Ask questions and share about your pet's health to help others.
Three weeks ago we adopted a 4 year old female dachshund/beagle mix. She’s very sweet and loving toward everyone in the family except my younger son. He is 17, a gentle animal lover, and has never done anything to this dog. She barks at him, growls at him, or just runs away from him. It makes him very sad. Can we get her to warm up to him?
My Amish friend down the street has a working dog that tends to her other animals (herding sheep, horses, etc.) so he is an outdoor farm dog. (a sheltie/aussie mix). The dog is well loved and cared for but even after giving him a bath today, the poor animal still has little bugs (like fruit flies but a little bigger) swarming and flying all over him, especially his face area. I mean, like about 50-75 or so of them! It’s crazy. She just thought he needed a bath and that’s why they were there, but even after the bath they were there. I have never encountered anything like that before. Anyone help explain and give some ideas on how to get rid of them for this poor pup 🙁
This is normal in PA to a degree. The dog’s diet contributes to its attractiveness to flies more than any thing. I would check for ear infection(s) or bad teeth. Other than that all that can be done is to apply a repellant to the dog – and I would use a natural one that can be found at an Agway or other farm store. These repellents contain a mix of essential oils like cedar or peppermint, etc.
Thank you. I agree – unfortunately with their culture it will fall on deaf ears, I am just trying to do my best to help the pup. I was the one that gave him the bath, etc. Perhaps I can have her make a mask and meanwhile I will play around with some of my essential oils to create a repellant blend that will work and that the dog would be tolerant with. Thanks so much Krista and PK
PK….I normally use water in my essential oil blends for animals but seeing as the bugs are attracted to water, do you think I should use a carrier oil instead?
my dog is a year old, and a Maltese mix that we got from the pound.
It sounds like your dog is in pain and needs to see a vet to determine where the pain is and treat it.
we have seen the vet, but they could not pinpoint a certain thing that was wrong w him. I was just hoping someone would have a more specific answer. thank you for your input!!
Sounds like she’s having pain needs vet
I try to feed my cats tuna/seafood flavored wet foods as sparingly as possible, but Sebastian is becoming picky to the point where he will only eat his dry food (Nutro high-protein) or tuna (Blue Buffalo gourmet) or a now discontinued shrimp/chicken/duck combo (Wellness). He will eat some chicken canned foods from those brands, but not always and not much of it. Is it unhealthy for him to have tuna about 4 times a week? He gets 1 3oz can a day, split into 2 servings and about 1/4c of dry food.
I’ve tried mixing a small amount of other food in with the tuna but then he refuses to eat any of it.
I was taught, too many years ago, that a seafood heavy diet it not good for male cats. Can cause kidney problems. I have four male cats and I take it very easy on the seafood. Asher is very picky, but when he gets hungry enough he will eat. We’ve had several stand-off’s over canned food. I give him 20 minutes to start eating a new food. Then I take it away and put it out again at the next feeding time. I leave dry food out all the time. Canned is once a day at 8 p.m. He constantly tries to convince me that he’s starving at 7 p.m. and the new food is no good. He’ll even knock the dish on the floor. So far he’s letting me win.
My cats were purebred (in my home), they’re a Persian+Turkish Angora mix and are already 3 years old, I haven’t given them any medications (except when they’re sick). I’ve never checked them for any hookworms, ringworms, heartworms or any other parasites/worms so are there any risks?
Because I am a stickler for accuracy in language: If they’re a mix, then they aren’t purebred. The word “purebred” means an animal bred from parents of the same breed or variety. Because you have two different breeds involved, they are a mix.
That said…do they go outside? Have you taken a fecal sample to the vet annually? I give heartworm preventative 4x a year – my old man cat doesn’t go outside, and I get annual fecal and blood testing done for him. Get fecals and blood panels done, at the very least, to make sure everything’s good. Without a full picture of your cats’ health, you cannot make an educated decision on how to handle medications and the like.
I’m really sorry for the mistake, so they’re not purebred (my cousin told me that that’s how purebred cats are and I believed him), anyways, I’m not an expert in cats nor am I accurate in language. My cats go indoors and outdoors whenever they want and I’ve never taken them to any fecal or blood tests but I do have a vet coming to my house every month for a checkup on my cats’ overall health.
If they go outside, then yes, they should be on heartworm preventative. I would also have them on an external parasite preventative/flea and tick preventative, as well.
Have they ever seen a vet? Vaccines? If not and they are outside then you have more to worry about then worms. You need to get them checked out properly by a vet and you need to consider them to be indoor cats. Outdoors cats have a short life so and of around 5 years or less. I door cats can live up to 20. You say they have been sick before, most likely because they caught something outside. I would take to a vet and let them administer the medicines and preventatives. It’s not that much money to have this done.
Thank you for the answers
I lost an ibuprofen pill. Worried my dogs ate it. Been over 3 hours and no issue. Can I let them sleep or can signs take longer
3 chihuahua mix
One 7 mo and 2 are 4 year
Hi Yvette. I’m sorry we didn’t see this but most of us are on the East Coast. How are the dogs doing now?
It’s been at least 13 hours, they drank water ate breakfast and went poop and they seem just fine. I feel awful I can’t remember if I took the pill. I’m just watching them. Nothing off at all.
Thank you for the reply
If ANYTHING changes, even if they become slightly lethargic, rush them to the vet. Otherwise you might be in the clear.
That’s what I’m doing !!! Because if one did take it I don’t know which pup.
Any idea how long the window is ?
No, unfortunately. I’ve not had to worry about this…I would ask the vet.
About 2 months ago, my dog broke the window screen and jumped out of the second floor window. I was not home and thankfully my neighbor grabbed him, he was not hurt. After that. No opening the windows when I’m not home.
But recently my dog has been trying to escape out the window where the window AC unit is in. He has chewed through many sidings and even pushes my tv away from the window. I have sprayed no-bite spray and it didn’t seem to help. I just can home today and found blood from him all over the house. He cut his paw on the ac unit and thenot continued to tried other windows.
I take him for walks twice a day even though I am gone for 10 hours for work. I spoil him with toys and treats. He is a 4 year old German Shepherd/schipperke mix. He is not fixed. He never shows any interest in females.
Hey Bri, have you tried crating your dog? These crates are pretty indestructible, https://m.youtube.com/watch?feature=youtu.be&v=NJUD4tM_U44
Good luck!
I have adopted a dog from the pound about 4 or 3 moths ago, he is a very good dog but when someone enters my room, my dog starts growling and he won’t stop. The behaviour has gotten worse when my fathers partner hit him with a leash with a metal spring on it, now whenever he hears someone walking outside of my room (going upstairs or to the bathroom) he immediately starts growling, his growling got more loud and now when someone passes him, he’s scared and walks away. Another thing is when I leave the house, he starts howling and it’s annoying my father he wants me to sell him but I still believe there is something to help my dog. He is a sheepdog collie mix and 2 years old, he is a very good dog and I presume his previous owners must have been abusing him since he’s scared of everything. Is there a way to teach him not to do it?
Have you spoken with a trainer yet?
No, there isn’t any trainers around where I live so it’s hard
Well hitting has made it worse. Your dog has several anxiety/fear issues. you can teach a dog confidence but it
takes time and dedication. Start by always having your dog on a leash with you. when he lays quietly, tell him good dog. start teaching him to sit on command. then start teaching him to sit in place on a carpet or matt. All this will teach him proper behavior, and make a bond. once he and you have developed a bond, start asking a friend to come over to help work with your dog. Put a bowl of treats outside of the door, have your friend come to the door, your dog on a leash, you ask your dog to sit, treat him. the friend comes in, no eye contact, talks to you, if dog stays sitting, no growling treat him. Once dog accepts friend, let friend treat him.
Start teaching your dog that all good things come from you when he listens. Get what we call High value treats, something he ONLY gets during training, cheese, chicken, moist dog treats, whatever, but he only gets it during training.
Collie and shepherding dogs have such a strong desire to be with their people, to please them, that you should be able to train him.
As for crying while you are gone, he should be crated, with a cover over the crate, and give him a large Kong to work on while you are gone. He only ever gets the Kong in the crate. Fill it with dog food, and mix in some peanut butter, plug the whole over with peanut butter and freeze, give it to him when leaving, but make sure you feed him less so he doesn’t get fat lol.
Take time, he will be a good dog, dogs know when they are rescued.
Good luck!
My lab mix is unable to move her tail. She seems to be very uncomfortable. She was boarded this past week and I am unsure about any injuries. If it persists I do plan on taking her to vet. Are there any things I can do for her comfort?
My brother just returned from his mission a few days ago. While he was gone we adopted a border collie mix puppy, she’s now around a year and a half years old.
She has interacted with people at the park and gets along with most family members when visiting at their place. This her first time having a someone she doesn’t know at home like this, usually have her away from visitors.
She is not getting a long with my brother, she’s constantly barking at him. When he offers one of her favorite treats she tries to hide behind someone she trusts or she runs down and hides in the basement. My brother is getting really frustrated with her.
Expecting that this is going to take a while. Hoping that she gets used to him/desensitized to him over the next few weeks. Any advice would be appreciated.
In what way is she not getting along with him? My first thought is that he calmly go about his business and not attempt to interact with her. Let the dog approach your brother for interaction. Is he wearing a ball cap, something that she’s not used to? Everyone needs to be calm and act normally.
Hello, this is perfectly normal. Dogs adapt, and it may take time. Good luck!
Thanks!
She has been getting better. She isn’t barking as much, but tends to avoid him whenever she can now. Want her to get used to being around him, but don’t want to force it. Now she usually hides downstairs or in one of the bedrooms. Gets really nervous and wants to be close to someone she knows when he is around.
She does bark and get snappy when he’s interacting with one of us, she thinks she is protecting us from him?
Slow going, but are improvements.
I usually tell my client in this situation to try to shift all pet care activities to your son. Walking, feeding and anything your dog sees as fun. No talking or coaxing just let him become the silent pet care provider. Everyone else in the family has to help out by not talking or reaffirming the dogs fear by intervening. If it is hard to get a leash on the dog have a trusted family member do it and then have your son take the leash (as quietly and inconspicuously as possible) to go for the walks. Also try to use treats and attention to build the result gap. Your dog needs to learn to trust your son which is hard to do if she already has family members who love and take care of her. Your dog doesn’t need your son, nor does she have a reason to trust him. To build the trust your son needs to start being the fun and food person. He also needs to understand how your dog sees the relationship. If your son is determined to make this relationship change he had to be patient and dedicated or just let her be. Some
Dogs never decide to open their hearts to others when their caregivers are already in place. Never ever scold her. Or force her to like anyone or may make things worse. She is who she is and it takes time and patience for her to change. Good luck