One of Our Favorites: Miss Goofus and Mr Gallant

It was this post that actually made me laugh the most. The best part: our pooches just give us this material and all we do is report it. We're currently working on Part II.

It was just the other day that I had the epiphany: our pooches were just like Goofus and Gallant from Highlights magazines. These characters look similar, but they aren't twins. Gallant is always nice and respectful, while Goofus just does whatever he wants. Let me show you what I mean.
Mr. B is appreciative and happy to be bathed:

 

While Miss M lets them know they aren't working hard enough:

Mr. B enjoys laying contemplatively by the flowers:

 

While Miss M is critical of our decorating decisions:

 Mr. B is loyal and loves spending time with his family:

While Miss M is always interviewing and campaigning for a new home:

In most dog duos, will there always be a Goofus and a Gallant? Or does anyone have the misfortune to have 2 Goofuses?

One of Our Favorites: Rugs as Training Tools and Hans Washington Mr B

We've been posting many of our favorites this week, especially as we're fostering Big Bessie over our break (check out her updates on our Facebook page). This post has always been a favorite not just for the combination of training and home decor...but for the end photos of Hans Washington Mr. B. We learned embarrassment was another way to make him not chew things. Though my favorite part is Miss M's face when she sees him in the wig:

With all of our hardwood floors, I always liked having an Ikea Rens Sheepskin rug or two next to my bed to keep things cozy. When I adopted Miss M I thought they would be multi-functional to look nice for me and be comfortable for her. Little did I realize Miss M was likely 'raised by wolves' before I got her; she didn't know how to sit still and would spend hours tearing around my tiny apartment. My life changed when she learned the commands "down" and "stay" and all of a sudden she would spend her days lounging on the rugs.

The rugs and floor pillows are nice because they serve as a type of "base" for the dogs. The dogs understand 'their place' in the house so they aren't constantly pacing or trying to get on the furniture. When we had our guest dogs in the house, they all understood where they were supposed to lay:

At the same time, Mr. B didn't quite understand these were rugs and not giant fluffy chew toys. When we first adopted him, he ate huge chunks off the rug. Seeing he doesn't like to be reprimanded, we decided to embarrass him when he chewed chunks off the rug. We made him a little toupee with the leftover bits and called him Hans:

But when he chewed a lot off we made him a full-out wig and he became Hans-Washington Mr. B. I think it scared Miss M more than it phased Mr B:

Or an a more traditional note, we use Grannick's Bitter Apple Spray; it's harmless to dogs, but they absolutely hate the taste. You could spray this on the rug, or spray it on your hands it put it on their lip if they start chewing. I don't know if it was the embarrassment or the Bitter Apple Spray, but soon enough Mr. B learned to lay nicely on the rug without eating it:

One of Our Favorites: Our First Foster, Little Red Wilma

As we might have something to announce while we're on break (check our Facebook page!), we have been thinking back to our first foster: Little Red Wilma. Wilma was our very own 'Single Red Female' following Miss M's every move, and striving to become Miss W. The pictures in this post are some of my favorite photos ever.
This summer, we decided to become a bit more involved in dog rescue...so we're fostering a dog! This is Wilma from Project Rescue. Wilma was living at Mr. B. and Miss M's doggy daycare. She really loves people, so the rescue knew she would be much happier living in a home until she's adopted. Luckily, the pooches had already met her at daycare, so they were quick to welcome her into our home.
Wilma is a petite pitbull. She weighs in at a mere 40-something pounds, which is nearly half of what our pooches weigh.With her gorgeous red coloring and wrinkly face, she almost looks like a "teacup French mastiff". She is about 2 years old and full grown.Wilma gets along fantastically with other dogs. As Wilma is getting adjusted, Miss M was even kind enough to let her lay on her favorite floor pillow
and took to just laying on the floor:
Wilma was quick to hang out with Miss M in her crate. Though Miss M realized she didn't like being used as a body pillow:
And quickly reversed that situation:
And after a short breaking in period, she took back her favorite pillow, regardless if someone was already using it.

One of Our Favorites: Miss M's Very Own Pet

Since we're on break, we thought we would spend the week posting about some of our favorite posts. (Though do check our Facebook page as we will have current updates...and some exciting news). This has to be one of my favorite posts because it truly shows Miss M and Mr. B's relationship: she really thinks he is her pet dog:
Back when Miss M was an "only dog", the one thing she really, really wanted was a dog of her own. She used to watch longingly as other dogs passed by, and would nearly explode from excitement if one happened to look her way.

When we were ready to get another dog, we used to joke that we were getting Miss M her very own dog. We knew the new dog would need to have her approval, but little did we know what a diva she would become. We found a couple of dogs that we liked, but during the introductions Miss M only scoffed at them.
After we went through this whole drawn out process, and we found our Mr. B, Miss M continues to think Mr. B is really "her dog". She uses him as custom furniture:

 This one doesn't even look comfortable:

Controls where he goes:

And monitors his drink intake:

 Mr B has been a good sport through the whole process, but now he's asking for his very own cat.

Pooches: PitBull Secret Santas

Not to be left out of the holiday fun, Emily at Our Waldo Bungie organized a Secret Santa exchange among some of the pitbull bloggers, including: That Touch of Pit, Twenty-Six to Life, Love and a Six-Foot Leash, Pittieful Love, and Two Grad Students and a Pittie.
The pooches had waited in anticipation to receive their packages last night, especially when they received....

Handmade dog tags from our Secret Santa Our Waldo Bungie!How cute are these? Each of the pooches got a dog tag with their names and our phone number. And knowing us too well, she made them with little skulls to match their dog collars. Of course they had to try them on immediately. Mr. B even sat extra tall wearing his:

And because she knows what our pooches love best, she also sent all-natural dog treats (snickerdoodle and peanut butter), which Miss M quickly claimed:

 And a little mouse stuffy because Mr. B is a 'country mouse'.Chillin' with his new toy:

 

Thank you so much Secret Santa Our Waldo Bungie!  

Meanwhile, our pooches sent a package off to New York City for Lucy of That Touch of Pit. Here is a sneak peek of what our pooches made:

Check out That Touch of Pit for the full reveal, and how we used this photo of Lucy to personalize her treat jar. And check the other participating bloggers to see what gifts they received, including:  Twenty-Six to Life, Love and a Six-Foot Leash, Pittieful Love, Our Waldo Bungie, and Two Grad Students and a Pittie.

Pooches: On Making our Pitbulls Approachable...and Warm

 There is nothing more our pooches like than meeting people. And nothing more we like than busting stereotypes about pitbull-type dogs. While I had never thought I'd be someone to dress up my dog, we quickly realized that when our dogs wear costumes or gear people are much more likely to approach us. And learn what amazing dogs pitbulls really are.

While we meet so many people during the warmer weather, once winter hits, all the Chicagoans go inside to hibernate. It becomes so much harder to meet people...and Miss M goes into withdrawl. So now they wear hats and puffy coats. Sure, they don't keep them that much warmer, but it was kind of incredible to see many people disgruntled with the cold Chicago weather openly begin laughing to see Mr B's big furry hat and Miss M's pink puffy coat:

Of course the pooches loved when people would stop to talk to them and pet them. And we liked talking to the people who were surprised to realize that pitbulls are such great dogs.

SociaBulls: By the Numbers

We know well-socialized dogs should always have the chance to be exposed to new places, people and other dogs. And while we are often taking our dogs out-on-the-town, we did crave another opportunity for our dogs to be socialized in a positive way. For the longest time we would enviously follow HikeaBulls group in California, watching them go on their amazing hikes, until we finally realized, we should start our own group. After many conversations with the amazing Lark of HikeaBulls, through her help we were ready to start our own group: Miss M and Mr. B were the only members.

Flash forward 4 months: we have already grown to over 50 members through only Two Pitties Facebook, blog and word-of-mouth! Here is how SociaBulls looks by the numbers:

Number of Members we Knew Before we Started SociaBulls: 1
With the exception of 1 person (who we knew through dog rescue) we didn't know any of the people who joined the group. We met some people who had emailed us through the blog, some people we met on the street, some people who had seen us walking as a group, and some who heard about it through word-of-mouth. I love that the group is organic and people 'happen upon it'. It's also great to meet so many like-minded people from all walks of life.

Number of Chicagoland locations visited: Nine!
We rotate our walks throughout the city and we've walked several paths along the lakefront with lake and skyline views, visited historical urban parks, nature trails within the city, a sculpture garden, Wrigleyville, historic neighborhoods and grassy boulevards:

Furthest Distance Traveled to Participate: Suburbs & Nashville
We have several active members who commute from the suburbs, early on a Sunday morning, to walk with the group. We also have a member who recently moved from Nashville and joined the group the first week she was in town.

Number of Non-Pitbull-Type Dogs in the Group: 14
We aren't just a "pitbull group", and we know all dogs need socialization. We have big dogs and little dogs, mixed dogs and purebred dogs. They're just all dogs walking together.

Number of Skills Being Worked On: Numerous
We have leash reactive dogs, timid dogs, overenthusiastic dogs, dog-selective dogs, fearful dogs and young pups. The dogs never meet face-to-face, but they are socialized through the pack walking experience. The structure HikeaBulls has helped us set up works!

Number of Fashionistas: Several
Even the Chicago winter isn't stopping us from walking. We all have been coming bundled up, including our pooches in an assortment of coats, hoodies and sweaters. We are going to try to keep going as long as the temperatures don't dip too low.

Number of Adoptable Dogs Walking with the Group: 4
We've had 4 adoptable dogs who have walked with the group to brush up on their leash walking and socialization skills to prepare them for their forever family. Two of them have been adopted! Estelle, black and white below, is one of the current adoptable dogs in the group walking with her foster mom from It's a Pittie rescue. She is tiny--a 'teacup' pitbull--and is AMAZING with kids. You can even see for yourself in this cute video here. We know this is such a great way to work on skills to increase their chances of adoption, and we love having them in the group.

Number of Reactions to People Seeing us Walk: Several
Besides being great for socialization, our group is raising awareness for responsible dog ownership and pitbull-type dogs. We've had several people stop and ask what we were doing, and how we get our dogs to walk so nicely. We even had a policeman tell us he couldn't believe all of the dogs were walking so well together without barking or having problems.


Best Comment Heard Last Week: "SociaBulls is so great. I wish it could be 5 days a week!"

We have been overwhelmed that our little experiment has become such an amazing group of people. We are taking a short holiday hiatus, but join our SociaBulls Facebook Page for updates on future walks and activities.
If you are interested in joining SociaBulls in the future, email us using the envelope on the sidebar of our blog. (I do apologize in advance that I've been a bit slow the past few days getting to emails).

Please Read All: Some Devastating News From Friends...

UPDATE: The family has been having difficulty finding rental housing for their 2 remaining pitbulls and 2 young children, and the with the drawn out rebuilding process the bank is now looking to foreclose on their unbuilt home. 
Read more about the current situation and if you can spare even a little bit:
UPDATED CHIPIN HERE: http://pibblehouse.chipin.com/save-the-pibble-house
Before we started our blog, we didn't really know any other pitbull owners. Slowly through our blog we began meeting other pitbulls with blogs. Through our blogs, comments, and off-line emails we began to know one another and consider them true friends.
One of our very first friends were the Houston Pittie Pack: a gorgeous group all literally rescued and brought together from precarious situations. Their mom truly has the biggest heart. While we knew them as a pack of 4, they slowly grew to 7, including some wee ones, as their mom opened her heart to these dogs in need despite a layoff, a baby on the way, and needing to work longer hours to make it all work. There have never been dogs more loved.

 We recently heard the devastating news that last night there was a fire that destroyed their house. We heard from Mayzie: "She tried desperately to get all the dogs out of the house but they were hiding under beds and in closets. She was only able to save Brinks and Bella. The rest – Guero, Coco Chanel, Tiger, Lucky and Shelby – are all now at the Bridge. Thankfully, all the humans were able to get out of the house safely."
We are beyond saddened as we felt we really knew these pooches, probably even more intimately than we know the dogs we see on our block every day.

Lost in the fire was Coco "Queen of the Universe" who reminded us so much of Miss M with her diva ways. She came to them from a bad situation covered in ant bites, and she has lived with them at least 8 years:

Little Lucky, a new addition to the pack, who was a Daddy's girl and so heartbroken and shut down they brought her into the family and considered themselves extra lucky:

Tiger, another wee one, who they found outside their home during a cold storm. He knew the right home to pick:

Shelby, an abused, pregnant pitbull who had never known love and was left for dead in a parking lot. They gladly welcomed her into their home, nursing her back to health with love and the help of the blog community.

And Guero, Sandra's heart, and the pup that started it all. You can learn so much about their family, and their love for their dogs from this post here.

We were happy to know that all the humans, including Grandma and the baby, are safe. And Brinksey and Bella were saved:

Knowing how much they truly cared about each pup, we cannot imagine the loss they must be feeling, on top of losing their home and being displaced.
We know there isn't much we can do to help them with the loss of their precious pooches, but a group has started a Chipin page to help them get back on their feet and anticipate any immediate needs, lost wages, insurance premiums and other things that might come up.
The link is here:http://pittiepackfirerecoveryfund.chipin.com/sandras-fire-recovery
We also have a mailing address if people would prefer to send checks or condolences through the mail. Email us if you would like that address.

They are truly among the most caring and genuine people we have ever met. We loved receiving Valentine's Day and Holiday cards with photos of the pack, and we were always amazed how they truly cared for each pup, even making time after they had their own human child.

You can read more about them on their KissaBulls blog here: http://kissa-bull.blogspot.com/
UPDATED CHIPIN HERE: http://pibblehouse.chipin.com/save-the-pibble-house