Let's start at the beginning,shall we?

Spudz. When I see a pit bull who is untrained I see Spudz. He's 20 months old and is a HUGE ball of energy. He is who this blog starts with but I'm sure I'll post randomly as well as other things as I go.

As of right now..it's about my journey working with Spudz and my personal dog Greyson.

This is the synopsis that was typed up by the rescue Spudz is from and was delivered to the vet behaviorist:

He was pulled on March 15, 2011 from the Greene County pound and he was neutered on that same day.   He was estimated to be 6 months old - he had NO manners or social skills...just an out of control pup.  He was initially placed in an indoor/outdoor kennel setting.  He was placed in a run separated by chain link panels from another dog; and had no issues.  In this setting he had very limited direct physical contact with other dogs, but again there were never any signs of aggressive behavior.

When he wasn't quickly adopted (within 60 days or so), I then brought him to my house for housetraining and basic obedience training and he lived with about six or seven other dogs. He was crated when I wasn't home, and then closely supervised when not. My own dogs were his size or larger- but are a tight pack that ignored his inappropriate behavior or would swiftly put him in check. He interacted primarily with other foster dogs – much smaller than him, and had no signs of aggression.  He was a horrific fencer barker at neighborhood cats or people walking dogs and then he started jumping my fence - so back to a kennel setting.

In September 2011; he was transferred to the SCDR rescue building which has indoor kennels and a common outdoor exercise/potty/play area.  He was first assigned as ‘out buddy’ to a young black lab male similar to his size and there were never any issues between the two.  These sessions were not closely monitored. The dog population is constantly in flux – with there being only one other dog (Campbell, a two year old male pit) that remains from the inception.  He has also been successfully paired with females and while he often engaged in rough play, it never escalated to the point intervention was needed. 

In the Spring of 2012, all the kennel dogs began interacting in groups in the play yard under close supervision.  His attempts to initiate play were sometimes shunned by the ‘well behaved’ dogs, but he did successfully mix with several other large males.  When play started to get rough – he would generally respond to verbal commands of “AH AH! Too rough!”.  On those occasions he did not – he corrected by the verbal commands as well as a hand on the scruff of his neck mimicking a mother’s correction.  If he did not ‘de-escalate’ – he was returned to his kennel and would generally bark and prance in excitement as the others continued play.

During these play sessions, all dogs were released from their kennels into the outside yard and the doors to their kennels remained open.  Spudz would often return into the building and enter other kennels to steal toys or eat any leftover food.  In late April, Spudz was eating leftover food from Melvin’s bowl (Melvin was a recently neutered 4 year old wire haired JRT) when Melvin re-entered his kennel and came rushing from behind and bit Spudz on the rear ankle. Spudz turned in surprise, and grabbed Melvin by the neck – but early intervention was made and while Spudz had three fairly deep puncture marks – Melvin had no broken skin.  During this intervention – Spudz was turning to get Melvin and his mouth / teeth encountered a human hand and he immediately redirected when he realized it wasn’t Melvin (and no damage was done to human skin).

Days later, Spudz was in the exercise yard undergoing basic obedience training when Melvin escaped from his kennel and rushed out and again latched onto Spudz’ ankle.  Spudz was controlled by grabbing his collar and attempts to control Melvin were unsuccessful as when pushed away – he’d dart back.  It took a second person to restrain Melvin and by this time Spudz was trying to get to Melvin.  As a result of this incident – Spudz had puncture marks on his ankles and a large skin tear on his rear upper thigh.  Spudz continued to interact with all the other dogs except Melvin until Spudz was adopted on May 13^th.

In his new home, he started a formal obedience class where he was reported to be ‘an angel’.  He did experience severe separation anxiety when crated during his owner’s absences   His owner’s mother lived nearby and had a male Schnauzer;  they spent considerable time together and played well together.   There was an incident when it is believed a cat/rabbit was in the back yard as Spudz and his owner came out of house – Spudz started chase and followed his prey under the wooden privacy fence where he encountered a female Husky.  He did not respond to verbal commands.  By the time the owner reached him – he was in a fight that broken skin on the other dog and subsequently his owner was bit by the Husky.  We attributed this to an instance of surprise to both dogs and Spudz reacting to the Husky defending her territory. 

Spudz was then introduced to the owner’s girlfriend’s male neutered pit.  They did well on walks in neutral territory, but vied for attention in the house.  It was managed by keeping the dogs leashed inside and stopping any inappropriate behavior before it escalated.

Spudz and his owner were moving into a new house when Spudz looked out the front door and saw a male Shar Pei tied in the next year.  Spudz had routinely walked by this dog during his daily walks; but unleashed – he jumped through the screen and ran to the dog, attacking it by latching onto its neck and breaking the skin.  Again – he did not respond to verbal commands. 

He was returned to SCDR’s rescue building on June 8^th, and was again introduced to a 7 month old female pit which had been his ‘wrestle buddy’.  Their play had often involved mouthing and chewing/grabbing of each other’s necks and ears/lips, and there was no change seen after his absence and other altercations.

It was three days later when he was videotaped in three scenarios for behavioral assessment by members of the Pit Bull Zen group. 

He was then personally assessed by a volunteer who provides amateur training for rescued pit bulls.  She uses a combination protocol which involves a prong collar when walking, primarily to provide her more control in the event of an incident.  (Spudz was trained to walk properly on a leash last winter utilizing a prong collar to avoid his pulling. He has never been corrected harshly and respected the pressure of the collar.  He subsequently graduated to walks with a Martingale type collar and then to a standard flat collar.  I personally use prongs only when dealing with a very strong dog that is not controllable with a martingale or flat collar BL).  This volunteer uses positive reinforcement with treats, praise and occasionally a clicker.  She corrects by verbal commands / redirecting or if needed hand grabs on the scruff of the neck mimicking a mother dog or a hand poke to the side mimicking a muzzle punch.

Since his return, Spudz had been taking twice daily walks either alone or in a group, until recently being instructed to discontinue.  He now enjoys daily exercise on an enclosed softball field, fetching tennis balls.  In his kennel – he is often restless – pacing and pushing his metal bowl with his feet/nose.  He is provided with knuckle bones, Kongs with peanut butter and interactive treat balls.  When he is released from his kennel – he does go to the other kennels – but does not engage in any fence fighting or attempts. 

His diet has been changed to Nutro Grain Free with venison, and Nutro Sensitive Stomach dry bisquits.  His thyroid levels were recently tested and are within normal limits.