So this happened today... Videos

I'd say he's definitely got Spaniel in him. Can't see Pit Bull at all

Well I hope not. I don't like pit bulls at all. Don't want a dog with it in them. Not sure I like Spaniels either. Never had one and never met one. I was hoping he was mostly Labrador, but I don't think so now. He no longer looks or acts like one.

Today he was a pain. Working a new shift and had to take a day nap and put him away a bit longer than he is used to during the day, and when I let him out... He had zoomies, which I had never seen before. He also was harassing Nigredo and chewing on everything.

June 21- 4 lbs
July 21 - 12 lbs

He has tripled his weight in a month. He's about 12 weeks now. Nigredo was 16 weeks and 20 lbs. Nigredo is not a small dog at all at 90-100 lbs.

Malone won't continue to grow at anywhere near these rates. He was very tiny due to horrible parasites and is merely catching up in weight.

However, he MAY very well be 16 lbs in another month. I can see him gaining 4 lbs in a month. The amount he eats is absolutely ridiculous. If this is the case - he might try to get much bigger than I wanted.

Nigredo got much bigger than I wanted, too. I don't prefer big dogs. A nice medium 50-60 lbs is ideal for me. We shall see. Malone's DNA results might help see what's what as far as weight.

I wanted to see how Malone liked raw food. I was cutting chicken wings. I gave him the end piece (that usually goes into the trash before cooking) and he swallowed it whole. Really ridiculous. Hopefully it does not upset his tummy. So far he seems totally fine.

Rosie wont touch raw. Cooked? Yes. Raw? No get a life

If you want to try Malone, take a full chicken wing and hold it so he has to gnaw on the end. It's the way it's usually introduced

His poo was lighter brown due to the large bit of white raw chicken and bone. But was totally solid and his tummy tolerated it just fine. I don't plan to feed him raw very often, too much trouble... But now and then I will give him something raw since he loved it.

My last dog Brownie (Labrador mix) wouldn't touch most raw food. He would only pick at raw beef EVERY now and then. Usually he refused it. He was very skinny all his life and we tried multiple types of raw because they said it may put weight on him. Nothing ever did but he was healthy and lived to be nearly 16. Jade (German shepherd mix) would not touch anything raw at all. Again lived to be nearly 16.

Nigredo loves all raw except now and then will pick at ground beef. He still eats it due to greed, but doesn't enjoy it. Forked over a tad of raw beef before I made a hamburger earlier. Malone loves beef too.

We have ALL learned never to hold anything when giving it to Malone. It is usually tossed to him. This is what I meant earlier when I said he bites HARD. I'm used to the soft mouth of a Labrador. This guy isn't like that at all. Definitely need to work on taking things gently.

Got an update on Malone's Embark test. It is in the final stage... But they say it may take up to two more weeks. I was disappointed because I thought it was done... But the update says it's almost done.

Malone's Embark health results came back today. Gotta say, I believe they are accurate. I purposely did not add any info or photos of Malone.

He tested at risk for Progressive Retinal Atrophy - Prcd. Progressive Rod-Cone Degeneration (PRCD Exon 1). He has multiple copies of the gene that causes this and is at risk for having this and developing symptoms. He has the adult/late onset type. A vet reached out to me as well, and told me to keep an eye out for cataracts as he gets older.

As I stated earlier, the vet and my mother both observed that Malone's eyes are not centered. I hadn't noticed it until they did. They both point oddly outwards. Turns out there's something genetically wrong with them. There is really nothing that can be done about this, but it is nice to know he has it. Will monitor him. For now he is totally fine.

There was also this - again not cause for alarm. But nice to know:

Malone has one copy of a mutation associated with reduced ALT activity as measured on veterinary blood chemistry panels. Please inform your veterinarian that Malone has this genotype, as ALT is often used as an indicator of liver health and Malone is likely to have a lower than average resting ALT activity. As such, an increase in Malone’s ALT activity could be evidence of liver damage, even if it is within normal limits by standard ALT reference ranges.

He also has a recessive gene for Ichthyosis
(PNPLA1) that they said he should not develop but could pass if bred. He won't be bred of course but just in case, I will keep an eye out.

All in all, not too bad and definitely something I'm happy to have.

Forewarned is forearmed as they say. At least now you know what to watch out for as he grows older. I imagine lots of dogs have unseen factors that hopefully we never find out about.

True. His eyes definitely don't LOOK normal... So it doesn't surprise me. He tested clear for the nasty stuff like DCM and whatnot. His breed results will be in very soon now.

After reading more about that eye issue, Malone has two mutated copies. He also has the slightly green hue to his eyes that they say is common in affected dogs. This almost guarantees that he will eventually go completely blind. Dogs with two of the mutated genes almost always develop the disease. It can begin as early as a year of age, though is usually around 3-5 years old. They begin to have night blindness, which eventually leads to total blindness within a few more years. There is zero treatment or halting the disease. It won't affect his lifespan and it doesn't hurt him, but it's kinda discouraging to know that he won't be able to see.

Dogs are amazingly when it comes to loss of sight Myra. It may mean that you have to be super tidy if the worst happens, but little Malone will cope and his other senses will take over

Breed results are in! They don't surprise me at all. It are disappointing nonetheless. He's a MUTT!

https://my.embarkvet.com/dog/malone3

Here are his newest photos... I can definitely see the pit bull.

Nah, he's a super mutt and a very handsome one at that

Pick any two that you fancy from the list. Join 'em together and Malone is a designer dog

He's a mutt but I mean everyone could see the Spaniel, and I suspected some Labrador too.

I still refuse to accept that he's a normal puppy. The way he snatches on things roughly etc. His behavior is very "snappy" and he bites HARD.

I know everyone will say that pit bulls aren't aggressive and they don't bite hard and that that part of him has nothing to do with his behavior, but this puppy often behaves in ways that I don't like and don't find normal. Nobody can convince me that it isn't because he's nearly 20% pit bull.

None of it truly matters because I do love the little man and he's here to stay, but I have to accept that he isn't like my normal Labrador mixed guys and will require some extra work.

It says his predicted adult weight is 40 something lbs... But I have heard that this part of the test tends to be inaccurate. We shall see. Malone is a cute and healthy little brown puppy... That's all I know for now.

https://my.embarkvet.com/dog/milo210

This dog is as related to him as a first cousin. This dog is over 60% American Pit Bull Terrier. Interesting indeed.

and it's all you need to know. He gorgeous

Aww thanks. With all the fleas, 3 types of worms, coccidia, and demodex... It took a while to get him on the right track. But he's about there now.

He's got another vaccine on the 5th and then he's done. Got his health on track. Was not easy. Won't be easy to get his behavior on track either, but I can do it.

He won't be a yapping, biting, hyperactive little bastard forever. I wasn't going to neuter him, but after seeing his breed results, I think I will now. Not yet though of course.

Malone today

Gosh... Put simply... Malone is annoying. He has endless energy. He constantly harasses Nigredo. He's LOUD and very vocal and he yaps a ton when playing. Nigredo runs out of energy after a while Ms wishes to be left alone but Malone won't leave him alone.

The other day, he went up to Oreo and puffed his chest out at him. He seemed to suddenly realize that he is no longer the 4 lb tiny weak puppy that 15 lb Oreo can push around. He yapped in Oreo's face. Oreo boxed him up, but he took the beatdown like a champ and then chased Oreo onto a high point. He even has some minor scratches from getting boxed by a cat, he doesn't care.

A family member is losing patience with him and told me that I should have left him where I found him. He goes in for his final vaccines on the 5th. Vet said I should wait at least two weeks after that if I want to take him around places where other dogs poop etc.

He also is beginning to realize he is tall enough to reach things he shouldn't. He has knocked over trash cans a few times. He lunged into a family members plate and knocked food off of it. He chews and tugs the ends of rugs. He constantly jumps up to beg when you are eating.

If you are unlucky enough to get in the way of something he is trying to bite (likely something he isn't supposed to have), you WILL be bleeding when you pull your limb back.

He eats A TON. It is absolutely ridiculous. He scarfs down what I am sure are large amounts of food and then begs for more. Any type of human food gets absolutely decimated. I give him chicken and the occasional table scrap, he destroys it. He does not chew much (same as Nigredo). His poops are all completely formed and seem totally healthy. No signs of parasites at all. He doesn't look skinny anymore, he looks normal and healthy.

Nigredo was never like this. Sure he chewed a few things up but he wasn't loud or overly boisterous. He did not ever draw blood with his teeth. He was such a good boy compared to this yapping little monster.

His feet are enormous but he is not a large puppy... I sure hope he doesn't begin to get big quickly. He will jump clean off the ground if I am carrying a plate of food or his bowl of dog food. Nigredo simply was never athletic enough and had weak hips and could not do this.

He seems to realize his size and he pushes limits daily. Yesterday he bit Nigredo's lower face skin and wouldn't let go. Tugged on it like a tug toy. Nigredo smashed him to the ground with his foot. Did not hurt him, did not bite him. Nigredo is a very well balanced and patient dog. Malone yelped but quickly got up and challenged Nigredo again. Malone lunges with his teeth bared at. A lot of it doesn't look friendly.

If I tell them to stop when the play gets overly noisy or they have a yelping incident, Nigredo listens and moves to sit down. Malone gets distracted for a second but then resumes what he is doing. I have to physically grab Malone and put him in time out.

The other day he puffed his chest out at the edge of our yard at my neighbors annoying white dog. She charged him and he quickly bolted back to me and Nigredo intercepted to protect him. All was well, but he is just challenging everything around him.

The very old cat here, Blue has gotten to where she does not come downstairs or really even leave one room anymore... Which is a good thing, because harassing her would likely mean a ticket out the door. She is too small and frail to defend herself at this point. Fortunately she stays in one upstairs room with no desire to come out and Malone cannot go in there.

He CAN - however... Easily navigate the stairs and tends to disappear sometimes and I have to go hunt for him. He enjoys mischief.

But then there are times when he will just sit under my legs happy as can be and let me pet his head and chest and ears and he will just wag his little butt off. He can be sweet sometimes but wow... What a little monster he can be.