Pets chit chat thread

[Rae'ya]

Re: Pets chit chat thread

So Lexi our pit, likes to sit oddly. She doesn't sit on her legs. She sits on her back belly I guess with her legs sticking behind her.


This is NOT her. Just a pic I found. But it's how she sits. Always has. No scooting and she's perfectly plump and healthy. But she will just be sitting on the grass like this just enjoying her comfy self. The pic says this dog is double jointed. Could that be the case?

We don't have pit bulls here but this is really common in staffies and amstaffs. It's to do with their abnormal conformation but doesn't normally cause problems. Sometimes in young dogs it's an indicator that the prlvis isn't fused properly, or ofvyip dysplasia but normally those come witb other signs like lameness or weakness ir wobbly walking.

Forgive the typos on my phone on the bus!

[Medusa]

Re: Pets chit chat thread

Thanks! Yeah she's pretty happy and healthy. It's just so weird seeing it.

[Rae'ya]

Re: Pets chit chat thread

Now that I'm on the computer I just wanted to add to what I said earlier...

'Double jointed' is one of those terms that laypeople like to use, but which is completely off the mark in terms of what's actually going on. What people tend to call 'double jointed' is hyper- (high or over-emphasised) -flexion (bending) or -extension (straightening) of the joints. It's usually because of a fault in the ligaments which hold joints together, which is due either to natural conformation (the way you are put together), trauma (ie from an injury) or through training (like with super flexible yoga peeps and contortionists etc). It is possible for this to cause problems medically, depending on the cause and how much you abuse your joints. But that's not what's going on with these dogs.

Dogs who sit frog legged (as we tend to call it) are usually the ones with 'bandy legged' conformation... you know those knees that sit more lateral (out to the side) than they should... the doggie equivalent of the human cowboy stance. It's because the bones in the legs have not grown at even rates, the ligaments holding the knees together are a bit twisty, and the way that the femur sits in the hip joint is a bit different because of it. It's one of those mutations that we've bred into certain breeds until it's become 'normal' for them, but it also turns up in all sorts of dogs. This sort of malformation usually isn't a problem but it can make them predisposed to luxating patellas (wobbly kneecaps), cruciate tears (usually the CCL in dogs rather than the ACL like humans get) and earlier onset of arthritis. As I said before, hip dysplasia and pelvic issues can also be a cause, but it doesn't sound like that's the case with Lexi. I've never a Pit Bull (though I have my suspicions about a few apparent Am.Staffs I know) but I suspect they have a similar 'normal' abnormal knee conformation as Staffies and Am.Staffs (and a lot of Bull Dog breeds) do, given the way they look.

[anunitu]

Re: Pets chit chat thread

Thanks Rae'ya..Learned something very interesting right here...

[thalassa]

Re: Pets chit chat thread

Dogs who sit frog legged (as we tend to call it) are usually the ones with 'bandy legged' conformation... you know those knees that sit more lateral (out to the side) than they should... the doggie equivalent of the human cowboy stance. It's because the bones in the legs have not grown at even rates, the ligaments holding the knees together are a bit twisty, and the way that the femur sits in the hip joint is a bit different because of it. It's one of those mutations that we've bred into certain breeds until it's become 'normal' for them, but it also turns up in all sorts of dogs. This sort of malformation usually isn't a problem but it can make them predisposed to luxating patellas (wobbly kneecaps), cruciate tears (usually the CCL in dogs rather than the ACL like humans get) and earlier onset of arthritis. As I said before, hip dysplasia and pelvic issues can also be a cause, but it doesn't sound like that's the case with Lexi. I've never a Pit Bull (though I have my suspicions about a few apparent Am.Staffs I know) but I suspect they have a similar 'normal' abnormal knee conformation as Staffies and Am.Staffs (and a lot of Bull Dog breeds) do, given the way they look.

My dog always did this too (and yeah, we called it her frog princess pose, because of the crossed legs in front). As a cocker spaniel, they are prone to hip issues, which we lucked out with not having... Somewhere, I have a picure of me laying like that on the floor, doing homework, with her laying on my back the same way.

I miss my Ivy... My parents had to put her to sleep while I was deployed...

[Rae'ya]

Re: Pets chit chat thread

Speaking of bandy legged Staffies, I saw the most handsome English Staffy today... entire male, perfectly healthy, a little bit overweight but not fat... lovely dark reddish tan and the sweetest thing you ever met.

Then I saw an Aussie Bulldog (also an entire male) who would have been much more handsome if he was thinner and didn't have skin allergies and didn't have bilateral cherry eye AND ectropian AND entropian AND the chronic scarring on his corneas because they haven't used our referral to the ophthalmic specialist yet to get that all corrected. And if he could, you know... breathe.

Two extremes of the bandy legged Staffy and Bulldog spectrum!

[Medusa]

Re: Pets chit chat thread

So we have a nice backyard. Enough for the pooches to run about all day. But they don't! They sleep and bake in the sun like two sun tanned addicted ladies!
It's 9pm and the pit has decided to RUN around the yard like a speeding bullet. To suddenly stop. Sense she forgot to turn the stove off..then proceeds to run at break neck speeds again.

I'm guessing she's letting go of pent up energy?
Or had my dog turned into crazy cat?

[DanieMarie]

Re: Pets chit chat thread

Albert loves spring and summer! I think he was still adjusting last year (he'd only been here a few months when spring came around), but now that he's at home here, he's super happy. He spends all day sitting in the sun and looking at things, and sleeps all night.

[Medusa]

Re: Pets chit chat thread

Today I caught our pit doing the pointer thing with her tail. I watched her freeze frame in the back yard. Her nose down. Her tail pointed straight. Slowly she crept towards the tree. Like a cat. Step by step. And then the bird flew away. But she was determined. She sat under the tree watching it for the longest time. So cute.

[Celene]

Re: Pets chit chat thread

Just saying hi, I have two PBTs and four cats. I love pets, my own and professionally...I have worked in veterinary medicine since 1979. Here are Bellybutton and Pearl. Belle and Pearl.jpg

[Shahaku]

Re: Pets chit chat thread

We are now fostering a family of four. Mama and three baby kitties. Crossing my fingers and hoping it goes well. Vet visit is hopefully tomorrow.

[Munin-Hugin]

Re: Pets chit chat thread

We are now fostering a family of four. Mama and three baby kitties. Crossing my fingers and hoping it goes well. Vet visit is hopefully tomorrow.

That's awesome! Good luck, and let's see some pictures!

[magusphredde]

Re: Pets chit chat thread

13 chickens ... 8 ducks ... 2 cats ... 1 dog ... 1 goose ... And one drake that wants to breed them all ...

[Shahaku]

Re: Pets chit chat thread

Our baby kitties with their mama. We are so lucky to have the mama cat. There is no way we could have bottle fed babies. She's so excited to be getting regular doses of wet cat food. Like, she goes crazy over it, and it's apparently really, really good for nursing moms. Extra water, dense nutrients, etc.


ETA: Vet visit went well. We thought about test for FIV/FLuk but decided to hold off on that. It does mean we'll have to keep them isolated for now though. Mama had some evidence of fleas, but got a doc approved flea preventative and we replaced the bedding. She also got all of her shots. One kitten is a little weazy, and the runt, so we're keeping a close eye on him. He has about an ounce to go to catch up with his brothers (they're all boys). There were originally four, one died of exposure (as far as we can tell) before we got to them.

[Munin-Hugin]

Re: Pets chit chat thread

They're adorable! And mamma is a good looking cat, too! Ya know, on behalf of the cats since they can't say it outright, thank you. You can truly tell the heart of a person by the way in which they treat animals, especially those that are in need.