RIP Amoxtl 2/21/2011

Please, understand that writing this is painful. So I am going to simply limit myself to say that Amoxtl was euthanized on Monday February 21 2011 at approximately 5:30 due to issues beyond our control.

Siempre te acordare mi protector.

Introducing Franco - a 3 year old Dogo Argentino

Thanks to Big Love Dog Rescue we were informed of this very sweet guy, who really really is great. He is so incredibly affectionate and just has pretty good obedience. He LOVES to be with his people and rides fantastically in the car. He's even gone to Home Depot and he was complimented all over the place. He walks well on a leash. I'm really liking this guy. Personally, so grateful we were able to help this guy out.



Frank comes from a breeder, who didn't take him back. In his previous home he lived with kids. And did pretty good with them. He also lived with a male shitzu. He's doing pretty good with his housemate Blanquita.

Soon to Rescue - Blanquita - Dogo Argentino Female

Here’s the pictures of Blanquita … As far as info, the story is as follows:

-16 mo old Spayed Female Dogo Argentino
-Purchased from private owner when dog was 3 mo old
-Unable to keep because “needs more attention than I can offer”
-Never bitten a person or other animal
-May growl at strangers, “Strong sense of hunting” (unclear what they mean by that)
-Not good with cats
-House trained, crate trained, never has accidents
-20-30 minute walks 3x week
-Knows ‘sit’ ‘down’ ‘stay’ ‘come’ ‘paw’
-Gotten along with kids under 5, 6-12 yrs, adults and elderly
-Lived with a 10 y/o female Lhasa Apso
-Likes car rides, scared of thunder
-Described as playful, loyal, protective and smart, “needs exercise, likes to play a lot”

I would add that she really, really likes peanut butter. She is VERY underweight, and had on a cinch collar (in pictures, we removed it) that was much too small, barely fit over her head to be removed … likely left on since puppy hood. She is quite affiliative, especially for being so scared; likes to lean her head in or curve her body in to your torso for close contact.

Recent Rescue: Noche

This little girl was rescued at about 6 weeks old from a BYB situation. Decent condition but removed from mother too early. Searching for a home but won't be available to actual home until 8 weeks old.

Plumbers & Friends visits

Yesterday was a challenging day. We had no water at my house because the pipes started leaking from various spots and then the actual water heater started leaking. I had to wait for the plumber to come by to take care of the problem. Thankfully, it was a friend of a friend and he was sweet and didn't charge an exorbitant amount. OF course once he finished I felt foolish because if I would have taken the time to research the problem and crawl underneath the confines of the home, I probably could have taken care of it myself. I just dislike doing the crawling under.
Toby took the visitors with quiet observation. Amox of course made a fuss, and had to do his tough man stances all over the place. I simply ignored him.
Then I had a couple of friends over and Amox ended up having to make a huge scene fighting with Toby from a distance, as they are both tethered. And the pain in the a$$ bit me. Didn't really break skin but did enough pressure to bruise my hand in a good way. He did this when I pulled him up on the prong which he didn't appreciate. Afterwards, he's been doing the commands without me having to repeat it as I ignored him the rest of the day. So now I'm bruised and having a hard time handling things but alright, if anything I'm more pissed off then anything.

One of the things I've been considering lately is going raw on the dogs food. I've been feeding Taste of the Wild (TOTW) but Amox still has soft stool on occasion and isn't completely healed from the allergies. Toby has his worms and well that in itself has been concerning, I'm treating him with de-wormer. I'm going to try adding some natural stuff to their diets like garlic and slippery elm as suggested by another dogo owner. I want both boys to be healthy weights - balanced. I'm hoping to pick up the dog pen this weekend. And when the weather gets warmer be able to fix up the yard - fence it in so the boys can be out there safely for longer periods of time. Leaving me in the house to vacuum without commotion. Or simply just giving them some play time without tethering. I worry when I've got an episode of vertigo coming on its hard for me to do the outside thing or give them actual time. Not that they are that frequent but still.

My Dogo Genesis

I've been involved with the Dogo Argentino since 2001, I brought my first dogo Argentino puppies (Yes, 2, something I would never recommend) into my home in November of 2001. Argo and Ananaki were about 4 months old from North Carolina, a pair of older women who were both in ill health and unable to care for the dogos they had in residence had these two puppies. I literally paid $500 for both pups. Ananaki was a bilaterally deaf fireball acrobat. Argo was a pirate male. Both pups had digestive sensitivities, Argo significantly worse then Ananaki. The father was Legend and Sugar, both parents were on property, I suspected that these guys were bred on purpose and for money purposes, but both pups were riddled with worms and were so shy, completely unsocialized nor house manners in the least. The parents were both extremely obese and Sugar was easily held on a leash, sweet girl. Legend had growths on his skin that were extremely odd. I took pictures of the parents and brought them home, AGAIN this is something I would never recommend. My heart tends to go before my head. This decision lead me into a huge change in my life.
Prior to having the Dogo Argentino in my life I had dogs as a child - unmemorable mixed breeds until the age of 5, a Cocker Spaniel named Toro when I was 7-8 years old, a German Shepherd/Collie named Baby as young teenager and a Pekingese named Benji in my late teens. I was the child who brought home all the hurt and dying animals on my way home from school. I rescued birds all the time. Kept aquariums since the age of 8, parakeets, gerbils, rabbits and even a pet chicken. But I always pestered my parents for dogs. I worked at my local SPCA for about a year where we had pretty common breeds, while there I adopted a Shepherd Husky female, named Mona in January of 2001. I really truly never had any experience with dominant dogs before taking on the Dogo. I am being honest because I want people to know the truth of learning things the hard way and how many hard knocks I had with Dogos. There's a right way and a wrong way to do things, and then there are those grey ways that can be incredibly difficult, challenging and just seem riddled with obstacles - you can probably guess which way I chose to go.
When I brought home these pups initially all was great - I got them both crates, set-up their stuff, they were cuddly affectionate and just completely sweet. Argo was the leader - he pushed his way to the front, picked up commands quickly, challenged things and seemed to always be trying to figure things out and think them through. Ananaki, shortened to Naki, quickly proved to show her acrobatic skills by climbing furniture, crates and fences; her mischievous nature shined through her sweet brown eyes. Mona was the momma - she helped teach the pups manners and when they weren't cooperative they got pawed hard or scruffed by her. She seemed to enjoy her position in our growing pack. At the time I still fostered other dogs - Great Danes, American Pitbull Terriers, Siberian Huskies and a Doberman.
Please, do not get the idea that these first few months were blissful, they were anything but. The pups were not becoming crate trained or housebroken or learning anything about where their urine or feces should go. They'd both fill their crates up with messes, I'd never bought so much paper towels in my life. Also Naki was a constant loud pitched barker that was horrid. They'd be covered in feces in urine while crated when we came home from work. When we'd go outside every couple of hours, they'd still not get the concept of using the bathroom outside. I suspect while they were with the ladies in NC they weren't being cleaned often enough. Naki and Argo both had raging ear infections for the first few months of their lives. Their feces were never firm - just squishy watery nastiness and we struggled with all types of kibble. I'm sure there are many message boards still carrying my desperate messages from those days. I would be crying between their crates trying to figure out what I was doing wrong. Crate training had never been an issue for me before. Their poop messes were horrendous, I couldn't figure out what to feed them. I was spending more money on their food then on our own - and absolutely none of it seemed to work. We de-wormed them multiple times. I can't imagine how many people had experienced such a horrendous beginning with dogos and can still willingly share their lives with them.

God is Good

Last night I watched as this beautiful creature who has suffered unknown pain and neglect by human hand, still managed to want affection and desired to please me. I feel completely undeserving of his attention and sweet moments of true love. I remember my theory of God's demonstration of love surrounds us, which better way demonstration of ever forgiving, ungrudging love then through the eyes of these creatures who provoke such heartfelt emotions within me.
I look into his beautiful earth colored eyes, and wonder what have they witnessed. What human eyes could have looked into this creature's, and still continue to do what they did. I have heard his barks of warning to any being that comes close to my home, threatening growls against unexpected suspicious movements yet he's only been with me for two evenings. He guards me, us, our home against evil of unknown kinds, defending our property, without regard to himself.
His deplorable conditions speak only of the lack of regard for himself, his neglect visible in lacking musculature and myriad health issues. I am gathering funding to put him back to a decent condition, to give him respect for the protection and undeserving love he gives me and my home.
I can only be grateful that in God mercy's such a creature exists, for we are blessed as they come into our lives, to share a reflection of God's love. Thank you Toby.