Show Posts

This section allows you to view all posts made by this member. Note that you can only see posts made in areas you currently have access to.


Topics - Apreston

Pages: [1] 2
1
General Board for Big Dogs with Big Paws / Introducing.... Troy Andrew Preston
« on: April 28, 2009, 02:00:32 am »
I know I know I am a bad bad mommy.... it's been almost 3 weeks and still no pictures of our little bundle.....SOR RY!!!  :o  :D

It has been so busy with everyone adjusting including Titan!! Troy is a marvelous baby he is so good! He has his moments but the rest of his days are spent nursing and sleeping. Everyday he changes and everyday we fall in love with him all over again!

Titan has taken a slobbery kiss to him... he loves him. The only thing is; Titan kind of stopped eating. We took him to the vet to make sure everything was fine and it was he is just adjusting. Sunday was the 1st day he actually ate both meals; and ever since then he has been eating all his food.
It was a big adjustment for him me home ALL day with him and then throw a baby in the mix it just takes some time but he is doing great!

Well.... without further a due I present to BPO Troy Andrew Preston......  ;D  :-*

2
General Board for Big Dogs with Big Paws / Something New hopefully not for long...
« on: March 02, 2009, 10:09:44 am »
Hi All!! Hoping for your guidance with this....
Titan has been having huge troubles with stairs lately. I took him to the Chiro and he was almost 2 inches out we got aligned and on our way. That evening he went up the stairs without a problem. Now it’s developed into stopping half way and he cant get any further than the half way mark! Poor pup sits down looks at the stairs and cry's. It’s REALLY sad. It quite the angle half way up and I think he has just freaked himself out. We have tried EVERYTHING to get him to come up. Treats, bullies, bones, running, going really slow happy happy voice, another dog!! Last night was the 1st night in a year that he didn’t sleep beside me..... He cried for most of the night but there was not much I could do to get him up the stairs.
Do you think we will just have to work everyday at it and eventually he will surpass and come up the stairs or should we leave it be; and if he wants up badly he will come on his own.
I am going to take him again tomorrow night to the Chiro and see if maybe he needs another alignment.... but other than that I am out of ideas. I don’t know how much more of the big mans crying I can take.... its heartbreaking!
Thanks in advance...  :)

3
Medical Conditions & Diseases / Poor Barffy Titan :(
« on: February 12, 2009, 05:05:46 am »
I would like some thoughts or advice. We have a Mr. Bunny living in our back yard. This is new and recent!! We have recently experienced a "heat wave" and it has exposed a bazillion rabbit turds! Andrew and I have faithfully been outside every night after work picking the little monsters up. We both go outside when Titan is out so we can supervise the potential eating of these turds. However... Titan can be VERY sneaky!! He has eaten some of them. In the last 3 days each day he has thrown up 1 time about 8-10 hours after ingesting his food. The first day was about 2 cups yesterday was maybe 1/2 cup so I assumed he was getting better until this morning.... when about 4 cups came up.   :(  Poor thing.... I can’t think of anything else other than the rabbit turds that would make him sick. His poop is normal, he feels fine, temp is good, wants to eat and drinks plenty of water. Titan has a vet appointment today @ 2 to check him out....but just wondering if any one has any suggestions or thoughts.
Thanks in advance!!
Adrienne & Titan

4
Food Discussion & Information / Tossing around an Idea?!?
« on: October 22, 2008, 07:07:18 am »
Titan has been nothing but a pain in my butt this last month! I still love him but; He won't eat. Period.
I have tried mixing up the kibble. Trying 2 differnt kinds. Wetting it and heating it up. Adding toppers like cheese or wet food. Inovva EVO has new wet food out...he loved it for 3 days now its old news; wont eat it. He runs to his treat ball and spins it around trying to get any bit of treat out that he can because he is hungry!

He just had his yearly visit to the vet. Blood work is normal stool is normal. Weight is good everything is fine. As far as his output firm and solid. So no signs of him being sick....just being completly impossible to feed!

I am tossing around the idea of making his own food and wanted to know if there is anyone else out there like me or is currently cooking for there dogs?

I am going to Chapters this weekend to get some books and read up on it. But wanted to know others opinions?!?
Thanks in advance
Adrienne and the "not so eating Titan"

5
General Board for Big Dogs with Big Paws / Summer Picts as Promised!!
« on: August 20, 2008, 07:24:41 pm »
So we had a fantastic summer and here are some pictures to prove it!
First up to a friends cottage for an extended long weekend.
The black lab is Samatha Jane; Titan's Grilfriend! She taught Titan how to swim! Those of you who are wondering about the beer pict.... he really did have any it was just a great picture at the time... thats how tired he was!

Secondly we had some fun in the sun for a week up in North Bay at the family cottage!  Titans main mission the whole week was to find EVERY tree branch known to man and bring it to us! He had a job and he loved up there... he also swam and chased things and slept an entire week when we got home! There a couple picts of Andrew and his massive fish
and jet sking!
And lastly we had a camping excursion in London.... That was fun execpt it rained all weekend no sweat Titan and I found things to do.... sleep ;)
It was a great summer filled with fun and laughter!
ENJOY!



6
General Board for Big Dogs with Big Paws / It's been a while.... Summer Update!
« on: August 20, 2008, 02:40:03 pm »
Hi Everyone!!!
I missed you guys.... it's been a while!
We had a VERY busy summer, we were camping, at the cottage, visiting with friends and family, enjoying BBQ's and last but not least getting pregnant!
Yes I said pregnant... a little bit unexpected; we are 2 months along and we are pretty excited! Anyone have any advice?!?
So never the less it's good to be back and I am VERY busy catching up on everything I missed; reading all the posts.... I have TONS of pictures to post and hopfully will get to them this week.
Titan is doing great... getting bigger and bigger everyday....st ill!!! We started ciropractor visit and continue with the acupuncture and he has had terrific results. We are going longer and longer between visits!
So hows was everyone else's summer?!?
Cant wait to get caught up!
Adrienne & Titan

7
General Board for Big Dogs with Big Paws / Please dont laugh... :) Dog Gait Question
« on: July 09, 2008, 11:52:36 am »
I have a question; I might be an idot; but here it is;
I was reading several posts about a dogs gait and to my understanding the left front moves along with the right hind and the right front moves with the left hind. So if that is right and I am understanding it correctly Titan moves both left (front and hind) at the same time. I notice with him sometimes he tries to correct himself (i think) he trips and tries to shuffle his way to walking correctly but he reverts back to the one side moves than the other. I think this has to do with his "oh his clumsy ways" We are walking along and its like he looses count or something and just ends up sitting and starting over.
I have been horseback riding for my enitre life and if the horse is on the wrong foot I slow him down and correct so we can trot and canter at comfortable "grove" otherwise it feels rocky....now I cant not strap a saddle on Titan :)
Is there anyway to correct this or is this how he walks OR am I just way off base and not understanding what I am reading!
Thanks in advance for you help and advice
Adrienne and Titan :)

8
Treatment & Preventative Meds / UPDATE ** Acupunture ** Titan
« on: July 02, 2008, 09:15:07 am »
It's been awhile but we have been busy!!!!
Titan has offically started acupunture.
I have to say "I have a semi-brand new dog!!"  ;)
The first session we did not see much of a change in him. He was very very sleepy all through the session. She started off by putting a needle in his head to calm him and open up the engery floowing from the top of his head to the tip of his tail. It took the 3 of us plus the vet to hold him up...he just wanted to lay down and sleep! He even had cats crawling on him and he didn't care!

The second session I noticed he was starting to rotate his leg in a full circle versus the half moon rotation he was doing for the last 3 months.

The thrid session that was last Thrusday...Tit an has completly stopped rotating his hip in the half moon and is doing full rotations only when walking. If he picks up a trot it happends still. If he does a slow jont across the yard you can see him really concintrating on moving that hip in full roatation...it kinda funny he looks at his leg like someone attached a new leg on him over night!!

So It's working; so far so good and we are very pleased with his progress. He loves going in the the room he knows the routine and he just stands there while she puts the needles in and we pop a squat on the floor as the vet tweeks and turns the needles and we chit-chat and he has a nap! Its so great; I am so happy we opted for this method of treatment! The vet also has high-hopes for him she mentioned that b/c he is a LARGE breed it might take some more time than lets say a small breed so all in time!
Just thought we would update everyone and say thanks again for all the support we got when we found out that Titan was digignosed with H/D.
Thanks again!!!  :-*  ;) Sorry for being so long I just didnt want to leave anything out!! :)


9
Old English Mastiff Pictures / Happy Birthday Titan!
« on: June 13, 2008, 12:37:05 pm »
Just wanted to wish out big lovable boy the bestest birthday ever!!
For his birthday he got acupunture that he was amazing in he got lots some homade treats with yogurt dipping sauce, gluten free and lactose free sherbert and Andrew is cooking him a steak for dinner on the BBQ tonight!
OHHHHH is he spoiled!!! We love you TITAN!!!!
Also a few picts of his life so far....

10
Old English Mastiff Pictures / Titan and Summer Picts...
« on: June 11, 2008, 05:34:35 pm »
Thought I would post some pictures of the big guy and the nice weather we are all enjoying! :)
The last one is one of my fav's with my neice and nephew...my nephew Ben loves Titan they roll around and play but Hannah is a bit timmid (we are working on it) with him! She calls him the ferocious man-eating loin dog!
Also I like the one with the me in the pool....Titan thought I was crazy but I was hot too!!
ENJOY!
 

11
Old English Mastiff Discussions / Titan looks like lego :)
« on: May 29, 2008, 07:58:31 am »
Well let me start from Sunday... I will try not to be toooooooo long!
Titan has always had trobles with digestion...lo ose stool, sometimes we have blowouts and allregies and intolerences to certain foods...soooo. ..we have been looking for a digestive enzyme for him to help his gut along. We were using a certain formula from the vet but for the cost I think there are more advanced products out on the market today!
So we were (key word here were) trying Slippery Elm...it was working wonders....unt ill Yesturday...
Monday we a bit of hives (5 or 6) no biggie we have seen them before maybe he got into something got a bug bite licked a fork in the dishwasher something is irrating him it should be cleared up by tomorrow....we ll Tuesday comes with a few more hives; interesting... .we HAVE to watch him today nothing but his food and his specific treats and they should be cleared up by Wednesday... I give hubby the 5th degree and say no snacking snack-master just Titan's food nothing else and hubby followed along with me...
YESTURDAY... I go home everyday at lunch to give Titan a break like we usally do; we play and walk and have our lunch together; well I walked in yesturday and he is running around like a crazy person....I finally got him settled and noticed that this was not my puppy...who is this thing and what is growing allllll over him....he looked like LEGO!! He had that many hives... I felt so bad for him he was soooo itchy!!
So we call the vet and into the car we go and in a matter of and hour; a shot of steriods and a shot of anti-histime and $100 bucks later he is resting peacfully on my kitchen floor; hive free!  :o
So we are concluding that Slippery Elm helps the digestive track and I have never seen better stool come out of him but... lego man can not come back so we are off to see if we can find something better and that does not make him look like a giant missing part to the car I built when I was 5!
Any suggestions... .. again sorry for soooo long!
Thanks
Adrienne and "Itch Free" Titan

12
General Board for Big Dogs with Big Paws / Bounderies Anyone??
« on: May 21, 2008, 09:54:20 am »
So we have a wonderful fun filled long weekend up in North Bay...the weather was so so but Titan had a blast.... Sticks to chew; trees to take down; ducks to chase; and tons to explore. The only problem...he did not know when to stop expoloring and how far he should be going...
So he was terrific for the 3 days we were up there but yesturday I think he just decided that the property went much further than he thought and just decided that we would venture into the woods and across the street. At this point I am running after him yelling every comand in the book. I tried a stern voice that a happy pitch voice then a screaming in desperation voice for him to come back. He litterally scared the poop out of me and he also did not listen to thing I was saying. It was like I did not exsist! At one point he turned around looked right at me and I thought i had him but little did I know mister sooooo slow to get up is not that slow to run away from me. Eventually we cornered him and I gave him a big "no" followed by a "bad boy" and dragged him back to the cottage.
So my question is...
How do you teach them the bounderies of the property?? There are no fences just the lake and trees. I want to be able to trust him not to venture off...am I expecting too much from him at this age (11 months) We followed him around all weekend paid very close attention to him but he was just content to stay beside us and follow us around. I was soooo pleased untill yesturday's "adventure of the littlest hobo"
I want to sign him up for some more obidience but someone told be it just takes practice with the "come" command so dont waste you money!
I promptly tied him to a tree and as soon as he tried to walk away and figured out he could not go any further than 20 feet he was pissed. I let him off after 5 mins and he seamed to be fine but I dont want that to EVER happen again I was so scared!
Thanks in advance for the helpful hints....

13
Medical Conditions & Diseases / We have bad news :(
« on: May 06, 2008, 06:57:03 am »
So yesturday we went off to the vet for our x-rays for Titans hips.....well it didnt go so well he has hip dysplasia. We are devestated...w e are so careful with him up and down staris in and out of the car. We dont let him jump; over exert himself; we play moderatly but none of that matters if they already have it I guess.
The (new) vet was so good about it...he came right out and said it. "I see hip dysplasia...th ey are not the worst set of hips I have seen but they are not that good either" So we talked for a bit about some options and he practices homeopathic and holistic medicine. He reccommended going natrural to start of with. So we have Titan on Glucosamine Chondroitin MSM pills (2 day) along with the Zukes Hip Action (2 day) and cod liver oil.
So i know it will be a process and some time untill I see a difference. I am just soooo frustrated and sad for him I can't imagine how much pain he is in! His sprits are up and he wants play I just dont know what limitations he should have? How much exercise? I Know diet is important the vet said he would like to see hime a bit leaner BUT he is still a puppy so just concentrate on the Glucosamine for now and keep feeding a bit less treats everyday :)
We are trying to be hopefull its just hard.... thanks for listening!
ALSO... when we were at the pet store collecting his new aray of daily supplements this lady goes... "you dog is having hip problems" I responded "yes" I tell her how old Titan is and how sad we are but are going to give the bestest life possible! She says very very snotty  "dont you have health garuentee?" I say politley "no, and what difference does that make its just a guarentee how would that help my situation" She says "you can bring him back to the breader and get a new dog!" I was not the lady I normally am and said "give back my family... so if my child gets cancer I should just put him up for adoption because I dont feel like taking care of him...what kind of life is that for my dog or any human being thats how dogs get killed and thats why there are so many in our shelters is becuase people with that state of mind just simply give up" She walked out of the store not saying anything else and I apologized to the store manager for rasing my voice and she told me not to worry this lady is on her 4th dog this year and she thinks she has animal rights in the bag.... but she has returned every other dogs back to the shelter because they did not behave!!
SORRY side story; now this is really long and people are probably falling asleep...but I want to share that with you guys but I was just dissturbed.
Anyways..thank s for listneing! :)

14
General Board for Big Dogs with Big Paws / I think it's TIME for a change....kinda long :)
« on: May 01, 2008, 01:03:47 pm »
I think we are changing vets today.
I will tell you the cons to the current vet and let me know if you have had any of these happen to you?!?

1.) She always comments on how many times we have been to the emerg vet or how many times that we have called or that they havent heard from us in a while and new that something was bound to come up sooner ofr later.
(Like they have bets going on in the office)
2.)She is never friendly towards us or Titan
3.) She never gives us a straight answer...she always beats around the bush...
4) Last thing... :) Everytime Titan has the poops she always worms him...never a stool sample blood work nothing.

So I called to a different vet this morning and found out that beofre he worms any animal he ALWAYS request a stool sample! Anways I think its time to switch vets..anyone else have this happen to them and their pochies?!?
We booked an appoint. for this afternoon he has had the scoots all week and the first thing he said bring in some poop i WANT to see it! So I hope Titan is ok with guy because he is scared sh*tless of the vet he has now!
Wish us luck!!!

15
Medical Conditions & Diseases / It's my biggest FEAR!!
« on: April 26, 2008, 08:49:49 pm »
Its my biggest fear for Titan is to have HD!
We have been giving him Medacam faithfully for 10 days now and I know its not supposed to make it better but the limping is not getting any better. Maybe a tad better but I think its the Medacam.
Should we get X-Rays??
Whats the procedure do they give him a sedative...cuz GOD knows he will not stay still?!?
I think its only one leg so it could be any injury...we have oppted out of the dog park for the last 2 months and have been only walking him on soft surfaces (trails) and for short distances....
I just feel so bad for the babe...he just wants to run and play and he's bunny hopping around and falling over....I just dont know what to do!?!
Any one else going through this or have been through this?? Yesturday was his last dose of Medacam so I want to make a choice this week weather to wait it out or go get the xrays....money is not an issue I just would like some advice on weather to wait it out or get him in there and bite the bullet!
Thanks in advance!
Adrienne

Pages: [1] 2