Hi Desiree – this is now emergent. Not eating or drinking means something is very wrong. Please get him to the vet TODAY.

This sounds like it could be a partial obstruction in her gut. That’s something I’d consider emergent. Please get her to the vet.

I sat on this a little more, and wanted to add: DCM is absolutely deadly as a disease. My Doberman had it (the breed is prone to it, so we expected it would happen) and it’s not something for which I’d ever want to increase risk. It presents as two forms – congestive and arrhythmic. Congestive is congestive heart failure, which is the animal literally drowning on their own fluids. Arrhythmic is sudden death. Neither are good, both are fatal.

Ripley’s form was arrhythmic. She was fine until her first collapse, when she went on medication to treat. In normal situations that would have earned us a few months. We got a miracle of an entire year with her post diagnosis…and she left us in the same way, with a heart attack that killed her instantly. Diagnosis is expensive, as is medication. I can absolutely say I would do whatever I can to avoid it from both an emotional and fiscally responsible standpoint.

I would read the studies, honestly. I prefer NOT to feed commercial grain free dog food, as I have found no benefit. My previous dog always had runny stool on grain free, but when I switched her to a grain inclusive food it firmed right up and her coat improved. My current dog is the same way. I prefer not to supplement with pumpkin, and it appears dogs do benefit from the fiber in grain inclusive foods.

If you DO choose to feed grain free, make sure the ingredients don’t have legumes high on the ingredient list. There seems to be a correlation.

This sounds like an obsessive behavior. I would be working on training and mental work daily in the hopes this can be curbed.

Is he marking or is he emptying his bladder? If the former, that’s a training issue. I would go back to square 1 with housebreaking – leash him to a person when he isn’t crated, and take him out every hour. When he cannot be supervised, he should be crated. Reward the desired behavior and correct any signals that he’s going to mark. With him leashed to a person, he can’t wander off to mark anywhere, and any unwanted behavior should be much easier to prevent.

If he’s emptying his bladder, that could be a urinary problem, and he should be checked out.

Regarding the other naughty behavior, I’ll bet he’s bored. He should be getting daily mental and physical work. Again, crate to prevent unwanted behaviors when unsupervised.

For either situation, clean all areas with enzyme cleaner. Nature’s Miracle has worked well for us.

There appears to be a link between diets using legumes to boost protein and dilated cardiomyopathy. Whatever you feed, I would avoid anything with peas or other legumes high in the ingredient list.

Furthermore, if I’m feeding kibble, I have seen actual stool changes between grain free and grain inclusive. The latter seems to produce smaller, more solid stool than the former. My dogs have all done better on grain inclusive. I have found Purina’s Pro Plan to be the best for my specific dog’s gut – she has had almost no loose stool since we started her on it.

Not a vet, but someone who was heavily invested in Doberman breed education. We see this a lot in Dobermans fed puppy diets (not large breed puppy_. What are you feeding, and is it an adult or All Life Stages food? Have you consulted an ortho vet?

This is a training issue, not a medication issue. Look into Susan Garrett’s Crate Games. You need to train him to be okay with being in the crate, and her method is a great way to start.

Puppies get hiccups OFTEN. I would investigate how you feed her, whether you allow her to run around right after food, whether you allow her to drink a lot of water after running around. Ideally, she should be calm at least a half hour before and after eating, and I wouldn’t allow her to guzzle water. I would also ask your vet for suggestions!