Hello
I work part time as a behaviorist at an animal shelter in Indiana. For the past 2 months I've been working with a wonderful pitbull. Unfortunately, he is not the kind of dog your average pet owner will be able to handle. This guy is a working dog in every sense of the word. He WANTS a job. And if he doesn't have a job, then he is going to create one, which usually involves something like tugging his leash.
I would like to find this guy a working home. He would be excellent for agility, schutzhund, rally, competitive obedience, etc. I've even thrown a frisbee for him and he was intrigued. Prince Charming is 2 years old and he was just neutered last month. So, his growth plates should have been closed, which is important for people who do a lot of sports with their dogs. He has tremendous toy drive. This guy will play tug until your arm falls off. (we are working on "out"). He also is treat motivated, so you can work him for either a treat or toy reward, which is a bonus. He is a FAST learner. And he actively wants to learn. If given a chance to wander around a room or come over to me, he chooses to come over and see what I might be doing and how that might score him a treat. He is super confident. I had him going over a teeter totter and through a closed tunnel in less than 10 minutes and he had never seen agility equipment in his life. I also had a member of our Schutzhund club work Prince and he said the dog has real potential.
Prince was picked up as a stray about 2 months ago and was at the city shelter. He was actually on a euthanasia list and in the "waiting" area for euthanasia when a pitbull advocate saw him and thought he seemed like a good candidate to save. So the dog was brought to the shelter I work for. Prince passed his temperament test, but when we placed him on the adoption floor we found out his tugging and his play style tended to scare the average person. While I have been working on him to not play tug with his leash, Prince can sense if the person handling him isn't in control and he isn't above testing, and he scares people when he tugs as he play growls and swings back and forth and then he rebites to get a better grip. Prince did well on his dog/dog intro. However, he is a very rough play style and would have to live with a dog that also had similar play techniques or a home that crates and rotates.
Prince is at a central Indiana animal shelter. He is only available for adoption through me. We are not putting him out for adoption to the general public unless that turns out to be our only recourse. I am pasting video below of Prince on agility equipment and doing bite work with a Schutzhund helper. PLEASE pass this information along to any pitbull enthusiasts who want a true working dog. I can be reached at batmanmom@gmail.com.
thank you
Connie and Prince Charming
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r4Go57bcz44
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nm8eelSuivM
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wYazfvbNRGE
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cxsn5I5Z0mM
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tKhFEkUlZg8