Enter The Shila

Odd name right? Shy Lah, Shila? Not Shilo?.. Well she seems to like it. Why Momma? She had 9 pups right before we found her at her foster home and her belly was almost dragging on the floor. She's a bit smaller than most medium dogs - 9 relatively large pups was quite a feat!

In the photo below Shila is wearing her winter trim. Actually she's only worn this shirt a few times. We also have a fun assortment of doggie jackets for her.


Shila is supposedly an American Bull Dog, or an American Pit Bull Terrior, or just some mutt that looks like both. When we find out for sure, I'm sure I'll post about it.

She has some creative markings, nothing like Mikhail Gorbochev, thats mostly on her rear and her head. She has the same silly nature as the goofy dog from The Little Rascals, Pete The Pup. Pete was an American Pit Bull Terrier.

There seems to me like a huge resemblance between American Bulldogs (should I say Lesser American Bull Dog?) and Pit Bull Terriers. I'm not even sure what the difference is between a terrier and a dog. I made a quick list below of youtube videos containing a few dogs that look or act like Shila from both breeds.

American Bull Dogs that look like Shila (unverified sources):

1. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jKcjPU8wNVc
2. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3Fr9sAQAFU8
3. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6JhcQxbZqhA
   

American Pit Bull Terriers that look like Shila (unverified sources):

1. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F0DNMWUXLRw
2. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mt8a9kS5sRI
3. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k463R9yTVXA
4. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=orVVpaGkBbU

I suppose to some of you it's probably obvious which is which. Shila has a slender, smaller build for both breeds which doesn't show off most of the prominent characteristics.

We love her to death but Shila is a stubborn little girl. Right now we are going through training classes at Arctic Tails, where she also spends her fridays at their Doggie Daycare service. It's of course helped her out tremendously. She is a super spazz and being around other dogs all day long wears her out. Her and her new pal Sam snore away the entire way home in the car. It's a beautiful thing.

The biggest thing when working with a rescue dog that has a tendancy to bite or rush other dogs is to socialize them as much as you can. I have reservations about this, mostly because I don't want animal control taking my dog away, but I really have to be more dillegent about this. I've thought about asking the neighbors to go on some walks with us. Shila is mostly protective behind our fence and on the leash - thats fine if its for the right reasons.

I'm hoping to have a few guest spots on this blog detailing some of her pups. It would be interesting to see how her pups are behaving, what kind of homes they ended up on and any adventures worth mentioning. Hopefully I can get some contact info for them.

Please subscribe via RSS or Email to get updates to this blog. Shila is bound to have some fun adventures, and of course I'll do my best to share what training methods worked, silly photos, and any awesome adventures.