Blue Fawn needs a home - 5 mos

[hMcB]

hi there.

(i am writing from Portland, OR).

lukas, a five-month-old blue fawn (the son of two pure
blues, he has a silver glow and green eyes), is
affectionate and loving with people. and is actually
pretty mellow for a pup when he’s had exercise.

95% of the time, he loves other dogs, but can
occasionally become over-stimulated, tenacious and
aggressive in the moment. sometimes
his assertion can be displaced on a person who
interferes. his behavior around other dogs is
unpredictable, with a definite prey instinct for cats.


i have a cat, another dog and a very social life,
which is not a good match of his personality. lukas
needs a to be in a loving one animal home, preferably
with an experienced manager of his type of behavior.

to date, Lukas has been an indoor dog. he’s had
training (can sit & lie), is non-aggressive over
resources & is great in the car. he’s neutered, has
completed his puppy shots and is a great companion.

lukas is neutered and has completed his puppy shots.
i've owned him since he was 8 weeks.. he's now 5
months.

his new family should continue his wellness plan at
banfield animal hospital through the committed date of
8/05. the fee is $19.95 mo and includes all
vaccinations (his are complete), office services and
exams. the membership will transfer, along with
services to the banfield hospital nearest you (its a
national organization).

i love him so much, he's a great boy.. just needs a
more ideal home.

please contact me at
503.887.3093cell
503.520.1955 x142wk
heidilmcbride@yahoo.com

thank you for your help.

Sincerely,
Heidi

Will send photos... (he's seriously beautiful)

[caped dog]

his assertion can be displaced on a person who
interferes.

sounds a lot like redirection aggression "Redirected Aggression: This type of aggression is relatively common, but is a behavior that pet owners may not always understand. If a dog is aroused into an aggressive response by a person or animal that he is prevented from attacking, he may redirect this aggression onto someone else. " http://www.sspca.org/Dogs_AggressiveBehavior.html and is *serious and concerning* because this is exactly what the pit bull was bred NOT to do http://www.pbrc.net/breedinfo.html and . A highly aroused pit bull dog or pup when interrupted *should* turn around and look up at you with doe eyes. This is very specific to the pit bull breed and is not generalizable to Akitas, chows, sheppherds -ETC- which each have their own characteristic fight/bite styles. A pit bull whose dog aggression "bleeds over" to whoever is available erodes the foundation of trust and confidence that I - and many, many others- try to instill when we say NO- chasing the other dog does not mean the children are next http://www.badrap.org/rescue/myths.cfm
Frankly I don't care who bred him or how pretty he is the behavior you describe needs to be evaluated by a qualified pit-savvy trainer/behaviorist in your area. Perhaps Steph-n-Wolf can recommend such a trainer. You can PM her or me or email me at capeddogrescue@gmail.com

And consider reviewing this link for re-homing ideas: http://www.pbrc.net/adoption/problems.html

[KimberlyGeorge26]

I am willing to help still, if you need any help. I may have a family for him, but did you say he needed a yard?

[caped dog]

KG 26- I think its great that you are making yourself and home available for fosters. However, the above puppy should not be taken lightly or gobbled up b/c he's cute. I realize the poster needs help but there are tons and tons and tons of animals needing help. Most rescuers won't even take owner surrendered animals.

You are a total star and you have this tremendous resource to help a doomed animal. You are a limited resource- spend yourself wisely. Truly, nothing is accomplished to make "getting rid of" a puppy easier on the person who purchased it. And what good is accomplished if Lucas does have some of the temperment flaws notorious in overdone blues and you shovel his mediocre butt into another home and the next time you see him is on the news for nailing someone b/c he couldn't get to the dog he wanted. Choose your battles. We need you to stick around and help in the long run. You don't have to go through the heartache or liability risk of a bad placement for a problem that you did not create- espec. an animal that is already acting questionable... plenty of us have already gone thru that heartache and learned the hard way. Am I talking to myself here or can anyone else shed some light?

[KimberlyGeorge26]

You guys are scaring me. I was interested in Lukas for a friend of mine. If fact at this givenmoment we are moving in 4 months and not sure of where. I wont get rid of my ricky, but brining in another pit may not be such a hot idea right now. I am willing to later, or help out in any other ways.

[Steph-n-Wolf]

I can help your friend get a wonderful pet without the possible risk of serious generic and medical issuse common with a "double-blue" bred Pit Bull, not to mention the scary attribute of human-aggression on top of it. Please PM me again, and give me your friend's contact info, or leave me your e-mail address so tha I can send you my contact info.

Having a yard is not a requirement for adopting all Pit Bulls, so long as your friends are able to make the daily commitment, rain or shine, to take the dog out for EXERCISE, not just for potty breaks. I can give more info to your friends directly, and possibly set them up to meet some wonderful Pit Bulls in this area in rescue that are already spayed/neutered, UTD on shots, flea/worm/mite free, obedience trained, and have passed temperment tests.

Thank you for wanting to help homeless Pit Bulls - but there are a few red flags that you see instantly after being around rescue for a while. Blue Pit Bulls in and of them selves are NOT bad dogs, but it is a genetic sport, and when you breed for something like a fancy recessive color, you often lose other things. Weak immune systems is very common with the blue Pit Bull, giving it a hell of a time with mange and other mites. Hips can have issues, as well... This dog is an offspring of two purebred blues, meaning there is some deep possibilities for even MORE issues than just a blue pit may see. This alone is a pretty big dish to hand a new Pit Bull owner...

The poster eluded to some serious behavior concerns, as well. The redirected aggression is NOT common with this breed, but it starting to be seen more and more, along with excessive shyness and distrust of stranger (again, not a trait of the breed) through poor and "fad" breeding.

One of those other things that you can lose through breeding for some ornamental quailities is mental soundness. This redirected aggression is behavior common of an "unsound" Pit Bull; which is VERY dangerous. This dog is still a pup, and showing dog aggression with redirection now means it could only intensifiy as the dog matures (Pit Bulls have late full-maturity, 2-3 years old is mature) Putting that dog into a family is like handing a blind person a cutco knife blade-first - NOT a good idea. Rescues do often take in bule Pit Bull, since other than a predisposition for some medical issues, they usually are still great dogs. No rescue that is a responsible rescue would take that dog in, due to the risk it could cause damage to people and to the breed's rep.

In this situation, if I were to be advising the poster of the topic (which i did not do right off of the bat because I have done this so many times and I am a bit tired and jaded... often the suggestions do not ammount to anything, either. I could be wrong, and I have helped change points of views in the past, but I just didn't feel like getting intot his one) I would say either keep the puppy and alter life styles around the responsibility, and seek out a very experienced trainer to deal with the issues and learn ow to MANAGE (you cannot train these things out of a dog) the behavior NOW while he is still a pup, start asking a whole ton of questions on this forum, read as many posts as you can, e-mail people like Diane Jessup for their suggestions on individule issues, plan to have this dog seperated form your other pets when you are not home or not supervising, and possibly permantly, and do NOT bring him unleashed around people or other animals,.... or humanely have the puppy euthanized instead of rehoming. I know that sounds harsh, but putting a dog like that into a family is very dangerous...

[caped dog]

thank you Wolf. that was very well said. I think you sound very realisitc-not jaded- as you speak form your heart and experience- that's what this thread needed...you ROCK!

[Maryellen]

I agree with Step-n wolf on this issue. either work with the puppy now or have him euthanized.

[kbreese]

I think you guys are being way too hard on Heidi. She explained the situation thoroughly, its not like she is just saying wonderful puppy for adoption perfect tempermant and trying to stick it to somebody. it seems obvious to me that she is making a strong effort to find the puppy a more ideal home. She isnt dumping it along the side of the road or tying it to a tree by a shelter like some people do.

i also think you guys are giving up hope on the dog too easily. its just a puppy and IMO this behavior can be trained out of the dog. I used to have a purebred blue pit that was a nut as a puppy, it would act VERY aggresive at times toward me and my girlfriend. What I did was several times I held it onits back until it would submit and go limp. it was fighting and freaking out every step of the way but it would eventually stop and go limp. i also well socialized it. It grew up to be totally loving toward us and all humans and never showed any aggression anymore toward humans. the only problem was it was food aggressive toward our other dog, you just could never put food between them but that was easily avoided.

[Maryellen]

We are not being harsh, just realistic. in working in rescue, there are many instances like this, and you have to make a conscience decision. Where will you find a family/person to work with a dog like this? is this genetics?? will the next owner be alpha, or will the next owner let the dog do what it wants and then when the owner corrects it for something will the dog bite?? Sometimes, hard decisions must be made, and choices will be given. do you take a chance to have something happen or not? thats the problem, its a 50-50 chance to go either way. and the description she gave i would say euthanasia.

Just my opinion as i do pit and rottie rescue and fostering.

[kbreese]

Maryellen I respect what you do and I respect your opinion, but my opinion is to give the dog a chance...it's still a puppy and can broken of this tempermant issue.

Peace.

[Maryellen]

no problem, dont worry. i dont take offense easily:) yes, sometimes its worth it to give a pup a second chance depending on the circumstances. if she wants to go the route of trying to save the pup, she should get the top notch trainers around, pay alot of money to see if the help will work, then be prepared that who ever she adopts the dog to that nothing happens in the long run as they can sue her for an unstable dog. unfortunately, this world is so sue happy, people will sue over small stuff. a dog bite/mauling/killing is big time stuff.