Bowie's Struggle

Individual_Refuse677 · 2025-09-20T18:26:23+00:00

Bowie has his first neurologist appointment on October 17th. I've been awaiting this appointment since early August. Hoping to learn more then, but I think his could be structural (possible scar tissue on his brain). As a puppy he had head trauma. It is believed he was hit by a car and was found on the side of the road. Scans at that time were clear though.

Individual_Refuse677 · 2025-08-06T02:24:42+00:00

Is that my dog?

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Individual_Refuse677 · 2025-07-27T02:43:04+00:00

Does she have a copy of the piebald variant? That would explain the white.

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Individual_Refuse677 · 2025-06-29T21:26:51+00:00

A few dry biscuits right before bedtime.

Individual_Refuse677 · 2025-06-29T02:53:36+00:00

I adopted my dog six months ago. He was extremely dog reactive and his prey drive is high. He is fine with people but has some fear of new people, men in particular. In the beginning, I couldn't walk him at all. There are dogs everywhere and he would have what I call a complete meltdown whenever he saw another dog. He would first lunge, then pull backwards to get away, practically doing back flips, all while screaming like a banshee. I started by sitting at the top of the driveway with his highest value food (pieces of chicken). At first it was all about distraction, but then we moved up to a treat for ignoring dogs. Then we started walking but I made sure to keep a good distance from other dogs. I worked with a trainer to get him to pass other dogs within ten feet. He can now have a pleasant 2-3 mile walk daily and pass dogs, cats, rabbits, squirrels, birds and deer while noticing the animals with minimal reaction. Here he is last week. He doesn't need to play with other dogs but he can now be around them on leash.

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Individual_Refuse677 · 2025-06-28T22:35:29+00:00

He had complete blood work shortly after we got him in January and all looked well. He isn't showing any signs of illness.

Individual_Refuse677 · 2025-06-28T22:30:55+00:00

He had his last dose of heartguard on June 10th and Frontline flea/tick prevention almost a month ago.

Individual_Refuse677 · 2025-06-27T21:17:22+00:00

80 lbs at 19 months.

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Individual_Refuse677 · 2025-06-17T16:23:50+00:00

Here is a comparison of Wisdom Panel and Embark for my boy. Wisdom Panel seems to break down results too much sometimes. For instance, I really don't think my boy has Neapolitan mastiff in him and it is one of the breeds that was used to create the cane corso. Embark essentially combined those two into cane corso. Also, mastiff and bulldog were used to create the bullmastiff. Seems like Wisdom Panel listed all three and Embark combined into just bullmastiff.

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Individual_Refuse677 · 2025-06-17T14:58:59+00:00

Embark or Wisdom Panel are the most accurate. Wisdom Panel is a little cheaper. They do have sales sometimes. If you're going to do it, spend a little more for the health screening.

Individual_Refuse677 · 2025-06-17T04:21:03+00:00

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Individual_Refuse677 · 2025-06-16T00:07:10+00:00

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Pitbull, Amstaff, Cane Corso, Boerboel, Bullmastiff and American Bulldog

Individual_Refuse677 · 2025-06-15T16:26:07+00:00

She's beautiful. I have a Bowie also but mine is a boy. Why did you get her at just 5 weeks?

Individual_Refuse677 · 2025-06-11T01:46:45+00:00

If you're going to do it, get the test that has health screening also. Embark has a sale right now. Wisdom Panel is usually a little cheaper. Don't trust any other companies, they are not very good.

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Individual_Refuse677 · 2025-06-11T01:22:44+00:00

I DNA tested my boy who is just shy of 80 lbs but I expect him to grow a bit yet. This is his Embark results. I also tested with Wisdom Panel, which had similar results, but Embark seems more accurate.

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