ID Number: #14387

Breed: Pit Bull or Amstaff

Sex: Male (Neutered)

Age: ~ 2 years old

Weight: 65 to 75 Lbs

Color: Blue Fawn

Good with dogs: Some

Good with cats: N/A

Nicknames: Spart, Sparty, Big Boy, Goofball, Crazy-Dog.

Absolutely Spectacular! Spartacus is one of the best looking and most impressive dogs we ever had in the program. Yet, when it comes to his personality, he is nothing but a big happy baby with a total goofball nature.

Spart might look tough but please don't apply for him if you are looking for a macho guard dog. Spartacus loves everyone and doesn't seem to have a mean bone in him. In fact, this superb dog is very much at risk of being stolen due to his remarkable beauty and impressive stature. He is the one who needs to by protected!!

UPDATE: January 7, 2010:

Spartacus is doing very well. He has started his private lessons and is making even more progress. He is doing still great with alot of behaviors around the house and he loves his crate. He likes to go lay in there on his own when he rests and at night when he's tired....don't even have to close the door at night lately because he willingly wants to be in there.

He gets a bath about every week in a half. He still won't get in the tub on his own but once he's in there he just stands there. I don't think he's crazy about it, but I think tolerates it and he feels good after he's all cleaned up and has fresh clean bedding in his crate. He loves coming along in the car and is getting better about getting in the car, he will sit and wait for as long as he can, not when I give him the OK, but I'll accept that for now, at least he's not jumping in the car like he was shot out of a cannon. He's stubborn sometimes and for such a tough looking dog he loves, LOVES, baby talk! The tail wags and it has a calming affect on him and when you do it he'll lean into me or put his head on me. A simple no and ignoring him or walking away seems to be effective discipline when he does something not desired. He is doing well on the leash and isn't pulling me. He's working on heel and does it quite well with only a few corrections. Over all he's pretty well behaved.

I have to brag about Spartacus. The day we went to the vet, he had an emergency and our appoinment was going to run late. They said he'd be 30-40 minutes, and I could wait or run an errand. I decided to wait. The weather was bad that day so I didn't want to walk out side. Spartacus did sooooo good! He walked around inside with me sniffing on a fairly loose lead, sat next to me while I sat, watched people come and go with their animals. People came up to pet him and I had him sit first. There is a three legged cat that live theres and roams around and kittens for adoption in the lobby. He behaved well and was fairly calm. He got just a bit excited when he saw some bigger dogs because they were excited and I think Spartacus wanted to play. I can say he was behaving better and I had more control over him than some of other big dogs and their owners. That was a good feeling. There was an older lady picking up her dog and she gushed over him, she told me her son had just adopted a rescued pit bull. She credited me for being a good doggy mommy for waiting and walking around in there with Spartacus to socialize him.

Thank you again for giving us a chance. He is special and has big sweet heart. ~Kelly

UPDATE: 11/04/2009 - I just wanted to let you know how things are going. Spartacus is doing well and I am quite proud of how he is falling in line. He really is responding to a structured environment. He listens 90% of the time when reprimanded for unacceptable behaviors. I have not even had to use the spray bottle on him. He is very gentle with the kids, especially with my middle daughter Olivia. He seems to instinctively "know" not to get crazy around them. I think he enjoys the companionship with me and follows me everywhere all day long. The crazy kissing hasn't been a problem either, the only one he tries it on is my son Will, but that is because Will likes it and encourages it (he would, trust me). I've had to tell my son don't do that because it isn't fair to Spart to get a talking to when he gets carried away. He doesn't jump on us and he doesn't get on the furniture, although, the last couple of evenings he tries to put his front paws on us while we are sitting on the couch. He can become quite persistent but he eventually lays down when he realizes I'm not giving in to his bullish attempts and I am going to win. No problems with over excitement when returning home or letting him out of his crate. He is very low key and well behaved inside, even if he just got done running around the backyard, he comes inside with us and goes back to being well behaved for the most part. I do stay on him all day long to catch any thing before it starts, that is a big part his behavior, I'm sure. It does take a consistent effort but the kids are on board and trying to stay consistent with me. I have no doubt if you give him an inch he will take a mile.

We took him to the park yesterday and walked him around the little lake. His walking needs alot of improvement, but he didn't do too bad. I am going to look into the private obedience lessons in a couple of weeks after he has adapted to us, plus I can get a better feel for the areas we need to work on.The place I found is called Elkhound Ranch. I think learning new behaviors from a variety ways might make it more effective. He's got alot of potential.

He desperately needs a bath, besides the stinky smell, he's very itchy around his ears. I thought I could do it here in the bath tub and tried to set everything up for the disaster it may become. I filled the tub up about 4 inches and tried to coax him in there and he would not do it. I'm guessing he hasn't done that too many times if at all. It was funny, it was like he wanted to, but just couldn't do it. I swished the water around, let him lick it off my foot, tried treats, I even tried to lift him to stand on the side of the tub but he threw all of his weight back. I decided then maybe it is best left to the experts and called the vet off of hwy 92 and scheduled a grooming appt. He's got an appt tomorrow morning, he'll get the works for only 25.00, so that will be money well spent. Nails, ears anal glands (yikes) I am sure he will feel much better when he is nice and clean. That spot on his hind leg looks like a cut or puncture that may have a small abscess. It hasn't gotten worse but it's not really getting better. I am going to ask the vet to look at it tomorrow. It may need to be drained.

Sorry for the long email but I'm sure you guys wanted an update. He's a pretty sweet guy. The girls decided he looks like a big teddy bear. Will says Scooby-Doo.

~Kelly