Ask questions and share about your pet's health to help others.
This is a serious question, I’m curious. I feel that pet food these days isn’t that nutritious, and dogs and cats should be hunting for their own food instead of being given this crappy foul tasting “wet food”. In the future, I wanted to buy rabbits, mice, and rats and put them in an enclosure with my dogs to teach them to hunt. Would this be legal? Because I don’t see anything wrong or inhumane about this seeing as people buy live mice for their snakes to eat. So why don’t we do this with dogs and cats? Surely wet food isn’t as good for them?
My nine-year-old female cockapoo who has two lumps in front of her to find hips in the same spot? She’s eating and drinking and going out but not acting herself energy wise?
Hi there. I am wondering if you might be able to help me. I have a shih poo who is nearly a year old. I inherited her so know nothing about the breeder my mother bought her from. From the time she was a baby she has been eating her own poop. I understand this is common in puppies however as I mentioned she is nearly a year old and I am very confused and concerned about why she is still doing this and how to stop it. Even when she has food in her bowl she will choose to do this. When I take her out to potty I have to be ready to quickly pull her away from any poop because she will try to rush to eat it before I can stop her. Why is she still doing this??? Why is she so actively determined to do it??? What can I do to stop this behavior??? Although her check ups are always positive I am really concerned about her and her health! Please please please help me if you can! I will be forever grateful for any help at all! ?
some dogs will always eat poop. it’s just a thing some folks have to contend with. i think, in your case, i’d keep her on leash until she poops, clean it immediately (and with the leash, you can pull her away from it), and then let her off lead to run around and play.
i came across this article, and i think it may be of use to you as it offers a training suggestion.
There is some stuff you can sprinkle on her food that stops them from doing it. It’s available in large pet stores and feed stores. At least then she won’t eat her own. It’s a discusting habit but will not do her any harm.
it’s iffy on whether that works, though.
Yes, it’s iffy, but inexpensive and worth a try. BTW, that was a good article.
HI, I stopped my dog from doing this when she was a pup, simply by training her to “go” in the same spot every time and then my grandpa took over. My dog is huge. A Great Dane who used to take my 6foot tall 225 pound uncle for a walk. Anyways my grandfather walks with a cane and taught him not to eat poop and to walk nicely on the leash at the SAME TIME by simply walking him around near the pop and away from the poop. When he walked by the poop without noticing it and walked nicely he got a pigs ear (his favourite treat) and a simple, “good boy t.j.” when he’d try to sniff at or eat the poop or when he’d pull on the leash he’d get a light rap on the bridge of the nose with my grandpas cane (not hard but enough to make him understand) and a firm, not loud or shrill but quiet and firm. “T.J. NO.” Sometimes with all this new stuff we forget that sometimes we need to change with the times (I.e. Not letting two consenting adults in a relationship share a bed in your house unless their married: Aka Disrespecting the couple and being a jerk) and sometimes we need to remember that the old ways are sometimes the most effective.
Oh and in case I didn’t mention, two or three day of being rapped on the nose, a dogs nose is very sensitive, he quit mis behaving and never ate poop or pulled on the leash again. May sound harsh but it worked.
This is a quick way to causing your dog to become very reactive to hands anywhere near the dog’s face. Why advocate hitting when there is always a better option?
dmy dog eats chicken bones and he vomits what should i do?
if you can get to the vet, do. i worry about obstruction and shattered bones causing serious problems for your dog. please don’t feed your dog chicken bones.
My dog never eats his own poop. So I never pick it up. Yesterday, he ate some poop in the yard. It was a stacked mound of poop, rather than logs that not on top of each other. It was by the side of the fence where my neighbors live, and they have a malamute that is allowed to roam, so I figured that it somehow broke into my fence and pooped there. I actually had seen my dog sniff it but didn’t think he was actually going to eat it because he occasionally poops along the fence and honestly thought it was his own poop.
Then today, just about 30 minutes ago, he ate another poop, in the same stacked mound fashion, except it was by the side of the fence facing the road instead. I don’t get it… How are these poops getting into my yard? How should I exercise my dog now that he ate poop? How do I know when my dog is going to eat a poop and when he isn’t? Please help! 🙁
I have no idea why he’s starting to eat the poop though. He never has done it before yesterday… That’s why I’m sure those are not his own poop. :
i’d get a game camera and hang it somewhere unobstructed – that’s the only way you’ll know who’s producing the stool.
until you can figure it out, you’ll have to be far more strict with poop cleaning in the yard prior to letting your dog out. you can’t stop him – he’ll do it for as long as this strange stool is available.
she is not eating her dog food but is drinking and eating our sandwich ham. she is moving around when called but seems to just want to rest in her bed after checking her over we have noticed her tummy is bloated and some of her nipples are enlarged.
bloated belly and swollen mammary glands would indicate something’s wrong. please get her to the vet tomorrow if they aren’t open today.
shes booked in tomorrow afternoon. we were just wondering if anyone could shed any light on it. Thanks laura
My budgie is very silent and just eats and sleeps, he doesn’t make any noice or chrip. He also got a partner but he is not interested in her I guess..
how long has he been doing this for
My dog suddenly laid down and won’t get up or eat or do any of her normal activities
My younger 3 year old cat Chunk has been having eye discharge for a few months. He uses the bathroom just fine, eats just fine, seems to be playful and very aware. The discharge is predominantly in one eye although it happens in the other too. It is a brown / rusty red color that seeps from the inner tear ducts. His eye looks okay when you look up close but Im no DVM. (He has been tested for FIV as well as Herpes in prior checkups years ago and tested negative). He doesn’t sneeze, although he does breathe some what heavy but that could also be attributed to his Chunky frame (working on it). I’ve read several possibilities including herpes, conjunctivitis, and respiratory infection. I am hoping this is something that can be resolved through an ointment like terramycin? Any recommendations / suggestions / advice? Thank you!
*Also may be beneficial to note my other rescue Captain Hook has one eye. The non working eye is flipped backward and does not function. As a result that one eye has always had blackish discharge (not the same color as chunks nor does it come out in the same way as chunks). Our vet said this is normal for his eye condition, but just wanted to mention because perhaps could be related? Or no?
Disclaimer *My cats are indoor cats on a strict wet food diet. Chunk is 3 and Captain Hook is 7. I take them to the vet when needed. Their last general checkups were two years ago. I realize they need to go every year, but my cat Captain Hook had many many medical problems (bowel disorders) so thousands of dollars in care credit we try not to take them unless needed, especially since they are indoor.
hi i need hell please.
my mane is alexandra and i have a puppy lab mix golden retrieved 4 months old and for the last 3 days is not eating,not drinking is vomiting and had diarrhoea,i was bring last night in to a vet clinic and i left him in to the drops and antibiotics,and i did a scan for the stomach and check is blood and is fine.is possible to tell me what is wrong with him or if is change to die?i don’t want to lost him thanks so much
hi i need help
Alexandra, this is a question for the vet that took a look at him. what did they say? what other diagnostics did they do? i would also talk with YOUR vet this morning about it, because emergency vets aren’t necessarily as thorough as your own vet would be.
he said he cannot not find anything ,he said he need to open his belly to see if is something in his belly .i am really worry for him
so he didn’t do x-rays or anything like that?
go to YOUR vet, tell him your concerns.
is still not make improved after 24 hours in the vet,
and the belly he se is in pain,and look full
thanks so much
wait, are you saying his belly is distended and in pain? that’s bloat. vet, NOW.
hi laura,my dog is not well for the last 3 days and i bring in the vet,and he make scan to his stomach and nothing is see ,he is in fluid and antibiotic,and check is blood 2 times,nothing show,and the vet ring me and he said he need operation to see in his stomach if is something stock.and i get the answer for the operation ,nothing inside but is inflammation and irritation and he said is virus tummy bug , the vet is said is give a chance for live but not 100 pro-cent,is sleep now and is still back in antibiotic and fluid and pain relief, and tonight i going to see him. please god to make some improve.thanks
after the surgery the vet said to my my dog has gastroenteritis ,i really want to back i really miss him so much
instead of buying them from pet stores, look into reptile supply. they will sell frozen/thawed. i also cannot say this would be a nutritionally complete diet. better to fully research raw feeding and put meals together that ARE nutritionally complete. besides, your house pet does not need to learn to hunt…and depending on the breed of your dog(s), they may fail miserably in this task. feed a high quality kibble or feed raw, do not feed live rodents.
and yes, this is considered inhumane, especially considering how it’s basically one step away from animal fighting. can’t you see how that is problematic?
it’s inhumane to feed live to reptiles, too…inhumane and irresponsible, as the rats are just as likely to do serious damage to the animals they were intended to feed.
i cannot fathom why you would only give wet food to your dog. does your dog have a lot of missing teeth? or is there a medical reason you’re feeding wet?
oh, and another thing: cats are an invasive species, especially in the UK. they already kill too many animals for sport. they do not need to be encouraged to kill for food.
A domestic dog is not a wolf even though they may have ancestry in common. A domestic dog does not have the digestive tract of wolves. Raw fed dogs are fed raw meat but they are not expected to kill their own. Personally my dogs eat what I eat as I feel that pet food is sadly lacking. This includes meat, fish, vegetables and a small amount of pasta and rice. I do not eat rats or mice and I wouldn’t give it to them either. Of my seven dogs only two have a small amount of prey drive. I can’t imagine any of them would know what to do with a raw kill. As for snakes….they are a wild animal. I did have snakes many years ago and they ate live rats and mice because they wouldn’t eat anything else. Dogs are not wild animals.
I’m sorry, Laura, I don’t understand where you’re coming from with the whole “inhumane” thing. It wouldn’t be animal fighting purely for entertainment, no. I wanted a hound or working dog to help me to hunt rabbits. Animals are subjected to awful, cruel torture in the meat industry, so I wanted to kill the animal myself. God knows what the chickens in the supermarket experience before they end their miserable lives. Hunting isn’t “inhumane”, it’s natural and incredibly humane compared to the torture that humans put animals through. I feed my dog wet and dry food, but it just seems so nonsensical to me. Hunting would be entertaining for me and the dog.
It wouldn’t be for entertainment but it would be for entertainment.
Your ethics are in question. Be glad I lack ban powers. People who justify allowing their animals fight for their personal amusement disgust me.
There’s nothing wrong with enjoying hunting, is there? It’s nature, we’re omnivores. So cats disgust you because they hunt birds? I’m not saying I would go out and maim an animal for no reason. That’s sick. Why would I get banned just because we have different opinions? I really don’t see what’s wrong with it, honestly.
cats should not be outside. they are an invasive species and have hunted many native rodent and bird species to the point where they are endangered. letting cats outside is irresponsible, plain and simple.
you said you wanted to do this for your entertainment as well as that of your dog. THAT IS PROBLEMATIC. how can you not see this?
I’m sorry, I don’t understand. As a person with aspergers, I find it hard to understand other people’s points of view. Stopping a cat from acting out its natural behaviours is cruel. Hindering it from going outside would be like keeping a dog inside. It seems ludicrous to me. Whereas it’s instinct that cannot be stopped for cats, humans are more of an invasive species that hunt thousands of animals to extinction.
And I am sorry, but I still don’t see how it’s problematic at all. Being out in nature and killing and sharing a meal with my dog is better than eating processed meats is all I’m saying. Sorry if I seem blunt or rude, I’m really not good with communicating. I don’t want to offend anyone c: