About Jada

So the main star of my blog is my dog, Jada, and I'm sure you are curious as to "who this Jada really is." Well, I will tell you!

Little Miss Jada Kiss or Jada is a black and tan purebred miniature pinscher. Her ears are naturally floppy, as my husband and I had decided not to get them cropped. Unlike a few min pins (miniature pinscher for short) who do not have their ears cropped, they do not stand up at all. I am happy we didn't get them cropped. The "floppiness" seems to add to her personality.

Gotcha Day!

We got Jada from a breeder in Northern Pennsylvania. She was born on July 1, 2006 and we took her home exactly at 8 weeks old on August 26, 2006. I had never taken care of a dog on my own nor never had a puppy, so it was an adjustment to housebreaking, training and getting into a new routine. Jada is very petite and we maintain her weight between 7 1/2 to 8 pounds.

When Jada was about 4 months old, I enrolled her in Puppy Kindergarten (yes, that's what it was called!) to help get some basics commands and training down. I found out that smaller dogs are more difficult to train and require a lot of patience. During that training, we learned not only commands but trust and loyalty to one another. We developed a strong bond through that training. Jada became my best friend. I am so grateful to the assistance of the trainers. Jada successfully graduated Puppy Kindergarten.

Congratulations Jada!

During the first year we had Jada, we started to notice she was having some health issues. I will touch on them here but they will actually one day be their own blog because there is so much more to them and I hope that telling our experiences will help others out that may have similar problems. The first of many issues arose with her first rabies vaccine. It turned out that she is allergic to something in the vaccine which caused her to develop Alopecia (hair loss) spots over her body. Over time, her hair did grow back but it took about 10-11 months.

The second issue was with her teeth. She was not loosing her puppy (baby) teeth and her adult teeth were coming in over top of them. Her little mouth was crowded. The end result was finding a pet dentist (yes, they do exist!) and had a total of 6 teeth pulled including both her canines. She is able to eat normal and she has no signs of ongoing issues. And trust me, her teeth still are sharp, even without the canines!

The last issue still remains ongoing. Just after she turned one year old, I had to run her down to the emergency vet. She had developed bloody stool, vomiting and was not eating or drinking. That day she had received fluids due to dehydration and some medication. They weren't exactly sure of what it was but I remember them mentioning something about her pancreas. She was on a strict bland diet until we were able to see our regular vet. She did have a follow-up visit to our vet but by then she was doing well. She had continued bouts with this on and off over the next few years and it wasn't until October 2010 she was finally diagnosed with pancreatitis, an inflammation of her pancreas due to diet. Now that we know exactly what we are dealing with, we are able to recognize the symptoms and treat it in time. She is on prescription vet food, (currently on Purina Veterinary Diets EN Gastroenteric dry food) and treats have been limited.

Over the years, Jada has developed quite a wardrobe. She doesn't wear clothes all the time, as she likes to run around in the buff, but she is very acceptable and tolerant to wearing the outfits. You will definitely see some of her outfits throughout my blog.

So that's the run down on our little Jada girl! Of course there are so many more stories to share but again, that's why I have this blog! If you have any questions about Jada's health issues, feel free to comment me!

Smiles :)