Raising a Puppy: Mia the Blue-Nose American Bully Pit—35 weeks old

A day in the life with Mia the American Bully (Bully Pit) puppy. 35 weeks old, 62 pounds, 18 1/2 inches from the ground to the highest point of the shoulders (the withers).

A wide chested, big headed, blue nose American Bully Pit is sitting on a blacktop surface and she is looking forward. Her mouth is open and it looks like she is smiling.

35 weeks old (8 months)

Gate Manners

A blue nose Pit Bull Terrier, A blue nose American Bully Pit and a brown with black and white Boxer are standing in grass and they are all looking forward in front of an open gate. There mouths are open and tongues are out.

More entrance and exit way practice. I opened both sides of the double gate as wide as they go and backed up. "Stay". I can't say Mia didn't think about just going through anyway, because she did try to slowly move forward. She did listened when I reminded her she was not yet invited through the gate. Bruno and Spencer helped by setting a very good example. Mia has a bully-headed type of brain. She's like a little bulldozer. For example if Bruno or Spencer are under the kitchen table and wish to come out, but there are legs and chairs in the way they just stay under there waiting for someone to move over for them. Mia on the other hand just pushes her head into whatever is in her way. It is common to be at the table and see a chair suddenly move as she pushes her way back out. Had she been a male dog, Dozer would have been a very fitting name for her.

The Ears

A blue nose American Bully Pit is sitting on a blacktop surface. Her mouth is open and it looks like she is smiling.

Mia appears to have muscles in her ears that she is able to control. Lately she has been holding her left ear straight up in a perk position when she is alert.

A blue nose American Bully Pit is sitting on a tiled floor and she is looking forward.

If she rocks her head back a little bit sometimes the right ear will stand up as well. Yet other times she brings the ear back down to a drop position. She is also able to hold both of her ears back along side her head.

A blue nose American Bully Pit is laying on a hardwood floor and she is looking forward. Her mouth is open and tongue is out and her ears are perked straight up.

I am thinking in time both of those ears are going to stand straight up more than they will drop over, especially when she is alert.

Copy-Puppy

A blue nose Pit Bull Terrier and a blue nose American Bully Pit are laying on a dog bed in the middle section of a mini van that has the seats removed and looking forward. The Bully has one ear up and one ear down.

After a walk I put the dogs into the van where they all lay down ready for a nap. Mia was a couple of feet behind Spencer when she lifted her head and looked at him, then army crawled her bully body right up to his face, where she proceeded to mock his resting pose.

Housebreaking

A blue nose American Bully Pit is walking across a black top surface with grass behind her.

Mia is very good at alerting us that she needs to go outside to do her business. She seems to have gotten a tad lazy however. Do you see those lines in the driveway? No they are not shadows. The little squirt has been walking over to the edge so that her front paws are in the grass, however her back end is still on the pavement. She squats and pees and with the slight slant of elevation, it runs down the hill rather than soaking into the grass. I have not made an effort to change this yet, but plan to use sweet talk to encourage her to walk just a tad further into the grass. She's been catching me off guard with the sudden premature squat and once she is peeing I absolutely do not want to confuse her by telling her no or interrupting her business by calling her away from it. She's still peeing outside, just a few inches away from the preferred place. I'll have to pay attention and call her further into the grass with a "Good Girl, Mimi" when she goes. When dealing with a dog you need both positive training and corrections to create the perfect balance. It is the humans job to decide what situation fits with what style of training in a logical manner. People make mistakes when they train dogs solely based on human emotions, as real life calls for both.

Playing at the Beach

Mia's eyes may not be as good as some other dogs, but her nose is excellent and she uses it all of the time. Watch her dig in the sand and then sniff around to find some beach treasures.

At the Store

A blue nose American Bully Pit and a brown with black and white Boxer are standing in a pet store and waiting. Across from them a blue nose American Bully Pit is laying on a paw print mat and she is licking a dog bone on a shelf. There is a shopping cart in front of her.

In the check out line, Bruno and Spencer wait calmly as they peer around the corner to watch a customer walk into the store, as Mia army crawls over to the bones to see if she can get a few licks in when no one is paying attention. "Leave it Mimi".

Toy Killer

At our recent trip to the pet store we received a free stuffed dinosaur toy with a honking squeaker that Mia loved. It took her about 20 minutes to kill the squeaker and about 30 minutes to kill the toy, pulling out all of the stuffing. Before picking up the mess I decide to have a heart to heart talk with her. With her being a dog and all, she only pretends to be listening. What she really wants is the bowl of cereal I am holding in my hand.

Puppy No-Nos

Close up - A blue nose American Bully Pit is laying on a green orthopedic dog bed pillow and there is chewed up paper towel pieces around her.

Napping with the evidence, Mia the papertowel thief.

Raising a Puppy: A day in the life with Mia the Blue-Nose American Bully