I know I said in my previous post that that was all that needed to be said about Brenda Negri, but good Lord this woman just refuses to take her meds and grasp hold of reality! I let it go on too long last time before addressing the outright lies she tells in her pathetic effort to make herself seem dedicated...
On one of the latest versions of her site where she is again bashing other breeders... she talks about how others are selling what Brenda does not believe are "real working Spanish Mastiffs" and that the dogs are run with a "handful" of goats or a "small bunch" of "dwarf sized show goats" (this from a woman who has more then twice the number of dogs then she does sheep or goats on about 2 acres - house and out buildings included!). She goes on to say that it's not what she would call "testing ground for real predator issues". Brenda recently posted a picture of a dead chihuahua and bragged about how her "real" LGD's had killed it...oh yeah, that sure is testing those dogs against real predators!!
Brenda has admitted on numerous forums that the only predators she has to deal with are dogs (you know - like that chihuahua), no wolf, coyote, bear or mountain lion. All of which are well documented here in my area. Wisconsin has one the largest wolf populations in the country, but we haven't been bothered by them even when close neighbors have, because my dogs are DOING THEIR JOBS! I have not lost a single one of my extremely valuable "dwarf sized show goats" (most commonly known as Nigerian Dwarf Goats - the fastest growing dairy goat breed in popularity in the US today) to any of the large coyote population here either. I have seen how my dogs have reacted to bear, coyote and mountain lion and THAT is what I would call "tested" against real predators!
She says that I spend more time showing my goats than I do focusing on my dogs because (according to Brenda who has never been to my farm) my dogs are not my top priority. Really!? My dogs are healthy, active, well socialized and trained for the work they do 24/7 (because 4 of my dogs live with the goats - not just thrown into a small pen with them for photos). In other words - they are doing exactly what they are bred and trained to do. I didn't purchase my livestock so I could claim that my Spanish Mastiff's are working (like Brenda did), I purchased the breed to protect the investment I have in my herd like any responsible farmer would/should.
I certainly do more educational events with my dogs every year than goats shows! I take the dogs out there in public so thousands of people can meet them every year and learn first hand about the breed and see them in person! This is documented, and there is no one in this country who has made this kind of effort to educate the public about the breed.
My adult daughter takes care of the animals when I am gone for the day at a show (a whole FOUR times this year!).
I have lost two puppies out of FIVE litters because of my focus on my dogs health and well-being. Brenda lost 7 or 8 from one litter alone shortly after they were born...maybe she was too busy on the computer to focus on the whelping mother...
Speaking of focus and priority, Brenda recently posted truly horrifying pictures of an emaciated Patron who has been sick for about 10 months now. You can count every rib. The poor dog looks like he just escaped Auschwitz, but unfortunately for him, he is still there...
Patron is brother to my wonderful dog Zoe, and Brenda is now suggesting possible genetic issues for his problems. For all her claims of vet care, I seriously have my doubts based on comments she made elsewhere as well as her lack of knowledge about some of the basic suggestions others made to her in an effort to help the dog. If she had taken him to all, or any of the vets and specialists she claims, they would have figured this out by now through blood tests, biopsies, x-rays, etc...Maybe Brenda believes that she is a vet now... Hard telling.
Highlighted comments below are my own and I removed comments made by others.
Cinco Deseos Ranch Livestock Guardian Dogs He feels great for his condition actually. We've tried everything, for everything....not even special food helps. Of course have dewormed him numerous times, all the time....tried holistic stuff, meds, etc. I just put him on Sulfa and Metro and a steroid now and then for a bit and it helps some but then stops working. But he works, plays, runs....just about 50 pds too light although at one point Mel he was too fat - 210! HUGE....just too heavy for working dog. So he's about 40 pds off here now. Still has such a presence about him though!
September 15 at 6:42pm
Cinco Deseos Ranch Livestock Guardian Dogs TAMMY....been there done that on several probiotics and still no success. Trust me when you dump nearly seven grand into a dog.....you've tried it all.....holistic and otherwise, I've done it.... I'd feel worse if he felt bad but he doesn't, he is happy, he plays, he works, he eats like a horse.- Cinco Deseos Ranch Livestock Guardian Dogs Jacalyn I do wonder if that might be what he has. Big guy eats all the time. Nothing stays in him. Like I said elsewhere if he were in pain, or suffering, it'd be one thing thank God however he is upbeat and he plays and works and dotes on the puppies. Does not seem to ever be in pain. (doesn't even know enough about the breed to realize how stoic they are and the incredibly HIGH pain tolerance they have!?)
- Cinco Deseos Ranch Livestock Guardian Dogs We've done the yogurt like I said probiotics - it does not work. This is where you wonder about genetics.... He lost a litter brother in Spain at 8 months to bloat. He has a sister here in Wisconsin who contacted Leptovirus and could no longer breed. (and just WHERE would you get information like that Brenda since my vet told me that there should be no issues!? Are the aliens speaking to you again?) Methinks this particular litter might not have had the most hardy or tough of immune systems and constitutions. That's three pups out of a litter with some serious stuff. I do wonder about that anyway....(please make note of this interesting comment for later...)
- Cinco Deseos Ranch Livestock Guardian Dogs Yes we tested for giardia, several times, always negative. Ditto coccidia.
- Cinco Deseos Ranch Livestock Guardian Dogs Joni I have never heard of that will check it out thank you!
- Cinco Deseos Ranch Livestock Guardian Dogs I'm also checking into chronic wasting disease... (Some of the comments/suggestions made were for Thyroid, Chronic Wasting, Pancreatic, etc. Don't you think one of those vets or "specialists" she supposedly took him to would have checked for the any of these things already? Yet she keeps saying "I'll check it out" or she'll research it...)
- Cinco Deseos Ranch Livestock Guardian Dogs We have tried special foods to no avail. Even just feeding him sweet potatoes and meat, or yams or rice and chicken. It is beyond allergies. I have tried sensitive stomach food too (at $80 a bag!?!?! Gads) - made it worse.His sister in Wisconsin is not right. She cannot conceive, (REALLY Brenda!? That's news to me since she DID in fact conceive!) she has or had, leptovirus. (Finally! A bit of truth! Not something Brenda is too familiar with, but of course she found the information on my website... As I posted on my site earlier this year, the dogs got Leptospirosis from the resident raccoons that infested the barn at my new farm. Zoe and Aislinn both re-absorbed their litters from their December breeding's which is how we discovered the problem. It was caught quickly, all the dogs were since vaccinated for it, all had blood panels run afterward to determine if there was any long term effects and all counts are normal. The update on this situation was also posted on my website.) They have tried something like four times now to breed her and she won't take. I know for a fact they bred her not long ago because they were planning on a litter about now and nope, she did not take again. So there is something not right with Patron's sister. (You know it for a FACT do you?? How is that Brenda? I certainly wouldn't give you the info, so how do you "know for a fact"? I think you have it confused with all the times you have tried to breed your own dogs unsuccessfully. Since Zoe is not yet 3 years old, your twisted version would have had me trying to breed her at one year old. Even tho YOU have tried to breed bitches at 14 months old, it is not something that I would ever do!
We bred Zoe at the beginning of June last year, but missed it due to the Holiday when her levels peaked. We bred her again at Christmas at which time she took, but lost the litter in January. That makes 2 times - not 4. She did not get bred on her last cycle because I didn't want to risk having 3 litters at the same time.Your comment should read "So there is something not right with Patron's" owner... Now that would be what most would call a verifiable FACT!The breeder in Spain lost a littermate brother at 8 months to gastric torsion. I am beginning to think the immune system on this particular litter was anything but great. That is three pups with something wrong out of a litter. Not good...? (here is that comment again...) The mother is shown a lot. She seems to be doing fine. I don't hear much about Patron's father anymore, Nistos. Have no idea what he is doing or if he has thrown any pups with odd disorders. Language barrier plus no one wants to talk about this stuff it seems. (So many Europeans have watched your antics here and have little interest in having anything they might say being twisted into something it never was!) Like HD they want to all brush it under the rug. This is a magnificent breed but it has its problems like most breeds do. - Cinco Deseos Ranch Livestock Guardian Dogs PS Should mention I am trying salt tablets on him and his fluid intake has increased and looking at this photo just taken about a week ago, and him today, he has actually gained a couple of pounds I think. I also have him on European anti-diarreah pills. They have not kicked in yet but he does look to me like he may have put on a couple of pounds. I just keep trying....that is all I can do. He is not in any pain, trust me...he feels great...right now he's passed out asleep in front of the wood stove in the house. In fact recently (I think due to the pups being out and about) he has increased night time guarding activity and is barking and running at night a lot....much more than a month ago. So he actually is feeling better...go figure...
- 8 hours ago
(And there it is!
This is the comment that - sadly, did not surprise me at all! She repeatedly talks about his poor health, the imagined issues in the bloodlines, poor genetics, etc. but has already tried to breed him TWICE while he is in this horrendous condition, and plans to do it again, all the while SHE believes that it is genetic???
It says alot about her dedication to the breed and her own dogs that she would even attempt to breed a dog that she believes is predisposed to some sort of immune deficiency as well as having no qualms about putting a dog whose health is already compromised through the rigors of breeding doesn't it?
Does she really believe that Gastric torsion has something to do with the immune system!? Really??
It would be truly wonderful for the poor dogs in Brenda's care if she would stop playing these stupid games and make it a PRIORITY to FOCUS on the health and well being of her own dogs...Unfortunately, I don't see that happening since it would mean cutting into her own profit! Just like any puppy mill would, she has already proved that she is more than willing to jeopardize her own dogs to make a buck, such as evidenced above and her willingness to breed her bitches back to back even after delivering larger litters.
There should be an addendum on Brenda's website that states UNLESS THERE IS MONEY INVOLVED "I rest my bitches between litters, breed selectively and never "puppy mill" litters"...
Such a shame.
Lois Jordan http://www.fallcreekfarm.net
