Raising a Puppy: The 17th week in his new home—Spencer the Blue-Nose Brindle Pit Bull

A day in the life with Spencer the American Pit Bull Terrier puppy. Spencer's 17th week—26 weeks old, 62 pounds, 20 3/4 inches from the ground to the highest point of the shoulders (the withers).

Front side view - A blue-nose brindle Pit Bull Terrier puppy is sitting on a black top surface and he is looking forward relaxed with his head lowered.

6 months old.

Spencer with Big Brother Bruno

A blue-nose brindle Pit Bull Terrier puppy and a larger brown brindle Boxer are sitting on a blacktop surface and they are looking forward.

The Eye

The brown spot in the pup's left eye seems a tiny bit bigger. Yep, this eye just might be brown at some point.

Cat in Pet Store

Side view - The head of a blue-nose brindle Pit Bull Terrier puppy that is sitting on a tiled floor and he is looking to the left. There is a cat in the background laying on a cardboard box at a pet store.

We went back to the same pet store that has the cat up for adoption roaming free. This time when we first walked in the cat was lying in the middle of the floor. Spencer walked right by it and only looked without reacting. Later the cat was under a table and once again Spencer only looked but he did not stare the cat down or try and pull toward it at all. The cat kept a watchful eye on the pup. Good boy, Spence!

Treadmill

With all of the rain coming our way I decided to take this time to teach the pup how to walk on a treadmill. It will come in handy when winter hits.

First things first, I had to get the pup to associate the treadmill with something positive. Spencer is very cautious of new things, much more so than Bruno ever was. Spencer notices everything and seems to have a much better sense of smell, hearing and sight than his big Boxer brother. At first Spencer does not want to step up on the treadmill, but Bruno lightens the mood.

Close up - A blue-nose brindle Pit Bull Terrier puppy is sitting in a room and behind him a brown brindle Boxer is licking the side of his face.

Bruno playfully licked and bit at him. Spencer is always up for playtime. I would have used food to associate the treadmill with something positive, but Bruno kind of took care of this part for me.

A blue-nose brindle Pit Bull Terrier puppy is looking down at a treadmill and standing on the treadmill backwards is a brown brindle Boxer. The Boxers mouth is open and tongue is out.

So instead I called Bruno up on the treadmill and he showed Spencer it was nothing to be afraid of. I did not turn it on at this time. We needed to just spend sometime around it without it being on.

A blue-nose brindle Pit Bull Terrier puppy is beginning to climb on a treadmill and behind him is a brown brindle Boxer.

I called the pup up and he got up and then got right back off. This was OK. At least he stepped up on it. Time to call Bruno back up.

A blue-nose brindle Pit Bull Terrier puppy and a brown brindle Boxer are standing across a treadmill. The Boxers mouth is open and tongue is out and the pit bull is about to smell the boxers mouth.

Bruno's happy self gets up on the treadmill and Spencer picks up on his energy. I had the dogs hang out on the treadmill for a while. We practiced getting on and off.

Top down view of a blue-nose brindle Pit Bull Terrier puppy that is walking on a treadmill alongside a person.

When Spencer seemed totally comfortable being on the treadmill with it turned off I got on with him. We hung out there for a little with it off. After a bit I turned Spencer facing the direction we would have to stand when walking and turned it on one click. It started to move and I encouraged Spencer to just start walking with me and he did!

A blue-nose brindle Pit Bull Terrier puppy is walking behind a person that is walking on a treadmill.

The moving floor took some getting used to.

Spencer the very first time he walked on a treadmill. Notice how we started out slowly and increased the speed as we went. We will walk faster in time as the pup gets used to the moving floor.

Top down view of a blue-nose brindle Pit Bull Terrier puppy looking over the edge of a treadmill.

We walked for a 30 minutes. When we were finished I slowly turned it off by reducing the speed one click at a time until it stopped. We stood on it for a while so I could teach the pup that just because the treadmill stopped does not mean it is time to jump off, something that is for his own safety.

The Parade

Spencer marches in his very first parade for Amkor Karate Institutes as one of the mascots. His symbolism is to represent something powerful that possesses the right amount of discipline.

A blue-nose brindle Pit Bull Terrier puppy is standing on a blacktop surface and he is wearing a vest with a sign on the side. The sign reads - Amkor Pit Bull.

Spencer with his "Amkor Pitbull" sign.

A lady in a black jacket is tying a sign to a brown brindle Boxer. The sign reads - Amkor Boxer.

Bruno is another one of the mascots. He stands very nicely for Amie as she finishes attaching his "Amkor Boxer" sign. This is the second time Bruno has walked in the parade for Amkor Karate.

A blue-nose brindle Pit Bull Terrier puppy is sniffing the rear end of a brown and white Beagle mix dog.

As the parade gets ready to move Spencer says "hi" to Darley. I am still working on Spencer not getting overly excited when he sees his friend. The pup needs to respect other dogs and not immediately try and lick their faces to bits. He is getting better but it is still a challenge at this point. Sometimes the bigger challenge when being around other dogs is keeping the humans around the dogs calm to prevent them from creating the excitement.

A girl in black pants is holding the leash of a brown brindle Boxer that has a sign that reads - Amkor Boxer - on it.

Bruno is ready to go and is waiting for the line to form and start to move.

The back of a brown brindle Boxer that is looking at a brown and white beagle. They are walking in a street,

Bruno behind another mascot, Darley the Beagle mix. The dogs walking in the parade representing Amkor Karate all heeled very nicely, walking with a loose leash. Excellent discipline, pups! Darley is sporting her green belt and a tournament metal. :) Yes, we used Bruno's Halloween hotdog costume to attach the sign. :)

A lady in a black jacket is leading two dogs on a walk. One of the dogs is wearing a sign that reads - Amkor Pitbull.

Spencer did a very nice job. There were several fire engines a little further back in the parade line that were turning on their sirens. The truck directly behind us was honking its horn.

A blue-nose brindle Pit Bull Terrier puppy is wearing a vest and a sign that reads - Amkor Pit Bull. The dog is walking down a street next to a person pushing a stroller.

There was even a baby stroller for him to ignore, something with wheels that he was a little too excited over when he went to Knoebels Amusement park. He was now completely ignoring it.

A large amount of peopler and dogs are parading down a street.

There were people, dogs and excitement from all sides; excellent challenges for the pup to learn to ignore.

A blue-nose brindle Pit Bull Terrier puppy is sitting on a blacktop surface. He is wearing a vest and he has a sign on his side that reads - Amkor Pitbull. Next to him is a brown brindle Boxer standing on a blacktop surface. He has a sign on his side that reads - Amkor Boxer.

Spencer sits down when the line stops for a bit during the parade.

A blue-nose brindle Pit Bull Terrier puppy and a brown brindle Boxer are standing around a person in a black jacket with people in karate uniforms around them.

At the end of the parade waiting as the rest of our crowd gathers.

A blue-nose brindle Pit Bull Terrier puppy is laying in shade behind a sitting brown brindle Boxer at the edge of the shade of a tree.

Spencer and Bruno lie down. Thank goodness the parade is over because they are bending their signs all up!

A blue-nose brindle Pit Bull Terrier puppy is laying down on his right side and he is looking forward. He is wearing a sign that reads - Amkor Pitbull.

And that is it, naptime for the pup. That sign held up better than I thought it would.

Puppy No-No's

A blue-nose brindle Pit Bull Terrier puppy is standing at the edge of a wet stone porch in front of a white farm house looking forward.

That little squirt jumped up on the cat table and started to eat cat food right in front of me! "Hey! Get down!" Yesterday Amie caught Bruno up there eating cat food. Between the fox and the dogs, it's no wonder I am buying so much cat food!

Three cats are eating cat food out of a bowl on a table on a stone porch in front of a white farm house. A brown brindle Boxer and a blue-nose brindle Pit Bull Terrier puppy are looking at the cats.

"No, you beasts!" That's right dogs, I moved the benches. Now keep your big paws off the cat food table! Sorry cats, you will just have to jump a little higher!

Raising a Puppy: Spencer the Pit Bull