I have a supposed APT, that I think was mixed with something in his background. Maybe mastiff? He looked very much like a mastiff as a puppy. He is 11 mos and about 80 pounds. But neutered. His dad was 135 pounds at 18 months i believe and grandpa about 100. These supposed breeders are making a mess out of this poor breed. and Capone has SOOOO many health issues.

Does anyone know anything about these lines:
O.G. Greyline, watchdog, ruffian
This is the website of the "breeders" http://www.nolimitkennelz.com/index.php
His dad is Rampage, Grandpa is Glock. Mother was from someone else. We got him at 5 months from a friend who couldn't keep him.

Hi -
IMO that is waay beyond old line breed standard -there seems to be a trend towards adding more "bull" (often almost obscenely so) and less "terrier" -the old school dog men would be shaking their heads....
My previous girl was out of Sierra and Ruffian lines -but she was a purebred AmStaff from Grimloc kennels....what kind of health challenges are you facing? I love your picture!

You could always call the breeder. They claim to be a solid breeder on the website, and on the first page warn people about other breeders with false promises. Yet, they don't have pedigrees listed for any of their own dogs - they are all blank. All it says about Rampage is that Glock was bred to his grandmother and so he's all "inbred producing power".
Who knows, they may have records, and your dog isn't that old, you could at least get his pedigree and have more to go on...

I sent out for his UKC today. So I should get some lineage info from that. But I did a ton on searching and found his mom online. Along with some pics from when Capone was a puppy! Which were really cute. Since we didn't go through with purchasing him with a contract and all that from the breeder, there is really nothing I can do. But I just get angry, because all these people care about is size and color and the ones suffering are the dogs.

Capone so far has allergies. Many unknown still. Grass being one of them. Food wise, the only way he isn't a rashy mess is if he is fed 100% raw. I have trouble training with treats because often times he breaks out in a random rash. I need to keep a record book I think. He has a very sensitive stomach also.

He also now has a yeast/fungal problem that came back I believe. Contacting the vet tomorrow morning. He has small little round patches that sprang up that are a little dry looking. and he gets red inflamed toes/feet that I have to clean out all the time.

and last but certainly not least, he has joint/leg issues. Pano, mild to moderate elbow dysplasia and two days ago he started holding his hind leg up. Again I have to call the vet tomorrow. I feel like he has really missed out on puppyhood because I always have to limit his activity. and he has such a fun loving playful personality. Not to mention the energy of an 11 month old puppy.

It is so sad and expensive, and we certainly are not in a good financial position right now. I am stressing about the vet bill already. I am angry that irresponsible breeding did this to my "baby" although, I do understand part of it is my fault. I should gotten a dog that I researched the breeder and had a health check etc. I am trying everything in my power to help him. and It just seems like everytime I think he is starting to get better, something else pops up.

Sorry...a bit of a rant there.

Kristi -
If it makes you feel any better at all -the skin/GI/food allergy stuff you describe sounds exactly like my son's dog -who is a pitx from a shelter. He is darling with a wonderful temperment and I am gently nudging them towards raw without sounding like a buttinsky...so I'm not sure we can lay all this on the doorstep of the breeder. He looks adorable and I'd love to see another picture!
I do hate the "gangsta" imagery and names in some of these kennels though -just a personal frustration when so many of us that love this breed work hard toward restoring the original temperment and image!

If your son has any hesitation about going raw and the skin beneifts have him come talk to me! I have tried several 5/6 star dog foods including Honest Kitchen and nothing has worked besides raw. He is much much better than on kibble. Yah, you are right. I wonder if any of his siblings have any issues? I hate the gangster image too. I went to a pitbull weight pulling event one time and we left after ten minutes. It was so stupid, everyone just cares about image/size/looking tough. Pitbulls weren't meant to be XXL. If you want a mastiff size dog, get a mastiff. It's frustrating. I mean dont get me wrong, I love my dog, and I do think he is OH SO HANDSOME lol I could post pictures all day
First day we got him- 5 months

Christmas Day quick picture before I had to make him get out of the grass... 11 months

"Contacting the vet tomorrow morning. He has small little round patches that sprang up that are a little dry looking. and he gets red inflamed toes/feet that I have to clean out all the time."


What was the outcome here?

http://leerburg.com/forums/ubbthreads.php?ubb=showflat&Board=12&Number=288645&Searchpage=3&Main=26972&Words=Kristi+Molina&topic=0&Search=true#Post288620

Unless it was well diagnosed and cleared up, then I can't say this strongly enough: You can either spend a zillion dollars on the GP vet and finally in desperation find a derm vet, or you can start with the derm vet. Yes, it costs, but you will know what's going on. Dermatology is a specialty for a very good reason. If you start a new thread about this (so as not to derail this one), you will learn how many people will repeat what I'm saying, and how frustrating the whole thing can be -- so much worse if you don't bite the bullet and start off with the derm vet.

And if I may add an all-around bit of advice: Be completely upfront about finances. Ask all along the way what the least expensive way to do a certain step is. In addition, if you haven't already, spend a few hours reading what the folks here have outlined about allergies. We have some real experts on this board.

 Quote: hilarie coby

Kristi -
If it makes you feel any better at all -the skin/GI/food allergy stuff you describe sounds exactly like my son's dog -who is a pitx from a shelter. He is darling with a wonderful temperment and I am gently nudging them towards raw without sounding like a buttinsky...so I'm not sure we can lay all this on the doorstep of the breeder. He looks adorable and I'd love to see another picture!
I do hate the "gangsta" imagery and names in some of these kennels though -just a personal frustration when so many of us that love this breed work hard toward restoring the original temperment and image!

Kristi is 100% right: Send him here.


(Again, this should all go to a new thread. )

He was treated for Giardiasis which got rid of the diarrhea problems and once his stomach settled and I could feed him just raw (was giving him rice and pumpkin for a while with the off and on diarrhea problem) the allergies calmed down a lot. Except for when he goes in the grass, then he gets a big rash. We have had the allergy symptoms under control, but not eliminated. Every once in a while he will have a flare up from something unknown. Which is why I have to be careful about treats. I am more concerned about his legs right now than the allergies, but I will def look into a Derma vet. With finances the way they are, his legs are our first priority since the allergies don't bother him much anymore as long as I keep up on it like rinsing his feet after going potty in the grass etc..the inflammation between the toes I think usually happens because of the grass. but I am not sure. I clean them with a solution of witch hazel, gentian violet and boric acid that I made. It works really well.

ETA: the vet never actually said it was giardia. I brought in several poop samples over several weeks and he always tested negative, and they would put him on an antibiotic which would help then as soon as he ran out of the antibiotic the stomach problems would come back. After doing A LOT of research I read about Giardia I told him I really felt like that was what Capone had and how it can be treated with Panacur but my vet wouldn't prescribe because he said he tested negative for it from the stool sample. So I found out that Panacur=Fenbendazole which was in Safe guard. So I treated him myself with that and all of the diarrhea was gone. And then I changed vets =)

**I don't recommend anyone try and diagnose or treat their own dogs symptoms. That is just my story.

Giardia is very hard to dx, just FYI. It frequently gets sent out to a lab, because of that reason. Coccidia is another one that can take multiple fecals to find 1 cyst.
Glad you got it figured out.

Handsome boy Kristi, here's a link to some history on the Ruffian dogs http://www.blueskystafs.coolcoat.net/ruffian.htm.
It's a real shame these halfwit "gangstas" are ruining what was once a great breed the old dog men would be turning in their graves. My eldest boy has similar issues and I've found Malaseb helps to reduce his rashes and stuff once a week till I can sort them all out and the doggie chiropractor I take him to does a fantastic job, he does alot of the racing greyhounds around Perth, and he's much cheaper and more effective then my vets have been maybe give one of these guys a try for your boys legs! Wishing you luck!! Oh and RAW really is the best way to go it helped my boy immensely!!!