Lexie Grey's Ear Tale

Sandra, Lexie Grey & Ivy

When Ivy and I decided to get an American Pitbull Terrier puppy, we already considered a lot of things that came with owning a dog of such breed. We know that it's going to be another large and powerful breed that we are adding to our pack, we are ready to answer people's misconceptions and myths surround the breed, we're already good on the time and training that we'll spend on another puppy, and among them all, we've decided to have the pitbull's ears cropped when the time comes.

Lexie & Mum

Last May 31, 2009, we brought Lexie (now 12 weeks old) to Dr. Bong Sepulveda's clinic to have her ears cropped. It was about an hour long procedure and Lexie was asleep the whole time and was given general anesthesia for the operation. The wounds will heal in about 7 days and she's taking antibiotics for it. She's going back on the 5th day to have her ears checked. 

asleep on the operating table

ears getting taped

She also had her ears braced and taped to take proper form, for around 3 weeks at the most. I had to put on an Elizabeth Collar on Lexie to prevent her from scratching her ears as it's going to itch like crazy for a few days.

just woke up at home, still groggy

donning her elizabeth collar

Lexie

It was painful for us to see her go through with it. We aren't proud about it, but it's something we've considered long before we got Lexie and we're just following through with our decision. If you ask me if I'm happy about Lexie's ear crop? Let me just say that I'm happy that it's over with and that she's back to her normal playful self. 

Auf Wiedersehen, Nala!

Last May 28, 2009, Mama and Tito Jim took Nala to the Wildberry Garden in Lorega. She will be staying with them from now on. The pack will surely miss her. Now that i think of it, her non-stop all-day barking wasn't that annoying at all. Now that i look back at the day she was here, her digging habit wasn't really that bad -- i can't say the same for those who tended the plants and flowers though. :)

We're pretty sure Nala's going to be fine with Mama. The weather there is cold and would really suit her. There's a fish pond there in case she's in the mood to get herself wet. Sheena (Mama's only remaining female mutt) is a pretty good mother figure whom i'm sure will welcome her with open arms (or paws).

Besides, we will visit her next sunday and we will bring Chuck Bass and Beka just to make sure Nala won't miss them too much. 

Shooting Chuck

Last May 18, 2009, Chuck was paid a visit by a female beagle in heat named Chubai. Chubai is owned by Cunz Acuna and we've agreed to pair his beagle with Chuck.

It was a firsts for both Chuck and Chubai, so to make it easier for both of them we had a Shooter help with the mating.

Shooter: someone who helps initiate the mating between the two dogs, and guides the dogs through the whole process.

Chuck was a little bit distracted with the new people around him and wouldn't even go near the female. Before the night was over though, the two beagles were able to mate successfully and hopefully Chubai will take.

Chuck Bass

Chubai

The couple with Epi the Shooter

Chuck and Chubai will meet two more times in the next 4 days to make sure the mating is successful. Here's hoping we get a lemon colored pup! 

Don't Bite Back

Most new puppy owners have a single similar question about the new member of their family, "why do puppies love to bite?" 

One of the puppy's most important social activity is play-biting. That's why it is essential not to take a puppy away from its litter at less than 8 weeks old as the puppy will develop most of its social traits within that span of time and the litter is a lot of help. Play-biting allows the puppy to gauge how hard it can bite without actually hurting someone else. Puppies will bite each other until one squeals in pain and stops playing their biting game, which would tell the other puppy that the bite did hurt and if that pup continues on like that, nobody will play with him anymore. This is essential as the pup will carry this learned lesson to adulthood, having gauged on how hard his jaw can bite to hurt or not to hurt someone else is a very good thing for the dog, other dogs and their humans.

Lexie and Nala are at it again

Play-biting may also be the reason why a puppy will bite on your table legs, chairs and most of your furniture, especially if the pup doesn't have someone else to play with. If your puppy starts to play-bite with you, don't push him or her off, just react in a productive way whenever his bite becomes painful by turning away from the pup and giving a high pitched squeal to indicate pain and make the pup learn its lesson. Taking your finger away and giving affection at the same time would only make them think you weren't hurt at all and that the bite the pup just gave was okay. 

these pups are full of energy and could play the whole day

If you have a dog in the house, introducing a new puppy could actually initiate play-biting between the two (which is good). Don't try to stop them even if it gets a little rough, that is ofcourse you have complete confidence that your dog will not hurt the puppy. Remember, settle the issue with you and your dog/pup by yourself, be dominant -- but let the other dogs settle their issues by themselves, this will create for a natural hierarchy in your pack without any confusion.

Chuck gets in the fray, pinning Nala to the count of 3

I read a story about this very docile adult dog who's never shown any aggression in all his life, but one day while this child was playing with the dog, he was accidentally hurt and bit the child as a reaction. The puncture wounds would indicate that the dog didn't actually know how to control his jaws and that could probably indicate the dog's lack of play-biting when he was still a puppy.

Remember that playful pups, play-biting or no biting at all, does not lead to aggressive dogs. It always depends on the owner.

Winter Nose

Most puppies are born with pink noses. At the norm, their nose should be pigmented from as early as 4 weeks to about 8 weeks. Although some puppies take more time for their nose to be fully pigmented, others really don't get pigmented at all, they spend their lives having a pink nose or a winter nose.

Nov. 18, 2008 photo

Our Chuck Bass and Lexie Grey have partially pigmented noses as of now. Lexie is still 10 weeks old and you can practically see the growth progression of the black pigment on her nose, no worries there. Interestingly, Chuck still has a partially pigmented nose and he's already 1 year and 3 months old. When we got him at 6 months old, we initially thought his partially-pink nose would be completely covered in liver color after while. But after 6 more months without a solid liver-colored nose, we've already accepted his partially pigmented nose as permanent and that it may stay that way for life... or so we thought. Last night, Ivy and I compared Chuck's nose photos at 6 months and his recent nose photos (yes, Chuck has a lot of nose photos in our archive. A liver colored nose also indicates that Chuck is a Red dog and will have no black pigmentation in his body at all). It was fascinating to find out that Chuck's nose has a slow but progressive growth of pigmentation. 

May 14, 2009 photo

That's really good news for us all! Not only because of aesthetic reasons but mainly because pigmentation is crucial for dogs, as their nose, if without pigmentation, are very susceptible to sunburn and skin cancer. 

So if your dog has a winter nose, make sure you put a little sunblock on that cute nose before getting him or her under the sun for long periods of time. Be responsible!

Chocolate Tricolor

I remember this lady at the Dog Parade we attended last March telling me, "that's a nice beagle, i also have a beagle at home but his coat is better because he's a tricolor." Great, as much as i wanted to say something to her, i just smiled and nodded ok. Chuck is definitely a tricolored beagle, just one look at him would tell you that. Even his pedigree papers says he's brown, tan and white.

This recently came back to me as i have encountered a few beagle owners who thinks the only beagle color is the common tricolor black, brown and white. 

Well, we are proud to own the only Chocolate Tricolor coated Beagle i have seen so far in Davao. I would also like to own a Lemon coated Beagle in the future, though it's a little bit hard to find.

For more info on Coat Colors of Beagles, please click here.

A Cold and Rainy Night

Some dogs huddle, other dogs cuddle.

It was cold and rainy last night. Thank goodness for the fairly tiring activities they had the whole day, the dogs decided to call it a night a little bit earlier than usual. 

Lexie and Nala sleeps outside the house. And though it breaks our hearts to leave them outside as they are too cute not to stay indoors with us, we know giving them boundaries will make it easier for us when the pups grow up. Though Ivy's potted plants do get most of the early-morning-puppy-energy-discharge, it seems like one plant disappears every morning, i do admire my wife's patience on the pups as i know how important the plants are to her. Nala usually sleeps on the cold (and damp, if available) concrete floor and Lexie always looks for the comforts of her soft bed. But the cold made them huddle and cuddle together last night, a very different gesture from the all-day play-biting sessions of the two.

Even our two indoor dogs didn't escape the mood of the night. Rarely do Chuck and Beka share the bed as Chuck prefers to sleep by his lonesome, he always leaves the bed to Beka as soon as she takes her space on it. But not last night. Last night was a cold and rainy night. Last night, the two beagles huddled and cuddled. 

Our dogs huddle, our dogs cuddle.

Domino Black Kennel

It's official! We are now Domino Black Kennel. 

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We just received our papers from the Philippine Canine Club, Inc. (PCCI) which includes my PCCI Associate Member's ID (my photo sucks!) and the transfer papers of Lucas and Chuck Bass.

Labsatian's He's D One (Lucas)

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Nate of Yellow Knight (Chuck Bass)

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And to answer your question -- No, we are not planning to go get more dogs for breeding purposes, nor will we be concentrating on breeding or selling dogs.  We just had to transfer our dog's papers to my name and that requires us getting a PCCI membership and a Kennel name. We are purely against puppy mills and irresponsible breeders.

Anyways, we're still waiting for Beka's papers and will have it transfered to us as soon as we get it. Lexie Grey and Nala aren't registered pups, but it really doesn't matter, they're part of our pack no matter what.

Home Coming

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We arrived home yesterday afternoon from Cavite City. Coming home with us are Lexie and Nala. Lexie Grey is a two-month old female American Pitbull Terrier, while Nala is a three-month old female yellow Labrador Retriever. Nala will be staying with us until June just to make sure she gets her necessary vaccines and rabies shots before she leaves and stays with our mother for good. 

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Nala was shy at first (the whole afternoon actually). She wasn't mingling with the others that much and she was obviously nervous (infact, she didn't eat that night). She was just beside Ivy most of the time, sitting down by her feet or getting herself wet, just like her daddy.

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Lexie became a member of the pack right from the moment she walked out of the vari-kennel to greet the other dogs. She is what we would call a people-person, or in their case, a dog-dog. She didn't hesitate to start play-biting (being the pup that she is) with Chuck and Beka -- even Lucas.  She was running, jumping and playing non stop.

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The dogs were great together, we didn't have a lot of trouble except for maybe Nala's wound on her tongue and Chuck's hormones. hahaha! It's going to be fun!

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Worry-Me-Chuckie

Chuck Bass visited the vet today.  He wasn't normal since yesterday.  I thought it was because of the new dog (Beka) but it seemed to be more than that.  We noticed that he was salivating more than usual and that there's a bit of blood with the saliva.  He didn't touch his food at all which is an impossible feat.  And for the first time, he was just lying on his bed when i went down in the morning on the way to the office, he should be walking me towards the car but he wasn't.  I left the office early to have enough time to bring Chuck to the nearest clinic, luckily one was just about 5 minutes drive from home, which was not our usual vet (Dr. Ken Lao) but they'll have to do.  Once i got to the clinic, the doctor already left so i had the assistant call her back.  After about 10 minutes of waiting and a pee-session, she (Dr. Cabrera) finally arrived.  She took Chuck to the table and did a series of physical check up.  At least I know now that chuck weighs 9kg.  She asked me to leave chuck for about an hour as she will do a few blood and stool exams on chuck, and since i live close to the clinic, she would just let me know once i can pick Chuck up.  I walked Lucas around the block while waiting for the text from the vet.  Once i got the text, i immediately headed home with Luc and then drove back to get Chuck.  Chuck seemed to be okay except that he has a high level of White Blood Cells, which means he could be having an infection -- or he's stressed because of Beka's arrival.  but since there was some blood, and other symptoms, it was better to be safe than sorry so Chuck was given antibiotics to take for 20 days.  He was also given vitamins and a hydration supplement to substitute dextrose.  If it was up to me, i'd say he's just missing his mommy.

Here's a few photos of Chuck and his bandaged forearm where the doctor drew his blood.  He was such a good boy that he didn't even touch the bandage.  Here's hoping Chuck gets well soon.

Chuck with Beka watching over him.

Spa Session

April 19, 2009 -- Today is THE day for Lucas.  For the first time in 3 years, he is going to a spa.  Well, it's the usual wash and brush, ear cleaning, nail cutting, teeth brushing thing -- the usual for most dogs at least, but not for Lucas.  One thing you should know about labrador retrievers is that it is recommended to give them a bath only twice a year. Their coat produces natural oils which frequent bathing will wash away, reducing the waterproofing and shine of their coat. We're making an exception this time, it's time to give Lucas a day he will remember.

I took him to the dog spa at around 9:00 in the morning.  I left knowing he'll be in good hands and will be coming back for him once i get a text that he's done.  So during the wait, i had a short photo session with the beagles, Chuck and Beka.

Okay, who has the longer tongue!?

At around 2:00 in the afternoon, i pickup up Lucas and brought him back home.  I couldn't believe the shine his coat had after the spa. They somehow brushed off all his loose hair (which we couldn't) which is all good.  Ofcourse, vintage Lucas, once he was off and running in the yard, the first thing he did was -- mark.

And to top off Lucas Day, we gave him a nice pool to cool down in and get himself wet.  He loves it.

I wonder when the next Spa Session will be?

The Anticipation of Lexie Grey

This month of April is an eventful month for me and Ivy. It's the first time we've been away from each other for so long and also this month we are taking in three puppies (though one, Lucas' puppy female yellow lab, will only stay with us until she gets her complete vaccines and then she's off to mama in the Wildberry Gardens in Lorega). You've already met one of the three pups, the five month old female beagle named Beka, in our earlier post.

Our much anticipated (and planned) adoption is this cute and wonderful female blue APBT. Yup, that's the American Pit Bull Terrier to you. She was born on February 28, 2009 and will be joining our family on the 27th of April. The breeder was thoughtful enough to make this short video clip of the puppy for us and we'd like to share it with you. Please don't get confused about the name at the start of the video -- ladies and gentlemen, it's our pleasure to introduce to you, Lexie Grey.

Another clip of Lexie and her siblings from the litter of Maxium X Blinq.

Welcome to the family, Beka

Please join me, ivy, lucas and chuck, on welcoming the newest member of our pack, Beka.

Beka is the first pick from the litter of Olympic Gold's Easy Winnin' (sire) and Ella of St. Andrews (dam).  She was born on November 13, 2008.  She's a tricolour coated beagle, quite different from Chuck who has a Brown/Tan/White coat.

The welcome party included me and Chuck Bass.  Lucas had to sit this one out as he was too excited to meet Beka and she was still not comfortable with the territory.  I'll do it the day after when Beka's more confident and Lucas is more relaxed.

Beagles are known to smell their new territory -- er okay, i guess that's what Chuck is up to.

Brown and Black Beagles. It sure is a sight to see those white tipped tails pointing straight up as they go prancing along.

Ofcourse most of welcoming party that night was spent playing Tag.

Here's Beka sizing up Chuck.  She's a pretty active pup, a lot more active than Chuck when we got him at 6 months old.  Chuck was pretty excited having a playmate not 3x larger than him.

Beka is a pretty little girl, isn't she?

After a long while, here they are comfortably sniffing each other out.

They sure make a good pair! But Chuck has a long wait ahead of him, she's just 5 months old after all. 

For 3 days or more, Beka will be spending the whole day and night outside the house with Chuck to accompany her.  That will give her enough time to establish a poo/pee place in the yard and once she does, she can then stay and sleep inside the house with Chuck.

Tug-O'War with Mr. Rope

Chuck Bass and Lucas -- and Mr. Rope, playing a good ol' fashion Tug-O'War one lazy afternoon.

It seems like Lucas has the size advantage...

uh-oh, Chuck seems to have gotten the upper hand in this contest...

Lucas seems to be using all his powers...

The final tug...

And the winner is...

Chuck Bass doesn't seem to want to let go of Mr. Rope...

It's the TONGUE!!!

Here is Chuck doing a pitbull.