mydogroxy

i agree that maybe this person is totally ignorant about the state of over population of animals in the u.s. and probably knows very little about the nature of dogs in general. BUT the fact is, she has two dogs but cannot provide vet care. if you do not have the means to take care of an animal you shouldn't have one. what would happen if one of the dogs got hit by a car? if she can't take them to the vet are they even vaccinated? i do think this person is ignorant, which is nothing to scoff at, everyone's ignorant until they're educated. but i simply have no tolerance for someone who has such disregard for their animals. (and i still love everyone at dogo :D )

when i say people are being supportive i don't mean in a "hey good job on those pups!" kind of way. i DO think that the tone of many of these posts are entirely too forgiving. i understand that no one wants to scare her away so that she may be educated, but her behavior is not acceptable.

anyone who believes that dog aggression is not a natural trait of pit bulls or that it can be trained out, obviously knows nothing about the breed. it's those people who believe that any pit bull can be trained to get along with other dogs who eventually wind up in sticky situations, not responsible owners.

roxy stopped eating her wellness, but every once and a while she'll woolf it down like it's the best meal ever. beats me though.

hi! i do intend to be rude...you are an idiot. i cannot believe that post, i can only hope it is some sort of sick joke. if you cannot afford to take your dog to the vet, you should not have a dog in the first place, nevermind breeding (whether it was an accident or not). there are thousands of abpts in u.s. shelters, most of which will die there. THANK YOU FOR ADDING TO THE PROBLEM. do your dogs a favor and find them a responsible owner. to some of the dogo posters in this thread: it appalls me that you are being so supportive of this person. if you are going to take a stand against byb's and preach the plight of the shelter dog, then back up your stance.

this kind of crap makes me thoroughly enraged! what kind of a person makes someone give up their own pet so they can get one? i hate how people think animals are disposable. would she make him give up a child if she were to get pregnant? i bet not. i'm so disgusted. (some motels do allow pets to stay with them. perhaps during they stay she could be a "staffy" or a "ridgeback"....most people wouldn't know a pit bull if it walked right past them)

well congrats! they are beautiful aren't they? lucky me gets to live with one every single day! :D

i'm actually watching it right now. these people are nuts! :roll: (by the way the guy in the beginning has an american bulldog not an apbt)

roxy doesn't actually ingest the paper, but she does love to chew it up and thoughtfully place it around the house.

you're making unsubstantiated statements. and though i appreciate the compassion behind them, i don't think jumping to conclusions helps. there is such a thing as a bad dog. are most of the dogs considered bad products of neglect and abuse? there's no doubt in my mind, but i do believe that there are dogs born with behavioral issues. i'm not saying this dog wasn't abused or that it was, or that it was born "bad" or even that it was bad. the fact is we don't know this dog's history or anything about the dog at all. it's fine to be angry about the situation, bsl is rediculous and they're using this poor dog as an excuse, but pointing fingers without having anything to back it up does nothing.

i understand the sentiment of all the posts here. it is horrible that both dogs went through what they did. BUT there is nothing indicating that the mother dog was mistreated. she attacked another dog, which is dog aggression, a normal trait of pit bulls. she must have been quite aggressive to go through all that trouble to get to her pup, but that doesn't necessarily mean she was mistreated.

rowie, roxy's been eating natural balance dog food rolls for a little bit now, before that she was on wellness. i can say that she absolutely loves the natural balance. buuut, her overall condition was better on the wellness. don't get me wrong, she's doing quite well, but she had less gas and a better coat on the wellness. two foods that i've been looking into are nature's variety and abady allstar.

your dog hasn't been taken to the vet, why?

what's sad is people are going to buy this tape, think they're pit is going to be non-aggressive, and possibly get into some unpleasant situations. if people are looking for a dog that is going to be non-aggressive, they shouldn't get a pit in the first place. sure you may end up with one that isn't, but there's nooo garuntee.

first of all, i want to thank everyone for their opinions and comments. for now, we've decided to keep working with roxy and her issues. we've spoken to our vet who has spoken with a behaviorist she is friendly with, about roxy. with the limited information the vet was able to give her, the behaviorist says that it sounds like fear aggression as a result of abuse and NOT poor temperment as a result of poor breeding. we realize that euthanasia may very well be in roxy's future, but we are going to try to work with her for now. on monday we're going to the aspca to inquire about their programs (the have an entire behavior center there) and to meet a prospective new member of our family...i'll keep everyone posted.

i had similar problems on wellness. roxy was never fond of it and eventually she would not eat it if her life depended on it. i tried adding gravy, warm water, chicken broth, egg, and a bunch of other stuff that didn't help.

yes, we're going to try everything we can to fix the situation. if her behavior continues to worsen though, i'm afraid we're going to have to make a tough decision.

thanks for the responses everyone. i just want to respond to a few things said here... [color=darkred]Has she been to dog training?[/color] no, she has not been to formal dog training classes. i work with her everyday on obedience though. however i know this is not the same as a class environment. [color=darkred]I suggest you report her breeders to authoritys so you can save other maybe less responsible people from the problems you are having, as well as saving the dogs that are already there. [/color] the aspca was already notified (by someone else) of the situation, but his dogs are in good condition so no action was taken. [color=darkred]Don't use a shock collar or any painful or scary training techniques[/color] i would never, of course! [color=darkred] I am just wondering what kind of set up you have for roxy[/color] roxy is entirely an inside dog. she rarely spends any time unsupervised outside, as our neighbor also has aggressive dogs. she gets walked on average for about an hour a day, plus indoor games.[/quote]

i have not mentioned too much of roxy's behavioral problems on this board. i usually save them for another board i visit, strictly for pit bulls and such. but i feel i need honest opinions from this board now. here goes... we brought roxy home in february. the breeder we bought her from was NOT a good breeder, but at the time we were concerned with removing her from the situation. i later found out that the situation was worse than we thought. the breeder is a dog fighter (he had about 5 dogs chained in his yard). we bought her at 3 months and it was the first time she was outside. now, i know i brought a problem dog on myself, but i honestly did not think that at 3 months she could have endured irreparable damage. we noticed immediately that roxy had issues with men and especially children. she cannot be immediately approached by anyone. she has to approach first and then all is ok. she has snapped at two people, but did not try to bite. it was more like a warning to leave her alone. she has gotten increasingly better with men and adults in general, but her fear of children is much worse. today, a kid who she was previoiusly on good terms with, tried to approach her. when he was still about 5 feet away she started lunging, growling, and barking. it has gotten to the point that i have to walk her late at night (11pm usually), so that she doesn't go wild over something and scare people. i am really looking toward euthanasia at this point. she is an amazing dog, except for these issues. she is extremely smart but despite working on it, her aggression has gotten worse. i don't know if i can put her or anyone else at risk. and i feel like because of her breed (apbt) there is added risk, due to her poor temperment. any opinions would be appreciated.

ferky, wellness is a great kibble. as soon as i switched roxy over to it (from eukaneuba) i noticed a wonderful change. she's just not crazy about it. i put down the food and she often sniffs it and walks away. if i leave it out she'll eventually eat most of it, but i'd rather not free feed. i'd rather know how much she's eating and when. i'd say if your dog likes the kibble, then stick with it. if not, petco carries natural balance. (by the way, i haven't switcher her over completely yet, since i heard that the rolls are high in sugar, so more research is in order!)

alright, well i guess i'm going to be the party pooper! i do think that children who don't have pets growing up miss out on a lot, but i don't think that pet always has to be a dog. i grew up with tons of animals in my house but didn't have a dog until now (i'm 20). we had cats, rabbits, hamsters, guinea pigs, snakes, lizards, frogs, and fish (still have 4 cats). i really don't think i've missed out on anything by not having a dog until now. i might even go so far as to say that some people who've always had dogs take them for granted. a lot of people think that i spend way to much time on my dog, but they're crazy! it is sad though when people don't like dogs or are afraid of dogs for whatever reason. i have a neighbor who told me she didn't trust roxy (abpt) because she was once bitten by a german shepard. :o and my sister-in-law is so afraid of dogs she actually burst into tears at a family gathering when ginger the boxer gave her a big ol' kiss!!!

although, i'm interested in a raw diet, it's just not going to happen any time soon. besides my fiance not being too keen on the idea, i am no nutritionist and would be worried about her recieving everything she needs. i'd rather feed her high quality food, where i know she's eating well and don't have to worry.

i've been supplementing roxy's food with natural balance dog food rolls and she absolutely loves them! but i've read that they may have too much sugar to use as straight feed (natural balance maintains that you can feed the rolls alone). my question is what are the effects of too much sugar intake and would a diet made up of natural balance rolls supplemented with occassional veggies, eggs, and other "natural" foods be acceptable? roxy is such a picky eater and it pains me to see her turn away from her food. she will literally go for days without eating unles i supplement it with something or hand feed it to her. incidentally, her usual treats consist of meat products (pigs ears, freeze dried liver, etc) so there would be no additional sugar in her diet from treats.

i am not a big fan of flexis either. i've never used one with roxy since we live in a highly populated city environment and there are just too many variables for me to feel safe. her leash manners are also a work in progress. if i lived in a less populated area i might consider them though. a neighbor of mine walks his two HIGHLY aggressive american bulldogs on flexis (if they're even leashed at all) and i am always nervous when i see them out.

yes, the rolls can be fed exclusively. i've decided though, that we can't do that with roxy. she eats so much already it would put me in the poor house!