I have a 6 month month old puppy that is afraid of people and other dogs. Have taken her to just walk around in pet stores. If someone wants to approach her she squats and pees. If another dog wants to approach her she poops? I live with my son, daughter in law, 2 granddaughters (7 and 13). They have 2 pit bulls and she is fi with them. How do i socialize her outside the family?

Hello! What a great site this is. I’m really hoping someone can help us here, as we’re stuck with our dog situation!

We have a 10 year old female Maltese called Yuca. She is the light of our lives but is getting old 🙁
She’s healthy but tends to sleep a lot, and we read that keeping older dogs active is essential to keeping them alive!

We both work, and although she’s totally happy by herself, we decided it might be good to get her a companion for the times we’re not around. We hoped this might keep her entertained and engaged more during the day. As we’re both working from home at the moment, we thought now might be a good time to grow our little pack…

So we got another Maltese female, Coco, who is about 5 months old now. We’ve had her for just over 4 weeks. She’s amazing. A really cute little ball of fluff. But things don’t seem to be improving with regards to their relationship.

Of course, Coco is totally obsessed with Yuca. She will run to her and try to lick and play, but Yuca seems terrified of her. She backs away quickly and hides. Yuca has never been an aggressive dog, never. She doesn’t growl or bark or bite, ever. But she also has never been a dog dog, always avoiding them in public when out for walks.
We thought this was just a matter of them being strangers.
She has never once growled or barked or bitten Coco, she chooses to simply run away from her, even when Coco is trying to bite her playfully.

When Coco is calm, usually in the evenings and midday, Yuca is better. They will sit in the same areas, with Yuca sometimes letting Coco get quite close, but always with a cautious eye on her. The best moments we’ve had have been in bed in the evenings, with both of them sleeping almost touching! But then the day comes around and Yuca goes back to being her timid self again.

We’ve tried a lot of things to get them closer, and to help Yuca get used to her being around. They both have their own beds, food and water, and Yuca has a space she can be alone when she wants it. The problem is, she would choose to stay there the whole time! SHe seems anxious about walking around the house, which is not ok for us. We want her to feel dominant and have no fear of being anywhere at home.

We’ve tried using treats to bring them together, which works well in the moment. Yuca is a greedy lil thing and Coco’s existence doesn’t make the slightest bit of difference when there’s a treat around. She would take the treat from our hand even with Coco being right there next to her. But once the treat has gone, Yuca reverts back to scared mode.

We’re being firm with Coco on the rough play, although she’s tiny and couldn’t hurt a fly if she tried! We’re separating them for periods of time, so Yuca has her space and then trying controlled meet-ups several times a day. Of course, with us both working full time, this has been difficult and we’re very concerned about when we have to go back to the office.

We’ve made sure to give Yuca extra love and attention, always treating her as the alpha and giving her attention and food first. She doesn’t appear jealous at all.

As time goes on, we really hoped they would become close but we’re not seeing much improvement. There’s some improvement for sure, but it’s very slow progress. We really just want them to be friends. That was the whole point in getting Coco in the first place.

I really hope someone can help us. We love them both and just want them to get along.

Thank you for reading.

Tomas and Fernanda. Yuca and Coco.

16 month old female husky (40 pounds) had a double patellar luxation surgery on 6/30. Grade 4 in both knees, severe muscle wasting and arthritis. The surgery was more complex than anticipated and involved the addition of rod placement. First couple of days fairly uncomplicated except that she would urinate in her kennel while asleep despite attempts at potty breaks.
She has now developed two huge seromas, one on each knee. She’s walking well, eating and drinking well. If anything she’s so close to her normal self. She’s still on gabapentin, trazodone and rimadyl.
The seroma on the left “burst” between sutures on Sunday despite the meds and confinement. It has continued to “burst” and release a LOT of serous fluid EVERY day since (today is day 4 of this).
She’s been back to the vet twice for this.
They said to:
Keep the meds
Stop passive ROM
Confine and keep down as much as possible
Warm compresses 3 times a day

They want to push back suture removal and have assured me that this will eventually stop. And if it continues for the next few days then we may consider other options.

She is walking around, standing up and turning around in her kennel despite the meds and obviously needs short walks to go pee/poop. These things cause the ruptures.

I am beyond frustrated and worried.
Does this care plan seem reasonable?
Does heat actually help? She’s so squirmy when I come near her kennel that it hardly seems worth it.

Any advice? Thank you!

My six year old male mini pin was crying out in pain four nights ago. He sticks his neck foward in a downward gaze, arches his back and lifts one leg. I timed each cry and they were 10 minutes apart. We decided to take him to the emergency vet, which was located 25 miles away. During the car ride, my baby did not cry out loud once. After completing blood work, the vet. did not mention anything concerning other than she thought he hurt his back. She prescribed two medications. Fast forward to today, and the pain continues, although it’s not every ten minutes, but almost every single time he moves his body. He can walk on all four legs, eats and drinks as he normally did, but he is not the same. You can tell he is in extreme pain- the medication does not seem to be helping. Why did the emergency vet not screen for IVDD? Do you think these are the early signs of the condition? If so, how should I go about mitigating the pain?

Could repeated flinching/seizure-like behavior be associated with eyesight?

Here is a compilation video: https://vimeo.com/434151259

Our 10-year-old toy poodle has begun flinching (for lack of a better word) repeatedly on walks. We’ve been to the vet, but due to an enlarged heart with a leaky valve he wants her to see her cardiologist to ensure it isn’t heart-related. We are trying to get an appointment but the pandemic is making wait times in the weeks and we’re concerned in the meantime about how dangerous waiting could be.

Based on our experience, the flinches rarely happen at home, happen much more frequently in bright sunlight on walks, especially facing the sun. They also occur much more frequently when leaving a shadow into the sun or leaving the sun into a shadow. Her vet has noticed early signs of cataracts and we’ve noticed her eyes getting cloudy. She’s also begun walking into things occasionally.

We’re hoping these are eye-sight related rather than seizures or neurological issues, but are unsure of next steps while waiting appointments with specialists.

Thanks.

Is there such a thing as a puppy drinking too much water?

My dog is paralyzed from the waist down. My dog is a 4 year old, 10 pound Shi-poo mix. He suffered from some trauma yesterday (Friday) after getting his paws stuck in some metal grating he seemed ok but then his symptoms exacerbated after running around the park and playing with another dog. At around 5pm on Friday, he was able to poop and urinate and ran around at the dog park but by the evening he couldn’t put any weight on his hind legs. At 8pm, my dog was still able to wag his tail. We went to a doctor this morning and that doctor says he still has sensation in his hind legs (even though they he cannot move them). We have been given the option of MRI followed immediately by surgery but we are not sure if we want to put his body through that much trauma with the risk that he could die on the operating table. We have taken him to a “holistic” vet who has treated him with acupuncture, Chinese herbs, and cortisone. The acupuncturist Vet said he would need 4 weeks with 1 session a week to see if that method could help but also told us we could very well have “missed” his critical cure time if it doesn’t. Nevertheless the acupuncturist said he is very confident as his method has seen much success in IVDD in older dogs. My dog is in a lot of pain and has not urinated or passed stool since yesterday I do not believe he has control over his bowel movements And he is constantly holding his head back and he is constantly propping himself up on his two front legs. I would love a second opinion and an honest opinion of what his chances of regaining full motor function and bowel control are with OR without surgery.

Hi,
Kirby,my 11 year old cat, has taken a liking to spending the whole day laying outside on the covered deck. He complains if I make him come in! He and my other cat Cricket have always been indoor only cats, so I have never been concerned about fleas. But now, I’m starting to be worried that he may contract them, even though he isn’t down on the ground. I’m assuming that fleas, as well as ticks, can fly, and I don’t want either cat to be exposed to them. What protection do you recommend? I don’t want to just buy something OTC without asking. Thanks, Maggie

does my dogs neuter incision look normal? I’m trying to keep him blocked off into a small room in my basement and it’s been storming a lot recently and he’s terrified of storms so he knocks down or jumps over everything i use as a dog gate to keep him confined and makes him way to sit up on the stairs. One night he also some how got his cone off while i was sleeping. I can’t control him and keep him confined and nothing i do is working. He just got neutered friday morning.

Does my dog need a 4DX test before taking a heartworm preventive? My dog is 71/2 yrs old and has been taking Sentinel monthly since he was a pup, and his Lyme vaccination is up to date. I realize the 4DX test is worthwhile and will get it done at the next annual exam. But the vet is refusing to renew the sentinel prescription without a 4DX test, and that doesn’t make sense to me.