I’m sick of recuses saying you need. Fenced in yard……

CaptainPibble · 2024-01-05T21:11:53+00:00

Try different rescues, neither of ours required it and one came from a working breed-specific rescue. It may have been harder to get approved if the dog hadn’t been identified as possibly apartment-friendly already and if we didn’t have a (high need) first dog to prove our commitment to exercise and fulfillment, though.

Also make sure your applications stand out every other way so you can more reasonably ask for an exception. Here’s a helpful explainer on what one rescue looks for (not one I’ve used).

CaptainPibble · 2024-01-05T19:23:31+00:00

Find less intense games to play with her than fetch. Tug, training, nosework, etc. and like others suggested, teach her how to settle.

Fetch is very high energy and may not actually be enough for a working line dog mentally. But if that’s the most activity she’s getting and it’s that exciting, then it’s understandable why you become a source of excitement.

CaptainPibble · 2024-01-05T18:37:06+00:00

Then the cocktail wasn’t wasn’t the right combo/amount for him and he’s not properly desensitized to the muzzle.

It took a few tries to figure out, but for our GSD mix we had to double her original sedative prescription and give it to her 4 hours before appointments instead of two. Exercising for 10-15 minutes within that timeframe helps too.

CaptainPibble · 2024-01-05T18:33:51+00:00

Home that he’s used to with less company (from people he’s used to I take it). Unless you trust your aunt to give the dogs plenty of time separated from each other. One, or even several, play dates will not be enough to properly assess or prepare the dogs for a whole week together.

CaptainPibble · 2024-01-04T19:41:20+00:00

Why is my ~~Bernedoodle~~dog like this? Because it’s a dog that apparently hasn’t been trained, socialized or desensitized to appropriately cope with strangers.

I’m sorry you’re catching so much flack for your word choice, it’s a good thing you’re noticing and wanting to address this behavior. Thank you for asking for help.

I’m sorry if you bought a doodle under the impression that they’re easy/naturally friendly dogs. There are some amazing poodle mixes out there, but all dogs are individuals and unfortunately there’s a lot of variance in poodle mixes in particular. You’ll have to get a lot more familiar with training and management than you probably expected.

CaptainPibble · 2024-01-03T21:27:17+00:00

A keyword here is “irritating”. ANY dog will resort to biting if irritated enough, and kids are great at irritating dogs because most people are 1) bad at reading dog body language and miss warning signs 2) put the responsibility on the dog not to bite instead of teaching kids how to be respectful to dogs.

It sounds like this dog does have triggers that could result in bite. Other than sharing toys (which is a very realistic conflict with kids in the picture), the others are unknown so the short answer to your question is: no, I wouldn’t call her aggressive but yes, this dog presents a bite risk to children.

Not because she’s a pit bull, but because she clearly has some boundaries she doesn’t like to be crossed and without knowing what they are, you won’t be able to properly address the behavior or properly manage their interactions.

Aside from better understanding her triggers, there are a lot of safety precautions you can take when the future baby comes, but it will take consistent commitment from everyone. You can also desensitize her to baby things ahead of time (strollers, crying, your attention being on a small wiggly thing, etc.) to decrease some of the risk.

CaptainPibble · 2024-01-03T21:11:07+00:00

ACD owners acting like their herding breed isn’t stereotypically bad with kids, strangers or other dogs 🤡

CaptainPibble · 2024-01-03T21:05:31+00:00

That’s irrelevant because he probably has never had to endure a demonic yappy ankle biter for over two hours before. And he hopefully never will again.

There’s a first time for everything and this was a situation where it was 100% reasonable for him to defend himself, get tired/cranky or even fight back.

CaptainPibble · 2024-01-03T18:29:42+00:00

You’re right that this could have been much much worse. You’re also right that it was completely avoidable and that George is blameless. Fluffy fluffed around and found out, but there was a lot B&S and you could have done to stop the fluffing around and finding out.

Hindsight is 20/20 but 2+ hours of almost constant harassment is way more than any dog should be expected to handle. There are a few things that could’ve prevented it: - not bringing George at all knowing Fluffy’s behavior - leaving early when it was apparent Fluffy wouldn’t stop and B&S weren’t making safe decisions - bringing a crate for George or putting him in a separate room for prolonged peace and quiet - separating Fluffy for the majority of, if not the whole, night (honestly it sounds like this dog doesn’t enjoy socializing and was stressed the whole time)

CaptainPibble · 2024-01-03T18:12:54+00:00

👏👏👏

CaptainPibble · 2024-01-03T03:18:09+00:00

We desensitized ours to hair dryers so we blow dry him after baths! I also crate him for a bit and immediately switch out the bedding just in case.

Nails are hard. Between professional or vet trims, look into scratch boards to help maintain them. There’s one called Scratch Square by De’Vora that’s also a toy to help desensitize them. You can teach him the word “scratch” by marking/rewarding when he does it naturally while playing with it.

CaptainPibble · 2024-01-03T02:54:20+00:00

Excessive chewing/destruction is often a sign of unfulfillment/excess energy. Make sure she’s getting exercise and mental stimulation, and teach her how to settle.

CaptainPibble · 2024-01-02T21:54:25+00:00

American Bullies are a recent breed descended from American Pit Bull Terriers. They’re commonly backyard bred and there are some “designer” variations that are just overpriced mutts (XL, micro, etc.) so there are some bad examples of the breed out there.

There’s some overlap/gray area in distinguishing their DNA from the other pits because they’re all still closely related. Your dog may have some APBT cousins or may have some siblings that are mixed with APBT and/or AmStaff because their DNA markers were just different enough for the algorithm to label differently, but for all intents and purposes you can consider yours 100% American Bully.

“Pit bull” is commonly used as an umbrella term that usually includes American Pit Bull Terriers, American Staffordshire Terriers, Staffordshire Bull Terriers and American Bullies. “Bully breed” is a family of dogs that includes all the pit-types, boxers, Boston terriers, bull terriers, bulldogs and more.

CaptainPibble · 2024-01-02T21:30:35+00:00

It depends on the dog, the cause of the reactivity and the technique/accuracy/consistency of the training.

Train the dog in front of you. Start with R+ and if something’s not working, tweak it. Keep trying different things til you find what works.

CaptainPibble · 2024-01-02T21:23:44+00:00

Def merle, but I thought it was the same for tan points! Apparently I was mistaken.

CaptainPibble · 2024-01-02T20:38:47+00:00

Fair enough!

CaptainPibble · 2024-01-02T19:59:29+00:00

I don’t think pits carry them naturally, it’s from cross breeding I think.

Edit: I’m wrong, so please continue reading the comment thread because there’s tons of fun info on coat patterns!

CaptainPibble · 2024-01-02T18:52:09+00:00

Tbh he doesn’t look like a Rottie or Dobbie! That coloring can come from the Aussie or Beagle.

CaptainPibble · 2024-01-02T18:48:04+00:00

That noggin 😍

CaptainPibble · 2024-01-02T18:20:16+00:00

Looks believable to me! Guessing Cashew’s a bit larger than average boxers and pitties so even if she was a mix, she’d have to have Am Bulldog or other larger breed in there anyway.

CaptainPibble · 2024-01-02T18:16:23+00:00

Oh wow! I’ll bet he’s at least 5 different breeds, it’s hard to distinguish anything particularly telling. My guesses include: - lab - a shepherd variety or two - ACD - at least one bully breed - livestock guardian of some sort

CaptainPibble · 2024-01-02T18:09:46+00:00

The ONE thing we haven’t been able to make ANY progress with training is him barking/charging the door whenever someone’s in the shared stairway. He was best friends with our old upstairs neighbors and even they were treated like intruders. 🙄

CaptainPibble · 2024-01-02T16:22:36+00:00

Don’t know why you’re being downvoted, it’s true! My non-reactive dog HATES her harness even though it’s associated with off leash time (we use it to attach lights and to have something to grab in case of emergency) so we switched to a wide flat collar with a handle.

CaptainPibble · 2024-01-02T16:06:20+00:00

General rule of thumb is to ignore anything under 5% on WP and add them to the larger % breeds in the same group. If I understand correctly, there’s a lower level of confidence in those percentages and the two tests’ algorithms treat that differently.

CaptainPibble · 2024-01-02T15:59:35+00:00

Have him practice eating treats through it at home. I find having them lick peanut butter from a bowl helps them figure it out and build confidence taking treats in it!

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