# My dog barks at me!!! Why???



## Nolan15 (Mar 17, 2012)

Ok so I own a 1 year old pitbull and he is very friendly and a good dog for the most part. But every day he does this things where he wil start biting the couch and as I get up to scold him he sprints away and wants me to chase him.After I catch him I kennel him for about ten minutes but once I let
Him out he just proceeds to bark in my face and do it all over again! Sometimes he just barks in my face for no reason at all when I am trying to simply relax. It's very annoying!! Why does he do this and how can I make him stop barking


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## itsjustmebre (Mar 29, 2011)

How much excersize does he get a day? He's a young dog and needs a good amount, this just sounds like he wants to play, and biting the couch gets your attention. To a dog, negative attention is better than no attention at all.

~IJMB


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## Nolan15 (Mar 17, 2012)

He gets plenty of attention and i usually take him for a walk during the day for about twenty minutes because my neighborhood has a lot of dogs that bark like crazy when I walk him and even though he likes other dogs it makes walks unenjoyable and this brings me to my next question how the heck do I calm him down?!? He loves people but I can't even let them pet him when we do walk because he jumps so much when he is excited and its terrible! This is bad becuse he needs to socialize with people but it's embarrassing when he has no manners at all! I can't even let the kids pet him because I fear he will knock them over and hurt them. And the fact he is a pitbull makes people think bad anyway


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## spotted nikes (Feb 7, 2008)

Walk him briskly for 45 min twice a day. Make a flirt pole. Do some training for about 20 min a day to exercise him mentally.


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## itsjustmebre (Mar 29, 2011)

I would guess he needs more excersize than 20 minutes a day, I've never owned a pit, but my two Shih Tzus need more excersize than that, even my lazy boy  First, if you haven't already, teach him a good sit. Then before anyone can pet him, make your dog sit. You will most likely have to work him up to being able to do it around other people. You can teach your kids to make him sit before they pet him too! 

To make him settle, teach him to go into his crate and wait for you to say he can come out. You can easily do this by tossing a treat in his crate and telling him "Go to bed" or whatever command you wish to use, and work it up so that he can wait there for a little bit while he calms down, and then he can come out. And then teaching not to jump at all, whenever he jumps up on you(you will want to recruit some helpers, it generally takes 8 people for a dog to generalize) don't say anything, or even look at him. Just turn around. The moment his paws hit the ground, pile on lots of praise!

Good luck 

EDIT: Also, I agree with spotted nikes! That stuff will deffinetly help you out 

~IJMB


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## BellaPup (Jul 7, 2007)

If you haven't already, be sure to join an obedience class. They'll teach you how to deal with a puppy with lots of energy - which most have an overload of! It can be frustrating & exhausting. Especially if YOU aren't trained to handle it. We've all been there at one time or another! 

He obviously needs direction - like all young dogs - and you need to know how to give it properly. It won't get better until manners are taught correctly. He'll just be a large out-of-control, excited dog...which can only lead to bad things if left unchecked.

Local ASPCA's typically have very good classes at reasonable prices.


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## Nolan15 (Mar 17, 2012)

He knows sit and he knows to wait for his dinner when I am getting it but I just want the incessant barking to stop as well as the jumping. This way I can let people pet him and see how good of a boy he is! I get dirty looks when I walk him by people because once they see a pit they think the worse. If he would just calm down I could let people pet him as well as kids. Its so frustrating lol I wish he was more well behaved ):


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## Darkmoon (Mar 12, 2007)

HA! He's just trying to get you to play with him. My two do it all the time and to each other. My male Pit Nubs will stand in the door way to the kitchen/dining room where my computer is and will do a "woof" at me, and then just look at me to the side. Then his woofs will get louder and he'll stomp his front paw and maybe grab a toy. If I ignore him for too long I'll get a toy thrown at my head (with deadly aim let me tell you) and he'll stand there and wag his whole body at me. Sometimes he'll pounce in my lap for a play. 

My little female Pit will bark at me as well, then latch on to my ankle in play. That's annoying as heck let me tell you. Nothing has been able to break her of this and I've had her since a 16wk old pup. 

So long story short? More exercise and training! Your boy is bored and wants to play so if you tire him out, he'll lay down and sleep for the night, leaving you alone. My older male only requires about a 45min fast pace walk a day to be pleased with a little bit of training to go along with it. My younger female who is only 1yr old.. Well when she tires out for the first time I'll let you know. I swear her energy level is worse then a Border Collies. The closest I've come to actually really tiring her out is with 2 days of Search and rescue training, then hanging out at a dog show with so much training along with it all. There was also the Search training and the 5mile hike then the play wrestling with my older dog when she got home.

The best thing I can tell you is check out a Flirt Pole http://www.pulldoggies.com/flirtpole.htm My little female will run herself ragged on one of these things. I actually have to stop her because I'm pretty sure she'd never stop herself. It's a wonderful training tool as well because she had to learn to drop it, which she has always had issues with. On days I do not feel like walking (like rough work days or bad depression days) this is what I do with her along with some training later that night.


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## Darkmoon (Mar 12, 2007)

Nolan15 said:


> He knows sit and he knows to wait for his dinner when I am getting it but I just want the incessant barking to stop as well as the jumping. This way I can let people pet him and see how good of a boy he is! I get dirty looks when I walk him by people because once they see a pit they think the worse. If he would just calm down I could let people pet him as well as kids. Its so frustrating lol I wish he was more well behaved ):


More exercise! No joke. I've worked day in and day out with my 1yr old Pit on her training and she's just now coming to a point where I don't feel so embarrassed to have her out in public. Your dog doesn't just become magically well behaved. You have to put a lot of time into it. The one thing people forget about Pits is they aren't couch potato dogs. These dogs are athletics and need a lot of outlets. Look into Nose work, Obedience classes, take a look at http://www.clickertraining.com/node/167, You have to work their minds. Once they are a bit wore out then you can train obedience into them. A tired dog is a happy dog!


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## Shell (Oct 19, 2009)

Have you ever been around a 3 or 4 year old child? When they are bored or want to play it is nothing but "Hey whatcha doin? Look at this.. I can jump... wanna play... lets go outside... when's dinner?...what's that?..." etc. If they get a chance to play (run around) and then a good toy (say, building blocks) then they might settle down for awhile. all your dog's barking is simply the same "talking" as the small child.

Same with the dog- loads more exercise for sure as everyone has already mentioned, then a good toy (try a frozen peanut butter stuffed black kong or a bully stick or antler or raw meaty beef knuckle bone) and your dog might settle down and learn to chill for awhile. Mental training tires them out too but has to be combined with physical exercise; one doesn't substitute for another. 

I am doing 1 hr and 30 minutes fast paced walk on hills each evening with my 1-2 year old pit bull foster. We also do formal training about 2 hours each week (at a training facility), a short training session daily, short weight pull session once a week, frisbee and tennis ball chasing a few times a week, and a bit of free time in the yard daily. this works great for my medium energy dog, a higher energy pit would need an additional daily walk of say, 45 mins or 1 hour.

try walking with him somewhere with less dogs for now whenever you can. This might mean driving to a park or if you can't, then walking at a time of day when most of the dogs are inside. then you can get the energy burn without fighting the distraction factor.
People don't need to be petting him on walks right now. Yes, you want to socialize him, but that doesn't mean that everyone who walks by needs to pet him either. Have your friends and family work with you to teach him to sit while getting attention (no attention at all unless all four feet are on the ground!) and if people want to pet him while you are walking, just tell them "thanks, but we're working on some training right now" When you have made progress with his behavior around known people, then you can add strangers into the mix.

Some local rescues and such do free obedience classes for pit bulls and other bully breeds. Try looking on Facebook or googling to see if there is a local option for you. If not, check with your local shelter or humane society for training recommendations and ask around for pit bull positive trainers.


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## Nolan15 (Mar 17, 2012)

I know that exercise is important but I don't know if lack of exercise is the reason he has behavioral problems! And when I say behavioral problems I don't mean he is mean or aggressive... I can literally shove my face in his food bowl as he eats and just get so confused lol He is very loveable but it's just the simple stuff such as having him calm down when he wants to greet a person, he barking in my face for no reason and biting the couch. And I try to train him, it just doesn't seem to be working because once he sees something that excites him all the training goes out the window. It makes me sad I can't show him to people and I don't know what to do. I just don't want him to grow up and be this way once he is huge lol He is big as it is but it's manageable.


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## Shell (Oct 19, 2009)

Nolan15 said:


> I know that exercise is important but I don't know if lack of exercise is the reason he has behavioral problems! And when I say behavioral problems I don't mean he is mean or aggressive... I can literally shove my face in his food bowl as he eats and just get so confused lol He is very loveable but it's just the simple stuff such as having him calm down when he wants to greet a person, he barking in my face for no reason and biting the couch. And I try to train him, it just doesn't seem to be working because once he sees something that excites him all the training goes out the window. It makes me sad I can't show him to people and I don't know what to do. I just don't want him to grow up and be this way once he is huge lol He is big as it is but it's manageable.



Yes; lack of exercise is very very very very much connected to what you are calling "behavioral problems"

If the dog has pent up energy, the dog has to let the energy out somehow. Some dogs will tear up the sofa, some will chase the cat, some will bark all day. 

Burn energy, then the mind can focus enough to learn the lessons of training. as long as the dog is under exercised and over stimulated, training lessons will not stick in the dog's mind.

Greeting someone nicely is actually kind of hard for many dogs; it is just so awesome to meet a new person that it takes a huge amount of self control not to jumping, bark or wiggle like crazy. That self-control can be trained, but it takes time and effort and again, exercise!


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## Darkmoon (Mar 12, 2007)

Nolan15 said:


> I know that exercise is important but I don't know if lack of exercise is the reason he has behavioral problems! And when I say behavioral problems I don't mean he is mean or aggressive... I can literally shove my face in his food bowl as he eats and just get so confused lol He is very loveable but it's just the simple stuff such as having him calm down when he wants to greet a person, he barking in my face for no reason and biting the couch. And I try to train him, it just doesn't seem to be working because once he sees something that excites him all the training goes out the window. It makes me sad I can't show him to people and I don't know what to do. I just don't want him to grow up and be this way once he is huge lol He is big as it is but it's manageable.


I'd put lack of exercise as the number one issue for behavioral issues honestly. Number two would be lack of actual training.
Barking in your face is his way of trying to get your attention. If he was tired, he wouldn't be trying to get your attention.
Biting the couch is more then likely a sign of frustration and being overwhelmed. When my male gets overwhelmed and overly excited, he bites at the couch or my sleeve or pillow, anything he can just to focus on something besides what's going on. 

My dogs still can not be out of their cages when someone first walks into my house. They are crated because they are so excitable. Then after they both calm down (about 20mins after the person gets there) then I'll let them out one by one, and let them greet the person on leash, on my terms. It takes a LOT of training, more so with our bullheaded breed. I really REALLY recommend finding a training class to go to. It will really help you understand how to train your dog. There's a lot of posting over in the training forum about how to train your dog and the basics. You'll learn a lot if you read and practice.


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## hamandeggs (Aug 11, 2011)

So, let me get this straight. Your dog has too much energy and is overly excited, but you are skeptical that walking him for more than 20 minutes would help with this? Seriously, your dog is a wound up ball of energy. 20 minutes is once around the block, that's like a pee break for most dogs. You don't have to let every random person pet him or let him greet every person he sees. In fact, you shouldn't. You can just...walk. Briskly.

Tomorrow is Saturday, so maybe you don't have work or school. Why don't you take him out for an hour, just walking, tomorrow morning, and see if he acts better after that.

If my dog didn't get 2 hours of romping a day, she would be a much different and much less lovable dog.


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## Nolan15 (Mar 17, 2012)

Yeah trust me I have locked him up when I have friends over and it leads to the dog making the most annoying crying I have ever heard and he doesnt stop. He will go on for hours I sware. But I guess I will just have to take him for longer walks and hope that tires him out. Another question I have which is kind of random is if letting them cuddle is a bad thing? As we speak he is laying on top of me with his nose nestled under my chin but I heard that this is a sign of dominance or something? Is that true? I hope not because I love cuddling with him


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## Shell (Oct 19, 2009)

Letting him cuddle is great!!! 
It is fine if you want to only let him cuddle after you say it is okay, some people don't want their dogs jumping in their laps whenever the dog wants to; but for sure it is great bonding and relaxing time for him to lay near you or on your lap or cuddle against you.

Forget the "dominance" thing completely. All your dog wants it to be near you, have some happy and fun attention paid to him, go on fun walks and play. He has no desire to run the household 

If you crate him while friends are over, make sure that you have given him a good walk or game of fetch/flirt pole before the friends visit and then while he is in his crate, give him a good chew toy (a safe one for when you aren't watching him- try a large size nylabone or large black Kong- and make sure to check on him every now and then to make sure he isn't trying to eat chunks of the chew toy)


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## Nolan15 (Mar 17, 2012)

Thanks shell! Your advice is great lol And I am only 19 everybody! Give me a break if I sound stupid hahaha


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## Darkmoon (Mar 12, 2007)

Nolan15 said:


> Yeah trust me I have locked him up when I have friends over and it leads to the dog making the most annoying crying I have ever heard and he doesnt stop. He will go on for hours I sware. But I guess I will just have to take him for longer walks and hope that tires him out. Another question I have which is kind of random is if letting them cuddle is a bad thing? As we speak he is laying on top of me with his nose nestled under my chin but I heard that this is a sign of dominance or something? Is that true? I hope not because I love cuddling with him


Yup, welcome to owning a Pit. Ever try a frozen kong? Fill a Kong toy with dog food, peanut butter (you can also add in fruits) and give it to them while they are in their crates. It gives them something to focus on while they are in their crate. Also the exercise will help with the screaming as well.

As for cuddling, NONE IS BAD! I LOVE cuddles with my dogs! My female curls up in my chair with me every night and my male will lay on top of be any chance he can get. I really wish the dominance theory would go drown. It's an old theory that has been proven in recent years to be inconclusive. The person who started the theory recently stated that even he himself no longer believes that the theory has any weight. Anyone who talks about dominance or alpha rolling or things like that, run away FAST. The theory is ineffective and does more harm then good.


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## Nolan15 (Mar 17, 2012)

Yeah it sounds so stupid. I think it just means he loves his papa and wants to be close to me and I love him too so of course I let him cuddle! Another question I have sorry I have so many lol but there are so many things I need answered is that I can't leave him alone or else he destroys stuff like shoes, my books for college, albums and so on. How the hell am I going to be able to leave him alone without having I crate him the rest of my life??


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## Shell (Oct 19, 2009)

Bored dogs are destructive dogs. I bet you'll be surprised at this answer but.... more exercise should help 
Plus, he's still young. Some dogs naturally seem to grow past the destruction stage, some dogs need minimal chances to destroy things and some need to be crated while you are gone most of their lives.

You could try this: clean your room or the room the dog will be in very well. Pick up everything like a date that you want to impress is coming over  Then take your dog for at least a full hour's brisk walk. Put a chew toy in the room. Leave him for ten minutes. Reward him if he behaved. the next day, try 15 minutes. Don't leave ANYTHING available to him that you would be very upset if he chewed OR anything that is dangerous (no plugged in electrical cords, no food, nothing breakable etc).

That is basically what I do to test if a foster dog is able to be outside of a crate or not. One foster was fine with that system, the next one chewed off a solid wood door frame in 10 minutes..... but it told me what I needed to know.

If a crate is a good size for the dog, and the dog doesn't spend too much time in it, there is nothing wrong with crating daily while you are gone. When you are home, the dog should be out of the crate and if you can't trust him then, use a leash to your belt to make sure he doesn't wander off and get into trouble


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## Darkmoon (Mar 12, 2007)

Nolan15 said:


> Yeah it sounds so stupid. I think it just means he loves his papa and wants to be close to me and I love him too so of course I let him cuddle! Another question I have sorry I have so many lol but there are so many things I need answered is that I can't leave him alone or else he destroys stuff like shoes, my books for college, albums and so on. How the hell am I going to be able to leave him alone without having I crate him the rest of my life??


HA! I wouldn't DREAM of leaving my 1yr female without a crate, she'd destroy the house and take over the world! Heck I have to keep an eye on her constantly or she's into everything in the house. Honestly I wouldn't worry about that right now. My 5yr old male is still in a crate because he can't be trusted outside of the crate when I'm not at home (or in bed). For about 2 yrs he was able to have free roam of the the house but when he hurt his knee he started trash diving again, so back in the crate he goes. Exercise will help this because half of the issue is boredom, but maturity is another part of it. I'd focus on his other issues first then on maybe in a year or two letting him out of his crate.


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## Nolan15 (Mar 17, 2012)

Sounds like a good idea but he would probably destroy my bed lol I am not risking that! I think your right over time he should grow out of this stage and just be able to chill when I leave him. I buy him toys and it sucks because he literally just plays with the toy until he has completely destroyed it. He rips it to shreds and is done with it. Now I just give
Him water bottles after I drink them and let him destroy those haha.


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## HollowHeaven (Feb 5, 2012)

Alright now, I'm 19 too so don't use that as an excuse, lol.
Pits are high energy dogs, and like any active, intelligent dog, they need not only plenty of physical exercise but also mental exercise.
Like others have said, he needs way more than just a 20 minute walk a day. My pit mix gets 2+ hours a day and it still ready to gogogo. Lack of exercise can cause all sorts of behavioral problems, and a lot of what you're saying definitely sounds like he's bored. By you chasing him, you've engaged in play, which is what he wants. Chasing him for chewing the couch is telling him that if he eats the furniture, he gets to play chase.

I do the water bottle thing as well. Put little bits of food in it and put the lid back on so that it rattles, and push a little air out. Should give him great fun. Give him different things to do, anything that will get his brain going as this will help tire him out too. With more exercise and training you should start to see improvement.


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## Nolan15 (Mar 17, 2012)

Hahah well I meant like I am 19 and this is the first dog I really take care of on my own so give me a break if I sound stupid with my questions lol But I realize now that exercise is a lot more important then I thought and I will do my best to walk him more. I feel like he is kind of stupid though as mean as this sounds and this is also why he has bad behavior! He is constantly bumping into things when he romps around and he never learns no means no. Even when I walk him he doesn't get the idea that when he tugs we don't move anymore and so on. Maybe not stupid but he is not the smartest dog in the world lol even when I took him to the vet to get him neutered she said something about pitbulls having a extremely short attention span


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## Darkmoon (Mar 12, 2007)

Nolan15 said:


> Hahah well I meant like I am 19 and this is the first dog I really take care of on my own so give me a break if I sound stupid with my questions lol But I realize now that exercise is a lot more important then I thought and I will do my best to walk him more. I feel like he is kind of stupid though as mean as this sounds and this is also why he has bad behavior! He is constantly bumping into things when he romps around and he never learns no means no. Even when I walk him he doesn't get the idea that when he tugs we don't move anymore and so on. Maybe not stupid but he is not the smartest dog in the world lol even when I took him to the vet to get him neutered she said something about pitbulls having a extremely short attention span


I wouldn't call him stupid, more bullheaded then anything else. If you step into a shelter you'll notice a good majority of the dogs in the shelter are about the age of what your dog is. Why? Because between 9months old and a 2yrs of age, dogs are like teenagers. They don't like to listen, they push buttons, they ignore you, and they do whatever they want to do. It's the teenage phase and it's a bitch. This is the age where bad behaviors like to rear their ugly heads and can wind up sticking if you aren't consistent with training. Pits aren't the best dogs for first time dog owners because they are a strong willed breed. They will push you and push you until you crack at this age. There are days where I even had to take a step back and take a deep breath with Peanut because she drives me crazy. I could tell you stories about her that would make your eyes pop out of your head. 

Pits don't have short attention spans per say. Puppies have short attention spans, or goldfish memories as I like to call it. Have you ever seen the movie UP? SQUIRREL! It's about right. I'm just now training outside of a class longer then 15mins at a time. I like short but many training's through out the day. Overloading the dog isn't a good idea so I believe that every second with a puppy is training. Sits before food, walks, cuddles, downs before dinner. Now walking on loose leash? HAHAHHAHAHAHA! Neither of my dogs will do it, but I've gotten them both to the point where they don't pull on leash but they don't walk on a loose leash either. My puppy if I ask her to knows what heel means but can only hold it for about 3mins before "SQUIRREL!" so I know at 2 mins and 30secs to tell her OK and let her out of the heel position on MY terms not hers and be consistent on it.

If some of this makes no sense at all I'm typing this before my coffee this morning. With you being a first time dog owner in general, I highly suggest taking ONE training class at least. It really is worth the money if you can find a good one. Even just going to one once a week you'll start to notice a change in your dog. I can tell you know, Pits will totally embarrass you during the class. They will be jerks, ignore you, and flat out be the class clown. I know with my two laughter is the best thing in the world and they LOVE to make people laugh :-/ I've been tripped, knocked down,even Peanut failed her CGC with such style that I didn't think it was possible for a dog to fail that bad after doing so well not even a day earlier. So get that think skin of yours out and just have fun. It's a great experience and training classes will help you and your dogs bond that much more.


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## hanksimon (Mar 18, 2009)

After you get the energy/exercise requirements out of the way, a Pit is not that hard to train. Not as easy as a Lab but just as motivated.
Think back to high school to the football team - the guys that worked out a lot and kept in shape. Imagine what they'd do if they were cooped up in the house and couldn't exercise, "Mom, it's raining... what do I do." Or consider the pent-up energy before a game... However, the next school day after a game, especially a win, they're fairly calm... That is your dog every single day.
He needs to chew ! Get him a Kong, stuff it and freeze it. Replace it when he destroys it. Also, get him a hard rubber bone to chew, and to play tug of war, when he's not chewing the Kong.

It you play tug of war, you have to be careful.... he can rip your arm out of the socket.... and then bark b/c you won't play tug anymore  Teach him not to nip you when you tug, and don't try to over power him... If he shakes the toy too hard, let go, so that you don't get hurt.... He will eventually learn to handicap himself to keep the game going. When he shakes it out of your hand, you can say something like "oops" to let him know the game has stopped. My dog - not a Pit - might pull the toy from my hand... and then poke me with it, so I'd start playing again 

After a good run (or long walk), and a good game of tug, or chewing his hard rubber bone (replace when destroyed).... he might calm down for training...


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## Nolan15 (Mar 17, 2012)

Yeah he had a kong but somehow he lost it somewhere. I'll have to get another one. Freezing peanut butter in it sounds like a great idea and I'll have to try it. I am going to have to get him other toys that will keep his interest as well but thx


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