6 month old puppy (Pit Bull, Am Staff)

Hi WordPress!  Sorry it’s been while, things have been busy.  I can’t believe Dasia is a 6 month old puppy; a half a year old.  She has come a long way from the 3.5 week old puppy weighing 3-4 pounds I picked up in November 2011.  She is now 45 pounds, but still rotten.  The older she gets the more she tests her boundaries–  New ages, new stages, is what I keep telling myself.  Six months into raising my beautiful American Staffordshire Terrier and things are going reasonably well.  Have there been obstacles, yes.  Have I wanted to pull my hair out, yes.  Are they worth it, YES!

Cyrus & Dasia

Roxy and Dasia

Dasia ~ 6 months old

I’d like to share a positive little story…   I had to visit my leasing office today and they’ve seen my babies many, many times.  The one leasing agent always asks how they’re doing and all of that great stuff.  Well today I gathered the courage to ask if there was an Am Staff breed restriction in my community and here is what I was told:  “There is a breed restriction.  We know you have the dogs; however your dogs are always leashed, walking beside you, under control, friendly with neighbors and staff, and they are beautiful.  I wish I knew you were looking for homes for puppies four months ago, I would have loved to have one.”  Responsible ownership can and do make all the difference.  I am out to change opinions one person at a time.

Now on to the other stuff I want to ramble about…

Spay:
On March 30, 2012 I dropped Dasia off at the vet at 7 a.m. to have the spay procedure done.  She was excited to be at the vet’s office until Juliet (a vet tech) attempted to take her in the back without me.  My baby wasn’t going for it, so they let me walk her to the back.  I got rather nervous, and stayed anxiety ridden all day long.  When I picked her up that evening, she was in great spirits, excited and as hyper as any other day.  Keeping her calm, stopping her from jumping, playing, running, was a chore and a half.  Short of keeping her on a leash attached to my hip, I had refused to leave her unsupervised in any room.  It was the only way to ensure she wouldn’t rip her stitches (which makes me squeamish).  For anyone wondering what the surgery scar looks like for the first month…  The skin looks like it is rolled and is puffy.

She was allowed to eat up to half of her dinner and then the following day it was back to her regular feeding schedule.  She had no trouble going potty and I suspect the anti-inflamitory medication helped.  Three days after having the spay surgery she started eating the E-collar; and learned how to pop it off by day 5.  Although Dr. Clark and her caring assistants insisted on Dasia wearing the E-collar for 2 weeks, I took it off after a week and did not put it back on her.  The scar (ewe, skeeves me out) looks pretty good, and the doctor said she has healed nicely.  Because of the imposed limitations, Dasia was a little obnoxious and drove me insane!  She has so much energy and wasn’t allowed to do much.

Training:
Training continues as usual.  We continue to work on all of the commands my American Staffordshire Terriers know.  Cyrus, my 3 year old Am Staff, has improved greatly when walking on the leash.  He doesn’t pull to often and his getting better at ignoring other pets.  Dasia, my puppy, has resorted to pulling, and has even made herself gag a couple of times.  Sometimes walking her is impossible, especially when she refuses to walk because she is more interested in eating sticks, leaves, bushes, grass, trash, whatever she encounters.  It is annoying but we are working on it.  “Sit”, “Stay”, “Easy” and “Leave it” seem to be the most important commands they could have learned.  They work in almost every situation.  Almost forgot one, “Don’t be a bad boy/girl”…  as soon as I say it they typically chill out.  I’m assuming it’s the word “Bad” that gets them.  Silly doggies!  At the dog park I’ve been controlling Cyrus’s nasty bark and sometimes aggressive behavior by leashing him and making him sit by me until he is calm.  I will even go as far to walk him around until he chills out.  It is working!!  When my beautiful Am Staffs won’t listen, respond or continues with an undesired behavior (like chewing on shoes), I increase training, focus on the behavior, take them for longer walks to expell energy and always try to remain calm (they respond the best to calm not upset and excited) when correcting them.  Granted every situation is different as is the personality of every dog.

Feeding:
At six months old, Dasia is eating twice a day.  The portions vary based on weight and age of dog, and the brand of food.  Suggested portions are listed on every bag of dog/puppy food.

Exercise, playtime and socialization:
Exercise comes in the form of nice walks, distance depends on Dasia.  I love taking them to the dog park at least a few times a week to run around off of the leash.  The dog park can also be a good place to socialize.  I have found that most of the pets at the park are well supervised and have been socialized.  It can be a great experience.  I love it and so do my dogs!

Well I think that is all for now, enjoy the rest of your week!

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!