One of the greatest #personality #traits of any #StaffordshireBullTerrier (Staffy), #AmericanPit-bullTerrier (APBT), #AmericanStaffordshireTerrier (AmStaff), and the #BullTerrier (Bully) is their #Tenacity.
Playful Senior Puppy
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Any good #Terrier is going to express a certain level of tenacity. It's a requirement. However, #Staffy's, #APBT's, #AmStaff's, and #Bully's are just special. They have those thick chunky bodies, square heads, curious eyes, #tails that'll leave bruises if they get too excited, and so much love to give.
The Bully, The Boss, and The Shithead
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In-fact, it was Chloe's tenacity that captured my #heart.
I was with my best-friend and her husband at the #WakeCounty #SPCA when I first met Chloe.
David, my #bff's husband, had sat down to pet Chloe in the #visitingroom, and so he was going to do it properly. The moment he stopped #petting, she threw her head back and slammed his thick head into the wall. #Myheartburst and I knew she had to come home with me.
Where Chloe Belongs
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David’s head cracked the wall. Otherwise it was fine, if in need of a new paint job, when we left Wake County SPCA the day before #Valentine’sDay that year.
Chloe and I go through the same #routine every single night. Every night I try to fight her on it and every night I lose.
####Tenacity…
First, she must step #outside to #smell the #night air. This is not the time to #potty. After dark, and after Scott goes to bed at 9 p.m., Chloe has to check that everything is as it should be outside.
When she comes in she must have a #biscuit as her #reward for keeping us safe.
Then, we sit on the couch where I rub her belly for an hour or so. If I fail to do this, she rolls around on me and tries to give me a bath. Trust me, giving her a belly rub is the preferred option. This is also when I get my Chloe cuddles. It’s my favorite time of the day because all day I have to fight the urge to put off work in favor of Chloe cuddles.
Eventually she'll get up and do what she would otherwise do during #daylight hours when she asks to go outside. But, this is not her asking to go outside.
In fact, what she wants is another biscuit or cod skin for #cuddling with me for so long. After, and only after, she gets this treat will she go outside again.
Every night, I hope the purpose is to potty, and every night she displays her tenacity again.
She takes 2 steps off the back patio to sniff the air. She looks around to ensure no intruders, deer, or leaves are trespassing and all is safe.
Once she is satisfied, she comes back in. Then, we pretend to go to bed. I go to the bathroom and she goes to her fortress of solitude (her #crate). While I'm in the bathroom she leaves her fortress of solitude for the comfort of Scott’s feet. Usually by this point he's well and truly asleep so she wakes him up to briefly announce her presence. After I come out of the bathroom I order her back to her bed. She usually complies without a fight, but only ever under protest with a deep sigh and some serious side-eye.
Side Eye
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I lay down, and pretend to try to sleep. Chloe lays quietly in her crate for about 10 minutes allowing me to pretend. Then, she quietly leaves her crate, walks over to the center of the room, and spends the next 45 minutes or so doing some variation of the following:
Once she's appropriately cleaned, her bed is where she likes it, and the contents of her #water-bowl is in her #stomach she nudges me.
Sometimes she's polite about it and taps my hand or face if I'm facing the right way. Sometimes she jumps on the bed, lays down across my legs ensuring that the pointiest part of her elbow is pushing on my shin, and all of her weight is shifted to her front legs.
She learned early on that pressing her bony legs with what feels like every one of her 50 pounds against my ankle bones will get her no-where. I cracked those bones enough with weighted poles when I was on color guard (the band kind) in high school. Those are no longer a pressure point. The joke was on her until she found another one.
I do move. She goes out one last time for the evening. This time, she checks the air and her sight line for intruders. Then she spends the next several minutes finding the perfect place to poop, and then pees on the Calla Lillie's in the bed next to the door despite the numerous protests I've voiced.
Chloe on My Face
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After returning to the bedroom, she again pretends to disappear into her fortress of solitude, and by this point I have to pee again myself. When I come out of the bathroom she has usually, once again, woken Scott to announce her presence and taken her place across his feet. Again, I tell her to get down, and again, with some side eye and attitude, she goes to her bed in her crate.
Bedtime Finally
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Again, I lay down and pretend to sleep. About 2 hours pass before she announces herself for the last time during the night when she growls and barks just enough to make me wake up. This is often done under the pretense of hearing an intruder, or leaf blowing across her yard.
With our #nightly #routine finished and adhered to, she finally relaxes enough to #sleep. I'll end up waking up once or twice more to her kicking the side of her crate as she dreams about what I can only assume to be #squirrels or #deer. She'd never try to chase anything she might actually be able to catch.
Eventually, I do get some sleep. But this rarely happens before Scott gets up a 4:45 a.m. to go to work.
Thank you for reading.
