PC Puppy Birdie Came home

Regarding when to let puppies go to their new homes: 

This is a bit hard for me to tell because it feels like a failure on my part but the lesson is huge.   I think this is an important story to tell and I hope none of the parties involved are here or offended.   Recently one of my 2^nd PC litter pups came back to me.    This was an experienced Bull Terrier family.  There was more to the placement process than just an experienced home but in the end I let the puppy leave at approx 8 weeks due to pressure of my co-breeder to get the puppy asap to her new home to start bonding with the people and learning to play with the existing female BT.    This in and of itself is not exactly a problem but now that I am taking the dog back it is a problem.   This dog has missed out on 4 weeks of important socialization, human bonding, dog dog interactions and training that she would have had otherwise.   That 4 weeks is huge.    The reasons she did not work out were that she was too pushy for the existing female who is very soft and would not correct the baby at all.   She was too pushy with the child in the house.    She also had a lot of trouble greeting people she had never met.   If anyone has taken a 7 month Bull Terrier in the confirmation ring for the first time this isn’t exactly abnormal.   She was also barking and howling and spent long periods alone.   We did have some contact in the beginning and went over to their place to help them thru some of the dog interactions but I am not sure if they followed thru and had the time or patience and commitment to make it work.  

Now that I have her home with me, these are the problems I am dealing with.    She has no name recognition at all.    When given a choice she chooses other dogs all the time.   If no other dogs she will choose the human over being alone.   There is not a mean bone in her body but because she is a bit rude in her dog interactions I could see her becoming aggressive if the other dog reacts too badly to her.  As the play escalates so does she and it becomes more difficult for the other dog to remove itself from the interaction.   I have a big benevolent male dog who is sorting her out but I can see this going badly and have to watch carefully for signs that it is not working.   Luckily there is not a mean bone in her body and she adores the other dogs but has a hard time with impulse control (sort of normal for a BT, but exaggerated in her). 

I am a firm believer in the 12 week mark to let pups go home.   I was a believer before this situation and it was against my better judgement to let one so young leave.   I will never let a pup go at 8 weeks old again.   I can see 10 weeks for certain people.    I think judgement calls are important.    Look at the pup’s stage of development and the experience (and commitment) level of the new owners.   I have added level of commitment as a new requirement to look at for all new homes.    I am sure I did previously but now it is verbalized and written down and something that will have more discussion attached to it.    So some pups would leave at 10 weeks and other stay until 12 weeks depending on what I think the pup still needed and the new owners.    Believe it or not I have rarely if ever encountered argument about keeping the dogs from 10-12 weeks from the new owners, only other breeders want to defend and argue letting the pups go at 8 weeks.    

The Puppy Culture skills this girl would have learned at my home from 8-12 weeks are so valuable as life skills and would have helped her overcome every issue they had with her.   I feel I can attribute every issue to lack of early socialization.   Most of the behaviors would have gone instinct on their own with some diligence.   The barking came due to isolation because of the other behaviors escalating.      Taking this girl thru what she missed is hard when she is out of her imprint periods.    Many homes will not or do not have the time to do what needs to be done during that period because they really do not exactly know what needs to be done.   Something that is SOP for us breeders and performance and show homes is not so obvious to pet homes.   I suppose all breeds are slightly different, and each pup is different and of course all new owners are different but I really believe that 10 weeks minimum and 12 weeks is far better.  

The Sneaky Killer

Cautionary Tale

One thing that never ceases to break my heart is when a bitch dies due to complications of any kind due to pyometra.     I had never heard of it prior to getting a Stafford.  Since then I have heard of a lot of cases and many of them with sad outcomes.   I always wanted to think that pyometra was in certain lines, but that is not always the case.       I am sure for as many cases I have heard about there are many more behind the scenes.    I had talked to vets about it and they gave me some indicators, like usually is happens a couple weeks after a heat.   The bitch tends to drink a lot of water.   Temp may be higher than normal.   I want to tell you my very personal story which I did not discuss on Facebook publicly but I think it is worthy of sharing now that time has gone by and it was a happy ending.

At Daphne's last heat she had some thick white discharge about day 9/10.   I did not worry too much as she was acting normal.  We were also on the road so it was hard to worry too much.    On the way home,  a day later, she was not well, or appeared to be not well.     In fact I freaked out when we got home because she appeared to be unresponsive.     I got her out of the truck and she stumbled off and half ran to go potty.    She then ran to the house and went in her crate.   Something was not right so I called emergency to say I was coming and made a hour drive to have her checked out.   It was Sunday night at 10pm.   I must have been worried to not wait till the morning.     I got there and they took a culture from the inside of her vulva and everything looked fine.    We did an ultrasound of her uterus and it was fine.   We looked at previous xrays  and talked a bit about some degenerative disc issues  (too much jumping around in the show ring and at home).  So we decided that perhaps she was in some pain due to the height of jumping on the bed in the RV being straight up from a standstill rather than making a running jump.   So I put her on some pain meds for a few days.   I was worried that my ole girl was just showing her age and starting to slow down and wear out.    Over the next week I did not see the pain killers doing a lot but she did not have me as concerned and she seemd to be improving.  We had also ruled out pyometra, which was the big deal.   About a week later I was still thinking she was not right so I started taking her temp 2 times a day.   Finally about 13 days after the emergency clinic visit I decided to take her to the vet again.   I brought her in and they took her temp which was normal and another culture, also normal.   We talked some about Pyo and her back and her age and so I was a bit defeated and ready to leave when the doctor said how about we do an ultrasound and double check.    I said YES.    We took her back and held her for the ultrasound and she was full up of pyometra!!   She had an emergency spay that day.      

Daphne's signs were subtle.    Here are my unconfirmed suspicions:

• Her discharge at 9/10 days into her heat was actually an open pyometra.
• The 1st vet did not find anything in the culture because by that time it became closed.     She was also not bleeding anymore which could indicate the she was closed and her heat was over, but she was only on day 11.
• The 1st ultrasound did not show anything because she had just closed, nothing has built up yet. 
• Then she cooked that pyo for almost 2 weeks which puts it closer to text books cases (but who wants to to treat it as an emergency.  
• I suspect that pyo actually starts much earlier in the middle of a heat and only shows up a couple weeks after the heat which varies depending on when the pyometra became closed. 

I am extremely alert to differences in my dogs activity levels, condition, general appearance and health.     Everything about Daphne's case was very subtle and she really had none of the clinical signs when it became an emergency.   I knew something was wrong and pyometra was on my mind but ruled out.    I still could not shake my intuition.

The reason I am telling this to you all is because everyone should know about this silent killer and how subtle it can be.   My guess is that everyone in Staffords has had a pyo death touch them, perhaps not their own dog but one they knew well.    There is only one thing you can do and that is to pay close attention to your dogs every day.    This is all we can ever do.    All signs mean something.    I am not advocating going to the vet for every little thing because I do not.   You should however know your dog.   The most important sign in Daphne was that she was ADR, "Ain't Doin Right".   I would not recognize ADR in my dogs if I did not keep a close eye on them at all times.   

Please watch your dogs like a mother hen and especially your intact bitches when they are in heat and right after.    Trust your intuition better to be wrong than devastated.  

IMO - Social Media verses Staffordshire Bull Terriers

I have a love hate relationship with Social Media. It reminds me of when I was a kid and my grandfather used to talk about the way it used to be and I would try to explain how much better it is today. Anyway, I am going to try to virtue judge social media in regards to our breed. 

Social media has made many people who I have looked up to and respected and in some cases disrespected more human and approachable. Prior to social media they were entirely unreachable because I would have to fly to the UK numerous times in order to develop the type of fireside conversations that would impact how I move forward.    One person who I thought was sharp and unfriendly the day he judged here in 2009 GWTA is actually very approachable and willing to share, thanks to social media. 

I also see over the years more breed type in the rings in the U.S. Are we looking at and "oohing and ahhing" over bad specimens to the UK, perhaps, but more people over here are having a better idea of breed type than before.  Now we not only have the "official standard" but a host of examples of good and bad images of dogs to look at. We can actually see the winners and the affixes and sometimes videos. We can discuss virtues and faults to our hearts content outside of our own American Motley Crew. We can discuss with the likes of you current problems facing the breed instead of operating from a vacuum using old photos in a book with few to no proper mentors.    You all who have come before us underestimate the power of your word to many people who lurk in the back ground.   You underestimate the good effect you have had on us.   I have been to the UK and Holland and the one thing I noticed was a much more consistent dog in the rings.   I am now seeing more and more breed type in our rings.    Years ago, a judge told me after judging 33 American Champions there was a lot of great movers in the ring but few actually looked like a Stafford.  This was not a breed specialist he was an Italian judge.   Obviously in fixing one thing we may over correct and need to fix other things but I see social media opening our eyes to a world class dog.    I bet that Italian would have a different opinion today.

I see social media has also opened many eyes towards the importance of health.   Some will never care or get it.   But, many more people today use “health tested” when discussing breeders than ever before.    Our dogs around the world in Rescue are being highlighted more than ever.   

It has been complained at our shows where we invite breed specialists that their time is monopolized by a few, either close friends or "certain" enthusiasts who latch on never to leave your side like a puppy, so not everyone has a chance for a quality face to face.   Everyone kindles face to face relationships different, some people are bold and extroverted and others are more shy and retiring and work slowly.   Dog shows are a great place to hang out and get to know each other on the surface but not the best place for conversations about saving the Stafford.   I have been to a few Q&As but to be perfectly honest I read your writing far better than I can hear and understand your word in a large room with people creating back ground noise.   The questions all too often are repeated over and over from show to show and more tailored to the beginner than people who are pushing to higher levels.  Social media provides a better venue to learn what each of you have to say about where you have been and where you are going.   There will always be instant experts face to face and here in social media and they are all seen thru eventually.   The proof is in the pudding.    If you choose to follow an instant expert and get duped, just know that it has been happening since the beginning of time.   “Let the Buyer Beware” is a very old saying.   Be careful what you buy into here or in person.   

To me the value of social media on the world Stafford stage is huge.    Do not underestimate the power of your written word.    I for one am all ears.   If you write from a sincere passionate heart and your real knowledge and experience (not imagined) I personally appreciate it.

Rural Country Life verses predators

I am starting to hear about goats being killed in the night in my neighborhood.   I am guessing Mountain Lions.   One person says, I lost two goats last night and the next thing all the neighbors are talking abut pets and farm animals they have lost.   I listen incredulously at the cavalier attitude about animals and why it is happenning.    Yanni wants or wanted goats.    I said I really don't want any farm animals here until we have the ability to put them up safely at night.    I suggested we move all cars out of the barns and set up proper stalls so that we could bring animals in and close up at night, he did not like that idea.  

There is a reason early settlers almost wiped out mountain lions, wolves, coyotes, bears and some of the Birds of Prey.   It is hard to live with them.    When I was a kid in the 60s I lived in a rural new development in the East Bay, Fremont to be exact.    We never saw coyotes, let alone the bigger more interesting and menacing predators.   The reason they were wiped out or pushed back to less desirable land is because they are hard to live with.   When humans want get ahead (or survive) they need to take action.   Predators can make a tough life even tougher to raise a family, to have neighbors, build towns and roads.   Large predators keep you one step behind because you are spending too much time protecting what is necessary to survive.

Fast forward to this century, we are all elated when we spot a wolf in California and outraged when we discover a beautiful white wolf was killed.    We want to “live with the wild animals”.    I agree, I think it is the right thing to do, but what are we willing to sacrifice to do that?   What can we do to make it safe for all of us including our animals and children and our neighbors?  

Leaving food out encourages wild animals.    Dog food in a pan outside or in the garage encourages rats, mice and raccoons and perhaps a bear or two.   Sloppy garbage habits encourages coyotes and bears.   Cats free ranging at night encourages coyotes.  Chickens out in the open encourages birds of prey, fox and others.  Lastly goats and sheep and horses encourages the big game animals.   We don’t think of the goats we use to keep our grass mowed as bait to lure predators in, but they are.    Most wild animals do not have a taste for human food or domestic animals until we teach them.    Once they taste it they find it is good and easier than wild game.   Catching a goat in a fenced area must be far easier than to actually have to hunt a wild deer especially if the lion knows there are more where that goat came from.  

We can go back to shooting all predators on sight, problem solved.   I think coyote are currently fair game anytime.  If you really want to live with wild life stop leaving all types of food out.   Garages, heavy duty chain link kennels with covers and concrete floors, barns are ways to keep animals in.    The early settlers moved all livestock inside.    It is because of the early settler's eradication efforts that we have this false sense of security today.  Why do we think it is possible to leave our animals outside and live in harmony with all living things?   What are you willing to sacrifice?    I have a neighbor who has a small herd of sheep and goats with 2 emu and 1 llama and 2 large guardian dogs.    Even they bring everything in at night!! 

I love all wildlife and I love living close to wildlife but I don't like feeding and encouraging them so close to my home.    It means there is no room for error on my part.    If I were the neighbor of people who left food out every night which was causing Mountain Lions to frequent I would be pissed.    Do we really want Mountain Lions to learn to live with us as coyotes and rats have??   Stop leaving your animals out at night, it is not fair to the neighborhood to be encouraging large predators who will then acquire a taste for domestic animals that far are easier than wild prey.    If you can’t keep your animals in get the proper guardian animals or don't have them and buy a weed eater!!   The problem will only get worse if we / you don't.