Everyday Andie Andie is an American Pit Bull Terrier who came into my life in mid-September, 2010. Day after day, she never fails to light up my life - as well as the faces of those who have met her! This blog is dedicated to giving everybody else a peek at this through tidbits, stories, and pictures. We hope you enjoy!

Everyday Andie now also has a twitter!

I’ve only been upstate for a week and I already miss Andie so bad it aches a little. I figured there’s no better way to remedy that than with puppy pictures.

Everyday Andie has kind of been on the backburner for a while now, evidently, and on Sunday I went up to Sault Sainte Marie to stay with my brother while I try to find a job. Jeremiah and I found a roommate and we’re getting the ball rolling on moving out of our parents’ houses; Jeremiah’s putting his two weeks in at his job once I find employment here, working the rest of his time, and coming up afterwards. I’m hoping to have a place to rent lined up by then to coordinate with him traveling up here with moving all of our stuff up.
Unfortunately, Andie had to stay with my parents while I’m up here because my brother’s landlord doesn’t allow animals of any kind in the house. With some luck in finding a renter who’s okay with dogs her size - and who either can’t tell she’s an APBT or doesn’t care that she is - she’ll be coming with us when we officially move.

I miss her really badly already, though, and it’s only been two days. I’m going to make Jeremiah take lots of pictures to send me when he goes to see her. Once we’re settled in after moving, I’d really like to kickstart this blog again! We’ll have all kinds of new exploits to talk about, so there’ll be a lot to look forward to. If there’s anything in particular you’d like to see from us, I’d love to hear your suggestions!

medicationmambo:peepchick101:bankston:

DANGEROUS DOG TREATS!

Ok everyone…THESE are among the chicken treats responsible for killing dogs or making them seriously ill. Vets everywhere are now warning everyone to stop giving your dogs these treats. They are slowly shutting down dog’s kidneys and it is because of something they have in them, still as yet UNKNOWN. The fact that they don’t know what the contaminant is, is why the FDA has not pulled these treats from stores. Do not buy ANY treats made in China, as that is where these contaminated, poisonous products are coming from.

The FDA has recieved over 600 complaints on these….other brands are Canyon Creek Ranch and DOGSWELL…anyone feeding their dog chicken treats needs to look at the package carefully as the words “Made in China” can be very small…do not be fooled by the phrase “An American Company” they are using in large print!

It’s a huge issue and is still being investigated! Please click share and pass along - it could save a life!

… no that’s not all of them. i posted about a month ago about “chewmasters” chicken strip from Costco. chinese crap that should be banned. it made my GSD sick and have some issues walking

This is true; do not feed this shit to your dogs.

Here’s the relevant FDA page: http://www.fda.gov/AnimalVeterinary/SafetyHealth/ProductSafetyInformation/ucm295445.htm

They have been warning about this shit since 2007, it’s not exactly a new thing.

→ Please sign this petition to save Heidi's life!

We adopted Heidi almost 4 years ago from a well-established and reputable rescue organization specializing in the Doberman breed. Like most Doberman, Heidi is a very intelligent and energetic dog. She is a loving & loyal member of our family.

In October, while out for a leashed walk to a local market, a stranger approached suddenly wanting to pet her. Startled and in her excitement, Heidi popped up at the same time that the stranger bent over to pet her. She collided with his face. He has claimed this resulted in a broken nose and reported the accident to Royal Oak Police.

Royal Oak is now prosecuting this as a dog bite/attack! The Assistant Deputy City Attorney has offered to dismiss the criminal charges only if Heidi is destroyed or removed from her loving family in Royal Oak. This is happening to our family with a 30+ year history as law abiding Royal Oak residents. Heidi has no previous incidents of aggressive behavior and is a well trained, obedient, loving success story of a Doberman rescue.

All dog owners must be aware of the risks of criminal prosecution under the antiquated Michigan statutes written in 1919 and the paranoid overreaction by local city officials who are prosecuting dog breeds, not dog attack cases.

Time is of the essence to save Heidi’s life. A final decision on Heidi’s fate will be made on February 9^th, 2012.

Please help us to save our sweet girl Heidi by signing our petition to the City of Royal Oak.

→ Second Thoughts About Dog Parks

candidcanines:

ihavelotsofdogs:

I personally don’t like them. I’ve been to two different ones, and I didn’t enjoy the experience. I guess because I have big dogs and it’s stressful because the two I’ve visited did not have separate spaces for big and little dogs. I didn’t let my guys off-leash because there were a bunch of tiny little terriers running around and all I could think about was how my dogs could hurt them just by running over them, not through any aggression or acting out or anything. So I don’t take my dogs. I take them for walks in regular parks, I take them to Petsmart on-leash, I take them to the beach when it’s warm out, I take them to my brother’s house to play with his rottweiler or my in-laws’ to play with their German Shepherd.

Maybe I’m being paranoid? I don’t know. But I feel like dog parks would be a bad idea for my guys. My brother feels the same way. Just because of people’s fears over rottweilers, he doesn’t take her. God forbid anything went wrong, even if it wasn’t his dog, Lyla’s, fault, she would probably take the fall for it. My in-laws don’t take their German Shepherd either, but I know people with little dogs who swear by dog parks. 

So do you take your dogs to dog parks? Would you do the same if you had a giant (110lb +) breed, or a breed with a “reputation” like a pit or a doberman or something? 

It can be difficult for some breeds to fit in. I think dog parks are great, but only if you can find one that suits you. There are two bark parks in my location, and I only go to one because I’m comfortable there. The other park is more popular, but the people were snobby and Sammy was bullied by a Labrador Retriever mix and a Pit Bull. I love all dogs, and I’m not biased of different breeds based on their reputations. Every dog is an incredible dog. Some are just not properly bred or socialized. 

When Sam was being bullied, she went and hid under a wooden bench (something she has never had to do). That, to me, was a sign of distress. The two female dogs at the park were not going to give up, and had cornered her on both sides of the bench. This could easily turn into a bad situation, and the owners of the other dogs weren’t doing anything to correct their dogs. This could have turned ugly in no time — and if my dog had lashed out in her defense, they would have blamed her for being aggressive rather than admit that their dogs wouldn’t back off. Dogs will be dogs, but this behavior was unnecessary. So I shooed the other dogs and guided Sammy out of the park. I haven’t been back since.

I felt bad for leaving because I know those people probably gossiped about me. I really wouldn’t be surprised if they thought I was one of those dog owners who get really angry when other dogs play too rough — I can assure you I don’t. Dogs play rough, and I’m perfectly fine with that. Heck, my dogs play rough all of the time! Haven’t you seen some of the pictures and videos I’ve posted? If you didn’t know they were just playing, you’d think they were trying to kill each other!

My dogs are 30lbs, 40lbs, and the puppy is not quite 15lbs yet. I’m not afraid of them getting trampled by larger dogs. If they don’t like getting stepped on, they’ll learn to move out of the way. I know serious injuries can occur just from playing. I know a woman whose Great Pyrenees puppy seriously injured his leg just from playing in the backyard! I guess I am just willing to take that chance. As long as you’re observing your dogs, they should be fine. If you think the playing is getting too rough for your own comfort, then call them over to you and have them relax a little. 

Here is an old video of Sammy at the dog park with two Great Danes. The black and white male is about a year or so old, and Sammy loved playing with him! There’s also a little Jack Russell who had a blast, too. It’s not the dogs’ fault for being so large — they should still be able to enjoy the fun as much as any other dog! And here is a video of a black German Shepherd putting my Aussie’s entire head in his mouth! He couldn’t get Sammy to play with him so he tried to play with Motley, and she’s extremely passive with other dogs. As a result, she gets pushed around and picked on all of the time.

And finally, this video shows a baby Dachshund playing with dogs of all sizes. Peanut was going to the park as soon as he was able to! Sometimes he gets trampled and yelps, and other times he does just fine. He’s learned some nifty tricks how to stay out of the way. Big dog owners have the same fear as little dog owners. Sometimes you just have to find the right dog park with people who understand. If Peanut’s mom had been too afraid to bring him to the park, he would have never had the opportunity to have so much fun with all of our dogs! 

Then there are those of us who have it the easiest — the medium dog owners. Our dogs can fit well with big or small. The only worries that medium dog owners have to worry about are breed reputations. Some people can be really mean at the park if they don’t like your dog. Kuma was an amazingly fun and friendly Pit Bull who came to the park. This video shows he and Sammy racing each other. If you notice the comment posted below the video, someone at the park was racist of both the dog and his family. And if you really pay attention in the video, you’ll see my dog nip at him multiple times and he doesn’t nip back a single time! How could anyone have a problem with that sweet baby?!

Speaking of nipping, a lot of people don’t like Australian Cattle Dogs because of their tendency to nip at other dogs and herd them. Some cattle dogs that I’ve met have been bullies. Fortunately mine is not a bully and does fairly well playing with other dogs. She knows when to leave a dog alone. The two blue heelers in this video have a much stronger drive than Sammy and are more likely to herd other dogs or act as a referee — particularly the heeler with less black.

The Pit Bull in this video is one of my favorites — Cole is a big sweet pup when he isn’t trying to hump Sammy! The fluffier German Shepherd in the video (not the darker, thinner one running all over the place) is one of the park bullies. She is a good dog, but likes to jump in and act big and bad around the other dogs when they’re trying to play. Some people get really offended by her behavior, but most of the people at this park are pretty understanding and don’t mind it as long as she isn’t being aggressive.

For a while I frequented a pit bull forum, many of the people from which were of the opinion that you should never bring your pit bull type dog to the dog park. Their reasoning had two parts: The first was that even if your dog didn’t start the fight, it would undoubtedly finish it and clearly with the reputation of the APBT and the other breeds that fall under the term, that’s the last thing you want; the second part constituted that what with the APBT’s tendency to be dog aggressive, they didn’t need socialization with dogs and so you were better off not chancing it.

I’m not sure my own opinion could be said to be so severe or so black-and-white, since I think it largely depends on the individual dogs, owners, and how well you mesh with those two factors, as candidcanines said. There are no dog parks in my area so I’ve never seen what they’re like. When I move to a larger town where there are dog parks, one the primary reasons I’d be hesitant to take Andie to one is because almost every dog she has met seems to think she’s a fine target for bullying! She’s also very submissive, so thankfully a fight has never come of that, but I also understand that since she is an APBT she would catch the wrap in the event she did react to other dogs picking on her. Doubly, I know that it could be very distressing to her if there were dog bullies. This has a lot to do with watching your dog and knowing the signs they’re giving out to you, so me being attentive would minimize the likelihood of something bad happening. That doesn’t mean that it wouldn’t, but a watchful eye can help prevent it.

So whenever I do move away - hopefully this spring - I’d love to try and see how Andie does in one. She really loves playing with other dogs so long as they’re willing to play back and I think it could help her learn manners too - she’s a bit of a rough player once she finds out the other dog doesn’t mind her. However, I also don’t want to set her up to fail and so if there were a lot of owners who didn’t seem to maintain their dogs or if Andie found any situations stressful I probably wouldn’t go back. I wouldn’t want to try our luck too much and the last thing the breed needs is another reason for discrimination.

Ultimately I think it all depends on how well the dog park and its visitors fit with you. You don’t know until you try, but I also think that there are very valid reasons for not taking your dog to one if you’re uncomfortable with it and you’re certainly not depriving your dog if that’s what you choose - I’ve talked to some people who swear by them and think this, mostly small dog owners and people who don’t face breedist conceptions based on their companion’s looks. If you think it’s the considerate thing to do or if you’re not willing to risk the chance of something happening, then that’s a boundary you should stay by and there are equally fulfilling ways to exercise and socialize your dog. And if you have a dog park that you love, that’s also great!

Then and now.

Taken by my brother. Those eyes!

This video isn’t mine, but it’s a great explanation of what the American Pit Bull Terrier is and the myths and miseducations surrounding the breed. One step we can take in educating people who both want to ban these dogs and who love them is differentiate the breeds that fall under the umbrella term and show what all of their amazing individual traits are!