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My cat has lost weight and hes still eating and drinking. His third eyelid is visible and his urine in an orange color and foamy.
I have a year old blue heeler mix who is usually pretty good with walking, and she won’t pull, but she does walk at the very end of the leash so that it’s pulled tight, but she won’t be pulling exactly. I’ve tried everything I can find online- the stop and wait method, and the one where you turn and walk away, but she’s not exactly pulling. Any advice? Thanks.
Work on a formal heel and reward for that specific behavior. Keep the leash short so she understands what you’re asking. In conjunction with this, I would stop dead every time she goes to the end of the lead. By continuing the walk, you’re rewarding the undesired behavior.
I am a BIG fan of tab leads for this.
I think a lot of dogs enjoy having some tension in the leash because it allows them to “zone out” on the walk and enjoy sniffing around without focusing 100% on their owner. If the owner turns or slows down it is easier for the dog to immediately feel the change in the tight leash than it is for them to suddenly hit the end of a really loose leash which probably hurts their neck. In a way this makes sense because it is impossible for anyone, dog or human, to pay attention 100% of the time (think about day dreaming in school).
There are a couple of tricks you can try. One is to train the dog to walk on 2 different pieces of equipment. For example, if they have a buckle collar on they must keep a loose leash at all times (could be used for busy sidewalks, vet visits, ect) and if they have a harness on it means you are on a more casual walk and you don’t mind them leaning on the leash as long as they aren’t yanking your arm out of socket. You could also use different commands (“heel”- walk at attention by my side and “walk on”- we are just walking for enjoyment so slight pulling or sniffing around is fine). One thing nice about using commands is that you can alternate during a walk. For example, you can practice “heel” every time you cross a street and then allow the dog walk casually during the rest of the walk. Your dog will give you better attention during the heel because they know it will be over soon, as opposed to you trying to demand perfect focus for the whole walk.
If you want the dog to always walk on a loose leash when wearing its buckle collar, make sure you only put that collar on when you are mentally ready to train and have sufficient time. Don’t use it during quick walks around the block before work when you are distracted/ in a hurry and not paying attention. Start out by having the dog practice sitting for you a few times indoors for a treat. Proceed outside and as soon as you feel tension on the leash stop and wait! Don’t move at all, it helps to have your hands holding the leash at your waist so you don’t accidentally give more slack when the dog pulls. Wait for your dog to sit automatically (without a command), then give a treat, and take one step forwards. A lot of dogs will explode to the end of the leash with excitement so be ready to stop and wait again. Allow the dog to pull, jump up, bark, paw you, ect without punishment. Just wait for the sit, give a treat when they sit, and walk forwards. See how many steps you can take on a slack leash. When the leash is tight, stop and wait for the sit again. Soon the dog will be really focused on you because they are ready to sit every time you stop. Once you begin walking along on a loose leash, you can periodically reward the dog with a piece of kibble for looking up at you. Remember, reward the dog when it does something you like.
Sophia Yin has some great training videos related to this on YouTube!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z2vZusiOzJg
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EUCl6ndLN7Q
https://drsophiayin.com/philosophy/
Ian Dunbar also has a variety of great videos on this subject.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U92mG5-V26M
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dkapxaexrBA
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fLERx9XR8pU
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=InJD18Zxudc
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Saa13XvCdlI
http://www.dogstardaily.com/book/export/html/2131
I also recommend Grisha Stewart’s book “Behavior Adjustment Training”.
Shadow has submissive urination. He was abused as a puppy we believe by men so hes a little more nervouse around my boyfriend. Recently he’s been yelping and nipping for no reason. My boyfriend went upstairs to grab some stuff and shadow was infront of the door and as he opened it shadow began yelping and snaped at him again while leaveing a trail of pee behind. Shadow is my world and i am his. Hes a damn good dog and very loyal. But if this continues he’ll have to go. Any help or advice would be much apriciated. Thank you.
Have you gotten him to a vet to rule out anything medical? Have you hired a veterinary behaviorist to help you deal with this?
We don’t have a lot of money i can’t hire any body. I cant afford to do any of that. And i know none of it is medical related.
Honestly, Alex, if you’re unwilling to find a way to make this work, maybe finding him another home is the best thing for him.
He very well COULD have something medically wrong. How do you know he doesn’t?
How in the world can you have a dog for 5 years and even consider getting rid of him because of a man? Will this boyfriend be around in 5 years? You can bet the dog will be if you don’t ruin his life by sending him back out into the world of rescue. You are correct, you are Shadow’s entire world – it would be wonderful if he was as important to you as some man. Dogs are not disposable.
She is an inside cat about 15 months old never been outside
Vet trip to make sure she doesn’t have a UTI or something else going on.
How many litterboxes does she have? Is she spayed? Is there any way she could have been ambushed leaving the box? Have you used any particularly smelly cleaning solutions near the litterbox? Do you scoop it regularly?
We have a all the cleaning supplies in the kitchen and her litter box is cleaned everyday. I have an appointment to get her spayed her appointment time hasn’t arrived yet. To my knowledge she hasn’t been ambushed. Her litter box is right outside my kids room
Hmm…I’d wonder if one of them exited while she was in the box, and that startled her.
General rule of thumb is one box per cat plus one – so if you have a single cat household, try a second litterbox. Clean the kids’ room with an enzyme cleaner to discourage further unwanted behavior.
(Also she could be going into heat, which could cause a UTI. Seriously, vet time.)
Thanks
6 yr old cat vomiting and urinating a lot but she still has her appetite
If she’s vomiting frequently and urinating frequently, I worry about something like an infection. Please get her to the vet now.
Frequent vomiting is not a good sign in any animal and I recommend getting her to a vet before she completely loses her appetite.
HI THERE, MY DOG HAS EPILEPSY. HE IS ON POTASSIUM BROMIDE AND PHENOBARBITAL. GERMAN SHEPHERD. SINCE STARTING MEDS HE HAS GAINED 45 POUNDS. HE HAS ATAXIA, WHICH IS GETTING PRETTY BAD. WE DECIDED TO SWITCH HIM TO A DIET DOG FOOD TO HELP HIM LOSE WEIGHT, SO THAT WE COULD ULTIMATELY LOWER HIS MEDICATION DOSAGE. OUR VET CONCURRED. SHE DID NOT MENTION THAT CHANGING HIS DIET WOULD INTERFERE WITH THE SALT LEVELS BECAUSE OF THE BROMIDE HE WAS TAKING. AS SOON AS WE SWITCHED HIS FOOD HE STARTED SEIZING. HE HAS HAD ABOUT 7 OVER THE LAST 2 DAYS (HE WAS SEIZURE FREE FOR ALMOST 3 MONTHS). WE LIKE THE NEW FOOD WE PICKED BECAUSE IT IS BETTER QUALITY (FROMM) AND DOES NOT HAVE ROSEMARY EXTRACT, WHICH HAS BEEN LINKED TO SEIZURES. BUT WE DON’T KNOW IF WE SHOULD STOP IT AND GO BACK TO HIS OLD FOOD, OR HOW TO TRANSITION BACK/FORWARD. HE WAS PREVIOUSLY ON NUTRO LARGE BREED ADULT FOOD. I CANNOT FIND THE CHLORINE CONTENT FOR NUTRO, BUT THE CHOLINE CHLORIDE CONTENT FOR FROMM IS 2887.63 IU/KG (71.47 IU/100 CAL). I DON’T TRUST MY VET ANYMORE TO ASK HER, AS THEY HAVE NOT TOLD US ANYTHING ABOUT BROMIDE AND SALT LEVELS. I HAVE HAD TO RESEARCH ALL OF THIS ON MY OWN, EVEN THOUGH I HAVE NO VETERINARY TRAINING. APPARENTLY, GOOGLE IS MORE KNOWLEDGEABLE THAN MY DOG’S VET. IF SOMEONE COULD ADVISE US ON NEXT STEPS WE WOULD GREATLY APPRECIATE IT. WE WANT A BETTER QUALITY OF LIFE FOR OUR DOG, ONE WHERE HE DOESN’T SLIDE HIS BACK LEGS DOWN THE STAIRS AND FALL DOWN BECAUSE HIS BACK LEGS ARE TOO WEAK. SO WE KNOW THAT A DIET AND LIFESTYLE CHANGE IS IMPORTANT. BUT WE NEED SOME ADVICE ON HOW TO MAKE THE CHANGES, AND HOW FAST/ HOW TO TRANSITION, BECAUSE EVERY TIME WE CHANGE HIS DIET IT APPEARS TO TRIGGER SEIZURES (WE SWITCHED HIM TO LIQUID BROMIDE BACK IN MARCH AND RIGHT AWAY HE GOT CLUSTERS AND ENDED UP IN EMERGE AND SEVERELY MEDICATED FOR A FEW DAYS). WE DON’T WANT TO GO THROUGH THAT AGAIN, SO WOULD PREFER TO FIX THIS ON OUR OWN. BASICALLY, I’M ASKING, SHOULD I GO OUT TOMORROW MORNING AND PICK UP HIS OLD DOG FOOD AND SWITCH HIM BACK COLD TURKEY? OR SHOULD WE STICK WITH THE NEW BETTER FOOD AND SEE IF HE GETS USED TO IT AND THE SEIZURES STOP? OR SHOULD I BUY HIS OLD FOOD AND MIX IT WITH THE NEW FOOD FOR A WHILE, AND WILL THIS EVEN HELP? IS THERE ANYTHING ELSE WE CAN DO? THANK YOU KINDLY FOR YOUR TIME. “
My question would be whether it’s the change in itself or something else present in the food triggering the seizures. I do agree that rosemary extract seems to be suspect in contributing to seizures. I also agree that putting on weight isn’t good for anything. My best recommendation would be to work with an integrative vet at this point. I know a number of people who used this modality for managing seizures with great success. An integrative veterinarian can also be of great assistance with diet and actually food therapy, as well as acupuncture and herbal therapy, all of which can be quite helpful. If it was my dog this is the direction I’d go in from here.
2yr old chiuaua starts yelping & whining 2day. He wont let me comfort him. He bit me 4 the1st × EVER 2day trying to comfort him. He’s not himself. Won’t eat/drink & doesn’t want 2 lay anywhere but the floor.I hav mor but only 15 Ltrs Lft
Hi, You can type more in a different section, that is just the title of the post. It sounds like he is in a lot of pain or discomfort, please get him examined by a vet.
There is really not enough information to identify the exact cause of his pain. However, my recommendation is to see a vet as soon as possible obviously he is in pain and needs to be treated.
my dog got injuried at a dog park today. we took him to an emergency clinic. They gave him Rimadyl and buprenex together. i wanted to know if that was safe because he is a shepard lab pit mix
Yes, they are frequently used together. The rimadyl is anti-inflammatory and the buprenex is stronger pain control, they work best when used together.
My 7 week old kitten Emma has a really round stomach and i think there is something in there should i be worried?
I would be. Sounds potentially wormy. Please get her to the vet today.
My kitten had a very round bloated tummy. It ended up that he had Giardia which was easily treated with medication and daily bathing. I suggest making a vet appointment. My best to Emma – 🙂
1. Is it ok to forcefully wake him
2. How much do I feed him
3. How much water do I need to give him
4. Should he be deficating
5. Will he need lots of care while he is in brumation
Are you encouraging the brumation? It’s not something I typically recommend encouraging. Low temperatures may be a cause so raising the temp, eliminating drafts, etc. is what I would suggest to encourage eating, etc. If that fails to encourage him to eat, drink, and defecate on his own, I would recommend a physical exam and consult to make sure you’re doing things right as far as husbandry. You probably know this but make sure you’re provided UVB light and change the light bulb every 6 months.
I agree with Dr. Knouse – Please try to prevent brumation.
No I am not we got an adult at the pet store and it is in brumation ( we found that out 1-2 months later) and it was then to late to take it back and right now we are deciding if it is to much care or if I should just take care of it and if it is to much care I will sell it to someone who is obviously much more experienced I am definitely not trying to cause it to brumation I’m very sorry I must have stated the question wrong.
Just try to increase the temperature. Depending on where you’re located I can recommend a vet that sees bearded dragons who could teach you everything you would need to know.
It sounds like he needs to go to the vet to be examined. Dependent on his age and other health issues he may need blood work, x-rays and/or have his urine checked.
Good Luck
Dr D