Would you recommend using a shock collar as a training aid?
I have a female pit bull terrier (spayed) that is 10 months old. Pearl generally has a great disposition and gets along well with everyone including other dogs. The “problem” is that she is showing less and less interest in her dog food when first provided to her. And it’s the meaty stuff (Alpo cans)! I’m not too worried because she usually eats it eventually but she often will wait hours. Yes, Pearl is spoiled with treats and bits of human food but it seems so odd that she would rather eat whatever we might be having (e.g. a french fry) than this wet, meaty food. She weighs about 55 pounds and gets one 13 oz can in the morning and one in the evening. She also has a constant supply of dry food in a dish but she just picks at that upon occasion. She has a regular place to eat near where we eat and spend most of our time and her Alpo is given to her each time on a new (clean) dinner plate. We have one cat that ends up eating some of the food and Pearl doesn’t seem to mind. In fact, Pearl seems to be more interested in trying to eat the cat’s plain dry food than her own. In short, she seems to like eating most anything except her own dog food. Thoughts?
It’s Not Too Bright In My Apartment.
He’s Eating…
Toby is a 3.5 month old tabby.
It’s not too bright in my apartment.
He’s eating well, pooping well, chasing around after things — seems to be in very good energy.
Comments
Why does my dog eat his (or other dogs) poop? I have a fairly large yard, so I don’t know whose he’s eating..could be his, our other dog or a neighbor. He then comes inside and vomits (the smell is the giveaway as to what he ate)
Comments
-
Joe Mccollum
Yesterday, I switched my kitten, Si, to Prescription Diet canned food. He seems to like the food but he exhibits an odd behavior. When he is done eating, he tries to cover it up as he would if he were in the litter box. Any ideas?
I have a new Kitten that isn’t eating much. He is drinking. He was at the vet (Dr. Magnifico) on Sunday because he was sneezing. Just adopted him and his brother on Friday. Brother seems to be fine. He is taking an antibiotic twice a day. He has been opening his mouth a lot, kind of like his nose is clogged and he is breathing through his mouth. He comes to the food (wet) when I put it out but he hovers over it and licks it, but I don’t think he is eating it. What can I do? It is snowing here and I will probably not be able to get him to the vet today. Thanks,
Brady
Comments
Hello, What are your thoughts on rawhide treats? My dogs enjoy eating them but I wonder how good or bad they are and how often it is ok to give them one. Thanks! Diedra
Comments
I have a 4 month old pug who suddenly stopped eating and drinking now she is just lying around sleeping
Comments
-
Kasey Litt Hi Carrie —
The best bet always is to take your pug to the vet. Has you pug’s potty habits changed too? Will the pup eat any treats? Has it eaten anything odd that you know of? Is it’s belly distended?
I am not a vet but if any of my dogs stopped eating and drinking suddenly, I would go see a professional. Good luck!
Kasey Litt
Kritter Keepers
http://www.kritterkeepers.wordpress.com
http://www.kritterkeepers.com
Ok so my mom passed away almost 3 months ago and I now take care FULL TIME of her 14 year old shin tzu who knows me very well. He is completely blind and deaf. My issue is that I cannot leave his side for more then 10 minutes or he will start panting and crying like really crying, witch I’ve never heard him do in his entire life. I don’t know what to do ???? I can’t go anywhere or even clean the house because he starts to freak out. I’ve though about maybe having him put down but I don’t because he still does what I call his happy mode, after he eats he does this thing where he rubs his head into the bed kinda under the pillow and I engage with him using my hand. It only lasts for a couple minutes or so but he does this about 2 or 3 times a day. And I feel like that shows some signs of still having a good quality of life. But oh my god he is driving me crazy with not being able to be alone. HELP !!!!!!!!!!!!!!
PLEASE TELL ME WHAT SHOULD I DO ????????
Comments
-
Anonymous Hi Angie,
I am sorry to hear that you and the dog are having a tough time.
If you think the dog is still having a good quality of life then there are some things you could try.
-Treat puzzles such as Kong. The dog can still smell so get something like a Kong and fill it with treats the dog enjoys. You can even fill it with his food. Let him smell it and see if that takes his attention off of you. They make these toys for senior pets too so it won’t be to hard on his teeth.
-Dirty laundry. Leave a shirt or something that you have worn that has your scent on it near the dog
and see if that calms his nerves-All natural calming aides. You can find these at almost any pet shop. They are drug free and usually contain chamomile.
It is important to remember that dogs mourn the loss of loved ones in a similar way that we do. This has been shown time and time again. Maybe the dog is really missing your mom?
Also, because he is blind and deaf he is probably even more confused. Continue to be patient.
If you think the dog’s quality of life is suffering due to his health then of course consult with your vet. Additionally, it maybe a good idea to have your vet check him out as he could be in pain.
Best of luck!
Margot Ahlquist (http://www.pawstotalk.com)
I have a feral cat that has given birth to 5 kittens in a old shed out back. This was 5 or 6 weeks ago.
There was another cat that is much more tame that also gave birth to 4 kittens in our yard leaves. These kittens and the mother were brought inside about 1 – 2 weeks old. They were exposed to people and are pretty tame. The mother comes in and out by the cat window. We did this so that we could possibly find homes for them.
We would also like to do the same with the other 5 kittens but the mother is very feral. The 2 mother cats I believe were from the same litter and live in the woods out back.
The cats in the back began to escape and wonder. 2 were abandoned and we thought we would try to incorporate them with the other litter. It was easy and we have made sure the other mother is not overwhelmed. They immediately began to eat solid moistened kitten food. They are a little older then the others. They are all now very friendly with humans and again hoping to find them homes. They are all in a childs play pen, modified, doing well and all beginning to try solid food. Mother is still coming in to check them and feed them. Sometimes we have to remove the 2 "outside" cats so that the mother is not overwhelmed and the cats not really eating solid food have milk, the "outside" cats are at least a week older and stronger.
So.. We happened to come across the other 3 kittens under a palate of landscaping stone. The mother was still around and had not abandoned them like we had thought.
We moved them back into the sheltered shed. They hissed a lot but once we were handling them they were ok. We have been going out there and holding them whenever the mother is not around cause she gets bent out of shape and attacks us.
FINALLY THE QUESTION.
We would like to remove the kittens in the shed and put them in a crate to acclimate them to humans in hope of finding them homes. They are all very beautiful and unique kittens. So we have a separate crate for these cats and I am pretty sure they have learned to eat solid food cause the other 2 from this took to it and had learned. We did not want to put all 9 kittens in the same pen now cause we did not want to overwhelm the one mother, what are your thoughts? Should we put them in a crate where the mother cant get to them and feed them food an water, making sure they do eat?
Any thoughts?
Also, we would like to trap and get this feral mother fixed so there are no more kittens from her, any thoughts about how we should do this or a place that could do this inexpensively? When can we do this? Did not want to do it while she was nursing.
Same goes with the other mother cat. When can we get her fixed, how old should her kittens be and when can we give them away?
I live in Delta PA area.
Thank you
Comments
My 1.5 year old Yorkie Poo is finding rabbit poop in our yard and eating. So far my 11 month old Maltese has not started this habit. Is it dangerous? And how do I get the Yorkie Poo to STOP? Thanks for your help. Dawn
Toby is a 3.5 month old tabby. It’s not too bright in my apartment. He’s eating well, pooping well, chasing around after things — seems to be in very good energy.
Hi Zack,
In my experience having rescued many kittens around Toby’s age and younger I’d guess that it’s an eye infection. It’s pretty common in kittens that age (especially if Toby is a rescue) and may actually be a symptom of something else such as a respiratory infection.
Young kittens with immune systems that are still developing are more susceptible to infections than older/adult cats.
The great news is that if it is an eye infection, a trip to the vet for an exam and antibiotics will clear it up in no time. If it’s something other than an eye infection your vet will be able to diagnose and treat that as well. Kittens are incredibly resilient!
Sounds like you’ve caught it early and will have Toby squint free before you know it!
Adam
As Adam said, it could be an infection, or there could be an injury to the eye. Eye problems can worsen very quickly, and taking Toby to a vet will keep things from snowballing!
Squinting indicates pain or discomfort…