Sometimes I really hate people

[Miles]

Ever meet that person who has more money then brains? Well I met their ring leader today. Today I go out to work this guys aggressive pitbull. He tells me how he has not only dog aggression but human aggression as well. I drive the 90 minutes to his house and expect to find your prototypical pittie. Instead I run into this monster who decides to lunge at me.

http://i42.photobucket.com/albums/e319/mileab/Pittie.jpg

This pup is only 11 months old and weighs in at almost 100lbs. After I excuse myself to go change my shorts I sit down to talk with this guy. I find out that he spent $13,000 on this dog. Yes that's right $13,000. I couldn't freaking believe it. I tired to explain to this guy that he doesn't own a pitbull but he owns a pigpull. I tried to explain the breed standard and how they are polluting the breed with different blood lines and that he actually has a mixed breed dog not a true APBT ( American Pit Bull Terrier ). Of course since he spent $13k on the dog it made him the expert on the breed. I guess being a bully breed advocate with extensive knowledge about pitties and staffies doesn't mean shit to him. Hell what do I know anyways. My 3 bullies were rescues that cost me less the $300 total and yet I am the moron. 2 hours after I got there and talked with the guy and worked his dog I walked out with $450 and he wants me to come back out tomorrow and spend 4-6 hours with this monster. At $225 an hour for aggression issues I don't have a problem going back to help the dog. Just hope I don't have to talk to the owner again.

[Elvtin]

wooooooooah!@#
That dog is built like a rhino!@ wth!

[Allison]

Wait a minute. He paid $13,000 ... just to purchase the dog?

I don't know much about the price of such dogs, but that sounds crazy!

[Noleader]

I am selling a bridge... see if you can hook up the deal for me Miles :D

[Morety]

The guy paid $13k and doesn't even know if it's real or not.

Yeah, more money than brains.

[Ivyrielle]

I spent 30 seconds on google to offer myself visual proof that you're right and he's an idiot.

[Miles]

An APBT with a championship pedigree normally costs $1500-2000 per puppy and that is on the high end. Those dogs however are used as show dogs not as pets. Certified breeders of show dogs charge closer to $1000 average but if they have a dog that is not show quality they let them go for about $500. Since there are so many backyard breeders for this dog you can get them as cheap as $150 but 99% of them are inbred and unstable.

The breed standard is 35-55lbs. This moron bought a mutant cross bred bully that I can guarantee has Razor and probably Gotti bloodlines in it. These breeders pass off these dogs as Pit Bull Terriers when they have been crossbred with Mastiffs, Bulldogs and Presa's to establish those bloodlines. 13 grand for a status symbol? Christ I didn't even pay 1/2 that for my used car.

[Figtoria]

People with money will pay really stupid ass amounts for a dog. They don't know any better. I've seen it many times. They get taken because they don't realize what the market really is, or get taken in by the patter of some breeder/salesman.

I consider myself an expert on dogs and dog training. One of my English Bull Terriers was #1 Obedience BT in Canada for two years in a row. I've been training/breeding dogs for 25 years. Hell, I ran training classes for years. But about 10 years ago I stopped helping people with their dogs because people don't really listen. They just keep going along and making the same stupid mistakes and interpreting their dogs behavior anthropomorphically.

You can explain to people until you are blue in the face that dogs love their little "dog kennels" (crates) because they're a den animal and like to feel cozy. What you'll hear back is "they're cruel, because they're cages". Guh. People just believe what they want to and disregard whatever doesn't fit in with their pre-existing view of dogs. I just don't care to bang my head against that wall anymore. At Thanksgiving my sister in law's Jack Russell cross peed all over the floor every time guests arrived. "What should I do?" She wailed at me. I told her 5 years ago what to do about that problem, but she didn't listen, so I just smiled and said, "I dunno".

Good luck Miles. You'll need it. :)

[Allison]

OMG, Figgy ... so when I'm going on and on about my bad bad dogs, you're sitting and quietly judging me??

[Figtoria]

Hehehehe - no, I told you, I don't even BOTHER.

I just think, "Oh, that Morety is soooooooo cute! Ailia is just MEAN for thinking he's naughty!"

Oh wait, that is quietly judging...

Nm

:cheese:

[Golmacmourna]

Ok, first off, let's turn this into a cute puppy thread:http://www.labradoodle.co.nz/Doodle%20bug%20with%20border%20(450%20x%20485).jpg

Second off, a friend of mine had their dog sent to obedience school (or went with--I don't know how it works), and the dog is now trained to think of sitting quietly and waiting to eat a treat as an activity they're doing with the owner (I think someone called it 'ring of fire?'), whereas, after the activity is over and you actually want to deal with the dog, the dog thinks that's when you're not doing something together, since there's no treat reward waiting.

Is that the standard way to train dogs now? It seems like it sets up backwards expectations--sure, it works in terms of getting the dog to do something at a given moment, but it doesn't set up a pattern of behavior for living with the dog.

[Bohdan]

Ooh, another dog person. Here is the link to the kennel that my mother started and I now help run. We don't breed very often these days. One litter every year or two is about right.

www.cockatricedanes.com (http://www.cockatricedanes.com)

Boh

[Allison]

Ok, first off, let's turn this into a cute puppy thread:

You want cute? I'll give you cute!!

[Miles]

You want cute? I'll give you cute!!

Where is the rest of him?

here is one of my boys at 6 weeks

http://i42.photobucket.com/albums/e319/mileab/SugarRay6weeks.jpg

and again at 10 weeks

http://i42.photobucket.com/albums/e319/mileab/DSCN0325.jpg

He is 10 months now

http://i42.photobucket.com/albums/e319/mileab/Picture003-1-1.jpg

Gonna get that stick

http://i42.photobucket.com/albums/e319/mileab/DSCN0384.jpg


My gang on 3-02-08

http://i42.photobucket.com/albums/e319/mileab/DSCN0335.jpg

and today 10-28-08

http://i42.photobucket.com/albums/e319/mileab/Picture002.jpg
Oh and my new boy I am picking up on Thursday but he is just gong to be a foster. He is 11 weeks old in a high kill shelter.

http://i42.photobucket.com/albums/e319/mileab/Pup.jpg

[Allison]

Awww ... look how they sit all pretty for you!

[Elvtin]

zomg!@ Alli has a voodoo doll of her dog and he sleeps with it!@#

[Ivyrielle]

Gorgeous, and what fantastic posture!

[Muadi]

Golm.. don't know about others, and its been a few years since I had a dog.. but all training occured with a leash. No treats.

Very well behaved dog, on or off the leash.

[Golmacmourna]

ok good. I haven't seen leash training on offer recently, and I was worried that some mysterious movement or law was passed that took it away as an option.

[Miles]

ok good. I haven't seen leash training on offer recently, and I was worried that some mysterious movement or law was passed that took it away as an option.

When I first start training a dog it is always started on leash. As the dog and owner get better I switch to off lead training in the house. Outside of the house I will switch from a 6 foot lead to a 50 foot lead. This allows the dog more freedom yet helps establish the recall command. Takes time to get a reliable recall and emergency stop going. Hence the 50 foot lead.

I strongly believe in always having your dog on a lead outside. Unless of course they are running around a fenced in yard. My dogs won't bolt when I open the door or run if I drop a lead while walking them. I just prefer the safety of having them on a lead regardless of the situation.

[Miles]

Oh I got a cool action photo of my friends 23 month old APBT. The dog is used in UKC weight pulling competitions. He weighs 72lbs and has pulled 772lbs so far.


http://www.fotofink.com/pitbull/lux_060508sm.jpg

[Golmacmourna]

yeah. People who let their dogs wander around and get into trouble are the same people, in my mind, who let their kids wander off unsupervised to wreck a house while you're at a party. Or a restaurant.

I've never done the leash thing in the house though, that's interesting. The few dogs we've had, we get them small, and teach them that, when they're doing something we don't like, we put them out. And when they're in, they get pats and play, and so forth. Depends on the dog whether it works or not, but we've been fairly lucky.

[Miles]

Leash training in the house is a good way to start. The dog learns the commands with minimal to no distractions. From there you move outside where there are a ton of sounds and smells. It is all about setting your dog up for success. It also helps me since I go from client to client and train in their house. Not every dog will respond to some strange dude asking them to do something they never did before.

I also use treats for clients dogs to start and have them do the same thing. Using a food lure to coax the dog into the position or behavior you want is a good things. Over time once the dog knows the command and response you are looking for you ween them off the treats until they get a good boy/good girl from you.

[Yellow5]

Wow Miles, that guy in your original post is an idiot.

We have a rescue apbt and love him to death. He is a big gentle giant and a great dog. I live in an area where all the little wannabe gangsta boys own them and think it makes them tough. Pisses me off.

[Morety]

Ooh, another dog person. Here is the link to the kennel that my mother started and I now help run. We don't breed very often these days. One litter every year or two is about right.

www.cockatricedanes.com (http://www.cockatricedanes.com)

Boh

Beautiful dogs Boh, but the Beatles Muzak....lol

[Bohdan]

Beautiful dogs Boh, but the Beatles Muzak....lol

Yeah, I really should do something about that noise pollution. It seemed like a good idea at the time.

Boh