Ripley's Girl

I volunteer at a veterinary clinic 2 days a week and at an animal shelter 3 days a week, and I am PARANOID about bringing something home to my dogs. When I get home, my dogs are in their crates, and I go straight to the bathroom to change my clothes, the dirty ones go in a plastic bag and in the laundry room. Then I take a shower (Yes the vet and the shelter have to see me with my wacky morning hair :lol: ) and put on clean clothes. I am usually more cautious after coming home from the animal shelter, because there are SO many more dogs there, and they aren't as 100% meticulously clean as the Vet. Clinic. Also, at the VC, I don't spend as much time handling the animals (I do handle them, but not as much.) as I do at the shelter.

to start off.. You are not an irresponsible dog owner. Being a misinformed buyer does not make you an irresponsible owner. Second, I know I am repeating what TruePits said, but you might have saved that dog from going to a shelter. IMO a rescue doesn't have to be a pound dog or a dog from a formal rescue group, a rescue is just that.. Saving a dog from what could possibly be a bad situation. My friend took a puppy that was advertised in the paper as"Must find homes for poodle x pups or they go to the pound". She took the last pup that nobody wanted because he was larger and didn't have the poodle coat, and chances are that he would have wound up in the pound had she not found him first. IMO that is a rescued dog.

The Fila Brasileiro is an example of that. They were (And by some breeders, still are) bred for "Ojeriza". A well-socialized Fila isn't a 'vicious man-eater', though. They would defend themselves and their territory without a doubt, but in general I think they would just prefer that strangers leave them alone.

Congratulations to you and Gabe, Colleen!! :D :D :D :D Can't wait for those pictures!

LOL exactly.. I pick to pieces what my dogs eat, I supplement, and I make sure that everything is just so, yet I live on pop-tarts and energy drinks. :lol: But, my dogs do wonderfully on their raw diet. On the occasion that I don't want to feed raw (which is rare) they get Innova.. Which they hate. They hang their heads when they see me digging into the dog food bag. :lol:

That's great, I hope he continues to stay in good shape! I'm looking into where to get the supps.. We just moved to Arizona and couldn't spend much time on feeding and supplementing. (He took a break from his raw diet to eat kibble. Poor guy. LOL) Thanks for the info lkeffect, I'm going to check into it. Colleen, how'd the show turn out?

Off topic, but cats do FABULOUSLY if you use operant conditioning and the right motivation. Sometimes cats are finicky about their treats or toys. My cat has learned 13 tricks (not counting sit, lay down, etc. Never was able to teach him to stay, though) and is also learning agility, and he is a very 'stubborn' cat. I have never been able to boundary train RJ. He does know where his yard ends and the neighbor's yard begins, but the neighbors reinforce his leaving the yard by making him perform for them, and then giving him treats. So, now, when he gets let outside, he hops next door for his daily treat and comes back home. I guess it could be worse, and at least they're keeping his lessons fresh in his mind. :p

Ripley is getting into it. He knows all the steps and moves now to string them together and do a routine.

After owning a low-shed single coated breed, I don't have to deal with the tumbleweeds of hair in my room, but Buster sheds all over the house.. Call me old fashioned but I just sweep up the hair on the tile, and throw it in the garbage. :lol: The swiffers work great for hair that scatters all over, though.

Well Colleen, not particularly good news. :( Ripley has LP's in both legs (Hips are 100% FINE THANK GOD). The right knee is about a grade 1, and the left is slightly more 'abnormal' but not quite a 2. The vet was actually supportive of my decision to 'leave well enough alone'. He said that it wasn't severe or hard on Ripley and that the pain from the surgery would be far more pain and stress than would be worth it. He mentioned that if the knees worsened to the point of being over a 3, he would benefit from the surgery, so I'm just keeping my fingers crossed that he DOESN'T worsen. Neuter is not yet scheduled, DEFINITELY in his near future. As dearly as I love him, I would never breed him after knowing of this problem.. And if he's not to be bred, I don't see a reason to leave him unaltered. i'm going to start him on the supplements you listed once we get down to Arizona and get settled in again. Thanks again for your help! :)

I love this breed. There is a Berner pup in Koda's puppy class who immediately leaves his momma's side when he sees me walk in, I have no idea, but this pup LOVES me. They are magnificent dogs, another breed on the list of dogs I'd like to own. ;)

Pathetic. It's sad how some of those people probably thought they knew what they were saying.

I have an extremely smart, extremely dominant, stubborn and hard-to-motivate Papillon, and a fairly smart, extremely dominant, kinda stubborn Border Collie pup, and I would say that, although I like the challenge of training the tough little buggers like Ripley, I have more patience for the slow ones. I like seeing that little 'light bulb' flash on in their brain when they get what you're trying to teach them. personality-wise, I wouldn't trade my little firecrackers for anything. I think they are the most entertaining dogs. Buster, our not-so-smart lab, does cute stuff every once in a while, but he doesn't seem to live to make us laugh like the smarter guys do.

I don't own either.. I would like to in the future, maybe when I don't live with my parents and when Ripley learns how to act around larger dogs. From what I know, isn't the AmStaff a bit smaller than the APBT?

He was 10 months I believe. It was just a couple of months ago that he had the surgery. I am not sure what kind of anesthesia was used, I'll ask the vet when I take him in. He had an umbilical hernia, the vet supposed that it was caused by the umbilical cord being pulled on slightly. He recovered in about 2 weeks, to where he could move around without being in pain. He's not sensitive to shots, and he is allergic to rawhide and cooked eggs. (raw eggs are fine) His breeder is awful. She didn't do any health testing on her dogs, although she said they were in 'good health, a vet checked them over before they were bred'. She will not respond to my emails and says that *of course* all her dogs are perfectly healthy. I was very foolish in buying from her. She has offered to take him back and refund our money, but I wouldn't give him up for anything, and certainly not to her. (She would probably breed him, knowing the way she keeps her unaltered dogs around each other) I really should have looked farther for a better quality breeder, but at the time I was 13 and weary after being criticized by show breeders and denied a puppy because of my age and inexperience with the breed.. (Before they even knew me, or TALKED to me on the phone, at that. :x ) This breeder was 'nice' enough and she had a BEAUTIFUL puppy with the most darling raccoon mask, and an endearing personality, and after holding him and being given those kisses, I bought him. Mistake, I know, and I realize how CRUCIALLY important buying from a responsible breeder is now. Unfortunately i learned the hard way, but now I guess Ripley and I can serve as a major warning to anyone thinking of buying from a backyard breeder. He could very well be a performance dog, I wouldn't mind getting more involved in obedience, he's smart as a whip and would be very good at it. GOOD LUCK in the show, let me know how it goes!! :D