To Put Things Simply: He Has Eczema

May 14, 2010

So finally after several days, I was able to get a hold of Trouble’s old dermatologist and ask them to fax us his medical records so we’d have them on hand, should we decide to seek a dermatologist closer to us. The doctor finally called me back after several hours about whether or not we should continue his antibiotics (he’s running low) and where we should proceed from that point forward. He advised me that Trouble should stay on his antibiotics until all of the leisons had disappeared and he wanted to know if we needed a refill. I told him we’d wait to see what happened because he is doing much, much better so I didn’t necessarily think we need to get him more until we see what happens.

After reviewing his records he has atopic dermatitis (in other words ezcema), which is the second most common allergy in domestic dogs (fleas are first). It can be triggered by several things which includes food, house dust mites, pollen, moulds, and mildew just to name a few. Since he’s moved out here, he’s been doing much better and we’ve seen significant improvement. He came to us in pretty bad shape. His feet were really swollen, so swollen that he had blood blisters and ended up leaving blood stains on our carpet. In addition, half of his body had lost hair due to the itching and he had red splotches and bumps on his stomach, chin, legs and pee wee.

Now looking at him, his paws are no longer swollen, in fact his front paws have healed completely and his back paws are on their way. His chin no longer has the redness it had before and his stomach and pee wee are slowly healing and looking more and more like a dog should. In addition, the hair that he lost is growing back and he just seems much, much happier. Now the only problem we currently have is the meds he’s on. While they’re obviously helping, I really want to look into holistic approaches because a, it’ll be more cost effective, and b, in the long run it’ll be healthier for him. I plan on doing a little more research this weekend and next week regarding his condition and possibly scheduling an appointment with a holistic vet (assuming I find one I like).

I’m really happy to finally know what has been ailing him and that there are methods other then the four different medications we have him on to help him get better. He’s only been with us for a week and we’ve fallen in love with home so we’re going to try and do our best to ensure that his quality of life is better then he has been.

I Learned What Most Never Do: To Open Your Heart Regardless of The Cost

May 5, 2010

For those who I speak to on daily basis or those who post on Ecstasy, they all know that I’ve been working with our dogs regarding their behavior after watching several episodes of Dog Whisperer. While we’ve made a ton of progress, it also seems like we’ve hit a plateau– at least were Diesel is concerned. I think part of the problem is that she didn’t grow up with a mom, so the typical corrections that work with Benji, don’t work with her because she never had a mother to correct her in that manner. I’m still working with her and am currently looking for rollerblades to tire her out because her high amount of energy is also part of the problem. I’m not looking for anything overly expensive because I only plan to use them to exercise the dogs, but so far I haven’t had much luck looking for blades that suit my needs. If anyone has suggestions, websites, companies, etc, please comment and let me know!

In regards to the dogs, we’re also looking at dog backpacks to put on Diesel to tire her out more easily as well. We figure if she has to lug something heavy during her walk, the result will be her tiring much more quickly then she is. Benji does quite well on walks and is actually a pretty good dog, but Diesel’s excitement often feeds his, which then builds her’s and the cycle goes on and on. I am hoping that eventually we’ll be able to drain a lot of her energy and get her into the calm submissive state she needs to be in.

It’ll be interesting to see how the dogs react to our newest (hopefully temporarily) addition, Trouble. Today, while I was mindless surfing Craigslist before work, I stumbled on an ad that said “Free Pitbull”. Most know that I’m a sucker for Pit Bulls. There is something about their breed that touches my heart. I honestly clicked on the ad just to see what it said and was quite sadden to read:

I have a 1 1/2 year old male pitbull. His name is Trouble, and he’s a very good dog. Very friendly with everyone, and he loves to just lounge around all day. He loves other dogs too! He’s used to being inside all day, so he wouldn’t do to well sitting in a back yard all the time.He’s also neutered.We recently moved into an apartment and we hate to give him up, but we have no option.
The only thing is that he does have allergies. We’ve taken him to a dermatologist recently and got allergy shots for him. He has to have his shots once a week and be given two pills orally per day. He sometimes gets blood blisters on his back/legs and his paws get red & swollen sometimes too. He’s a very high maintenance dog but it’s well worth it!
Free to good home only & to someone that can take care of him very well with his skin conditions. NO DOG FIGHTING.Will also inculde the rest of his shots, pills, and dog food.
Need him gone ASAP, i will probably have to take him to the humane socioty by tomorrow if no one can take him, which i really do not want to have to do.

While Arizona is a very pet friendly state and has more pro Pit Bull people than other parts of the country, a Pit Bull being put in a shelter that requires special meds is pretty much a death sentence. This is especially true give the economy and the fact that not many people want to dedicate more resources for the care of a dog. I immediately e-mailed the ad to Robby and suggested that perhaps we should take him, even if just on temporarily basis. I expected him to tell me that we shouldn’t and was surprised when he responded saying, “Make the call, I can pick him up after work.” I e-mailed the owner and advised them of our situation and what we intended and she seemed okay and very sure that we would fall in love with him. Right now I’m still waiting to hear from Robby and I guess when we come home we’ll take it from there. I just hope that we’re able to find him a good home with a family that will give him the care he deserves and if not, then I guess he’s ours, which we’re perfectly fine with, either way.

We really should have invested in a ranch.

Lassie, Wait No, Benji, Come Home!

Apr 27, 2010

So I just wasted an hour of my life hunting down my damn dog. Actually wait scratch that– I spent about 20 minutes of my life hunting down my dog and then 40 minutes trying to flag down Robby who was on his ATV trying to find the dog.

So here’s what happened. We took the dogs on a walk and were going to run them in the field. Robby let Benji go because he was being calm submissive and Diesel was still riled up from the dog we encountered on our way to the field. While I was attempting to calm her, Benji apparently took off after something and rather than take off after home, Robby decide it was best to tell me he just took off. Yeah, I know I don’t understand it either but whatever. So I told him to go after him, he does and then yells he’s gone, I need your help (by the way I was still dealing with Diesel).

So I cut across into the field to help him and can’t find him. Robby then decides at that point he needs to bring out the ATV because it’ll be easier to search for him. In my haste and worry I forgot to tell him to take Diesel with him, so as a result she stayed with me. After a few minutes of calling for Benji and Diesel being absolutely obnoxious, I decided to take her home. On my way home, Benji comes running up behind us, meanwhile I notice Robby round the corner in his ATV and follow after to try and flag him down to tell him I have the dogs. He doesn’t see me so I turn the block and walk the puppies up trying to look for him. Nothing. At that point I say screw it and say we’ll go home and he can just come back for us.

Yeah, that didn’t work out. As I was turning the last corner to go home, I see Robby’s lights behind us at the end of the block, so I turn the dogs around to go flag him down. He is driving up the street so I stop, thinking that he sees me because he passes right on by and head’s home. So I turn back around and start the walk home. Just as I’m rounding the corner he’s pulling out of the driveway in the car and I yell out “Baby!” absolutely frustrated because I assume he can’t hear me. He stops and backs up and I ask what the fuck he’s doing and he says, “Well looking for Benji.” I laugh and say, “You passed right by us on the ATV. I thought you’d seen us since you went home.” He says, “Nope, I didn’t see anything.”

So yes, I wasted an hour of my life, okay maybe not an hour, 40 minutes of my life looking for my husband, even though the search started out with me looking for my dog. Now how in the fuck did that happen? *facepalm*

Pit Bulls: They’re Not The Monsters You Think They Are

Mar 15, 2010

I’m going to preface this blog by saying, when I woke up this morning I felt like crap– actually thinking about it, I still feel like crap. So when I received a comment from someone who’s website isn’t even legit, regarding Pit Bulls, that was completely ignorant and based on information that was hardly compromised of facts on my last blog which had no mention of my loveable Pit Bull Terrier, I was pretty upset.

I’m scared that the Pit bull requires a unique type of owner…these dogs, regardless of how ‘caring’ nevertheless have teeth, are still creatures with no moral principles and when they DO bite, won’t let go. As in all animals…some tend to be additionally susceptible to instinctual habits and time and time once again, this breed tends to complete just that.

Therefore, this blog is going to be purely informational and factual, because quite frankly I’m tired of all the misconceptions people have about Pit Bulls because people, yes people decided to use them in a means that resulted in branding the breed as a dangerous dog. I cannot reiterate this enough: THAT IS COMPLETELY UNTRUE.

The American Pit Bull Terrier was the most popular family dog during the 20th century. So what happened? The wrong people realized that this breed is extremely loyal and eager to please (http://www.thetruthaboutpitbulls.com). Pit Bulls are actually quite loveable creatures, as long as they are raised to be so. The stigma they have is due entirely to owners who have used their loving, loyal, and eager to please nature in a manner that portrays them to be dangerous, terrifying dogs when in fact they are not.

When you hear people talking about Pit Bulls in the Pit Bull community, the most common term you’ll hear is responsible owner; because it is the owner that determines the temperament and mannerisms of the dog just as with any breed. The first thing people need to realize is that Pit Bulls are social creatures. They love to be around people and they can be destructive if they don’t get the proper exercise or attention. They love to chew; this I know through experience (yay to having to replace flip flops, lol), however this was my fault which I admit. She wasn’t getting enough exercise and as a result she got bored. This wasn’t her fault, it was our fault for not properly caring for her. We don’t blame her and neither should anyone else, because the fault as I’ve reiterated time and time again is on the owner, not on the breed.

The next most important thing to remember about Pit Bulls is to socialize them at an early age, this again, is something that you want to do with any breed. You want them to understand the importance of interacting with other animals, especially those smaller than them because they’re very energetic playful animals that aren’t quite aware of their size or strength and as a result if they’re not trained properly on how to approach a smaller animal, accidents can happen, as they attempt to play with the creature. But again they just want to play. They’re aren’t trying to be vicious or attack, they love to play, as evident by their exuberant, energetic nature (the video details this) and so does our little terrier. And on that note, as I stated previously they love people, children included, however they [the breed] can be a bit overwhelming and can sometimes bump or knock them [children] down in their haste to love and show affection. However, as with any other breed it is your responsible to ensure that you are watching your child(ren) when interacting with animals.

I could go on and on with a list of how the temperament of Pit Bulls and their mannerisms are a byproduct of their upbringing, however that would span across several blogs, so instead what I ask if that you educate yourself and make an informed decision, instead of succumbing to what the media portrays as they do not portray the whole story (when do they ever, really?). I used to be just as terrified and frightful of Pit Bulls (my dad still is), now I own one, and am quite proud of that fact. They are one of the sweetest breeds I have ever come to known and I hope, for those who believe the stigma placed on them by bad ownership, that this blog will in some way encourage you to step out of your comfort zone and learn something about a breed who’s touched me and quite a few others in so many ways.

List of Pit Bull Information Sites

• http://www.vrcpitbull.com/home.htm
• http://www.trupitbull.com/index.html
• http://happypitbull.com/
• http://www.pitbulllovers.com
• http://www.dogbreedinfo.com/americanpitbull.htm