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Tuesday, August 12, 2014

Birthday Pawty!

Dante turns 2 tomorrow!
Mama's Little Boy


"The friendship of a dog is, without doubt, more intense
 and more constant than that of man." ~ Montaigne

We have now had Dante for a whole year! Although it seems as if he has been in our lives for forever, I couldn't imagine him not being in our family. He's been an amazing dog and has progressed from being a crazy out of control boy to the perfect gentleman in the time that we've had him.

I can proudly say all the kids in our area love him (although a couple kids prefer that Ziva is smaller and less excitable) and join us when we play outside. He also has a few who regularly like to knock on the door and see if they can play with him in the yard.

Things People have Learned from Dante this last year:

  1. He has shown people that you can train an easily excitable/high energy dog.
  2. Your mood and behaviors influence how a dog reacts to you.
    1. If you excitedly greet him, he goes crazy! 
    2. If you calmly greet him, he sits nicely and just his tail shows how crazy he really want to be.
  3. A proper dog greeting is not being jumped on - he's great at being polite.
  4. "Pit Bulls" can be great with kids - we prefer to use the term "Bully Breed" as it is more accurate. Dante loves playing with children, and the energy that surrounds kids. However he is really gentle when he plays tug, he never steals things from hands, he drops his toy when asked, and he is very careful not to knock anyone down. He seems to go out of his way to be especially gentle around little people.
  5. All dogs can learn to "heel" and not pull.
    1. Part of our training involves borrowing our neighbors kids to walk our dogs up and down the street, they learn how a dog should properly behave, and our dogs learn that they can't pull and must politely walk with whoever is holding the leash.
  6. Separation anxiety can be cured!
  7. Crate training eases anxiety issues - Dante loves his crate and sometimes wants alone time so he'll go in on his own.
  8. "Pit Bulls" are not monsters.
    1. Dante is large, he's 65+ pounds, dark colored, and those who see him either find him beautiful or scary because of his doggy/breed features.
    2. We do our best to strike up conversations with people who are interested or ask "What breed is he?", we also try to ease fears when we see that someone is uncomfortable by saying things like: "He's friendly, would you like to say hi?" We're conscious not to approach anyone though unless they want to be approached, and his leash manners are often complimented.
  9. Just because they are a bully breed doesn't mean they are dog aggressive - Dante loves other dogs! But you should always ask first.
  10. His big mouth is very gentle when it comes to playing or being given treats.
First time I met and walked Dante
My silly boy
The two men in my life
Dante's "Please play?" face
His new sister loved him at first sight
Our winter power outage - taking warmth/shelter at our neighbors home.
"Mom! Did you know that new water is cold?!"


"Aren't I adorabull!"

He's my hiking, biking, joring, snowshoeing companion, guardian angel, and I wouldn't trade him for anything.
We love our boy! He's been a joy this last year and we look forward to many more years to come!

Tomorrow we're making cake! Stay tuned for more fun!

Grain-Free Peanut Butter Apple Doggy Cake
Grain Free Peanut Butter Apple Doggy Cake! - by Spoonful of Sugar Free

We'd love it if you shared your favorite homemade doggy treats with us!   

5 comments:

  1. PAWsome! Happy Barkday! Enjoy your Barkday cake. Golden Woofs

    ReplyDelete
  2. Happy Birthday, Dante! Woofs from Jeffie, Rudy and Rosie

    ReplyDelete
  3. AWWWW!! Happy Birthday Dante! What a good boy! He sure hit the jackpot with you guys!

    ReplyDelete
  4. Happy birthday, Dante! You've taught your humans and others so many excellent lessons over the last year. Good boy!

    ReplyDelete

Barks & Howls are always welcome!!

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