Thursday, October 27, 2011

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!



XOXO TRIP and Family

Monday, October 24, 2011

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!! :)

Tuesday, October 18, 2011

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?

Thursday, October 13, 2011

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!

Monday, October 10, 2011

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.

Thursday, October 6, 2011

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.