# Keana attacked her own puppy



## ibanfly (Jul 26, 2010)

First off, sorry if I posted this in the wrong place and sorry if I tend to ramble on. 
Keana is a beautiful 3y/o bluenose. Up until 7 weeks ago she was the perfect dog. Obedient, highly active and friendly to everyone and every other animal. She would actually herd my 1 y/o daughter from straying out into our large backyard. I purchased her from a local breeder with a good reputation my vet was very familiar with. From the moment I brought her home she was with me everyday. She was shown as much love as I could possibly give her. 
My cousin has a beautiful BN as well who is just as loving and calm as Keana. We know what kind of dogs they are in nature though we treat them more as family than guard dogs. We decided to breed them for my cousins BN is of a beautiful bloodline with multiple purple ribbon winners in its family tree including both parents. The plan was to fix both of them. We had no intentions of breeding more than once. We got them together about 13 weeks ago or so.
7 weeks ago Keana attacked our small dog as she was eating out of the food bowl something they have shared forever. It was quick as I was watching from the door. I yelled her name and instantly she let go just barely breaking the smaller dogs skin for a pitbull bite. A week later she mauled one of our cats to death as he walked past the food bowl. She was just getting ready to have her puppies and everyone said that being overprotective of her food source is normal as is DA. She had her puppies about a month ago. 10 of them. We did everything we could for the runt but he didnt make it. Last night she bit her own puppy in the head as he walked up to the food bowl. 
When I arrived to the vets office at 10:00 p.m he quickly showed me the extent of the damage and it wasn't good. He said the head had been crushed beyond repair. It was so horrible everone. Traumatized my daughter and wife. It was the one we wanted to keep.
The vet simply said in his 30+ years as a vet he had never had a case to where the mother had attacked and killed its own 4 week old puppy. To make matters worse he said it was clearly an attack meant to be fatal so if I don't schedule an appointment to put her down things could get uglier at my house. One of my friends has already said they'll never speak to me again if I go through with it but I can't have my daughter around an animal that killed its own young. 
My question is; What could have gone wrong. How did I fail my girl? I never taught her to be aggressive. She was a little much to handle with other dogs around and I mean that she was all over the place playing with any animal around (dogs and cats). Really hyper but never DA. I put a muzzle on her but still she exhibited the same calm demeanor she always has. What could have gone wrong? Our family is now 3 less and we're facing pressure to put another to sleep. What a bad month


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## FamilyLinePits (May 18, 2010)

First Off, I'm not sure which vet told you that he has never heard of a mother dog becoming aggressive towards pups who are trying to get her food, But I cannot understand how he can say that with a straight face. 
My family bred dachshunds for many years, And it was very common for the mother to be food aggressive towards other dogs and her own pups. 
For pit bulls, one of my females just had a litter, And I went through a similar situation with my dog and cat...
The cat was walking past the momma dog who was eating, And momma dog jumped at the cat and killed it in a split second...The same cat that it will curl up with at night on the couch... The dog thought the cat was a threat to its eating, So defended itself... Bad action? yes, Bad dog? no. Most dogs don't do well with cats once they grow beyond a certain age. What this incident my fault? MOST DEFINITELY! 
Again, another situation, I put some food down for the pups in their own kennel, and momma dog was growling at the pups and snapping at the cage once or twice, because she couldn't get to the food that was so close... Does this mean that this dog is Dog Aggressive? Perhaps, But it mostly points to the dog being VERY food/toy aggressive.

In order to avoid this, you will have to feed her separately in her kennel to prevent other pups or cats wandering around. If she is a great dog at all other times when food isn't involved, Than simply focus on feeding her in a way that is more safe for your other pets and her. 
I am able to feed 2 of my dogs together (not the same bowl), But my other two, I have to put in the kennels to eat. After they eat, They come out and are happy as can be.
Feeding multiple dogs out of one bowl is a bad idea, Get each dog its own bowl to avoid problems like this also.

Once Pit Bulls fully mature, They have little tolerance for the things they did when they were younger. Are they still the same dog you loved before? Absolutely! But you must also watch them more carefully 

best of luck!


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## davidfitness83 (Jul 7, 2009)

Blue nose is not a breed and it doesn't make the dog breeding worthy or rare. I've seen a chihuahua mother food guard from her 5 week old puppies. Pitbulls are terrible guard dogs and their temperament is not suited for it. It sounds that you have very little knowledge about the breed and had no business breeding. Pitbulls were bred for hundreds of generations to kill another dog in combat or die trying. As watered down as your dog is from a real American pitbull terrier you should never leave it a alone with another dog or a cat. It sounds to me that the mother had a very stressful feeding routine and had enough of it. You shouldn't just feed the dog with other animals around it while eating. As good as it may be one day it is going to have enough and sadly it already happened.


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## davidfitness83 (Jul 7, 2009)

I forgot to add there is no reason to put this dog down If you are going trying to go through it because of peer pressure from your friends or family them you shouldn't own the breed to begin with.


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## Patch-O-Pits (Jan 12, 2008)

Hi,

I'm very sorry you are going through this...

Just curious, How old is this dog?
I'm sure it is very upsetting to see something like that. However it is certainly something that can and does happen in nature and yes with dogs. It is not a rare occurrence that a mama will kill a pup and even sometimes a whole litter. Some dogs really aren't cut out to be bred. Sometimes they also do this because a pup has something wrong with it that the owner may not even realize. Sometimes they even roll over and crush them. Nature can be tough. If your vet told you something different than that, it is time for a new vet.

It sounds like your gal is food aggressive and I'd suggest not feeding her near the pups or any other dog in your house and also work on modifying that behavior. No, food aggression is not normal IMO at all.

Food aggression can cause major issues. You need to get that under control.

If you are uncomfortable with this dog and don't want to do the training. I'd suggest keeping it safe until you find her a good home with an APBT savvy family willing to put in the work. I would not put the dog down.

I also wanted to touch on a couple of other things you mentioned as it sounds like the breeder either didn't know or didn't explain things properly to you when you got your dog. Blue nose is just that a "BLUE colored NOSE" nothing more nothing less and nothing rare or special. It also is NOT a different type of APBT.

Also:


> with multiple purple ribbon winners


 Ourple Ribbon has nothing to do with winning anything. PR bred means that a specific amount of generations were registered with the UKC. It is not a winning title it is not anything they compete for, it is simple what I stated. You can look that up right on the UKC website for clarification or call their home office. So unless the dogs have "REAL" titles like CH in their name they are not titled.

I hope that helps.


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## aimee235 (Apr 29, 2007)

Sorry for the loss of the puppys. It is within normal behavior for a mom to kill her pups. Like Patch said. It's nature and sometimes it's cruel. Definitely keep the food up and only put food down when she is by herself. Like in a separate room. My moms dog had puppies a long time ago and she growled at the pups when they tried to eat her dog food so we took her out. Since it was time for weening. If she is great every other time except for food DO NOT PUT HER TO SLEEP. You can look around for a private trainer to work on the food aggression. Don't let her near any other animals when food is around and keep the feeding area separate. My moms dog got in a fight with mine once because she smelled an area that had food bowls in it before. So just because there is no food there right now doesn't mean it will be ok. 3 years old is also about the time they fully mature. Each dog goes at it's own pace. Lots of APBT's are fine with other dogs until 2-4 years of age when they become adults. Then they "turn on" for lack of a better word.


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## aus_staffy (Nov 10, 2009)

ibanfly said:


> How did I fail my girl?


Where to start? I don't mean to sound like a jerk but you did ask so here goes.

First, as davidfitness has already said, you had absolutely no business breeding with this dog. The fact that you have referred to her and the male dog as "bluenoses" anb you seem to think they're guarding dogs clearly demonstrates this. That's done and you can't change that. Live and learn and so forth.

Second, you're letting dogs share food bowls. Really?! This is a no-no for any breed and you've learned why not once, not twice with the cat but now three times. Feed your animals separately! It's really not hard. DF is right again about her having had enough of her feeding arrangement. How would you feel about having to share your food off the same plate as someone else?

Third, DA and HA are two completely separate issues and don't really intersect. Your vet sounds a little too quick to pull the trigger on getting her put down. You have to remember that just because they're vets doesn't make them an APBT expert. From what you've told us, the dog doesn't sound inherently dangerous.

Fourth, I sincerely hope you take this as constructive criticism. Everyone learns somehow but this is really basic stuff and should have been addressed *before* this situation arose. The past is past but what you do now is what will matter.


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## SARGEnNIKITA (Jan 3, 2010)

ibanfly said:


> First off, sorry if I posted this in the wrong place and sorry if I tend to ramble on.
> Keana is a beautiful 3y/o bluenose. Up until 7 weeks ago she was the perfect dog. Obedient, highly active and friendly to everyone and every other animal. She would actually herd my 1 y/o daughter from straying out into our large backyard. I purchased her from a local breeder with a good reputation my vet was very familiar with. From the moment I brought her home she was with me everyday. She was shown as much love as I could possibly give her.
> My cousin has a beautiful BN as well who is just as loving and calm as Keana. We know what kind of dogs they are in nature though we treat them more as family than guard dogs. We decided to breed them for my cousins BN is of a beautiful bloodline with multiple purple ribbon winners in its family tree including both parents. The plan was to fix both of them. We had no intentions of breeding more than once. We got them together about 13 weeks ago or so.
> 7 weeks ago Keana attacked our small dog as she was eating out of the food bowl something they have shared forever. It was quick as I was watching from the door. I yelled her name and instantly she let go just barely breaking the smaller dogs skin for a pitbull bite. A week later she mauled one of our cats to death as he walked past the food bowl. She was just getting ready to have her puppies and everyone said that being overprotective of her food source is normal as is DA. She had her puppies about a month ago. 10 of them. We did everything we could for the runt but he didnt make it. Last night she bit her own puppy in the head as he walked up to the food bowl.
> ...


Ok first let me tell you that I am very sorry for your loss and second there are many things wrong in your statement that I would like to give you some advice (29 years experience) that may come across alightly jaded. It is not intended to come across like this but there is just no other way to say these things.

First, bluenose is not a bloodline it is simply the color of the dogs nose. Razors Edge, Gotti, Carver and Colby are bloodlines (just a couple).

Second, IMO this breeding should not have taken place in the first place. It sounds to me as if you do not know enough about this breed or its history to be breeding.

Third, I was a breeder (a responsible one) and for mom to go after a pup over food is actually common in a dog that has developed DA.

Fourth, your child is not in danger from this dog simply because it has now become DA (sounds like it at least) and has high prey drive (killing the cat). DA is completely SEPARATE from HA. Now if you had said your child did something that she normally does around the dog and the dog snapped at her it would be a different story. This breed has an extremely high prey drive and that is not something you can train out of them. Some do well with catsk, rabbits and other small animals for many years or forever and some turn on them almost immediately. As for the DA, putting dog a "pit bull" for DA is like saying the a child cannot cry when they are sick, its natural and can be controlled but you may never be able to have another dog in the home again and the two you have know may have to be separated forever. All I can say is CRATE AND ROTATE IMMEDIATELY.

Fifth, to keep all animals safe, all food, toys, treats and anything else that could cause a fight should be kept up. My two RE blues have gotten along forever and still do but I still dont leave food down and they get feed separately. As far as the pups, if they are on hard food and mama then take them away to feed and them, then remove all leftover food and return them to mama. If she is just killing them then maybe they need to be separated unless they can be supervised and maybe she will just kill them since it is her first litter or they could be sick. You just never know.

And last, your vet, to be as nice as possible, does not sound savvy about this breed and should not be giving advice as he did unless he knows of the breed and its traits.:hammer::hammer:

You did not do anything wrong other than breeding without knowing all the information you probably should have, but that is neither here nor there since you already have a litter.

I would say stay on top of her like stink on  and please please please ask questions and learn from this site if you dont do anything else.

I hope that you make a decision based on the entire situation rather than what others tell you... Please do some research and learn this breed, they are wonderful!!


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## performanceknls (Apr 4, 2009)

ok first off you have to understand this breed is Animal aggressive and even if they showed no signs of it before it can happen at anytime.

With this breed you NEVER allow food with other animals around and what surprises me is she has a history of being food aggressive but you still have not separated her from the other animals when she eats. She needs to be fed in a crate or room by herself that is pit bull 101, food almost always will cause a fight at some point.

I had a litter 2 years ago and I had to wean the puppies 3 weeks because Dixie was getting aggressive with them and yes that is normal and it happens. You vet has no clue what he is talking about this is normal especially for the breed. Please do not put down a good dog because you misunderstand the breed and animal aggression. Now people aggression is different that I would put the dogs down for and would not have bred.

I also had a bitch have to be weaned with the pups at 4 weeks old because she too was getting aggressive with them, again perfectly normal and if you would not have fed her around the pups that puppy would not have died she probably would have continued nursing them.

I really hope you stick around so we and help teach you about this breed.

BN or blue nose is just the color of a dog, the dog you have is a pit bull and not referred to by color but by breed. Next there is no title when it comes to purple ribbon, there is no such thing as a purple ribbon winner. All purple ribbon means is that the dog has been registered with the UKC for several generations but does not add value to the dog and is not a title or means they won anything.
All pit bull type dogs have some level of dog aggression they are not dogs that should be kept in packs or trusted fully other any other animal. Unfortunately you had to learn that the hard way but again hopefully you stick around and do not put the dog down for being what it is, a Pit bull.


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## gamer (Feb 1, 2010)

Welcome to owning a pit bull. She is doing nothing wrong at all, you are the one making mistakes which is no problem and you can turn this around. You need to make sure that you do not let her around other animals or this will keep happening. If you can not do this then place her with someone else or into a rescue so that she can live a happy life.


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## ibanfly (Jul 26, 2010)

Thank you to all the replies, you're words even the harshest (which the truth is most of the time) is duly noted. This is the reason I turned to a forum so I could get second, third and fourth opinions. I have always fed the animals seperate but like it was said to me, an empty bowl isn't a safe bowl. I now know this and will take every step to ensure it never happens again. 
After talking with my primary vet (please note the vet that told me to put her down was an after hours vet and NOT our primary vet) he said they would make a great litter of puppies, and they did. They are all so beautiful. It was never my intention to put her to sleep. I know these things happen I just didnt know if attacks on their own littler was common. 
I will be back to this forum since all of the replies I recieved were very insightful and thank you to all those who realize what I'm dealing with and chose not to attack me for being ignorant. I had already decided to send her to a rescue and will devote time everyday to better understand the breed.


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## Xiahko (Feb 24, 2010)

My Bruno has started going after the cat, when it gets to close to his food. He wont bite,but he shoves him out of the way with his head,in a lunging manner.
I started putting the cat in a room,while Bruno eats.
He's fine with Mango when there isn't food involved.
It's NEVER a good idea to let ANY animal share the same food dish. Accident waiting to happen.
My dogs(when I had 2) ate in separate parts of the kitchen,on opposite sides of a wall,so they couldn't see each other.

Sorry for your losses however, I just lost my dog of almost 5 years,and I know what you must be going through right now.
I also turned to the people here with the undecided fate of my dog,and decided to make the right decision and put her down.

It was a hard choice cause I loved her,but it was the right one. I miss her SO much,but my life is less stressful now that she's gone,as horrid as that sounds.


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## SARGEnNIKITA (Jan 3, 2010)

ibanfly, dont pay any attention to harshness around here... Seriously, it happens everyday.

I want to thank you for being open-minded and realizing that there is a lot you can learn about this breed. If you need any help or info there are many members on this site that will help including me. 

Some people do not always come across well... lets just say nice... but I believe that most everyone here intends to give good advice... If there is one thing you will find here it is hundreds of years collectively of experience...


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## LadyRampage (Apr 11, 2009)

Lots of outstanding advice, I really hope you learn from this site!!

Just for the record...you know the trigger for her aggression, its as simple as that... A question...how much did you increase your female's food while she was pregnant?? The food aggression didn't start UNTIL she was bred, ever think it was quite simply her way of letting you and everything around her that she was hungry and NEEDED increased or more frequent meals?? As for attacking her own puppy, after two other incidents of her attack over food this was a common sense call, and NOT your dog's fault. Momma dogs sometimes get testy around 3-4 weeks as well because the babies now have TEETH, which hurt! Not unusual in the least for a momma to become aggressive at this stage, its your job to make sure she can eat in peace, and can get away from her babies for peace.


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## performanceknls (Apr 4, 2009)

Can I ask why you decided to place the mother of the litter?


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## ibanfly (Jul 26, 2010)

I decided to place her in a rescue home because I know the people that run it and they will work hard to find a home for her where she can thrive. It was also to appease my wife. 
I know the blame lands squarely on me and now that it has happened I can only move forward and try to better understand the breed. 
I never thought of my dog as a guard dog or thought of the breed that way, I guess I should have chosen better words. What I meant to say was, I never condoned any violence whatsoever. I didn't want a squat, muscle bound, cropped ear, drug dealer dog. I never put a choke chain collar around her neck. I never put her on a chain. I didn't cut her ears or tail. She happened to be the last puppy around in a time when I was looking for one. Regardless of all of this I still know I should have educated myself on the breed the minute I took her home. Unfortunately I did what too many people do these days and jumped in headfirst without first testing the depth of the water. 
I apologize to those of you who are irritated with my ignorance and you are right; I had no right to try breeding her. These are all things for me to consider in the future. Again I thank all of you for your responses and hope to become one that can give knowledgable advice about these dogs.


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## Xiahko (Feb 24, 2010)

It takes a strong person to admit their fault.
I commend you. At least you now know,what you didn't before,and can now go back in with more knowledge and understanding,so the same thing doesn't repeat it's self.


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## 9361 (Jun 25, 2009)

Welcome to the board. I am sorry you had to find us on such tragic terms. I was wanting to know if you are going to keep any of the pups from the litter? And what animals do you still have in your home?


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## performanceknls (Apr 4, 2009)

Well I have to applaud you for admitting your mistakes and at least the dog has a chance to find a good home. Are you keeping any of the puppies? If you are please hang around and learn more and you can avoid problems in the future. Sorry it turned out this way but at least it should turn out ok.


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## coppermare (Jun 25, 2010)

Wow, sorry for what you went through and maybe I learned something here also. Our female never acted this way and we fed her with her pups all the time. Guess I may have just been lucky. She was always more concerned with strangers being any where near her pups and such. The only time (other than a mother knowing at birth something was wrong with her puppies) or a first time bitch's litter and her unsure of herself, is some Catahoula dogs we had that had litters at the same time. This one female would always kill the other females litter but not her own. I learned this is normal with an alpha female in a pack setting. She kills the other litters to insure that her's have a fighting chance, get the most food from kills and such.


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## DueceAddicTed (Sep 28, 2009)

coppermare said:


> Wow, sorry for what you went through and maybe I learned something here also. Our female never acted this way and we fed her with her pups all the time. Guess I may have just been lucky. She was always more concerned with strangers being any where near her pups and such. The only time (other than a mother knowing at birth something was wrong with her puppies) or a first time bitch's litter and her unsure of herself, is some Catahoula dogs we had that had litters at the same time. This one female would always kill the other females litter but not her own. I learned this is normal with an alpha female in a pack setting. She kills the other litters to insure that her's have a fighting chance, get the most food from kills and such.


I knew a Rottie that would kill all her pups accept one and kill the entire litter of the other female.... it happens

To the OP please continue to stay on with us and learn as much as you can.
Mistakes were made but if your ever going to own this breed again or keep a pup please make sure everyone in your house hold learns, that they can handle the good and bad. I know your giving her up because of the situation but know full and well that if you own this breed in the future this can all happen again. DA, prey drive is natural sooner or later, maybe even never , food aggression may be only towards animals not people, my boy is food aggressive with other animals he is fed alone but WE can remove what ever we want from his bowl even YOU if you came to visit me and your children ask him to share and he will move over for you lol ... but I would hate for another dog to lose its home because people think they can train these traits out of them or this can't happen with my dog. I've owned DA/High prey drivey dogs around my children, they are all grown up and in one piece ( children that is ).
I wish you well , and hope to continue to see you actively around the board.

I also want to THANK YOU for sharing your story, even thou it risked being ridiculed, insulted or other. Your story is how others learn the what not and should haves ... Every experience shared good or bad teaches someone on this board for the betterment of our beloved breed ...


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## aus_staffy (Nov 10, 2009)

ibanfly said:


> I decided to place her in a rescue home because I know the people that run it and they will work hard to find a home for her where she can thrive. It was also to appease my wife.
> I know the blame lands squarely on me and now that it has happened I can only move forward and try to better understand the breed.
> I never thought of my dog as a guard dog or thought of the breed that way, I guess I should have chosen better words. What I meant to say was, I never condoned any violence whatsoever. I didn't want a squat, muscle bound, cropped ear, drug dealer dog. I never put a choke chain collar around her neck. I never put her on a chain. I didn't cut her ears or tail. She happened to be the last puppy around in a time when I was looking for one. Regardless of all of this I still know I should have educated myself on the breed the minute I took her home. Unfortunately I did what too many people do these days and jumped in headfirst without first testing the depth of the water.
> I apologize to those of you who are irritated with my ignorance and you are right; I had no right to try breeding her. These are all things for me to consider in the future. Again I thank all of you for your responses and hope to become one that can give knowledgable advice about these dogs.


You don't need to apologize to anyone here. I will, however, apologize for coming over a little harsh in my first reply. It was not my intention to compound your problem with harsh words. I fully commend you for swallowing your pride and committing to learn more. We all learn something here every day. Have some rep points and I hope to see you around more.


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## bahamutt99 (May 14, 2008)

Welcome to GP and I hope you stick around. Some of the most worthy people in the breed community blossom under fire, if that makes any sense. You may have messed up, even badly, but its what you learn from it that decides just what you can contribute to the breed. There is not a one of us here who hasn't screwed up ourselves, and a lot of the time the harshness comes from our desire to protect the breed first and foremost. And for some of us, we see shades of things we've done in the past, and it hits a little close to home. I know I tend to be most passionate about things which I've experienced personally, and oftentimes those things were ugly and traumatic. They have made me who I am, though.

Anyway, did you end up keeping any of the puppies? Sorry if that was said and I missed it.


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## max (Jul 21, 2010)

What does DA and HA stands for?


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## k8nkane (Jul 9, 2010)

DA = Dog Aggressive.

HA = Human Aggressive.


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## PrairieMoonPits (Dec 16, 2009)

Dog aggression and Human Aggression a APBT should NEVER be Human Aggressive. And to the poster I commend you for stating your mistakes and am really proud of you for doing the right thing  If you do keep one of the puppies I am very hopeful you will educate yourself to be a proud and responsible APBT owner . Good luck.


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## Pitcrew (Jan 19, 2008)

I really commend your honesty and willingness to learn. This is not really abnormal behavior and I see no reason to believe the dog would be HA.
I think you would make a good owner with a little work and an open mind.


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