Seven…

[Jacqui-S]

Really lovely video, you get more of a sense of the puppy he is in it.
The photos are adorable but they make him look bigger and more mature x

 

[Emily_Babbelhund]

I've heard the mastiff suggestion from a couple of places, and I don't have any personal experience at all with mastiff puppies, but looking at pictures online, he looks totally different to me.

He's got the tiger stripes but a much finer face than pure mastiff. Maybe he's some really cool mix of mastiff (Spanish or Presa Canario) with something entirely different like Podenco.

 

[Granca]

Whatever he is, he’s gorgeous and Squidge is just adorable!

 

[Anne123]

I dunno. We don't know how old he is, but I think he may have been younger than I first thought. My guess is that he's now about eight weeks. He's growing like an absolute weed, it's incredible how much he's put on in the last fortnight. I think he's going to be bigger than my Labs, other than that, I'm not sure. I've heard the mastiff suggestion from a couple of places, and I don't have any personal experience at all with mastiff puppies, but looking at pictures online, he looks totally different to me. So, we'll see!!

To me he looks like a Villano de las Encartaciones….

https://flic.kr/p/2jhfC2p

 

[snowbunny]

To me he looks like a Villano de las Encartaciones….

Maybe, but unlikely considering geography. It's more likely he's just a run-of-the-mill pibble mix

 

[MellowYellow]

He is gorgeous, and so is Squidge! I could sit and watch that video all day.

 

[snowbunny]

Poor Dex has an ouchy nose and needed a stitch. We’re not certain how it happened but …puppy He had his first vaccines yesterday, too. The vets were very impressed with what a calm puppy he was.

It sounds as if the family who found him won’t be taking him. They don’t want a PPP* dog because they have children, and little Dex almost certainly is one. That’s going to make rehoming him very complicated

* PPP stands for Perro Potencialmente Peligroso, or “potentially dangerous dog”, which includes breeds such as pit bull terrier, Staffordshire bull terrier, AmStaff and Dogo Argentino, all of which are potential candidates for Dexter’s heritage. Where exact breed is unknown, they use a broad list of guidelines to determine whether a dog is PPP, which boil down to “if it looks like it has a significant proportion of bully in it, it’s a PPP”.
PPP dogs need a license which requires liability insurance, background checks and health tests (for the human). Here’s more info, which describes how even a dog like Squidge (and many of our forum dogs) could be classified as PPP if we didn’t “know” that the law doesn’t mean Labrador Is your dog on Spain's dangerous dogs list? - Spain Explained

 

[Emily_Babbelhund]

Oh crap...I was hoping that PPP business wouldn't affect the little man, but with his beautiful tiger colouring I'm not totally surprised.

Do we need to do a freedom run to another country like I did with Carbon and Paul? Haven't done that in a while!

 

[snowbunny]

Hah, until he’s finished developing, I wouldn’t risk sending him to the UK in case it turns out he’s a pibble. I’m not familiar with the rules in Germany. Off to Google

 

[snowbunny]

Googled. Ah, yeah, so that’s not an option either then

 

[Sophiedoodle]

The PPP licensing is really interesting actually! It makes total sense…
Although, do you have to have a PPP license since you are looking after him currently?

 

[snowbunny]

The PPP licensing is really interesting actually! It makes total sense…
Although, do you have to have a PPP license since you are looking after him currently?

He's not been assessed as a PPP dog yet, so no. He's also not quite over 20kg yet (but give it a few days at the rate he's growing )

I don't think PPP licensing makes sense at all. BSL is a nonsense. If there should be any licensing, it should be to ensure that dog owners know what they're doing! It's better than an outright ban, though, and I wouldn't trust any governmental body to put together a decent test to demonstrate what a responsible dog owner looks like.
I think it should also be a requirement that ALL dogs be covered by liability insurance, and that's nothing to do with breed. A Yorkshire terrier can run across a road and cause an accident as easily as a Dobe.

 

[Sophiedoodle]

He's also not quite over 20kg yet (but give it a few days at the rate he's growing )

I had just woken up when I read it and didn’t quite clock on to that I just assumed that it would be adult weight over 20kg, and therefore they would need licensing from when they were a puppy!

It's better than an outright ban,

Yes, this is kind of what I was meaning when I said it makes total sense. It’s much better than a ban… but I also agree with you that I wouldn’t trust the government (especially the UK government!!) to be able to decide who was a responsible enough owner to have a strong, potentially difficult breed!

 

[snowbunny]

I had just woken up when I read it and didn’t quite clock on to that I just assumed that it would be adult weight over 20kg, and therefore they would need licensing from when they were a puppy!

With a puppy, you have a year to get the license if it's a PPP. In this case, we don't know for sure that he is, as we don't know his parentage, so it's a case of waiting and seeing what he looks like when he's grown up. If his build is more like a boxer (which is possible), he won't be PPP. If he's more heavily muscled, with a broader head, then he will be. It's all a little bit arbitrary!

 

[Emily_Babbelhund]

Googled. Ah, yeah, so that’s not an option either then

For Germany, it all depends on whether they are considered Category 1 or Category 2. Category 2 is a pain in the backside, but not really all that bad to live with (Brogan was Category 2). It also depends on the community you live in, as local laws can vary widely. Some states in Germany don't have Category laws at all.

That doesn't mean it would be easy to find a home in Germany - you can imagine the rescues all over Europe who try to get their "PPP-equivalent" dogs into the no category German states. But you never know. There's also the "Labrador mix" route. I know several rescues in Regensburg that looking at them, I'd say pit bull mix (Category 1) but everyone just calls them Labrador or Boxer mixes and looks the other way.

It's all a little bit arbitrary!

This is why the PPP laws are ridiculous. It HELPS if you can get a vet to do a pet passport that lists the breed as "Labrador mix" or similar, but for a mixed breed dog really it's all in the eye of the beholder what is PPP and what is not.

Also what happens on the ground and what is the law are two different things. The entire time I had Brogan in Spain, I had zero problems with the PPP laws even though I knew of them. People in the countryside just didn't care. I imagine in a city may be different and it could vary from region to region...but in Cadiz, no one ever said 'boo' to me when I was out with him.

The problem is once you do say, "Yes, my dog is a PPP" and get the licensing and insurance, then you can never go back to saying, "La, la la, my dog is a Labrador mix and I have no IDEA what you mean by PPP". It's a risk either way, but my choice was to just go with wilfully ignoring it...but yeah, it's a risk.

My feeling is that you @snowbunny are so resourceful that you WILL figure this out and find a great home for Dexter, plus educate us all on how to do it.

 

[MellowYellow]

What Emily says is true - all large rescue mixes in Germany are referred to as 'Labrador mixes' on the websites

 

[snowbunny]

I think one of the things we fight against is the indoctrination we've all had for years. Even now, when someone says "pit bull", I can feel myself wanting to create distance before my brain kicks in and tells me what an idiot I am. Pit bulls are so normal in the USA and make wonderful, kind, gentle, loyal family dogs - there is no reason they should be any different here. And Staffies in the UK are really normal - my sister had one - yet here, they're a PPP and so people have that slight cringe. I can understand the drive to want to keep you and your family safe, so it's not that I don't get it, I just think it's very unfortunate that we're programmed to feel certain ways about different breeds based solely on our geography.

If I had young children, would I be more hesitant to bring a labelled "potentially dangerous dog" into the family, rather than any other of the thousands there are to choose from? Probably, even though it has no basis in logic. And that's something we have to work through.

With Dexter, I'm also catching myself reading too much in to his totally normal puppy behaviour before I can correct myself, simply because he may be PPP. He has normal puppy biting - although he's so keen to please that he is learning quickly that he gets a lot more attention when he's a gentle playmate. But because he may be PPP, I'm constantly scanning for signs of aggression (there are NONE) and worrying about what any potential family would think of his normal puppy behaviour. He can be a bit humpy with Squidge when he's overexcited - I know some people would label that as dominance and try to correct it because he may be a PPP and he can't afford to think he's "the alpha". All the nonsense we know differently, but it niggles away at me because he comes with baggage, not because of who he is but WHAT he is.

All this to say that, I consider myself reasonably well educated and yet still find myself having involuntary reactions based on a label. It's no wonder, then, that many others do, too, and shy away from any of these dogs who is labelled as a potential problem.

For now, we'll just keep an eye on how Dex develops and do what we can to make him as bombproof, sociable, and well-mannered as possible.

 

[Loraseal]

From the video you sent of Dex and Squidge, I just saw a very gentle soul who was incredibly calm for such a youngster.
I guess the hard work for you now is to make him bombproof for both the four legged and the two legged variety.
I agree with the labelling as Pit-bulls and Staffies have had very bad press in the UK.
My friend has a white Staffie (rescue) called Doris who is the biggest softie with both humans and dogs. She says that it is really upsetting sometimes how strangers react to her when they are out walking. The labelling......

Dex is in very good hands with you and we will keep our fingers/paws crossed that he finds a forever home X

 

[MellowYellow]

I know exactly what you are talking about, because I find I react differently to pittie-type mixtures (or pure breds) than to other breeds. Which is totally unfair, I know, but I had one really, really bad experience in the past and it seems to have coloured my vision. Must work on that... I do know they are mostly lovely dogs, and it is bad handling that makes them difficult.

 

[snowbunny]

Oh, so we have a new update! The family would like to meet him! Maybe this weekend, maybe next. That's a great sign, and hopefully means that, once they see him and realise how lovely he is (PLEASE not too much puppy biting, Dex!!) they won't be able to tell the kids no