The incidents involve both urination and defecation. Could the cause still be a UTI?
He Is 8 Weeks Old, Weighs Just Over 200g (his Litter Mates Are All…
He is 8 weeks old, weighs just over 200g (his litter mates are all at least 600g) has a very soft and enlarged skull with pupils that face east west. There are no good vets here, certainly no vet specialists. Should I wait until he has gained weight before trying to medicate him (All the drugs can be purchased over the counter here and I am medically qualified) or should I start ASAP to help minimise brain damage? He is already blind. Or is the likely outcome so poor that I should be thinking about euthanasia? He seems happy enough at this point in time but cries a lot in the night and I don’t want him to be in pain.
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This Puppy Is The Last Of A Large Litter, He Was One Of The Only…
This puppy is the last of a large litter, he was one of the only ones who would keep a clean crate/puppy pen. When the ground froze he discovered the practice of eating poo when he was outside in our fenced in yard. He was neutered a week and a half ago and we thought it would be an opportune time to remedy the poo eating issue since we had to leash walk him. He now refuses to poo outside, we do take him out every 1-2 hours and give a high value treat for pottying outside. He will go in his crate immediately after coming in and will immediately eat it. It almost seems that since I won’t allow him to eat what is in the yard he is just going to make his own snack. I will add that he is a very quick learner, he learned sit and down in an evening. He is very driven by treats and praise. He will urinate outside and looks to me for a treat and praise as he is going. He does not like to be in a messy crate, we know almost the moment it is soiled as he barks/whines and we clean it up. He will only poo in his crate, I do tether housetraining pups to me to eliminate the possibility of accidents (I try to set them up for success) and he has not accidents in the house. He will poo in his crate once I have exited the room where his crate is. I of course can smell the moment he goes, I run in the room and catch him eating it. I have gone as far as letting him out to potty in a pen thinking maybe he does not want to potty with an audience, I watch from a nearby slider but have only “caught” him pooing outside twice in a week and a half, both times I was able to deliver praise and a high value treat as soon as he was done. Lastly his crate is appropriately sized for him, it is a wire folding style crate that is just tall enough for him, he has enough room to lay, stretch out and turn around. This is something I would like to rectify as I know it will be a potential problem in a forever home.
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Both Cats Used An Extra Large Sized Litter Pan Since The Time Both Were In…
Both cats used an extra large sized litter pan since the time both were in our household.
4-6 weeks ago Scout stopped using the litter pan and started going on our carpet. We found that she had a UTI. From all indications the UTI has cleared up.
We have a follow up appointment on the 31st to confirm. However, Scout continues to go on the carpet even though we purchased an additional litter pan. The litter has no fragrance. Tux uses whatever litter pan the mood hits him which irritates me. I have to think that this is a behavioral issue that perhaps was initiated by the UTI.
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Steve Hatchett Post author
Yesterday, I Switched My Kitten, Si, To Prescription Diet Canned Food. He Seems To…
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?
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Hello,
My Managers Lab Just Had A Litter Of Puppies. The Puppies Are 1/2…
My Managers Lab Just Had A Litter Of Puppies. The Puppies Are 1/2…
Hello,
My managers Lab just had a litter of puppies. The puppies are 1/2 lab and 1/2 mix. I ended up getting one of the last boys, hes just under 10 weeks old. I am aware that he has not had any vaccinations yet. I have heard that he was supposed to have his first shots around 8 weeks but I have started seeing more and more articles that say to wait until 12 weeks to get his first shots in order for his immune system to react better. Can you help me out please??? I am a very loving father to my dog and I only want the best for him
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Krista Magnifico Hello Zachary,
Congratulations on your new puppy!
They are a big responsibility, a bit of work, and an enormous amount of joy.
I applaud your sense of responsibility and desire to provide the best you can for him.
Here is my advise for all new parents.
Bring your puppy to see the vet ASAP. I say within the first three days. I also ask them to bring a fresh fecal sample as many puppies come with intestinal worms. (I tell my clients that it is part of the package so don’t be upset, just be proactive!).
I will review the patients history, perform a full examination and discuss our vaccine protocol. If there is no history of vaccines, and especially if we are not sure of what the moms vaccine history was I will recommend vaccinating ASAP. I have seen many puppies arrive at their new home and within a few days become very sick from a disease that we can vaccinate for. Nothing is more heartbreaking than seeing a newly adopted puppy get very sick. And some puppy illnesses have a high mortality rate.
So, my advice is to go to the vets as soon as you can, and voice your concerns with them. We are chock full of advice and a career of learning from others mistakes that hopefully you and your puppy can avoid.
Oh, a few other words of caution.
Your puppy does not have an active adult immune system until they are 6 months old. SO avoid all public spaces where any unvaccinated or ill dogs might have been. That includes pet stores, community areas, etc.Your puppy is likely unvaccinated and can pick up any disease.
I have lots of puppy information on my blog
http://kmdvm.blogspot.com/2013/02/puppy-primer-first-instructions.htmlI hope this helps.
Enjoy your new addition.
Sincerely,
Krista
I Have A Feral Cat That Has Given Birth To 5 Kittens In A Old…
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
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Krista Magnifico Hello Gary,
Thank you for your question, and thank you for being so proactive and compassionate to these kitties.
I think that in general you have a very good plan and it sounds like you are doing everything just as I would recommend. I think that 9 kittens is too much for one mom if they are all nursing (it sounds like they are not though). A mom that has too many kittens nursing can get hypocalcemia (we call it eclampsia). This can be life threatening.
By 4 weeks old the kittens should be able to be transitioned to kitten food. I would recommend leaving dry kitten food, wet kitten food, or softened dry food with kitten formula out every 4 hours. If the kittens continue to nurse I would start to rotate them so they have more individual time with you and a better ability to be encouraged to eat.
We estimate the age of kittens by one pound per month of age up to about 7 months old. A one pound kitten is about 4 weeks old.
If a kitten is not socialized and tamed by about 6 to 8 weeks old it gets increasingly more difficult. Spend as much time and attention that you can with them before this age.
Please be warned that unvaccinated cats and kittens can carry rabies. It can be deadly to them and to you.
I would also recommend that you contact your veterinarian and any local rescue groups for help in humanely trapping, spaying, vaccinating, de-worming, feline leukemia and feline immuno-deficiency testing, and microchipping. Many of the non-profits or rescues have low cost options for these.
I have included information about some local groups below.
Of course, if you would like to talk to me, or anyone else at Jarrettsville Vet about any of this you can find me at the link below.
For help on affordable pet care;
http://www.humanesociety.org/animals/resources/tips/trouble_affording_veterinary_care.htmlAlley Cat Allies;
http://www.alleycat.org/Animal Rescue in New Freedom Pa;
http://www.animalrescueinc.org/Krista Magnifico, DVM
Owner Jarrettsville Veterinary Center
Jarrettsville, MD
http://www.jarrettsvillevet.com
Your puppy is just being a ……puppy! Sometimes the art of pet parenting is like the TV show Survivor–Outwit, Outsmart, Outlast.
Be diligent in cleaning up after your puppy poo’s. Do not give him the chance to play with or eat poo. Try placing the puppy on a leash when you take him outside to relieve himself, and do not allow him to inspect his poo. Distract him from by calling him to you, and when he responds appropriately, reward him with a treat and verbal encouragement (go crazy and act like he is the BEST PUPPY ON THE PLANET!) and then take him inside before you go back to pick it up.
If he hates poo’ing on the leash this is where the “Outlast” portion of the program comes into play. You just have to wander around the yard with him until he does it.
Some have found that adding meat tenderizer or natural additives to the puppy’s food makes a big difference, since these additives cause the stool to have a particularly unappealing smell that will discourage him from eating it. If you cannot immediately clean up the stool, or if there are some old stool piles in your yard, you can spray it with hot pepper sauce or mouth wash. It is more effective to just clean up after the puppy.
A good resource for puppy training is The Complete Idiots Guide to Dog Training. You can check it out of your local library. Good luck!!
Walking helps the bowels move. How about taking him on a walk when he comes out of his crate, and after he eats his meals. The walking will get him eliminating and you will have him on a leash to control his movements while you pick up the poop. This may work faster/better than turning him out in the yard and waiting, or wandering around the yard while he decides if he is going to poop or not.
It may also be so exciting to be out and about that he forgets he wants to poop inside where he can snack.
Good luck!
Thank you for the suggestions. I actually had given more info in the details when I posted that I am doing all of these. This isn’t a typical housebreaking issue but more of a compulsion to eat stool. The issue of eliminating in his crate began AFTER I restricted him from eating poo outside. In the past year alone I have fostered 30 puppies, all were well on their way to being housetrained when they were adopted. As a board member of a local rescue and seasoned foster I provide support to adoptive families on the subject of house training. My approach to house training is to set a dog up for success eliminating the possibility for accidents and rewarding appropriate elimination. I vary my method according to the dog as not all dogs respond to the same method. I have had great success with training dogs who have come from horrendous living conditions, spending months in their own waste.
There are products out there to make the poo taste bad and most of them (I believe) have the main ingredient of MSG, which is the same thing as meat tenderizer. Dr. Foster and Smith has a product called Dis-Taste, but I’m sure there are others. If a dose of MSG isn’t harmful, give it a shot!
Hello Jennifer. My Great Dane did this and then my Golden Retriever starting doing it. Learned behavior? I agree with Dr. Mag’s suggestions. I taught the leave it command and do not leave them unattended when it is ‘potty time.’ I tried to read a lot of remedies for this issue. What I found was mixed reviews on the food additives to deter the poop eating. I read about nutritional deficits and remedies. What I read and think was going on with mine was most dogs like to keep their play and living areas clean. Sometimes when a mother has a new litter, she will demonstrate this issue to keep the area clean for her pups. I too have a fenced in back yard which doubles as their play area when I cannot take them out in the unfenced area. I taught the leave it command and keep the area clean of feces. Somehow, imo, your dog has associated the crate pooping as safe but then cleans the area since it is his ‘safe spot.’ It took a few weeks to dissuade my dogs from doing this. Still, if I am not diligent about watching over them and keeping the area clean, the issue will persist. Your reaction whether positive or negative outside, may be influencing what the dog believes to be ok so he returns to his ‘safe’ area and only poops when he thinks you are not paying attention (because of your reactoin?) then gobbles the tasty morsel up for maybe cleaning? I found with my dogs when there is an unwanted behavior/issue the best reaction is no reaction. Remember, running to the crate to stop him may be interpreted as him doing something wrong so he tries to ‘destroy’ the evidence. It is learned somehow.
An anecdote. My very sensitive Great Dane when she was young had what I perceived to be separation anxiety when my wife and I would leave. We would come home and rugs would be chewed, pillows destroyed, etc. I would come in and immediately react, negatively. I posted on here and in short, the response was it was my fault. I was at first offended thinking I was a great doggy parent, but then I thought about it. My Dane associated our leaving with her getting negatively in trouble when we came home. This caused her great stress and her acting out was a reaction to fear and anticipation. I quickly changed my behavior. When I came home I would simply clean up what was destroyed and before leaving I would remove anything I could. I did not react. She would cower in her chair while I cleaned. I simply went about my business without noticing her. When I was done, once she came out of her chair, I acknowledged her and said hello. It was my responsibility to break the association, not the behavior. It took a little time, but we became successful. Now when we leave, we make it no big deal. When we come home, it is not a big deal. She isn’t afraid of us leaving and her ‘just’ getting in trouble when we come home. We no longer come home to destroyed items or a fearful dog. I personified her hiding in her chair with her knowing she did something wrong. Nope. I taught her that when we come home I would yell at her so she anticipated that with great stress and fear.
Maybe, without knowing it, we teach our dogs to do negative things. The hard part is realizing and accepting it then correcting OUR behavior.
Good Luck!!!
” The issue of eliminating in his crate began AFTER I restricted him from eating poo outside.” Maybe he learned it is not ok to poop outside?