DNA, Hearts and Souls

Every Sunday morning Pit Bulls (and some other breeds of dogs) that want to shine up their leash manners around other dogs come to class to learn to have good manners around other dogs on leash. This class is done on a nice quiet little street in Los Gatos California. Some people come out of their houses with their coffee cups and watch with strong interest. Others walk by or come by on bikes. Some folks actually come by and start videoing the class.

One very nice woman came by and watched the class one Sunday and mentioned that she was terrified of dogs. I talked to her about dog behavior and showed her using the class dogs what certain body language in dogs could mean. She was very interested in learning and continued to come to class every week.

This Sunday was our Canine Good Citizen testing day. One of our CGC achievers was Maximus. Our very nice lady friend met this deliciously handsome and squishy kissable love boat and was amazed at how friendly, mannerly and truly wonderful he was. This seemed to melt her fears along with her heart.

So, DNA schmeeNA. Not saying it isn’t important and even critical to have this testing tool but until testing is perfected, more widely available and more economical, focus on the fact that dogs like Maximus continue to warm hearts and change minds is what it takes to build understanding about these amazing dogs.

Congratulations to Maximus and to all of the new CGC recipients!

Happy Endings

Once upon a time there was a sweet little dog who found herself at the local shelter. She was one of those wiggle butts who says hey, pet me, come and see me with her entire body. Unfortunately she also had some spots on her skin so the shelter had to run tests to make sure she wasn't contagious. In the mean time most of her interactions were through the kennel but that butt never stopped wiggling.

Finally she was deemed to not be contagious but by then she was also full of unspent energy from waiting in the kennels. Let's just say that Heidi (which is what I had started calling her) did not have the best leash manners in the world. Can we say leash reactive??? In spite of this I convinced (ok, maybe begged just a little) Marthina to go and check her out. Gino the budda dog came along to see help with the evaluation. After a rough start she actually did quite well and into OurPack she came! She came into our foster program and we could all see her potential. She had great focus, when she wasn't doing the zoomies, and she won many hearts but she would take a special home who wanted to work with her and continue her forward progress.

Fast forward....a goofy choclatey brown pit bull named Choco and his mom and dad had been trying to find a new addition to their household. Look at this pooooor lonely guy. Well as luck would have it, they saw Miss Heidi's picture and thought they may make a good match.

Choco seemed to be head over heals for her

Thankfully his mom and dad were too!! It was such a good match for two goofy young dogs and fabulous pet parents.

We are thrilled to announce that Heidi is in her forever home...could it end any better!!

Thank you Alan and Celeste for giving our special girl such a perfect home!

pictures courtesy of Stephanie Lamm and Celeste Uy

How did a schnauzer lover end up working with all these pit bulls?

Four years ago my beloved schnauzer had passed away. I really missed being with bigger dogs but my living situation didn't allow them so I decided to volunteer at the shelter. I signed up, went through the orientation and then the training began. In my naivete I assumed that I would be hanging around with poor perfectly behaved Labs and Golden Retrievers who through no fault of their own had ended up homeless. Hmm...well not so much. What I did find at that time were the not so perfectly well behaved labs and a fairly large population of pit bulls and mixes. Like so many others I had heard the horror stories on the news about maulings and admitted to the staff that I wasn't too sure about these dogs who looked so friendly on the surface. They advised me to read up about their true temperament and just take my time getting to know some of them before making any decisions. Well, as luck would have it I was asked to help with a doggie play group one quiet Sunday. My job as the only volunteer in the group was to go and get the dogs to bring them to the doggie gym. I may have been uneasy, but I was also stubborn and I wasn't about to admit to this much younger staff that I couldn't do that. As luck would have it they asked me to go and get Hailey. A young energetic but very sweet brindle pit bull. I went in her kennel and put the leash on her, she immediately felt that it was her job to let me know that her most vicious trait was her unabashed desire to lick my face which she proceeded to do. Back to the gym we went and she made a bee line to my lap, covering me with slobbery kisses.

Right then I made up my mind to just get over it and give these dogs a chance, and I can honestly say that they have not disappointed me. There is no other dog that can wiggle their entire body in such pure joy at the sight of a person who is going to share a few moments of love with them. It didn't matter that I wasn't going to be the one to take them home, I was there at that moment and that made them happy, which always made me happy too.

Fast forward a couple of years and lo and behold walking down the streets of Campbell was Hailey and her mom. After all of that time, Miss Hailey, much to the chagrin of her mom, jumped up on me and once again slobbery kisses were in order! Her mom is Marthina, and the two of us became fast friends. She brought me up to date on Hailey, who was now a Certified Therapy Dog, and living with a less than sweet but still very cute chihuahua/pug named Daisy. Soon we were partners at the shelter and saw that there were many other pit bulls who needed our help. After much discussion, and a ton of work especially on Marthina's part, OurPack, Inc was born.

I guess the point of this rambling is that if I hadn't decided to give this one dog a chance and get to know her as an individual animal who was and is so full of love, I would have missed out on all of the dogs to follow. I wouldn't have seen Dexter become Hailey's brother, or Carter and Rachel blossom in their new homes. I would have missed the smiles that follow Leo and Zoey and now Charlotte who began their lives living in the world of dog fighters and now bring joy to patients nursing homes and Cancer treatment centers. To me....that is a lot to miss.

Pit Bulls & Picasso

We are so proud to have our webmaster as the "Picasso of Pets!" Without the very talented Stephanie Lam we'd be nowhere, no-how!

Check out this fabulous article in the Mercury News about this fantastic artist that we are so proud to have as a member of Our Pack.

Yet ANOTHER Fight Bust Dog Turned Therapist Extraordinaire!

Not just our former Michael Vick dog, Leo, but now Zoe too!

Break out the streamers and balloons!! Zoe, our Missouri fight bust dog, has also just passed all of her tests for therapy certification. She now regularly visits a rest home in San Jose, California, and puts smiles on every face she greets.

Zoe came to us from the Missouri Humane Society (www.hsmo.org). This wonderful shelter took in dogs from a Stoddard County dog fighting bust late last year.

When we first got Zoe she was very shut down and wanted to approach everyone on her belly.…poor thing. But no more of that for this girl! Now, she’s very outgoing, loves everyone she meets, and has regained the inherent confidence that we see in these fantastic creatures.

If that’s not enough good news, Zoe was adopted recently by her foster mom, Cindy. Yay! We think these two are perfect for each other - as you can see in the photo. :)

Congrats to Zoe and her new mom Cindy!

Cindy on Zoe:
"I knew the moment Zoe was in my heart. About an hour after I brought her home for the first time, she crawled into my lap and let me hold her for over an hour. She leaned against me and I remember thinking, 'How could I ever let her go?' Shortly after that I was discussing adoption with Marthina, founder of Our Pack. Zoe gets along great with my 2 Labradors and has been a wonderful playmate to the new Pit Bull I am now fostering. "

How terrific is that!

Stay tuned: we have MORE fight bust dogs that will be certified and working as therapy dogs shortly. (Ya know, these dogs are simply cut out for this work). Their stories will amaze you!

The REAL interview! Mary Harwelik of REALPitBull.com Speaks Out...

What a treat! Mary Harwelik, Pit Bull advocate, trainer, expert, and founder of The REAL Pit Bull (http://realpitbull.com) shares her story with Our Pack! She's pictured here with her AmStaff, Luca.

Our Pack: You're a respected Pit Bull advocate and trainer. How did you get involved in dog training?

Mary Harwelik: I grew up around dogs, cats and horses. Animals have always been 'my thing'. I started training dogs when I was 7 and went to my first dog training class and graduated at age 8 or 9. Everything snowballed from there, and I branched out to working with horses, got more of my own dogs, did some showing (horse and dog), and eventually decided I wanted to be a dog trainer. I apprenticed with several trainers, taught some classes, and took private clients.

OP: What kind of training methods do you use?

MH: Back then I did heavy-handed traditional training. Eventually I 'crossed over' to using positive methods when I hit a brick wall with my AmStaff's dog-aggression issues. It became very obvious to me that there were severe limitations with traditional dog training, and that the techniques were actually making my dog worse. I dived into the new literature that was coming out, went to school to learn more about psychology and learning theory, and over a period of time, switched over fully to positive methods.

OP: So what have you been up to since?

MH: I've been taking on clients of my own since about 1999 or 2000, and gradually as the rescues in my area became familiar with me, I started doing training, post-adoption counseling, and behavior consulting for several. Working with rescue and shelter dogs immediately hit me as 'my true calling', and remains the work I enjoy most. In 2006 I started Peaceable Canines which offers dog training and other services geared at educating people on the true nature of dogs, clicker training, and of course I specialize in Pit Bulls and shelter/rescue dogs. I teach classes and private training, do behavioral consulting as well as Pit Bull consulting, in central NJ. I am a Certified Pet Dog Trainer, or CPDT, through the Certification Council of Professional Dog Trainers, as well as a Canine Good Citizen evaluator for the AKC. I also read like crazy and attend seminars - I am an info fiend! I am never satisfied with my level of knowledge, and always feel I have something more to learn.

OP: Wow! Sounds like your life has gone to the dogs. :) What would you say are your top priorities education-wise?

MH: I have two main missions in life: 1) to help end some nasty myths about dogs that lead to really unfair and severe treatment (like the 'dominance' myth, aggressive dogs need to be physically punished, positive methods only work on 'some dogs', pinch collars simulate a mother dog's teeth and 'don't hurt', etc) and 2) preach about Pit Bulls! I can do both through Peaceable Canines and I love it!

OP: So how did you end up specializing in Pit Bulls?

MH: My earliest memory of being aware of Pit Bulls was probably 18 years ago at a dog training class. One of the students had AmStaffs and a friend pointed out, "Those are Pit Bulls! They are so aggressive, with locking jaws!" and I remember thinking, "I can't believe they let those dogs in here!" as I grabbed my little terrier mix and pulled her close to me. I didn't think much about Pit Bulls for several years, but for some reason, one day, I sent for a magazine advertised in Dog World about the breed. To this day, I am not really sure what prompted me to do this. When I got the mag, it was one of those dog-fighter-in-disguise publications and I was HORRIFIED. I threw the magazine out. But something stayed with me, and I started doing more research. The more I read, the more enamored I became. And once I actually met some Pit Bulls, forget it, it was all over! I have officially been a Pit Bull addict since 1994 - I brought my first Pit Bull home in Sept, 1994. Pit Bulls have been The Only Thing That Matters to me ever since.

OP: They sure have a way of capturing your heart, don't they! But it must have been a long journey from buying that magazine to The Real Pit Bull - how did RPB evolve?

MH: I wasn't involved in Pit Bulls long before I realized just how confused the world was about the breed, and I started doing more research on BSL and figuring out how I could combat the fear mongering. I toyed with the idea of several organizations but they never got off the ground. When I got online in the mid to late 90's, I discovered a whole new world of Pit Bull people, fighters FOR the breed, and.....websites! It was such an education. And me being the writer and needing to speak my mind and my thoughts the way I do, thought that I could start a website about the breed with just some basic info and myth-debunking, that it would be fun and helpful, and leave it at that. I bought realpitbull.com and called my site The Real Pit Bull, and started writing. And never stopped! 10 years or so later, the site has grown tremendously, and I've turned an informational website into a breed organization.

OP: Did you realize what an important resource it was going to become? How did creating RPB change your life personally?

MH: I started getting invited to host educational breed booths at fairs, get tons of calls/emails from owners and others looking for breed advice and behavioral help, reporters looking for info, and requests for behavioral evaluations. All because of the exposure I was getting through realpitbull.com. Without really specifically looking to turn RPB into an organization, something more than a website, it morphed into one on its own.

OP: RPB really has become an irreplaceable fixture in the Pit Bull community. I hope you have help running all this?

MH: RPB is run by me and my boyfriend Scott Amorski, and we have several volunteers. RPB does breed education, provides free informational materials on the breed, offers training and behavioral help, counseling, etc. Our newest offering is CGC testing for Pit Bulls done at no charge for shelter/rescue dogs. I hope to see RPB continue to grow and our services expand.

OP: That's fantastic! Our Pack is thrilled to highlight the awesome work you do. Thanks for sharing!
MH: This work is something I love doing and the breed means more to me than I could ever express. Thanks for letting me share about my work with the breed and talk about RPB!

To learn more about The Real Pit Bull and the services it offers, visit the website at: http://realpitbull.com.

Mutts and Stuff

Again, we believe in angels. Gale Frey at Mutts and Stuff is one for sure. She’s been rescuing Pit Bulls for 7 years now. She recently worked with us on the Missouri fight bust case.

Check out her website and what she does. She’s awesome www.muttsandstuff.com

Gale also sent us this article as it’s hitting her literally where she lives. Please blog along with us. We’d like to hear your views on this topic. Click here for the article!

Thanks for all that you do Gale!

Marthina