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

Pitties of the Week: 6 Baby Brindles

Everyone wants a puppy, right? Then these guys shouldn't have a hard time finding a home- that is unless their stripes, big heads, and short muzzles scare potential adopters away.

While volunteering, I have definitely come across families ready to adopt a pitty pup like these, only to ask what breed he is and walk away at once!

The other possible problem with puppy adoptions (and this is true of all breeds) is that puppies grow into dogs; and pitty puppies grow into pit bulls. What might be cute now, may look fearsome in 10 months.

Well meaning adopters also may not have pit bull experience. As a pit-mom, I know owning two pit bulls has its challenges - and new adopters of pit puppies may not know what they are in for.

If you DO have pittie experience, consider a puppy to add to your home! A big pittie brother or sister would really enjoy one of these cuties running around!

Click here to learn more about these pups and to contact Animal Haven in Soho, NYC. 

Bruno's destruction...

So we have been trying to limit the amount of time Bruno spends in the crate by trying him out in different rooms in our new apartment. Winnie of course can be left anywhere because she does no harm to any of our belongings or the carpet, but as you may remember- whenever he is unsupervised (AND ONLY when he is unsupervised) he will reak havok by eating everything in sight and going to the bathroom all over the house.

We tried successfully for a while keeping him in the kitchen. It was small enough that she didn't want to be confined there with whatever mess he could make, and easily cleanable if an accident occured. However, within a few weeks he figured out how to somehow leap over the gates without toppeling them over- I'm imagining some sort of dear like elegant bound...

Next we tried leaving him in the Office- a room with a door. Here's what happened the very first day:

Bruno's destruction....

Look at that guilty face!! He must be super anxious when we leave.
So for now he is in the crate all day- which I'm sure he doesn't enjoy but we are not sure what to try next.
Any ideas?

Free Pit Bull training!

Responsible NYC pit owners, listen up!

 

Tricks for Pits is a FREE dog training class exclusively for pit bulls being offered on Sundays (next class September 11th) in Fort Tryon Park in Washington Heights. The training is sponsered by the Bully Project.

The couple leading the project (Kelly and Lee Neal) have fostered more than 45 pit bulls and are sponsering the trainings to deal with the root of the shelter-crisis and prevent dogs from dying.

The training will focus on issues like dog-to-dog reactivity, dog aggression, and basic training. This fantastic approach will theoretically help people keep their pets who are too strong and out-of-control rather than giving them up to the shelter, as well as help improve the reputation of pits. Read more.

Source: Bully Project

New apartment!

Well, we finally moved out of the city- and the dogs love the freedom of long retractable leashes, fresh smells of grass, and a huge park right around the corner from where we live.

With a long hall-way that runs through the length of our new apartment, Winnie has taken to doing her zoomies through the whole length of the house-from the living room in the front, down the hall- past the kitchen, past the bathroom, past the guest room and through the bed room and back again. Bruno follows her- lagging a few feet, but keeping up the whole time - barking in a voice that I assume is saying, "Hey stop! You're going to fast and you're going to get in trouble!"

For the first week, they have to stay in the house more than we would like because Chip and I are commuting to NYC before he begins law- school in Philly and adopts a more flexible schedule. These long hours alone made them extra excited to get out when we got home.

The first time we came home late- they flurried past us and ran out into the street- which shocked and terrified me, as we now need to be super-aware of the busy traffic outside and realize that we no-longer have a quiet hallway, an elevator, and a lobby between us and the outside world. Luckily a new neighbor was gardening across the street and caught Winnie as she ran over to meet him.

I am so glad nothing horrible happened and we are going to be much more careful from now on.

From the first moment we moved in- Winnie already claimed her spot- a spot that originally was meant to be my new reading chair in our new den- but quickly became our little Queen's throne. We figure she chose it because she can see almost everything in the house from there, including the drive-way to see who is coming and going.

Our new den- featuring some of my favorite deals- Two linen-arm chairs from overstock.com, one faux-leather ottoman from walmart.com, and a faux-sheepskin rug that the doggies love to lay on from Ikea. Over-all we converted what was to be a wasted room (a dining room we would never use) into an inexpensive and comfortable reading room for our new law-school student in the family, and a good perch for our "watch dog" - aka, Winnie, who really just likes to sleep where she can see things - just in case her boring parents do something interesting- like say, offer her human food from the kitchen in the next room.

Also, so far we have seen lots of great dogs in the neighborhood- including another pit mix and a big white boxer, so we think the neighbors will be friendly towards our pittie mutts! We will keep you posted!

Training: The Prong Collar

Since we have been having some obedience problems with Bruno- we have been searching for low-cost temporary training solutions until we can afford a behaviorist. Through searching other blogs and resources, we came to find that, not only do all the pit bulls in our neighborhood wear pring collars- most large breed dogs do also.

We noticed that all of our favorite bloggers have been using them as either training collars or as permanent obendience solutions. Even though I thought they looked terrifying and painful, I asked around.

Our blogger-friend Corbin told us,
"I highly recommend the prong training collars. Unlike the choke collars, the prongs don't allow a dog to choke if they pull too much, instead they get a quick pressure around their necks - similar to a correction they would get from their mom as a puppy. I have been able to successfully leash train foster dogs in 5-10 minutes. We had a trainer come out to work with Corbin last year, and that's how I was introduced to them."

Notice Corbin and his pit bull friends are all wearing them:

Watch here how to properly fit a prong collar:

Fitting a Prong Collar from BADRAP.org on Vimeo.

Pit Bull Rescue Central reminds us that while they are useful tools, prong collars should not be used during dog introductions. In addition, if they are used improperly, they can be harmful to your dog.

In this article by Suzanne Clothier, Suzanne explains that dogs learn how to act by understanding (very clearly) that there are advantages and disadvantages to different actions. The advantage to sitting when asked is the potential of getting a treat or a pat on the head. The disadvantage to barking when on a walk is a slight pinch on the neck. With continuous training, it becomes clear which behaviors he or she can and can't do- which actually reduces stress and confusion over time for the dog. Walks ideally become more enjoyable because they know they will not be punished if they avoid unwanted behaviors.

Problems arise when it is not made clear to the dog which behaviors result in positive outcomes. Inconsistent or overly-harsh training may have the reverse effect and cause the dog to act out. Pulling the dog while he is sniffing the sidewalk nicely may confuse him by making him think that that is an unwanted behavior. By only pinching the neck when the dog pulls or barks or behaves inappropriately, he will understand what not to do. We have been letting Bruno sniff and explore and meet other dogs, and getting his attention to continue to walk with other methods- like using treats, toys, and praise.

In addition, the prong collar should not be worn in-doors or left on for extended periods of time, and under no circumstances should the dog be tied or chain with a prong-collar on.

Bad Rap/Facebook

So far, Bruno has been responding to this very well. He has been able to go on longer walks and wait more patiently in the elevator bank. He even is making some friends because he has been barking less.

Hopefully, with time and consistent practice, he will be able to enjoy a walk without agitation and anxiety.

And  remember- Just because a dog is wearing a scary metal collar, it doesn't mean he is not friendly... see?

Working with Difficult Dogs

Recently, we have been going through a tough time with Bruno. When he first came home from the shelter, he was so scared that he didn't show his true personality. Now that he is becoming more confident (and gained 15 pounds!!!) he is starting to display some concerning behavior. He has been barking at strangers for many months now, but we were unconcerned because when people approached him, his anxiety would cease as soon as he realized they were friendly.

(Read my May entry on Bruno's anxiety issues.)

Lately, however, even friendly strangers distress him. In the past week, we saw the first behavior that truly tested us-- he growled at strangers. People who wanted to approach him were terrified as he growled and barked at them, and lunged.We realized that this was a stress-response, because his blood pressure would increase- his eyes would water and his ears would turn bright red and blotchy. We decided to take him to the vet and see if they could prescribe him some canine anxiety medication.
Unfortunately, the two vets that Bruno knows were not in because it was a Saturday. The vets he knows are females and this vet was a male. He was reasonably comfortable in the waiting room- barking and whining only to get closer to other animals. Once we brought him into the room with the vet and the vet-tech, he completely freaked out-- he barked and growled at them both. Usually Bruno can acclimate to strangers eventually, and he has ALWAYS been docile and friendly at the vet's office in the past (it was the exact same room he has been in many times), so we gave the vet a treat to offer him. Bruno sniffed it and actually lunged at him! We were terrified he was going to try to bite the vet! I've never feared Bruno would ever bite anyone- we can put our hands in his mouth while he is eating or chewing a bone and he will just lick our fingers! All of a sudden I lost my confidence that I could promise people that he wouldn't hurt them.

We know we have to work on these behaviors and nip them in the bud before he becomes more aggressive strangers. Has anyone worked through issues like this before? Have your dogs ever threatened to bite?


The vet suggested a behaviorist and when we can afford it, we may try that- but in the mean-time he suggested a muzzle. We talked very seriously about this, and I've ordered one for certain occassions, but we decided after a lot of thought that Bruno gives us and strangers a LOT of warning before he becomes agressive. He warns us that he is uncomfortable with his voice and his posture and if we continue to allow people near him- we are asking for trouble. We are pretty confident that if we explain to people that he is not friendly to strangers, he won't need to be muzzled on an every-day basis while we are working through his issues. (After all, he has never bitten anyone, even under extreme circumstances.) On routine walks, he sits very nicely by our side and as long as we can keep his attention on us- he is comfortable.

Unfortunately, we know that Bruno may not be a good mix with children-- we know that in the next 5-10 years we will want to have a family- but we will cross that bridge when we come to it.


For the time being- I am going to take advice from this article about training a difficult dog named Feebe- that really touched me:

"There are no words to describe the amount of gratification we feel knowing we have helped Feebe live up to her greatest potential to become the best dog she can be.  Bad habits have been curbed because we did the work with her.  Good habits have replaced them.  She is not perfect – neither are you or I however, nor any other dog.  But she is good enough just being her goofball self, doing the best she can with our help, and she has enriched our lives exceedingly.  We did the work with her, and that is always what it takes every time.  We cannot expect these animals to teach themselves or to come knowing how we want them to live in our homes – and thankfully, we get to build our own personal characters as human beings because we help them flourish.

The best gift for me in having a challenging dog has been that she taught us the true meaning of unconditional love.  We have learned to love Feebe no matter what.  When she slips up, when she digresses, when she is imperfect.  She has taught us that she is worth loving no matter what, worth fighting for and working with despite her challenges.  We still separate our dogs when we are not home, we still have to give a little extra care when it comes to Feebe – and it is always worth it.  Its not that bad, it’s doable, and in the end, we get to fulfill the promise we made to her when we walked her out those shelter doors.
 
In exchange, Feebe loves us unconditionally too, when we mess up or are anything less than our best selves.  Maybe if we looked at it another way, she’s not a challenging dog but we’re challenging people?  If you can help a homeless pet in need recover and rehabilitate, if you can offer love and benevolent leadership to help them thrive, I guarantee you the challenges will be meaningful.  You just might be able to surpass your wildest imagination in terms of what you can do for another being, learn what you’re really made of, and expand your heart beyond belief."

Bruno puts himself in time-outs...

Bruno's Picture made Pitter-Patter's Lol-Dogs blog again!

He has such expressive faces!!! This is his guilty face. I have no idea what Bruno went through before we met him- but we think it is super funny that whenever he or Winnie do anything wrong, or whenever he is afraid he will get in trouble- he puts himself in a time-out in the crate.

One time, Winnie had an accident on the floor and he put himself in the crate- and another time he got in trouble for playing too rough with Winnie and he put himself in the crate for a whole half hour!! We didn't even ask him or close the door.

Canine Anxiety

We have had Bruno now for six months (YAY! Half a year with a stable happy home :)) and have been working on his anxiety issues. When he goes out for walks, he wears a backpack and a gentle-leader and we bring treats mostly to distract him from people in the elevator who stare at him. He doesn't bark at anyone unless they stare at him- usually smiling, or make a sudden movement or noise. We try to preempt this by placing him in the corner close to us, sitting, and focus him on our faces, so he doesn't get scared.

While walking, his backpack helps him focus on his job- and we have trained him to walk closely by our side and sit whenever we stop walking. He usually doesn't have any trouble on this part of the walk- even though he used to jump and bark whenever someone ran by or children shouted. The gentle leader really helps get his attention quickly because it raises his muzzle towards our faces.

However, while we feel that this helps Bruno feel calmer on his walk and definitely scares our neighbors less, we still feel like walks and new experiences make him super nervous and anxious and that anxiety is always ready to bubble up from under the surface if someone startles him.

 

(Bruno at ACC-Manhattan)

When we brought him to Petco to have his portrait taken, he did not enjoy being kept on-leash in a small enclosed area with us ordering him around for a half hour. He actually broke out in hives on the backs of his ears and elbows and his eyes began running with tears as he barked incessantly. My mother suggested that this was high-blood pressure caused by stress, and I agree. I've started to notice he tears-up whenever he is in a new situation. Even when we walk him a few blocks away from his usual route, he gets very anxious and begins tearing up, whining, fidgeting, tugging and acting up. Unfortunately- he also scratches his ears until they bleed- something we think is tied to the anxiety.

Children of a certain age scare him with their spontaneous nature and someday I want him to be comfortable around our own kids. (Luckily babies don't scare him at all- he even licked a girl's bare foot in a stroller in the elevator once.) Usually he doesn't mind when we leave him in the kitchen during the day- he doesn't seem to whine or have separation anxiety. I think he feels comfortable there because it is dark and quiet and no one bothers him. His fear of sleeping alone has really improved and now we can kick him out of bed at night without him peeing on the floor out of fear.

I'm sure if he was left out in a large area, he would be very destructive when left alone- but having the kitchen to himself really seems to be the answer. He is comfortable with strangers after the second time he meets them (one time he barked at a friend every time he saw him for a whole weekend- one time even peeing himself out of fear- but the next weekend when he saw him, he wasn't scared at all.)

The only thing we need to fix is how Bruno experiences new things. want to be able to sooth him and help him enjoy new experiences and places and people. Today he got upset when a security guard outside out building clicked his pen a few times. Bruno barked at him, and proceeded to bark at everyone on the way inside. In other words- something sets off his anxiety and he can't stop.

Since we saw the hives, tears and bleeding ears, we have been thinking about bringing him to the vet to have him put on anxiety medication. We have used non-medical techniques to manage his anxiety and keep him calm and happy and for the most park they have worked- but we don't know how to help this. Apparently, they are meat flavored versions of human anti-depressants. I know if I felt the way he does about the world- I would never want to leave the house, and I don't want him to live like this. With children, you can explain loud noises and scary people- but dogs can't really learn and understand that these things won't hurt them- especially if they have hurt them in the past.

Does anyone know about this or have any suggestions?

"Its Me Or The Dog"

I really recommend watching this episode of "Its me or the dog" with Victoria Stillwell on Animal Planet. In this episode (clip below) she helps a young man with a completely out of control Presa-Canario. Unbelievably- the man wants to breed his dog. Luckily, Victoria talks him out of being a back-yard breeder adding to the shelter-crisis by taking him to Manhattan Care and Control (where we adopted Bruno on the day he was to be put to sleep.)

Valentines Day in the slammer!

Happy Happy Valentine's Day All!

I am so glad that my pups have each other as Valentines, even though they don't always love each other.
Every time we see Winnie allowing Bruno's heavy head to rest on her or vice-versa, we get all excited!!

Unfortunately, Bruno is spending the majority of his Valentine's Day in the crate :(

(Look at those guilty eyes :))

We hate leaving him in there but since we left the baby gate at my parents' house last weekend, we have had some issues with Bruno. Usually Bruno spends the day in the Kitchen with the gate up so he can't get into trouble in the living room, and Winnie sleeps the day away in the bedroom. We trust her not to get into any trouble since she doesn't destroy anything like she used to. (A baseball cap, a belt, a tie, a pillow... but all that was when she was a puppy.)

But on Friday night, when I was given a nice big box of Godiva chocolates for Valentine's day, Bruno got out of the kitchen by pushing at the crate we left in front of the kitchen door. He ate the WHOLE box of chocolates while we were out! We got home and were terrified as we did the math and called poison control. Luckily, Bruno didn't show any signs of being sick - not even the next day!

On Saturday, we decided to change the angle of the crate so that he would literally have to PULL it with his teeth to get out. We also removed all items we didn't want destroyed from the living room (Bruno has a habit of also eating inedibles: earmuffs - total count to date- two pairs destroyed). However, when we got home a few hours later- he was out again! And this time, he had gotten into some maple syrup that was out from breakfast that we had overlooked! It was all over the carpet, and Bruno had eaten probably half of the bottle! We were nervous because the vet had told us that high fructose corn syrup is very dangerous for dogs and can dehydrate them, but once again- he never got sick or anything!

Finally, we realized without the baby gate, he is an escape artist, and until we have time to replace it, we have to keep him in the crate. Poor baby. I am surprised now that something as simple as a half-height gate will keep him in the kitchen!!!

Anyone else have their own special escape artists at home?

Yellow Dog Certified

This past weekend I became certified to walk "yellow dogs" at Animal Haven Shelter in Soho, NY. I learned a lot about the shelter in the process.

Dogs at Animal Haven are labeled "Green" when any volunteer can walk them- meaning they are small,  or easy to walk. They haven't (YET) developed any bad habits that would make walking them difficult.

Yellow dogs have some issues- sometimes they are just larger than the average dog, but often they are hard to control and volunteers have difficulty getting their harnesses on or controlling them around other dogs or people.

I have a lot of experience controlling Bruno on walks. Winnie is very easy to walk- she stays by your side unless she sees a fun child or person or dog she can go wiggle up to. Bruno on the other hand, I have to watch constantly. Case in point- today he was walking so well on his new Gentle-Leader (a small head harness I got from Animal Haven after I saw how great it worked on Cha Cha), and was on a short leash, when all of a sudden he jumped up at the lady walking behind me! She was not pleased.

Cha Cha !

Anyway, I have a lot of experience, but I learned a lot more about how professional trainers want things done and how vital it is, not just to make it easier on you or the people on the street-- but for the good of the dog.

Apparently, as Katrina (Animal Haven's Intake manager and Trainer) said, being in the shelter actually causes dogs to "degenerate," meaning they lose skills they had and begin to learn bad habits. The Yellow-dog training is most important because it gives the dogs consistent reactions to bad behaviors no matter which of the many volunteers is walking them.

Katrina and Animal Haven only use positive reinforcement and never punish the dogs for bad behavior. She explained that jumping, biting and barking is all done to get human contact and attention. Even negative attention is a good thing to medium-to-large adolescent dogs with limited exercise. So apparently, Georgie-Girl, a large rambunctious lab-mix at the shelter, will even get egg-ed on if you turn the other way when she jumps on you, and she enjoys turning you back and forth while you are trying to get her leash on!

Gerogie Girl!



Basically, ignoring dogs can go a long way, because they realize very quickly that their behavior gets not results. We have always tried this on Bruno and Winnie, but apparently verbal ques should even be shunned. Dogs, don't pick up on verbal ques very well and shouting "No!" can feed into their desire to get you to play.

After my yellow training and before my yellow-evaluation (walking a dog around the block with Katrina watching), volunteers gathered to see Cha Cha, a wonderful Pittie/Shepherd mix, show off her training. Cha Cha has been at the shelter since we got Winnie six months ago (I remember them bringing her out to us) - This had been right after Cha Cha had given birth to her puppies, who have all since been adopted. But Cha Cha- for no fault of her own, has not been adopted yet. Since many dogs lose skills and gain bad behaviors in a prolonged stay in a shelter- Animal Haven has worked really hard with her to keep her socialized and well-mannered. We were all so impressed with her and I (and everyone else at AH) want to help her find a home as soon as possible.

I also learned that Animal Haven as a shelter is dedicated to temperament testing-- Basically any animal that comes through the shelter must be well-behaved and show no agression to humans. This leaves quite a few dogs at AC&C out of the running, but as my boyfriend put it-- you have to go after the low-hanging fruit first. I completely agree. Katrina said, as long as she does her job right and the dogs are testing as they truly are- they will have no "Red Dogs" (dogs that can only be walked by staff).

I think I'd like to have a pittie rescue where only friendly dogs are rescued too- at least at first, because unless you have excellent trainers and adequate resources, you can't commit to rehabiliating a dog that may be genetically aggressive. Best Friends in Utah is wonderful because they commit themselves to a dog for life, whether or not it is adoptable, but I think I'd like to save all the sweet dogs I can before I commit myself to rehabilitations. Animal Haven likes to get the dogs out of the shelter as soon as they can to keep them healthy and well-socialized, and the longer a dog stays there because they are aggressive- the worse they will get. I found this all very valueable information. Hopefully I'll get to learn much more as I continue volunteering.



Training Updates

Magically, Bruno has responded amazingly to the muzzle-lead. It is called a "Halti" and doesn't give off the impression to others that he's scary.

It gives us control over him so that he can't lunge or bark too easily and keeps him walking like a perfect gentleman beside us. Also, the best thing so far has been using the "U-Turn" and the treats. Every time we go out, we take a whole handful and now he is trained to sit and wait for the elevators and sit in the elevator as well. People are very impressed with how our two dogs sit so nicely waiting. Its amazing what treats can do.

He hasn't barked at a child in days. Actually, we had to walk him through a crowd of kids and he remained completely composed. I wouldn't let the children approach or pet him and I think that gave him more confidence. Knowing that I will keep the kids away and that he will be protected has definitely done wonders for him.

Thanks so much to everyone who posted advice. I agree that fear agression and agression are two very different things. I know deep down that he is not an aggressive dog. Last night he slept with us the whole night and buryied his head deep under the covers to shut out all the light. He is such a sweetheart and a cuddler. I wish I had had him since he was a puppy to give him better socialization, but he is responding extremely well now.