Jason's Corner:
I Didn't Sign Up For This But ...
Date: September 2008
From the Desk: Jason Mann - Senior Editor
Dear Friend and Fellow Pit Bull Lover,
A couple issues back I wrote about my life with the American Pit Bull Terrier, or "Pit Bull." I want to thank everyone who wrote back
to me with their comments. I found them inspiring and refreshing. Your comments comfirmed my passion for what I do.
Over the past 10 years I have learned a lot. My eyes have been open to so many issues we face as people, not just Pit Bull owners, and this is where my story strays from the majority of Pit Bull owners out there.
When I saw what was going on I couldn't help but get involved. I tried to keep my mouth shut and conform like the rest of the world but I couldn't allow myself to just sit back and do nothing. I saw, and still see, horrible things happening to good people and great dogs. Rescue organizations who I once donated to, supporting BSL, dog organizations I thought were here to help me, leaving me out in the cold, I could go on and on but I'll spare you the dirty little details.
These past 10 years have been a rollercoaster of emotion for me. My personal life has went up and down. Like most of our lives do. I have seen heart ache, I have felt pain, and there was a time I allowed myself to "turn off" to the reality of what I was doing. Well the good news is, I'm turned back on and am stronger than ever.
Here in Kentucky the weather recently turned cold on us. It's about time as it was unsually warm for this time of year. I was sitting out on my deck, sipping a hot cup of coffee, laptop sitting on my lap helping to keep me warm, and I found myself staring up into the sky. I went kind of blank for a moment. In that moment, I wondered to myself if there would ever be a time when I could stop. Stop being a voice for Pit Bull owners and Pit Bulls around the world and finally take a breath.
I feel like my head is being held just under the water line and every once in a while I can come up for a quick breath but then it's pushed back under. That's how I feel about the issues we face as Pit Bull owners.
I'm not complaining. I do what I do because I feel it in my bones. My grandfather called it, "Being a man." My Father calls it, "Beng responsible." I call it, resolve.
You may not agree with everything I say. I would be a fool to expect you to. I've had a lot of "heat" brought down on me from my views and opinions and frankly most of them will probably not change. My views of anti-pit bull laws for example will not change because I believe we do not need anymore new laws, period, regardless of what they are about.
I live in a world where people are responsible for their actions and their lives. If John Q. Public doesn't want to neuter his Pit Bull then that's fine. I might educate him based on his situation but I would never be so arrogant as to force him to neuter his dog because I think it's the right thing to do.
I used to be one of those people. Loud and forceful. Telling you what I thought you needed. I am no longer so arrogant. I also used to be one of those "bandwagon" guys who would demonize you if I read that you were suspected of dog fighting. I am no longer so arrogant.
We live in world where burden of proof is necessary for a conviction. To convict people based on hear-say is criminal in of itself and frankly, it's exactly what those who hate our breed want you to do.
We face a lot of issues because we chose a certain breed of dog. Thinking about it makes me dizzy with anger because it was my choice and my right to pick the American Pit Bull Terrier as the breed of dog I wanted to live my life with. Those people who are trying to force us to conform to their way of thinking, pushing their views on us, like we are toddlers in need of a sippy cup, are working very hard to make our lives miserable.
When I made the decision to bring a "Pit Bull" into my life I didn't sign up for this but...
... I will not back off. I will not lay down. I will not quit.
My resolve is as strong as a 200 hundred year old oak tree. Never swaying because I think it will be "easier." When I mentioned earlier that I would not change most of my views I had this one specific view in mind. Regardless of how hard it gets, regardless of who likes me or supports me, I will never settle for anything less than what I think is right.
You want me to support mandatory spay/neuter for Pit Bulls? Absolutely not. I will not support this anti-pit bull law. You couldn't pay me to support it.
You want me to support organizations like the HSUS, PETA and the ASPCA because they "have good intentions?" No. They do not have good intentions and I would never prostitute my beliefs to make anyone feel better about themselves.
With me, a gray area does not exist. You either are for something or you are against something. On this side or that.
I don't play in the middle and I encourage you to draw a line and pick a side. I choose being held accountable for my actions without government sticking their noses into my life. I choose standing up for my rights as an American. I choose keeping my Pit Bulls and the Pit Bulls of others safe from extermination.
I choose doing what is right.
What do you choose to do?
Until Next Issue,
Jason Mann
P.S. Are you looking for a way to fight anti-pit bull laws? I highly recommend you get, The Pit Bull Owner's Survival Guide by B. Haywood. You will learn more information within 10 minutes than you could ever learn digging up this information on your own.
Why I Train Pit Bulls Backwards
The Little Known Art of Doing Things in Reverse
You may have heard about the following training principle before but I wanted to cover it this month because I find myself using
it daily in my dog training business.
The principle I'm talking about is called, "back-chaining".
What is back-chaining? Back-chaining is when you teach a series of behaviors backwards working towards the end result.
One such behavior I taught Angel using this principle was the retrieve. Teaching the retrieve can be a pain the butt because
there are so many factors involved. Using back-chaining you break down the whole of the behavior into bite sized chunks
and teach them separately forming a "chain" to the end result, which in the retrieve is your dog giving you the item they
retrieved.
You would start by teaching your dog to "give." Put the toy in their mouth, say, "give" and then take it. Rewarding them for a proper response.
Once your dog understands the "give" cue you would then take the next step in the chain. Moving a step or two back and saying "hold" then "give"
and rewarding for a proper response.
Your next step would be to teach the "take" cue. I put the toy in front of them and encourage them to put it ino their mouth. When they do this I say,
"take" and reward for a proper response.
Once you are that point you link the chains you are built by going forward. You ask your dog to "take" the toy, then "hold" the toy, and then "give" the
toy to you. Rewarding for a proper response.
You would continue to build the chain while at the same time going back and proofing your dog on what they already know. The end result is a dog sitting on your left side, you toss the toy, you give the "take" cue, the dog runs out, picks up the toy and brings it back to you. Using this method of back-chaining creates a retrieve where your dog is eager to come to you and give you the toy back. Almost completely eliminating the "catch me if you can" game they love to play.
Back-chaining happens all the time whether you know it or not. Complex behaviors are taught whether directly or indirectly every time you play with your dog, walk your dog, or just hang out with your dog. Each part of the chain is reinforced by the cue that preceeds the next behavior.
An example of the cue being the reinforcement for the next behavior would be the "take", "hold", "give" sequence during the retrieve. When you say, "take" the dog will usually hold the toy because they have been conditioned that "hold" means, "give" which in their reward.
I use this principle every single day to teach my dogs and my clients dogs behaviors like the retreive, tracking, scent work, competitive obedience behaviors, tricks like getting the remote, opening a door, or shutting a door. Many behaviors can be taught using this principle. Next time you are working with your Pit Bull pay attention to the behaviors you are asking for. I would bet you, whether knowing it or not, used back-chaining to get the more complex set of behaviors.
One final note, learning to back-chain is quite fun. It's interesting learning how to piece a long chain of small behaviors into one long complex set of behaviors sparked by one cue. Give it a try and have fun!
Introducing Rules and Obedience
Why You Should Play Tug of War with Your Pit Bull!
Tug of war and fetch are my dogs all time favorite activities. Angel is a fetching superstar, Honey is a tug of war junkie and Patch, well he's weird. He's not big on either but he sure loves to chase those rabbits!
Dog trainers and dog owners who are "out of the loop" will tell you that playing tug of war is bad, a big no-no, an activity you should never do! While there are instances I discourage playing tug of war, say with a dog who has serious behavior issues, most of the time this is not only good for your dog but it gives you another way to teach and maintain obedience.
After learing from some French Ring Sport and Schutzhund trainers I discovered how incredibily powerful putting a Pit Bull into "drive" is in regards to training. While I'm sure there are exceptions Pit Bulls love to tug. After all, the spring pole was created just for this breed until it took root with other gripping breeds as well.
Using your Pit Bull's natural drive to grip and tug is something I encourage every owner with a well balanced and healthy dog to do. You will get a kick out of the game too.
There are some rules to this game of tug though and they are:
1.When teeth hit flesh or clothes the game ends until you are comfortable that the dog understands that they made a boo-boo. Accidental bites
will happen. Teaching your dog to control their mouth is critical and the way I accomplish this is to simply stop playing for a moment as I say, "no" in a normal
voice. I do not YELL NO! because it doesn't work as well as saying it normally. I usually act appauled. Like, "No. I can not believe you did that" and I drop the toy
on the ground and turn around as well.
This sends a clear message, no teeth on me.
2. When asking for obedience behaviors you are not allowed to ask for more than one at a time. If you say, "Fido, drop" and Fido drops the toy you are not allowed to then say, "Sit." This is not the point and you will make the game boring and tedious. The moment Fido drops on cue, immediately encourage him to play the game again. Now if you want to ask for a sit and Fido has the toy, ask Fido to drop it. When he does, encourage him to bite the toy again but this time play keep away a few times. When all four paws are on the ground say, "Fido, Sit" the moment he does, play the game again.
3. Tell your dog when the game is over with a cue. I use "Done." It doesn't matter if they keep the toy or if you take it what matters is that you give a clear, "we're finished playing this game" cue and stop playing. This way you are not "stealing" from your dog and he will want to play with you again the next time you bring out the toy. Which leads me to the fourth and final rule...
4. Once the game is over and you get the toy back put it away. Do not leave it lying around so your dog can play with it when ever they like. By putting it away you give the toy value and make it more interesting. This encourages your dog to want to engage you in play the next time you bring out the toy.
Playing Fetch works exactly the same except you are playing fetch instead of tug. Rules are the same but the game changes. That's it.
There is a down side to this approach though. If you have a "dead head" of a dog or a dog without much drive these games will be harder to play and you will have harder time getting them to do obedience while playing the games. I've seen very few Pit Bulls that were dead heads but the ones I did run into this approach for training didn't really work with them.
Jack Frost is Nipping at Your Nose
6 Tips to Keep the Cold at Bay
Winter is a hard time for some Pit Bulls because of their short coats. Here are six tips to help you keep Jack Frost from nipping at
your pooches nose this winter.
Cold Weather Tip #1: Like people if you can help keep your Pit Bulls core temperature up you will help them keep warm. There are several ways to do this. I've found that a "canine coat" is a great option or a dog t-shirt and a canine coat for the colder climates.
Cold Weather Tip #2: Keep your dog hydrated. We tend to forget that even in cold weather hydration is important. Make sure you have plenty of clean, fresh, water available for your dog to drink. If at all possible put some warm water in a Thermos and take that with you. This warm water is great for hydration and it helps maintain body temperature as well.
Cold Weather Tip #3: Booties can help keep your dog warm as well. Dogs sweat through their feet and this helps regulate temperature. By keeping their feet warm you can help keep their core temperature up as well.
Cold Weather Tip #4: Give them a vigirous rub down before you take them outside. Getting their blood moving will help warm up their muscles. Rubbing them down after the walk will also help stop muscle cramps too.
Cold Weather Tip #5:: Warm bedding. I use the Urban Sprawl from Ruff Wear. This bed is thick, comfy, and offers insulation from the cold floor. When my dogs come in from the cold they head straight for their sprawls and crash out. They look so comfortable all curled up.
Cold Weather Tip #6: Warm towels. One thing I do after an outing on a really cold day is toss some towels in the dryer. After they good and warm I drape them over the dogs for a moment or I lay the towels on their beds to help keep them warm while they resting.
Winter can be harsh in some areas and common sense goes a long way to keeping your dog from getting to cold. If the weather is extremely cold then I would not venture outside with your dog.
Use a few of the tips above to help your dog have a nice toasty winter this year.
K9 Overcoat From Ruff Wear - The K9 Overcoat is a great way to keep your Pit Bull warm during the colder days. The K-9 Overcoat features a recycled fleece insulating liner enclosed in a durable, recycled polyester shell. Approximately 95% of the K-9 Overcoat is made from recycled materials.
The Mt. Bachelor Pad - The Mt. Bachelor Pad is a portable mat that is durable, comfortable, and provides your dog a nice place to hang out while on outings or in the home.
The Urban SprawlTM Dog Bed - If you want a beefy bed that will provide your dog with ultra comfort this is it. The Urban SprawlTM Dog Bed is an outstanding bed if there ever was one.
