New to Bully-Breeds and new to this site.

[NXJeremy]

Hi all, just wanting to introduce myself before I start with the endless questions, lol. My name is Jeremy and I live in Tx.. Myself and my girlfriend live together and are very avid dog lovers, our family consists of a 4.5yr old male Great Dane/Greyhound mix, two female (sisters) 3.5yr old Black Lab/Blue Healer mixes, a 4yr. old male black Pug/Chihauhua mix......and our newst member is somewhat of a rescue and also the reason that I've come to find this community.

The newest member of our family is a female that looks to be only a few months old. She is Brindle in color and I'm thinking she is an APBT or ABPT/mix. I'm still doing as much research as I can to try and find out for sure. She was going to be taken to the local humane society by a friend of mine after he had found her on his land outside of the city, but the moment I laid eyes on her she tugged on my heart and I couldn't let him do it (the local humane society doesn't look highly upon the bully-breeds).

I've always liked the look of the bully-breeds, but never knew a whole lot abot them. Since she's been with us I have been doing tons of research on the breed and continue to have more and more care and respect for her, as well as the bully-breeds in general.

When we first took her in she was very skiddish and shy so we kept her in the house for several days until she was feeling more comfortable with us and her new surroundings before introducing her to the rest of the family. I'm so happy to tell you all that now she is doing wonderfully! She is getting along great with all the other dogs (not a single incedent, even when they were all first introduced to each other) and is taking to training very well. She's now just a ball of non-stop energy and joy! She often will just go from one dog to the next until she has all of them worn out from playing with her, lol.

Since I've been researching the bully-breeds I am learning more and more about the special care, consideration, and responsibility that comes with having a member of the bully-breeds. That's also why I'm here, to continue learning more so that Lola can live a happy and joyful life with use without problems.

So without further a do, here's Lola (if anyone wants to comment on wether or not she is a full APBT, mix or otherwise feel free, thanks).
http://i47.photobucket.com/albums/f193/NXJeremy/c6dd8952.jpg
This is Lola after our morning/evening walk/jog/run. She seems to like to just stretch out after a good workout, lol.
http://i47.photobucket.com/albums/f193/NXJeremy/2c61652e.jpg

And this is my favorite picture we have so far. She likes sleeping like this rather than on her dog pillow most of the time.
http://i47.photobucket.com/albums/f193/NXJeremy/ea832080.jpg

Sorry for such a long first post, but I just can't stop talking about her:D

[14rock]

First of all-WELCOME TO THE SITE! :D I commend you for doing your research so you can be an educated bulldog owner-I wish there were more as responsible as you. Shes a good looking girl, definetly has some sort of "bull breed" in her. Whether it be, APBT, Amstaff, SBT etc...it is impossible to tell, but it looks like you love her and thats really all that matters!

As for her meeting other dogs and interacting well, thats great, but be aware that could change at any moment. She is still very much a puppy, and she is descended from fighting dogs at one point or another. At maturity "bully breeds" are generally very dog-aggressive, and are not to be left with other dogs unsupervised-no matter how well they played as puppies, or how long they grew up together-it doesnt matter. You may never have an issue, but be aware that possibility for a fight is always there in her. I recommend you buy a break stick, and learn how to use one in case a scuffle does happen someday. A bulldog doesnt fight like other breeds, and kicking and screaming is not enough to break a determined bulldogs hold.

I know what you might be thinking right now "Oh my goodness, the news was right APBT's will just turn on one day and kill the family pet and maybe a child down the road". Absolutely not for the second one, and the killing of a family pet is due to its owners irresponsibility. It is our duty as bull breed owners to make sure our dog isnt allowed to run, or be left alone unsupervised with other dogs. Dog-aggression in this breed is to be accepted, and it is something that you cannot "love out" of them, or even train out. You can train a dog-aggressive dog to focus on something else instead of another dog while out on walks or whatever...but left alone a bull dog will generally resort to its historical roots-in fighting.

Understand dog-aggression, and human-aggression are two tottally seperate things in this breed and dog-aggression in no way equates to human-aggression down the road. I will assume you do not know much about the bulldogs fighting roots, so I will describe a bit on why this is true. Back in the days where dog-matching was common, and a pitbull had to work for its food and breeding rights, two dogs would be put into a "keep" with its handler. This ammount of time varied as much then as it does now, but during a keep an animal had the excess fat burned off them, and was worked strenuously to prepare it for the fight. This meant almost daily (all days except for rest days) the owner would be working this dog for 2,3,4+ hours at a minimum. A dog that couldnt walk with the owner for miles a day, or couldnt peacefully work with its owner for the fight...couldnt be put into shape, and thus-couldnt be fought. A pitbull that couldnt be fought was of no use to most old-timers and was usually culled. Culling means to take that specimin out of the breeding stock by means of either neutering/spaying, giving away as a pet fixed, or sometimes putting the dog to sleep. During the keep, the animal needs to be with its owner as much as possible to form the needed bond. This usually meant the dog living in the house, sitting next to its owner on the couch watching tv, and going to bed with the family. A dog that couldnt do those things was also of little use, and generally culled. On top of all that, leading right up to the actual fight...the opposing dogs handler would wash your dog, and you would wash their dog. This meant that dogs within minutes of a fight, were being washed by complete strangers. Again, a dog that would bite would of been useless here also. Even if a dog made it through all this, when it was time to fight, it would be placed in the ring with its handler, the opposing dog and its handler, and a referee. During the fight, all 3 men stay in the small pit, within inches of fighting dogs. When a turn in called, the dogs are broken up and taken to their respective corners (alot of the rules, simulate boxing rules today) to be rubbed down, a chance to catch their breath, and then turned towards their opponent again. What this meant is that at the tail end of a fight, when the dogs have been exhausted and bruised up, they are still within inches of humans (2 of which are complete strangers) and being picked up and carried away. This was not only a test of the dogs gameness, but just as importantly,of its true tempermant. A dog that bit anyone at any of these times purposefully would of been culled, and eliminated from breeding stock. Of course their are exceptions to the rule, but this is how most dogmen do/did treat man-biters. What this all boils down to, is dogs that bit people were not bred. Only dogs that love people, even complete strangers, even while exhausted and irritated..were worthy of being a pitdog, and thus, worthy of being bred. To this day, dogmen cull their man-biters (in the rare event one pops up) and all of this together has created a breed that is exceptional with people, and does not act aggressively towards if socialized properly and not trained to do so. It wasnt until fairly recently that "pitbulls" became a popular breed for undesirabe, irresponsible owners looking for a mean, tough dog to make themselves look stronger...and thus created these mutant mutts you hear about biting people in the papers.

I'm sorry if this was all common knowlege to you, but to be 100 % clear I gave you a little history anyways just in case you havent found this much about the breed yet ;) Now you can understand why dog-aggression is almost always to be expected, and human-aggression is never to be accepted-in the rare instance it pops up. Dog-aggressive pitbulls are just going by their instincts from hundreds of years ago. Human-aggressive pitbulls get a bullet in the head at my house, and most others!

I suggest getting your hands on some books, to explain it further and to better understand your dog. Richard F. Stratton has some great beginners books which I believe you will enjoy, and will learn alot from. Once you have read his series, there are some more advanced books we can point you towards depending on what you want to learn more about.

Sorry for the long winded post, I hope you find the info in here of some use to you!

[NXJeremy]

Thank you very much for all the info. From the research I've done so far I know that some level of dog-aggression is to be expected with this breed. I've become very aware of only letting Lola interact with our other dogs while myself or my girlfriend are at home to supervise, any time we're not around Lola as a dog run all to herself that is pretty large.

I am mostly interested in having Lola be very obedient when I take her out in public (to try and be a good ambasador of the breed), and I'm very interested in keeping her in great shape (I think it's called comformation?). We go on walk/jog/run for about 45min. every day, as well as playing fetch and tug-o-war for 30min - 1hr. (kind of tough to get her tired, lol), but I would like to learn more about other workout methods for her such as the springpole, flirt pole, weight pulling (for workout purposes only), etc.

So far she has been a joy to have (with the exception of the occasional chewed shoe of my girlfriend, lol). I just want to make her as comfortable as possible with other people and hopefully somewhat comfortable with other dogs so that she can show others that bull-breeds are wonderful pets that just demand some responsibility and care.

Thanks again for the info, I look forward to learning more about this beautiful and loving breed.

[14rock]

It sounds like you've got a good head on your shoulders ;)

As long as you understand dog-aggression may pop its head out at any time, and are ready to stop a fight from happening then you are way ahead of many people who own this breed! I'm glad you have a large dog run for her, I must ask though...how safe is it really? Pitbulls are escape artists...literally. The only kennel I would halfway trust is a run with a secure top, and cement edges so they cannot dig under. Scaling 10' + walls, climbing ladders, and climbing trees like cats are all things our breed will do to get somewhere else. I dont know how strong your run is, so I'm just making you aware that it might not be enough for a driven dog.

"Conformation" is the term to describe a dogs general structure and how well it fits the breed standard. Its great you understand our breed needs a ton of excersise to be happy,and keeping them slim and in shape is a major part of keeping a healthy dog. It is very tough to get them tired, they have boundless energy most of the time. Keeping a dogs mind and body stimulated is the best way to keep her from destructive actions such as chewing a shoe. The other methods you mentioned (flirtpole, springpole,etc) are great tools for helping burn some of their energy off at a fun activity. I would hold off a bit longer on all those you mentioned at her age, and when she fills out and matures a bit more than you can start working the springpole/flirtpole and weightpull (do not pull any real weight doing this until a minimum of about 20 months).

Your best bet for an obedient dog in public is to talk to a professional obedience instructor (one who will come to your house and train YOU how to train the dog...also, none of that Petsmart stuff ;) ) . Explain to him you want a dog who will walk at your side with a loose lead, will heel with you, and knows the "watch it" command (have the dog focus on your hand, instead of another dog coming).

Best of luck.

[NXJeremy]

I can't thank you enough Rock, just in the couple of posts you've made it's given alot of info on how to keep Lola heathly, happy, and in our yard lol. I've been reading alot on the various activities for her and the various ages that are a minimum for her to be before we start doing them.

I was thinking that I'll just take her on walk/jog/run's and play fetch & tug-o-war with her until she is at least 12-14 months old, then at that time slowly introduce the spring/flirt pole. Pulling would be something in the future that I would just like to see if she takes a liking two, probably when she's quite a bit older like 24+ months.

About her dog run, I didn't know that they could scale walls/fences as high as 10'. Right now her run consists of one brick wall (side of house), two 7' tall wooden privacy fences (part of the parimeter yard fencing), and one 8' tall chain link fence (runs from the house wall to the back fence). All of the fencing is set with concrete that is about 6in. deep and 8-10in. wide. The only part that doesn't have concrete under it is the gate, which I'm going to have to pour some there because she's already started pawing at the ground in that area.

Would it be a good idea to maybe put a over hang around the parimeter of the run that sticks out 2' or so toward the inside of the run? This way she couldn't scale the fence and get out of the yard. The reason I am thinking of doing it this way is because there are a couple of trees in her run that would make it difficult to install a complete top on the run (that covers the entire top area).

Thanks

[14rock]

Sounds like a nice setup...if that is your only option its better than nothing. I will say if it was on my yard, I would add a zipline tether or something, for further security.Actually, to be quite honest I would just use a axle/chain setup but I have alot of room for long chain setups, and I dont have $$ previously invested in a large run. It would be a shame to scrap a run like that,from the sounds of it for one dog. With a chain you would need about a completely clear, and flat 30' + area. Also on a chain it wouldnt keep other dogs away from her (I dont know if she is spayed or not?). If you need a diagram to visualize what I'm talking about with a tether I can do that, just let me know.

[NXJeremy]

I understand what you mean by the zipline tether and the chain setups. I thought about those to, but the dog run was built before we even got Lola. If I was to choose between those two setups, the zipline wouldn't be difficult to do. I'm going to take a closer look at the layout of her run and see what we can figure out.

Thanks.