Raising a Puppy: Mia the Blue-Nose American Bully Pit—38 weeks old
A day in the life with Mia the American Bully (Bully Pit) puppy. 38 weeks old, 67 pounds, 18 1/2 inches from the ground to the highest point of the shoulders (the withers).
A day in the life with Mia the American Bully (Bully Pit) puppy. 38 weeks old, 67 pounds, 18 1/2 inches from the ground to the highest point of the shoulders (the withers).
38 weeks old (9 months)
Last week I had noticed Mia getting a little more pushy. She had started harassing Spencer the American Pit Bull Terrier, biting the base of his tail, knowing he didn't like it. The entire family did a great job keeping an eye out for unwanted behaviors including bone and toy stealing, correcting her the second we noticed she was thinking about doing the bad deed. After the entire family had started paying more attention to following our own rules with the dogs and asking her for more respect, Mia is even more well behaved then ever. I considered her very good before, but now I can see her even more respectful. We need to be very consistent with Mia, because like all dogs, her behavior is a direct reflection of the humans around her and since Mia is an alpha-type she will forever keep us on our toes. We get back 10-times what we put into her. Her personality has us laughing on a daily basis and her temperment is awesome.
Packing dog food for a road trip. Two blue-nose babies are respectfully hoping to get lucky.
Mia likes to be close to her pack, humans included.
Mia's breeder, Lou from Dazzling Bullies Kennels came to visit Mia with Laura and little Amyah. Lou says he is amazed and very pleased at how well Mia turned out. From the minute Mia was born it was apparent she was the queen-bee of the litter, the ruler, the alpha pup who wanted to make all the calls and didn't hesitate to let everyone know. Mia is living proof that even the most alpha dogs can be just as balanced and trustworthy as the middle and end of the line dogs.
As usual Mia had an attraction to the child. She liked to follow her around, sitting next to her whenever she got the chance. Mia has been pushy with other dogs and adult humans in the past, but she has never been pushy with small children. She does not jump or knock into them. When she gets close she sits down next to them. Her gentleness with small kids seems to come naturally.
Mia had to be reminded a few times not to play with the horses swinging tail. Mia trust me on this one. You might be able to take on the wood burning stove, but you don't want to take on a horse! One backwards kick from the horse could do you in and you would not even see it coming!
Mia watches Amyah feed the goats.
Sugar the cat, Laura, Amyah, Mia, Bruno the Boxer with goats, Peter, Mary-Sue and Billy-Bob.
Mia watches Amyah on the tire swing.
Mia sniffs the air, most likely catching the childs scent as she swings on the tire.
Mia shows off her Yuppy-Puppy Treat Machine skills as Bruno the Boxer and Spencer the Pit Bull wait patiently for their turn.
The next day Mia plays with another little kid. "Mia, why did you dig this hole? Your nose is all brown."
After Mia gets questioned about her hole-digging intentions, she sits down while the humans play with their slinkys.
I had just given all of the dogs a brand new smoked bone from the butchers. Bruno was on the dog bed, Spencer was in the middle of the room laying down and Mia was near my computer desk in the red dog bed. I walked out of the room to use the bathroom and when I came back Bruno was still in the exact spot chewing the bone I had given him. Spencer was still laying in the exact same spot, too but he didn't have a bone in front of him. Mia was near the front door chewing a bone. I noticed Mia's original bone was still in the red bed. You little punk, Mia. You walked over and took Spencer's bone while I was in the bathroom. The deed was already done. I could not correct Mia for taking Spencer's bone and successfully have her understand the point. To do so would only creat a skittish, confused dog. So I picked up the bone in the red dog bed and gave it to Spencer, and waited. Spencer carried his bone to the green bed and began to chew it next to Bruno.
After a few minutes Mia walked from the front door where she was chewing the stolen bone to the red dog bed. She stared at the spot her original bone once lay. She then looked over at Spencer and sat down still looking in his direction. "No-no, Mia." Mia looked at me.
A minute later I noticed she had walked over closer to Spencer and was staring at him. Apparently my "no-no" was not convincing. Time to step it up a knotch.
I stood up and took a step in Mia's direction. She looked over at me, wagged her tail, lowered her head and walked away from him. No words were spoken, but she knew Mama was enforcing the "No Bone Stealing" rule and my eyes were on her.
Mia walked back over to the bone she had originally stolen from Spencer and carried it to the red bed to chew. At this point she was not thinking of that bone as one she stole. Dogs live in the moment and at that moment that was the bone she was allowed to chew on. It was not that she liked one bone more than the other, she just liked the idea of Spencer not having a bone. She also however, respects me as a pack leader enough to give up on her urge to be the alpha dog. I didn't have to touch her in any way or raise my voice. I only had to look at her and take a step in her direction. That shows a high level of not only communication, but respect between us.
Mia will always have an urge to rule the weaker-minded dogs. She will always need a stronger-minded human to remind her that she does not make the rules in this pack.
On one of our walks Mia found a box turtle. It was peeking its little head out of its shell. Mia will pounce on a bug, but this thing must have been projecting strong, stable energy because Mia was not even considering challenging or playing with it. Mia was curious, but respectful of the box turtles space.
Mia seems to be taking after her big brother Bruno the Boxer when it comes to getting stuck around poles while on a leash. Spencer the American Pit Bull Terrier is the only one who is smart enough to not only get out of, but avoid getting wrapped around a pole.
I had laid a clean throw rug over the dog bed on the porch because Spencer decided he didn't like laying on the bed anymore. Spencer is picky about where he lays down and apparently the bed must need to be washed, however I cannot wash that type of bed. The rug was a cheaper solution than buying a new dog bed. I had walked outside to find Mia chewing on the rug, but by the time it registered in my head what she had been doing Mia was not chewing anymore. It was too late to make her understand that chewing the rug was off limits.
As I checked out the damage Mia licked my hand. You little punk. Look what you did.
Mia lay her head down on the rug. She had no idea chewing the rug was bad, but I had to wait to catch her actually chewing on it before she would understand the act of chewing was bad. Otherwise I would just teach her the "rug was bad". The "rug" is not bad. "Chewing" on the rug is bad. There is a difference...
The next day I sat on the step and waited for her to chew the rug. She picked that green clump of previously chewed rug up in her mouth and I made an "Aaattttt" sound and she spit it out. I am not sure if that communication was enough. Time will tell. Poor rug's life is on the line here. Does the dog understand? You can sleep on the rug, but you cannot chew it up. The rug is not bad. Chewing the rug is bad.
Raising a Puppy: A day in the life with Mia the Blue-Nose American Bully