Posted on Wednesday, December 15, 2010 - 05:08 pm:
The oldest one (lab/pit) has free roam of the house during the day except for the bedrooms because he likes to lay on the bed when we arent home but sleeps on the floor in our room at night. This wasnt always the case. We tried to kennel him in the begining but within a weeks time he DESTROYED the kennel and for years he would whip his tale so hard that he would break the end of his tail open and spray the walls with blood. He obviously had major anxiety issues. The dog is solid muscle and he doesnt understand how strong he is. We quickly put up a large kennel outside and kept him there but the anxiety issues persisted. One day someone down the street was shooting off fireworks and must have freaked him out. We came home and there was a hole in the tarp roof and he was gone. When we went into the house, there he was waiting for us. I later noticed that we had an open window and he jumped through the screen to get in the house. The following day I took out the dog house thinking that he used that to tear the hole and get out and figured he would be fine. When I got home he was laying in the yard chewing on a bone! The walls of the kennel are 6ft tall chain link. Somehow he either jumped over 6ft or climbed the fence. I then put a plywood roof on it and it kept in there for a little bit until he figured out he could literally chew through the chain link fence enough so that he could spread the hole big enough to fit through and get out. Once the fence was reinforced he calmed down to the point where he can stay in the house now with no problems. He sounds like a devil dog and I cant believe the stress his anxiety causes but its only when hes alone. Again, he is my best friend and to me he is more human than dog.
On the other hand, the youngest one is kenneled inside because hes a PITA. Most days you have to wake him up when you get home but here and there he'll chew something up and as soon as he sees you he will run straight in his kennel. They are both neutered and yet for some reason the youngest feels he has to hump the oldest when the oldest gets excited about going for a walk. The youngest thinks hes an 70 lb lap dog and has to be laying on you, against you or licking your face at all times. He sleeps in the hallway at night with our door closed. He will not go to sleep unless you cover his head with a blanket. When he was in our room he would get up at night, loose the blanket and then put his front feet on the bed and put his nose as close to your face as he can until you got up and covered him back up. In the hallway he cant wake us up. Our 2 year old daughter has grown a huge attachment to him so I am definitly stuck with him, haha.
The two of them are perfect together. They play fight alot but the both know the others "safe word" I guess and they stop right away and stare at each other until they are both ready again. They also stop right away if anyone touches them. Its not like they ever snapped at anyone if when you go to stop them.
I also wanted to add that when we take them for a walk they never bark at other dogs. They totally ignore them. The other dogs bark and pull the owners around. Once while we were walking a German Sheppard was outside and broke his cord and came running at us. My oldest dog did not make a sound. He just looked back to see where me and my wife were looked back at the German Sheppard and just got in front of that dog which was almost twice his size and as fast and loud as that dog was coming and at the last second jumped forward and knocked that dog off his feet. The German Sheppard got back up and ran away. My dog never open his mouth or made a sound. I'm sure if the German Sheppard went any further than he would have clamp on to it but I guess he knew it wasnt necessary.
Had the movers here today, 5 guys in & out all day so she had a great time getting petted & running round our huge garden.
During a smoke break 2 of the guys started horsing around, pulling & pushing each other about, & she immediately put herself in front of me & started a low growl. I had to tell them to knock it off for their own good. The other 3 were cracked up laughing & took the p*ss for the rest of the day.
If my lad had been there, they wouldn't have been able to get anywhere near him, as she'll not let anybody except me & his mum between them.
Well this time tomorrow... he should be in my truck and headed home.
I work this weekend and my wife started to give me a hard time of it... Her, "I can't believe you are gonna leave me at home with him the day after we get him!"
Me. "I'll take him to work with me"
Her.... after she looked at me with a cold stare and a long pause... "The hell you will!, he's not gonna bond with you more than he does with me"
Went to Tractor Supply last night and got a few more toys. We made a place for him in our laundry room so the cats can see him but still roam the house without crossing paths. The truck has sheets and towels to keep the stanky one off the seats as much as possible.. treats toys leash collar camera
He looks awesome Wolf!!! Just beautiful! Looks like such a sharp attentive clever dog too. How about "Spike"? (Sharp-get it hehe) Nice job on the adoption. If it were that cheap and simple here, we would probably have a few more animals in our house too. ..Or if we didn't have snaky neighbours to tell on us! V
Haha- nothing like a snow-covered backyard for all the pups to romp in with your new buddy...
Bet you've got a pile of old towels laying by the backdoor...
Thanks for posting, Mark- you've got me thinking about the inevitable day when my old buddy will be gone, and I'll need to find a new buddy for my GF's dog to hang with...
(Not to be "Debbie Downer", but it comes with the package...)
Congrats, and keep that camera handy for the holiday pics!!!
(Not to be "Debbie Downer", but it comes with the package...)
no downer... my Siberian is 15+ and has a real hard time getting up and down. The stairs from the house to the patio are a real pain for him now. BUT... he still runs and likes the snow. He hasn't told me its time yet so I'll just let him keep on keep'n on.
But he sure is starting to look rough. At the end of the video I posted you can see how much hair he has lost off his tail...kinda funny
You made the right choice. That's a happy pup. All the bully's I've known have all been extremely loyal, loving, and incredibly clever. That breed has a soft spot in my heart.
I've come to the decision that I want to help foster bulldogs from local shelters. I hate to think of so many of them being put down because it's hard to find good homes for them. Unfortunately, right now 2 dogs are all we can really deal with due to a small house and smaller yard. But when I get my next place it will have a big yard.
I would love to do something like that... but they would never get to leave
My wife had talked about working at the shelter. That would be all bad... she would have dogs and cats and whatever else someone dropped off at our house in no time.
We have four Am/Staffs,a brindle,a blue, a red-nose and of course the black-n-white(he's a 95lb baby huey). They are all very loving kids as long as we are home. I pity the fool who would try to come over the fence uninvited. We don't and won't have children but there has never been any problems with kids who come over with friends(not counting excessive kissing). I have found that trying to see the world through the eyes and viewpoint of a dog changes ones perception of things.
