Oh, and for the person who said ferrets are rodents, that is not so, they are mustelids, more closely related to dogs and cats than any rodent
Jenni, It wasn't the puppy that was an actual impulse, it was the type of dog it is we got that is the impulse. We have been planning a dog for a very long time, but the plan was a lab or golden retriever after much research of what would be most companionable with ferrets, then I seen a ad for puppies, I replied and was told that they were mutts and they would be small to medium sized dogs and how the parents are both great with kids and small animals, it wasn't until he dropped the puppy off that my husband was told what the dog really was and how big it would get, I was not even there when it was dropped off, If I would of been told before he even came with the dog I would have said no!! Just wish we would have stuck with our original plan of getting a lab or golden retriever.

Impulse…puppy…small loose animals…you never thought this would be an issue?
There are no words… either give up the dog or lock the ferrets up.

I have a younger sister who has never really had a pet and thought about giving her one of the Enigmas. BUT I am very wary so I am looking for unbiased opinions. I am going to tell her pet history and how she is during the day and tell me if you would give her a leo or not.

Ok first she had a shar pei puppy when we were both kids granted she was a kid so my mom mostly too care of it. But she didn't want to walk it or bath it only play and sleep with her. The puppy died at a young age due to health issues.

Next came her hamster she was 14 when she got him he lived exactly 3 months she cleaned his cage and bedding once a month and that was it he died because she "hugged" him too hard.

Then came her goldfish neither of us knew nothing about goldfish so it was in a bowl and died like 3 days later from being overfed.

Next her dog Max she still has him she does okish with him she doesn't like to walk him she forces him to eat if he doesn't want to. He is NOT housebroken completely. He is 4 years old and gets bathed hardly ever. He has long hair which I regularly have to cut mats out of. He is not trained and has some health issues. I basically care for him. BUT I will not say she doesn't care about him she loves him to death like literally she does not go anywhere he isn't allowed to go.

I am in a dilemma on the one hand I don't want to give it to her because of her past experience with pets and I am afraid I will give it to her and within a month it will be dead.

BUT on the other hand I feel very sorry for her she hasn't been able to have the pet experience like I have because she is highly allergic to almost anything that has hair. She has to take 3 allergy pills a day for her dog. I know she would love a pet she could handle without puffing up.

UGH I don't know what to do!

I though about letting her observe me with my geckos and let her see what the daily weekly and monthly care involves and see if she still wants to do those things. I just don't know.

So opinions???

And no she isn't a child I am 25 and she is 23… I think LOL

23 years old is still young. she might want to party and hang with friends more than care for her half-abused dog or any other pets. DO NOT GIVE HER ANY PETS. I think she needs to work on her dog.

I'll trade you my 2 normal female leopard geckos for the 2 free Enigmas!

Some b*tches simply run a low normal temp and haven't read the books about the temp drop.

Tomorrow (Monday) I'd bring her in to the vet for an X-ray to take a look at both the number of pups to expect and the degree of calcification (by which a GOOD vet can give you a pretty accurate guess as to when pups should come).

Most importanly, it will help a whole lot if you feed a really good natural dog food. Check this site: dogfoodanalysis.com.
Stay away from any over the counter flea meds. Use only veterinary stuff & never combine flea product.
Invest in a really good oatmeal shampoo & bathe approx. once a month.
Use a hypoallergenic sunblock if your dog is in the sun for extended periods
Add a fish oil supplement to your dog's diet.
Wipe the folds of your dog's face & the inside of the ears with a damp cloth daily. Thoroughly flush & clean out the ears at least weekly.

Good luck!

PS. Even if the fleas are gone, the bites will be itchy for several days.

Thanks in advance

He might be around 60-70 pounds if he is a saint bernard and shar pei mix but you can never be sure with a mixed breed.

The GSD-cross pups I'm aware of, such as the 3 generation experiment conducted before 1941 by Stockard, to check whether achondroplastic legs or normal legs were dominant, resulted in all flop-ears.
The P1 generation was a GSD bit.ch and a Basset dog.
The F1 generation all had achondroplastic legs and total-flop ears.
The F2 generation (produced by mating a pair of the F1 generation) produced 7 pups almost perfectly demonstrated the 1 : 2 : 1 and 3 : 1 ratios calculated by Gregor Mendel.
• 5 of them were achondroplastic, 2 of them had normal legs.
• 4 of them had ears that stood almost horizontally for a way before drooping, 3 of them had total-flop ears.

I don't believe that ear carriage is a simple dominant vs recessive trait. I believe it is a very complex polygenic one, requiring a host of "right" alleles for erection to occur. As neither Bassets nor Shar Peis demonstrate having any of the "right" alleles, I cannot expect 50% of the GSD's "right" alleles (50% being the maximum either parent can pass to its progeny) being enough to add to the Basset's or Shar Pei's close-to-0% of the "right" alleles and reach a total that will produce erection.

Crossing to a terrier is a different story, depending on the particular breed. Many terrier breeds DO have erect ears, proving that they have a reliably high percentage of the "right" alleles. Others have tipped ears, proving that they have ALMOST enough of the "right" alleles.

BTW - if you aren't familiar with the word "allele", it simply means "an alternative version of that gene, one that works slightly differently to each other allele in that gene series".
If that makes your eyeballs ache, think of a car's wheels - there are many alternative treads available for a particular wheel: some that give grip in snow or ice, some that give grip on soft ground, some that have minimum friction in a straight line but give great grip when cornering on a hard dry surface, some that pump rain-water out to give a better grip on a wet road - they are all part of the same "car tyre series" and all do roughly the same thing (give a vehicle a grip on the surface), but they do it in different ways.

[mutant mutts]:
You have FAR too simple an idea of genetics. You haven't realised that the genes for Agouti patterns, and the several genes for the colours in those patterns, and the genes for coat length, and the several genes for ear carriage, are each inherited SEPARATELY. Have you understood the process of meiosis yet?
There is no "gene for being a GSD", the characteristics are a right mix of dominant alleles and intermediate alleles and recessive alleles. And regardless of which breed it came from, a dominant allele will switch off any intermediate or recessive allele, and an intermediate allele will switch off any allele lower in the order of dominance than it is.
And every allele in the GSD gene pool (except the "Panda"-allele that was a brand new mutation in about 1999) is available in several other breeds' gene pools - just not in the same COMBINATIONS as found in GSDs.
Les P, owner of GSD_Friendly: http://pets.groups.yahoo.com/group/GSD_Friendly
"In GSDs" as of 1967

If getting a dog because it is "cute" is the only concern you shouldn't get one. You need to make sure this is a breed for you and fits your life style. This breed is not for everyone and you need to research it and make sure it will be a good match for you!

One thing they've all started several years ago was putting them all on a chicken and rice diet, as many Shar Peis are allergic to corn, wheat and soy. And feeding them basic store bought dog food, which is full of the stuff, can irritate those allergies and cause skin infections. My families Shar Peis have gotten much healthier after this change of diet. No skin infections or swollen hocks.

Also please read about the breeds other health issues; http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Familial_Shar_Pei_fever

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shar_pei#Health

Good luck! They are great dogs, but they can require more care than many other breeds.