[IrishBeatDown]

Originally Posted by hypocalking

Well this is what happens when you cheap out and buy a dog in the manner you did.

kind of a dick thing to say, and as an animal lover who has rescued numerous reptiles in the past i am quite offended by this remark... i have put over a thousand dollars into an animal i felt needed help and have grown to love very much and you tell me i cheaped out on my dog...

the original price of the dog has nothing to do with it, i paid the asking price for a dog in order to remove it from a bad situation and give it a better home... i am damn proud of the care and love i put into all of my pets and your snide remark was offensive and uncalled for.

[omgitsrick]

Put her down, get a new dog. Don't make her live in agony.

[AmericanPitbull]

First of all an American Staffordshire Terrier is not a pitbul although they look incredibly alike, but it sounds like the environment the pup came from has alot to do with her condition. She may also have a tape worm in her intestines robing her of any nutrients she may get from her diet. An over sized stomach and a skinny body are symptoms of this. Also full blooded or pure-bred dogs will almost always have some kind of health problem, you may want to ask about the pedigree. I have three pitbulls, all three have very different body types. My oldest was all ways a big girl, a little over weight , shes about 75 lbs now. My second was a little smaller but she is lean and cut like a sled/weight pulling dog and I have never trained her in any way, shes about 55 lbs. My third (Boy) has the biggest body frame of all three but isn't heavy or fat nor is he cut, his weight to body frame ratio is just about perfect in my opinion, we were just at the vet two days ago and he weighed 62 lbs. The last two grew up looking a little on the bonier side, ribs and spinal cord visible, but they both grew into their bodies after the first two months. As for the sleeping, some pups need more sleep than others, and if she is fighting off any kind of sickness or worms at her age her body will be drained a little more than an older pup as a result she will let her body rest most of the day. I dont want to say this but if you haven't already, ask the vet about Parvo, if you've spent $700 get ready to spend a alot more if this is the case.
Parvo FAQs

As for my opinion, if she is not in any visible or recognizable pain, stick it out for a little while longer, you may spend a considerable amount of money, as if you haven't already, but if she pulls through it will be worth it. Dont forget to ask about Parvo. Good luck

[Mithra]

Shouldn't the vet have her stay in for "observance" so they can get a feel for her everyday life?

[IrishBeatDown]

Originally Posted by AmericanPitbull

First of all an American Staffordshire Terrier is not a pitbul although they look incredibly alike, but it sounds like the environment the pup came from has alot to do with her condition. She may also have a tape worm in her intestines robing her of any nutrients she may get from her diet. An over sized stomach and a skinny body are symptoms of this. Also full blooded or pure-bred dogs will almost always have some kind of health problem, you may want to ask about the pedigree. I have three pitbulls, all three have very different body types. My oldest was all ways a big girl, a little over weight , shes about 75 lbs now. My second was a little smaller but she is lean and cut like a sled/weight pulling dog and I have never trained her in any way, shes about 55 lbs. My third (Boy) has the biggest body frame of all three but isn't heavy or fat nor is he cut, his weight to body frame ratio is just about perfect in my opinion, we were just at the vet two days ago and he weighed 62 lbs. The last two grew up looking a little on the bonier side, ribs and spinal cord visible, but they both grew into their bodies after the first two months. As for the sleeping, some pups need more sleep than others, and if she is fighting off any kind of sickness or worms at her age her body will be drained a little more than an older pup as a result she will let her body rest most of the day. I dont want to say this but if you haven't already, ask the vet about Parvo, if you've spent $700 get ready to spend a alot more if this is the case.
Parvo FAQs

As for my opinion, if she is not in any visible or recognizable pain, stick it out for a little while longer, you may spend a considerable amount of money, as if you haven't already, but if she pulls through it will be worth it. Dont forget to ask about Parvo. Good luck

i've had 4 fecal exams and 2 blood tests for worms, parvo, etc... all negative. thats the thing... the vet has no idea what the problem is, she referred us to an internal specialist and again... he was perplexed... took an ultrasound and noticed she had enlarged intestines(which you could feel anyway so no news there) and she also appeared to have some kind of strange fluid in her belly. next step is an anal endoscopy, if that doesn't tell us anything my options are surgical endoscopy, wait it out, or put her down.

again, before going ahead with any of these things we are trying her on an artificial digestive enzyme called Pancrezyme, its made from pig pancreas and will hopefully aid in the digestive process and help her to start growing normally.

if that is not the case it could also be a problem with her lymph nodes and she could simply have a problem absorbing the nutrients after digesting... if that is the problem there is really nothing we can do...

[IrishBeatDown]

Originally Posted by Mithra

Shouldn't the vet have her stay in for "observance" so they can get a feel for her everyday life?

we did that too. we left her there for the entire day and they fed her some kind of fluid that wa trackable with an x ray and they analyzed how it moved through her digestive track to determine of there was a possible bockage... no such luck, and vet said she was happy as a kid in a candy store.

i would elaborate but we have to take her to her obedience class, she's definitly the most well behaved pup in the class. at 14 weeks she has mastered sit, stay, come, shake, jump, off, give and lay down. potty training isn't perfect yet, she can't get the handle of roll over, she terrorizes the cat and she HATES her crate (she wants to be with her people)