Mentally Challenged?!!

diamond · New member Joined: 05 Apr 2004 Posts: 15

This is my first and hopefully not last post so please don't flame on me. I currently have a 5 month old female pit that I took in from a friend's litter. Her sire is 3yrs old and her dam was 1yr at the time her litter dropped. Out of her litter of 5 she was the sole survivor. At about 3-4 weeks of age three of her littermates died, leaving my dog and her brother. I brought her home at 7 wks old and her brother left at 8 wks old. The other person who took her brother had him for over the weekend and had to put him to sleep the following week due to too much fluids in his brain causing him to loose his ability to walk and see. The vet also said that if any other pups survived, that the dog could possibly be mentally challenged now or as it aged or no show any signs and be a carrier of this bad trait. I'm beginning to think that maybe my dog is affected by this due to not being fully house/potty trained (only until about a month ago, I would have to give her a bath daily because she would mess her cage up every night). She seems slow to react to commands (even though she knows). Should I be worried?

loves-da-pits · Posted: Mon Apr 05, 2004 11:27 pm Post subject:

WOW!!! Did the Vet give you the medical terminology of this? I assume it's a genetic problem from what you describe. I've never heard of anything like it. Please give more info.

Sara · Posted: Tue Apr 06, 2004 6:47 pm Post subject: Recent behavior

HAve you contact a vet about the pup's recent behavior? You ought to if you haven't and I'd also like to know what the condition is called. It sounds genetic and I dont' want to sound cliche...but this is why it's soooo important to go to a reputable breeder and why it's so important as a breeder to do health tests and be patient and wait till the dogs have matured...

I hope she's okay...and doesn't go the way of the rest of the litter! Good luck and keep us posted!

Samsintentions · Moderator Joined: 19 Mar 2004 Posts: 4292 Location: Texas

Its called Hydrophilic. Its where the brain is replaced by fluid. Most infants or fetus's will die soon after birth. I believe its a genetic defect. Its highly deadly and most humans that discover their fetus has this problem, aborts. It can cause great problems during pregnancy and in some cases the fetus's head will swell and block the birth canal.

I would definatly have your pup checked out by a vet, and have xrays done, this will show if there is any fluid present. If not, then I highly suggest you consult a behaviorlist.

spencerpits · Posted: Wed Apr 07, 2004 5:49 pm Post subject:

I can't really help you - other than to tell you to get her checked out by a vet, and then consult with a behavioralist. But I will say (and I'm not flaming you), please advise your friend to have his breeding stock checked out by a vet, and to never breed a female under 2 years of age. He should have the parents checked out to see who is the cause/carrier of the genetic defect. And he then needs to have the carrier spayed/neutered. Not flaming anyone, just hoping to educate a little. As for the pup not being fully potty trained, I have a male APBT that is almost 4 months old, and still pees in his crate. He seems to have #2 down pat (except for an occassional accident), but he pees all the time in his crate. Regina pointed out that the crate may be too big for him. I had been thinking the same thing myself. Anyway - if your dog has enough room to mess in her crate and still sleep out of the mess, then the crate is too big. Granted, I have to bathe my male on a daily basis, because despite the fact his crate is big enough for him to not lay in his pee, he still gets it on him. Sorry if I rambled - just wanted to let you know that you're not the only one going through potty training h*ll. Hope everything is okay with your pup.

Sara · Posted: Wed Apr 07, 2004 6:01 pm Post subject:

I'd heard that feeding your dog in their crate can help with that problem.