Gabe and Rose

Gabe and Rose are beautiful, intelligent, and loving dogs. They are not easy dogs. They are loud, powerful, curious, and destructive.

My trainer reminds me that vocalization is communication and shouldn’t be silenced. Right now, I am just looking for the volume control. Rose screams. And just so we are clear, I want to know what it is that makes her scream so I can fix it and get her to settle. When she is ready to eat, potty, be back with Gabe, or just wants to talk–she is loud. Ambulances, other dogs barking, someone visiting the neighbors, or a gnat farting in the yard can lead to screaming or just the singing the song of their kind. They can set off our other two dogs in a separate part of the house. The song of their kind can have many verses!

Gabe is participating less in the screaming as we try different strategies. He goes back to chewing and playing or trying to get Rose to refocus. I don’t know exactly what the underlying cause is. I suspect it is anxiety for the time they were alone, struggling to survive. I can also see the strategy being cute in a little puppy and people giggling without realizing the monster they could create. I have even wondered about PTSD in dogs. Rose has screamed in her sleep at times. I have been around dogs pumping their legs a bit like running and making little noises in their sleep, but Rose shrieks.

The powerful jumping up they started with is slowing and lessening in force, but a few times when I took them to the yard by myself and removed their leashes–they just kept jumping. I turned my back on them, held on to the house and said nothing. They stopped, and I praised and gave treats. There isn’t any aggression in the act, but the power could scare someone and the behavior needs work. They just want to play and have no idea how big they are. The jumping up could have been a learned behavior from before they were dumped. People call puppies to them and then pick the puppy up and love on them. This is cute in a ten pound fluff ball. Calling “puppy, puppy” to a fifty pound baby with muddy feet is likely to lead to yelling on the part of the human. Problem is–the human created that problem and the dog gets chastised.

The curiosity means they want to sniff and mouth everything. They can jump up, force furniture to move, and pick up turtles. Nothing is sacred to toddlers or these two dogs.

The destruction level of these two love bugs is defcon 5. A dog bed can become green fuzz in less than 5 minutes. We have run them, played them, worked mental exercises and still can’t keep a dog bed for them. One lasted 24 hours for Gabe! Rose shreds and laughs at the green snow in her crate and chases the snow across the room. I should have purchased stock in dog beds. Old towels, sheets, and blankets are used for a few days and the shreds pitched.

Gabe and Rose must always be supervised in the yard. There is no, “go play” so I can vacuum. I have actually heard my self say, “stop eating my house!” The first time I felt vibration on the side of the house and went to see what they were up to, I was stunned to see that they had pulled siding off of the house. My husband heard me say, “stop eating the house” and laughed. Then he came to look at what I saw. This was a new issue for him, too.

Keeping dog toys is a challenge. I now have a subscription for dog toys! The babies must be supervised with most toys and have destroyed some that no other dog in my life has. When they chew, their eyes roll back in their heads and they appear to have reached nirvana.

There is no meanness in these dogs. We are not afraid of them, but we are afraid for them. They have pointer dog behaviors, Labrador stances, and boxer feet, but their mix suggests pit bull-looking characteristics. We don’t know their bloodlines, but I’d say “daddy was a travelin’ man.”

They may have been dumped for their difficulties or because of breed specific legislation issues. I am not a fan of dumping dogs! It is illegal! However, some rescues require donations to surrender a pet. Some people are embarrassed that they can’t afford a pet or figure out how to solve a behavior. A few of the surrounding areas don’t allow dogs looking like pit bulls to live inside the city limits. Other communities require muzzles, fences with concrete bottoms and lids, and have financial consequences for having bully breeds. Someone might not be able to keep the dogs because of how the dogs look. And some rescues won’t take bully-looking breed or euthanize them without attempting to place. Please don’t blame the rescues, human societies, and animal control for this either! If the dogs aren’t legal in the area, are powerful and have any problem (like jumping up), rescues must be careful about placing those dogs. There are many factors to consider when looking at the dog problems.

I’m not a fan of breed specific legislation, but how do community officials make people take responsible care of their dogs? How do we keep people and dogs safe?

Many of the blog entries to come will be about how we developed our plans and how we work each day to help these beautiful and challenging creatures become family dogs! The process is teaching me every, single day. Gabe and Rose are changing our lives in ways we never expected!