Mary's Mama

Another great way to help regulate his bowel movements, make him more regular, would be to add canned pumpkin to his diet. It works both ways, clears up loose and hard stools. Be sure to get 100% pure pumpkin (in a can) not pumpkin pie filling. I bet it would clear up your anal gland issue pretty quickly. Also, some dogs do have problems with glands that cannot be fixed by diet. Sometimes the opening of the gland is too small, sometimes the glands are positioned wrong and dont get expressed naturally. There are all sorts of reasons why it can become necessary. If you can not get it taken care of with diet please have it done at the vet. If you leave it too long it can become impacted and infected, which is quite another nasty mess. Good luck to you.

Dont mean to answer for Cassie but this was what I understood about fresh foods and kibble. Dont feed RAW MEAT and kibble at the same time. It is wonderful to feed fresh veggies and fruits, etc with kibble. If you have a dog with a weight problem it can help add bulk without calories and provides great vitamins. However, if you give raw meat with kibble it is a recipe for disaster. Kibble takes 8 hours to digest, raw 4 hours. Feeding raw meat with kibble keeps the raw meat in the digestive system twice as long and you can have problems with bacterial infections. Veggies however do not provide an infection risk and are therefore okay. I used to put a little wet food on my dogs kibble but has changed over to a veggie mush. They really like it and it is much better for them.

K - I am done now. RnP - Very good. I am glad you are active and doing the right things. My dog is definitely not snarling at the end of the leash. To the contrary, she is actually very shy and submissive, and extremely well behaved. That was a comment that had no basis and was simply a personal attack. So you know about Pits and I know about the other dogs. What set me off on this topic was that as soon as a post is made about pits, a pit owner always (yes always) starts making excuses for the dog, crying bad owner syndrome, and blaming the victim. That unfortunatly helps no one. I believe that the reason slims post read like it did is because she/he (sorry I dont want to assume) was upset that her dog was attacked. How hard is it to have a little sympathy, understanding? I found it amazing that when I read it I got something completely different out of it than did the pit owners.

Meehs - I made that comment tongue in cheeck. Of course I know better. I dont understand why it is so hard for people to think about this with common sense and stop being so picky. I can't word everything the way you want to hear it. People are reading way to much into a lot of the comments. Oh and I cleverly make my comments in color so you dont have to re read anything.

Why are you avoiding my very important questions? No one has responded to why instead of "crying poor me, the pit is the victim" you aren't out educating the bad owners to help improve your breeds reputation. Become active, make a difference, otherwise stop complaining. Can you guarantee that Drey's first act of aggression will not be a squabble at the park? Is it "right" to use someone elses beloved pet as your test case? What are you gonna do in the situation I described? You can't believe that would never happen right? When do the rights of the other dog owners to be safe outweight your right to simply go to the park? If he has never shown signs of aggression, how will you know the signs to stop an attack? If you know the signs, you know he's aggressive, why are you at the park? And as goo said, the chances you can actually prevent it are extremely small. You can think my comments about the leash are crazy. But...it is proven fact. Have you read anything about leash aggression? How are you gonna pull him away from a dog that is unleashed? You have him trapped. The unleashed dog is only going to move with you. Whether or not you think it is crazy, it is a proven fact that leashed dogs in off leash areas are at a higher risk of attack. And especially because of his puppy play you should have him off leash. You want him socialized right? Then he needs to learn that that behavior is unacceptable and they only way he can learn it is from another dog. You have given me no compelling reason as to why or how it is safe to take him to the park knowing that at any minute his true colors could shine through.

[quote=ROTT'N'PIT]Marysmama- i know you never SAID they were monsters but it was implied. [color=blue]>This is my point exactly. We all know that all dogs can fight, however, it is fact that a pit is more inclined to fight another dog due to their breeding. You automatically assume I mean something I dont. Please listen to what I say, not what you think you hear.[/color] just because a dog has the ability to be a formidable fighter doesnt mean it will be. [color=blue]>Correct. But why should my dog be your test case?[/color] what you are saying sounds like BSL to me, pit bulls shouldnt be allowed in dog park, that is what you said. [color=blue]>I said that we do not have BSL, and I do not think we should. There are quite a few am staffs that come to the park that are not a problem. Pits from fighting lines are though. I am not making it up, I am telling you exaclty what has happened. Each dog is evaluated individually. No pit has been able to behave appropriately to stay.[/color] and then said it is irresponsible to take on there. [color=blue]>I understand you feel that you have every right to take your dog to the park, which I agree you do. My question to you is, when does the right of one outweight the right of the many? Just because you can go doesn't always mean you should. I believe it is irresponsible to take your dog there until he attacks because another dog/family will be hurt just so you can find out that your dog finally has started to show aggression. Potentially dangerous dogs of any breed should not be at the park.[/color] until a dog shows aggression to other dogs there is no reason to not take it to a dog park. now once that slightest bit of aggression is show by all means find a new place to go, but its not fair to have to seperate your dog because of its breed. [color=blue]>Its not fair to learn this at another dog/families expense. You chose your breed of dog. You must accept what comes with it. I dont have a pit because I want a dog that can socialize and not be a potential threat.[/color] Now Drey plays fine will all sizes and breeds of dog, he romps with the little dogs and he wrestles with the big ones the other owners there aactually compliment me on his behavior and how playful he is. Now that is attributed to him being socialized with other dogs, [color=blue]>For now, yes he probably will. But one day you go to the park, all seems fine, you follow all the standard precautions. Drey and another dog are running and playing and near by another group of dogs starts to get to rough and the potential for a fight occurs. Because Drey was running you are not immediately next to him and within seconds your never aggressive dog jumps in the potential fight and before you can get to him he has injured another dog. I have seen this exact event happen on more than one occasion. I am not making up stories for my enjoyment. It is not fair for you to learn a lesson you already know about at someone else's expense. Please think about the other park goers rights before exclaiming your rights.[/color] we always start on lead and if he reacts well to the dogs i let him off. most people walk in a dn just release thier dog, i need to see my dog meet every other dog there to see not only his reaction to them but their reaction to him. I wish more owners practiced this as it would definately cut down on fights. [color=blue]>As an FYI - In my role as a paws patrol volunteer I have had to attend behavior classes and have been taught how to recognize signs early. One thing we learn is to never have a dog on leash in the off leash park. Leash aggression on both sides, off leash dogs sees an easy target, on leash dog feel trapped and afraid, can lead to serious issues. I have witnessed fights started due to a leashed dog feeling trapped and threatened. If the dog had been off leash, the dogs could have proceeded with proper greeting by canine ettiquette and no fight would have ensued. You might want to do some more research about proper dog park ettiquette.[/color] [/quote]

Debbie - I am so glad I have some one to back me up now!! Love you sweetie! Anyways, I am sure Deb would agree. I so wish you all could meet my jacks. You're ideas would be forever changed. They are not wild and out of control. Sure they have energy, and like to be active but why would you want a dog that just laid around all day. There is truly nothing like the love of a jack. You have to experience it to believe it. It is a stronger connection than I have felt with any other breed.

Sorry that was me, guess I got kicked out and didnt know it.

RnP - Nice to see you again. I never said they were monsters. You all know that I do not hold stereotypical views of pits. No one in this thread said all pit bulls are bad. There is no BSL at our dog park. If there was I couldn't go. Someone requested that all Jack Russells be banned. Dont think I dont understand your plight. However, every pit that has entered has gone through the warning process and been banned individually due to their own behavior, which is no fault of their own. It is their genetics and owners as has been repeated many times. However, they are all given the chance to try it, to prove themselves a "good boy". We have also banned other individuals that consist of a husky, a shar pei mix, boxers, many of which are intact males. As Goo said the problem is that the dog park is a place of heightened arousal to begin with. There is already a serious potential for altercations between all the dogs. Pits however are more likely to get involved in a already started fight (not necessiarily to start the fight but rather to join in) and once involved have the ability to inflict much more damage and are much more difficult to gain control of. Most fights start as simple posturing and warning and most breeds will do this to try to avoid a fight. The pits I have witnessed have no "warning period". They are breed to fight and given the oppportunity will. They go from waggin tail to malice in an instant. I believe they dont really even know what they are doing. It is an instinct they can't control. Alot of pit owners, especially first time owners have a misconception that their dog is different. Yes it will be playful and social for a while during its puppyhood but there will come a time that natural instincts will kick in. Unfortunately the owners learn this lesson at others expense. It is not fair to always blame the victim. The last thing I have to say is...for those pit owners that consistantly cry the "its the bad owners that give the dogs a bad name story"... If you want to help your breeds reputation why not get involved in the breed community and do an outreach program to the "uneducated" owners. That is where you will turn the future of the breed around. Harping at the victims not to blame all pit bulls is solving nothing. It is kind of like crying wolf, everytime I hear the story it looses less value with me. So if you truly care, do something constructive about it. [quote=ROTT'N'PIT]But oh well MY 2 cents. Initially i was worried about his topic but it looks like we are working it out nicely. Marysmama pit bulls are not monsters. they are dogs just like yours. they are individuals some are good with other dogs others are not. This sounds like dog park BSL to me. I took drey to the dog park for the first time yesterday he was great he played with dogs of all sizes and had a good time he slep like a baby when we got home. there was another guy there too. when we got there he was holding his dog it had blood on its face and about 20 feet from him was another guy with a pit bull and his dog was bruises too. now the average person would assume the pit bull attacked, WRONG. the boxer ran up to and attacked the pit bull while it was on lead! now did anyone say that all boxers should be banned? they are all chattering about how vicious pit bulls are, you read right the other dog started the fight and they still blamed the pit bull. bullygirl is right dont lump them into vicious listing some are bad (at no fault of thier own) they are fighting owners and genetics, so when you see a good boy you better believe that is a GOOD BOY. as always goo is right good owners know thier dog and dont let them run free in a dog park if they are aggressive and at the first sign of aggression they stop going. it people that think its cool to see a dog try to fight barking and snarling and then they praise the dog telling it that its doing good. and then put into a similar situation off-lead. (why you would do this, i dont know) Slim i know how it is and i know how you feel, but dont think that all APBTs are monsters, the breeding dictates that they are not dog friendly but are tremendous family and people dogs. I have seen a great many of people aggressive GSDs but i dont let thatturn me off about the breed. and marysmamam we are not even gonna talk about how mean Jack Russels can be, because they are individual dogs. not every pit bull is a mean pit bull[/quote]

[quote]And check out the guy who says you should stay away from breeders unless you want a show dog[/quote] I read this thinking from your statement he was going to talk about pet stores or some other unfortunate method of procurement. However, he was simply saying that if you just want a pet to adopt one that needs a home. What is wrong with that? Did I miss something? IMHO, there are other ways to get good pets than buying from show breeders.

I'm sorry I just read what you wrote: "not a liar just a breed racist" I see this happen to often. When I read it I saw a post describing an incident. You easily could replace APBT with Lab and then no one would complain. All of the sudden there is nothing wrong with what she said. I understand why you all are defensive of your breed but some of us are tired of hearing it. She didn't seek out to have bad experience with an APBT, it just happened. I learned that just because you think it doesn't sound right, doesn't mean that it didn't happen. I dont think she is out to ban pit bulls or any such nonsense. Sometimes we need to pick our battles. "i'm just tired of people complaining and taking NO action to change things. if your dog park is being over run; take it back i'm sure the other owners will back you." Then why didn't you just say that to begin with and leave the whole pit/peta/racist stuff alone?

Slim86 - First off just ignore bullygirl. She is jumping to conclusion because she is sensitive to her breed. I on the other hand know exactly where you are coming from. Our dog park is not over run by pits but when a pit has come, EVERY time it has caused trouble. This is because, as a responsible pit owner will admit, pits are dog aggressive period. It is a fact, part of their breeding, nothing that can be argued. However, our park has the position that no BREED will be banned but specific DOG/FAMILIES can be banned. We require a pass that must be bought to enter the park. Does your park have some kind of entrance pass? Do you have a local organization or park district that is responsible for managing the park? I am a volunteer at our park for a group called paws patrol. While we are there we educate owners on park ettiquette, signs of aggression, and appropriate play. We have VERY strict rules and I wouldn't go if they weren't there. If I witness a fight I have to provide a report to the local dog owners organization and the park district. If a dog gets into 3 documented fights, the pass is revoked. After each attack the owners are sent a warning letter. I think you should research who is responsible for the park and talk to them about your concerns. Find others who feel the same as you. Create and action group and become vocal. Bullygirl - Relax. These situations occur all the time. Only when it is a pit do pit owners automatically cry discrimination and racism. Please. You choose to own the breed, accept what comes with it.

May you find the strength to remember the joy in her life to help you through tomorrow. My deepest sympathies...

Misstiblu - Welcome to Dogo!! I just got a puppy too. I have Mary Jane who is 1 year and now 11 week old Stewart. No trouble here. They are the best of friends and play a lot. Mary's favorite game to play is keep away. What ever he has she takes it and runs. It is all in good fun though, and hey it gets them running. I swear she thinks we got her a real live toy. I would love to see pics of your babies and please visit the pages posted, you will love them! You can see pics of my family at [url]http://groups.msn.com/KingsQueensJacks/shoebox.msnw[/url]

Treats. I have a girl that was extremely afraid of the crate. Would not go near it. Now she goes in and lays down on her own. I dont know how much she likes it but she is okay with it now. I started by putting a treat near the door, and let her go pick it up. When this didn't bother her any more I moved the treat just inside the door, and so on until it was in the back of the crate. Then I started to teach her "Go in your house" as a command. She goes in and sits to get the treat, then lay down. Then work on closing the door for a split second and bump it up as she gets more comfortable. It will take some time. Work with it for 5 minutes then do it again an hour later. It can be done. You will be just fine.

This happened about 15 minutes away from my house. It is quite despicable but the local dog advocacy groups, no kill shelters, and many citizens are coming together to provide the best possible care for the dogs. The woman was arrested for the same thing in 1993 but the case was eventually dismissed in appeals for some reason. We are all hoping that this will be the final straw. I am intriqued at one common similarity among cases like this. It is quite frequently very old woman. Not that it is an excuse but do they have a different perception of what they are doing because of their age? Wasn't there a post on here that talked about puppy mills getting started after one of the World Wars. Maybe these old ladies dont know that the world has changed and these practices are no longer acceptable. I feel bad for the animals but they are safe now. I feel bad for the old lady because I dont think she knows any better or understands what she has done wrong. I dont think it would be fair to lock her away at her age, hopefully they will send her to a assisted living center or somewhere that she can't have animals.

This is actually a common issue with wellness and it is not that the food is bad. This is how I understand the problem. The carbs in the Euk (corn etc) are less digestable therefore bulking up the stool. The carbs in wellness are more digestible. More is being absorbed by the body rather than just passing through. It may take her body some time to stop working so hard to digest the food. Get some 100% pure pumpkin at the grocery and put a tblsp on her food. This will fix her right up. Eventually her body will adjust. It has just been working much harder to digest the old food and is now over doing it on the wellness. Give it time. I have feed wellness for 8 months and really love it. There is a wealth of information available about raw diets on the web. Check out this site: [url]http://www.rawdogranch.com/[/url] You can email the author if you have questions about your specific dog, she is very nice. Aurora - Be careful not to mix kibble and raw meats in the same meal. If you feed them at seperate meals you are okay. However, if feed together it can cause problems. The raw meats digest in 4 hours as opposed to the kibble in 8 hours. Feeding the kibble with the raw meat keeps the raw meat in the system for long enough that you could have problems with the bacteria. There is good information available about this if you would like to research it further.

Nancy and Foster - Thanks for your comments. Nancy - I am not sure if it is allergies or not. He did fine on the Wellness adult for about 6 months with no adverse reactions and for the majority of his life was on grocery store food with no allergic reactions. However it very well could be, they can develop them at the drop of a hat. The new food is Solid Gold Mmellinnia. It is has very few grains, no corn wheat or soy products. It also has some good oils in it as well. I just know that his problems are related to the food change, now I am kicking myself in the rear for making the change. Foster - I'm right on track with you. I have decreased his amount of food and been giving him pumpkin for a few days now, he really likes it too. Just didn't have time to put together a veggie mush during the week with the new puppy. I'll get right on it tomorrow. I think you are right about the puppy food. His current food is outrageous, 33% protein. That seems crazy to me. I bought a small bag of it and it will probably last a while. I think I will keep him on it till he gets to 12 weeks then begin the transition.

:o I am about to pull my hair out with Bo the old sheltie. If it is not one thing it is another. Thing is he isn't REALLY sick or anything. Just little problems that keep reoccuring. He has been having a cough and dry scaley scabby areas on his skin. They said it was kennel cough and a staph infection but two courses of anitbiotics for each has helped but not gotten rid of it. Now we have Quantum antibiotic cream for the skin. He was also started on 3V's and gets one twice a day. Here is my hypothesis, it seems all of this started when I changed him to the senior diet in hopes of helping him drop more weight. He continues to loose about 2 lbs a month, reasonable progress. However the senior diet (wellness) is very low protein (17%) fat (8%) and high fiber. I am wondering if a lack of protein and fat could be contributing to his skin issues and overall health in general. Also, he has recently started thyroid medicine. We had his 1 mo t4 done and it was really high so they said to cut the dose in half. Now for my experiment. I want him to have more protein and fat but I also want him to at least maintain his current weight. I am switching the other dogs to Mmillenia. I figured if I feed him 1/2 cup per day rather than 2/3 cup per day, it will be about the same calories. I plan on adding some veggies for bulk so he isn't hungry. Do you think that will work, or will he just blow up like a balloon. On a side note, I know Mary will do great on the Mmillenia however I was wandering if you all thought it would be okay for a puppy. Mary never wanted to eat her puppy food so she went on adult food at about 4 months and is in excellent condition. I am considering just feeding the new pup the Mmillenia too. Any thoughts. Thanks for listening to my ramble!!

Here is an album of his first day. We also went to the vet (got an A+) and pet store (got chews cuz I am a chewer!). Enjoy. [url]http://groups.msn.com/KingsQueensJacks/dayone.msnw?action=ShowPhoto&PhotoID=11[/url]

It is usually not a good idea but if you do just make sure you follow all of the appropriate citation rules. Here is a good page on Legg-Perthes : [url]http://www.posna.org/InfoParents/Perthes.htm[/url] Here is one on Luxating Patella: [url]http://www.pethealthcare.net/html/body_luxating_patella_.html[/url] Good luck.

I am so dang excited I just can't take it. I can't get anything done at work. All I am doing is staring at pictures of my baby, thinking about actually getting to hold him and kiss him and hug him. (maybe his name should be george :lol: ) We leave tomorrow morning for an 8 hour drive to go get him, then we are staying with friends til Sunday. We are having a huge puppyfest. All the families that got pups are coming along with other JRT owners. We have a lure course set up and a bunch of land for them to roam, there will be about 15 jacks in all. It is gonna be a complete blast! As soon as I get a chance on Monday I will post tons of pics of Stewie and Mary and Me too. I cant' wait to get my puppy!!

[quote name='Hmmmm'] You can have a dog with no ability to fight but still be very game. You cant measure gameness by the dogs willingness to do anything but fight.[/quote] I'm sorry but these two statements seem extremely contradictory to me, I hope I am wrong. Can you explain that?

Alright I thought I understood after RnP but then Hmmm posts got me all confusticated again. Hmmm, can you speak in nonAPBT language? I dont understand the jargon you use. I guess I do understand that the main characteristic the breed was developed for was their "drive". Please tell me if this is correct. Okay lets forget about ability to fight for minute. My breed, Jack Russells, should be breed to hunt. That is the first desireable characteristic, however, it is important that the conformation of the dog be correct as that makes a huge impact on the dogs ability to do its job (go to ground). Also, there are genetic diseases such as luxating patella that should be avoided. So if the best hunter you have does not fit standard and carries an ailment, he would or should not be breed. Does this correlate to your breed? If you have a dog with the desired amount of drive, but his confirmation is horrible and he carries a disease, doyou still breed him? So there is no other way to test for drive other than a fight or roll, not a weight pull or the other activites they are used for today, because we all know there is no fighting of pits anymore, right? :o I am curious what the future of this breed holds. Once it's "purpose" has been made illegal, what direction does breeding take. Why is it considered "wrong" to accentuate their other wonderful qualities to help preserve their breed and possibly improve their reputation and acceptance in society. Again in my breed, there are breedings that strive for comfirmation, soundness (the right "attitude"), but also companionship because very few hunters use terriers any more. I know some but as far as society is concerned it is not the popular "sport" it once was. I see this as a good thing. The hunters work to preserve their lines and abilities, but those that love the breed dont hunt can still enjoy them without the pitfalls of having a strong hunter. I think that as the sport continues to die, we will still preserve the breed and it's best characteristics. One last question, can a dog have drive or be game and not be aggressive (dog not human, I know :D )?

I hope this does not turn into an arguement and I sincerely hope you all will refrain at my request. What does it mean for an APBT to be game? I only hear this term used by APBT folks. And Hmmm I hope you dont mind me quoting you but you said "I will NEVER breed for color OR conformation. Breeders doing that should leave the APBT alone and breed Am Staffs or something else." in another topic. Does that mean you only breed for gameness (or function) and structure (or form) is secondary? Is gameness their tendency or ability to fight? If so, and you dont fight your dogs, then why breed for that? I really am just trying to learn, I would like to understand much better than I do. PLEASE DONT LET THIS TURN INTO AN ARGUEMENT ABOUT FIGHTING DOGS.