Tuckered out from a long week.
Last Saturday, Francis, my mother, and I all went on our first “pack walk.” A pack walk is exactly what it sounds like – a bunch of dogs, in a pack, walking together. Through Meetup.com, I found the Positive Pittie Pack Walk, a meetup group in Hoboken/Jersey City that has a pack walk each weekend, oscillating between a nearby locale and a hike. Continue reading
As the children were leaving Hayley’s side, a new little girl approached with her mom in tow and asked if she, too, could pet my dog.
I said, “Of course,” and the little girl began stroking Hayley’s head as I exchanged smiles with her mom.
After a moment, the mom asked, “What kind of dog is she?”
I happily replied, “She’s a pit bull.”
In an instant, her smile transformed into a shocked grimace and she quickly yanked her daughter away from Hayley. Her daughter’s questioning of why she was being taken away from this nice dog went unanswered as the pair backpedaled away.
From “Why I care about pit bulls” via Jersey Dog (and written by Francis’ wonderful dog trainer)
Recently, when I was walking into my building after taking Francis out, a little girl asked me if he was a pit bull. I responded by saying he was a pit mix. Immediately, she started yelling, “Oh my god, it’s a pit bull! It’s a pit bull!” and ran away. Francis, of course, had no idea what was going on, but I felt sad for both the dog (hey, he wanted a new friend) and the girl (she was so scared).
Then, last week, a swarm of children at the park came up and asked if they could pet Francis. All five of them were petting him at the same time and he sat politely, albeit giving a few hugs. I don’t think the media perception is changing, but it’s heartwarming to have these positive experiences in contrast to these negative ones. (At that young girl’s age — she couldn’t have been more than 6 — I don’t remember knowing the difference between any type of dog, let alone whether or not to be scared of a pit bull or Rottweiler and so on.) But I have to say, now that I’ve had a pit mix, I can’t imagine having any other type of dog.
Francis has really bad separation anxiety. When I first got him, I couldn’t have him in my apartment at the time (long story that I’m still cranky about), so he lived with my mother, who patiently trained him out of his separation anxiety. Now that Francis is my sole roommate, and I his, we’re working on his separation anxiety again. Previously, I think I was underestimating how much he’d become attached to me. He overcame separation anxiety once, he can do it again, right?
Well, separation anxiety isn’t quite like riding a bike. While his previous anxiety was likely caused by his abandonment, I realized that I need to look at this as a whole new round of anxiety. Kind of like getting over the flu, only to catch a stomach bug the next week. You’re still sick, but it’s different this time. Continue reading
I love this pamphlet on “Reading Canine Body Postures” from the ASPCA. Such useful information to help better understand how your dog communicates. Via StubbyDog.
We took a trip to Asbury Park so Francis could romp on the beach before the season started. He tried to look tough in this picture, even though he jumped out of his seat in the car because an unfamiliar water bottle was rolling around on the floor and scared him. Highlight: trying to chase seagulls while they were already in the air.
