Good and Bad Jaha news!

[the_flamingo]

Don't know if everyone knows but I had to quit pulling with Jaha over a month ago. He started limping on one leg, took him to the vet and they told me it was growing pains and that he may limp. Well the limping got worse so I took him to a different vet and they x-rayed him and we found out that his front right shoulder is underdeveloped and not fully fused together. This was causing him pain, hence the limping. Now he's on meds and being poked with a bunch of little needles once a week for pain (my stupid mind forgot what it is called) and he is not allowed to run for 8 weeks. Poor dog is beging to be left outside... When we let him out to pee we have to force him back in. :( I tell you what though the needle poking thing works! Picked him up yesterday from the vet and he wasn't limping at all and was overly happy to see me. :) I was soo happy that he was feeling good I almost cried, LOL. *Stupid emotional girl* Anyone elses dog have to ever dog the needle poking thing?

Good news is the vet said when he is 18 months, depending on how well he heals, he should be able to resume pulling! :D This is just the best news!! He's got to take it REAL easy so that he heals quickly and throughly.

[TxDogger]

Was The Injury A Result Of Him Pulling? I Don't Know Much About Weight Pulling But That Just Sounds Like A Young Age To Be Pulling At.. Let Me Know If I Am Wrong.

[the_flamingo]

That is what I asked the vet, and he said no that he shoulder just hasn't fully fused together. He said that even if I wasn't pulling him that it would have happened. Jaha started pulling heavy weights once a week when he was 8 months old with lights runs inbetween. At 6 months he was doing about 5 lbs. and rotating between short and long runs. I know several people around here that start dogs earlier than 6 months, but they are usally the eddington and whopper dogs who seem to be naturals at the sport. At the fun show there was a 5 month old pup that pulled over 1000 lbs. I think it depends on the individual dog and you just have to keep a close eye on the development. I wish I could show everyone the x-ray so they can see what I'm talking about... It is hard to explain they way his shoulder is.

[miakoda]

I'm sorry to hear about Jaha. I hope the acupuncture & the other treatments help. Just don't be too dissapointed if he cannot pull heavy weights or cannot compete again. Hopefully in the end, all will be ok.

And the decision to start dogs pulling is a personal one to most. I personally don't start a dog pulling until he/she is a solid 12 mo. of age. Most of mine don't pull heavy weights till at least 18 mo. But then again, I've got a 7 yr old dog still pulling competetively while most pull dogs are retired way before that age.

At the fun show there was a 5 month old pup that pulled over 1000 lbs. It's a shame this person's ego is bigger than his respect & care for his dog. That kind of stress of a young pup's joints will surely cripple him by the time he's 3. But then again, for $150 bucks he can go get himnself a new ego.....I mean dog

Edit: I would also like to add that mod to heavy pulling before the age of 12 mo. can result in some serious injuries to the bone & joint systems. I've seem many a pull dogs done before the age of 3 due to hip (#1 problem), shoulder, elbow, & knee (all in respective order) problems

[rocksteady]

hmm.. I didnt think pups were even allowed to pull until they were 9 months of age.. I cant beleive the pull people allowed a pup that young to pull ..

[the_flamingo]

acupuncture

That is what it is called! I have been going nuts all day trying to remember, LOL. Anyways that acupuncture really helps. I've talked to several people whos dogs also get this done at my vets and they all say that it has worked wonders. I didn't even know that my vet was a certified pet acupunctist until this.

[GD2]

Your Not A Stupid Emtional Gurl I Would Have Done The Same Thing. Im Glad To Hear That He Is Getting Better And That He Can Pull Again Im Sure He Miss It. Good Luck.

[miakoda]

That is what it is called! I have been going nuts all day trying to remember, LOL.
LOL! It's waaaay to painful looking for me. I don't care how much people say it works, needles hurt. :eek:

[the_flamingo]

hmm.. I didnt think pups were even allowed to pull until they were 9 months of age.. I cant beleive the pull people allowed a pup that young to pull ..
That is the offical rules for offical shows. This was a fun show so I don't think the rules aplied. There were several dogs in the "puppy class" at the fun show. The pup that pulled 1000 is the one that won the puppy class, he was a 67 lb. 5 month old pup (May have been 6 months but I'm pretty sure it was 5, I'll have to ask to find out). Pretty dog for one of the big ones and is an extreamly sweet dog.

[nappydawg]

well my best wishes to jaha on his healing

[Roland64]

67 lb 5 month old?! That doesn't sound like a pitbull to me more like a mastiff (not kidding). No way it was apb IMO. Either it wasn't 5 months old or it wasn't a pitbull. Either way sounds like a bunch of BS to me. Not trying to start problems but I don't like the idea of a pulling fun show allowing people to destroy their underdeveloped pups out for "fun". i don't get pissed easily but this erks me.

[B]

I wouldn't work ANY dog that wasn't atleast 14 months of age. Even at 14 months they only get trail jogging and basic ball work. I hate to say it but people should be held responsible for working these dogs that young. That is borderline abuse in my opinion.

B

[14rock]

67 lb 5 month old?! That doesn't sound like a pitbull to me more like a mastiff (not kidding). No way it was apb IMO. Either it wasn't 5 months old or it wasn't a pitbull.
No doubt, my English mastiff wasn't that heavy at 5 months old and she is expected to grow to 180 plus!

[the_flamingo]

That is the about the size of most of the pull dogs around here. I thought there were alot like that, LOL. 75 lb. and Over class is the biggest and most of the dogs are 90 lbs or over. They are like gigantic teddy bears.

I've only been to pulls at a pit bull show, so they are at least registered as pit bulls. I think this next show I'm going to is going to have a "big dog class" in the confirmation too, since the majority of people around here have the big dogs and the regular confirmation class are lagging. (I missed the last meeting so I'm not sure if they agreed on it...)

[lil'lucybear]

wanna talk about stupid emotional girl...................... i called my house every day from my honeymoon and talked into the answering machine so lucy didn't think i left her, so i am completely nuts right, then when i got home i was so happy to see her that i started crying like a baby for like two hours all i did was sit there and hold her and kiss her cute little head and cry. i think all the alcohol i consumed during the trip was having a small affect on my emotional state.;

[the_flamingo]

wanna talk about stupid emotional girl...................... i called my house every day from my honeymoon and talked into the answering machine so lucy didn't think i left her, so i am completely nuts right, then when i got home i was so happy to see her that i started crying like a baby for like two hours all i did was sit there and hold her and kiss her cute little head and cry. i think all the alcohol i consumed during the trip was having a small affect on my emotional state.;
LOL, at least I'm not the only one!