surgeonstone

Hey, I grew up in Glastonbury , Connecticut that is.

RollCNY

Good morning, @coasting! Have you taken Mutton for an imaginary walk yet. Imaginary American chicks go crazy for guys with imaginary dogs. Is it the same in Taiwan?

coasting 

You named my imaginary corgi?

RollCNY

Imaginary Beagle, but yes.

coasting 

OK. Mutton enjoys quesadillas.

RollCNY

I imagine he would.

Although I am not in the dog market, picking a dog breed for your pet is tough. Don't get a Beagle. I can tell you many breeds not to get, but few to endorse to get.

datlas 

Triglycerides (14 x 5 = 70)

2manybikes

When did you decide on a Corgi? Can't keep with this thread. The dog would be happier if you imagine two Corgis.

They can keep each other company when you are out, I imagine.

RollCNY

Would two imaginary corgis fit in an imaginary trailer? You don't want him to compromise his MUP racing.

2manybikes

Yes. And hopefully he imagines them harnessed in so they can't jump out. Bailey hikes out the side in his harness, like sailboat hiking out.

WhyFi

There is a pizza place near me that does a kimchi pizza (the owner is of Korean ethnicity, but spent many of her pizza-formative years in NYC, so her crusts are spot-on - both of her two pizza places have been recognized in "Best of" voting in the metro area). I have not yet tried it - I need to be in the right mood.

Heathpack 

Lol, the only one I'm opposed to is the Corgi. If he gets the Corgi, it is AMA aka Against Medical Advice.

But if @coasting has an imaginary beagle named Mutton, he could name his imaginary corgi Pork Chop, I suppose.

LAJ

Why do Corgi's just decide to spin round and round? Funny things.

Seems there are a lot of dogs that should be AMA. I do wish people would research the breed more, and see what they're in for before getting a certain breed, and not after. Wishful thinking.

Heathpack 

The French Bulldog would be more AMA than the Corgi, but so far the idea of a Frenchie has not caught @coasting's attention, so we are safe there it seems.

BillyD

tbl (trouble)

BillyD

Generally yes. Except for Sabrett, which tastes so good you can look past the badness.

So, I was leaning toward a Doberman Pinscher this time around. All my research indicated they were great dogs. Ran it by my vet and he labeled them high risk for several inherited ailments. You agree?

rjones28 

You've never been here:

Heathpack 

Unfortunately, yes. From my perspective, Dobies have a fairly high incidence of Wobbler syndrome, which is an instability of the vertebrae of the cervical spine that is difficult to adequately fix because of several technical factors and the degree of spinal cord damage already present at the time of diagnosis. They also get just plain disc disease, which is fixable but expensive to fix.

The big problems with Dobies, though, is that they have a very high incidence of two other diseases: Von Willebrands disease (a blood clotting disorder) and cardiomyopathy (a heart disease). So much so that I require testing for VWD in any Dobie undergoing an elective anesthetized procedure and strongly recommend a cardiac ultrasound to check out the heart, as most Dobies with cardiomyopathy are asymptomatic early on but the heart issue could majorly complicate the anesthesia, especially if you are unaware of it.

VWD limits your ability to do emergency surgery because the affected dog is given a blood product called cryoprecipitate prior to the surgery. Cryo has a short shelf-life so it is generally not stocked even in big specialty hospitals, it must be ordered. Managable for elective procedures, but sometimes you are SOL for emergency surgeries. Cryo is also expensive.

All of this can add up quickly, as you can imagine and be pretty heartbreaking. A Doberman is a nice dog, and believe it or not, I'd actually consider having one myself. But I can deal with much of the Dobie stuff a little more readily than a lay person. So for you, I'd say pass on the Doberman.

H

LAJ

Billy, I would say to consider a Shar Pei, but they have enough issues of their own to undoubtedly be AMA. A shame, as they are just something.

BillyD

Great info Heathpack, thanks! They are such handsome and stately dogs, I guess I was hoping for better news but prepared for worse. I can cross them off the short list now.

BillyD

Thanks LAJ, but I'm definitely going to stick with the Rotts. Great dogs, I have no regrets. They come with a couple of inherited ailments themselves, but considerably fewer than the Dobies whom I wanted to try out just once.

datlas 

I don't really like Kimchi much, but my MiL's is apparently amazingly good according to those in the know. Old family recipe.

datlas 

I reread my previous posting on this and I think it's confusing so I will clarify.

The formula is Total Cholesterol = LDL (bad cholesterol) + HDL (good cholesterol) + Triglycerides/5

Thus, using middle school algebra, we get TG = 70

I really try to get my patients away from looking at "Total" cholesterol, it does not make sense to add good and bad together. Better to look at the components.

LAJ

Understood Billy. I don't blame you one bit. As usual, our dogs (collectively) are the only real dogs.

Heathpack 

Just try to get a small one. I agree a Rottie is a good choice, but the ginormous ones are really too big. If I were to get a Rottweiler, I would search high and low for one who would grow up to be 80 pounds max. Much less incidence of orthopedic and spinal disorders in the non-giant ones. You still need to get one from a serious (vs backyard) breeder. Not necessarily a show dog type breeder, but one who is trying to breed healthy and happy dogs vs "I think my dog is swell, I'm going to breed her to the next male Rottweiler that I can find."