TRIPPS VERY FIRST MERRY CHRISTMAS!

We have been looking forward to spending our first Christmas with our pittie. It was also his very first birthday. He didnt know what was going on when we started putting up decorations and when he got in trouble for chewing up stuff (presents) laying by the tree. But, we have overcome our troubles wiht his unruley chewing by giving him his very own bedroom. You wouldnt believe what a difference in this family member we have seen. He loves it. I clean, put his toys up, and one by one, he makes a trail back to the living room... :)

Tripp was more than anxious to dig into his stash that Santa Clause brought to him. I had to beg him for like fifteen minutes just to sit down long enough to take a picture. I was happy his was excited, but I was about to tackle him just so I could take his picture next to his stash. He also got a huge bed for Christmas, but since we had to give him his own room, we gave that to him early.


Another HUGE hit was Chicken Jerky. I have never seen him react to his treats like he has with these. They smell like Chicken, and he seems to LOVE them. So we give them TWO thumbs up.. After such a success, I looked up their website, CLICK HERE all of their products are REAL, from the jerky, to the sausage, to the meatballs, and I found comfort that they are pet lovers and parents as well. So, definitely a must have for all pet owners. It is a brand we have actually been 100% pleased with!!

And Tripp's FAVORITE treat from Santa was this Enormous Flavorful Bone!! YUMMY!! He is still chewing on it now. He has a dog door to let him self in and out of the door whenever he pleases, and when we let him take it out of the stocking he went running to take it outside (Thats usually where he takes his yummy ones), and before we could get him to stop, he was stuck. All that we could hear was the banging of his consistency to try and get out of his door. But this large bone is not small enough to fit out of his Extra Large dog door. But, thats good for us, because maybe he will actually enjoy this bone instead of just going to bury it. And of course after Christmas dinner we brought the Ham bone home for him, but he hid from me and would not let me take a picture.. :( But, thats okay, I know he thoroughly enjoyed every bit of it while it lasted.. And it did not last too long!!

ONE MORE TRICK BEFORE THE YEAR ENDS

I originally attempted this trick with making him hold it on his nose before getting it. But that has been a real challenge!! He has let me do it once, and has allowed Jamie to do it once to him. But now he moves his head around so we can not put it on his nose. I GUESS THE SMELL IS TOO MUCH TO HANDLE!!! :) But, he has mastered letting us put his treats on his hands and not going after them unless he is told to. And we have been impressed. We have put two at a time on each paw and he sits there like a champ. He wont let his eyes leave my face because he knows that when I say 'GET IT,' it means that it is time for him to devour his snacks. Normally I just get "Ge.." out of my mouth and they are already in his mouth!! :) My little boy makes me so happy. He is so smart.. We love learning new tricks because he knows that means snacks everyday and each time we have visitors.. So, he is pretty easy to convience when it comes to the importance of him learning new tricks..

We hope that you all had a very merry Christmas as we had.. We enjoyed ourselves, and Tripp was spoiled by everyone that saw him.. So, with a shake of our tails, have a WONDERFUL REST OF THE YEAR!!! Our new years resolution is to quit using my phone for pictures of Tripp, and use my camera I made my boyfriend buy for me!! :) 

The Beginning of a New Kind of Training

So, as you have probably noticed. I think that my dog is brilliant. He learns tricks within the first ten minutes of being taught. Our only problem was that we have gotten so attached and so has he, that he has had severe seperation issues. He has tried destroying things in order to get back at us for leaving. (We take him EVERYWHERE that allow dogs, but now that he is bigger it is harder to get away with taking him). So after becoming exhausted with the battle of whether we could keep him or not, I decided it was time for research on the issue, and advice from the experts. Days like these are when I really began to love the fact that I have joined the Dog Blog World.
Many of you are unaware that my blog started because of a class assignment for my Media 2.0 class at my University.The things I have learned about this community have shined tremendously, and the fact that I have expert advice and reviews within this little blog world excites me!!
So, here is what we have decided to do...
We have cleared out one of the back bedrooms and have given him his own room. I read on the IAMS website that giving them their own space is something that helps them cope with their seperation issues. How this works, I dont know.. But with only two days of testing it out, we are BEYOND pleased with the results. He is more than capable of breaking out of his cage, that was our huge issue. But with this new room, and his early christmas present.. A BED.. He has not attempted to get out once. His room is still under construction, so I will post a picture later. But as of now, its pretty much empty with just his bed and cage in there. But we plan on giving him free roam of the room later and having it set up just for him, toys and all. .

Th Bitter spray is our next process in this training. When we catch him messing up, our form of punishment will be a speray of this bitter spray inside of his mouth. But, so far we havent had to. I thank you all so much from the bottom of my heart, and I look forward to sharing more of our adventures and training successes with you. We are always opened to more suggestions. Thanks again!

How do you train a dog to know to leave your stuff alone?

My dog has gone on a destructive path this week. I am not quite sure why. So, I did what I thought I had to do and I started making calls to find him a new home that would treat him like we would. And I had three different takers, one with over two acres of fenced in land. Sounds perfect!! But, as the tears came, I realized I couldnt get rid of Trip. He is still a fantastic dog in every sense of the word, except when it comes with him messing with stuff that is not his. There are presents out now that arent usually around. Have you had this problem with your dog?? And what did you do?
Someone said use Hot Sauce, but I dont want to dose my presents with hot sauce. I just need advice because my heart wont allow me to give him away. He is apart of our family, and we will figure something out. But any and all advice would be great. Thank you dearly.

Tripp's Big Trip

Another story about my wonderful dog and pictures to go with it. We have really enjoyed our weekend and it means to world to share it with the rest of the earth. Enjoy..

 

It rained most of this weekend in the Memphis area. We were once again rained on in the middle of hanging up our outdoor Christmas decor. We stopped at the gas station and Tripp has an infatuation with the Drivers seat in our truck. He loves to ride in vehicles, we always have the window rolled down, and like a typical dog, he will hang his head out. I love to see him in the car, because you can tell how happy he is to get out of the normal routine around the house.

We have been unable to take him to Petco the last few times that we went, because we were going for longer than just a stop at the pet store. Yesterday, when we took him, we realized just how much he has grown since we've last had to put him on his leash. Our dog weighs almost as much we do, and he is pretty darn muscular. We have been hunting online for harnesses, but have been so worried with which ones to buy. I didnt want anything cheap, because I wanted it to work. And my better half didnt want the expensive one that I had picked out. So, while at Petco, our usual lady came to help us, and I asked her for No Pull harnesses, thinking there would be no way they would have what I had wanted. And lo and behold... For only 19.99, a No Pull Large Dog Harness.. Thank you PETCO!!! We ofcourse had to test it out, and walked around PETCO with it on for the rest of our visit.

It was Perfect.

While looking through all of the harnesses, Tripp was ready to take a break. So he sprawled out in the middle of the isle, and the attention he was getting was funny to watch. Everyone stopped to tell us what a beautiful dog we had, and a lot of people stopped to pet him. But some people were too afraid to go too close due to his big size. But, no evil looks and no ugly words, we were greeted with open arms. And this is why I LOVE ANIMAL LOVERS!!!!

Our Trip wore Tripp out, and the cold rainy day had us all wanting to get in front of the heater. But, due to our 75 pound dog, there was only enough heat for him.. :) This is his permanent winter spot, and for some reason it doesnt get old, it remains to be cute. And he likes it so much, he doesnt mind to perk up and take a picture to share with the world. Now I have a new bribery tool!! :) Isnt it funny how our animals are like your adopted children??

Tripp's First Encounter with Christmas Decorations

 Can you find my dog?? We started blowing up our inflatable Mickey to see how he looked after we bought him, and we can hear Tripp, but we can't find him??

:)


I hope that you all enjoy these pictures and videos, as we enjoyed getting them on camera. Tripp brings laughter into our lives and we love how we can share them with the world. I find these quite funny, especially since Pit Bulls have such a terrible reputation as to being terrorizing monsters that will eat you in a heart beat. We have captured actual footage of a Pit Bull being SCARED! He growls at the inflatable Mickey, but he wont dare go near it. :) Enjoy the Holidays, because we are already enjoying ours!!!

I am Saying it, Because Someone Needs to.

We had to rake leaves this past weekend. Not that it did any good because they have all reappeared in our yard. But between Trip and Serenity, the work was worth it. We all played in the leaves and had a blast!!! Unfortunatly, I heard in the news today some more hype about Pit Bulls, and how they are all doomed to be awful and vicious creatures, and should be destroyed. CLICK HERE TO READ Obviously, some pit bulls got out and slaughtered 42 goats. Which is awful, and chances are they were probably starving, and they destroyed these creatures. There is no denying the strength that these animals possess, but there is no need for breed descrimination. Just because the dog is pit bull doesnt mean that it is predestined to destroy herds of goats.

I put this link to this story up here, not to spread the word of the story but to show you the comments that the story held

"Another grotesque example that shows us why pit bulls should be banned--eliminated. Either that or the name of the breed should be changed... to "fairy princess". No one would want to own a dog that, when asked "What kind of dog is it?", you would have to answer "Oh, it's a fairy princess." That wiould put a quick end to the their popularity among the idiots who believe the lie that "they are good dogs."

Awful comments like this are a pattern on this news page. Eliminate the whole population of pit bulls because these starving dogs got a hold of some goats? Now, I am not excusing them, or saying these particular dogs are good. But that does not mean that every pit bull in the world is going to go and destroy herds of animals, or kill people. I have met people in this world that are cruel, there are murders who have slaughtered families who are back in the world, there are rapists and abusers who are put in the spotlight as athletes who are supposed to be our childrens rolemodels. That doesnt mean that we should destroy Humans because of a few bad apples.

This is not a killer..

This is an animal who has been trained to not jump on people, to open doors, to sit, roll over, and play with a 3.5 year old gently. He is smart and he is fully aware that he is apart of our family. If an animal is raised properly, he will behave in a good manner. But, when a dog is let free to roam, or abandoned, or trained to be cruel, what do you expect from them????

You can't expect any animal in those types of conditions to be nice, and friendly. Dogs that are not domesticated are hunters, no matter the breed!! Just like wolves, tigers, lions. Its in their blood. But, dogs that are domesticated and treated right dont destroy their owners, and they do not go around destroying herds of goats. If you were out for days without food, would you pass by a herd of goats, and not eat them? No, we are hunters. Humans eat meat EVERYday, and they destroy animals EVERY day. We are allowed to treat dogs and cats, and goats, and pigs and cows and chickens as if they have no rights. We are horrible creatures that make other animals around us the terrible creatures that they are!! US!!! But, you dont see people standing around having chats and discussions about how each of us should destroy and demolish our kind.. Pits can not stand up for themselves. They can not speak, they can not defeat humans who are going to unrightfully destroy their breed!!! SHAME ON YOU, IF YOU ARE DISCRIMINATING AGAINST THESE ANIMALS. Take a good long hard look in the mirror, then turn the news on.. Who do you hear about more? Humans killing other humans and being cruel to animals, or animals being cruel to humans???

You are going to have bad apples in any breed of being that exists. 'You dont see a teacup chiuaua in the news for destroying herds of goats' (because they are only 2 pounds). Giving these kinds of excuses to try and make up for the destruction of a beautiful and strong breed is unintelligent, and only makes the person saying it look like a complete fool. Please educate yourselves before destroying a kind of dog that can ultimately be the best companions a person and family can ask for. And yes, some people do Buy these Dogs or breed them because of their name, but those are the people who are responsible for the reputation that they hold. Not all dogs are the same, and the breed of a dog isn't what makes their actions, just like the color of our skin doesnt determine whether we will be criminals or doctors. Breed discrimination is NO different than Racism. Dont let that thought leave you. Because that is the Honest Truth, and it needs to be said. .Racism is wrong, and discriminating against an animal for its name is Wrong.

A Short Story

Ace Hardware and the Lost Pit <<=== Link to a great blog with the real story )

Today isn't a blog about my smart dog, or me being mad at him for chewing something up. No, today is the day that I am going to spread the word about a Pit Bull who was killed due to his breed. In Detroit, if it looks like a pit, barks like a pit, then it must be a pit bull. If animal control is called to pick one up they will not transfer it to a shelter, or take it to a vet to get it looked at if it needs it. They give the owner 4 days to claim the animal, or its over. Big cities everywhere will admit to the overabundance to Pits in their shelters. But at least Memphis is trying to give these dogs a chance. Cities like Detroit are just letting these dogs wrot and die slowly if someone doesnt claim them in time. This is legal?? I am afraid so. My heart goes out to these animals. They are bred by people who may or may not have good intentions, then they grow their entire lives being feared by most people who come around them, most of them are abused by their 'masters', and when they are lost they are not treated like a breathing creature, or something capable of feelings. They are just left to sit and wait, and eventually die. .This is a disgrace. Something must be done. We need to stand up against these TERRIBLE crimes. There should be laws in place to PROTECT EVERY BREED. There should not be an exclusion of Pit Bulls, or anything that resembles a pit bull.
I know that dangerous fully grown pit bulls are put down if they are seen as a threat to society. I can understand that, because that doesnt stop at just pits. That is for any dog. Any violent dog will be put down in shelters. But to not even give the dog a chance to try to live, or try to be adopted out. To let it suffer with its cuts and bruises, is inhumane and pitiful.

Is 'Ace' the Dog Still Alive?: MyFoxDETROIT.com
">Video of Detroit's Fox News
Its sad isn't it? A dog wondered into a store, the man tried to do the right thing by calling animal control, only to find out that he is scheduled to be Euthenized. I believe the euthenization has happened, but it is sad to know that he didn't even stand a chance, even with people rallying up to save him. This must be stopped. We must save the Pits, and create their new image.

Memphis' News Report about Pit Bulls

VIDEO FROM ACTION NEWS 5

I actually avoided that channel the night I heard they were doing a special over Pit Bulls in Memphis. Becuase I figured that it would be the same old fallacies that all media feeds to the public. Pit bulls are evil, we should ban pit bulls, blah blah blah. But this one actually did not set me off, as it might have other pit bull lovers.

As you have probably guessed, I am aiming for recreating the image of the Pit Bull through my sweet pup. Like the Journalists said, pit bulls are the most feared and the most defended breed on the planet. I sat and chuckled to myself, because I will be the first to defend the defamation of this animal. It is the lack of responsibility of the owners in the past and the present. But if we educate people to not fear these dogs, and to even raise them and socialize them to be apart of our community we could literally change the world.

This is my baby. He is more than just a status symbol. I dont care about his size or his build, he makes me feel safe, and he is easy to train. I want to raise a lot more Pit Bulls just so I can show that I didn't just get lucky with him. Not breed them, but SAVE them. Pit bulls are a respectful breed, they want to please their master and are actually fantastic with people of all ages as long as they are used to seeing new people, they are friendly with strangers. The only thing that people fear about my dog is the fact that he is a pit. That is being predjudice, and it is time that people start looking past the media to see the dogs that are trained correctly. And instead of banning this breed, try to recreate the breed. 80% of the dogs taken to the Animal Shelter in Memphis are Pit Bulls, and according to the vet there, almost none of them will make it out alive. For an 8 month period this year over 380 pit bulls have been euthenized. That means over a third of the animals that have been euthenized in Memphis have been Pit Bulls. In a couple of cities near me, one has banned pit bulls altogether, and one has insurance laws and microchipping laws. Not only the dogs are being punished by the owners as well.

So I ask you all, any one who comes across this site, or reads it often, I want to challenge you to get a pitbull. If you can not devote the time due to a full schedule or a full load of animals already, just become an advocate for them. Share the word with other people that Pit Bulls deserve to rebuild their reputations. And lets save this helpless breed that wants to love as much as it wants love.



The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly

Strawberry Shortcake
THE GOOD!!!
Our daughter dressed as Strawberry Shortcake for Halloween this year. This is something that she picked out, because Strawberry is one of her favorites to watch on Television. We took Tripp with us Trick or Treating, although he had no costume. :( I know what your thinking.. She dresses up her dog? Not typically, but I wanted him to join in on the fun, and get the attention he deserved. We had no fowl comments made, a few kids wanted to pet him, and an elderly lady came out of her house to play with him. This made me smile, because most people act like Pit Bulls are very frightening. But we had him on a leash, and he was pretty well behaved considering the fact that we don't normally have him on a leash. He just wanted to walk a little bit faster than we wanted to, but when we stopped at houses, he would just sit down and wait patiently. It really was amazing. He has never been around that many people before, and so I was very pleased that he behaved so well. I wanted to share it because I know people are not always treated nicely walking around with a pitbull especially with children around. But he was the life of the party for the most part, and no one expressed fead. Thank Goodness. With that being said, I have unfortunate news....

Punished



This is Tripp Today. PUNISHED. THE BAD!!!

If Jamie and I try to spend any time together when we have time (The spare time outside of work, school, homework, our daughter, and our second child Tripp) Tripp gets uber jealous. Its not just trying to sit in between us if we sit next to each other, or lay on top of us because there is no room on the couch, he wants to be the center of our attention when we want to spend time with each other. Last night, we kicked him out of the room because he wouldn't lay at the foot of the bed. I woke up this morning to find a whole bag of my daughter's stuff and her new robotic play dog was outside. Whatever wasn't destroyed was covered in mud beyond belief. This is him being punished, being locked in his cage, with the toys in front of him. When I brought them in, he knew what was about to happen. But since we do not believe in whooping him unless its completely necessary, the lock up is the next best thing. I put the toys in front of him so he knows exactly why he is in there. I wont lock him up too long. I just think that it is necessary that he knows what he did is wrong.

THE UGLY!!!!

We know he has seperation anxiety, but this has got to stop. Has anyone else had experience with their puppies having this anxiety? Any advice would be great. But these challenges won't stop us from loving him. :)

Thanks PBU

New Blogger Alert

I want to send a VERY special thank you to PBU (Pet Blogs Unite) for featuring us as the new blogger. I know that's where almost all of my followers have found me from, and I find it quite warming to know that we are such a connected community. Its funny how much a love for an animal can bring you love for others!! I thank you all very much who have left comments, and followed the blog! I do hope that we meet all of your expectations in our attempt to try and recreate the image of the Pit Bull. I know that this means a lot to me and my family that we have this opportunity to share our story of Trip. He has become a very important part of this family, and we want others to know that it isn't about the breed at all, because Trip is a dog not a mean fighting machine. These animals that we have, and that we blog about, and that we know and love, are what brings us together. And thanks to blogs like PBU we have an opportunity to share our message with other bloggers, and with others all around the world. I don't know if this is typical protocol after being posted on PBU, but I say that it should be. I hope that you all share this blog with everyone that you know, so that Pit Bulls have a small chance of defending their breed with logic and not false statistics. 

I hope that everyone following, or even those who may stumble upon me by accident will comment and leave the link to their blog so that I can visit you! And we would love to get to know each and everyone of you and your animals as you get to know us.. Thank you all!! And thank you PBU!

Now he has a chance to prove himself.  

XOXO TRIP and Family

UPDATE: Kennel Training

Trip's kennel training is going EXCELLENT!! For a dog who has never had to try to 'hold it' for a day while we are gone he has more than exceeded our expectations. From day one, he has had no accidents. We put a blanket to keep him comfortable in the bottom, and a bone to keep him company while in his box. He has not attempted to charge the door, or whine while he is in it, he has had no accidents, and gently exits when we open the door when we get home. What could be better than that. Again, Trip is officially the easiest and most trainable dog ever. Could this be his pitbull genes? I am afraid that I will have to say yes it is. Our close friends have a pit bull and he learns quickly as well, even for being 3 years old now. As long as you are stern with these dogs, they are more than willing to listen. Any dog is intimidated by its owners eye contact, and that is the key. But, the eye contact works for the owner, they dont always respect strangers giving them orders.

Video of the Week:
He was jumping high in the air to catch his rope, but he is not a cat, and does not always land on his feet. And to emphasize how high he can jump, let me include that he can jump a chain linked fence, and a 6 foot wooden fence. Dont worry, he doesnt attempt it unless we try to leave him, hence the decision to kennel train him. But this video is just another example of how easy it is to train Pit Bulls. He can sit and catch anything, as long as your good at aiming (which I lack).

To reward him for his excellent behavior we took him to the playground. Unfortunately, it was full of kiddos until about 15 minutes until the sun went down. So I ran on the playground to see if he would follow me down, and of course he did. And he is very excited about his new find, THE SLIDE! He was unsure after his first time thrusting himself down the slippery slope, if he liked it or not. But after the second time, he realized that slides are AMAZING!!!

So, to conclude today's lesson, Pit bulls are easy to train and LOVE playgrounds with Slides. YOUR WELCOME!! :)

Hating the Deed, not the breed

 

 Out of any dog I have ever had, Trip has been the easiest to train. He knows tricks from sit, lay, shake (with both paws), roll over, fetch, drop, in, out, jump, catch, and get on the towel. If you involve a treat, he will do ANYTHING! But, hey, I am okay with bribery. As my daughter!! But it works!! :) I am in the process of begging my better half to rescue another pit. We found one at a close by shelter in Marion, Arkansas that looks like she could be Trips Twin!!
http://www.petfinder.com/pet-search?animal=&breed=&age=&size=&specialNeeds=&declawedPets=&children=&status=&id=&internal=&contact=&name=&shelterid=AR61&sort=&preview=1
You can visit this website and see her, her name is Sadie. If you know anyone in the Midsouth area, Please go adopt Sadie. She is a bit skiddish, around a year old; she is still very sweet. She just needs some TLC! Which is something all Pits needs, and all Dogs for that matter. Hate the Deed, Not the Breed is a logo that isn't just to get the attention of the nonbelievers, but it stands for loving a dog who wants nothing more than to be loved by you. Adopt a dog now, and if you have the  time and energy, give a Pitbull a chance, theyll be great family dogs or just great dogs to have around.

My story for Today:
 Something you may not know about our beloved little boy, Trip. He has terrible seperation anxiety. He is the perfect little angel, but if we leave him alone he chews everything he can grab (including my Harry Potter DVDs, :( ) which is like a big NONO in my house. But, we got over that and decided while we are gone he would be kept in the backyard. We live in the south, so we do not have to worry about really cold winters. But, for people who are used to the warm weather, when winter comes, it is the worst (at least for people like me.) Today was a day that made me realize that the cold weather is here!! It rained all night last night, and all day today. The temperature was super cold, (50's) and the wind and rain made it that much worse. To make me feel even worse, I had to leave me baby boy in the backyard, and he had no access to his dog house (long story). So I decided today, who needs a cell phone, my pooch needs a kennel!! So we finally got one, and he is in the process of being kennel trained. YAY! We shall see how tomorrow goes though. I am sure he isnt going to like it too much when I actually lock him up and leave!! And since I was at Petco I go him a jacket as well!! Thats what the above photos are for, who doesnt want to show their handsome dog off?

Stroll down Memory Lane.. **EXPLICIT**

 

So, it doesn't  get much better than this. A day of lounging around in his favorite laying position. My sweet dog looks like he is in a state of total tranquility. (Sorry about the weiner shot)

 

Trip thinks that he should be beside me every moment I am home with him. If this is vicious, then I am confused! :) He is an oversized poodle, but WAY cuter!!

 Resting on Daddy!! My Pup is a cuddler. This is from when he was a puppy so his head looks pretty small in this picture. But the bigger the head, the larger the brain!! And I have a smart dog.

 My two favorite people once again!!! Every time we take a nap, this guy shows up!!! He takes up more of our bed than we do. But he and Serenity make good snuggle buddies!!

My last walk down memory lane, just to show off my adorable man.. Who doesn't enjoy waking up to a face like this??? Look at that smile!

The Prettiest little Girl with the handsomest big dog

Just wanted to show this picture because it is too adorable not to share with the world. My dog is honestly not that giagantic its how close he is to the camera I guess. :) But these are my two angels. I caught them playing in the living room today and it was so cute. She hid behind the recliner and he would try and find her, and then they'd switch. It was like hide and go seek but with a cheating dog.

Her name is Serenity, and she is Trips treat giver. He knows that he can get lots of goodies from her. You have to watch her because she will give him one after the other. But, at least she knows he has to do tricks in order to get treats (Videos soon). Speaking of Tricks and Treats. Here is our Halloween Project for Trip, (upper right corner). We are having difficulty finding enough faux fur at the fabric stores, but hopefully our persistance will pay off. Any advice on how to keep this together, or places near memphis to look at for the material would be SUPER appreciated. If not, I may have to resort to another idea, but if he is a lion, our family will be hitting up the town as the Wizard of Oz theme. Serenity being Dorothy (of course), Trip the Cowardly Lion, Me as the Scarecrow, and Jamie as the Tinman (Yes, I am making him dressup, because he has no choice in the matter) :) I look forward to this Halloween; Keep your fingers crossed for our costumes.

What a TRIPP

My dog likes TOYS.. Lots and lots of toys. We have resorted to buying them from Dollar tree, so we don't feel a never ending burn in our wallets. He likes to take them, rip them open, and pull the stuffing out until he finds the squeaker. Then the toy is worthless to him. We did, however, find a chicken from walmart. It is a rubber chicken, and it squeaks no matter where you touch him. It is the most horrible sound ever. And he loves to play with it. He knows it gets our attention one way or another. But what is so funny, is that he really loves to go and get his chicken when we put our daughter to bed. I don't know if he just wants to keep her awake, or just thinks that means playtime. But, it is hilarious. Once we try to take it from him however, he hightails it for his dog door and hides it from us. We find toys all over the yard and in his doghouse. And don't tell anyone, but he so went into our neighbors yard and buried his bone. This is something that was quite hilarious, but sucks because now he cant have it back. Lol. He is my love.

Starting off..

I am going to start off with a short and sweet introduction to the purpose of this blog. Pit Bulls are a breed that are feared due to mostly myths and poor training. Before deciding to get a pet, you should learn the do's and don'ts about them. Pit Bulls are no different. If you google pit bull, a variety of sites appear. From wikipedia to pictures, from banning the breed to recreating the breed, it all appears and is available for you to click on. But, how do you know what to believe? How can you determine what you are reading about these dogs to be true? My family and I decided to save a pit bull, and I wont begin to deny that I was worried sick about bringing a dog with such a terrible reputation into my house. Especially since we have a young daughter. I wanted to ensure my family's safety before my dog's safety. So, I began my research. I found myself becoming scared, and then I would find another site arguing the on the side of the pits comforting me. Starting with the history of The American PitBull Terrier is one that you can find anywhere, and there is not much difference. The PitBull is in fact a mixed breed, even though it is recognized by different Kennel Clubs. It was mixed between a few different types of terrier to be hunters and farm dogs. And they excelled. When coming to America, the need for them in those terms started to dwindle. People were not unaware of the APBT strength, and they used this for their own sick entertainment purposes. They started fighting these dogs, because they had no tendencies to strike their masters. This is what they are known for today. Mean dogs who will tear you up, no matter the training. But that is not true. I have had my pit for nearly a year. He was the easiest dog I have had the ability to train, and I have had quite a few different dogs in my lifetime. I know people who breed them, I know people who have rescued them. They have never been anything more than satisfied with these animals. I will discuss the myths of these creatures, trying to close on a conclusion on whether it is fact or fiction. Along with advice to train these dogs, and hopefully encouraging everyone to help try and rebrand these breeds to the Pet Bull that they are. If anyone has any comments, questions, or concerns I welcome you to this site. I do invite all sides to the spectrum on this blog, because all sides need to be seen and ethically discussed before truly being able to rebuild these reputations. Before destroying a breed of wonderful and beautiful creatures, we have to realize that it is the people training these dogs to be terrifying, its not embedded in their DNAs. Hate the Deed, Not the Breed!!

Trip, our pet bull, thinks he is a lapdog and is protective over my daughter. He is friendly and you can see his eagerness to please us. He is smart and always friendly to guests and other dogs. I didn't get lucky, I did my research, and I kept up my responsibilities; this isn't just a coincidence it is the breed. They can become a great addition to your family, just like Trip has been to ours.