We just got a new dog last night. She is a bull mix. She is about 3 months old. We haven't named her yet so any suggestions would be good. She is briddle color and very sweet. I think the people who we got her from has started house training her because she was inside all night and never peed or pooed in the house. They just called her fat girl and I dont like that name. She is not leash trained. Does anyone know the best way to start leash training? The man we got her from said that the original owner of the mother was going to kill the puppies after they were born. He was going to hit them all (she had 12) over the head with a hammer. He has given away all of them but one and we are trying to help him find a home for him too. Anyway he took the mother and her babies and took care of them. The mom is beautiful. She is American bull. Anyway enough rambling. I am just so glad that my husband has a dog. He loves them and has wanted one for a while now so he is very happy about it.

By Dawnk777 on Thursday, May 19, 2005 - 03:19 pm:

Awww, now we have to have pictures. (How can someone be so mean?)

By Cocoabutter on Thursday, May 19, 2005 - 03:37 pm:

What's briddle color?

Does she respond to fat girl? Maybe find something nicer that rhymes?

Pictures would help!

There is something mentally wrong with someone who would be so barbaric as to murder innocent puppies with a hammer. Did anyone turn him in?

By Latonya on Thursday, May 19, 2005 - 04:01 pm:

I will get pics soon. My dh has decided to name her either Athena or Hera. Brindle (sorry for the misspelling) is brown with black stripes. No she doesn't respond to fat girl so I knew it would be easy to change her name. I am still in shock that someone could think about doing something like that let alone actually doing it. I am so glad the other man took them. she has a good home now and we are trying to help with the other one but we cant take him too. We already have 2 birds, a bunch of fish and 5 kids, and now a dog. I don't need anything else totake care of.

By Karen~moderator on Thursday, May 19, 2005 - 06:14 pm:

Definitely want to see pics! If you need help, send them to me! LOL

By Latonya on Friday, May 20, 2005 - 07:44 am:

My dh decided to name her Baby Girl!! That's better than Fat Girl!!

By Ginny~moderator on Friday, May 20, 2005 - 10:24 am:

My son often calls our 110# Sascha baby girl, and she just grins and wags her stump of a tail.

Bull mixes are usually very fine dogs, fairly easily trained, and protective. You do have to watch the protectiveness, though, as if she behaves at all aggressively around strangers or scaredy cats, someone is going to holler "pit bull". And, with so many kids, you and dh may want to do what another member here did with her dogs and from the beginning, put your hands in the food dish when you feed her so that she learns very quickly that people around her food is OK and not a danger to her meal.

If you don't have a free or cheap dog-training program near you, I will ask my son for some internet sites or training guides. You have to be careful, as some of the training stuff you will find on the internet may be not particularly good. Also, check with your vet's office about dog training programs(which you should do anyhow, as Baby Girl should get a checkup and if she hasn't had her shots should be getting them, plus it is time to get a blood test and begin heart-worm pills and flea/tick protection).(In fact, given that you are in Florida, you probably want to do heart-worm protection and fea/tick/mosquito protection year round. My son lost his last dog to Lyme Disease - tick carried - and it was heart breaking.)

By Latonya on Friday, May 20, 2005 - 11:13 am:

Ginny,
Yes I am planning for all the vet stuff. I would very much appreciate it if you ask your son about some good websites. She seems to be very good with the kids. She likes to lick Christopher and he doesn't like it. She is pretty hyper and seems to already be house trained. She stays inside except when my dh takes her out and sher has not had an accident in the house yet. She was never put on a leash so my dh is trying to lease train her. The first time he put it on her she about had a fit but she is getting more used to it. I think she will be a great dog for the dk especially the boys as she has enough energy to wear them out. SHe has been wormed but I don't know about her shots so we have to make an appointment with the vet to have all that done.
I lost a dog when I was a kid to parvo and that was terrible. She was so sick and in so much pain and my mom didn't have the money to take her to the vet to have her put to sleep so my neighbor did it for me because he said he could not stand to see her hurt like that and me to cry so much seeing her in pain. I never want to see that again.

By Ginny~moderator on Friday, May 20, 2005 - 12:36 pm:

Latonya, while you are training the dog, you will also have to train your children. They should not make sudden moves with the dog until you, she and they are all comfortable, should not play rough with her until she is full grown, and know the warning signs (rumbles in the throat, hackles - hair on the back of the neck - raising, etc.) when a dog is upset and feeling anxious. Sometimes kids think it is play to snatch a favorite toy from a dog, and the dog gets protective. So it is important for your kids to be respectful of the dog's "space". When they get to know each other, she will probably tumble on the floor with them and play "snatch the toy" just as Scott's Rottie does with him, but she has to feel comfortable first, and changing households is bound to make her a bit uneasy.

I have asked Scott for website/book guidance by e-mail. He is out most of the weekend so I may not get a good answer until Sunday evening.

By Ginny~moderator on Friday, May 20, 2005 - 02:05 pm:

One thing Scott said is that he recommends the Halti or Promise head-leash for tuggy dogs. This is a leash that slips over the head and around the muzzle, and the pulling part is on the muzzle. I remember he used this with Kayla, his most Keeshond, who was a very tuggy dog, and it worked like a charm very quickly. Scott does NOT like choke or chain collars, feeling that you run the risk of injury to the larynx or neck with those collars. The head-leash works so well because you are tugging the dog's head in the direction you want it to go. Here are a couple of web sites:
http://home.att.net/~vlea/THE_HALTER_FOR_DOGS.htm

http://www.mauihumane.org/pam202.htm

http://www.greensboro.com/arfp/head_collars.htm

http://www.pets.ca/articles/article-doghalter.htm

Once Kayla was well trained and no longer pulled on the leash, Scott went to a standard nylon collar leash for her.

One think that was recommended in an Iams article which has a link much too long to include here when you are just starting on leash-training is to put the collar and leash (not head collar, but regular nylon collar) on her just before you feed her and let her wear the leash while she is eating, to associate it with good things.

By Latonya on Monday, May 23, 2005 - 10:28 am:

Thanks a lot!! We are working with her. She done really good about going potty outside until Saturday and then she started going in the house a lot! She doesn't want to go outside and when I try to take her out she just runs back toward the house. When DH takes her out she seems to do better but he has been sick all wekkend and me and DS has had to do it. I dont know if it is because she is used to him doing it or if she doesnt care for me or what but I am trying to figure it out because DH cant always take her out. She has to learn to go out with other family members.