So this week I find myself dogsitting a delightful pit bull, Boo. I don’t have a picture but she looks quite a lot like the one on the right/bottom of this picture (except with more love in her eyes). She’s half pit and half Am Staff, a pit bull (a breed now carefully regulated in this province) through and through.
I am planning on getting a dog for myself and so this seemed a good oppurtunity for a warm-up (especially considering the pounds and adoption agencies are full of pit bulls these days, honestly, all but two or three dogs on the Humane Society website are pit bull mixes). It’s going well, we are getting along smashingly, and I have never had so much exercise.
However, my sleep-deprived mind begs me, will I ever get a full night’s sleep again? I feel like a new parent. The first night she was here she barfed on my bed, so I threw her out of the bedroom and shut the door. After 24 puke-free hours she was invited back up, and we had a jolly time, she curled up on my feet (yes, right on them, I can’t see how that was comfortable for her) and slept pretty soundly.
The next night she was pretty restless (despite the two loooong walks she had had that day) and kept jumping out of bed to investigate noises; she rarely barks but her feet on my linoleum floors are pretty loud. So I shut her out of the bedroom. Of course she didn’t like that one bit (now that she knew of the pleasures awaiting her inside), she skittered around and barked at a few passing strangers, and ultimately it got quiet … too quiet … except for a regular thumping sound that I couldn’t identify. With visions of my living room being destroyed, I came out to investigate, and she was sitting on the rocking chair, rocking back and forth really fast. It all seemed like anxious behaviour to me. So I let her back in the bedroom (maybe it was the wrong thing to do, but it was 1 am on a school night and I didn’t know what else to do!) and she settled right down beside me.
Last night she was great, except that she got up whenever someone was in the hallway (which I share with two other apartments, one of which contains someone who gets up really early to go to work).
I take her out for a long walk just before bed, and just after I wake up, but she still gets up when my neighbour does, and two or three other times in the night. If she didn’t stay in the bedroom, she would still wake me up when she moved around because of the nails-on-lino thing. And I feel that if I tried to shut her in the living room or in a crate, she would wake me up with her moaning.
Plus, sometimes she chews her feet. I find that odd. The only real issue is that she does it when curled up beside me, and I don’t particularly like her massively strong jaws doing that particular thing right beside my skin. It seems like a nervous behaviour but she’s anything but nervous when she’s doing it (she’ll wake up from a nap while I’m watching TV, and chew away.)
Other than that she is a combination of a big sucky lapdog, and a poorly socialized pit bull. Her owners think it’s cute when she “kisses” them - ie snaps her jaws near their face and hands to say hello! She doesn’t do it to me any more because I ignore her when she does, and I always put the muzzle on her when we go out, but I can see how this kind of dog can easily hurt people with their overzealousness. She truly does just want to say hello, and she doesn’t know her own strength. Her owners are good people but they don’t seem to be aware of what a bad habit that is. She’s only 2, tho, so she’ll probably chill out as she gets older.
Walking with her is interesting too. I am worried that everyone is scared of her (plus I know she’ll snap at them through the muzzle - MY dog will not be doing that!), so when I pass by them I pull her closer to me. And so what people see is a muzzled and restrained pit bull, who is pulling towards them (because she wants to say hello), and who is restless because she isn’t allowed off her leash (because of Ontario’s stupid breed-specific legislation), and who feels defensive because she is restrained and everyone around her is free. Poor thing.
Overall, I can totally see why people love this breed. She is very friendly (to people), she doesn’t destroy my possessions (but makes short work of every chew-toy she’s been given, except for the Kong which she ignores), I don’t have to worry about leaving food out while she’s around, she’s totally fine on her own (uncrated) all day while I’m at work, she is very quiet, and I’ve only had her for four days and she already knows what I want from her (she doesn’t “kiss” me any more, she sits for me to put the leash on, etc). (A friend of mine adopted a pit bull from the pound; I went to visit a few days later and was astonished to see him say “Go get your toy and go to your bed” - and the dog did exactly that!)
However, because of the stupid law, she can’t be allowed off leash or out without a muzzle. Even if I had my own, well-behaved pit bull, who could be trusted off-leash and unmuzzled, she would never be allowed to play like other dogs. It breaks my heart to see her watching the other dogs play, and to see their owners looking at her like she’s some kind of monster. Gah!
So, one day soon, I will have a dog of my own. Might be a pit, might not, going by my experience this week I’m happy either way.
May you rest in peace, baby girl - you were the best.