Wednesday, July 27, 2011

Blanket Sucker?


BLANKET SUCKING ??
What the heck is this all about ?
Both my male dogs do this. My girl dog does not.
They can suck on thier blankets for hours if I let them. They have done this for as long I can remember.


I have read some where that this is a sign that they were taken from thier mothers too early. Shaft may have as he was a rescue of sorts but not Brutus ...some say its calming to them just like cats knead things ....dogs suck.... hmmmmm.

Some say it is a sign of dominance which I can believe as Shaft used to suck and hump. Now that he is older he is doing more sucking than humping .

Others say it is a sign of lack of exercise.. but they do it even when they are drop dead tired.. whatever causes this , I think it is funny and oddly gross. (maybe its the doggie "BIG O"..lol)

Does any one know why they do this? If your dog does this let me know and send me pics








Game Bred Dog -"He is what he is"



Brutus is a "GAME BRED DOG".
Those three words have caused so much havoc and division within our Pit Bull Community.
I never knew what a Game dog was before Brutus came into my life.
I, too, must have to admit I didnt particularly care for the title and it scared me. However the more I stepped out of my self righteous /judgemental box, I learned about the true nature of this wonderful breed, the more I understand about Brutus and other dogs that surround me.

There are many different definitions for GAME BRED DOGS but to me I choose to see the good that the Game bred dog brings to the table. I love to see a high drive dog proudly showing off all his gusto and muscle during a weight pull competition, agility course, dock diving or Frisbee event, or having the "never give up" strong willed determination when chasing a spring pole or having the patience and strength to hunt wild boars that are tearing up our eco system. I love all this and the fact that at the end of the day "the civilized warrior" can safely , soundly and happily snuggle up with you or young children for a good nights sleep.

With many game bred dogs comes AGGRESSION. I strongly feel that to deny, dismiss or hide our heads in the sand on the "dog on dog aggression" issue does no service to our community as it gives them a false sense of security. A pit bull owner may never see an ounce of aggression but they should educate themselves on the issue. For the owner who does see these natural traits, they need to be fully educated on it and take the necessary steps to "not set your dog up to fail".

Brutus is and has always been a true PEOPLE LOVER, hence the Lickey Lou Bru name . He is not the "other dog social" kind of dog. No matter how hard we worked with him, he is just too "HOT" around almost all dogs. Does this make him a bad dog, an unbalanced dog or a dangerous dog? NO ..he is just doing what is natural to the breed and what this breed was bred to do for over a 100+ years. Do I like it? ... ..No ,but he is what he is. He doesnt feel bad or apologize about his heritage, neither do I. He deserves the same amount of love and respect as any other dog or breed. I accept him unconditionally as he does everyday for me.

Sadly Brutus can not participate in the parades and other wonderful activities our pit bull community has to offer . We refuse to put him in any situation in which will cause him any unnecessary stress or any possibility of a bad outcome. Instead we have offered him a wonderful home with controlled monitored activities within our family, trusted friends and their dogs. (circle of trust thing)

So regardless of the Gameness he may possess , we choose to see and love the good qualities within "Our Game Boy". To us... HE IS PERFECT JUST THE WAY HE IS AND MAKES A WONDERFUL "Couch Warrior "HOUSE DOG and you know what..

We are OK with it and so is he ...


The Tale of Lickey Lou Bru and the Wicked Tail


Grandson holding Brutus' tail


For as long as we have had Brutus we have had to apologize to all visitors for Brutus' indiscrestions of a total lack of control over his tail whipping and tongue licking ...

Well if you have ever met Brutus you would instantly under stand where he got saldled with the name of LICKEY LOU BRU name. He literally would wash your face with his licky lou tonguewhile massaging your legs with his thumping of his tail. . If you step in my house , sooner your late you will be " LICKEY LOU'D. No one is left unattended. Brutus gives you 100% of his attention and effort.

I dont know how many times I have picked my grandchildren off the ground from his tail knocking them over. I think it was a game for him..... he's used his tail to knock them down and while they were down he would wash thier faces with super Licky Lou Slobber.

His tail's tale speakes volumes of his wonderful disposition and temperment. When ever you heard a fast thumping on the wall, against the couch or the glass sliding door you could count on him having a happy face, Elvis lip, hippity hops and busy eyebrows .. so full of life . He lives every mintue through his tail. ( happy , happy , happy)

I have come to truly believe that "You cant keep a good tail down " but on second thought ..why would you want to ?















DEFENDER AGAINST ALL EVIL

Dogs have funny quirks too ...


When Brutus was about 18 months old, I heard him doing this low growl sound and I could hear his nails on the tile moving forward and then slipping back in my kitchen area.. then would hear the nails move forward and another low growl. I went to investigate what was going on. I thought maybe he had cornered a lizard or God forbid a rat. I guess he could hear me coming toward him and his growls got lower and deeper. I was really starting to worry ..maybe a snake got in the house ..as he was famous for catching lizards and snakes...... as I came around the corner I was a little hesitant and when I got there I am almost fell on the ground.....LAUGHING... he was protecting his family from the big bad ......

DOG FOOD BAG !!!!!!

To this day he still is uncomfortable around the dog food bags and gives them the stink eye when he cant avoid them ...

Thanks for the laugh Brutus..

LESSON ONE





Oh my how this picture makes me cringe!! The Animal Rights people would be all over me for this one...

Lesson one- As Pit Bull owners,
We should be content in "knowing" what we have and not have the need in "showing" what we have  or the ignorance in "proving" what we have .

My Husband and son bought these ugly chains and a huge heavy lock for Brutus to wear "to build the muscles in his chest"

After about a month of him wearing this heavy chain and the heavy lock hitting me in the head everytime Brutus jumped into bed I told the guys to only let him wear this during the day and that I was taking it off at night. Well , a few weeks later Brutus went to lay down on my tiled floor and the force and heaviness of the lock cracked one of the tiles... I had enough. I took it off of him and hid the chain and lock.

Of course there was a heated discussion from the guys saying that they didnt want thier "pit bull" to be a wimp and wanted people to know how tough he was.

Needless to say Momma won .. as the saying goes "when Momma's not happy ..no one is happy".

I later learned that you dont need heavy chains to build the chest and back muscles. Exercising your dog such as walking , hang time, spring boarding ect..every day for at least 30 mintues and proper diet will do the trick. WHO KNEW??.. OBVIOUSLY NOT US !!!

** side note ** he still hasnt grown into his ears ...LOL

HOMEWARD BOUND -Lil Sam to Brutus


20 years ago When I first met my husband he owned the most beautiful female red nose pit bull name Sheba. Ever since then he has always wanted another. I promised him when we bought a house and had a fence he could get another one.
We already had Tatonka ( shar pei mix) and Shaft ( staffy mix) one more couldnt hurt , only add more life to an alreadyloving yet chaotic house hold.

So in 2003 my husband's itch got the better of him and he announced that he was going to look at some puppies that were advertised in the paper.

A couple hours later he came home with a cute little red and white pink nosed puppy that to me looked like a beagle because his ears were sooo long on his little head.

My husband said that he originally had his eye on another puppy but that the puppy already had a deposit on him. However there was another puppy that had caught his eye and his name was "Lil Sam" short for "Little Sammy the Bull." Lil Sam caught my husbands eye first for his unusal markings and secondly for his temperment. My husband liked that when all the other puppies were jumping up on him and biting his pants Lil Sam sat patiently to be shown attention, and once was given some attention he walked away with his tail wagging.....so Lil Sam had won my husbands heart as my husband is very much the same ..very patient and content with whatever life comes his way.

So Lil Sam comes home and my husband choses his name to be "Brutus"- Marcus Junius Brutus to be more precise. Brutus the Great Strong willed Roman Leader . History tells that Brutus had great promise, ability and strength of character. Thus this name seemed befitting and through the years has proven to be true.

The first night he was home Brutus made himself comfortable on my bed. When I came to bed I didnt have the heart to wake him up, so I slid in bed next to him. My son Brian came in the room to say good night and all of a sudden the sleeping puppy woke up and starting growling and barking at my son. I reached over and told Brutus it was ok and he calmed down. In my heart I knew my tiny Roman Warrior was protecting his new mommy. Once he settled down, he again made himself comfortable on my bed and ever since that is where you can find him every night. All snuggled in my blankets and "at the ready" to defend his owners and loved ones.

** side note ** a week after Brutus was with us , the breeder called to say that the original dog that my husband was interested in has become available and offered to trade out the two dogs. After of week of having this beautiful boy with us there was no way in hell I was gonna let that happen... . My husband kindly declined. To this day I have always wondered what happened to the other dog and his litter mates.

Tuesday, July 26, 2011

MARCUS JUNIUS BRUTUS

MARCUS JUNIUS BRUTUS AMERICAN PIT BULL TERRIER
May 10, 2003 - Sept 16, 2006

ADBA REGISTERED SIRE: RAULERSON'S "The Bull"
DAM: RAULERSON'S "Ramblin' Roze"

ALL THAT IS - BRUTUS

On May 12, 2011
Our  world came crashing down as our Vet advised me that our  beloved 8 year old Pure Bred  American Pit Bull Terrier Brutus' supposed injury to his knee was in fact not an injury but was cancer. Osteosarcoma - Bone Cancer
.


This is a journal of what has happened since that fateful day and what came before it.

I hope to fully capture "All that is BRUTUS" in this journal, from the day he came into our lives up to his last breath. Some posts will be educational while others will tell of  proud, funny and or sad times throughout his short life. I hope to pass on "his lessons" that he has taught me. My hope is this will allow others to learn from him too..... After all.......

Brutus has been my teacher on everything pit bull and so so so much more !!!!