Ask questions and share about your pet's health to help others.
I recently adopted a 3 year old male treeing walker coonhound from my local shelter. We don’t know any history on him, but it is clear that the shelter did not work with him while he was there for several months. For the most part, he seems to be housebroke. However, whenever we leave he decides to urinate all over the house. He doesn’t do this when we are home, but we don’t let him out of our sight due to this being an issue. He also has this thing where he doesn’t want to do anything for himself. He doesn’t want to move, he doesn’t want to get up, he doesn’t come when called, he doesn’t ask to go outside, he doesn’t want treats for good behavior, he doesn’t eat a lot. It’s like he does what he wants, on his own time, when he wants. We are being patient with him, but we would really like for him to be a family oriented, trustworthy dog. We also do not want to have a dog we have to keep kenneled. Does anyone have any suggestions on what to do to fix these behaviors?
I had run out my house leaving butter on my counter to thaw. I arrived home to find 2 large piles of what I assumed was bile. While cleaning it up I realized it was in fact butter, to my horror my dog had consumed 3 sticks of butter. I have a call in to my vet but would love to know how bad this is to ease my mind. My boy is a Border Collie/GSD mix, 80lbs, 4 years and in good overall health, aside from vomiting he seems to be his normal self. (And yes, I know better than to leave anything on the counter.) Thank you!
Well, it may or may not be bad; depending on how strong his system is. Butter is not toxic but it is, clearly, very high in fat. So the biggest danger from consumption of so much of it would be pancreatitis. I imagine some dogs might eat all that and just get a mild stomach upset. Others might get in a lot of trouble. Pancreatitis is painful and can be dangerous. If he’s still vomiting and/or looking ill, do see a vet asap.
Hello- I posted a few pics of my German shepherd, Butch last week because he had some sort of injury to his eye. It got much smaller, and we thought it was gone, but it appears to have tripled in size since Thursday. Yes… 2 days. He always rubs his face on the sofa and on Thursday it wasn’t nearly this big, but I thought yesterday when I got home from work that he just irritated it by rubbing on the sofa. Now I’m kicking myself for not just bringing him to the vet in the first place. I’ll call Monday for an appointment hopefully Tuesday. I know JVC has walk in hours on Sunday, but I always feel like those are for emergencies and I don’t want to take up someone else’s’s emergency spot. Here it is today. Any thoughts on whether or not it warrants an “emergency” visit. It has a scab on it now, because I’ve been diligent about not letting him rub along the sofa a rip it off. It feels like a nodual or some sort of hard cyst, and is a little larger than my pinky nail at this time.
Hello,
I dont think it is an emergency. I also think that the rubbing is probably due to an itch and is likely the cause of the significant swelling and size increase. Based on breed and location I would suspect an allergy or infection. Please see your vet and ask about a topical ophthalmic and an ecollar. Also ask about using diphenhydramine if it recurs. It might save you a vet visit the next time.
Good luck,
Let me know what the vet says,
I don’t know how to enlarge the pictures to take a closer look. Can anyone help me with this? I tap on the picture which brings up the original post in a separate window but I can’t access the pictures to make them bigger.
If on homemade diet how much calcium for 17lb dog. Are human supp okay? If mix comm food and homemade still same req? Was on homemade for 11 mnths wthout supplements will this be bad for her? Home diet green beans ground beef pumpkin and cabbage.
Hello
There are veterinary nutritionists who can help you formulate a diet that is balanced and safe. Without knowing a whole lot more about your dog and your available food resources I am always petrified to recommend a homemade diet. I have seen far too many well intentioned pet parents miss giving key nutritional dietary components to advise homemade diets. Please contact a licensed veterinary nutritionist for specific dietary guidance to insure you are providing all of your dogs dietary needs.
I hope this helps. And I wish you the best of luck
Our husky had his girlfriend over and they had relations for the first time. Actually a few times over the past couple of days. She went home and he is trembling and hard breathing. She has been gone for a few hours. What could be going on?
Hello,
I do not know what is wrong but if there is ever any sign of having trouble breathing it should be considered an emergency and you should go immediately to a veterinarian.
Hi there my hamster Isabella she is about 5 months old. This moring she was acting still put had her cheek full of food I came home and she was like not moving but her nose was going, I took her to my mom and my mom put her in a towel because my mom though my room was too cold and after a couple mins she started acting fine and now she’s running around but her eyes were a little blood but now she’s acting normal I read up on hibernation and it kinda sounded like that could be it?
Please help someone she’s acting normal now kind
Of, biting cage and was
In her food bowl, was it because it was to cold for her? Just worried don’t want to lose my hamster, she is drinking, she didn’t want to eat the second time I found her the first time her cheeks were full and at first she didn’t want nothing only she took was a peanut. Tried carrots and cucumber didn’t want them. After she was in towel for a few
Mins she came back into it, her eyes did have like blood on them? She’s very young yet. Such a sweet hamster does bite or potty on you. Just want to
Make sure
It’s nothing seriously please anything will help thank you
How cold *was* it in the room?
My roommates feel that he’s really on edge. They don’t feel confident in taking care of him in this state. I really don’t know what to do. There are cat sitting services in the area however they require a home visit and for me to be there. I’m on another continent at the moment….
Call your local vet and see what advice they can offer. They may have a staff member who can house sit and check in.
Diedra
We moved into this apartment in February of this year, beautiful home out the country across from a farm. Anyway, the previous people had outside animals including dogs and cats. My boyfriend are thinking that they never did anything for the flea issue and we are taking on their issue. We have done at home remedies and chemicals, nothing is working! Our upstairs where the cats litter box was, is infested with these parasites. Can somebody give us some feedback?
OK this is is what I have done many many times over the years helping friends and family and it works 100% of the time. It takes some time, effort, a little money, and mostly, elbow grease. First thing you need is to purchase some flea killing pills called Capstar. Ebay, or a vets office or online, the animal swallows the pill and 30 min later all fleas are on the ground dead. Order them today. Then go out and get a good flea med. Some vets won’t give you any if you haven’t been seen by them, so I suggest Frontline from the pet store, use by body weight. Don’t apply it just yet. Purchase at least 3 new vaccum filters as the vacuum is your best friend in this scenario. This requires at minimum a weekend for the initial treatment and then continuing to vacuum daily so suck up any new eggs that hatch. Repeatedly.
Capstar pills, flea meds for each pet, flea bombs for each room of the house except kitchen, vacuum filters, and most importantly cat carriers or cages or somewhere to place them while this is happening besides the house.
Now sat morning wake up and get animals out. While they are out give each one a dose of the Capstar pills, a bath, and then apply the flea med. Next move all furniture and anything a flea can be under to one side of the rooms and cover with bed sheets. Next. Vacuum like a crazy person. Twice! Change the filter and take trash bag with old filter immediately to the outside dump. Vacuum again. Under beds. Under under under.. under couch cushions and anywhere a flea will hide. Closets, etc . Take litter boxes to bathroom and bleach clean. Pick everything up off floors. Next let the bombs off in center of each room with doors closed and leave the house for alloted time frame. After that come inside and vacuum good again to suck up all dead fleas. Now clean off bomb residue off cabinets and stuff and anywhere like tile floors and wipe it all up. Open windows air out a while. Let’s pets back in. Wash sheets covering the furniture.. And put things back. Beside off of floors because you need to vacuum daily for the next 2 weeks. This will work. It takes effort but will work. At the 3-4 week mark. I would repeat and bomb again. At the 4 week mark apply more flea med to animals.
At some point try to get a better flea med from a vet but for now the frontline will work. Good luck!
Thank you for your advice! We are getting flea collars for our cats to see if that works. Unfortunately, the landlords will not do anything about it, sadly. We also do not have the money to get a professional out here to take care of these parasites, so we are working with what we got. We have used raid spray for bed bugs/flea/dust mites that has worked a bit, but we need to spray again. These fleas are never ending…
Thank you for your advice, much appreciated! Capstar may work great but, I am not sure how I feel about giving my animals something that they ingest, just seems off putting to me! We vacuum every other day, we have a bagless and wet vac that we use to vacuum our home with. We have no carpet in our home, just hardwood floors so it is a little easier to keep up with. We have tried raid flea spray that you spray around your home, we think it worked a little bit, but where their cat box used to be — we are having no luck there is still load of fleas there. This weekend we are getting the cats flea collars, as much as I don’t want too I think it will work.
Thank you again for your advice!
Flea collars won’t do anything and just annoy the animal that isn’t used to them. If you have hard wood floors getting rid of the fleas should be easier. You haven’t tried to bug bomb the room with the litter boxes yet so that is the best bet. That room needs to be bombed and vacuumed over and over again. Not a spray but an actual bug bomb that you leave in the room for a day. Make sure to clean up after using raid and bug bombs.
Ohhh damn, maybe I wont get the collars then. I have tried frontline, it was a waste of money and did not work for us. We vacuum every other day, I will have to try the moth ball thing!
Dang, you are the second person to say that the collars do not work… so I will not be trying them. We have sprayed and we always vacuum and mop the floors after I do not want my fur babies tracking through poison. The fleas are not terrible in our living room, kitchen, and bathroom. However, once you step foot into the upstairs where their box used to be, it’s loaded with fleas. We live in an old farm-house so there is cracks in the floor, and I am 99.9% sure they have been laying eggs in the cracks and reproducing. Such a pain… I’d rather deal with house flies than fleas!
My 9 mo chiweenie has no accidents when in the bathroom for 8-10 hours consistently. When in the living room for up to 5-7 hours, she uses a pee pad about 95% of the time. When we’re home, she’ll have accidents 50% of the time. Why is this?
You lock your dog in the bathroom for 8 – 10 hours? If that’s what your saying I object completely!! It sounds like your dog isn’t getting enough human interaction and it is probably nervous around you making it pee when excited. You need to seriously really think if your able to own a dog if you lock it up 8- 10 hours a day in a bathroom. That’s almost cruel in my opinion. If this is true then this dog is young enough to be re-homed with a family that has the time to love and care and interact and play. This is 9 month old is still in puppy stages and it needs to release energy and play. You make need a vet to determine if it has any issues but the real issue is being locked in a bathroom!
The dog is in the bathroom with enough room to walk around while we are at work from 7:30am-3pm. Are there no other pet owners that go to work and leave their pets at home during this time? Do you suggest a doggy day care at $25 a day?! This is a ridiculous comment and has offered no useful advice. My other dog, who is older, has the same routine and has absolutely no accidents after being transitioned to having free roam of the house while we are not here. I don’t agree with crating because of the ridiculously small space, but a small bathroom allows the dog to not want to potty in this small space but still have room to walk around and play with toys. Next time, please ask questions before spouting out such offensive accusatory comments!
Being at home all day and being locked in a small confined space with little to no noise at all is not the same thing. Would you lock a child in the bathroom all day just because it can move around? And possibly the reason he is peeing everywhere when you take him out is because he is so excited to be out he can’t control himself. Yes a doggy daycare would be much better! This is the reason people dont get dogs as pets because they require more attention and care and people that aren’t home all day should think twice about being dog owners. It’s my opinion and my opinion only as a animal lover and caring mother that people should not have animals if they have to be confined for over 8 hours a day. Hopefully when it gets older and you come to your senses you can let him roam free in the house. Im sure your a kind person but selfish at that. Since we cannot agree and I dont expect you to do so.. I think you should really understand he is still in puppy age and possibly the peeing everywhere is from sheer excitement and joy that he cannot control himself. Hopefully someone else will chime in here and offer you better advice.
I am seeking the advice of a dog owner, not a “cat owner” as your tag says. Your comments accuse the majority of the population of dog owners here, as most people work a full workday and still own dogs. Just Google it and you’ll find plenty of information on crate training and the like. It’s something that dog owners are pretty informed about. You obviously don’t understand the basic training of puppies so maybe you’ll come to your senses after doing some research. Here is some information on this from the Humane Society website- “Generally speaking, a puppy can control his bladder one hour for every month of age.” http://www.humanesociety.org/animals/dogs/tips/housetraining_puppies.html?referrer=https://www.google.com/ My puppy never stayed in the bathroom more than a few hours at a time starting at the age of 3 months, then it increased in time according to her age, which is almost 10 months now. Through transition, she freely roams the house most days with our other dog, hence my original post and question about her accidents that occur while being out in the house with us throughout the entire day (not from excitement from being let out). At this point, I’m done wasting my time explaining commonly known dog training techniques with someone who needs education in raising dogs in the first place.
I am currently a cat owner but have owned many dogs for many many years. I choose not to have one at this time because of my work schedule. I am not a selfish being. I’m sorry you couldn’t get the sugar coated answer you were looking for. You think this animal is here to appease you for the mere 5 hours a night you are able to be in its presence. That’s ridiculous. You came to a public forum and you don’t like what you hear my dear. The facts remain the same. You leave this animal in a bathroom for 10 hours a day and wonder why it’s pissing all over your precious home. I have gave you the answer now pull out the cotton balls and hear me. You are neglecting this dog by leaving it in a bathroom without any contact for 10 hours a day. If you want a better answer then pull out your wallet and take it to a vet and tell him exactly what you said here. Not all dogs are the same. Just because one was able to cope with your situation doesn’t mean this one will. I work with a couple of people that happen to leave their dogs at doggy day care. And another couple that have an entire room devoted to the dog with animal videos playing all day and they also go home at lunch and play and interact with their dogs for 1 hour mid day. Don’t be upset because you refuse to hear the reasoning. Argue all you want. Keep cleaning up pee of that’s what suits you.
Very well written and impressive. I’m sure you’re right on all accounts! I’m going to reflect on your comments each and every day and pray I can become the wonderful pet owner you are. Thanks for not sugar coating things, I honestly think it’s brought me to me senses!!! Ooops, I have to go clean up more pee now! 😉
I have to agree with Angela here – you are not meeting the social needs of this dog – and you don’t have to be a dog person to see that. This dog sees the bathroom as its den and so pees in the rest of the house, which is a normal response. Adjust your life to interact with this dog more often or find it a home where it can have its social needs met.
First of all, let me clarify that my dog was not adopted & has been raised by myself since she was a puppy so there was no previous abuse. She is my 1st actual pet & her name is Charlie & she is about 5 years old, so yes she was around before my boyfriend. When I first got her I did a lot of research on how to train her and the things I found were very successful, such as, how to housebreak a dog (which took surprisingly no time at all), positive reinforcement, & most importantly how to train your dog how to behave around all types of people. In order to make her comfortable around people I exposed her from the very start to people of different sexes & ethnicities, groups of people, and various ages (so she would be comfortable around my toddler nieces & nephews). To me it seemed this training worked because she loved to have company and would go up to any person male or female. I actually think that she liked my male friends more. She was also great with the toddlers she would let them chase her then turn around and chase them and never harm them & they love her. Whenever I see my nieces and nephews they always ask me where’s Charlie? She still behaves well around others & gladly approaches them, even complete strangers. The trouble started about 3 1/2 years ago when I started dating my current boyfriend. At first, she acted totally normal around him, for example, she would play with him, sit in his lap, etc. I think the real problem began when she realized that my boyfriend was not going anywhere when we moved in together. Ever since then, she has acted terrified of him & I don’t know why it happened since they hit it off at 1st. She cowers & trembles if he gets too close to her (which usually isn’t on purpose, he gives her the space she needs). Sometimes it seems like she’s trying purposefully to get him in trouble like a doggy tattletale. For example, when this first began & still to this day, whenever she would walk past my boyfriend she would make a yelping sound and run past him especially if I was in another room to make me think he hurt her. Every time I have caught her doing that my boyfriend was no where near her, sitting down, or in what I think is a non-threatening position. I do not comfort her when she behaves this way as it is not appropriate. The situation is so bad that she will not even allow my bf to open the door to let her outside to go potty but she will still sleep in the bed with us just not near him. I feel like we’ve tried a lot of things like having my bf feed her & give her treats but this has not worked! I mean she would eat the food & take the treats but still has nothing to do with him!! The situation is so bad that I cannot even leave her with my bf when I have to go out of town for work because like I said she won’t go outside for him! My mother usually is the one that ends up having to watch my dog when I’m out of town. Which is fine because my mother loves Charlie but she shouldn’t have to do that I would prefer for her to be comfortable at home with my bf. If my BF gets home from work before I do, then he opens her kennel door for her so she can come out & play in the house but instead she cowers in the open cage like she is in trouble until I get home then comes out. I don’t think that my bf has ever harmed her when I wasn’t around but I wouldn’t know if I wasn’t there. He knows I have a certain way of disciplining her & respects that so he’s never done any disciplining that I’ve seen nor do I think he wants to since the situation is already out of hand. He is unhappy about the situation as much as I am because he wants her to be happy too. It really bums us out. Especially since other dogs seem to love him. I wonder if it all boils down to jealousy. She’s not super overprotective of me like some dogs are. I try to give her the same amount of attention & keep to her routine. I do NOT use any physical punishment, if she does something bad I tell her to go to her room/kennel (with the door open) & she stays there until I call her back from what I call “time out.” Why is she acting like this & how can we stop this from happening? She’s my baby and my BF & I want us 3 to be a happy family! Please, please help!!!
So, there are just so many things wrong about your understanding of how a dog’s mind works in your description that I barely know where to start. Dogs don’t purposefully try to get humans into trouble like a tattletale. They are not that evolved.
The points that you have made indicate to me that this dog is truly afraid of the boyfriend – some thing he did years ago convinced her that she should be worried about him, and that has snowballed to what you see today. It may have been something as innocent as he stepped on her toes by accident. Dogs read body language and facial expressions better than we humans – and something as small as a look at her could compound her fear.
This is a very frustrating situation for you, and for the BF – you are both probably giving off negative energy without knowing it! She is picking up on the human frustration and it will only get worse if you don’t get some professional help.
And NOTHING you can do will solve this problem. It is a matter between your BF and your dog. So, you need to find a behaviorist that will come to your home and work with you, the BF and the dog. The behaviorist will be able to observe the dog and how you both interact with her and help you all find solutions to correct the situation. It is going to be a matter of your BF building trust with the dog. And since we can’t be there to watch the interaction, this forum isn’t going to be of much help other than by pointing you to professional, in-the-home, aid.
So, find someone that does positive training that can come to your home, and that you and your BF like so you can help your girl have the life she deserves – comfortable in her own home.
Thank you very much for your advice PK Dennis. I would love to have a behavioral therapist come to our home but the facts are even if I could find one in the immediate area, I couldn’t afford one hence the forum. Also PK, if you really want to help pet owners you probably shouldn’t start off with an insult or people are not likely to take your advice seriously. I’ve obviously stated that I’ve done extensive research on the topic as indicated in the post. I have seen other forums where advice was given & was lead to believe PAWBLY was one that might actually help. I am quite aware that dogs aren’t evolved enough to “tattletale” & that you can’t be here to see my dog’s behavior that’s why I described my dog’s actions. I have never done a forum before & if I wasn’t desperate I wouldn’t have come here. I am very aware that dogs since emotions & energies. Since neither the bf or pet are going anywhere anytime soon I need advice even if you cannot offer anything else. I’m specifically looking for people who have gone through similar situations & could offer any suggestions that helped in their personal situation that we could try!
Good luck with that – you need a trainer/behaviorist. Three and a half years – you haven’t solved it by now, you aren’t the going to be able to solve it on your own. Offer to barter with a trainer – clean Thier house, clean their kennel, what ever it takes to get the eyes and hands on help your dog needs to feel secure in her own home.
A dogs only going to be terrified of someone if that someone has hurt the dog id rethink thinking it’s the dog and not leave the boyfriend around the dog unsupervised
Well I have found 1 behavioral therapist in my area & she’s still an hour away. It’s pretty expensive since she’s like the only one in this area but I’ve emailed her in hopes of a barter. From what I’ve read she does in home therapy but I don’t know if she’ll drive this far. I feel like if I take my dog to her it may not work as well. It would feel like a trip to the vet for her, she would smell the fear and start shaking & shedding. Wish me luck! On a better note, when I told my partner my wish to have an a behavioral therapist come to our home to help them I feel like he’s made more of an effort to earn the dog’s trust. I feel like when I told him I posted on this forum for help it really struck home to him that I don’t just want to have to deal with the situation I want it to be better. I don’t know why posting for help is any different than our talks about the situation prior to my posting but whatever. Maybe he doesn’t want a stranger in our home. Oh well, that’s a temporary fear, my price, & a possible end to my Charlie’s fear!!! I’ve noticed some improvements since then! The two have been playing for sure whereas before she wouldn’t come near him & yesterday she came up to him! Granted it was no lap call but she let him pet her. I just feel like if he’s more onboard with the idea it will work better. I mean for a while I feel he had given up on mending their relationship. I think what scares her the most is bf’s voice he would never intentionally harm her. He talk too loud because he’s had a lot of hearing loss from his time in Iraq. We’ve been working on that in the meantime too & it helps but it is hard for him to know when his tone gets louder. I’m happier with the results so far but foster hopes that the therapist will understand & barter to come to our home.
Okay, I’m working on the housebreaking thing. But how do I go about teaching him how to play? Or be around people? Whenever I try he seems scared even though I’m extremely calm with him.
Also, any suggestions on how to get him to “come” when I call his name? He looks, just ignores.
Hello,
Thank you for adopting! It is impossible for a shelter to housebreak a dog. They simply lack the time and resources to do so. Therefore you will need to essentially start from scratch in both housebreaking and crate training as I think it is very very difficult to do one without the other. It is the only way to reward and provide the training your dog needs. I would also presume that your dog might be urinating in the house sullly due to stress when you are away. Your presumption about much of his behavior “he doesn’t want to move get up, ask to go outside, etc” are all things he needs to be taught to do. He needs to be shown what play, walking on a leash, shown how to ring a bell on a door, etc etc are all your responsibility in training. Please see your vet and please ask for assistance in finding a positive reinforcement trainer. I also really like Victoria Stilwells books. It really sounds like your dog needs a friend and a mentor and a whole lot of tlc and time.
Best of luck
I know he isn’t a puppy, but have you looked into beginner obedience class? It’s very good for dogs socially as well a owners for basic training help and how to get started. I highly recommend it. It’s not too expensive (talk to your vet for references and local trainers) and it is money WELL spent. Best if luck!!
In time he will trust you and start coming out of his shell. I see it all the time in rescues. Sometimes it happens in a few days. Other cases take weeks. For now be gentle, use treats to coax him or just pick him up and carry him. He will eventually start to trust and interact.