WC>RN> No, but then again, it may not have been available at that time.  It
WC>RN> was 20 years ago.
 
WC> On that I can offer no opinion, all I know was it was available in late
WC> 2002.
 
I believe my vet would have recommended it if available and at the same
time would have cautioned me that it was only delaying the inevitable.
 
WC> Yeah, due to certain infirmaties I've got I tried to find him a good
WC> home at age 6 however all the people I talked to about it either wanted
WC> him for the wrong reasons or were too dense to understand the rather
WC> simple requirements of keeping him a safe and reliable dog.
 
I would imagine that Pit Bulls are like Dobermans in that they are a one
owner dog.  My German shepherd would have taken to another member of the
family if anything happened to me, but she would have been practically
useless to anyone else.
 
WC> So I toughed walking him twice a day until the end.
 
I think you did the right thing.
 
WC>RN> properly, they become an extension of whoever raised them.
 
WC> Precisely RIGHT.
 
WC> One must make it clear to the animal that you are the alpha leader of the
WC> pack.  The original owner had attack trained the dog for the first two
WC> years.
 
What method did you use?  Mine was rather simple, but any owner would still
have to spend a lot of time with the dog.
 
WC> I got rid of that with myself giving the animal exactly ONE bath
WC> where I assumed alpha status.
 
I didn't try that, but would be interested in reading the details.
 
WC> After that he walked into the bath on his own after my request.
WC> Not even a harshly issued command but a simple request.
 
After leash training on a regular basis for a lengthy period, depending on
the level of smarts the dog has, you can then take them for a walk without
the leash and they will follow along as though they were tethered.
 
WC> Thereafter I simply made the dog QUICKLY respond to various commands
WC> while being walked off lead on a regular but sparce basis, say I paid
WC> attention to this perhaps ten minutes a month or less.
 
Very similar to what I did.
 
WC>RN> A lot of TLC and time must be spent with them or they will follow
WC>RN> their instincts instead of their human owner.
 
WC> Once again precisely correct.
 
WC> I saw this animal bare it's teeth and snarl precisely TWICE in its
WC> lifetime.
WC> The first when I gained alpha status giving him his bath and once again
WC> when we came across a woman with her child while I was walking him off
WC> lead as she STRUCK the child.
 
WC> Spanky had picked up on my nature and as such first sat down, then bared
WC> his teeth and snarled at the woman.
 
Most unusual in that an owner's dog could be concerned about anyone other
than its owner.  She could have sued you for harrassment.  (-:
 
WC> While she'd had her arm back to strike I'm guessing 5 Y.O. a second time
WC> she arrested striking the kid instead threatening to report my dog.
 
The LEOs would have guffawed over that complaint and then arrested her for
child abuse.
 
WC> Well my reply to that was my dog despite being off lead had done nothing
WC> wrong but express his displeasure at seeing you strike your helpless
WC> child.
 
The LEOs could have cited you for having no leash on your dog, depending on
your local laws.  Here, someone complained about a friend's dog not being
on a leash and a State Trooper ticketed her for that even though it was a
small dog and on her property bothering no one.
 
WC> Go ahead and call the police and I'll report your child abuse.
 
That was the right thing to say.
 
WC> Spanky had done nothing to be ashamed off and I was particularly
WC> impressed with his sitting down first before expressing his opinion so
WC> effectively it spared the kid another rather vicious blow.
 
Too bad you don't have a video of that incident.
 
WC> Once the woman and child had passed I sat down with the dog lavishing
WC> praise upon him for his outstanding judgement.
 
That's exactly what I would have done.
 
WC> I had the somewhat unusual experience of watching my Pit Bull beaten up
WC> by a feral CAT one day while wagging his tail.
 
I haven't seen a feral cat in ages.
 
WC> Another time a Chihuahua attacked him at the ankle and he didn't appear
WC> to notice while I doubled over in laughter knowing the tiny dog was in no
WC> danger nor was my tough skinned Pit.
 
Some humans are afraid even of a Chihuahua.  It's really silly to see
someone afraid of one of them, but then again, some people are afraid of
spiders, wasps, mice, etc.
 
WC> Another approximately ten pound dog routinely attacked Spanky by the
WC> throat, again no damage no foul but it was I once again who had
WC> to get the little dog off my animals throat.
 
Unbelievable!
 
WC> Spanky paid it no mind at all.
 
WC> On other occassions I had to DEFEND the Pit Bull from other dogs
WC> attacking him as he never once responded as was my training.
 
In my case, the teaching was to protect me or a family member first and
then herself; whichever was the immediate threat.
 
[...]
 
WC> Hey he was absolutely the most trustworthy and reliable dog I've ever had
WC> the pleasure of knowing.
 
Which made it all the more difficult to part with them.
 
WC> He could get obstinent now and again and dig his heels in on
WC> a small issue making demands of me but as the issues were small
WC> I generally aceeded to them. It gave him personality.
 
Or changed it, since it is my belief that a dog of intellect has developed
a personality by the age of six months.
 
WC> Well I never went over the top getting Spanky to be absolutely obedient
WC> as he exercised good judgement on all occassions.
WC> Getting into the trash five times excepted.
 
Still, a good dog, all things being equal.
 
WC> Roger I guess we're just both dog lovers who realize they can be
WC> incredibly loyal, obedient and trustworthy.
 
I agree.
 
WC> I used to take Spanky down to the preschool to let the kids pet him.
 
What a wondeful thing to do!
 
WC> The attendents were anything but happy the first few weeks until they
WC> understood the animal was safe and I always took the time to explain to
WC> the kids do NOT approach a similar looking dog as most are dangerous
WC> due to the wrong sort of owners
 
Man, isn't that the truth!
 
WC> I think the day the attendants accepted Spanky was the day one kid poked
WC> him right in the eye.
 
WC> Spanky's response to that was to back away two feet for about 15 seconds
WC> then come back for some more attention from the SAME kid!
 
Either a very smart dog or a glutton for punishment.  Maybe he was backing
up to assess the damage done to him and then realized he wasn't really
hurt.  In any case, what that kid did was a very stupid thing.  I would
have asked him how he would like being poked in his eye.
 
WC> Well now, this is the FIRST time since I lost him in 06
WC> I've not broken down into tears describing him and now just barely.
 
It's really a strange thing how we will miss a pet more than a relative. 
That may seem like a cold thing to state, but it nevertheless is true.
 
WC> I could NEVER want nor desire to replace him with another dog and it
WC> would not would it be fair of me to do so as I'd expect the same
WC> degree of perfection I felt I had with Spanky.
 
I haven't replaced my shepherd, but at the present time I am taking care of
my daughter's three dogs and one cat.
 
WC> As a final note as far as I can tell there's absolutely no difference
WC> between Pit Bulls and other breeds of dog except humans bred them to
WC> be incredibly TOUGH in the extreme and that any dog (and owner) greatly
WC> benefits from the proper sort of training.
 
Amen to that.
 
WC> A very intelligent breed though.
WC> His command for crossing the street was "Spanky, cross the street."
 
Mine wouldn't cross the street unless I did.
 
WC> The single most annoying thing was Spanky's habit of looking at me
WC> like I was some sort of retard when I didn't immediately understand what
WC> he wanted via making eye contact.
 
LOL!
 
WC> OTOH his understanding of English astonished me on numerous occassion
WC> when he complied to my requests I'd never trained him to!
 
They really understand complex things taught them at an early age and
though it may seem like they understand English, the things they really
know are their names and the things repetitively taught.  Everything else
sounds like "Blah, blah, blah" to them, voice decibels
notwithstanding.
 
WC> An out of control Chihuahua is hardly a threat.
WC> An out of control Pit Bull can maim or kill with relative ease.
 
That is true, too.
 
WC> Mine presented a good deal less of a threat than a Chihuahua :-)
 
Not to someone who didn't know the level of training your Spanky had.  They
would still be afraid.
 
Something I've mentioned to Roy and Bob at one time or another is to place
your wife/girlfriend and your dog in the trunk of your car for half an hour
and see who is glad to see you when you open the trunk lid.  (-:
 
 
Regards,
 
Roger

... Well, it was only plan A; plan B is much more interesting.  Really.
--- D'Bridge 3.54