808 Blue Pitbull Blog

Dog Food - Is This Really True?

2008-09-02T09:22:00.001-10:00

One of our most frequently asked questions (if not THE most asked) is, "What do you feed your dogs?" Of course, as you may know, the answer to that has recently changed. As we began researching a raw diet, we came across little comments here and there about how terrible commercial dog food was for your dog.

Now, we didn't want to spend all of our time reading this study or that. But there was enough said that it got us thinking that there was probably *some* truth to it. Of course, without really digging in further, we don't really know.

But, I just came across a resource totally devoted to Dog Food Secrets. They offer a free report containing 5 Things You Must Do RIGHT NOW to Protect Your Dog from Death-by-Disease. Don't know what that is? It's explained here.

These guys claim that commercial dog food contains AT LEAST 6 deadly chemicals that have been banned from human food because they cause:

Kidney cancer
Bladder cancer
Skin cancer
Stomach cancer
Spleen cancer
Leukemia
Liver dysfunction
Major organ failure
Immune system collapse
Severe allergic reactions
Birth Defects
...and a heck of a lot more! YIKES!

If you want to check out what else they have to say about commercial dog food - CLICK HERE.

Bullies In Paradise Hilo

2008-08-30T07:32:00.000-10:00

Okay, okay, okay - I'm tired of Allen bugging me about it and I really did need to get off my butt and do this. We had a blast up in Hilo for the Bullies in Paradise event. Not only because the dogs did well, but we were "on vacation," got to see a bunch of great dogs, and got to hang out with a bunch of cool people. What more can you ask for on a weekend?

What's even cooler is that Diamond did well in the weight pulling fun match. Now, we haven't been training her hard because we were hoping she was going to be having puppies. When it looked like that wasn't going to happen, we began to work her a little more. But we really only got to work her about 10 days strong. In any case, she didn't win pound for pound (a 40-something pounder from Kona name Angel won that), but she did win her weight division! So she got a cool ribbon and bowl.

Then on Sunday, they had a fun show. We entered Moose, Diamond, and Midgi (our new Frenchie).

Midgi won her age group (0-6 months).

Then Moose came up and won for 6-12 month old male. A female named "Patches" won best overall for the 6-12 month old group.

Diamond didn't place, but that's okay, she had fun anyway!

Then, they called up all the dogs that had blue ribbons. This included both the Frenchie and Moose. They awarded one dog for Best of Show and one for People's Choice.

MOOSE won the Best of Show!!!

That was cool!

We did have quite a few inquiries about him in Hilo. Even people who've seen him here on the website or up on MySpace were kind of surprised at how he looked in person. We were told a number of times that he looks much more impressive in person than he does in his pictures. Of course, we think so too, but then we're kind of biased because he's our dog.

So anyway - that's how the weekend went. We had fun, the dogs did well, and we got to cruise with great people and even see a bit of the island.

How to Feed Your Dog Raw Food

2008-08-29T21:10:00.005-10:00

So, as you may know, we feed our dogs an all raw diet. Of course, we have many, many, many questions from people about feeding raw. Many people we know are open to this idea simply because getting quality dog food on a regular basis in Hawaii is such a huge challenge.

Of course, just like with anything else, we highly advise that you do your own research before making the decision on whether or not to feed your dog a raw diet. There are do's and don'ts that really need to be followed for the health and well being of your dog.

Like you, we are continuing to learn about this way of feeding, but really truly believe that it's best for our dogs.

If you want more information on feeding raw, there are many great sites with free information.

My favorite is http://rawfed.com/myths/index.html

Other people prefer the Barf Diet which you can get more info on at

http://www.barfworld.com/

Another resource I just found out about is The Naturally Healthy Dog.

This one is available via instant download and will provide you

with information on:

Why Raw Food
Foods to Use
Foods to Avoid
How to Figure out Recipes and Portions
What to do when you can't feed fresh
The Importance of Journaling!
and more

All of those points are very important to know about before beginning a raw feeding program.

Definitely learn as much as you can before starting.

Before I go, I promise that we'll get you the information on how Hilo was in the upcoming post.

Allen's bugging me about it, so be on the lookout for it!

More Puppy Pictures

2008-08-29T08:28:00.003-10:00

Few more pics of the new gang.

4 Females and 3 Males born on August 23rd.

$1200-$1500

Sire's pedigree Click Here

Dam's pedigree (click to enlarge)

Call Allen for more information
808-864-2848

Moving Fast

2008-08-27T12:24:00.003-10:00

Wow! People are moving fast! We already have 2 deposits in for Lii x Mana's litter.

First Pick Male is going to Caleb M.
2nd pick (either male or female, they haven't decided yet) is also already spoken for.

First Pick Female is still open. Deposits can be sent via the internet with debit or credit card on our Puppies Page (scroll to the bottom). We also accept cashier's checks or money orders by mail (contact us for a mailing address), or cash in person.

7 pups is quite a few for Lii, but there have been people on our mailing list who wanted to put deposits down before we even did the breeding. So if you are serious about getting a pick from this litter, don't wait too long!

Puppies Available

2008-08-26T17:22:00.002-10:00

It seems that I left out some pertinent information in my last post about the puppies. People are writing to us asking how much they are. That would be good to know right? I'll tell ya. This litter will be priced at $1200-$1500.

A non-refundable deposit can reserve a pick for you. IF you do put a deposit down, please be prepared to be at the FIRST showing to make your pick. Right now the first showing is tentatively scheduled for September 19th (Friday evening).

We can take deposits and/or full payments via credit card or debit card through PayPal (even if you do not have a PayPal account). Please contact us at info [at] 808bluepitbull.com for more information if you are interested in this option.

To make a deposit for this litter NOW via credit or debit card, click on the "Pay Now" button below.

Mana/Lii Puppies are Here!

2008-08-26T07:19:00.004-10:00

Yes, they are here and they arrived safely on August 23rd. Mama Lii is doing well and so are the puppies. There are 7 in all (4 Females, 3 Males). It's funny...last time we bred her with a fawn (Tubbs) and she had black & white and blue & white pups. This time, we breed her with a blue and we've got some interesting colors (and no blues). You'll see in these pics...

Click for Larger View

The Gang at 3 days old

Click to enlarge

2 Black and White Females

The one on the right looks like Diamond's Mirror twin

2 Black Boys

Primarily black just like their half brother Ace

1 Female (left) & 1 Male (right)

These two are a trip - unusual colors for us

1 Female - the only one this color

Big Island Bound!

2008-08-21T08:34:00.002-10:00

Gosh we've been so busy! Just stopping in to say that we'll be on our way to the Big Island tomorrow for Bullies in Paradise! Can't wait!

Diamond and Moose will be going up with us. Hope to see you there too. It's still not too late to get tickets if you're in Hawaii.

If you're on the Big Island, I hope to see you there!

Click to enlarge

Bullies in Paradise Information

2008-08-12T09:47:00.002-10:00

Ahhh, I finally got an updated flyer for the Bullies in Paradise event that will take place August 23-24. We're going to be there and are looking forward to seeing all the dogs and enjoying the weekend. It's not too late to book your tickets! ;D

Here's the flyer if you want more information (click to enlarge)

Participate in 1st ABKC Show in Hawaii

2008-08-10T20:10:00.003-10:00

If you want to participate in the FIRST ever ABKC show in Hawaii, you MUST pre-register. There is more information and one of the necessary forms up at www.northshorebluepits.com.

We're really looking forward to this event! This is part of the Ultimate Hawaiian Island Bullies event which is scheduled for November 8th at Haleiwa Elementary School.

Click on the flyer below to enlarge

As for the Bully Bash 3 (the one that was at Waianae the past two times), we're not even sure what's going on with that show at this point. We were scheduled to attend when it was set up for October 4th in Waianae, but now that has all changed, so we may not even be able to attend and aren't really sure of the details as far as that particular event is concerned.

We ARE planning to go up to Hilo for the August 23-24 show and we do plan to be at the November show mentioned above. Hope to see you out there too!

Dog Training - Ask Anything

2008-08-08T09:23:00.003-10:00

Wow - we just found an online resource which will allow you to actually ask a real person about the dog training issues you may have.

We've been trying out some new training techniques too and are having a lot of fun with it. Right now we're talking to the people who produce the information we're using to see if we can work together to get the information to you, but that's not quite ready yet.

BUT, if you're looking for a unique Dog Training Blueprint to Success - this is something different from any online dog training program I've seen so far. It's more expensive too, but you also get quite a bit of dog training support.

If you need help with dog training and are looking for an opportunity to get live help, CLICK HERE.

Did We Lose You?

2008-08-07T11:31:00.003-10:00

Due to a technical difficulty, some of our subscribers were DELETED today!

If you were on our mailing list and want to STAY on our mailing list to receive news and updates (and when Lii drops her pups), please double check that you are still on there. All you have to do is go to our home page and enter your name and e-mail address in the sign-up form. If you're on the list it will tell you.

If you were accidentally deleted today, it'll allow you to put your name back on the list!

Let us know if you have any questions - info (at) 808bluepitbull.com.

Thanks!

Lii's Belly

2008-08-07T09:42:00.003-10:00

Here's a picture that we took just a few days ago. I think we're expecting some Lii/Mana puppies.

Now Lii is looking promising and Diamond not so much. Before it was the other way around. But now Lii's tummy is getting fat and Diamond pretty much looks the same as she did a few weeks ago, so we're losing hope with her.

If Diamond didn't catch though, expect to see her pulling this year!

Diamond's Update

2008-08-03T09:34:00.000-10:00

In our last post about Diamond, we mentioned that we were going to get another opinion about whether or not she's carrying puppies.

Well, the vet wasn't 100% sure, and we didn't do a blood test or ultrasound, but he did say that he was pretty sure she was carrying puppies. He said that she seemed to be carrying them kind of high up in her abdomen, but he did think they were there.

So....now we cross our fingers and hope to see Hawaiian Rhino puppies in a couple weeks.

We May Just Have to...

2008-08-02T10:29:00.000-10:00

...do this...thinking about it...

Words really aren't necessary...

New Pictures of Moose

2008-08-01T08:29:00.000-10:00

We've posted these on MySpace, so if you're our friend there, you may have already seen these. We just took these pictures of Moose. Remember, he's still just 9 months old.

We couldn't be happier with how he's developing...

Click on any image for the full size view

Solid!

85 lbs and counting

Working on a training exercise

Gotty/Sierra Female For Sale - Pics

2008-07-28T13:49:00.002-10:00

As promised, here are some updated pictures of Ella and Baloo's sister who is back up for sale.

Contact us for more information, price is $2000, but we're open to negotiate/work something out.
864-2848

We Have Hope for Both of Them

2008-07-25T12:44:00.003-10:00

As you may or may not know, we bred both Liilii and Diamond about a month ago. Actually, about 5 weeks ago to be more exact. Now Diamond definitely looks thicker, BUT we also changed her food (she's not on raw...yet). She's now eating a higher calorie food since she exercises a lot, so that may be part of her getting thicker, plus she just went through a heat and just made 1 year old, so it could just be "normal" development/maturing. So we don't want to read too much into it. The picture shown here was taken this week.

Li'i, on the other hand, doesn't look all that much bigger. The only "sign" that she might be carrying pups is eating less right around the 4 week mark. She has since gained her appetite back in the past few days and *may* seem slightly thicker. But then again, could just be seeing what I want.

In either case, the reason we have some hope for them both on their breeding is because of how their abdomen feels. Now, I'll admit, we're no where near experts in this area. We just did some reading on what we might be able to look for. Then we did some gentle feeling of their abdomens and compared it to what we felt when we did the same thing with some of the other females in our yard. AGAIN, it may just be a case of wishful thinking, but to us, it feels like there's a chance they both caught.

We're hoping to get a second, more expert opinion on Diamond tomorrow morning. With Lii, we'll just wait and see. The reason we want to have a more definite answer with Diamond is because we want to know whether we can continue to train her to pull for the upcoming events, or whether we have to lay off and resume her training after pups arrive.

We'll keep you updated on both breedings as we find out more.

In case you're not familiar with the breedings:
Lii was bred with Mana Loa - muscular, well toned match up

Diamond's stud hasn't been announced here yet, but since we have told people who've asked us, we'll let you know too. Diamond was bred with Hawaiian Rhino, which, needless to say, means that if she does catch, that litter will more or less be spoken for as soon as it drops...if not sooner. Diamond is the daughter of Tubbs which makes her half-sister to Rhino's mother (Tequila Sunrise). So if you like that look, Tubbs, Tequila, Rhino....that's what we're going for with this breeding. We'll see if it takes.

More Evidence of Angel Thriving on Raw

2008-07-22T00:35:00.001-10:00

As we've said previously, when we made our move from our old house, Angel had a bit of a rough transition. She lost a lot of weight while we lived with family waiting for our new house to be ready. Since we moved to our own place, she did pick up weight, but her skin and coat never did look the same.

As you also know, we've started her on a raw diet and she's doing so much better now. It's been a few weeks and we've learned that she much prefers beef to turkey. We've learned a lot about raw feeding from www.rawfed.com (especially the "myths" link) and from googling different terms regarding raw feeding.

Some people worry about feeding bones to their dogs and that's understandable. So far, we haven't had any problems. Chicken bones are quite soft and easy to chew, especially for beginners. Also, the prey-model diet, which is what we're following, only consists of 10%-15% bone - the rest is meat and organ. So it's not like you're feeding your dog tons of bones. Plus, feeding the appropriate sized bones helps with feeding bones safely.

Anyway - on to the main part of this post, the additional evidence (aside from the picture in this post) that Angel is doing well on raw. Like, we said, Angel lost a bunch of weight when we moved. She was down to about 60 lbs at one point. Though she did gain weight since we got into our own place, the most she reached was about 67 lbs. When Angel was "in her prime" she weighed between 70-75 lbs (between her 1st and 2nd litter).

Now, after a couple weeks on raw, Angel weighs in at 78-80 lbs. She is the 2nd heaviest dog in our yard ABOVE Fella and behind only Moose who is the one dog in the yard taller than she is. That's our girl!

Bullies in Paradise Hilo

2008-07-21T09:05:00.002-10:00

The next pitbull/bully/dog event that we'll be attending here in Hawaii is the Hilo Bullies in Paradise next month. The show will be 2 days, Saturday and Sunday, August 23-24, 9:00am - 6:00pm.

The event will include:

All breed show
Hawaii Strongest Dog Weight Pull
Shutzhund, Agility, and Obedience Exhibitions
Canine Fashion Show
Bike Stunt Show
Musical Entertainment and more...

For more information on Vending, Sponsorship, or Kennel Packets available, contact Leihuanani at 808-430-1030 or e-mail info@HiUKC.org.

View/Print/Save the flyer for this event HERE

Blue Pitbull Female Puppy For Sale

2008-07-21T08:29:00.004-10:00

We now have Ella and Baloo's sister back up for sale (the one we call "Phantom"). Here are some of the old pictures of her. We'll try to get some new ones taken soon.

She was born on March 20, so she will be 4 months old on the 20th of this month. She is done with her puppy vaccinations and is ready to go to a new home.

For more information, give Allen a call at 808-864-2848.

Gotty/Sierra blue pitbull female $2000/offer.

New Picture of Little Miss

2008-07-19T10:09:00.001-10:00

Here's a long awaited new picture of Little Miss (Moose's sister). She is out of Pacific Pitbull Kennels, Geronimo x Niki. She certainly has a different build from her brother, but she has a nice structure none-the-less. Miss has yet to go into her first heat and she is already 9 months old. So, she probably won't be ready to breed until next year when she'll be even more matured.

We're working on putting together a breeding for her. If we can swing it, it'll be a good one. We'll keep you updated on those plans as they unfold.

For now though, we're just continuing to work with her and train her and even work her out in a harness as well. She likes it. I don't know that she'll be super strong, but she's one of the FASTEST dogs we have in the yard! Oh, and she's one of our raw eating dogs. I really do think it's doing her some good too.

UKC Clinic cancelled

2008-07-18T17:43:00.000-10:00

Shucks! I just got word that tomorrow's UKC clinic has been canceled due to a parks and recs schedule mix up.

From what I understand, they will try to reschedule. So when I find out more, I'll let you know.

New Picture of Fella

2008-07-18T10:00:00.000-10:00

Here's a couple new pictures we have of Fella. He is now 9 months old and getting the hang of posing for pictures LOL.

He is also working on weight pulling. He wasn't interested when we first tried working with him, but now he's more into it, so it's a good way for him to get some exercise!

If you're not familiar with Fella, he is Ganghis Kon/Razor's and will be 1 year old on September 21st. He's already getting stud inquiries and we're looking forward to seeing what he can do as a stud.

If you're interested in using Fella as a stud, give Allen a call at 808-864-2848. We plan on bringing Fella out to one of the dog events that are going on this year. We're not sure which ones yet. We'll keep you updated on that though.

Here's one more picture of Fella from a few days ago...

New Pictures of Baloo

2008-07-17T10:35:00.000-10:00

As promised, here are a few of Baloo's new pictures. Like we said in Ella's post, he is now 3 months old. He used to be quite a bit smaller than Ella, but this little guy is now catching up! He's still about a pound lighter than she is, but the size difference between the two of them is not so big now.

While Ella has been doing better with marker training, Baloo is actually doing better with the crate training. So they both have their own strengths and weaknesses.

Here are the other pictures we took of Baloo earlier this week. Hopefully we'll be able to get better ones of both him and his sister. Eventually we need to add them to our Males and Females pages so we'll need to work on getting more pictures of them to feature.

Baloo at 3 months...