My Pit Bull Puppy

Hi WordPress!  Hope everyone has had a good week.  There has been a change in our household but I’ll get to that soon.  Dasia, my pit bull puppy is 19 weeks old and weighs 32 pounds.  She gained 9.8 pounds since her last vet visit 3 weeks ago; I could hardly believe it.  Today Dasia got her 2nd Lyme Disease vaccination and she is sore.  She whimpers every time she moves.

While at the vet, Dr. Carter discussed the spay procedure with me.  It made me feel a little emotional knowing that they are going to cut my baby open.  Even so it is the best choice for her and for me; and the appointment has been made.  One thing that makes me feel better is knowing that Dr. Carter & the Vet tech’s adore Dasia, so I’m sure she’ll get some extra love while she’s there.

Cyrus & Dasia

Training:
Training is going well.  When training I use blue buffalo training treats.  At 19 weeks old (almost 5 months) Dasia knows all of the basic commands, sit, stay (the most useful), down, lay down, no, and get-in-your-bed.  Leave it, back-up, drop it, and easy are some of the other commands we are currently working on.  The biggest challenge I face training my Pit Bull puppy (American Staffordshire Terrier) is greeting people, though she is getting better.  The difficult thing about teaching Dasia not to jump on people when she greets them is people saying “it’s ok” and then calling her up.  It really gets under my skin but I remain calm although Dasia becomes an over excited “Attention Junkie”.  I typically respond with “she is learning doggie manners.  I don’t want her jumping on people or kids when she’s over 50 pounds.  Dasia sit, stay…”  Usually people respectful after my brief explanation.

Last but not least, Dasia goes potty outside 99.999% of the time!  The only time she has an accident is if she’s slept in my bed all night (12 hours, snoring) and she didn’t get out the front door in time.  She’ll have her harness and leash on and just before I can open the door, it happens.  I don’t sleep well at night so I’m thinking about waking her up in the middle of the night for a quick potty break.

Exercise/Playtime/Socialization:
Because Dasia is fully vaccinated, playtime and exercise has evolved!  My pit bull puppy remains a healthy, socialized dog.  Walks have gradually increased, and will continue to increase as she grows.  I take her on 2 fifteen minute walks because that is all she’s willing to do (because I think she gets overwhelmed by all the new sounds).  I asked my vet about walking Dasia, how much is too much.  The response I got was start small and gradually increase the walks; and Dasia will let me know when she’s had enough.  Dr. Carter is right, Dasia does let me know.  She will stop, turn around and sit at my feet.  Exercise also comes in the form of playdates with her sister and visits to the dog park… playdate with Roxy one day, dog park the next.

Taking Dasia on walks is a great way to socialize, as is the dog park.  I allow her to greet other calm pets, no matter the size.  She is allowed to greet people, though not all people.  The reason for this is she needs to learn that she can’t approach people whenever she wants to, that there is a time for people interaction.

Feeding:
Feeding hasn’t changed, though it will be soon.  My pit bull puppy eats 3 rounded cups of dry puppy food (no corn, wheat or soy products) divided by 3 meals a day.  She eats at 8am, 1pm and 7pm.

Ok, now about the latest change in our household.  My sister moved and then learned that pit bull breeds weren’t allowed because of insurance reasons.  Upon hearing the news last week, I decided to go get Cyrus (Dasia’s father) and later re-home him with my grandparents-in-law.  Well, I picked up Cyrus but have decided against re-homing him.  My husband, our kids, my grandmother and me love my sister’s pit bull.  He’s the reason we wanted a dog.  Since impregnating Mocha (dasia’s mom), he’s been neutered so he can’t make any more adorable little puppies.  Dasia and Cyrus get along great and have taken up a good portion of our bed.

Until next time…  Have a great weekend!

4.5 month old pit bull puppy (visit to dog park)

Hi WordPress!  I know that I said I wouldn’t post again until Dasia’s next vet appointment but I can’t wait another week.  My 4.5 month old pit bull puppy (AmStaff) is super awesome.  This week I took a chance, decided to take my AmStaff to the dog park.  So far it has mainly been a positive experience.  I’ve read how dog parks can be a negative experience due to irresponsible dog owners.   So before heading to the dog park I set some rules for my puppy and me.

Dasia's 2nd day at the dog park

The rules I set for us are as are pretty basic and common sense driven.  We try to visit the dog park when it’s not too busy.  Because Dasia is still a puppy I take her in the “little dog” enclosure to ensure she doesn’t get hurt by the larger dogs running around.  At least one eye is on my puppy at all times.  Once we got to the dog park and I let Dasia off the leash I learned I had to account for a few other things, such as my super awesome puppy trying to “claim” me.  I refuse to let her stand between me and other dogs.  I refuse to allow her to jump on or chase another dog away when I pet that other dog.  In addition to setting rules I prepared for our outing at the park by packing a backpack with things I assumed we would need.  Balls, a frisbee, a small water dish, a bottle of water, treats and potty bags ensured she would have a good time.

So how is our trips to the dog park going?  They are going pretty good.  The first day at the dog park Dasia was kind of timid and didn’t really leave my side.  I suspect it was due to it being a new environment and the 2 standard poodles on the other side of the fence wouldn’t stop barking at her.  However, when 2 Jack Russell puppies entered the play area Dasia lightened up a little.  She’d sniff around and move a little farther away from me.  While Dasia was playing with the Jack Russell’s I struck up conversation with their owner and found he was prejudice against Pit Bull breeds.  The cool thing was my AmStaff was soo well-behaved and I think it he was accepting of her by the time we left the park!

The second day visiting the dog park was AWESOME but did have its own little hiccup.  The 2 standard poodles weren’t there barking and Dasia was more inclined to explore and actually run around.  The big dogs on the other side of the fence were cool, didn’t try to intimidate the puppies with a bunch of barking.  Twenty minutes into the our visit two 5 month old  beautiful Staffordshire Bull Terriers came to play in the small dog pin.  Dasia loved playing with Cindy and Marsha (rescues from a drug siege in PA).  She ran back and forth with the Bull Terrier puppies, taking turns chasing each other.  It was the coolest thing to watch her interacting with other dogs.  Honestly I expected her to try to play rough like she does with her sister, but Dasia didn’t.  She shared balls and frisbee’s, and even was cool when I pet the other puppies!  Everything was going great until the high energy Jack Russell terrier puppies got there.  The owner was already on edge because there were now 3 Pit Bull puppies playing in the small dog area.  Not only that, one of the JR terrier puppies wouldn’t stop jumping on the bull terriers.  Well Marsha had enough, pinned the JR puppy on his back and *nipped* at, not bit.  The JR puppies owner got freaked out by the natural show of boundaries (no aggression shown) and asked for the Bull Terrier to be put back on her leash.  It kind of pissed me off.  Needless to say the owner of the JR puppies took his dogs out of the play area because after leashing the Bull Terrier the JR puppy still kept pursuing the Bull Terrier.  During this visit Dasia got a little temperamental.  I barely heard her growl but I felt it when I bent down to pet her.  She also kept trying to stand between me and the over excited JR puppy, as well as took to sitting between my legs.  She didn’t mind sharing her toys but she wasn’t in the mood to share me.  I assume this was because she was fed up with the JR puppy constantly jumping on me, on her, on the Bull Terriers and their owner.  The JR puppy is really adorable but the owner exercises little control over the little guy.  Other than that Dasia was a trooper and I feel she handled herself pretty good for a 4.5 month old pit bull puppy!

On the 3rd day at the dog park Roxy (Dasia’s sister, same litter) came along.  We were the only ones there for the first 20 minutes.  Dasia and Roxy ran around and didn’t engage in rough play with each other like they typically do.  It tickles me to see Dasia running around having a good time.  Too bad the good time was cut short thanks to the barking standard poodles.  What really annoys me about this situation is the poodles owner (nice lady) does nothing to correct it.  I know it is natural for dogs to bark and be excited, but their barking is excessive and it ruins the fun because Dasia will refuse to play.  When the poodles are there Dasia takes up residence behind my legs which is something she hasn’t done in many weeks.

What have I learned…  I learned the dog park can be a positive experience as long as all dog owners are responsible and attentive.  Breed discrimination really gets under my skin.  Being prepared makes visiting the park enjoyable.  Not all pet owners clean up after their dogs (yuck).  The biggest positive has been seeing how well Dasia does around other pets.  I am super impressed by her.

It’s late and I’ve got to get some sleep.  Next week is Dasia’s next appointment so I’ll post another update soon.  Until then, enjoy life and remember to smile!

My 4 month old pit bully puppy

Hi WordPress Community!!!  It’s been 3 weeks since my last post, which means Dasia is now a 4 month old Pit Bull puppy!  Last weekend she hit a growth spurt and now stands almost as tall as her siblings.  She has gotten so big and still has a great temperament.  Everyone she encounters loves her, and in turn she loves people and other dogs.  I’ve watched Dasia go from an unsure puppy learning about the world around her to a confident, well-behaved puppy.

Yesterday was her Vet appointment…  Happy to report she is healthy, weighs 23.4 pounds, which is perfect given her frame.  This week she received her rabies shot.  Dr. Carter (I love Dr. Carter, she’s awesome) said it’s safe to take her to the parks now, yay!  Granted, I don’t plan on allowing her to play at the dog park unless there are no other dogs around.  I refuse to set Dasia up for failure.  Not all dog owners are responsible so why take the risk.  I allow her to social with other pets when I’m able to fully control the situation, ie: on walks, the pet store, and playdates.

Dasia, my beautiful 4 month old pit bull puppy (AmStaff), is pretty cool!  She absolutely loves to go bye-byes (no matter where it is).  All I have to do is grab my keys and she’s ready to go.  She recognizes the word “treaties” and “food”!  In fact those are her 2 favorite words, and there is nothing she won’t do for treats or food.  The “come” command is not a command she follows all the frequently unless there is a treat involved.  Funnier is when she does something she knows is wrong, I catch her and say “really Dasia”, she’ll instantly stop what she’s doing.  It is actually more effect than saying “no”.

My puppy is rotten and is always testing her boundaries.  She tries to chew on the furniture (only when her sister is here), got in the trash looking for chicken (hasn’t done it since), always trying to secretly eat anything she encounters outside (she’s not good at hiding it, lol).  She has gotten out of her crate when I wasn’t home but I’m assuming I didn’t latch the bottom latch.  Awesome thing was that she didn’t get into anything!  Dasia doesn’t go potty in the house unless I’ve missed her signals.

Training/Exercise/Playtime:
Training is ongoing.  Things don’t always go the way I expect and that’s ok; it’s a learning process.  The commands Dasia knows or is familiar with are:  No, down, sit, stay, come, go/ok (given when she can rush to her food bowl).  Sometimes when we get outside she gets a little stubborn because of distractions.  We have started taking walks and she does very well, basically stays at my side.  However, she gets excited when she sees people or pets, and instantly wants to great them.  I keep it consistent, same rules apply every time we go outside.  She approaches other pets slowly and calmly sniffs…  people is a bit trickier because she wants to jump up, even when asked to sit.  It’s like the excitement takes over, she wants love so our success rate is about 50% outside, 75% success greeting people inside.  We met the pet trainer at Petsmart and will be enrolling to ensure I’d doing things correctly.

Exercise/Playtime:
I have officially started taking my 4 month old pit bull puppy on walks!  We don’t take long walks because she is only 4 months old.  Healthy bones and joints are important to me.  I’m not much of a jogger but I’ll jog a short distance with her (very short) because she likes to run.  Playtime with her sibling still offers most of her exercise.  They run around chasing each other, playing tug-0-war, wrestling, learning their boundaries.

Feeding:
I’m feeding Dasia a rounded cup full of puppy food 3 times a day.  Most of the time she acts likes she’s still hungry but when I asked the Dr. Carter she assured me Dasia is not underfed.  It’s natural for a puppy to want to over endulge in food.

I am super happy I decided to become a pet owner!  It is a great experience and I love, love, love our puppy!

Well go to go 😦    I’ll update later with a pic.  I’ll be posting updates every 2-3 weeks rather than every week.  Hope everyone has a great weekend!