American Bull-Jack

I'm always kept on my toes

my love first dog EVER my family HAVE

Lucy is a rescue who came to me un-housebroken, un-spayed, underweight and with a variety of skin infections. She is prone to hotspots from allergies, which are now easily managed by a high quality kibble and raw food diet. She has had atleast one false pregnancy in her life, which made the spay a challenge. Lucy also developed at stump pyometra after her spay, which required an emergency secondary surgery. Additionally, this poor girl seems to have a malformed joints in one of her hind legs, which she tends to favor. Despite how much she seems to try to hide pain, the bum leg does slow her down a little in cold weather. The pyometra was rather difficult to diagnose because of her tendency to hide discomfort. Never underestimate these dogs desire to not make their humans worry. Lucy is very perceptive to what her humans want from her, and was completely housebroken in a matter hours. She does tend to nibble on the corners of blankets when she is nervous about me leaving the house, but is generally not destructive. She definately knows what the rules of the house are, and likes to make sure that EVERYONE is following the rules, haha. I started her in obedience school the day after I picked her up. Though she can be stubborn if she feels a command is pointless, she always listens when the chips are down, and very much wants to make her people happy. Lucy has never shown an ounce of aggression toward adults, children, dogs, cats, etc. She does however desperately want to make friends with EVERYONE, and doesn't always register that other people, and dogs, may not be as keen on being friends. Much of her socialization training has been me teaching her to let me decide when/whether someone wants their personal space. She is a wonderful, patient, caring dog. She has helped rehabilitate my other rescue who had terrible PTSD. Literally the only thing that can rattle this girl, is the fear of losing one of her pack. She mourned the loss of her little rat terrier friend for months, and lets out a paniced whimper if my other dog suddenly becomes quiet in the back yard. She is a dog that requires a canine friend and lots of snuggle time with her humans to be her happiest healthiest self.

Honestly, I’ve never been much of a dog person. I was more a ferret/cat/hermit crab lover. You know, fairly low maintenance pets. At a festival a couple of years ago, the local shelter had some of the adoptees in open circular fencing. I love to love on dogs/puppies, I just didn’t want to be responsible for them. I went to love on the sweet pups, and of course they were bouncing all over each other for affection/attention. All except my Jaxson. He was sweet and calm, and I just had to pet him too. He nuzzled up to my hand, but still didn’t bounce or bark. He never even got up. I fell for him instantly and adopted him on the spot, even though my husband was a little perturbed over it lol. He walked around the people and animals as if he loved everyone, and everyone loved him. He was just so adorable at only 8wks old and blonde/white in color, very muscular and calm. He was a dream puppy! I immediately got him a crate for a medium sized dog, because he was already bigger than a standard JRT, with massive paws, so I figured he would be set for a medium. We owned our own business so I was able to take him to work everyday to work on training. He crate trained immediately, house trained after only 2 accidents, which were mostly my fault. He didn’t leave my side for over 2 weeks, as we were constantly going so I always took him with me. Always training him as well. He’s so intelligent and very observant. But, close to 3 weeks, I figured it was time to get him out to play and socialize. I was shocked. He began growling/barking at every single person he saw! This was not the puppy I adopted! What HAPPENED?!?! I kept him with me too much I’m sure. We had no other pets at all, so he wasn’t being properly socialized, but not really being a dog person, I wasn’t aware of that. It’s almost like he “imprinted” on me in those 3 weeks and is very protective of the property he’s on/in. When we go somewhere, he’ll start growling/barking at people he sees blocks away. It’s over 2 years later and he’s no better about it, so I can’t really take him anywhere. He’s so intuitive/in tune to me and my moods/emotions. He’s so human sometimes it’s unreal! Advice for owners of bull-jacks or anyone thinking of getting one: socialization is important early on if you want a social dog. If you want a guard dog; keep them with the people they’re to be guarding almost constantly for a few weeks after acquiring them. This was unintintional on my part, I just wanted to make sure the training stuck. My husband likes knowing that Jaxson is there to protect me in his abscence. He will, and has bitten people that have come up in my personal space, although he does watch for my reaction/feelings toward them first. He bit once when someone reached from behind me to pet him while his back was turned, a stranger. This person knew he overstepped boundaries and thought since Jaxson was a small dog and calm and sitting beside me; he was harmless. It was more of a snap than a bite and barely broke the skin, but still. There have never been any complaints to animal control though because these people knew they brought it on themselves, but it’s only a matter of time. I’ve tried to get this out of him. His play sessions usually end great, but never get any easier with each socialization. We’ve had so much fun with our bull-jack! He’s amazing, full of energy and the life of the party, as long as he knows the attendees. He’s fulfilled my life. He may have come with some complications, but he’s worth every ounce of his 65lbs lol When I said full of energy; I meant he never rests. Inside, he’s up sniffing everything constantly. Outside; he’s running and chasing every bird & squirrel in the yard, and rarely stops for more than a sniff. Lol

Penelope is known better as Penny. She is fun loving, high energy and affectionate. She loves to play and always makes me laugh. She is fun just to watch. She tears up most of her toys as she loves to pull the stuffing out of toys and chew on toy squeakers until the squeak stops. We got her when she was 1 1/2 years old and was raised by our son who didn't socialize her enough. So, we are working on socializing. We are also working on her being nice to our two old cats. She is also a bit shy. She has made a lot of progress in the six months we've had her. Penny is a happy girl.