Pitbull rescue from side of road

[slartibartfast]

What a gorgeous happy looking pup. :-) Thanks for the updated pics.

[Sunny1]

Aww Ben, her pics are adorable and she looks like she absolutely adores you!! And it has been addressed by others already, but I think that she would be fine in an apartment, especially if she gets to where she is taking those 3 mile runs with you. Good luck with everything, I am hoping now that no one comes to claim her (especially if it is looking more and more like she was dumped).

[Gooseman]

Tnx everyone for the compliments. I've been doing a bit of research and I am coming to agreement that she is not of pure breeding. From some of the pics I've seen I'm thinking she's something like 75% pit, 25% boxer. Although of course I'm not certain, thats just the impression I'm getting. She loves ALMOST everyone... I've found that she has a fear for heavy-set african americans. I first noticed this when I was walking her and I ran across Javorski Lane, a star football player here at A&M and she went nutso trying to get away from him. On a hunch I called a friend of mine, who's also heavy-set and african american, and she didn't like his presence much either. She has no problem with any other people she's been in contact with since I've obtained her, including average sized african americans, or heavy-set white people... So I'm thinking there may be some history there... any advice?

[joepythons]

Tnx everyone for the compliments. I've been doing a bit of research and I am coming to agreement that she is not of pure breeding. From some of the pics I've seen I'm thinking she's something like 75% pit, 25% boxer. Although of course I'm not certain, thats just the impression I'm getting. She loves ALMOST everyone... I've found that she has a fear for heavy-set african americans. I first noticed this when I was walking her and I ran across Javorski Lane, a star football player here at A&M and she went nutso trying to get away from him. On a hunch I called a friend of mine, who's also heavy-set and african american, and she didn't like his presence much either. She has no problem with any other people she's been in contact with since I've obtained her, including average sized african americans, or heavy-set white people... So I'm thinking there may be some history there... any advice?

Ben from looking at the pics of her i would say Staff/pit mix.My male that i had looked exactly like her but a fawn coloring .I would suggest you have your freind come over and just ignore her at first.I would let her come to him when she feels that he is not someone whom is going to hurt her.Of course you be close by just incase she snaps at him.Once again good job

[Gooseman]

Thnx Joe, will try again.

Everytime I take a closer look at her, I notice more and more stuff that I makes me feel as though she wasn't taken extremely well care of. As previously noted, I have found several old scars from past encounters, however I am now in doubt as to her age exactly. The vet pinned her at about a 1.5 years due to her size, and that she's already had a litter. However... I've looked at her teeth a bit closer and it looks as though she doesnt have all her molars in yet... which she should have by 7 months of age. But then again... She shouldnt have been able to get pregnant until a absolute minimum of 6 months of age, let alone give birth, wean off, and have milkless teets before getting all her molars right? We also believe that she lived on concrete as her feet pads are worn smooth, and is afraid of a leash. As well as never spent much time the inside of a house as now that she's getting better... she seems uncomfortable indoors. When we take her inside now she'll pin her ears back and tuck her tail between her legs. She'll calm down after awhile, but it's that initial action that draws my attention.

When it's all said and done, she's not a problem at all and i guess I'm continuing to update yall as I sorta wanna put it down the developments in writing as they happen and I figure this is as close to a journal as I'll get.

P.S. We've renamed her Maddie

[slartibartfast]

Ben, here is a dental chart for dogs:

http://www.lbah.com/images/dental/dentalchart.jpg

Also, it's not uncommon for dogs to just not develop the right number of teeth. Sometimes tooth buds simply aren't formed, other times they undergo damage preventing normal tooth development. It's more accurate to go by the length of the canines and premolars, but at the very best it's just a rough guess.

She looks like a fully mature animal to me based on your pictures, and that correlates with her history.

[frankykeno]

Maddie's a very lucky girl to have you and your girlfriend to love and help her, Ben.

I believe in following Cesar Milan's view of fear in dogs. Don't fuss over them, don't baby them, it only reinforces the fear. Help them face the fear with calm leadership, when they accept and move beyond...then love them up. Robin works with assistance dogs and this is how they help them deal with fears like automatic doors, etc. I remember her telling me a story a couple of years back about a pup that was afraid of those doors and how she stood outside the store with that dog while the doors opened and closed, basically until the dog realized there was just nothing at all scary there. I know Robin's calm leadership methods helped that dog go on to a life of helpful and non-fearful service to it's human partner.

Years ago I had a Lab that was abused before I got her. She showed particular intense fear of men with dark hair and beards. What we did was have a friend that had that look come over every day for awhile. He always brought Shadow treats, he even wore one of my husband's used sweatshirts to transfer a scent that meant "nice human" to Shadow. Him being around so much, bringing goodies all the time, smelling like "Dad"....well eventually he became Shad's favorite visitor. We didn't make a big fuss when he arrived, so as not to excite her, just very much "oh look he's here and he's got treats, come on in and visit" so he just became over time a good part of her life and she lost that fear completely. We also didn't make her approach him, but let's be honest, a treat like a juice bit of leftover steak....makes any dog love ya! LOL

[recycling goddess]

i am A DOG WHISPERER. i tivo every episode and sit the kids down and we watch them all. we've learned so much from watching him over and over and over and over again.

i totally agree with jo... by you being a confident leader she will be calm and submissive around the things which bother her.

we used his methods to introduce kayla to annabella and i am soooo impressed with the relationship these two have. it hasn't even been a week yet, (got her saturday) but they are excellent mates.

do you watch the show ben? perhaps take in some episodes... it's truly amazing what he can do with owners... cause it's the owners who need to be trained LOL not the dogs.

[Gooseman]

Well... after looking at the situation with a realistic eye... I had come to the conclusion that I cannot afford to keep her along with the rest of my animals. The exact expenses are manageable, however if an emergent need for a vet arose, I could not garuntee I'd have the finances for the trip. So I found a new home for her in the form of an old HS friend who has the means who'll take her off my hands next thursday. I'm sad...

[recycling goddess]

i'm sad with you. will you get to see her?