has she gone into heat before?  i’m not a vet, but a suddenly fluffy vulva (and THANK YOU for using the correct term!) and brownish discharge would make me think it’s a heat cycle.

hmm. that was my only thought. it’s possible she’s dealing with a UTI. i’d get her in first thing tomorrow morning unless one of the resident vets pops in with another idea.

The vulva is an organ designed to clean its various anatomical structures by creating discharge.  For this reason the discharge itself is not problematic it is the color and odor.  The color and odor indicates the level of infection or presence of unhealthy microbes, UTI, Etc.  I do not have a course of action to recommend, I believe a veterinarian’s diagnoses is required until you more fully understand what this type of discharge represents.  Your dog’s temperature is great measure to the level of immune system activity and infection, so knowing your dog’s temperature now combined with the vet’s diagnoses will give a valuable benchmark for the next event.  I would recommend becoming an expert in your dog’s temperature during the treatment process for future use.  This type of ailment tends to reappear but at numerous levels of severity, being able to determine via temperature combined with the color and odor should assist you in future treatment decisions.

I prefer a crate but I really don’t think it matters.

I think it depends on how long you are away.  If you expect to be away longer than 8 hours for an adult dog, it is better to have a kennel with access to the outdoors, and a section that is inside and warm — so the dog can get out of the sun, rain, cold.  

If on the other hand you only are gone short periods of time then any type of crate will keep your dog(s) safe and comfortable while you are gone.  Get them to love their crate by allowing them to go in and out when you are at home.  Give them stuffed Kongs to chew when they are in their crates.

And always, always, give them a treat when they go into the kennel or crate.  My boys will tear though the house to get to the basement kennel each time I say “kennel boys” cause they know I will scatter tiny treats in the kennel for them before I lock the gate.

Do you know what kind of flea medication was used on them?  I would contact your vet tomorrow to see if you can get them in to be examined for their 8 week puppy shots etc and see what type of flea medicine your vet recommends.  As for tonight I would give them both a bath to try to remove any live fleas and remove flea dirt so it is less likely to leave fleas or eggs in your house.

Good Luck

Dr Dawn

Not even 24 hours later and he is worse then before I took him. He won’t get up and he won’t even eat.

Also, the owner is out of the country until June! I am the long-term caretaker.

Thank you, Krista. I appreciate your advice. The vet only suggested taking him to an emergency vet and said that they would run tests that would cost 3-5K, with no mention of a feeding tube or any other suggestions for sparking his appetite. Although he did give us nutritional gel, he was not interested in that and we have had to force feed it to him to at least get him some nourishment. It seems as though he should be taken to another vet! Thanks again. Best,
Carolyn

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!!

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.

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.

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!

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.

Thank you, I will be looking into the Chihuahua rescue to see if they can assist me, I truly appreciate your help and honesty!

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.

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!

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).

Hello Carrie, there is obviously something very wrong with your dog. We can’t tell you what but he needs to see a Vet urgently.

It could possibly be a toxin or poison the way it started on his face and has spread….though it could be something else entirely. 

You need to take him to a Vet urgently. Someone on here mentioned Care Credit perhaps you could try them…but this is an emergency it seems your dog is getting worse and needs urgent treatment.