[mobbemeatiedy]

It's not quite over yet. But there is a gorgeous (looks APBT) bulldog on the show... Extremely fearful of people.

I just came in halfway through the show, and so far I've heard how important it is to let her play with other dogs, the family said there was a dogpark (great idea!) down the road, so no problem there. They were getting the dog as a companion for their 12 year old mutt bitch, who died before they brought "Ivory" home (even better, bring a young, female APBT/mutt home for your older bitch who's almost dead to play with)... I don't know. My jaw dropped when I saw this episode.

[Trientoriciom]

I hope my dvr is working cause I want to see this, along with the new episode of its me or the dog... got to love victoria stillwells funny loud high pitched sounds she makes to distract the dogs!

[Leczyslaw]

I think I just might rip all my hair out today.

[mobbemeatiedy]

I was fuming... These people obviously know nothing, and thousands just watched them do it...


I'm watch the new "It's me or the Dog" now. I do like her.

[Trientoriciom]

I just watched the entire episode. This lil girl was never socialized to humans, and used flight instead of fight. Being around other dogs has helped her see that humans can be good to dogs and brought her out of her shell. I totally think that socializing her with other dogs is very important. She showed very proper behavior with other dogs. If you see your dog as potentially dog aggressive you can probably bring about that onset faster than if you just saw your dog as a dog, rather than a breed.

I just caught the end of "its me or the dog" Victoria threw one of her tandtrums with an unruley owner who, like many, think a trainer is going to fix their dog, rather than do the work to help it. I will watch the entire episode before I comment further!

[mobbemeatiedy]

Many of these dogs are very proper with another dog until they're NOT. True, using one on one with another dog to help her people problems could help, but giving her to a home who's first response to socializing is DOGPARK and who already had a dying bitch is just irresponsible.

[Trientoriciom]

What I am concerned about is more that the owners just lost their dogs and these people still insisted on placing a fearful dog with them. When the humans are unstable it isnt good for the dog generally. While they did show a positive "month later" clip... I just dont know about it regardless.

[mobbemeatiedy]

THAT dog might be okay with them, seeing as she's isn't your typical bulldog... But to the thousands watching and thinking about getting one of these dogs, that was some horrible advice/things to go off of.

I agree it wasn't a good time to get a dog like that, though, the wife was very unsure about it at first because they had JUST lost their long time companion...

I don't know...

[broksaksaak]

that show was ridiculous!

[fkjghfg]

Thank you for all of your concern. Just an update since the show aired. Yes, we adopted a troubled pit mix pup, Ivory, shortly after losing our dog Gabi. A very difficult decision. Gabi's passing was sudden, unexspected and heartbreaking. As it turns out Ivory was 6-8 months old when we adopted her, not 1 1/2 years, as the producers of the show had told us. She was unsocialized and timid, but is now almost a year old, healthy and happy. A month after adopting Ivory we located and adopted her mother, Minnie, a 3 yr old APBT mix, that had been used for irresponsible backyard breeding. Both have been spayed and are thriving.
Please remember when watching "reality" TV that the time constraints don't always allow for the complete story to be told.
With love, patience, proper training and socialization Minnie and Ivory have begun to overcome lifetimes of hardship. We (Ted and I) partipated in this program in an effort to dispel some myths and encourage others to open their homes to animals in need.
Thank you, Kate

[Trientoriciom]

Kate, you are the owner of ivory? I was thinking that she was only a pup. Maybe because of her living conditions a vet was unable to determine the true age of her. I think because she was younger she was much quicker to turn around. Ivory is a great dog, very forgiving and resilent. This is what the breed is truely about.

[broksaksaak]

wow Kate nice to meet you!! our friends and I watched the episode of Ivory. We all agreed she is absolutely stunning and love how dog friendly she is. Was she excited to see her mum? Im glad you guys were able to pick up the mother too, thats awesome! i have a silly question, do they give you any money for being on the show...

[Creelaleps]

Ivory is a beautiful girl - I was thrilled to see everyone pull together to give her a chance and I was touched by everyone's concern for her. When they showed her on her back getting belly rubs from Kate and Ted, I got misty eyed. That's a huge step for a dog that was so terribly fearful.

All that part was great, but I wondered what members of this forum though about the show. Especially the advice to take her to the dog park. I understand that she needed to be around other dogs to bring her out of her shell and she seemed well behaved, but as "Poisoned" said: "Many of these dogs are very proper with another dog until they're NOT." That seems to be the general consensus of experienced members of this forum. It did seem irresponsible of the show not to mention that this is not appropriate for all bulldogs.

Kate, thank you for checking in to let us know how she's doing!

[fissasste]

even though some of you didnt agree with some of their methods for socializing..they obviously care and wanna learn more about this breed, because obviously they were looking up information and came along this site

[mobbemeatiedy]

SO glad you are here!! I really hope you stay and learn about this wonderful breed... And, of course, any possible pictures of her I sort of feel in love with that gorgeous face.

The only problem I had with THAT episode is: The breed is already in a ditch, heck, it' in canyon. When TV shows make them out to be your average lab, even saying dog parks are a good thing without mentioning that it's NOT for most bulldogs, causes much more harm to the breed than it helps.

And with Gabi(Rest her sweet soul, she looked like a good girl) being a problem... While Miss Ivory was as young as she was, it might not have been a problem, but as she matured, if you still had Gabi, she would have likely sensed her becoming weak with age and there would have likely been "Bitch fights"... Very nasty. A long while ago I mad the ridiculous mistake of adopting a sweetheart of a bulldog. 9-11 months old, while I had two older bitches. I was pretty ignorant about about the breed because of watching shows like the one Ivory was on, and generally "pet" bull owners giving me wrong advice. It nearly cost the lives of both of my other dogs. That is why I get so particularly ruffled. I don't want to see that happen with anyone else.

Again, I really hope you stay, I thought about Ivory a lot after seeing that episode and it would be awesome to have updates and such...

[fkjghfg]

Trying to figure out how to insert a picture of Minnie and Ivory.

[mobbemeatiedy]

Oh wow, they look so great.

PLEASE read these, in case you haven't:
Pit Bulls and Dog parks - General Dog Discussions
DON'T Leave your Dogs Unsupervised - General Dog Discussions
Always Expect a Bulldog To Fight - General Dog Discussions

Just a good thing to know.

I do hope you stick around. Ivory seemed like a character and we all love to see other member's and their dogs grow and change.

[leangarance]

Kate-

Congratulations! Ivory is beautiful and I'm glad you guys gave her a chance.

[fkjghfg]

I looked over the discussions that Poisoned recommended, great info the have, thanks.

[mobbemeatiedy]

You're welcome... I can't say how happy I am to see her looking happy for once.

How did she react to seeing her mom again? I would imagine she'd be thrilled...