't listen he pees and poops in the house. He pulls me when I walk him and he doesn't let anyone near me, he wants to bite them, anyone even children. And I love him dearly but I'm scared he will hurt someone!"

Thanks for writing in, Elizabeth!

Capone has issues that many young male pit-bulls have- he is territorial, acting tough, hard to handle on a leash... This makes me wonder if he is neutered? If not, I would strongly suggest neutering him as soon as possible.  It will help with marking (peeing) in the house, aggression and territorial issues  and there health benefits for him as well. You can read more about this here.

Secondly, I would recommend getting a muzzle right away. I recommend a basket muzzle for a strong male dog, rather than a nylon one that may slip off. If he has bitten in the past or threatens to bite anyone, especially children- this is a must. He should wear it outside the home and inside if guests are over. It is for everyone's protection, including his. If he does bite someone- depending on where you live, you could have to put him to sleep. Once he is muzzled, you can work on the other issues.

 If crate training is done correctly, your dog should like being in his crate

If he is peeing and pooping in the house- I suggest crate training (Info on Crate Training) him or putting up a gate to block off a small space for him that is easy to clean - usually the kitchen works best for this. The smaller the area he is confined to- the less able he will be to get away from the smell of his own urine and feces, and dogs hate being around that and will not soil their own "den". They tend to hold it rather than go when they are in a confined area.


For pulling- I suggest a prong collar (read about prong collar training here)- if he barks and lunges, use a sharp yank of that collar with a firm and loud "No!". Your confidence will become apparent to him and he will start to know you are in control. If he listens to your boyfriend and your boyfriend can help you- start putting Capone on his back and place your knee on his chest- he will struggle at first, but soon he will know that you are in charge. If he breaks the rules you put in place for him, place him on his back and stare into his eyes and say "No" in a confident deep voice.

Your situation with Capone reminds me a bit of this dog, Buddy, who Cesar Milan worked with on "The Dog Whisperer." Check it out here or watch part 1 below.



Best of Luck to you!
Jessica