I’m heartbroken to have to re-home my dog Rolo. We’ve had him since he was 10 weeks old. He is a 2 yr 10 months purebred American Pitbull Terrier XL – 108 pounds. His parents were AKC registered – Wolfbane and Russia Magoo. He is definitely an in-door dog but he loves the outdoors too and he is not afraid of thunder or lightning.
The reason I need to re-home him is my elderly parents have moved into our home and he poses a real danger to injuring them. He needs to be in an environment where when he gets the zoomies or hears something he needs to investigate and runs across the house he won’t be in danger of knocking down an elderly person or a baby. In addition to this he is also resource guarding me and I have been working on this with him but it is very difficult to do with my 80-year-old mother and I don’t want to continue putting her in a position to be barked at (his bark is very deep and loud and can be quite scary) or rushed at. In addition to this it is very difficult to teach non-dog people the proper ways to conduct themselves around dogs or how to be calm, assertive energy or to pick up on dogs clues or how to be around dogs. Like bending over the top of them and patting them and putting your face right up to them or being afraid near them, etc.
In his life he has had extensive training both in-house and at Serenity Ranch Kennels. He knows and obeys these commands:
Kennel
Hush
Place
Stay
Sit
Down
Off
Leave It / Take It
Come
Heel
Shake
Automatic Sit at thresholds
Okay
We have used an e-collar on him on very low settings. He is very responsive to it. It simply acts as a reminder and is helpful to stop barking at the fence or to recall when he is far away.
He walks well on a leash but must be on a slip or prong collar if you don’t want to get pulled across to investigate every squirrel or lizard. He does react to other dogs while walking on the leash but is fully controllable on the slip / prong leash and tries very hard to sit. I would not personally walk him without it as he will just pull right out of my hand.
He loves his kennel and doesn’t mind being in it. But he is also able to be in the house and use a dog door to go out when he needs to. He doesn’t chew on my furniture or destroy my things although he will destroy plush toys in a matter of minutes. He loves to sniff out treats from the grass in the yard or hidden in the house. He loves getting everything out of a filled kong.
He sleeps in his own bed, right next to my bed, but would prefer to be on the bed or couch. I wouldn’t recommend allowing him to sleep in your bed or on the couch though. In the past we have and he is a real snuggler but he then developed possessiveness of me and we needed to re-adjust so he understands he is a dog.
He loves snuggling and cuddling and pets and playing and food. He is very responsive to treats and training. He loves helping out in the kitchen while you are cooking and sitting patiently to taste whatever you are making. He is great at cleanup duty and assists me to pre-wash the dishes before leaving them in the dishwasher.
I work from home and he is my companion wherever I am. He loves investigating the shower before I step in and testing the water. He will go in the shower for his own cleaning but has to be coaxed a little bit. He will let me brush his teeth but he spends most of the time biting the toothbrush, I can rub my finger across all of his teeth. He is good with ear cleaning and enjoys it although he insists on inspecting whatever you get out of his ears. He is NOT good with nail trimming, but will trim them himself.
He is up-to-date with all of his shots and heartworm preventative. He takes pills very easily. You just put them in some kind of meat and he gobbles them down. He has been neutered at 8 months old and he has never ‘marked’ in the house or outdoor furniture. He is fully potty-trained and has not had an accident in the house since he was a puppy. He does have a dog door though.
He loves car rides and is very chill in the car. He likes to go to Home Depot and other outings. I usually don’t allow people to pet him because I don’t always know who he will tolerate. Some people who are very confident and know how to approach and pet a dog just take a knee and interact with him like they were best friends and then others who are even slightly worried or bend over the top of him get a warning bark. In the past he has tried to jump up on people and this has been something we’ve worked on with him. When being introduced to new people I would recommend having him on a leash to make sure he doesn’t jump up on them.
He plays well with other dogs at Taurus Academy and other dog daycares. He loves to play and has worked on his manners with other dogs. He wouldn’t really do well with another dog that was older and not interested in interacting. He does very well with tolerant dogs.
He recently had a TPLO surgery for a torn ACL and he is almost fully reco