Puppy Pics

Left to right, here's Zen, Karma and Bushi, sacked out on the bed. The biggest danger here is being licked to death or getting sleep deprived because of Karma's snoring.

Thank you @KellyRipa for suggesting that I'm a gangster because I have three of the most wonderful, gentle and sweet dogs in creation.

Now Raz here (ignoring the evil giant pit bull, Karma) just MIGHT be considered dangerous.

Spoof Calls Blaming Pit Bulls

Is this how some pit bulls get bad press?

I really hadn't wanted to talk about RY but...

Because I can't afford gas for the generator right now, and the nights have been freezing cold, I've been staying with CK (our former roommate) and his new roommate M at their house in town. It's challenging being here with 3 dogs and 2 cats and I've had to go back and care for the yaks every other day as well.

M (the person who signed the lease and the "lead" roommate) had called his landlady, informed her that my dogs would be staying with me, informed her that they were pit bulls and received permission for us to stay here.

Zen in the bedroom. Note the leash.

Today M got a phone call from the landlady. Someone said that a pit bull was running around loose and it was one of mine. CK and I were astonished. I'd never let my dogs off leash in town. And certainly not within a block of a train that goes by on a regular basis. Since Zen's been confused at being here and scratches on the door to "my" bedroom when folks pass by, I've even had him on leash IN the bedroom.

The landlady was unhappy about this report, as was M when he heard it. All I could think was that some other dog (possibly not even a pit bull) was running around the neighborhood.

Later the landlady called back with the phone number of the person who'd called her with this report. CK plugs the number into his phone, and who should pop up, but our "buddy" RY.

Now we've got an interesting history with RY. Two years ago when we had the fire, he and his wife were kind enough to give us a tiny pick-up back camping trailer to live in. We certainly appreciated it, having lost every dime and every possession we owned and with winter coming on.

Sadly it was a gift that came with strings. Not only did we have to listen to his wife S congratulate herself on what a wonderful Christian she was, but we were now beholden to them. For a while that wasn't a big deal. We were able to return the favor by helping them do some major work on their farm (and even dragged in a crew of our friends to help).

RY also talked us into going in on some hay purchases with him. He'd store the hay and we'd pick our share up as needed. Except we never seemed to get our hay (and often had to buy from the local feed store). And every time he wanted to make a new hay purchase, he'd say he didn't have enough to cover it, and we'd end up pitching in more money - after all, we needed the hay! (Which BTW he was making money on us with, charging us $2 or more/bale than the actual cost.)

Then one of our trucks broke down. We couldn't fix it and ended up buying RY's pickup. He wanted to buy our old truck to fix up and sell. We made the foolish mistake of trading it for more hay.

At this point he's into us for about 100 bales. But we felt grateful to them. Felt sorry for them because his wife has Alzheimer's and a host of other problems, and between the fact that they are animal hoarders, and her trips to the doctor, they were generally broke.

RY also hauled water out to our place, since we didn't have a convenient way of hauling it ourselves, for which we paid him $30/load. Even after he owed us money (more re that in a sec) we'd still pay him because he claimed he couldn't afford the gas to get there otherwise.

About a year and a half ago, and within the space of a month, he and his wife and their daughter borrowed $650 from us in cash. Now there've been times since when we could have desperately used the money. And the hay. This is possibly the most desperate time of all, with us flat broke and trying to feed the yaks and get me back to Florida.

So can you guess that I was a little shocked when I found out that the complaint about the loose pit bull came from RY's phone?

M called him up, and he was masterly, "I don't know why you're doing this to these good people." Of course RY completely denied it. "It wasn't me! I didn't make that call."

Five minutes later he called CK back and said, "I just remembered. There was this guy down by the car wash named Junior. He asked to borrow my cell phone to call his mother."

Astounding that he'd believe anyone would fall for this garbage.

Meanwhile I have to wonder what percentage of nuisance calls against pits are vindictive nastiness such as this.

Yaks Return and Dogs vs. Yaks Round 1

I haven't even had a chance to write a post introducing our 3^rd rescue pit bull, Karma. (I'' do that soon.) She's a wonderful sweet puppy, and we adore her, but one thing we found out...she doesn't like yaks.

Karma the instigator. *sigh*

The yaks had been on walkabout for about a month, so Karma had never met them. The coyotes were howling one night and we saw SOMETHING flash past in the dark, approximately coyote-sized, so we figure that was the impetus for them breaking down one of the boards in their pen and hiking off to who-knows where. We'd been searching for them everywhere, with no luck. The other times they escaped we'd found them at the home of a nearby rancher. This time they were seen near there but by the time someone contacted us (we don't have phone at our place) and Quantum got up there, the girls were off somewhere again.

The Return

Last week, while Quantum was in FL dealing with his mom, the dogs were running about doing their usual roughhousing when I heard one of them barking. I looked out and there at the curve of the driveway and there they were. Amazingly they'd found their way home.

They looked beautifully fit, if a bit muddy. I leaped outside, called the dogs in and spent a half hour coaxing the girls into the pen. The weren't the least bit interested in hay. Not with all the gorgeous grass in the fields, but water they wanted. Yeti was the first to follow my water bucket and Zoozoo and baby Ferdie followed her. Yonkers wasn't impressed. She's wary of most people, and even though she likes me more than most, her affection for me is grudging at best. I let her roam around for a while, knowing she wouldn't stray far from her herd, and eventually she came right up to the gate. She was hoping the other girls would come out and join her, but instead I talked her into going in with them.

Things were okay for a couple of days, although Ferdie found an escape route (she's a little Houdini) and Yazoo managed to follow her. Another couple hours with the dogs locked in the trailer and me wandering around trying to get them back in the pen. And then an hour later they were standing by the gate, asking to be let back in.

Round One

Then the trouble started. Zen and Bushi had never bothered the yaks while they were in their pen, though Zen was apt to flip out a bit when Ferdie got out. He's very concerned about "everything in its place" and knows the yaks belong inside their fence. It hadn't occurred to me that the addition of a third dog would change the equation.

I was outside doing some cleanup when Karma started barking at the yaks. I shushed her a few times. Suddenly she dove under one of the fence rails and into the pen. The yaks charged. Bushi, hearing her pack-mate in distress, ran in after her. Zen raced back and forth outside the pen and then plunged into the fray as well.

The yaks all clustered together. Bushi and Karma ran right into the center of them, nipping their heels. Zen ran in circles coming back and forth to snipe. I don't know how long it lasted. Probably only 10 minutes or so. It felt like hours. One of those times when life goes into slow-mo. Bushi got picked up by a set of horns and tossed through the air. Karma and Bushi both were trampled and pushed around. Then Bushi was hanging from a yak's ear (so much going on that I couldn't tell which) as if she were an earring. She managed to rip out BOTH Yonkers' and Yazoo's ear tags.

For myself, I was screaming for the dogs to stop and to come to me. They're usually relatively obedient but not with this massacre going on. I'm running around trying to catch Zen as he darts in and out, and each time I almost had him, he barrels into me and my glasses (one earpiece is broken) keep falling off. I finally managed to grab Zen as he raced around. Threw him into our trailer. That broke the fight up and after a harrowing few more minutes, the other two left the pen.

Both Bushi and Karma were covered with yak blood, but there wasn't a scratch on any of the three dogs. The yaks were okay other than their ear tags.

As horrified as I was with the fight itself, I can't help but be amazed with three dogs that were able to stand up to three adult yaks (about 700 pounds each) and come out relatively unscathed. I was sure that one of the dogs would end up with broken bones, or worse a broken spine or something else devastating and fatal. It was one of the scariest moments of my entire adult life. And there was more to come.

A Letter to PETA - about Pitbulls

A correspondence between PETA and a woman who had planned (that's past tense, thank goodness) to leave her fortune to them when she passed.

A Letter to PETA is a well-put answer to PETA's (imo) despicable treatment and villification of Pit Bulls and pitbull-like breeds.

Friends don't let friends support PETA.

NEW Pit Bull Links

Just added a page of Pit Bull Related links to our blog. If you know a website, rescue center, video news item or other positive pitbull related page that should be on our list, comment and let us know!

Our “Vicious” Pit Bulls Get Visitors

So my Mom, Aunt K, Aunt D and Uncle J came to visit.

The first day was a little challenging because to get to our land, folks (with normal cars) need to dump their cars far down the road and ride in our truck. Which would have been fine if our Blazer (which can easily carry our crowd) hadn't dropped dead. Instead, we had to use the pickup. Me, Quantum and 4 other adults plus two decent sized pits. Can we say crowded?

We let the dogs run alongside the truck. There was just no way to fit everyone in. Besides it was only 2 miles on a dirt road with no traffic other than us. I was worried they'd run off and get in trouble, but nope, they followed the truck with no problem. By the time we were 3/4 of the way there, I could see Zen tiring. (Black dog on a hot day.) Bushi, on the other hand was darting off to explore things (flushed birds, squirrels and rabbits) and circling back to the truck. She didn't even look like she was breaking a sweat.

It was great! By the time we got home, the dogs were nicely tuckered out and we didn't have to worry about the dogs being so “bunctious” that they'd misbehave. They don't mean to be bratty, but we don't get many visitors out here, and both of them usually get keyed up when someone comes out here, and they often want to jump. (And the challenge is that we don't get enough visitors to effectively train them not to jump.) Plus Zen hasn't figured out that he isn't a lap dog, and thinks that EVERYBODY wants kisses.

Then, a day or two ago, Aunt K decided she wanted to take a walk in the woods. She asked Quantum if Zen could come along (seemed like he wanted to) and he said sure.

Zen has been growing out of his boisterousness slowly. As a puppy he was rather much of a brat at times, and NEVER calm and relaxed when friends came over.

Understand too, that Zen has only recently started following me around. Oh of course, when we were in the house, he wanted to be near us. But outside? In the past he was just so thrilled to be outside and off leash (since he grew up in a condo and couldn't run wild) that if the two of us were outside together, it was unpredictable whether he'd stay near me or not. He might follow me for a while but going off exploring was what he considered fun.

Part of that's our fault. For the first 9 months we were here, I'd only let him outside if we had him on a leash. Even here in the middle of nowhere. Rattlesnakes were my primary fear, but (knock on wood) we haven't seen any yet, and when we got Bushi last year we finally started getting up the bravery to let the two of them run together.

A couple months ago he totally changed his tune about this. Any time I walk out the door now, he has to be next to me. Three years old and his “guard mode” has kicked in with a vengeance. What I really didn't expect was that this would transfer over to other people.

Well not only did he follow Aunt K up the mountain, he stayed within a few yards of her, and when he finally gave her the signal that he really wanted to go home (and wise woman that she is, she got it) he'd run a few yards ahead then come back and wait for her. She could tell that he really wanted to be back at the house, but he wasn't willing to leave her alone.

The Aunts and Uncle have gone home (wish they could have stayed longer!) however Mom's still here. Rather than staying in a hotel alone, Mom decided she'd stay in our ex-roommie's trailer. That means no running water and all the attendant challenges. She's a rugged woman!

Quantum walked her over to the trailer, and Zen followed. And stood in front of her trailer. Quantum called him back towards our own trailer and Zen came to him then walked back to stand in front of the trailer Mom was in. It took him a good fifteen minutes to decide she was safe until he came back to us.

Today he's been following her all over the place as she wanders around our property. He stays about a half step behind her, and has only come in when she does, or when (as right now) she's sitting in the shade reading a book and he's decided she's safe for now. (And it's afternoon now, and way hot for a black dog, again.)

Bushi's always been more independent. Growing up as a stray dog means she loves to be outside and loves to roam. She's happy when she's inside with us, but she likes her alone time. She was also walking with Mom, though she'd take off from time to time. And Bushi is nearly always super good and obedient, so forgive me if I'm talking about Zen (my problem child) being good more than her.

What I noticed is that the two of them were taking turns. When Zen got too hot, or wanted to check something out, Bushi would stay with Mom, and vice versa.

I've always known that pit bulls were called “the Nanny Dog”. Now I get why. Having decided that she is for some reason his “charge” Zen is totally devoted to her. We never trained him for this. He just figured it out on his own, and Quant and I are proud as heck to be his parents.

So our first experiment with having visitors is a resounding success. I'm thrilled. We have good dogs. We always knew it, but now it's been proven. Yep, our “vicious pit bulls” immediately welcomed people into the pack and not only were polite, but made it their job to ensure that the new members of their pack were safe and watched over.

I Dream of Bushi

When we first imagined a female Pitbull to go along with our male, we "only" named her. Bushi, or "warrior" would be a perfect complement to Zen.

Despite our great hopes, in giving him his name, Zen has been a "bunctious" (rambunctious) puppy. He more clearly expresses his more formal name, Heisenberg, after the scientist. He's smarter than anyone could probably want in a dog, Smart enough to be incredibly willful and perfectly named after the Uncertainty Principle. You just never know what he'll be up to. Hint: one of his nicknames is Clepto-Puppy. As a puppy, he'd walk off with books, toilet paper, lighters, boxes of pasta from the pantry, you name it.

We put the wish out there, but we knew it wasn't time yet, and just dedicated to finding her "when the time was right." Meaning mostly when we could afford to rescue another Pitbull, and be able to pay the needed medical and shelter fees. Believe me, for a while, just feeding the family we already had was chancey.

A few weeks ago I woke up and said, "You know, I think Bushi is a mostly white dog." Now this might or might not sound silly. Up till now fate had provided us with a black (with some white trimmings) dog (Zen looks like he was born in a tuxedo), a black cat with a little "bowtie" of white (Squeaky) a black cat with smokey underfur (Raz) and three yaks, one black and two black with white markings. CK's cats were black/white except for the eldest who was grey. We had a running joke about our animals fitting the color code.

Quantum said, "I've been having the same vision. A white dog."

So a couple months went by. And one day I woke up saying, "today's the day." I got online and pulled up Petfinder. There were all of three Pitbull females listed in our area.

Okay, why a Pitbull? I've loved many dogs in my life, however every single Pit I've known has been more intelligent, loving and a better guardian than any other dog I've known. (Hey and that includes Inky, my childhood dog, a Field Spaniel who should be relegated to gods-status as Great Dog.)

On top of that, thanks to the unwarranted media nightmare, Pitbulls seem to be seen as "bad dogs".

Nevermind that it isn't true, placing a Pit Bull is harder than any other dog. We had to have a Pitty, because we had to make sure that an otherwise "unwanted" dog would find a good home.

So here we are on the day that it's "felt right" to find a Pit. Two puppies (puppies are easy to home and having lived through Zen's puppyhood, we'd promised ourselves no more puppies for a while) and one (check it out) WHITE Pittybull bitch.

"Do you think she'll feel underdressed?" asks Quantum, referring to our otherwise black-tie critters.

Underdressed? Hardly! Bushi comes to us dressed in her Ivory best. We're pretty sure she taught Lady Gaga the asymetrical makeup thing.

Just like Zen is the antitheses of his name, Bushi, our warrior princess is kind, sweet, loving, gentle as all heck.
72 hours in, today we took her to town with us, and the "pack mentality" between her and Zen and us, was comfy, safe and solid. When we got home, the two of them fell asleep head to head.

Towards evening we gave them each a beef rib bone, and wow did I get a realization. Usually Zen gnaws and plays with his bone, and a similar bone lasts for days. Bushi just plowed through her bone, and Zen, not to be outdone (or left with the only bone between two dogs) scarfed his down. The two of them chewed through their bones in less than three minutes.

Now there've been many times that Zen has grabbed me by the wrist and put a hurting on my bones. But until now I hadn't realized how much he was holding back. These rib bones were way thicker than the ones in my arms.

Later that night Something was outside the trailer. Bushi gave a deep growl. Nice to know she's feeling protective. Hoping it was a deer or elk. We've had a mountain lion sighting on the edge of our land, and the bears are certainly out of their dens by now.

Bushi Day!

Note: We've been having computer challenges for the past couple months but will hopefully be posting more often.

Friday the 13th (and May 13th heretofore ) is now officially Bushi Day on the Critter Project calendar. Yesterday we adopted our second pitbull. What a fortunate day for us.

Bushi (pronounced BOO-she) means "warrior," as in Bushido, the "way of the warrior" of the Samauri.

We'd planned on getting a female Pit, as a companion for ourselves as well as for our Pit, Zen, and had already named her. Now it was just a matter of finding the dog that fit her name and our life.

She turns out to be a delicate young lady with some Pit ancestry and some that is just a guessing game. Finer boned and more terrier-like than Zen (who is definitely Boxer/heavy molosser blood) we're guessing that she may be part Bull or Fox Terrier, maybe some Heeler, German Shepherd or Lab.

After looking at her online via Petfinder, we finally got our car stuff together (more about that in a later post) and went down to the shelter to meet her. We were already 99% sure that she was the right dog. Her photos were just adorable, she was the right age (about three). We wanted a dog who would be a stabilizing influence on our "bunctious" Zen, so a slightly older dog was called for. A friend tried to pawn off a couple puppies on us, but a puppy was the last thing we felt would be right for us or Zen, and unfair to any puppy involved (too much chance of getting trod on and not safe to have puppies outdoors here yet) in the small space we're presently living in. Besides, puppies are a lot easier to home. We wanted to give space to an older, and potentially less adoptable dog.

The video (so glad the shelter included it) cinched the deal. We could see that she was calm, intelligent, friendly and responsive.

So Friday we brought Zen down for a meet and greet. We brought the two of them over to the fenced-in basketball court that adjoins the shelter. After a quick butt-sniff (the usual "hello" among dogs) they wagged their tails and then pretty much ignored each other. Zen ran back and forth, enjoying being off leash and Bushi hung out with me and got belly scratches.

After a while, I put them both back on their leashes, and gave them a walk together, while Quantum went and got the paperwork done. To my surprise, walking two of them was actually easier than walking Zen by himself. He tends to pull on the leash and sometimes goes into whirling dervish mode. With her, he was calm, focused and the two of them were beautiful together.

Turns out she was a stray, and was pregnant when she arrived at the shelter. Not sure if she was aborted or if they found the puppies homes, but she was spayed last Monday, and though still a little delicate, is coming along well. Tomorrow she goes to the vet for (hopefully minor) postpartum bleeding and her shots.

On the long ride home she lay in the backseat of the truck and was a great calming influence on Zen. On the way down, he'd been bouncing off the walls and all over the truck. On the way back, he let her pick her territory and then lay down on the seat and relaxed with his head in his daddy's lap.

48 hours later, the impact that Bushi has already brought to our household is amazing. If I ever wondered at the influence of a steady and "calm-submissive" dog, I no longer do. They walk great together, and our house
has felt more peaceful in the past 48 than any time previous.

The cats still aren't sure about her, but she's relaxed though interested, and I have no doubt that it will work well.

Bushi is intelligent and alert. Her antenna-ears are always listening, but she feels comfortable enough to be laying next to Zen, right now, with her eyes closed and having little puppy dreams. She's going to be one of those easy-to-train dogs. Eager to please and super smart. By the time we'd left the basketball court yesterday she already knew her name.

Zen, full of energy and never the most  graceful dog, had been romping around and somehow slammed into me, giving my neck a bad jar - I almost blacked out. Bushi, who barely knew me, was the first one to come over and say, "Mommy? You okay?"

One of the first things we discovered when we got home is that she was nearly terrified at being invited onto the couch. She had obviously lived in a home where getting on the couch made you a "bad dog". Yet, after a few invitations and gentle lifting up she's now sacked out on the couch next to me, and has several times jumped up on her own volition. (Now you might be of the theory that dogs don't go on the couch, and that's fine. In our household we WANT the dogs on the couch with us, and this is our choice and preference. LOL and we have little enough floor space in this trailer, that they're actually more in the way of our narrow hallway if they're on the floor.) Yet, in less than 48 hours, she's realized that it's okay to be on the couch and that she's enjoying it. Very adaptable.

While Quantum was in the shelter doing the paperwork, a woman came in and wanted a look at the available dogs. Turns out the shelter was having a big adoption special the following day. Fortunate for us we were able to make it down in time to snag our girl. The chick went into the kennel, and came back saying, "Do you have any puppies?"

"We only have one puppy, right now," the shelter-woman said, pointing out a Pitbull puppy.
"Oh, I really wanted something fluffy and a family pet," said the chick.
Quantum couldn't help adding in, "Who wouldn't want a Pitty puppy?"
The woman looked at him like he had two heads.
"They're the best family dogs for kids," he said. "Very loyal and protective."
Chickiebabe gave him a dirty look.
"You do realize that Helen Keller's dog was a Pit Bull?" he said.

The bitch left without getting a dog, but the shelter-woman gave Quantum a huge grin. She knew Bushi was going to a home that not only knew and loved Pits but would be Pit advocates.

I don't know how many times we got thanked on the way out for giving Bushi a home, but we're the ones who are thankful.

More Yak Pics Today

Well we finally figured out how to get our camera working. So here are some photos for you to enjoy.

First of all here's our Pit Bull puppy Zen, intrigued by the weird noises that the camera is making.

 Zen was absolutely fascinated with the camera. I'm hoping he won't eat it. The girls were less thrilled about having their photos taken. But we managed to get some anyway. Squeaks on the other hand, hid under the bed.

 

One of our Yaks in the pasture. I think this might be Yazoo but it's hard to tell from this angle.

This one is definitely Yazoo, you can tell by the heart-shaped star on her face.

Yazoo at the fence and curious.

And our girly-girl Yazoo back in the pasture.

Here's baby Yeti-Starr munching on some hay and getting herself covered with it in the process.

Yonkers isn't thrilled when we come near. Notice the broken fence in the foreground. That's because she wanted to get at the hay.

Yonkers glowering at me from the corral.

Yonkers and Yeti off to the pasture for some grass.

In other news, Quantum has been working on making us a stone oven. The idea is that we'll use it for baking and also run a pipe from the heated area into the trailer, and maybe get some warmth! I've always wanted a brick oven for bread and pizza, so I'm completely thrilled.

My stone oven in progress.

Closer up, looking at the stone oven.

And here's a really cool stump that Quantum found while he was wandering around in our woods. We've got no idea what we'll do with it yet. Probably some kind of sculpture.

A nifty stump.

In Search of the Zen-Proof Dog Toy

I don't think it exists. Zen isn't a huge dog, but he's a tenacious little bugger. A 56 lb pit bull, he's capable of reducing any toy to shreds in moments.

We've started timing toys on their lifespan:

Average Stuffy Toy: 5.7 minutes

Yes, I know it isn't good to let dogs play with stuffies. The problem is that they're cheap and plentiful. And the dog loves them! I have a few that are my personal stuffies from my childhood, and I have to keep them hidden away in a box. Every once in a while our roommate brings one home and the destruction is near instant. Within moments their stuffing will be scattered across the room, and I have to go collect that as well as any squeaker parts so that my little monster won't choke on them. The good news is that stuffing removed, their small bits and scraps of exterior fur might keep Zen amused for a few extra days.

Knotted Rope Toys: 1.5 days

The nice thing about these babies is that there aren't really any parts that our puppy can swallow and get himself in trouble with. Still he manages to reduce these things into shreds of fiber within a day or less. I'm thinking that I might use the shreds for papermaking. Something has to vindicate the cost.

Tennis Ball: 25 minutes

One might think a tennis ball is a great toy for a dog. And it might be if Zen liked to play fetch. His idea of "fetch" is run after the thing and then play "keep-away" from the humans. Or he'll grab the toy and poke you with it until you wrestle it away from him. The moment you turn your back, the toy is scrap. Once he decides that he wants to bite it however, a tennis ball lasts less than a half-hour. He corners it against a counter or grabs it with his amazingly nimble forepaws and within minutes he's chewed a gaping hole in the thing. Bounce no more, happy tennis ball.

Blankets: 3 days.

Now blankets aren't supposed to be dog toys. Tell that to destructo puppy. He's already gone through several quilts. Ripped  the stuffing out and tossed it in the air and left us shivering in the night. Thank gods my ex stole the one heirloom popcorn quilt that I used to own or the thing would have been mincemeat. The only reason blankets and quilts last as long as they do is that he has some modicum of understanding that these things belong to us, not him.

Sticks and Knobs of Wood: 24 hour or less, depending on thickness.

In the process of building the new door to the trailer, Zen located a round of wood that had been drilled out for the door handle. That managed to last all of about 24 hours before he broke it into splinters.

Kong-like Toys: 3 days

You know those heavy duty rubber toys that have a space to put peanut butter or pet treats into? Three days max with the Zenster. Even without the lure of a treat inside, he's taken these things as a personal challenge. In no time he reduces them to shards of rubber. Treat part, gone.

Shoes: 10 minutes once left unattended

Zen is 1 1/2 years old. In his carreer he has destroyed approximately 5 pairs of shoes (including a pair of workboots). It's my own fault for not putting them out of reach. The moment you forget, take off your shoes and wiggle your toes, bingo, that's a pair of shoes you can't wear ever again. Unless ventilated sneakers is your style.

Crazy Critters: Not even risking it.

At $5 a pop (plus s&h) ($10 each in stores) these things are supposed to be durable enough for the most toy-destructive dog. I took a look at one while I was in Pet Smart. It's just a normal stuffed-toy-like skin, with a squeaker, but without dangerous stuffing. I give Zen less than 10 minutes to burrow into it and remove the squeaker. Like most stuffed toys, the skin might last an extra couple days of him dragging the scraps around before he gets bored with it. At this price I'm better off getting stuffed toys at the dollar store and disembowling them myself. They advertise the fur as being "extra strong" and "reinforced". I'm not buying it. Looked no different to me than any "normal" stuffie.

Now I love having toys for my evil pup. He gets great pleasure in tossing them around and turning them into garbage. If you've got a dog-toy idea that might stand up, and provide destructive pleasure that might last a week or more, I'd love to hear about it. As it stands, on cost/time spent destroying, nothing has yet surpassed the leavings from a 2x4 chunk of wood. Meanwhile he's eating me out of toy and home.

The Pit Bull Problem: The Nanny Dog and Pit Bull Heroes

By the late 1800's or so, the Pit Bull was known as the Nanny Dog. The Pit Bull was so fiercely loyal to their family and yet so gentle with humans that they were used to guard small children and even infants in their cradles. Their high pain threshold allows them to deal with the pokes and pulls and prods of tiny hands without feeling a need to snap at their charges. The same sweet and do-all attitude that made them a favorite of dog fighting resulted in a dog that was safe to leave with the kids, while their intelligence helped ensure that they could keep the little ones out of trouble.

Some of the famous Pit Bulls and Pit Bull owners throughout history include:

Jack of Little House on the Prairie

As a child I loved the Little House books (and go figure, I'm now living a slightly modernized version). Laura Ingalls Wilder's beloved dog Jack, was -you guessed it - a Pit Bull. Never mind whatever sheepdogs and collies appeared on the TV versions, it's pretty obvious from the illustrations by Garth Williams. One of the later books (I'll have to re-read the series to recall which one) featured a stray dog who having been fed by Charles Ingalls (Laura's father) hung around and warded off intruders. This dog also fits the description of a Pit Bull, but who knows?!

Petey from the Little Rascals/Our Gang

The first Petey, makeup enhanced to create the signature ring around his eye (his ring mark actually was an almost-complete circle) was played by Pal the Wonder Dog, who had also earlier played Buster Brown's best friend Tige. Pal was an American Pit Bull Terrier and his son, Lucenay's Peter who also played Petey was an AKC registered American Staffordshire Terrier (also considered a Pit Bull breed).

Petey is perhaps the most well-known and most-recognized dog in the world to this day.

As the eptiome of the Nanny Dog, Petey joins his human children in creating comedy, mayhem and fun. Can you imagine a "vicious dog" being used in this series? Petey was obviously chosen because he was good with children, safe, stable and playful, far beyond his charismatic screen presence.

Helen Keller owned several pit bulls, perhaps some of the first dogs ever to be recognized as what we now call "therapy dogs." Pits are now used as therapy dogs because their high pain threshold prevents them from being upset when bumped by wheelchairs. Their smarts, gentleness and sheer desire to help certainly doesn't hurt here.

The classic American Dog, Pit Bulls were a beloved of early 20th century advertising. Besides Tige of Buster Brown Shoes, there was Nipper, the Victor RCA dog, and the Pit Bull from Pup Brand lemons are but a few.

Presidents Teddy Roosevelt and Woodrow Wilson owned Pit Bulls, and General George Patton owned some sort of Bully breed. During WW1 and WW2, Pit Bulls were used to represent strength, courage and freedom and loyalty, and were featured on many WW1 and WW2 era posters. Pit Bulls are also the only breed to appear on the cover of Life magazine three times.

Sergeant Stubby

No mere advertisement here, Sgt. Stubby was a true American Hero. During WW1 he fought in the trenches of France during 17 battles. The most decorated dog of World War 1, he is also the only dog ever to be promoted to Sergeant through combat. Serving with the 102nd Infantry 26th (Yankee) Division in April 1918, he was wounded by a hand grenade and was sent to the rear to improve morale while he healed. Returning to active duty and the trenches, he learned how to warn his unit about poison gas attacks and let his people know when to duck and cover from artillery shells. He was single pawedly responsible for capturing a German spy and was alleged to have knocked a young girl away from being run over by a car. After the war he marched with the American Legion, was awarded (amongst many other awards) the Wound Stripe (which later became the Purple Heart). Stubby lived with his person, Corporal J. Robert Conroy until 1926, when he was eulogized in the New York Times with half a page, three columns wide - more than most humans get.

Not the first dog or Pit Bull to serve in distiguished combat, Sgt. Stubby is certainly the most famous, and he well earned the honor. His remains are now housed in the Smithsonian.

Weela

This brave lady was named the 1993 Ken-L Ration Dog Hero of the Year. Its a distinction she didn't win without courage and peril. Some time before winning this honor she saved her owner's 11 year old son from a rattlesnake, giving the boy a body slam to throw him out of the way and taking the bite herself. Thirty people, twenty-nine dogs, thirteen horses and a cat were fortunate that she survived the snake bite. During heavy rain that caused a dam break on the Tijuana River, Weela repeatedly crossed the flooded river, bringing food to stranded animals and helping other animals and people to find safe places to cross.

Oddly enough, when Reader's Digest later published the news of her heroism, they refused to mention that Weela was a Pit Bull.

Daddy

Made famous by "Dog Whisperer" Cesar Milan's TV show, Daddy set an example of calm-submission and canine balance for the dogs he worked with personally as well as dogs and dog owners worldwide. RIP Daddy, our family will miss watching you waddle on screen.

Those I've mentioned are just a few of the Pit Bulls that have achieved heroic status. Pits have served as search and rescue dogs at 9/11's Ground Zero and throughout the world. They act as police dogs, drug sniffing dogs, and therapy dogs. And perhaps more than all else, they are kind and loving family dogs for people worldwide, keeping us sane and standing by us with their gentleness, their wisdom and their ever-faithful generosity.

And with that...What Makes Pit Bulls Special

The Pit Bull Problem: History of the Breed

It's probable that the American Pit Bull Terrier (APBT) can trace its roots to the ancient dogs of the Molossians. The Molossi tribe of ancient Greece was known for muscular war dogs perfect for intimidating their neighboring tribes. One of the oldest of Molosser breeds, and potentially a direct descendant of the proto-dog is the Tibetan Mastiff. TMs were described by Marco Polo as "large as a donkey" (it's believed that they have since been bred down in size) and then as now, they were kept to protect their towns from predators as large and dangerous as snow-leopards.

Molossers now include everything from the Pit Bull to Mastiff breeds, Rotweillers, Dobermans, German Shepherds, Bulldogs and many other breeds.

From there, the ancestor of the Pit Bull moved from Rome, where they were used as fighting and war dogs and in the bloody battles of the Collesium. Then on to the rest of Europe and England. Here they became "butchers dogs," called Bullenbeissers and were used for handling bulls for slaughter. This led to the sport of bull-baiting, where the dogs excelled because of their fierceness, tenacity and because of their loose skin, which allowed them to twist and turn even when they were captured and held down. From here we get all the "Bully" breeds, from the English and American Bulldogs to Pit Bulls to Boxers, Bull Terriers and more.

Despite the fact that baiting was made illegal in 1835, folks continued to want their blood-sports. This led to "ratting" where the dogs were put into pits with rats, racing the clock to see which dogs could kill the most rats the fastest. The "pit" in Pit Bull comes from this practice. Naturally the blood-crazy also wanted to see dog-on-dog battles and in this the Pit Bull and its ancestors also excelled.

Coming to America, the Pit Bull was still used for fighting, but also became an all-around dog of the pioneers moving westward. Their tenacious loyalty and high intelligence made them perfect as guardians of children and the family, herd dogs and guardians of livestock.

One of the most amusing-but-sad truths about Pit Bulls - in contrast to all the negative publicity and stereotype is the fact that both in England and when they were brought to America, Pit Bulls were specifically bred for their capacity to love and care for their human owners. While dog-vs-dog aggession was often encouraged, dogs that showed human aggression were fiercely culled (killed). After all, these folks wanted fighting dogs they could control and who would harm only those they chose to "pit" them against. At this point in its history, the Pit Bull has been carefully bred to be intensely loyal to and caring of their people.

Pit Bulls are one of the few breeds that were created specifically for their loyalty to and gentleness toward humans.

So from here, lets talk about The Nanny Dog and Pit Bull Heroes

The Pit Bull Problem: Why Gangstas Like Pits

Part of the problem is that Pit Bulls ARE often the dog of choice for those in the criminal underworld, gangbangers and gangsta wanna-bes. Here are a few of the reasons why:

1) Pit Bulls are extremely loyal. One of the most, if not THE most loyal breeds on the planet. They will do anything for their owners, including die for them. This makes them perfect for the dog-fighting ring because they will fight to the death to please their owners. No surprise that dog fighting (an illegal sport) is also associated with criminals. Sad and horrible as it is, some folks get status from their dog winning fights and some gangs even use dog fights to settle their problems.

2) Pit Bulls are imposing looking. They're a good-sized stocky dog. They look strong, they look scary and dangerous. Pit Bulls which are capable of pulling enormous weight compared to their size. One of the legal and non-harmful sports that they excel in is weight pulling. They're also strong enough to go around carrying the massive - and stupid - chains and bling that some folks want to decorate them with. Note that in the "bad old days" when Dobermans were the dog of choice, they were usually decorated with light but spikey collars. Pits are strong and hefty enough to carry huge chains that make them look tough. They become as much a fashion statement as a deterrent.

3) Pit Bulls are protective. Now protective doesn't mean "vicious" or "aggressive." It means that they'll defend their family and their space in the same way that any good dog will do. But lets face it, if you're a criminal, or even if you just live in a dangerous neighborhood, you want a dog that will defend you. And a chihuahua, while fierce (and much more likely to attack than a pit bull) just can't do the job nearly as well - unless your anticipating an invasion of Lilliputians - in which case you're better off with a cat anyway.

4) Pit Bulls are thought of as dangerous. The more they get a rep as vicious dogs, the more likely someone who wants a reputation as powerful and dangerous is going to want one. The more the news stations push Pit Bulls as scary, the more your local gangsta wants one.  The more you cringe in fear of people who walk along the street with a Pit Bull, the more likely somebody else might want one. If you're scared of them, they feel protected. That's right, if you're one of those people who thinks Pits are evil, it just as much YOUR FAULT that gangbangers want to have one.

In short, the modern stereotype of the Pit Bull is everything a gangsta-type wants. Power, dominance, strength, virility, protection, danger. How could the Pit Bull NOT be the perfect gangsta dog?

Now that we've looked at the modern and horribly skewed vision of the American Pit Bull, lets take a moment and discover the History of the Breed

The Pit Bull Problem: Selling Fear - Why the News Loves Vicious Pit Bulls

Since we're planning on a large breed dog rescue, with an emphasis on Pit Bulls, I have to address the Pit Bull Problem. You've seen it sweeping the nation, no doubt. Every time I turn around there's another newspaper article about some vicious Pit that attacked someone.

Never mind that I know that they're one of the most loving, gentle, intelligent and wonderful breeds on the planet.

Twenty years ago, the nation was terrified of Dobermans. TV and news articles told us that these dogs were favored by drug dealers and even suggested (completely false) that Dobies had some sort of psycho-gene and were liable to freak out and kill their owners. Today Pit Bulls are the "dog to hate."

Here's a sorry truth: Warm fuzzies don't sell newspapers.

Turn on the news. Any channel, any time. Most likely you'll hear about who murdered who, whose child got kidnapped, where drug dealers are hanging out, what child-molesters are doing to your kid on the internet, a local fire, the crummy economy and so on.

Newspapers (and TV News) are in the business of selling FEAR.

Back in the "good-old-days" newspapers might have been about digging up the truth and educating the public. Maybe. But their real business is staying in business. Making money. And fear is their best method of catching your attention and keeping it.

So if they can latch on to a story about an evil "Pit Bull" who mauled a small child, they'll do that. And they'll sensationalize it. And they'll do whatever they can to keep you reading or watching.

The fact is that many so-called Pit Bull attacks aren't perpetrated by Pit Bulls. Find the Pit Bull features 24 photos of dogs commonly confused with Pit Bulls. Only one of the 25 pictures is actually that of a real American Pit Bull Terrier. Try your luck at figuring which it is.

In reality, most newspapers and TV stations don't even attempt to confirm whether or not the dog in question is actually a Pit Bull or even a Pit Bull mix. After all, "Possible Pit Bull Breed Mauls Small Child" not only takes up more space, but it doesn't sound nearly as edgy.  If it looks anything like a Pit, they'll call it a Pit whether it is or not.

One case in point was the fatal attack on a woman by a pair of Presa Canarios. The dogs were being housed by the lawyer of a pair of criminals who were planning on breeding them and selling them to gang members. I don't want to dis any other breed, but Presas are admittedly more dominant and prone to aggression than Pits. Moreover these two dogs were specifically trained to be aggressive guard/attack dogs. But naturally, when the stories came out, the title of the news articles were about Pit Bulls.

Because the words, "Pit Bull" sound scary. They're meant to. Because the newspapers have created stereotypes and played their word games well.

Obviously SOME of what the news stations push is the fact that Pit Bulls tend (in the past decade or so anyway) to attract a criminal element. And there's some truth to that. So next I'll talk about Why Gangstas Like Pits

Martial Arts Dog Breakthrough

In every student of the martial arts, there (hopefully at least) comes the day when they make a discovery and say "holy sh--! this works!"

After about 5 years, on and off (mostly off due to problems w/ illness and car and life challenges - therefore no fault of my sensei that it took this long for me) I got mine.

First I need to introduce the dog.  Zen is a 13 month old pit bull mix.  He weighs about 65 lbs, pretty hefty for a pit who isn't even fully grown.  And he's a bundle of energy.  Doesn't help that we live in a condo and due to the flu, crappy weather and a positively evil downstairs neighbor (a story for another time, perhaps) he hasn't gotten some of the exercise or discipline he needs lately.

Despite the fact that I outweigh Zen considerably, he's got four legs for extra traction and a ton of energy.  Consider that some people use these dogs for the canine version of tractor pulls.  And yeah, these dogs (with the right harness and training) CAN pull a car!  Every time I take him out it's a challenge, and lately I've been working on making him sit every time he starts to pull.  The idea is that he'll learn that pulling means he doesn't get to go forward.

So here I am walking the dog today, and he starts to pull, and I pull him in and make him sit and something makes me take note of my posture.  Left forward stance, downblock.  Didn't even consider it as I did it, just moved into that stance naturally, and the puppy comes very easily to a dead stop. Even then I didn't quite "get it".  A few yards later Zen pulls again and I go into a middle inside block and the puppy reels in, almost no effort on my part.

This time I catch on to what I'm doing, and on the rest of the way home I consciously go into a block position each time I need to reel in the dog.  Works beautifully.  Magically even.  My feet are planted strong into the earth giving me balance and control that even my 4-legged monster can't pull me off base.

Domo arigato, sensei.  I think I'm finally starting to get it!