Ask questions and share about your pet's health to help others.
My 8 week old chocolate lab twitches her eye and bring up her left side of her mouth. Was just wondering if that a weak muscle because that what a vet said or what?
i have a chocolate lab that is 15 years old she sometimes has a hard time getting up with her age,i have just started a new product called ANTINOL by vetz petz,which is an all natural product.my question is: prior to giving her ANTINOL,for years i have been giving her 650mg(4 pills a day)of glucosamine,a daily vitamin(consists of multi-vitamin a,b,e two pills aday) and 4 pills a day of brewers yeast for skin and coat,with her now taking ANTINOL,Can she still take the other pills safely with ANTINOL,OR SHOULD I DISCONTINUE the other pills.i would appreciate a veterinarian answering my question!!!! thank you very much!
Hi!
First I would like to mention that we took our dog to see the vet here but he didn’t know what to do to help.
We have have a Daschund. She is quite old – 11 years. And recently was diagnosed with diabetis. She has been shivering and weak since yesterday. What could be the problem?
Hello Annija.
Shivering and weakness can be common symptoms of unregulated diabetes and so many other conditions. Because unregulated diabetes can become life-threatening if left unmanaged, you need to seek proper medical care for her; either at your regular veterinarian or request a referral to a specialist.
With the proper care, 11 year olds can lead many more years of a good life.
Dr K
My cat has a wound on his tail. We don’t know where the wound came from, but it looks like a scratch, it’s not very big, and we suspect it came from a mean neighborhood cat.
However, it has a weird strand of something coming out of it that has me worried. It’s thin, about 2.5 inches / 6 cm long, roughly tan colored except in a few places where it’s dark and more red, and about halfway down its length it becomes very thin, kind of like a hair. It does seem to be affixed to his tail, though I’m not sure if it’s actually coming out of the wound.
Here’s an album with a few pictures of it: http://imgur.com/a/bTck4
Touching it is obviously uncomfortable for my cat. Occasionally he’ll lick it, and I’ve seen him chewing at it a few times as though he’s trying to get rid of it. Other than that, I see no change in his behavior. His tail still has its full range of movement.
What is this thing? Is it serious enough that we should take him to a vet?
Just took him to the vet, and they found that the scratch on his tail was bigger than we thought and the thing sticking out was nerve tissue!
Fortunately they bandaged him up, gave him an antibiotic, and he’s going to be okay.
It is perfectly round and symmetrical, appears to be under the skin (hair is intact), fairly firm, 2 inches in diameter and doesn’t seem to be bothering my dog when touched. He was also licking his nose very frequently when it showed up along with increased sneezing. I’m wondering, What this is caused by? Should he see a vet? Could this be caused by an allergy?
i’d get him in, particularly if it’s anywhere near teeth.
Any unusual lump should be seen by a vet. Especially before it gets any bigger
She took 3 days to pass the first stool. We aren’t over feeding but not under feeding. About once every 5-6 hours. She’s gaining weight very slowly. No worms in stool from what I can see. Anything other suggestions are helpful because we can’t afford a vet but don’t want to give her up because we intend to keep her and nurture her back to health.
Hello Brandon…well done for giving this dog a home.
Firstly you really do need to take her to a Vet. Not only to see if she’s microchipped (she may actually belong to a worried owner) but she is obviously not in good health and needs checking over. All new pets should be checked by a Vet within the first 3 days of getting them.
That said she needs worming and a flea treatment, also heart worm meds if they are prevalent in your area. She needs a top quality food, small meals and often. Split her daily allowance between 4 or 5 meals to start with, as she gains fitness and body weight you can gradually knock them down to a meal morning and evening.
Glucosamine is a good bone/joint supplement as is Wild Salmon Oil which will also improve her skin and coat.
I do hope you and take her to the Vet as that is honestly what she needs. If she hasn’t been spayed it would be a good idea to have her done
Good
Sorry wrong button!! Oh dear its nearly bed time I think….
Spaying when she is fit and well will protect her from Pyometra, mammary tumours and also stop unplanned puppies of course.
I wish you the very best of luck!
I have a 17- month old male GSD. We’ve had him since he was 8 weeks old. He is attached to me but is OK when I go out. He watches me from a window and then lays down and waits or goes to my father and sits by him. He goes into his crate with no problem when we go out and he may bark for a few seconds but that is it. I work from home and felt daycare would be good for him to combat boredom, socialize him and allow me to work with focus. My vet recommended the daycare. My dog freaked out when I left him and just paced and panted. He then boarded at the daycare for 14 days to overcome the anxiety. He came home happy and calm and obedient. I took him back to daycare after one day at home, he ran right to his favourite staff person for a greeting and then he freaked when I left. I called to check on him and the owner said he is anxious again and that we need to address this now and we have scheduled a home visit. Before the boarding, my father had a habit of yelling and didn’t see anything wrong with a snout slap and I was overly affectionate and babying. The daycare owner feels this is the problem and that my dad abuses and I coddle. However, we were models of calm and patience and positive reinforcement when our boy came home. We really want to create and enjoy a fabulous dog so we agreed to police each other and give our dog what he needs and deserves. After the drop off this morning and the call with the daycare owner I am feeling dejected and I really don’t know what to think. Is my dog too attached to me? Does anyone have any advice or suggestions?
Sounds like separation anxiety, which a trainer could give you advice on. Also, a “snout slap”..that is a form of abuse, please, don’t let anyone hit your beloved puppy!!
Not saying that you abuse your dog at all, but hitting is hitting, and some might think nothing of it but my dogs are “family”, and I’d never raise a hand to them.
Just as a follow up, I do not agree with any form of hitting, or threatening with anyone’s pets. The reason he was boarded was to combat the separation anxiety. And as I said, even though my dad is 89 and “old school” he has agreed to never raise a hand or yell and we are now watching out for each other to curb any bad behaviour on our part. My worry is that after two weeks of boarding/training to curb the separation anxiety my boy was anxious again and not happy about me leaving him.
I say skip the daycare. Your dog is happier being at home waiting for you and spending time with your dad. I really don’t trust vets to give advice on behavior – most of them have not been trained in this! I would spend the time, energy, effort and money on training your dog to entertain himself at home so you can focus.
I worked out of my home for years with 2 to 7 dogs in my house. I fenced in 4 acres of land (I know most people can’t provide that much land for their dogs) and my terriers & shelties would go in and out the dog door – hunting for chipmunks, sunning, and occasionally checking on me while I worked. They were never disruptive to my job and if I was on the phone with a client a snap of my fingers told them to be silent.
For what you pay in daycare you could afford to have a trainer come to your house and work with you, your dad, and the dog! Or, you could take the dog to training classes to expose him to more dogs and people (this will be even less expensive than daycare!). Letting your dog be with his pack, and giving him a strong leader (a well trained YOU!) is going to make for a happier dog in the long run. Believe me!
What do dogs really want? They want their pack, their familiar space, a strong leader, and routine.
PK
We got a new kitten, and ever since then, my 13 year old cat has been vomiting. She acts normal otherwise, and is aggressive towards the kitten. She still eats though.
Likely stress
Make sure you’re giving established kitty attention
Supervise play
Perhaps a pheromone collar or feliway
My almost 5 year old Chihuahua/dachshund mix bit my 8 month old daughter in the face a few days ago. He is currently “quarantined” at home for 10 days. He is a normally good dog. He has always been very protective, hyper and a bit jumpy of new people. He has growled at people before but never attacked. My 8 month old daughter and the dog have never had a problem, but this day they were sitting next to each other and she was petting him, and then she grabbed his tail and he turned around and bit her in the face. I can no longer feel comfortable with the dog in the house around her. I do not want to put the dog to sleep as I feel this was a pretty isolated incident but she is too young to learn from her mistake so I feel it is very necessary to find him a new place to live. I am weary of trying to find him a new home in the chance he bites again, and I do not want to have that guilt over my head. Also, he is showing no signs of rabies but he has become more anxiety ridden since the attack/barking at all noises/people outside (with being quarantined though, I believe he is feeling depressed and scared). *Side note – I have a 9 year old son as well, who has been with the dog since a puppy (and my son was 4) and they have never really had any issues. The dog would get upset sometimes but he has never bitten my son. *Another side note – we recently moved (About 3 weeks ago) into a new home, and he has shown more anxiety/jumpiness since the move. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated as I do care about my dog a lot and want him to have a good life as he is not that old yet.
ANY sudden behavior changes should be met with a vet visit first to rule out any medical problems. please, take your dog to the vet and get him checked out. i’d also talk to a veterinary behaviorist about this situation.
DO NOT TAKE HIM TO A SHELTER! Doing so will condemn him to death. Even shelters that say they are no-kill often turn over dogs that have bitten to other organizations that then put the dog down. This allows the first place to keep their “no kill” label, but does not save the dog. These are highly strung dogs. You have made a lot of changes in his life, adding stress upon stress. I am not surprised that he defended himself in this way. The rule in my house is that NO CHILD UNDER THE AGE OF THREE gets to touch a dog, sit beside a dog, be allowed in a room alone with a dog. And – I do not approve any home with a child under the age of 7 to adopt one of my fosters since I feel 7 is the minimum age of reason in a human child (in other words at that age they can understand to LEAVE THE DOG ALONE).
If you have to remove that sweet dog from your home, call a reputable rescue in your area and try to find a good home for him. Perhaps his tail was pulled harshly and it was just a warning to your child, but I understand she is too small to know better. You can take him to a behaviorist and see what that say but please don’t put a family member in a shelter. Can you imagine what he would feel like after only know your family all these years. Best of luck to you!
Thank you for your honest advice.
This is one of the hardest situations I have ever had to deal with. He is definitely a family member, and this is why it is very conflicting for me. I have family members telling me to just send him to the humane society but I know what would happen and I cannot do that without feeling extremely guilty. If it was just me I would do anything to help the dog, but my husband does not agree. I am in a very difficult situation and heartbroken. I thank everyone for their honest advice and will take this all to heart and continue to soul search in which road I should take. I do not believe he needs to die in any way shape or form.
This is one of the hardest situations I have ever had to deal with. He is definitely a family member, and this is why it is very conflicting for me. I have family members telling me to just send him to the humane society but I know what would happen and I cannot do that without feeling extremely guilty. If it was just me I would do anything to help the dog, but my husband does not agree. I am in a very difficult situation and heartbroken. I thank everyone for their honest advice and will take this all to heart and continue to soul search in which road I should take. I do not believe he needs to die in any way shape or form.
i can’t imagine how difficult this is, but please, do the medical checks to make sure there isn’t something else going on. it’ll make it easier for a rescue to place him, as well.
The Humane Society should not even be on your radar! It is a sure death sentence for this poor boy. They take in so many dogs each year that they can only save the ones that are most adoptable! And a dog that has bitten is usually considered unadoptable by the HS. Your family members may mean well, but they don’t understand that by giving this boy a home you made a life long commitment to doing what is best for him – not just your human children. The only way to be sure he is not put to death is to keep the dog yourself (and work with a trainer to resolve the issues) or to surrender him to a Chihuahua Rescue. The Chi people understand the personality of this breed and will work to ensure he gets a home that understands how to work with his stress – helping him to be the best dog he can be. It comes down to how much time, energy and effort you want to expend to keep your family (dog and all) together. If you can’t make the time and spend the money for training then you have to find the Chihuahua rescue. Another option may be a ‘small dog’ rescue. There are some that specialize in small, feisty, dogs that have fear aggression issues.
Thank you, I will be looking into the Chihuahua rescue to see if they can assist me, I truly appreciate your help and honesty!
I don’t know where in the US you are located, but doing a quick search I found http://www.Chihuahua-rescue.org that is working out of the midwest. And there is a request form for more information on the Chihuahua Club of America at this link http://www.chihuahuaclubofamerica.com/contact-the-cca/contact-breed-rescue that may lead you to a person in your area for rescue.
Totally and absolutely agree with P K here. The brutal truth is you allowed this to happen by letting an 8 month old baby pull your dog around, and how many times has she done it before? Look at it from the dogs point of view, if someone was constantly poking you and pulling your hair what would you do?
You would retaliate. Which is just what your dog has done.
This is honestly not your dogs fault. You shut him away now and you are compounding the problem, I’m not surprised hes stressed and barking….dogs pick up on our emotions very well indeed.
Please don’t rehome this dog. Rather be sensible and keep your baby out of his way for both their sakes. Again I agree with PK I would not let a dog go to a home with a child under the age of 7 years when they are old enough to treat a dog with respect.
I had a problem like that, sometimes the Humane society won’t take a dog that has bitten before, also you would be killing that dog, also I believe I made the wrong choice by putting my dog down he was still a puppy (9 months old) but he had bitten and had drew blood, and I just didn’t feel safe around him, and like I said we put him down which was the hardest decision of my life, so I don’t want you to make a decision like me, be good and caring person and do not let that dog go, like you aid you had recently just moved and some dogs aren’t good with stress, and when you moved you cause your dog stress, don’t make the same ,mistake that I did and keep that dog, other wise whreveer you take him he will probably just die anyways, because not most dogs find good forever homes and live happily ever after your dog could likely get beaten or killed by others, so NO MATTER WHAT KEEP THE DOG.
Hey Brittany,
I just came across an article in The Whole Dog Journal about getting your dog ready to deal with a baby – this article mentions a company Family Paws Parent Education in Cary, NC which has a program, “Dogs and Toddlers” which is available to families through a worldwide network of more than 200 licensed presenters. Jennifer Shryock developed this program in response to a huge number of families that wanted to surrender a dog after an incident (bite) had already occurred with a child in the home. This program takes an in-depth look at helping the family dog successfully live with kids (and since he has been living with the 2 boys successfully I don’t think you have a big leap to hurdle!).
I can’t encourage you enough to give a trainer a try – they can help you design a training plan to keep everyone safe, while minimizing the dog’s anxiety.
One of the techniques recommended in the article is to teach your dog to be calm and happy in a room that is gated away from where the baby has access. This works best if it is a room where the dog can see your family. For example gate the kitchen so the dog can be in there with you while you cook and he can peek out and see the living room or family room. Since it is dangerous for babies to be in the kitchen anyway (hot food or knives falling, reaching for pot handles…!) it makes sense to let the dog be in there, but not the baby. The older boy can let himself through the baby gate to interact with the dog but the younger children are kept safely away in an area where they can be overseen but not touching the dog.
Ways to keep the dog happy in this space is to interact with him there, and when you are not interacting give him toys and chews to work on. A Kong stuffed full of goodness and then frozen will keep him content for hours. A trainer can help you with this!
I am just so worried for this sweet little guy! My best wish for him is that he stay in the home he has known his whole life, with the people he loves. But if that is out of the question I wish I could come scoop him up!
Great chart and videos about dogs and toddler supervision: http://familypaws.com/fpaw/wp-content/uploads/2014/04/5-types-Supervision-HR1.pdf
Thank you again for this information! I am full-heartedly trying to convince my husband that we can help our dog and keep him at the same time. He has had no prior aggressive behavior towards anyone in the family or anyone I bring into the home (the only aggression he has ever showed is to strangers when he is outside in the fenced yard – but I just think this is because he is very protective of his territory)…. I really do appreciate your opinions, help AND suggestions (rather than just being told I am at fault for everything).
My standard poodle scratches her head and snout until it’s raw and bloody… Could this be a skin condition? I feel so helpless and don’t want her hurting herself anymore 🙁
Not a Vet, just looking thru the questions.. I have had Cats that would do similar to the back and tail.. it was thought to be an allergy.. some one cortisone shot later she stopped the chewing and rubbing we now give her a mild half childs dose of antihistamine.. Pets can be allergic to Fleas, Grass it is as wide as humans.. the shampoo used, it could also be a sinus flair up causing the need for the poodle to try to get the irritant out.. you might look at is there something that happens before she starts her active irritation like walk and sniffing.. rubbing face on Grass anything like that Wait for a Vet to give advice as to meds or dosages etc.. it may also be some type of scabies or other mite infestation.. I may be just missing it by a mile, I just wanted to offer my 2 cents worth..
I was told to give her Benedryl as it was probably an allergy. But it’s been continuous
Hi Dale,
I’m not a vet, just lifelong experience with a variety of animals, but until a vet see’s your post I’ll chime in. . Prior to giving your dog any supplements or other pills you should consult your vet to determine if the supplement is needed or not. Sometimes an underlying condition could be the cause of your pets problem. At 15yrs old, that’s pretty senior for a lab and I’d be thinking at this point your pet may need a heavier type of medication to help with the stiffness and pain involved with getting up.
Looking forward to what vet’s reply.
Good luck!
~kelly