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

Awe THANKS so much for your help!! I'll try that when he wakes up. I have this *thing* about feeding my dogs kibble.. I DO feed it, but I like to give them variety.. I mean, I just think about eating a bowl of total cereal three times a day. :lol: :lol: And keeping weight on is a serious issue with Ripley, he isn't neutered either. When I had his hernia corrected, I was still thinking that he could be a performance dog (I'm more of a working dog fancier) and be bred.. He did SO badly on the anesthesia (he took forever to wake up, he even worried the vet.. I watched the sugery and I was pacing the whole time when he wasn't responding) that I don't want to put him under again.. I'm really just trying to weigh the risks and the benefits here, I REALLY want to neuter him, just because it's healthier for him and would be muuch more responsible, but I'm kind of afraid to...

Aww, I dunno (GET HIM) if you want (GET HIM) another dog.. Fingers crossed for you. He's a cutie pie.

Heh, I don't like meat either.. *I* don't eat it, but I'm not a carnivore. It's been kind of hard for me to adjust to feeding my 5lb pap a diet that a wolf would get, but after I've seen how well he does on it, I can't bring myself to feed exclusively kibble anymore. I also happen to have the most finicky dog on the face of the earth. He turns up his nose at raw meat sometimes. :roll: I mean sending the x-rays in of his hips. Dahhhhh, sorry, my mind is skipping all over the place! We haven't had that done yet, we will next Monday with the vet here, or in a couple of weeks with the vet in Arizona. I have a question.. can you FEEL the patella slipping around when you flex the dog's leg? Because I have my hand on Ripley's knee and I'm moving his leg around, and I can't feel anything really abnormal. I've even compared it to what I feel on my Border Collie (Who I KNOW is clear of that problem) and it's not any different... :-?

[quote]What degree are Ripley's knees now? If they aren't a 3+ don't worry about surgery. Often times these little guys can manage it on their own. The way you're describing it, it doesn't seem like he's really that affected by it. How much pain is he in? If he still runs, jumps, and plays like always, I'd hold out as long as I can. [/quote] From what I've seen, they aren't any more than a 2. We are going to send his tests in to OFA to have it really checked out. (I'll let you know when the results get back.. How long does it usually take?) We had one vet tell us that his knees were fine, but I had a vet tech friend say that there was something suspicious up with those hind legs... So he is going to see his good friend the vet sometime this week, and then when we get to Arizona he is going to see his OTHER good friend the vet there. :P I like to get as many opinions as I can. I've also noticed an improvement since I switched his diet.. I forgot to mention that to you. He was eating super-premium foods, Innova, Solid Gold, Wellness, and the such, but when I switched him to a raw diet, it seemed to help him relax a bit more too.

Thanks for the advice Colleen, I'm going to get him on those supplements very soon.. Where can you get them? (I already have the ACV) Ripley sends Colby pappy kisses :angel:

Oh, and good luck. :)

*sigh* I don't even want to get into the BYB/teacup thing, I hope it's over and safe in this thread again. :) I must say I agree with Papillons. My papillon, about 5lbs, is EXTREMELY fragile. What a lot of large breed owners don't understand is that if a large breed dog is running and the little dog is in the way, that poor little guy is dead meat.. I'm speaking for the fine-boned breeds, such as Paps and Poms. From what I've seen, some chihuahuas are stocky little TANKS! My friend's is a very stocky, muscular chi who is able to rough-house with their lab on a daily basis and not be injured, but if Ripley tried that, I would have him in the vet's for broken bones. It is SO easy to not be watching your step and land on the little dog's foot, it is SO easy to have your large dog take a step back and crush the ribs of a sleeping small dog. It is SO easy to have your large dog jump up to greet you, have the little dog run under him, and be crushed when the big dog jumped down. Those are just a few of the MANY worries I live with on a daily basis when it comes to my dog. Yes, maybe I do worry too much about him, but my main priority is to keep him safe, and that includes training Dakota and Buster that they need to give Ripley a VERY wide berth. (This is easier than training Ripley to give them a wide berth) Yes, my Ripley CAN be tucked into a handbag. But does he WANT to be? NOOOOOO. He wants to be a dog, walking around and growling at strangers (It's not as fun to growl at them from within a cutesy Gucci tote I imagine. :lol: :lol: :lol: ) Many little dogs do not WANT to be put in a purse and carried around, they want to be dogs. Senior dogs or very laid back dogs might love it, but breeds like Papillons, Pomeranians, Chihuahuas or any small terriers will probably NOT like it, particularly if they are young adults.

Oh that sure scares me... I'm thinking I might want to surgically correct Ripley's LP's, but not if it's common for those surgeries to fail. My dog does horribly on anesthesia and if it would be all for nothing, I'd just as soon get him a little cart to ride in or carry him around. I'm interested in knowing more about this as well. Ripley has awful patellas and, although I know they aren't as severe as Colby's are, they still hurt him on occasion and I KNOW that about once a week, he's stiff and sore. I was wondering something, as well... Is it common with severe LP's (and bad hips in Ripley's case) to have the leg amputated? I imagine if it was either years and years of surgery and pain, and being locked in a crate, or amputation, that amputation would be more humane. *I don't even like to THINK about it.. :(* It's a relatively minor thing, but I've found that massage REALLY helps Ripley loosen up those hind legs and be able to walk and run better on the days that he is sore..

Great pictures, congratulations to Ven!!!! :D

[quote]Why/how you picked the dog you got.[/quote] I picked Ripley because I'd wanted a Papillon for years, I was just drawn to the little characters. I picked Dakota because, after finding out that Ripley wasn't fit for agility, I REALLY wanted a tough, hardy dog to work with in agility, and no better choice than a Border Collie for that one! :D [quote]How important was pedigree? Bloodline? Breeding?[/quote]Not very for Ripley. I wanted a pup that had potential for agility or therapy. For Dakota, is was almost everything. I wanted a dog with herding and agility in his blood, I wanted a dog whose sire and dam were excellent examples of the breed. I wanted a dog whose ancestors had proven themselves in competitions. [quote]How did you finally choose the breeder? rescue? Shelter?[/quote] I was an IDIOT about this and I am still kicking myself today for it, although I love my dog to death. The breeder was the only one that had been nice to me and showed me respect. Most of the breeders had pushed me away because I was 13, but this lady was nice and seemed to know her papillons very well, and she just happened to have the most wonderful, calm and beautiful puppy at that moment. If I could do it all over again, I would have taken my business elsewhere, because my dog is a genetic mess (HORRIBLE hips and knees) Dakota's breeder is a trainer around here, and I started talking to her and examined her closely (I wasn't gonna make the same mistake with my next dog that I did with Ripley) and she had a very reputable breeding program, she had working dogs that were also successful in the show ring, and that were healthy (PROVEN HEALTHY, by health and genetics testing galore). The fact that she could help me with all my training issues was the icing on the cake. [quote]What drew you to the dog?[/quote] What drew me to Ripley was his whole demeanor. He was sweet, funny, calm and easily amused. He was also beautiful with excellent markings, and just seemed to gravitate towards me. Dakota and I didn't exactly 'click' the first time we met, I thought he was FAR too dominant and would be out of control, but for some reason I have this[b] thing [/b]for those darn alpha males!! :lol: :lol: What drew me to him most was that he did have wonderful bloodlines and fantastic parents, both very successful in agility and herding and the sire an AKC champion. The fact that he is a beautiful example of the breed, and a VERY energetic pup was just two more good things. :D