gooeydog

Annie had a very similar looking cut a few years ago, on the lower part of her side, right below her ribcage. I found it a similar way too, she came to bed with me, and when I went to move her over with my foot, she yelped. I instantly thought it was her back, and pulled her out to check her out, only to find the cut. We never did figure out what caused it, though we suspect she caught it on her crate door while diving in for her food earlier that evening. She had a few stitches put in the next morning, and you can barely see where it was now, someone who didn't know it happened wouldn't be able to tell.

She went back to the vets friday for new x-rays, they showed that the bone looks the same, doesn't appear to be any new growth, but also no more deterioration. The bump is slightly larger, but that measurement was from before the biopsy was taken, so I suppose new scar tissue could have increased its size. She's still acting the same, though she showed some lameness in the leg after I took her for a walk up by the school last week (I felt like an idiot for walking her that far-about 2 blocks away, even though she'd been doing fine on shorter walks, and she hasn't been for anything other than the short ones since). One of the other vets there said that it may be some form of arthritis from the way she walks on the leg, twisting it in. We're supposed to take her back in 4-6 weeks to have it checked again.

She's got plenty of skin there, this'll sound funny, but I "admire" it pretty often, thinking how easy it'd be to give her Haley's insulin shots (because Hale's a pudge, you have to work to get any skin on her) :lol: She's generally pretty good for getting stuff done, has never reacted much to shots or even getting blood drawn, so hopefully she doesn't make a fool out of me!

Thanks, all this is a big help :D I'm really leaning towards having it done now, though I think I will contact them to ask what type chip they use and also see if there's anything else I need to do/know prior (I did know about the registration being extra). I was wondering what sort of reaction the dogs generally have to having it done, especially smaller dogs, since Annie's pretty lean and there's not much fat in the area they inject. I'm not particularly concerned (It's for her own good, whether she likes it or not :lol: ), but would like to have an idea of what's normal, like should they be over it once it's injected, or can they be sensitive of the area for a few days afterwards? Lime I said, I'll be sure to ask them this if we have it done, but I know a lot of people here have experience as well, and I'm taking advantage of that :D

We're planning on taking a few of the dogs (Annie and either Haley or Casey and Joey) to an SPCA fundraiser walk in a few weeks, and I noticed on their flyer that they offer microchipping for $25 at the event. I've been wanting to get Annie chipped for a while since she's always out with me (actually, the others could use it too, but they're not mine to make the decisions for), and I don't think our normal vet offers it, so this seems like a pretty good opportunity to have it done. I was just wondering if anyone else had had it done at something like this, as I was a bit worried it might not be done as correctly as at an actual vet clinic, though I guess it probably doesn't require much skill to do. I also remember something from a while back about certain types of chips not being readable by the universal scanners, anyone have more info on that? Or anything else I should know? Thanks :)

Yes, Goo doesn't enjoy it as much as Annie, so I doubt she'll be using it much, and Haley has enough issues with walking on still ground, nevermind a treadmill, but she sure did look like she was gloating to the others :lol:

[quote name='Debbie']Annie looked like she was really enjoying the treadmill !!!! :D[/quote] Yes, Of course it helps that she knows she gets a squeaky ball to play with when she gets done :lol:

Didn't mean for this to be here, if somebody could move it to the pics section :oops:

Since it's cold outside, I've tried to find as many inside exercises (or easy for me outside ones :lol: ) for the dogs as possible. I got a manual treadmill from my sister last fall for them, but couldn't figure out how to get it to turn easier, and even Goo had to really work to get it moving, so it didn't get hardly any use. The other night, I dragged it out, determined to figure out how to make it spin easier (and outfitted with all tool necessary to take it apart and make my own "mods" :roll: ). While looking it over, I noticed two adjustment screws at the base of it :oops: ... duhhhhh. So anyway, the girls (Goo and Annie, though I'm hoping to get Casey and Joey on it too) have been learning how to operate it in short sessions over the past few days. Annie took right to it, but Goo isn't too impressed with the "moving ground", so we're working on making it more fun for her, and she seems to be doing better, she's wagging her tail when she's going, and starting without hesitation. Anyway, here are some pics of them from the other day (I think their 3rd time on it).... Goo "Are you serious? I don't think so, I only walk [i]outside[/i]...." [img]http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v673/flyingpinkpig/milllstand.jpg[/img] "Phew, this thing is harder to walk on than the ground, that's for sure"(BTW, her feet aren't that splayed, I think she was trying to get a bit more leverage and stability) [img]http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v673/flyingpinkpig/milllwalk.jpg[/img] Annie [img]http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v673/flyingpinkpig/millanniefront3.jpg[/img] [img]http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v673/flyingpinkpig/millanniefront2.jpg[/img] [img]http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v673/flyingpinkpig/millannieside1.jpg[/img] [img]http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v673/flyingpinkpig/millanniefront1.jpg[/img] [img]http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v673/flyingpinkpig/millanniefront4.jpg[/img] Haley, meanwhile, was sprawled out in the dining room snoozing :lol: [img]http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v673/flyingpinkpig/milldanoway.jpg[/img] And also, a few more of Annie playing tug outside [img]http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v673/flyingpinkpig/annie2sprng05.jpg[/img] [img]http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v673/flyingpinkpig/annie4sprng05.jpg[/img] [img]http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v673/flyingpinkpig/annie5sprng05.jpg[/img] [img]http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v673/flyingpinkpig/anniereadsprng05.jpg[/img] [img]http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v673/flyingpinkpig/annie8sprng05.jpg[/img]

Goo is an all around wagger, her tail goes every which way, though more often she does side to side. Annie is a side to side wagger. Joey is a circle wagger. Casey's a wiggle butt, just a stub. Haley's got a tail, but is still a wiggle butt, and generally wags both tail and rear end side to side, though sometimes they seems to get stuck to one side for a few seconds :lol:

Glad to hear your good news too Mei Mei, hopefully things'll stay on track for both you and Hale :) She seems pretty much back to normal as far as activity now. Still haven't taken her on any walks, but she gets up and down the steps, and on and off the furniture fine, plus she's started up with her hallway zoomies again (this is where she does zoomies, grabbing the backs of Goo's legs everytime she gets back to the dining room before zooming down the hall and back again :roll: ). There's still a bump of swelling around the stitches, but she's on antibiotics, and there's no sign of infection, so it seems to be normal. So, hopefully we'll see more progress, and get good news in a few weeks.

There's good news, but a question mark as well. The biopsy came out clear. BUT the lab (I guess) said the vet may want to take a deeper sample and try again to be sure. The vet wanted to take as small a sample as possible considering that Hale bears so much weight on that leg, but I guess they prefer a larger, deeper sample to test. The vet (who I've known since I was about 8 yrs old, and know to be a decent vet) says she wants to put Hale on anti-inflammatories (we've also considered that it may-hopefully- only be an injury, in which case these should help), and wait a few weeks after she gets her stitches out from this biopsy, then x-ray again and see if the area is decreasing in size. If not, we may have to have another biopsy taken. I'm worried that if it is cancer, this time of waiting will only give it time to spread (though if it is, it'd only be a matter of time anyway, so I guess it's not that big of a deal), but my mom says the vet seems to doubt that it is now, so hopefully she's right. So, we have good news, and more waiting, I'll be gray haired and ulcer ridden by the time we get to the bottom of this. Haley, BTW, is feeling much better. She's on pain meds (I think it's a pretty low dose) because her leg seemed to be bothering her a lot the first night, but even since, she's become more mobile, though not up to her normal speed yet. I've had to yell at her about a dozen times in the past 2 days for tackling Goo, always a good sign :lol:

It's possible she was afraid to tell you she's an APBT, maybe she's had bad experiences before after people finding out. Another thing to consider is that some rescue groups or shelters will label dogs that are most likely APBTs as other breeds or mixes in an effort to make them more adoptable, so maybe she was told otherwise. There are some smaller ABs, and some performance line ABs very closely resemble large APBTs, so it's possible the dog was an AB, though I'd be more inclined to believe not.

Today's update, Haley had the biopsy taken today, and her chest was x-rayed to see if there was any sign of cancer in her lungs (this is generally the first place it shows up if it spreads from the leg). Her chest is clear, but we won't get the results back from the biopsy until at probably at least Friday. Haley's home, she was the first one into surgery, and since my mom works there, they let her bring her home as soon as she was awake enough to let go. She's lapping up the comfyness of Goo's big bed and a blanket, can't say she isn't milking this for all it's worth ;) We caught her corn nibbling the wrap over her stitches already, so it should be fun keeping her out of trouble. She got off the bed earlier (she's still not really "awake", so she just takes a few steps, then lays back down) when the other dogs barked, and when I picked her up to put her back on, she gave a big sigh, like "this is how it should be..." :lol: . So, continue the good thoughts for us, and we'll hope for the best possible news when the results come back.

I know what you mean Gigi, I banned her from my room and bed last week after she peed on the bed, I was feeling horrible about it after I realized there was something wrong with her (though I doubt it had anything to do with her peeing there). Needless to say, she made her way back into the bed last night, and I couldn't bring myself to boot her out :wink: Here's today's update I posted on another board (too lazy to retype): I was reading on a bone cancer email group last night, and it was pretty depressing to see the survival lengths of some dogs that have been diagnosed. There are some that have done really well though, so though I don't want to get my hopes up too high, I'd like to think that if any dog has the spirit to deal with this, Haley does. We went to a pet expo today, and saw more than a few dogs in carts there (most rear wheeled, but a few were both rear and front support, though there were no front only carts), talked to several owners, and they all said their dogs do well, so it might be worth a try. In addition, on the way home I remembered reading online several months ago about pet prosthetics, and we're looking more into that. I know I'm thinking too far ahead, but if things turn out that something can be done, I want to be sure we have as much info as possible about our options. Haley is still her goofy self, she's managed to swindle me into letting her sleep in my bed again, and we got several goodies for the dogs at the expo today which she's enjoyed this evening (we may go again tomorrow and take her, now that we've seen what it's like there). And Divine, we're not really sure, but she came to the vet clinic at 6 mos old with an open infected break on her leg, we assumed hit by car or something like that. Her vet did suggest the other day that it may have been cancer then, as they never did a biopsy on the injury. In reading, it seems unlikely that she would have been without symptoms this long (4 yrs) with a simple amputation (there's also evidence that suggests the extra strain put on her remaining front leg may have contributed to this by breaking down the bones in her joint area) though I don't think we'll ever know for sure.

My mom says that before we decide on anything, first we have to wait til tuesday and they take the biopsy, as well as check to see if there's anything anywhere else (seems bone cancer is generally fast to progress and spread, and one of the first places is the lungs). If she does have it, and it has spread, there isn't really too much we can do (outside of possibly some homeopathic stuff which I'm only starting to look into) except keep her pain minimized for a while (this type of cancer is also very painful, though amputation alleviates that, which is why it's one of the primary steps taken for many dogs). If it hasn't spread, then we can start worrying about how to treat it. After more research, there are options other than amputation, though I don't know how commonly done they are. If we do end up going the amputation route (and yes, the quality of life question has come up, I'm trying to find out more as to how dogs in this situation do), they do make carts for front end amputees. One is to remove just the area of bone around the tumor, then place a bone graft and let it heal, following up with chemo (which is usually done after amputation as well). There's always the chance that the tumor will reoccur, but at least some time is bought, and from what I've read, dogs recover from it pretty quickly (1-2 weeks before they can bear weight, 6-8 weeks until normal use). This would at least let her keep the leg she has, though we'd probably have to get a cart anyway for afterwards and possibly even after for some activities to minimize the stress put on the leg. The last option is to just do chemo with pain relief, and hope that slows the progression somewhat. In reading, I'm seeing stories about dogs living for years after surgery and chemo, but I don't know if that's the norm. I've only talked to my mom about it a bit so far, but I'm going to suggest we contact a specialist as well, at least to see what they think. Thanks for all the well wishes, I hope they help!

On Sunday, I noticed a bump on Haley's ankle area on her front leg, and showed it to my mom. She took her in to the vets today to have it checked, and returned with bad news. They took x-rays, etc, and said it may be bone cancer. She goes back in Tuesday for a biopsy to be taken. If if is, the general treatment is to amputate the leg (I think they generally give chemo or radiation treatment as well), which can give months to years of life depending on if/how fast the cancer spreads. Of course, with Haley only having 3 legs as it is (if the leg with the bump gets taken off, both front legs will be missing), there are a lot of questions in our minds as to the right thing to do already. We're trying to explore every possibility, so if anyone has anything that might be of use, it would be appreciated.

[url]www.pbrc.net[/url] They have a list of pit bull rescue groups here, by state, which you can try contacting. Pit Bull Project and Seattle Purebred Dog Rescue are two that I've heard good things about, but I'm sure there are others listed as well.

I know humans can exhibit symptoms when they get the mite from dogs with sarcoptic mange, but can dogs get it from humans? I looked all over online, and it all says that the dog mange mites do not reproduce well on humans, so they die out after a few weeks without treatment, but is it the same for human mite/dog transmissions? My nephews have scabies, and since they're here on weekdays, I know the dogs have been in contact. We're going to be keeping an eye out for symptoms, but it'd be nice to know whether to expect anything.

Frontline left fleas on our dogs too... maybe east coast fleas are resistant :lol: We'd used advantage before, and continued with it after trying frontline. My grandmother still uses frontline, and everytime I bring her Chi up for nails clipped or bath, she has fleas.

I think 150 dogs is a pretty large number to wrap your brain around, especially if you're figuring on only one or two CHs out of each litter (not saying that's the case). That may be why some people are so put off by it. One the other hand, I could see a breeder possibly having 150 dogs CH out in 40 years without mass producing, so without really knowing the whole story, I'm not about to draw conclusions. I was a bit perturbed by reading some fo the responses here, especially those by some other APBT owners... [quote name='AllAmericanPUP']If I were to buy a dog from a breeder(wich i wont) i would buy from straight up working lines.[/quote] There are working dog breeders just as bad as the worst show breeders, you can't just paint along with a wide brush and generalize. Sad when we complain about it when it happens to our beloved breed, yet are so quick to do so about someone elses breed/sport. [quote]a dog being a champion IS a joke[/quote] How many dogs have you finished? Or finished dogs have you owned? If none, then how are you qualified to judge? [quote]I dont even want to see how most show dogs are kept at home..poor dogs.[/quote] How many high drive working dogs are kept kenneled except for that hour or two a day they're being worked/conditioned? Is that any way to live? Again, note the similarities between this: [quote]the thing is, is I have seen it. alot are kept it kennels 24/7 and only cared for when it's time to show. alot of em dont even know what a dang toy is...that's just sad I know there are show people out there who do care about their dogs and their dogs are treated like royalty, but there are just as many who do the exact opposite. too many people only show for the "fame"[/quote] and this: [quote]the thing is, is I have seen it. alot are kept on chains 24/7 and only cared for when it's time to fight. alot of em dont even know what a dang toy is...that's just sad I know there are pit bull people out there who do care about their dogs and their dogs are treated like royalty, but there are just as many who do the exact opposite. too many people only own them for the ego[/quote] The first is the argument you make against showing dogs, the second is the typical argument pro-BSL people make for banning pit bulls and other breeds.

I'm no English major, but I caught a few things you might change, and added some comments/changes about the content too, all my stuff is in red. After going through, I guess I had a lot to say, so use what you like out of it, but feel free to disregard anything you think is out of place. One thing I corrected once or twice, but not in all is that "Terrier" in a lot of the breed names isn't capitalized, like American Staffordshire [b]T[/b]errier. [b]The American Staffordshire Terrier[/b] The American Staffordshire terrier [color=red]is[/color] also known as the Pit Bull, the Staffordshire [color=red]T[/color]errier, the Am Staff, the AST, and other various names [color=red][Was a fragment sentence][/color]. The Am Staff is a strong and muscular dog, yet [color=red]it is also[/color] agile and graceful. This breed is well-known for its courage and loyalty to its owner and friendliness towards people in general. Its history is graphic, to say the least, and even today the breed seems to be enduring the discrimination of people against its fighting ancestors. [color=red]Because of the association between it's name and past[/color], the American Pit Bull Terrier [color=red]breed[/color] was [color=red]accepted by the American Kennel Club under the alias of[/color] Staffordshire Terrier, which later took the name American Staffordshire Terrier. People have been debating over whether or not these two breeds are one in the same for many, many years. Still, the AST is a versatile breed capable of doing many activities and [color=red]an AmStaff with sound temperament is always people-loving. [/color] The American Staffordshire terrier

CC, here's some links for you: [url]http://americanpitbullterrier.org/apbt_vs_ast.htm[/url] [url]http://www.realpitbull.com/history.html[/url] [url]http://www.nyx.net/~mbur/apbtfaqpre.html[/url] - check the history and faq of this [url]http://www.amstaff.org/breedinfo.html[/url] I'll pm a couple links to other boards where you might find some info as well.

So now that the canned food I feed has been raised up to almost 1.50 a can, I'm having a bit of a hard time managing the cost of 1/2 can plus dry food I was feeding every night. Tried cutting back the canned food to 1/3 can a night and adding a bit more dry food, but Goo was starting to lose weight and I don't want that as she's right where I want her. Not to mention I figured they're probably getting more grain with this more kibble/less canned food regimen, which I also don't want, so for now they're back to 1/2 can a night and I'm looking into other options. I think I'm finally going to start with real meat additives, but (as usual) have some concerns and questions that I don't remember being addressed here. I'm not ready to do raw, so whatever meat I give will be cooked, and I'm planning on just using it as an additive to their kibble some days, not as a major part of their diet. What's the best way to cook this stuff, I'm not good in the kitchen (and don't eat much meat myself, hence my general lack of knowledge on it :lol: ), so temps and times would be great. I'm guessing boiling is the way to go, but does meat for the dogs need to be cooked as thoroughly as for humans? I know Goo doesn't do too well on beef kibble, and some chicken ones have caused problems as well, though that may be due to other things in them. Do problems with types of meat in kibbles usually carry over to real meat, or is this something I'm just going to have to test? And what sorts of meat are best to give, as in parts of the animals? I'm planning on getting the boneless meat (or deboning it myself I guess), then adding in calcium after its cooked (probably use crushed eggshells for that). How do I know how much real meat to give to substitute the kibble? I'm guessing about 1/4 lb meat plus some veggies every night would be pretty equivalent to the 6 oz canned food she was getting. How much can I go up to before it becomes a significant part of her diet and I have to worry more about carefully balancing it and adding other nutrients? I'm going to start just giving one real meat added meal a week, the rest canned food, then swap real meat for canned food other nights as they adjust, hopefully with at least several feedings a week having meat additives in them, maybe all. And to go off-topic for a minute, I also got some Neura canned food when I got their food this past weekend, I fed this for a while about 6 months ago, and they did ok on it, though the food didn't smell as "nice" as the natural balance. I remember it being mentioned as a decent food, and it has more meat (supposedly is 95% meat) than the NB, plus is about $.25 cheaper, so I figured we'd try it again. Any thoughts on how the two foods compare?

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