Mrs.O

Staffy's are Pitbulls,duh!

2012-01-09T16:25:00.000-08:00

I decided to expand, explain, and inform bully breed lovers and curious folks about the differences of American bullies,Pitbulls, Staffy's, and Amstaff's. All these bully breeds look very similar but all are slightly different yet usually categorized as Pitbulls. I hate when people assume a bully looking dog is a pitbull(it drives me nuts!!!!). Sooooo, let me begin with Staffordshire terriers.Yes, I have a soft spot for these dogs, who doesnt?

Your typical Staffy is not very big, it shouldn't be fat! Here is a good chart, a little redundant but informative.

Height at shoulder: 14 to 16 inches. Weight: Dogs, 28 to 38 pounds; bitches, 24 to 34 pounds, these heights being related to weights. Non-conformity with these limits is a fault. In proportion, the length of back, from withers to tail set, is equal to the distance from withers to ground.

Many people that see a Staffy usually do not have the knowledge to identify any differences between the pitbulls today. It's obvious that they are smaller in size but they do have very refined characteristics and are very good looking and almost always look in proportion. I dont like to get into colors and the variations because a lot of people make mistakes in identifying the right color of their dog. I would say that most notable associations have a standard and references on how to figure out what kind of dog you have.(I would hope everyone does their best to purchase or adopt dogs of this breed with legit paper work) Its good to be able to have a good history or knowledge of kennels that provide staffies and do your homework to find out more about bloodlines among these dogs.

I will be moving briefly onto american bulldogs in my next post! I will be redesigning my blog and making it more informative.I'm considering that I shall take a long brake and do more research, as well as creating a better blog for those of us who arent interested in only pets. Going to gear my new blog to those who truly understand that there are more to pitbulls than the myths and media portrayal. I will create a blog to show many of us pitbull lovers and non lovers a good and responsible way of having pitbulls and preserving the integrity of this breed.

Wormy booty!!

2011-11-23T20:33:00.001-08:00

A DEWORMING program is important for any dog. Presently there are 5 dogs in my household. All of which use the same "bathroom". Of course there are parasites that live almost everywhere outside that can make your dog very sick(even fatal). So I'm using fenbendazole every 3-4 months to avoid worms. I found these granules at petsmart (brand:safe-guard). It's put in their food over a course of three days according to the appropriate dosage for your dogs weight. I encourage all dog owners to use this, especially if you take your dog to dog parks/parasite central. PLEASE be proactive with your pets health and consider wiping your dogs paws after they've been outside. This will help reduce there chances of getting sick from anything (parasites)that they may ingest while licking their paws. Just a reminder and advice to all dog owners. Quick note dogs really like sweet potato. If you don't know what to do with the giblets from your turkey, consider giving it to your pooch( cooked if they aren't use to raw food, also in small amounts with dry food or raw veggies). Hope everyone enjoys their holidays or at least time off!

Winter and Pits

2011-11-05T08:50:00.000-07:00

Winter has rolled by new jersey briefly on October 29,2011. Seriously bombarded by snow. I usually start feeling really bad for my girls. Dogs end up having to stay home and hopefully they are willing to become couch potatoes. I've found that with pit bulls it's not exactly the case. We are looking into a treadmill,checked out grandcarpetmill and dog trotter. The treadmills these places sale are specifically made for dogs. They are pricey but worth it for the sake of your dogs health and happiness.(as well as your happiness;)) Until I have the money to purchase this equipment and add to my arsenal for training dogs. I figure I will continue feeding the girls Nutro grain free dog food, I will add chicken livers, raw chicken, and raw veggies to their diets. Queenie( my youngest female pit) we've concluded that she has a gluten allergy or a grain allergy. We have completely eliminated grain from her diet. She is doing much better and has actually shown better muscle tone,her ears have no sign of irritation, her coat looks awesome. It takes time but after a few months of starting the grain free diet we seen a great improvement in the condition of her skin. Well to cut this story short we will continue to search for activities that we can do at home with the dogs. I will probably be buying agility equipment that can be setup in the living room. Thanx for stopping by see you soon.

(Woodstown,NJ/ADBA dog Show)

2011-09-26T13:39:00.000-07:00

So far everything is good, went recently to the ADBA Tri-state dog show in Woodstown, NJ. I honestly felt a little out of place. Don't get me wrong I fully support these types of organizations and what they do for the pit bull breed. /Interesting side note: there are many diffferent organization that have dogs shows in which the pit bull breed can participate(Usually good to have dogs with legit paperwork in which its bloodlines can be traced) Something just didn't feel quite right and maybe missing( Or fishy,lol)?? Maybe it was just me, I dont know. There were many great looking dogs at the show and I also met a pup from patch o pits kennels who's quite the cutey(It gave me puppy fever). I took my girls, which I will be working on the next year more thoroughly with to train and bring to the next dog show in the area, that allows my girls to participate. Also still waiting on our next pup, hoping that in the next year we can have a OFRN baby boy (LOL)with us soon.

Update on raw and grain free diet for my girls

2011-09-12T15:08:00.000-07:00

I was on vacay when I started my girls on the raw diet which gave me plenty of time to tend to them. Now I'm back to work and realized I may not be able to stick to this raw food diet. So we are still on our quest of figuring out (Queens, my young pitty,seal color) allergies. So far we have eliminated all grains. She seems to be responding fairly well. It's only been a few weeks so I'm going to give it more time to see results. I purchased nutro-grain free dog food. Since switching I have seen a big difference in both of the girls stools. The consistency is more firm. We are still trying to implement fresh veggies,canola oil, and some meats cooked (Maybe raw). So far so good. Still waiting on our new addition. We know all good things take time. So until then we are going to focus on getting our girls to be more obedient. We are looking into trainers and would like to at some point this year or next year get the girls CGC(Canine,Good,Citizen) certified. Oh and by the way,Blondie has recovered quite well from her case of whipworms. We will continue to use a 4in1 dewormer every few months on our girls. Queenie is due for an appointment at the vet soon. I will give a medical update on her condition and will post pictures of both of the girls soon..

Update on my girls, and Deworming...

2011-09-03T13:06:00.000-07:00

It's been a while since I've posted so I'm going to give you an update on my girls. Recently Diamond A.K.A. Blondie has been sick. Found out she has parasites(Whipworms). YAAAY for us, so of course after three months these babies break out(Hatch) and wreak havoc in your dogs intestine. Lets just say its like having furious little vampires inside your dog's intestine. So of course we found Blondie vomiting quite suddenly and lots of blood in her (Runny) stool. She obviously picked these babies up from the front or backyard. These parasites can be killed by deworming your dog with panacur granules(Safeguard). Of course we are also deworming our little girl Queenie. Lesson learned, have a good system or routine for deworming your dog. Make sure you use preventatives according to age and your dogs needs. We are now trying to make the girls use the bathroom on the concrete. The eggs of whipworms live in the dirt for I believe almost 3 years without dying. (Many contagious parasites live in the dirt,BTW)So we will just have to routinely deworm our dogs as many of you owners probably do. (If you dont you should).

Dabbling with the Raw food diet for dogs.

2011-08-22T18:01:00.000-07:00

Queenie my babygurl has had many problems with her digestion and minor skin irritations. Recently she has had major problems with a sort of rash that comes out in the inside of her ears(and a wax like substance). She is scratching constantly and shaking her head all the time. She has also taken to licking her paws a lot. So when we took her to the vet he explained that she most likely is allergic to something she eats or something airborne. Now we are trying our best without doing the costly allergy testing to eliminate wheat (most well know food allergen among dogs)from her diet. My husband and I decided that we would introduce her into a semi raw diet. Raw diet is exactly what it says, you feed your dog raw foods like veggies,meat, but we will also use grains such as rice or brown rice, maybe some rolled oats(Oatmeal) too. We have started with a delicious meal consisting of raw sweet potatoes,blanched yucca,raw carrots,cooked rice and semi cooked chicken breast. All these ingredients were diced and mixed with some of the blanching water from the yucca. We also give our dogs fish oil(Wild Alaskan Salmon) and a multi-vitamin that contains brewer's yeast and garlic. We are researching now if the vitamins we give them have the possiblity of containing any traces of wheat due to the type of brewer's yeast the company may use. Its important to be aware of the fact that dog food bought in stores are all made in the same facilities. What I'm trying to say is if your dog happens to have a food allergy and you are trying to give a basic dog food free of certain allergens(which may be advertised on the label), the food because it's processed in some of the same facilties as other dog food from that company may contain traces of those allergens that may be harmful to your dog. What ever you decide to try please do research and consult with your vet. I will be posting updates on the new diet for Queenie and will also do a short post after we take both gurls to the vet for their checkup(Coming soon).

Why does spring pole+flirt pole =dog fighting????

2011-08-14T11:14:00.000-07:00

I'm sure many pit bull owners have heard of spring poles,flirt poles, or even dog treadmills. (I hope!) Well, Diane Jessup goes into a great detailed explanation on her site http://www.workingpitbull.com/springpole.htm about the history and use of these types of equipment for pit bulls. Now my husband told me a story that broke my heart and disgusted me at the same time that I just have to tell you about. Buut first, for those of you who don't know what the heck I'm talking about,,,??!!? Let me briefly explain,, you see the spring pole and flirt pole is something that usually you can make at home to exercise your dog. Usually made up of some kind of rope, the spring pole is always put on a tree at a height that will allow the dog to jump and catch it. It is intended for the dog to grip onto with it's mouth and pretty much hang onto. The dog is able to exercise different areas of their body as well as exhausting energy. Now their is of course a history of dog men using these tools to condition their dogs for fighting or matching them up against other dogs of their own. Dog man to me is a person with a passion that I may not agree with, now the modern day dog man would be someone trying to preserve the game and drive of a pit bull, but may not necessarily participate in illegal activities, they are more interested in making excellent dogs and making sure they are able to get their dogs certified for canine good citizen or make them into therapy or guard dogs(things of that nature). Now yes more frequently in the past dog men were used for owners to condition their dogs before fighting. I choose not to associate with those who allow room for people to even think that they may participate or have participated in dog fighting.( so this is a subject that deserves more detail, but I'm choosing not to provide it, so please just do your own research) Now, in 2011 I can say yes I'm sure they are still out there, but it's better not to associate with them, oh and watch out for the(puppy peddlers) They do however possess a great knowledge on conditioning a pit bull. Here comes my reason for actually having tried a spring pole out for my gurls. One of them is quite the energy ball and we decided that to properly socialize her we would need to tire her out before taking her to the dog park. Well need less to say she wasn't that into it. Buut Blondie(my adopted pit that looks like a staffy) knew exactly what she needed to do, (almost as if she had been reunited)she ran straight for it latched on and looked as if she was high on life. It was amazing, but of course my husband and I both looked at each other with much certainty that this confirmed to us this dog had been used for some kind of dog fighting purposes. She has some scars on her body and their is a scar on the back of her ear that looks pretty bad. I'm not sure where or how she got it. How ever the man who gave her to us did explain that for some time she was under the care of his nephew and hinted that he did not treat her well and he wasn't on the right path. So make of it what you want but all we knew is that Blondie was quite fond of the spring pole.. Then when we went to our first tristate apbt adba show, we found flirt poles. Which is basically a pole with a string that has something like a fabric or hide attached on the end for the dog to grab. You basically move this hide or fabric around making the dog run etc. to try and catch it. Our queenie(Queen) enjoyed this flirting more than the spring pole. So when we can, once in a while we use these tools to try and tire them out. They are more relaxed less aggressive towards each other and others. They also get good exercise and it's a good, fun, and great bonding experience for you and your dog. Unfortunately many people frown upon pit bull owners to be specific on having this type of equipment. Yes there has been cases where people have been wrongfully accused of dog fighting and innocent(awesome) dogs have been put down. There was recently a person who is well know among pit bull owners and was accused of dog fighting, this person did dedicate a good portion of their life to their dogs which by the way were great dogs with great pedigrees. They had their own dream and type of pit bull which they bred to attain. A very well known animal "rescue" association made sure this person was stripped of all their dogs and basically a good chunk of their life and passion. Not only were they taken to court for dog fighting but all their dogs(foundation stock and all) were "Humanely" put down. The question is why? The person was later found not to be guilty but the damage was too great for any kind of person to recover from!! Hearing this story truly frustrates me and makes my blood boil.. (pause and don't hit the screen)
So for those of you who participate in dog fighting fuck you!!! For those who participate in getting their dogs certifications and showing them, thank you!! Be responsible and if you truly appreciate pit bulls don't allow others to treat this breed and those who believe in it to be treated unfairly. We have rights and we have brains use them and be proactive about making sure no one makes mistakes about your hobbies, passion, or habits for dogs. For me it's about having the ultimate dog and that doesn't need to be proven in a pit...

Pit bulls-"The Symbol of Courage"

2011-08-06T14:28:00.000-07:00

There are many different types of dogs and a combination of mutts that usually end up having some form of pit bull characteristics.However thankfully there are associations and standards established to uphold to the true nature,character, and conformation of what makes a pit-bull a pit-bull.. Everyone has their own desires and expectations as to what is the ideal dog for them. ADBA ,UKC,AKC clearly have some very different standards. All of these associations have seen and recognized some awesome pit bulls.Yet one has to go back in time to appreciate the true essence of this game bred animal. Unfortunately the media and of course some people have not been able to properly care or treat the pit bull breed with the respect and nurturing it needs.Thankfully times are always changing. Now with two pits of my own I can appreciate the courage and determination these dogs have to conquer. Those who have pit bulls or plan on owning one must keep in mind it's roots. Pit bulls were meant to work. They helped farmers with cattles. They were considered nanny dogs at one point in time. APBT's were very popular watchdogs and family pets from 1890-1948. We created this type of dog for our own needs. We have to give them a job, something to do where they can exhaust their energy. They really do work and play hard. Please don't make the ignorant mistake of thinking pit bulls were bred for violence. Its up to us humans to take responsibility for our own creations and choices. Never leave any dog alone with a child.(heck never leave a kid alone!!) Always make sure that you have the proper environment,training, and dedication for your dogs to make sure nothing bad happens. So if your reading my thoughts, please keep in mind that I now understand (and hope you do too)how deep of a commitment I have for the Pit Bull breed to keep its name popular in a positive way, and preserve it's true nature.Pit bulls, you hate or you love em! Take a look at a nicer side of pitties,~ Please check this video out~http://youtu.be/DQ9Te3A17LQ

Dog Play/ fighting???

2011-08-02T18:01:00.000-07:00

So I'm not feeling to inspired to blog today, buut I'm a little surprised at how my gurls have been interacting, and would like to make note of it. I am preparing along with my hubby for our new addition. Which has led me to scrutinize myself and the care I provide for my pitties. So in turn we make sure that the gurls go out at least 3-4 times a day in accordance with their feeding/pooping schedule. We cut some time out to reinforce the regular commands and recently practicing their recall. We try to rub them down everyday and brush them.We are trying our best to brush their teeth at least twice a week. Just about every other day I'm cleaning Queen's( my pitty with health issues)ears. What we should do is walk them more often or possibly take them to the dog park early on the weekends. Soo we are now looking into getting a treadmill. I'm introducing raw veggies and will soon be introducing raw protein into their diets. Sometimes I lose track of certain things in my life(I'm working on that)but a dog is just one of those responsibilities that you have to search for energy in yourself to maintain. Other than that we are going to be scheduling a routine veterinary checkup to see how the girls are doing and if my babygurl queen is progressing? Since we in a sense upgraded our level of care?!!! They are showing signs of being healthy, happier, and calm. They have both recently been able to play-fight without any real fights starting. I took a video of them in a very calm state of rough playing.(If that's possible)Take a look so that you can see what play fighting should ideally be between dogs or just watch cause their cute!! http://youtu.be/6gFTVBj9EsY

Back Yard Breeders is a NONONO!!!

2011-07-30T15:16:00.000-07:00

This Picture does not belong to me just using it to show you what My dream dog is.

This is Sarona Trouble from Sarona Kennels

Soo I haven't told my family that we may be getting another dog in September/October. My husband did some research on a few well known kennels. I fell in love with a red dog I seen in "The Working Pit Bull" book by Diane Jessup. We found out the these red dogs came from The Sarona kennels. Of course the kennel was no where to be found. We knew there could be offspring still alive that we can trace through bloodlines.(But it wouldn't be the same or too hard to get.) So my husband figured we would have to just look for a current reputable OFRN (Old Family Red Nose)breeder. We found Southern Inferno kennels. Check their dogs out(www.southerninfernokennels.com) We are excited and preparing to actually fulfill our dream of showing dogs and making sure this dog gets every possible certification. We are still learning and trying to do our best to take care of the pits we have now. Unfortunately the youngest one(Queen) has some health issues(due to poor breeding). We are working with her food aggression issues , which is an everyday thing. We are taking the appropriate steps to make sure she can live a decent quality of life. even when doing the right thing the dog may have some issues beyond your training abilities. We are going to do our best to continue working with Queens issues like food aggression and her health. Last time we went to the vet(I'm tearing up as I write this) we were told that basically we would have to make that dreaded decision many breeders make. My poor babygurl (Queen)has serious problems with her ears which was affecting her skin, her hearing, and not to mention another problem with her digestion. So we are trying and probably need to work harder to figure out her sensitivities. Please don't buy dogs from backyard breeders our biggest mistake but possibly the best learning experience for us. We were told we would get adba paperwork for her, never did.. So we just have to deal with not such a great situation and make the best out of it. Please make sure you thoroughly research any breeder and their activities!!! The oldest one (Diamond,AKA Blondie)we haven't had too long, we adopted her around last August 2010. So far so good we know she has some issues due to her abuse. Her health is fine and her attitude is even better! We are in the process of figuring out a better routine and program to condition our dogs and keep them happy, healthy, and living a productive lifestyle. All I can say is they require lots of time,dedication, and love. These dogs are very sensitive. The best thing about pits is that they excel when you have a good program in place for them, and the reward is seeing them live a great high quality of life. So we are beginning with some experience from our two pits and we will improve our training and routine to create our ideal dog(APBT). We still keep our dream alive of owning a staffy(We will eventually get one as we get older). We are currently awaiting for southern inferno's Pyro and Hemi 2011 litter. We cant wait, I hope all goes well!! If not we will still keep searching and we wont stop!! (Ultimate DOG) Here we come!!!!!!!!

Pitbulls vs. Staffords vs. American Bulldog(Our Choice)

2011-07-26T14:29:00.000-07:00

I cant say much about Staffords except that they aren't Pitbulls. Yes people there is quite a difference. Pitbulls, American Bulldogs, and Staffords all have different names for good reasons. I have experience with pitbulls and look forward to having a staffy one day. My husband and I have done a good amount of research on each one and actually decided A Staffordshire Bull terrier was the best choice for our family. So we contacted one of the pioneers of this breed Steve Stone. He made sure he used his connections to find us the best staffy. All good things take time and we were willing to wait at first. A few months go by and we still couldn't find what we were looking for. We hear from my mother in law that there was someone nearby that advertised some pitbull puppies. We of course brushed it off. That is until my mother in law asked us to accompany her. I fell in love(puppy love). I couldnt keep myself away from the most energetic pup there. She was running around all over the place picking fights with her litter-mates(she was wild) She had spice! So we went back and got our first pitbull.(bye bye Staffy Dream) we named her Queen. About a few months later we saw a dog in a car that looked like a Staffy. We thought how dangerous to leave a dog in the car. We waited around for a while and finally meet the owner. Little did we know that this man was ready to give this dog up because he was moving to Florida. So we arranged some meeting to see what was the real deal. But ultimately my husband fell in love with this staffy like pitbull. So of course she came home with us. She was older and was abused. It was a little difficult for me to find out her quirks and kinks, but it all worked out in the end. Right now we are still in the process of training our dogs and possibly may have a new addition. We are still learning each new day and trying to understand our pitbulls behaviors.