Taurus and Jada

Cropping can be done anytime between 9 and 14 weeks, although each vet is going to have their own preferences for when they do it. Make sure to print off pictures of dogs whose crop you like and take them into the vet when you go. Also make sure the vet you choose has experience not only cropping , but cropping APBT's. Ask for references if possible.

I give my dogs Syn-Flex and it has made a huge difference with Taurus who was diagnosed with Hip Dysplacia last December. Taurus gets 1/4 oz a day of SynFlex and he is 60lbs. That is the recommended dosage for a dog his size. Jada who is 102 lbs and does not have HD gets the same dosage as Taurus as a preventative. I buy the Syn-Flex from a really nice lady named Patty. I cant remember her website, but I'll PM you her email address in a minute. Kara

I feed my dogs Wellness Lamb and it has glucosamine in it as well. Taurus was diagnosed with HD last year at the age of 4.5 yrs old. We have found the Syn-Flex to be very helpful. He accidentally didnt receive it one night, and the next day he was very stiff, so we know it is defenitly doing the trick. I would let the breeder know, as a good breeder should want to know about any and all cases of HD with their litters. Even if the parents both had good hips, their offspring can develop HD, and vice versa. Good luck, Kara

[quote name='Lokipups']Lyme and Erlichia are antigen specific tests, if they aren't looking for them, they won't show up in a CBC. Although I'm sure the last thing poor Taurus wants is another needle stuck in him :( , poor guy.[/quote] I did ask about Eurlicia, and was told he would be anemic due to that. The lyme disease I did not ask about though..I will do some reading up on it. Thanks Kara

sorry, I should have listed all the tests we've allready done with him: * hip x-rays * full blood work up ( August 2004 and May 2005) * several thyroid blood tests * urine culture * urinalysis * chest x-ray * bladder x-ray How do they test for lyme disease? Is it a blood test?

As some of you remember Im sure, we took Taurus into have his hips x-rayed last December as a massive amount of tests were being done to try and determine why he was so lethargic. The vet confirmed he did have Hip Dysplacia, but that it was pretty mild, and that it wasnt anything to be too concerned about. I cant remember exactly how she explained the x-rays to us, but I do know that she said it looked like he was born that way, as opposed to something that was brought on through his envioronment. ( ie. something about the sockets being shallow or shaped improperly.???) He has been on Syn-Flex for about 4 months now, but the past few weeks he has been pretty stiff and sore. He went to the vet last week for his annual shots and check-up, and I told her about the pain and she suggested some MetaCam for a week to see if it helped with the pain. If it did, she thought he might be gettig some arthritis. Well, it hasnt helped at all, and he can barely jump up onto his chair in the basement. ( a normal sized easy chair.) He wont "touch" ( his nose to the palm of my hand) not even for a piece of meat which is really wierd... he looks like he trys to but as soon as he goes to place weight on his back end, he stops. I have always heard that APBT's sometimes live their whole lives without ever showing the pain of hip dysplacia... Taurus is no exception ussually... he has hurt himself pretty badly before and it ussually doesnt even phase him, like he is intolerante of pain, however this is different, he is quite obviously in discomfort. Any thoughts?? ** also, about the same time he started getting stiff, he started vomiting. It has been two weeks or so, and he's been vomiting about every other day always afetr he gets up from resting?? Kara

Prior to Taurus being neutered, he got along with ALL dogs. He never had a problem with any other dog, and in fact if another dog didnt like him, he would just walk away. My parents dog growled and snapped at him and he just ran away like...hmmm..dont want to play..your loss! Then, he was neutered later on in life, 4 1/2 yrs old and after that time he couldn't be with other dogs anymore. There are 4 dogs he still plays with, but thats it. He will not accept any other dogs. I thought we'd gotten off lucky...at 4 yrs old I was pretty sure he wouldn't "tunr on"... no such luck.

Thats too bad... I feel for the dog, and hope it is okay. Some people just dont seem to use the brian the good Lord gave them...I have come to realize, these same people probably never will. :-?

Jada loves being outside in ALL weather...snow storms, rain, doesnt matter. Taurus on the other hand... well he will ask to go out, and if I open the door to let him out, he'll take a few steps closer to the door, look out and see its raining/snowing, and turn right back around. This is a normal occurance at our house...especially in the winter: Jada trying to coax Taurus outside: [img]http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v319/kararij/prettyplease.jpg[/img] And Taurus after 2 mins of being outside: [img]http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v319/kararij/letmeindamit.jpg[/img]

I wish I could be there... :( Hope you have a good time, your pups are gorgeous!

Come on Alan, show everyone your dress?? :P I know Alan from along time ago from a few differnt msn boards.... he is a curious guy... but he really does get you thinking. :drinking:

Have a few questions for you regarding doggy fun events. I am thinking about possibly putting one on this summer, and want everyones feedback please. 1. Have you ever been to a "fun" event for dogs? What did you think about it? 2. If I were to put on a fun show for a fundraiser, would you attend? ( this would be held in the London Ontario area.) 3. What activities would you like to see at a fun event? 4. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.... I am thinking right now about doing a CGN testing as well as a fun weight pull event. I dont know much abotu these things, but if I did it I would have help from people who did...but I would still like everyones input. What other kinds of activities would you see at an event like this? What types of prized should there be? Should I do a fun agility run? Thanks Kara

[quote name='__crazy_canine__']Ok I cant help myself I just have to say that.... The show APBT can look more like an AmStaff, especially if it doesnt work at all. The two lines DO look different... I dont get how you can say they dont. They CAN look the same but they dont always.[/quote] I agree... while the can look the same, I dont think they ussually do. Especially when you look at some older pics of pitties....the game bred dogs look nothing like a show bred APBT or Amstaff. JMO. Smooshie...did you get the pics I sent you?

[url]http://www.surveymonkey.com/s.asp?u=27938736749[/url]

Well, not the results I was hoping for, but at least we know now. Taurus does have Hip Dysplacia, but the Dr. says it is a mild case, and suggested Glucosamine Supplements. We bought some right away and started him on them allready with dinner tonight... I am hoping that because we have caught it at middle age (he is just about 5 yrs old) and supplement him with the Con Glu, we will avert alot of problems later on in life. Anyone have a dog that was diagnosed later on in life with mild HD? Taurus is still quite out of it... He was whining and crying the whole way home from the vet. :cry: His tongue has regained full control though now... :ok: which is good because boy did he look goofy! Here is his daddy, trying to steal a smooch! Taurus says...I just got my tongue to stay in my mouth, and I aint taking it out again! [img]http://groups.msn.com/_Secure/0dQDzAmQllb8rFbJtNkbOiUx*2M5QTuZDGYoTUk4uuP2yeo8hcRqUTgo7z1ZioFRn8D!QNKMyyUon7nPX2kU*LJe28qPfvInpAtD85GeQeCTyJO79GtrSGELssprIqcpyCy1H4R6Cu7PV6cLC71bOllPc9N6NB1Wnzbo0Tj6sFwQ/trying%20to%20snag%20a%20kiss.JPG[/img] Any idea why his mouth would be so red? I though perhaps he was sticking his nose out of the kennel he was in?? Not too sure, but hes not used to being in a crate (if he was) so could be??? Any thoughts?? [img]http://groups.msn.com/_Secure/0YgDhAnsfmjqUnMi9iYLE7Eu1PMkdtXeLmYhfDf5NfKIcvyXJv70DHHl6WDCTbZxOKE1F2x1HvUShJ3HxQU4SDiEPnjlGtCL*CBk0zzN1MgYXKOetxY4xY0MN5G2K5IxYeF9q9bXmu*IaeCP!brLuOg/red%20nose.JPG[/img] as you can see...he is still out of it. a bit. [img]http://groups.msn.com/_Secure/0agACAzIiwlJbvwACXd553XpCwUYeiimqJuNg0X6RTlwfIpIpMd*mgZmBvP2vJgWGVSGtm31yNJxPaAmY8SP58SV4Xs!W2Gwentr3ViR1wQipLfjeq6UhQlUcZreV3m!Iln8D1gfG2E6jpS2iBT0tCS0NJHttZb4z/taurus%20is%20high.JPG[/img] [img]http://groups.msn.com/_Secure/0ZQARAxwgP31j6s4n4YYHe7v1*eGqMlTZ7Sgp93raTALxksvJ7STUgU3FRts!cqJjmbvOWvE5FN5roRD5MZoR8pevGfikvFIzEOSXrZgYzOLzbiP1TVZCybvGF2gxuLva*RC!GO8cfL5TTbTxKI7y0g/out%20of%20it.JPG[/img]

Well...Taurus is a cone head, that is bumping into everythign in sight!! ( I think we will need to re=paint our house after these 10 days!!) I really like his new vet. The first thing the receptionist did when we got there was say to me "I hope you aren't offended, but I have marked Taurus down as a mixed breed. With all this banning talk going on with the province we do not want any of our pitties labeled as such, so we're are marking them all as mixed breeds" I thought that was pretty cool. Plus, they had the DLCC petition on their counter as well. Taurus has to wear the e-collar for 10 days so that his bump can dry out. He also has an anti-inflammatory and an antibiodic he has to take. So hopefully it will start to look better in the next couple of days!!! [img]http://groups.msn.com/_Secure/0YwAFA8ofIVjfnGSj8yAi27*KpkK*QWm*eYZcwN0r0nSaMjD3JDo7B3uV59Kf3JatGpuYHLv8HX7aSlER1qtjLelRxPJiqhMpQr5cNfkOMijcbd8ahfN7RMZIqRznOG4ojvGaG0rSp6s4IALrDosnzQ/cone%20head.JPG?dc=4675501090225905118[/img] [img]http://groups.msn.com/_Secure/0dAAYA4Ql4LvfnGSj8yAi28M!y6yBDF2O4qaSRq6JJ2GKZtmyW*0SejpBxC1MUvfNWxzXWb7KW6efCTA0oYtDBYNRuajBd26vJfIr0ABmCF09m7Heh*i5w6VxCeL83mXactxqA*r*E5j27g4zmYsFflcD5EEvhuLNv7VCGm*zokc/cone%20head%20layer%20downer.JPG?dc=4675501090224112367[/img]

Thanks for the info K...I really appreciate that! My neighbour with the bulldogs actually hasn't seen the lump, she just reccommended the clinic. I had been speaking to her abotu changing a couple months ago as I didn't really think our vet was handling the thyroid/ behaviour changes the way I liked and she suggested this new clinic back in September or October. I will get a picture of her dogs though for ya! :wink: I'm sure you'd love them!! They are sooo cute. They are both around a year old (Im not sure if they're from the same litter), one male, one female... TOO CUTE! Well, Im off to work, then after lunch we'll be heading into London to the vet. I will defenitly update everyone when we return. DogPaddle, I will let you know if I like this vet too, for your future reference.. Kara

Well, Taurus has an appointment tommorow at 2:45 at King Animal Clinic so hopefully we'll figure this out! :lol:

Well, Dr.Dillard is out of the question as she has made her position loud and clear regarding Bill-132 and any BSL. She feels all pitbulls should cease to exist after the current dogs die out. I would never take my dog anywhere near her. Apparently, after the Nov.16th meeting she did call into 1290 CJBK and say that she had changed her views b/c there were so many peopel that took so much time to care, that these dogs maybe could hav a good future??? I dont care though, I still would never give her my business. I am going to take him to King Animal Clinic. My neighbour down the road takes her English Bulldogs there and says she is AMAZING! She has gone there for years with her dogs and speaks very highly of her. I am currently taking them to Banner Road Animal Clinic in Thamesford. The reason I go there is because my parents have gone there forever, but I just feel like I am not getting the best service there as I need to really press for tests, etc regarding both Jada ( the incontinence) and Taurus ( the bahvioral issues and now this).

Taurus has a large red bump between his "toes", and I took him to the vet last week and had it looked at. the vet said it was nothing to worry about, and to continue soaking it in epsom salts (which I had allready been doing). Well its been a week now, and the bump is getting bigger, redder and more tender for Taurus. I am really scared that this is somehow tied into the temperment changes we've seen with taurus also. I am going to take him to a different vet because at this point, i am not too thrilled with ours. I would also like to get a 2nd opinion on the changes we've seen in him. But in the meantime, any thoughts?? Here is a picture of it: [img]http://groups.msn.com/_Secure/0YAAzA8QdEKRtTPwMidA6sr1uEp*MfYQgxObwFVmpczBJAR5I6!V6WUfh3BxqnxZDoLQOseEa74ZvSwXGLKhV6YwKvL7*sUUocvXqmPxptWoejsyjYK5NXCaYp7xxAhwlF!ZCOuYGWZbXcm0CTW96aQ/DSCF0001.JPG?dc=4675500900093583848[/img]

Please join us this Sunday, November 28 at 1:00pm for a peaceful protest against BSL and Bill 132. Gather at HIGH PARK (High Park Ave, South of Bloor) or KEW GARDENS (Lee Ave, South of Queen Street) Let's make this walk a moment in history that the Ontario Government will not ignore or forget. Breed specific bans will not improve public safety. Bill 132 threatens you and every dog in Ontario. For more information on Breed Specific Legislation and how it will affect you, please visit [url]www.brok.ca[/url] Please forward this message to your family and friends. Get the facts and get involved NOW.

What about a Staffordshire Bull Terrier. They are in the high range of your size catagory, but they are ussually around 35 lbs I beleive. They are great with kids, very intellegant, no/very little shedding, do great at sports like agility, etc.

[quote name='DogPaddle']I would love to view it, can you email it?[/quote] you bet, what your email address?

I have a copy of the propsed by-law if any one would like to view it. The draft by-laws (there are two of them) include Pit Bulls, Rotweillers, Akitas, and Presa Canarios. There is no mention of GSD's or Labs.... One of the by-laws would ban the four mentioned breeds but they would be grandfathered in, with strict requirements. The other isn't much better, basically it would not ban them, but they would still have strict requirements. Other parts to the by-law, noone under 18 yrs old can be caring for the dogs, ie walking, etc The dogs which are deemed dangeous are not allowed to be walked more then one at a time Noone can own more then one "dangerous dog"

Dog Paddle, Well.... where to begin. ... :x there are so many different aspects to Bill- 132 , some good and some not so good. First and foremost is how they define a "Pit Bull" [b](2) Section 1 of the Act is amended by adding the following definitions: "pit bull" includes, (a) a pit bull terrier, (b) a Staffordshire bull terrier, (c) an American Staffordshire terrier, (d) an American pit bull terrier, (e) a member of a class of dogs that have an appearance and physical characteristics that are substantially similar to dogs referred to in any of clauses (a) to (d); ("pit-bull")[/b] That section "e" should scare ALOT of people. That is leaving the door wide open for them to add any dog with "substantial" characteristics to any of the aforementioned breeds. This will affect ALOT of dogs. (and owners) Another part of the legislation which makes NO sense to me: [b](g) train a pit bull for fighting.[/b] So, dos this mean I can train a Presa for fighting?? This is pretty scary to, dont you think?? [b]Warrant to seize dog 13. (1) Subsection (2) applies where a justice of the peace is satisfied by information on oath or affirmation that there are reasonable grounds to believe that, (a) a dog is in any building, receptacle or place, including a dwelling house, other than in a pound operated by or on behalf of a municipality, Ontario or a designated body or in a research facility registered under the Animals for Research Act; and (b) it is not desirable in the interests of public safety that the dog be in that location.[/b] So now the police do not need a warrant to enter my house if someone beleives my dog (which is a Pit Bull, which has allready been stated in the bill that they are vicious) is dangerous..... [b]14. (1) Where the circumstances in clauses 13 (1) (a) and (b) exist and it would be impracticable to obtain a warrant because of exigent circumstances, a peace officer may exercise any of the powers of a peace officer described in section 13.[/b] When less the 10% of teh dog population in Canada are registered, paperd dogs, tell me how the other 90% will comply to this next section?? Identification of pit bull [b]19. If it is alleged in any court proceeding under this Act that a dog is a pit bull, the onus of proving that the dog is not a pit bull lies on the owner of the dog.[/b] Now... this section makes the least sense to me of it all: [b](7.4) Where the operator of a pound believes it has possession of a pit bull and that it should not return the pit bull under subsection (7.3), the operator of the pound shall do one of the following with the dog: 1. Destroy the dog. 2. Transfer the dog to a person who is resident outside Ontario in a jurisdiction in which ownership and possession of the pit bull is lawful, where the person is acquiring the dog, in good faith, in order that it be used as a pet or in hunting or for working purposes. 3. Transfer the dog in accordance with clause 20 (6) (c). 4. Transfer the dog in accordance with the permission to transfer restricted pit bulls given by section 9 of the Dog Owners' Liability Act.[/b] Read section 2 again.... a Pit bull is a "ticking time bomb" in Ontario, and they are not fit to walk the streets, but they are safe enough to go to our neighbouring provinces??? The part of the bill which is good is where the AG has increased fines to ALL irrisponsible dog owners who allow their dogs to act in an unacceptable way. The question is, isn't that enough? Will the Pit Bull owners not succumb(sp??) to the same fines/ jail time? Why is that not enough? The opposition is doing a great job opposing the bill, but they are a minority, and I dont know how much difference they will make. Joe Tascoma spoke for over an hour at teh debate on Thursday and brought up a lot of great points, which i hope will make the Liberals think twice about a few things...