Patton Pit Bull Terrier Mix Dallas, TX

Patton means “from the warrior land,” and it fits him. He was found on the street and has scars all over his body where he was attacked and bitten, and despite that, his heart hasn’t changed. He is the most loving and affectionate dog I have ever known. We think he was a bait dog and would not fight back.

The number one thing to know about Patton is he loves human contact. He loves to sit in your lap, lie on the furniture with you, rest his head on your shoulder, sleep in bed with you, and even curl up in a sleeping bag with you. He lies at my feet when I put on my makeup, and he will sit outside my shower door while I bathe. He even fussed to get into my garden tub with me. He has been around people of various ages and has not been aggressive toward anyone.

If I am in in the kitchen or we are at the table, he wants to be right with us, so I have put a pillow on the floor and have been teaching him to stay on it so he isn’t under foot and doesn’t sit by the table when we eat.

He is great with his crate. I usually give him a milk bone or chew depending on how long he will be in it, and he goes in without a problem. If he has to get up at night to go potty, he goes right back in with no problem.

Speaking of house training, he will go outside if he has access, and he will go to the door and scratch if we are in the room, but he hasn’t learned to notify us otherwise. I plan to start working with him on bells this week. At night, I take up his food and water about 3 hours before bedtime, take him out before I got to bed, and then put him in his crate. For the last few nights, he has slept through the night, but if he needs to go out, he’ll whine to wake me up.

He loves walking on his leash, but if he sees dogs or people, he pulls hard. I’ve started working with him on his self-control, and he responds to treats, face snuggles, and “good boy” really well.

He loves to play tug of war with my Pit/Lab with the rope. They wrestle and make a lot of noise, but he isn’t aggressive. He is a puppy, though, and she has had to teach him some manners. My two dogs and Patton eat in the same area from three different bowls. He will eat out of a bowl with one of the other dogs, not in possessiveness but for company. I’ve only seen him with females, and I would be nervous with other dogs that are actually aggressive or act aggressively alpha. He loves playing with Semper (2-year old pit/lab mix), but he would also be great as an only dog because he loves the attention. Again, he is learning manners and how not to interrupt when I am petting the other dogs.

He knows the command to sit with the open palm and downward motion. He doesn’t respond well to just the word, but we are working on that as well as staying instead of popping back up.

He is smart and quick to learn.

He loves pleasing you.

He is ready to go wherever you go. He paces in the backseat, but he loves riding. I am working with him on how to get into and out of my truck using the floorboard to the seat and then the floorboard to the ground. We haven’t practiced this a lot partly because we haven’t had reason and partly because I don’t want to do too much on his young joints.

If your tennis ball suddenly launches from your hand, he’ll go get it and hold it in his mouth for safe keeping, and he loves the rope with knots, but he won’t wrestle a human for it. I have taken things out of his mouth before with no response from him. He is totally submissive. One day he was eating a plant that can hurt him, and I yelled and ran toward him. He responded by curling up in a puppy fetal position on the floor. Usually, though, any frustrated or upset tone draws him right to me for a nuzzle on my hand or he will crawl into my lap and put his face on my chest or neck.
All in all this is a gorgeous, sweet boy who longs for attention and affection. He likes to play with other dogs that are not over the top.