u/zephyrjudge

(Bonus funny pic of a small scratch I found above her eye and took about 4 million pictures of out of concern)

Only had her out of the shelter since about May. Detroit shelter dog with an unknown history. We were concerned with how she’d react to it, gave her lots of treats and a little melatonin per vets advice. And she did great! Slept through most of it, peeked her head out the window a few times- no barking, no whining, no accidents!!! Just cuddles and snores!! I’m so proud of her ☺️

Never thought I’d be a dog owner this soon, and never EVER thought my first dog would be a shelter mutt. Best experience of my life so far. I can’t wait for the rest of her life❤️🌷

Recently welcomed this year old beauty into our life, she’s been home for a month or so now. We’ve taken it really easy and given her so much grace, though honestly she’s been a model dog. Already been to the vet and got a clean bill of health, trainer is upcoming, haven’t had the appointment yet. Already knows basic commands: “Sit” “Down” “Stay” “Wait” “Gentle”, though still needs positive reinforcement for a few of those. Completely potty trained, except for two accidents. She’s still a puppy, they’re gonna have accidents, especially being a rescue puppy in a new environment. So like I said, we give her a lot of grace; take our time going out, short spurts of socialization at a time, really reading her body language and going over it together so we’re all in communication.

The accident situation is where I wanna talk about. The first one happened the first night we brought her home; okay, it’s a fluke, hasn’t happened since until last night. We get home after a nice little bedtime playtime/car ride and seeing as she had gone potty outside about an hour ago, I figured we were good for a little bit while I unwound and got ready for bed myself (I always make sure taking her out is the last thing I do). We walk and she immediately goes for the back door, and then my gf called her to come upstairs with her, and she bolted because she loves my girlfriend lol. As soon as I get in the room and get my shoes off my gf comes out of the bathroom from brushing her teeth just letting me know, “hey so she peed on the bathmat”. I say, “alright no big deal, I guess she doesn’t have to go anymore, tell her it’s okay and go in the room I’ll go throw it in the wash”. So she does that, my puppy very nervously walks up to the door and bolts inside and runs to her kennel (it’s a soft crate with soft plastic and strong mesh that’s able to be secured, but we often leave one entrance open for her). Guys that was at like….. 11PM. She hasn’t left her kennel since and it’s 6AM the next day now besides us coaxing her out with treats. Then she’ll come cuddle for a bit while we tell her in soft voices that it’s okay and it’s just an accident and we know that she’s potty trained, she just like…. Won’t stop being in there.

We don’t use her kennel for punishment, we don’t even necessarily punish her at all. The first week or two we’d put her in there at bedtime because everything was all still so new, we didn’t want her to get overstimulated, blah blah). After the second week she’d go in it voluntarily. The past week or so she’s been sleeping on the bed, but has occasionally gone into the kennel during the day a few times to hang out with a toy or a chew or something. So no, we did not throw her in the kennel for having an accident. We’ve spent all night alternating between leaving her alone and checking on her (“how’s my sweet baby?” “You okay baby puppy?” “It was just an accident and you didn’t even make a huge mess” “you’re still learning and we know you know better it was just an accident baby”), and coaxing her out with treats. She’ll cuddle with us for 30 minutes max if we’ve given her treats, but that’s about it. It’s starting to break my heart.

At least we know she’s comfortable enough with us to steal our pillows😭

Clean bill of health! Great weight, but could stand to gain just a few, she’s very lean. Listened to us and the vet and sat still so perfectly for the stethoscope! Just some mild allergies so we’re gonna change her food. Taking guesses as to what the hell breeds are in this pup (obviously she’s just a mutt but soon we’d like to get a DNA test for her; just for the curiosity of it all.

And I think I’m hooked. For life. She’s the very first Pitty I’ve ever owned and she’s just perfect. Knows commands somehow. Mimicks our energy amazingly; is calm when we’re calm, is playful when we wanna play with her. I knowwe still have a long time to go, but so far, she’s been a model puppy. Perfectly playful and beautiful.

A little over a year and a half, the shelter just told us, “pitbull mix” and that’s it. Hoping to get a doggy DNA test soon!

Felt so nice getting a dog out of the shelter. Any tips / tricks you fine people of Reddit have figured out will fare us well. So far she’s been the bestest girl. Warmed up to us instantly. The shelter said she had no interest in toys- well that’s a lie! She loves being by your side, and is already so protective of me and my girlfriend. Just wanted to share; she’s the first dog I ever got (aside from family pets as kids).

As a cat owner, I’m 99% sure it was the cat himself who stole this owner’s phone and ordered this food for himself. I love getting orders for pet food and then seeing the pet when I drop off, I always tell them, “look! Your dinners here!!” This one scent rubbed on me and started rolling on his back😍