Soon to Rescue - Blanquita - Dogo Argentino Female

Here’s the pictures of Blanquita … As far as info, the story is as follows:

-16 mo old Spayed Female Dogo Argentino
-Purchased from private owner when dog was 3 mo old
-Unable to keep because “needs more attention than I can offer”
-Never bitten a person or other animal
-May growl at strangers, “Strong sense of hunting” (unclear what they mean by that)
-Not good with cats
-House trained, crate trained, never has accidents
-20-30 minute walks 3x week
-Knows ‘sit’ ‘down’ ‘stay’ ‘come’ ‘paw’
-Gotten along with kids under 5, 6-12 yrs, adults and elderly
-Lived with a 10 y/o female Lhasa Apso
-Likes car rides, scared of thunder
-Described as playful, loyal, protective and smart, “needs exercise, likes to play a lot”

I would add that she really, really likes peanut butter. She is VERY underweight, and had on a cinch collar (in pictures, we removed it) that was much too small, barely fit over her head to be removed … likely left on since puppy hood. She is quite affiliative, especially for being so scared; likes to lean her head in or curve her body in to your torso for close contact.

Recent Rescue: Noche

This little girl was rescued at about 6 weeks old from a BYB situation. Decent condition but removed from mother too early. Searching for a home but won't be available to actual home until 8 weeks old.

Plumbers & Friends visits

Yesterday was a challenging day. We had no water at my house because the pipes started leaking from various spots and then the actual water heater started leaking. I had to wait for the plumber to come by to take care of the problem. Thankfully, it was a friend of a friend and he was sweet and didn't charge an exorbitant amount. OF course once he finished I felt foolish because if I would have taken the time to research the problem and crawl underneath the confines of the home, I probably could have taken care of it myself. I just dislike doing the crawling under.
Toby took the visitors with quiet observation. Amox of course made a fuss, and had to do his tough man stances all over the place. I simply ignored him.
Then I had a couple of friends over and Amox ended up having to make a huge scene fighting with Toby from a distance, as they are both tethered. And the pain in the a$$ bit me. Didn't really break skin but did enough pressure to bruise my hand in a good way. He did this when I pulled him up on the prong which he didn't appreciate. Afterwards, he's been doing the commands without me having to repeat it as I ignored him the rest of the day. So now I'm bruised and having a hard time handling things but alright, if anything I'm more pissed off then anything.

One of the things I've been considering lately is going raw on the dogs food. I've been feeding Taste of the Wild (TOTW) but Amox still has soft stool on occasion and isn't completely healed from the allergies. Toby has his worms and well that in itself has been concerning, I'm treating him with de-wormer. I'm going to try adding some natural stuff to their diets like garlic and slippery elm as suggested by another dogo owner. I want both boys to be healthy weights - balanced. I'm hoping to pick up the dog pen this weekend. And when the weather gets warmer be able to fix up the yard - fence it in so the boys can be out there safely for longer periods of time. Leaving me in the house to vacuum without commotion. Or simply just giving them some play time without tethering. I worry when I've got an episode of vertigo coming on its hard for me to do the outside thing or give them actual time. Not that they are that frequent but still.

My Dogo Genesis

I've been involved with the Dogo Argentino since 2001, I brought my first dogo Argentino puppies (Yes, 2, something I would never recommend) into my home in November of 2001. Argo and Ananaki were about 4 months old from North Carolina, a pair of older women who were both in ill health and unable to care for the dogos they had in residence had these two puppies. I literally paid $500 for both pups. Ananaki was a bilaterally deaf fireball acrobat. Argo was a pirate male. Both pups had digestive sensitivities, Argo significantly worse then Ananaki. The father was Legend and Sugar, both parents were on property, I suspected that these guys were bred on purpose and for money purposes, but both pups were riddled with worms and were so shy, completely unsocialized nor house manners in the least. The parents were both extremely obese and Sugar was easily held on a leash, sweet girl. Legend had growths on his skin that were extremely odd. I took pictures of the parents and brought them home, AGAIN this is something I would never recommend. My heart tends to go before my head. This decision lead me into a huge change in my life.
Prior to having the Dogo Argentino in my life I had dogs as a child - unmemorable mixed breeds until the age of 5, a Cocker Spaniel named Toro when I was 7-8 years old, a German Shepherd/Collie named Baby as young teenager and a Pekingese named Benji in my late teens. I was the child who brought home all the hurt and dying animals on my way home from school. I rescued birds all the time. Kept aquariums since the age of 8, parakeets, gerbils, rabbits and even a pet chicken. But I always pestered my parents for dogs. I worked at my local SPCA for about a year where we had pretty common breeds, while there I adopted a Shepherd Husky female, named Mona in January of 2001. I really truly never had any experience with dominant dogs before taking on the Dogo. I am being honest because I want people to know the truth of learning things the hard way and how many hard knocks I had with Dogos. There's a right way and a wrong way to do things, and then there are those grey ways that can be incredibly difficult, challenging and just seem riddled with obstacles - you can probably guess which way I chose to go.
When I brought home these pups initially all was great - I got them both crates, set-up their stuff, they were cuddly affectionate and just completely sweet. Argo was the leader - he pushed his way to the front, picked up commands quickly, challenged things and seemed to always be trying to figure things out and think them through. Ananaki, shortened to Naki, quickly proved to show her acrobatic skills by climbing furniture, crates and fences; her mischievous nature shined through her sweet brown eyes. Mona was the momma - she helped teach the pups manners and when they weren't cooperative they got pawed hard or scruffed by her. She seemed to enjoy her position in our growing pack. At the time I still fostered other dogs - Great Danes, American Pitbull Terriers, Siberian Huskies and a Doberman.
Please, do not get the idea that these first few months were blissful, they were anything but. The pups were not becoming crate trained or housebroken or learning anything about where their urine or feces should go. They'd both fill their crates up with messes, I'd never bought so much paper towels in my life. Also Naki was a constant loud pitched barker that was horrid. They'd be covered in feces in urine while crated when we came home from work. When we'd go outside every couple of hours, they'd still not get the concept of using the bathroom outside. I suspect while they were with the ladies in NC they weren't being cleaned often enough. Naki and Argo both had raging ear infections for the first few months of their lives. Their feces were never firm - just squishy watery nastiness and we struggled with all types of kibble. I'm sure there are many message boards still carrying my desperate messages from those days. I would be crying between their crates trying to figure out what I was doing wrong. Crate training had never been an issue for me before. Their poop messes were horrendous, I couldn't figure out what to feed them. I was spending more money on their food then on our own - and absolutely none of it seemed to work. We de-wormed them multiple times. I can't imagine how many people had experienced such a horrendous beginning with dogos and can still willingly share their lives with them.

God is Good

Last night I watched as this beautiful creature who has suffered unknown pain and neglect by human hand, still managed to want affection and desired to please me. I feel completely undeserving of his attention and sweet moments of true love. I remember my theory of God's demonstration of love surrounds us, which better way demonstration of ever forgiving, ungrudging love then through the eyes of these creatures who provoke such heartfelt emotions within me.
I look into his beautiful earth colored eyes, and wonder what have they witnessed. What human eyes could have looked into this creature's, and still continue to do what they did. I have heard his barks of warning to any being that comes close to my home, threatening growls against unexpected suspicious movements yet he's only been with me for two evenings. He guards me, us, our home against evil of unknown kinds, defending our property, without regard to himself.
His deplorable conditions speak only of the lack of regard for himself, his neglect visible in lacking musculature and myriad health issues. I am gathering funding to put him back to a decent condition, to give him respect for the protection and undeserving love he gives me and my home.
I can only be grateful that in God mercy's such a creature exists, for we are blessed as they come into our lives, to share a reflection of God's love. Thank you Toby.

Amox at the Potomac River

Prior to me picking up Toby on Saturday Amox and I went to the Potomac River and walked/jogged...well,l in all honestly Amox was frustrated with me *trying* (emphasize on trying) to walk fast/jog with him.
He LOVED it, as usual. We added a new feature to our walk which is his new dog saddle bags, they had water containers and a few odds and ends for his walk. I've figured he's going to start hauling his own stuff. I need him to get more tired then me, or work out more during our walks. I'm planning on getting him a weighted vest and/or collar to start, but I wanted to see how he'll do with wearing something. I rarely, dress dogs up, just not my thing, I never understood the purpose of it unless the dog was in extreme weather or they weren't suited to the outside environment.
Last time when we were in training, he was shivering. I do notice that Amox's coat isn't as full as other dogos I've had in the past, so I was concerned that his shivering would somehow inhibit his learning and focus during our training. But in honesty, it happened during the cool down time after the training, when we each checking in with the trainer.
After reading up some posts from other dogo owners, it may be that he needs time to adjust to this, and perhaps environmentally grow a thicker coat? Not sure about that overall yet. We'll see how the weather develops and how he does.
Otherwise when we went out to the river on Saturday, it wasn't too bad outside. He enjoyed it and got some exercise. I wish I could get up earlier in the morning and do this regularly.

New Foster Dog - Toby, A Great Pyrnees

I guess I'm working my way through the breeds that make up the Dogo Argentino.
This is our newest addition as of Saturday evening, his name is Toby, which is English for "God is good." Which after what I've been through recently, I can't doubt.
He is about 6-8 months old, was a Craig's Listing posting for free, I picked him up in Fredericksburg. I just couldn't leave him. He is a sweetheart. Great temperament. Protective. I beginning to understand the meaning of the whole livestock guardian dog and what that entails.
Toby has a sweet temperament, we'll see how well he hits off with Amox. They just started butting heads.
I need to apply the rules I use on Amox to Toby, and I'm going to need to get another anchor for the house and move some stuff around. Toby is quite a big boy. He requires veterinary care, possibly even surgery because he has some back end issues.

"OFF THE COUCH"

We are working on staying off the furniture. Amox is no longer allowed to be on the bed or the couch - he's slowly tests the bed occasionally but the couch is a constant trial between the two of us. I know he sleeps on it now, I'm debating whether I should let him be in the smaller bedroom that I'm basically using for storage, and how that would go in dog-view.
Its interesting that ever since he's been removed from "possessing" the couch or the bed, he's a lot more compliant with certain things, so that is an improvement.


We are also working on his command to "watch out", I think he likes it, his body language speaks volumes as far as noticing, he likes his "job". When I notice that he is watching out, his body gets stiff, he may cock his head to one side depending where the sound is coming from, he is completely paying attention to the smell and sounds coming from the outside. When I see it I give him praise, when he barks and acts appropriate to weird noises outside, I give him a special treat that's specifically for that command. The good thing is when I tell him, thank you for letting me know he stops the barking, unless he hears more. Amox gets sooooo happy when its acknowledged and he gets rewarded for "watching out". So I think that makes him feel utilized and his confidence is built all which makes me happy.
I can't wait till I feel better and we can start going out. Its raining ice here, so he was wondering what the heck I was going to do when we were going outside, the idea didn't appeal much to him.

We haven't really been out much since I've been sick, but I am thankfully, starting to feel better but the weather has been keeping me indoors as well, as I'm scared to get sick again.

Sick Owner means Frustrated Dog

I've been sick for over a week, and Amox has been feeling the boredom and frustration so he lays back and does this crazy dance and looks up at me as if to shout I'm BORED!
And I so understand, he's even watching movies now, especially if they have animals or guns or high action.
He's also learning his "notice" command more, we've been practicing that one.
I've been too weak to do any actual physical movements, so we've been doing more establishing boundaries working with the hitch rings I put up and learning place. Plus, its pretty cold here so I can't be otuside for long, I'm hoping I feel better soon and can do more outside stuff. I'm anxious to start, I hate staying indoors myself.

Amox goes to the birds

I was thinking about getting birds for a while, I really wanted a larger bird like a parrot, but on limited funding I figured might be best if I went with something cheap and simple. So I went 'trolling' on Craig's List and found some doozies! Anyway, I located a couple of cockatiels, thinking that's what my biological father had gotten me when I was a new baby in this world, but turned out I was wrong according to my mother, they were canaries - oops!
Anyway, Amox totally was going birdie over the birds, he enjoyed watching them, scaring them to death, getting pecked (well, he didn't enjoy that but I did!;). So anytime I had to clean their area, which was quite often, their cage got put on the floor so he would take advantage of this opportunity to 'play' with them, and do bows in front of them and get them squacking good and loud. Needless to say the bird and dog language are not similar in the least.
I haven't repeated "leave it" so many times in my time with Amox and then he trots over and looks at me with a big doggie smile plastered on his big face over having disturbed the birds.