After, Tasha's story.......
Her name is now Tasha, and she is an amazing dog. It is constantly amazing to us how loving and gentle she is, especially when you know her story and how horribly she was treated. Our kids are grown and gone, and so Tasha and her "brother", Baxter, are the loves of our lives. They are the best of buddies and really enjoy playing together. 2 very large BRT's rough-housing can be a little tough on the house, but we love them both. She was a pretty sad looking sweetie when we got her (Wayne's right - she did look like she'd been through a paper shredder!), and Baxter had a little bit of a hard time adjusting to not being an "only child", but it all worked out fine. She now has a beautiful coat and looks great! They have a big fenced yard and a dog door so they can go in and out at will, although they prefer to be in the house, especially if we are home. BRT's are also known as "velcro dogs" for very good reason - their only desire in life is to be with their humans!
Tasha is so loving - always wants to be right with you, loves to give hugs, and is so sweet. We have been very fortunate that both Baxter and Tasha came to us with no real behavior issues. Tasha did guard her food pretty diligently at first, but we, like Wayne and Pat, believe that the bipeds are the alpha dogs in the pack, so we worked with her and got her to understand that we really can take away anything from her that we want to. She still eats really fast, and doesn't really like you to take her food away, but she willingly submits without any display of aggression. With any dog, we just won't tolerate aggression towards us, and that is specially important with big dogs like the BRT's. We are very assertive about them obeying when they are asked to do something, and they will comply - it just sometimes takes a "war of the wills". BRT's can also be very stubborn! Force isn't necessary (we don't believe in forcing dogs) but repitition, persisitence, and ongoing reinforcement of training is.
Wayne is also absolutely right in that there are dogs that have been totally ruined and they just can't be saved. They live in a world of fear and the kindest thing to do is to euthanize them. It is heart breaking, because they are such beautiful animals, but it is not safe for anyone to have a dog that is willing to bite through fear or unwarranted aggression. We owned German shepherds for over 25 years, and they, like the BRT's, have a very strong and natural protective instinct, which is perfectly fine so long as it is controlled and appropriate. It is the dog that is fearful of people or aggressive for no reason that is a ticking time bomb. Fearfulness can sometimes be overcome, but outright aggression will never go away. With any of our dogs, we never "trust" them 100% - we are always watchful and try to never put them in a position where they may react inappropriately. Since neither Baxter nor Tasha were raised with small kids, we are very careful with them around our grandchildren, because you can never say "my dog would never (fill in the blank)". When you spend time with them and work with them, you learn to recognize the little clues they give off as to what they are thinking - you have to be on your toes with them around other people, and paying attention to
what they are doing. This is not to say our dogs aren't socialized - they love people and go everywhere with us - but we are still careful with them. You just never know how they will react, especially because they are so protective and very territorial. We treat them and their abilities with great respect!
People that foster deserve a special place in Heaven! It would be so hard to take a dog in, bring it back to health, and then pass it off to a stranger you really know nothing about. But at the same time, it would be so rewarding to give one of these magnificent animals another chance at a good life - they definitely deserve it! We are very grateful to Wayne and Pat for loving Tasha and saving her so she could come and be our baby.
Mike and Glennis
Tasha is so loving - always wants to be right with you, loves to give hugs, and is so sweet. We have been very fortunate that both Baxter and Tasha came to us with no real behavior issues. Tasha did guard her food pretty diligently at first, but we, like Wayne and Pat, believe that the bipeds are the alpha dogs in the pack, so we worked with her and got her to understand that we really can take away anything from her that we want to. She still eats really fast, and doesn't really like you to take her food away, but she willingly submits without any display of aggression. With any dog, we just won't tolerate aggression towards us, and that is specially important with big dogs like the BRT's. We are very assertive about them obeying when they are asked to do something, and they will comply - it just sometimes takes a "war of the wills". BRT's can also be very stubborn! Force isn't necessary (we don't believe in forcing dogs) but repitition, persisitence, and ongoing reinforcement of training is.
Wayne is also absolutely right in that there are dogs that have been totally ruined and they just can't be saved. They live in a world of fear and the kindest thing to do is to euthanize them. It is heart breaking, because they are such beautiful animals, but it is not safe for anyone to have a dog that is willing to bite through fear or unwarranted aggression. We owned German shepherds for over 25 years, and they, like the BRT's, have a very strong and natural protective instinct, which is perfectly fine so long as it is controlled and appropriate. It is the dog that is fearful of people or aggressive for no reason that is a ticking time bomb. Fearfulness can sometimes be overcome, but outright aggression will never go away. With any of our dogs, we never "trust" them 100% - we are always watchful and try to never put them in a position where they may react inappropriately. Since neither Baxter nor Tasha were raised with small kids, we are very careful with them around our grandchildren, because you can never say "my dog would never (fill in the blank)". When you spend time with them and work with them, you learn to recognize the little clues they give off as to what they are thinking - you have to be on your toes with them around other people, and paying attention to
what they are doing. This is not to say our dogs aren't socialized - they love people and go everywhere with us - but we are still careful with them. You just never know how they will react, especially because they are so protective and very territorial. We treat them and their abilities with great respect!
People that foster deserve a special place in Heaven! It would be so hard to take a dog in, bring it back to health, and then pass it off to a stranger you really know nothing about. But at the same time, it would be so rewarding to give one of these magnificent animals another chance at a good life - they definitely deserve it! We are very grateful to Wayne and Pat for loving Tasha and saving her so she could come and be our baby.
Mike and Glennis