•The pit bull (over)population problem
•Dog bites / Dog safety
•FAQs
•Merchandise for pit bull lovers
•Toys
Felanie and Dozer
What can I say? I love my dogs! I probably see them more than my darling husband (because of his crazy work schedule). We do everything together. Even as I sit here, at one in the morning, typing away, both the dogs are curled up in their crates beside me. They would prefer to be here in the office, blinded by the ceiling light and kept awake by the clicking keyboard and my incessant muttering, rather than downstairs, in the bedroom, on the soft cushy dog bed in the quiet darkness - because here is where I am. When I glance over at them, Dozer peeks at me through his eyelid, and when I shift in my chair, both of them raise their heads. They're waiting impatiently for me to go to bed.
Felanie was my first dog ever. She was born in 1998, and I got her in 2000. You can read her backstory here. We adopted Dozer from the local animal shelter as a puppy in early 2001. They told us he was 100% pit bull, but you'd have to be blind to say that about him now. We think he is a pit/Lab mix. He has a lot of Lab-ish traits, and if he wasn't white (Labs don't come in white), I think the shelter would have called him a Lab, too.
Dozer's big blue eyes attracted us initially, and although the blue changed to yellow-green as he got older, he developed one little tan dot on each lower eyelid, giving him a "clownish" look that many people find irresistable. He also occasionally manages to get his lower lip stuck in a "pout" that is made possible due to a noticeable underbite. His hilarious expressions sometimes save his sorry little white butt, since his attitude toward life can sometimes be difficult to deal with!
Although Felanie wasn't too thrilled about the bossy little white puppy, now they both get along very well together. Dozer has taken over as "top dog" (our ex-roommate's pit bull originally had the position), and Felanie is just fine with that. She's not a particularly playful dog and has stiff joints sometimes, so she is content to sit back and watch him play crazily with his beloved toys.
Both dogs have had several obedience courses, and Felanie has proved very good in agility, although her hips now bother her frequently, so I don't take her to the agility field very often. Both dogs took the ATTS Temperament Test and earned their Temperament Tested titles.
We are very lucky. Pit bulls often develop dog aggression, in varying severities depending on the individual dog. Dozer and Felanie both have mild, manageable dog aggression toward strange dogs, but so far they have been very sweet with each other. I think part of this is due to their compatible personalities, and part of it is due to our lifestyle and expectations.
By "compatible", I mean that there are no ranking struggles in our household and the dogs never feel like fighting is necessary. The order is set, and everyone is fine with it. Dozer is on top and is permitted to be pushy and obnoxious. Felanie is, as I mentioned, calmer, slower, and generally smarter. Where Dozer craves toys constantly, Felanie is not particularly attached to them. Dozer does not like playing with any other dogs because he is very selfish and doesn't like it when a dog competes with him; he prefers human interaction when playing. Conveniently, Felanie is rarely interested in playing at all, with anyone. Therefore, when the dogs are together, Felanie generally sleeps, or sits quietly and stares into space, while Dozer plays with his toys (or tries to get a human to play with him). Similarly, they do not compete for human attention; Dozer pushes and shoves Fel aside so he can get all the glory, and Felanie, who is affectionate but not pushy, simply steps aside. She knows that we will pet her later, after Dozer is satisfied and goes off to play with his toys.
And by "lifestyle", I mean that our household is calm - no kids, not many visitors - and expectations for the dogs' behavior is very high. They are well-trained and very obedient, and we are constantly interacting with them so they know exactly what we expect. When they act up, the misbehaving dog or dogs are taken to their crate for some quiet time. (Note: this is not the same as using the crate for punishment. See my section on crates for an explanation of the difference.) Additionally, the dogs basically never have the opportunity to fight with each other, because: 1) they love being near me, so any interactions between them are always right next to me, making it extremely easy to referee, and 2) when we humans are not home, we put the dogs into their crates so they can not interact.
Strange dogs are a totally different issue. Neither dog likes strange dogs, particularly Dozer. He is only tolerant of small puppies, and even then, he will not put up with any sort of competition; the puppy must be calm and nonthreatening. Older dogs are unacceptable, and he will bicker with them. He does not actually throw down and fight, but he will body-slam, snarl, and snap fiercely for as long as it takes to get the other dog to back down or turn tail, or for me to pull him away. He is extremely dominant. Felanie, who has lived with many other dogs throughout her life, reacts the same way as Dozer - snarling and snapping, minus the shoving - and then usually accepts the strange dog, provided it is friendly and not particularly interested in playing with her. The real difference between the dogs is their persistence; Dozer will continue to skirmish every few minutes, while Felanie is simply not interested in conflict and seems merely to lack appropriate greeting skills. I really believe that, had her previous owner done solid socialization with her, she would be very good with other dogs. Dozer's dog aggression, on the other hand, developed despite all our efforts at socialization. It's very interesting, considering Fel is allegedly a purebred pit bull, while Dozer is only a mix.
This dog-aggression, however mild and manageable, keeps the dogs at home most of the time. We can not go camping because of the risk of loose strange dogs, or to dog parks, or to dog-related events. The dogs do not do well at boarding facilities, so we don't travel much. Felanie can not go to agility competitions despite her skill and enthusiasm. I don't want them to have even the slightest skirmish with another dog, because it will automatically be their fault no matter how the fight started, and because any misbehavior reflects poorly on the breed. However, considering how low-key our lifestyle is, and how attached the dogs are to "home sweet home", this limitation doesn't really bother us.
Check out each dog's page to read more about them!
Related Links:
Copyright 2000-2007 by Jennifer
Thomas. Please read the disclaimer.
Hosting
provided by iPowerWeb
