gooeydog

Wasn't meaning it as you having screwed up, just wanted to be sure that there weren't any arguments about how PETA's BS was all in the past :roll: :lol:

[quote name='Dog Lover']Plus Ingrid from the PETA [u]was[/u] all for the banning of pit bulls. :x I'll try and find the letter she wrote. It was soooo full of crap! Animal welfare my arse! Anybody else remember that?[/quote] You mean IS all for the banning of pit bulls... here's the letter I think you're talking about: [url]http://community-2.webtv.net/PRECIOUSFORD/IngridNewkirkPETA/[/url] More from PETA themselves: [url]http://www.helpinganimals.com/Factsheet/files/FactsheetDisplay.asp?ID=29[/url]

[quote name='pitbulletta']Gooeydog..first of all, I never mentioned anywhere about my dog biting any other dog.. I said she's bossy and likes to slam them into the ground..[/quote] Never said she had bitten another dog, only that not all dogs are going to tolerate rude, pushy behavior, and that if/when one retaliates, you very well may have a fight result. [quote]My dog is not mean, and she has never started a fight....I guess you didn't read my point about how OTHER dogs have tried starting fights with her and she could be easily controlled by me while the other dogs didn't even listen to their owners... I know my own dog...[/quote] Also never described her as "mean". Only said that rude behavior (yes, slamming other dogs down is "rude" dog behavior) is often a trigger for fights to break out. Every dog owner thinks they know their dog well, at least until it decides (in true dog nature) to do something the owner feels to be unpredictable. Like I said, my dog has been called out of every fight she's ever gotten into (only a handful), but that doesn't mean that she will always do so, nor will I expect her to, for the one time I count on that, I will unprepared for the worst case scenario that she doesn't. [quote]and I also know that by keeping a pit bull away from other dogs and not trying to teach it to socialize properly is the worst mistake you can make...how are people supposed to breed dog related aggression out of this breed if they're just concerned about keeping their dog away from others?[/quote] There is a happy medium between keeping pit bulls away from other dogs and allowing pit bulls to run willy nilly with other dogs. I think most responsible pit bull owners like to keep towards the happy medium of keeping their dogs on leash and under control around other strange dogs, and possibly allowing carefully supervised play with dogs that they know to be compatible with their own. [quote]And gooeydog...how does my attitude give pit bulls a bad name?[/quote] I didn't say the above, only posted once last night, but you appear to have the "won't happen to me because I've trained my dog" view on dog aggression and dog fights. You have to understand that dogs are dogs, and training can only do so much against instinct, which can make itself known at any time, resulting in unprecidented behavior. [quote]So far I haven't had any problems, nobody has made any rude comments to me, and in fact..I've been congratulated on my dog's behavior and all the hard work and effort I put into her.[/quote] All the hard work you've put into her will mean little if one day she realizes she doesn't like a particular dog, or vice versa, and you have a fight erupt in public, which you cannot call your dog out of. Then people will be thinking about how your pit bull had always seemed well trained and friendly, up until that day... reads just like the media myth of them "turning" on people. I realize that you may find this offensive again, but it is really not intended that way, just seems so in my writing.

[quote]I myself go to dog parks with my pit bull, and although she doesn't attack other dogs and try to rip them apart... she is dominant and likes to slam em' to the ground[/quote] Aside from the fact that you're allowing your dog to exhibit blatant bad manners purely in the name of "dominance", you seem not to realize that what you describe is a classic fight starter... the one time another dog decides it doesn't appreciate you dog acting that way and retaliates, you WILL have a fight on your hands. If you're lucky, it'll never happen. If not, you, your dog, and every other pit bull and PB owner will pay for it, so keep that in mind as you revel in the fact that you've defied the "general rule" concerning pit bulls and dogparks. [quote]because I have noticed that due to the socialization with other dogs that I have been providing her with[/quote] This is not really in line with the rest of the post, but brought to mind a common misconception that "socialization" is allowing dogs to interact directly and freely with other dogs/people. Socialization is simply the act of exposing a dog to things, and allowing them to become acustomed to them, in whatever capacity they are comfortable with. [quote]ME...because I owned the pit bull.[/quote] That's the way it goes, which is why pit bull owners must be hyper-responsible and vigilant with their dogs. [quote]What's even funnier is that I didn't need a breaking stick or anything..as soon as I yelled at her to get off she left the other dog alone while it tried to go after her even after that.. [/quote] To this I will say that a dog that can be called out of a fight is not likely fighting too seriously (this goes for all breeds, but bull breeds expecially). And, you cannot draw conclusions on how a dog will react every time they encounter a situation based on one single episode. Our older PB has gotten into a few minor (accidental, and was on leash at the time of each, except one in our house) fights, and has been called out of each one, but I have no doubt that if she were involved in a more serious fight, she would not call out. It would be nice to think that, but nieve.

[quote name='primorse...']Actually, I am not particularly close to Baltimore, so I will have to pass on your kind offer to meet your dog although I am sure she is lovely. But that is okay, because I have met and interacted with lots and lots of pit bulls. Some have been quite mild. Some I haven't trusted worth spit. Often the owners themselves have been honest enough to say that they should not be trusted, particularly with other dogs. [/quote] Oops, guess I was remembering someone else. Glad too to hear that you have had the opportunity to interact with some real dogs. [quote] Do you disagree that most knowledgable pit bull people say "never trust a pit bull not to fight?" Do you think that is bad advice or good advice? Do you disagree that most knowledgable pit bull people advise not leaving a pit bull unsupervised with any other dog? Do you think that is bad advice or good advice?[/quote] I never said otherwise, but since you're so interested in my opinion (I'm flattered, truly), I think both the above are good advice in the case of [i]any[/i] dog, of any breed.

[quote]NONE of the pit bull breeders I have talked to say that they consider the worthless trait of dog aggression (unless it is absolutely uncontrollable) a problem when considering which dogs to breed.[/quote] You say you've talked to pit bull breeders, yet many of the things you say would indicate that you have little (if any) personal experience with the breed. I've seen elsewhere that you are near Baltimore, and if that's the case, and you were looking to see more of what the average (considering that all our dogs are rescues, of no outstanding background) pit bull really is (rather than going off of hearsay and media sensationalism), I'd be more than willing to have you meet Haley, our little social butterfly of an APBT. At least then you would have some personal experience to back up your claims, though I don't know that you would find much in the way of "horrible, terrible aggression" you tout as being typical of the breed.

I take Annie up to the little neighborhood store a lot, I carry her in, and they give me cheese to give her, she LOVES visiting the store, and as soon as she realizes where we're going, she starts trying to haul me along faster. Other than that, pretty much the only places we take any of them into now are the petstores, because a lot of stores around ehre aren't too dog friendly, so I don't usually bother to ask since I really don't go many places anyway. In the city (about 1/2 hr from us), there are some areas that are VERY dog friendly, and even have dog biscuits in their stores to treat your dogs as you shop, and signs welcoming them, so one day when I get around to getting my license, I'm going to have to take them up there to check it out.

5 dogs, 1 cat, 2 bearded dragons (lizards), and some fish (pond fish) Goo- 11 yr old female pit bull [img]http://img2.photobucket.com/albums/v11/gooeydog/May/llayniceondeck.jpg[/img] Annie- 6 yr old female mini Dachshund [img]http://img2.photobucket.com/albums/v11/gooeydog/march/annieback.jpg[/img] Casey- 6 yr old female Cocker Spaniel [img]http://img2.photobucket.com/albums/v11/gooeydog/march/cassitback.jpg[/img] Joey- 5 yr old male Chihuahua [img]http://img2.photobucket.com/albums/v11/gooeydog/march/sonstandback.jpg[/img] Haley- 3 yr old female pit bull [img]http://img2.photobucket.com/albums/v11/gooeydog/June/dabrightsmilefenced.jpg[/img] Rascal- 12-13ish yr old male cat [img]http://img2.photobucket.com/albums/v11/gooeydog/May/rasclaydeck.jpg[/img] Don't have any pics of the lizards or fish :oops:

I just realized too that Goo's still been sneaking food from the other dogs' bowls, and they're eating W/D now, which I know has lots of "no no"s in it for an allergy prone dog (aside from being an icky food to begin with, but my mom wants to use it for them because they need to lose weight and it's a "diet" formula... I'll stop now before the whole post is derailed :roll: ). I've been trying my best to keep her out of it, but if thats the closest bowl when she gets hungry, thats where she heads, so I have to try and head her off. I'm going to have to step up my prevention tactics and try to keep her out it it alltogether (can't just put the food up, as the others are freefed dry food, and there's nothing that would keep Goo out while letting Haley to hers). I am giving human grade salmon oil a few nights a week, and sometimes flax seed oil instead. Probiotics... yogurt (the "real" stuff) or cottage cheese is something that will help with that? Or am I getting that mixed up with something else? I want to get her on a digestive supplement, but funds are short right now, so it may be a bit before I can do that. I have thought about using real meat to supplement rather than the canned food, but feel that I still don't know enough to be sure that I'm doing things right, so that makes me a bit hesitant. The recipe you gave does sound easy, so maybe I'll try a batch within the next few weeks and see what she thinks about it. Where can I find the things in the recipe (some of them I know, but a few I've never seen before, lecithin, nutritional yeast)?

Goo's got another ear infection (second one in a few months, she used to get them frequently, but not since I switched her to her current food), and I noticed her licking her feet the other day (only time I've noticed, and I see no spots like she used to get, but it's something she used to do when her allergies bothered her, so its got me suspicious), so I'm thinking her allergies may be resurfacing. She has had reactions from contact allergies before as well (some types of grass or plants- especially when its wet out-cause her to get all red and itchy, as well as some other things), and several people have told me that this is a bad time for allergies, so that coupled with us spending a good bit of time outside recently has me wondering whether its that or a food allergy. Anyway, this has provoked me to switch her canned food from Nutro (lamb and rice, but has other meats in it) to Natural Balance, which is what her dry is. Now, for some more questions (try as I might, I have a hard time grasping this food stuff, hence my neverending stream of questions :roll: ) For easy comparison, here are the ingredients to the Nutro canned food I am currently giving ( [url]http://www.nutroproducts.com/nccanlrrec.asp[/url] ): [i]Lamb Broth, Lamb, Chicken, Beef Liver, Chicken Liver, Rice Bran, Beef, Ground Rice, Dried Egg Product, Rice Gluten, Natural Flavors, Guar Gum, Sunflower Oil, Brewers Dried Yeast, Salt, Potassium Chloride, Carrageenan, Sodium Ascorbate (source of Vitamin C), Ferrous Sulfate, Choline Chloride, Vitamin E Supplement, Zinc Oxide, Copper Sulfate, Vitamin A Supplement, Thiamine Mononitrate, Sodium Selenite, Vitamin B12 Supplement, Vitamin D3 Supplement, Potassium Iodide, Biotin, Riboflavin Supplement.[/i] And the Natural Balance dry food ( [url]http://www.naturalbalanceinc.com/products/UltDog.html[/url] ): [i]Chicken, Brown Rice, Duck, Lamb Meal, Oatmeal, Pearled Barley, Potatoes, Chicken Fat (preserved with mixed tocopherols-a source of Vitamin E, Citric Acid, and Rosemary Extract), Natural Flavor, Tomato Pomace, Canola Oil, Brewers Yeast, Lecithin, Choline Chloride, Carrots, Potassium Chloride, Whole Ground Flaxseed, Dried Kelp, Salt, Parsley Flakes,[/i].....cut out a bunch of vitamins to save length Now my question.... the canned NB foods do use single protein sources (duck, chicken, lamb, etc), but should I even switch the dry food to a single protein food as well, in case it's the chicken in it that's causing the problem? And another one, I've read in a couple places now that potatoes are NOT good for dogs prone to yeast problems (Goo's ear infections are the yeast type), so is it really common for them to cause problems, or only in some cases? Goo was on both types of NB for a while with no problems, and gets mashed/baked potatoes on occasion (not huge amounts, but I'll sometimes set aside a few spoonfuls without salt, etc for her), seems like there is no correlation to her ear problems, so is it a fairly safe bet that she won't have problems, or? I also see that the protein/fat contents are lower than the other varieties (5% pro, 4% fat-canned; 21% pro, 10% fat- dry), is it a big difference, or only minor (keep in mind that my dog is older and naturally stays pretty lean)? And one more question... I see that NB has a venison formula out now, is venison to be considered sort of a last resort for dogs with extensive allergies, or is it more mainstream now? In case anyone wonders why only NB foods, I dont drive, so I'm limited to places I can get someone to drive me to get food, and petco/petsmart are the only stores close enough, and NB is among the best foods between those two.

Sounds like she thinks that "stay" means to stay in a sit, and doesn't understand that it applies to other things. Many people teach their dogs to simply hold their sit or down until told to do something else, so that may be a better option for you, and it's easier for some dogs to understand. You would teach without the "stay" almost the same as with, put her in a down, then stand there for a second, reward. Next one, put her in a down, move back a step, come back, reward; and so on, adding more distance as she starts to better understand what you want.

Some online albums allow you to disable right clicking (how you save them), but I don't think you can post directly to the board when you do that. I think picturetrail allows it, then you can just give the link to the album, not 100% sure though.

The dog is an American Bulldog, don't remember what kennel he's from, but his real name is Gunner I think?

It appears you've been the "victim" of someone who doesn't like mean and ugly people... poor you :lol: [img]http://img2.photobucket.com/albums/v11/gooeydog/May/lsfacestickouttognuefencedyard.jpg[/img]

I'm with HF :lol: The rest of you guys have it easy, when I lay on the floor, Goo thinks it's time to play the "mash me!" game, and comes trotting over, then steamrolls across my back/head before playbowing and trampling me in her excitement (and repeating). I have to either mash her first, or direct her to another spot or I'm good as flat :o

I would be hesitant to let them outside without collars on, unless they have a very good recall. Even so, if they were ever to get into a scrap (both adolescent males, so it's possible that they'll have at least a few :arguments" as they mature), you don't want to be trying to seperate them with nothing to grab ahold of. I'd let them wear regular flat collars in the house and yard, take them off when you leave, and save any training collars for training times only. Haley always has on a collar, on the off-chance that she would decide to pick a fight with one of the other dogs and have to be pulled away, as well as Casey and Joey. Annie only wears a collar when I'm taking her somewhere, and Goo wears one during the day, but not at night (I also take it off her when I leave her in my room). Goo and Haley have martingale collars (like hillside mentioned trying), Casey and Joey have flat collars. The martingale collars are nice, but you have to be sure to size them to where even if pulled, they won't be too tight, and also, a dog could probably still get their mouth caught if they play rough. A better option might be a wide leather or nylon flat collar, less chance of them be able to (or accidentally) grabbing each other.

You missed my point. You very well MAY have done right by Diva and yourself (I don't know, nor do I really care), just as RnP MAY be doing right by Drey (again, don't know for sure, nor at this point do I really care). The exact things you stated below should be applied equally to RnP (not jumping on the bandwagon without actual PROOF, not bantering about behind their back, etc), and just as many of the people on PitBullForum would defend you, so are many of the people here defending RnP. I would think that you, after what you've seen and dealt with firsthand as to accusations and assumptions without real proof would realize that you're doing the exact thing you chastise me for.

Pot calling the kettle black? Jaq, didn't one of your dogs mysteriously disappear and was promptly replaced with a new one? It seems that maybe you and RnP have more in common than you think...

K, I remember the pics yu posted of Snoop and the others sleeping together, heartwarming to see :) Dr, Goo prefers the "pretend they don't exist and maybe they'll all go away" approach to the other dogs rather than anything else. Like today I put Haley on a tieout in the yard with a friend watching her while I brought Goo out to pee, as I walked her back past Hale, Hale started chasing her, trying to gnaw at her legs... Goo just slapped her ears back in distaste and butt tucked on out of reach :lol: . Goo does do the casual "wasn't me" playtime initiation though... I've caught her once or twice reach over and nudge Hale into action, then run back to me looking all innocent so I yell at Hale for bothering her. Worse than having two little kids in the house :lol:

This may sound silly, but you might try some poking around at Dachshund message boards. I know of many of them that have or have had hind limb paralysis from spinal problems (more often ruptured or slipped disks though), and they've worked through it to gain back some coordination and use. I'm not sure how his problem compares to theirs, but the symptoms sound similar, so it can't hurt to check and see if you find anything that might be useful. Also, from what I've heard/read, hydrotheraphy can work wonders for dogs with partial paralysis, as well as for building muscle tone and helping the rest of the body to stay in shape to compensate for the hind weakness. I don't know whether you've already considered it or if it would even fit in with his therapy, but worht looking into.

The past two days, Goo and Haley actually seem to be trying to play with each other, something I'd never have expected possible for these two. Haley seems to be learning to tell when Goo is all excited or happy about something, and starts teasing her and playbowing at her, at which point Goo does a half playbow (she's still not sure she wants to play with Hale yet) and they zoom around each other. Today they were even ducking around each other play mouthing on each others' legs :lol: . Of course, each time Hale has overstepped her bounds by trying to jump on Goo (being queen of all on four legs, Goo isn't one for tolerating other dogs jumping on her or standing over her) and Goo has reamed her out for it, ending the playtime, but simply seeing them trying to figure this out is more fun than a barrel of monkeys. I still don't trust them not to get carried away and have an argument (I hover over them, watching for the slightest reason to stop them, they probably think I'm no fun at all), but it is nice to see them kinda enjoying each others' company, rather than just ignoring each other. Haley's new favorite thing to do is chase Goo through the house as Goo does zoomies, then crash into her, causing a two dog pileup :roll: Of course, I think sometimes Goo intentionally zooms past Hale to entice her into giving chase :lol:

There are a few fly repellant products on the market that work well, I've used one called "flies off" or something like that, made for dogs, it's a pasty type substance, and you just put it on any exposed areas... worked pretty well, though I was only coating a small area. I don't know for sure that it's safe, so you'd have to do some checking, but you might even be able to use horse fly spray, maybe someone else here knows?

People always call Goo a male.. my favorites are the ones that ask some form of "you have any pups off him?" :roll: or reveal themselves to be BYBs... you'd think if they know that much, they'd take the couple seconds to note that Goo is sorely missing boy parts :lol: Yesterday we went for a walk, stopped to pick up a friend, one of their relatives, and the relative's little boy to come along... when he came out of the house, he stopped, pointed at Haley, and exclaimed, "that a PIG!" :o Someone at the dog training place we take Hale and Annie to told me that dachshunds are double jointed in their back legs, that's why they run so fast :roll:

Well, since this looks to be the place to get out any doubts.... I'm wondering how Deja is going to be shown, etc when her breeders don't (unless they've suddenly revamped their breeding stock and changed their ways) show their dogs, nor health test, etc.... all of which you said was to be done before she was bred. Was that just an appeasment gesture to keep people from jumping on you regarding her going back to be bred by them.... or?

Thanks guys :) I'm pretty poor (thanks to Annie and Goo who eat most of my paycheck :roll: ), so no chance of them getting the game fish, they're $$ around here. It is good to know what to avoid though, just in case. I think (at least for now, though homemade diets do interest me) these will just be treats, so no worries about them eating too much of it, and I'll keep them on their fish oil (which is human grade), and add in some vitamin E next time I get out someplace to buy some. Both of you helped a lot, thanks again.