The Dog Speaks

Lick, Lick, Slurp and Slobber Yes, that is my hello, I'm Blue, White N Ready (Ready or Red), 4yr old ADBA and now UKC blue brindle APBT LS(love sponge) who was rescued from The Last Resort Rescue at 12 weeks by my GIRL.

My GIRL and MAMA DOG(the 2 legged alpha)rule our family of 7 & 8 year old boys (always trouble & pets nicely), looks like a red GARGOYLE (Cruiser) , 2 horses (sniff and white butt), 1 guinea pig (loves running not slobber)and ALPHA MAN. . .these are not names MAMA DOG uses but mine are so much more fun! And Boy's Big Brother is now station in California in the Air Force with his Love, Loves Cars and Baby Doesn't Cry, I do remember them, I do. Well, Brandi (smaller than me by a large amount but was still BIG DOG) had Canine Cognitive Dysfunction Syndrome (Alzheimer & her brain was fading each day) and MY GIRL is sadly looking to the future, without Big Dog to help train ALWAYS TROUBLE & PETS NICELY. She welcomed me into her home even though I wanted to play puppy play too much and we are all still sad to have had to say good bye on August 29, 2005.

I love other dogs and playing with them without any aggression issues. I don't know what I do, but IF I stretch my height and raise my tail MAMA DOG or MY GIRL raises her voice or squirts me with the spray bottle, MAMA DOG says she does not allow dog posturing anywhere around her, but I swear that I was just stretching while I am playing. Gargoyle was rescued from the A.S. end of September and is red brindle, rednose APBT runt, 17" at withers while I’m a statuesque 22", Mama said he looked like a bruiser and the boys said his name would be Cruiser. Considering he was a run away, Cruiser is a good name.

He likes to lurk at the top of the stairs hunching his head into his shoulders and that is why I call him Gargoyle that mom is training for Always Trouble to show 4-H Young Clovers. She wanted a Staffordshire Bull after having to say goodbye to Brandi, TDI, but. . .a trip to the animal shelter to get my licence, had us testing Cruiser and ultimately bringing him home. After living with him awhile, my people think that the last time that he ran away, his people just didn't look for him because he is high care. . .retraining on cat aggression, needs dog socialization, separation issues (had to sleep where he could see mom for first 5 nights and lots of short trips away while he was crated), clears a 6' fence, and had some dog chew on his ears, head & neck before coming to the shelter. On the up side, after 30 days with us, he no longer has separation or crating issues, still looks for the cat & horses but doesn't even tug on the leash, is working great obedience (competition level heeling) and agility, sits quietly while other dogs work around him, responds to leave it even when a kid's dog broke loose and rushed up to smelled his rear, loves to play hard with me but shares toys, food and people well. Gave mom a start the first time she saw us figure out how to share a bone and later a rope toy, but we act like they have always lived together. Now, he is on his 2nd year showing Young Clovers. Not bad for a big dog to listen to a little boy. . .

Love that they keep us busy learning tricks to get laughs from people and to stretch our brains and muscles before running Agility and Obedience. Most of the training tricks (for amazing the public, TAI visits and stretching before an agility run), I have found, happens in the kitchen and my GIRL trains every night in our beautiful front yard in full view of rural neighbors. We visit farm stores, pet stores, nursing homes, horse shows and APBT public awareness thingies on a regular basis as well as 1 to 3 times week training meetings (depending on what training we are doing). At 2005 State Dog Show in Lansing, MI (MSU) at 1yr & 2 mo. I got my second leg in Agility (first at Barry County Fair, 1yr 1 mo.) and though I didn't get a qualifying score in obedience, received a great compliment from the judge on my outstanding heeling. (tailwaggingly happy and attentive, well, yeah!!! MY GIRL was smiling), beautiful coat and striking good looks. I was too burned out to show as well in Showmanship but the judge told one of our club members afterward that the pit in the prior class was going to be a showstopper when the girl (MY GIRL)can get her to stand for the whole class. (I would be stacked so attentive and pretty and then my brain would burst . . .and I was standing on hind legs and playing with the lead or collapsing on the floor in a dramatic sigh & show of boredom) . . .over an hour showmanship class, MY GIRL did as well as she could with my puppy brain.
MY GIRL is getting me to a CGC test soon and is we are visiting nursing homes, and when she remembered, BIG DOG was soooo very proud of her CGC and TDI titles. I'm sure that I will be too. This fall I started attending therapy dog visits with our 4-H Klub, and My Girl is the spokesperson and I demo tricks, agility jumps and obedience, O’so much fun, I get treats, My Girl smiles and the people clap. What more can a bulldog want?
I'm showing Novice & Intermediate Agility classes and the dog club is talking of starting a Rally.
Rally? I hope it tastes good! Oops, I almost forgot BIG DOG. She was showing at Adv. Grad.Novice and Intermediate Agility levels in 4-H and I couldn't be in Champion showmanship if she hadn't of gotten it for MY GIRL.

MAMA DOG has had UKC APBT's 1980-1995 in FL and GA (mostly old family red nose, Sarona/Killen's Cid lines and 1 of Marilyn Brubaker’s shutzhund bred dogs). And My GIRL started showing 4-H at the age of 4 with Dixie, a Panda's Gallant Finale daughter & Panda's Gallant Spartagus granddaughter.

MY GIRL has trained & shown a schipperke, Rottie and I am her 4th APBT, and she is ONLY 18. MAMA DOG is a 4-H leader with the *** County K-9 Klub for her 12th year and with Horse and Dairy Clubs. She is a SAHM and volunteer with church, MOPS, selling crafts on ETSY and helping ALPHA MAN start a commerical playground company and Alpha Man is active in the youth ministry programing (meaning he gets to dress up, do skits and teach K-5th grade).

BIG DOG and I got to go to Church for a Doggy Idol skit. I LOVED IT. PIT BULLS IN CHURCH!!!!! Dad was proud to volunteer his family, 2 and 4 legged! Now, they are talking about using us in another skit. . .Narnia, but Mama Dog has to approve of the skit. Our 4-H dog klub is about 60 members and MY GIRL is one of 3 advanced teens that have full time training classes. That cuts into their training time and forces the leaders and parents to find a multitude of advanced trainers for them to work under, but what GREAT experience.

The K-9 Klub has 4 pit bulls now and in the last 5 years we have continually had 1 to 2 attend the Michigan State 4-H Dog Show as the only APBT's in attendance (Steph all 5 years and a friend for 2). The K-9 Klub Leaders worry about aggression with most breeds coming in ( we have been seeing an increase in aggressive labs, goldens, chow cross and cattle dogs) but have found that out pits are some of least aggressive in controlled training and the kids handling them more informed in dog language than most of our other handlers.

MY GIRL shows us in 4-H and starting UKC, Arabian horse (sniff) in Western & English Performance, Reining, Competitive Trail & Speed (Barrels, Poles, etc), and Brown Swiss heifers(long tongues) in the 4-H program.

MY GIRL has been competitively public speaking for 5 years on APBT's, bad dogs, etc at the local and state level 4-H. She has a 3-D tabletop presentation for a State competition that she is using along with YOURS TRULY doing demos to educate local civic groups, law enforcement, animal control on the true pit bull. Of course, none of this would happen if MAMA DOG & ALPHA MAN were not so devoted to kids and bullies!!! Thanks MOM.

We live on 10 acres fenced for livestock and have the cable runs when exercising (potty) without people, otherwise we are in the house or car with the family. They do positive reinforcement training but do major corrections on aggression (no cocking of the ears and head or raising of the tail past relaxed in this house). MAMA DOG has been after my GIRL from 4years old to know where her dog's nose and tail is at all times, she now seems to know without looking where my eyes and thoughts are as well as where other possible aggressive dogs are.

All the leaders say it is cool to watch her quietly remove us from possible situations or step in between us and another's line of sight without even thinking of it. At one time Big Dog was outwardly alpha in a group but after a year of being so tuned into and what was around, she had gotten so relaxed that she no longer reacted in even a twitch of her ears to other dogs posturing (Safe in MY GIRLS's care). As a family, we now believe rescuing over breeding is the best answer on so many fronts, and my GIRL made her own choice to rescue me a rescue pup over purchasing her reg. UKC or AKC dream dog.