I really don’t have an answer it could be an infection (bacterial, fungal or viral), cancer or a traumatic injury (like a burn).  My advice is to take him to the vet for an accurate diagnosis.  If he stops eating or seems painful it is more important to get him to a vet quicker, however, if he is still eating and not painful he doesn’t need to see the vet as fast.

Has he ever been around a puppy?  Are you willing to separate the dogs and rotate which is out, if things go south?

A warning about dobes, because I have one – they are NOT gentle with littles.  You’ll have to work very hard on teaching a dobe puppy to be gentle with smaller animals – our girl is nearly three and still occasionally stomps my cat.  They’re also tough puppies and are quite literally a full time job until they’re around 2 years of age…I’ll happy talk more about the breed if you want, but I don’t want to flood this particular answer with my babble. 🙂

Hi Krista,

Thanks for replying. She’s going to have her 3rd vaccine on Wednesday. She doesn’t look starved. I wish I could attach a picture of her here. She’s wrestling and running around as usual. But I can’t see her eating so often 🙁

Also the dry food that we are using says that we should feed a 10-12 weeks old kitten around 90 gms of dry per day. She’s not even going to half of it for the past two days after she’s eating only dry. The vet said dry food can be high in calories and heavy, so she could be just full.

Thanks a lot Krista. Cats are weird! Her appetite is coming back slowly, I think! 🙂 Let’s hope it stays that way!

i wish you luck.

my suggestions are fairly basic: crate train.  start working on leaving them in the crates longer and longer each day.  work on mental stuff (training for new things) prior to leaving, so they’re tired, and leave them with a stuffed Kong.  

i would also go back to square one with the mix you mentioned, and i would invest in a corrective collar and the training to learn how to use it properly.  (corrective collars, in this case, would be Martingales and pinch collars – no full chokers.)

I think you misunderstood me. I never said they were my roommates responsibility. I had set routines that I followed like a bible. But I do know that while I was absent, my roommates did not follow the routines, which I have to get the dogs use to doing again. I left them in their care so that I can find a home for the three of us to live and because of the circumstances of the position, get adjusted to my new work environment.

I never said I didn’t want to make the effort. Thats why I ask for advice on getting them adjusted to apartment living in the first place. If I didn’t want the responsibility, I would have never have rescued them. We are use to living in a house, which they were able to go out when they wanted inbetween walks. They have been with me for 3 years, I have taken very good care of them. They are what keep me going and give me purpose. I took the promotion at my job, so that I could continue taking care of them. And have them with me with no worries on how I’m going to afford to give them what they need.

With that being said, I tried hiring a dog walker, and let’s just said that did not end well. I am looking into daycare here, but the only place I trust is my vet office back home. They have taken really good care of us from the beginning. If I have to drive the two hours till I find people I trust with my babies, so be it.

If you get back to a normal routine, the dogs will settle in easier. There WILL be an adjustment period, and I think, in your shoes, I’d send every neighbor immediately adjacent to your apartment a note letting them know what’s going on and apologizing in advance. I’d also consider making/giving apology gifts. Even if it’s a token thing, it can make people more amenable to tolerance.

Because this is a new home for them, you have an opportunity to set the rules upon their first day in the new space. Crates back up and used daily will give them a sense of comfort.

For the collar/harness slipping, that’s why I mentioned a corrective collar. If it’s fitted correctly, to sit directly behind the ears, it cannot be slipped. We use a pinch collar for my Doberman, and a friend swears by a martingale for her sighthound – both breeds have skinny heads with necks that are very similar in diameter. Trust me on this, they work. 😀 Besides, one should not walk the dog on the collar where the tags live for safety reasons.

Good luck, Tracey!

I didn’t think it would be a good idea to have them in and out of hotels while my bosses figured out whether or not they wanted to give me the position permenantly. I thought keeping them in an environment they were use to and with people, my roommates, they felt safe with was the better idea. I spent the latter part of that time finding a home for the three of us to live. I did travel back and forth home to spend as much time as I could with them. But I did what I thought was right in not having them involved in the chaos that was going on with work at that time.

That’s why I asked for advice. Theres tips and secrets that other pet owners know and have experienced that are extremely helpful. For example, the Martingale collar, no one, not trainers nor vets have recommended that collar. Most of them have all mentioned Harnesses (which is what I had done in the beginning to get her to stop pulling when she was a puppy.) I was afraid with the new environment and getting back into the routines I did with them, she would start slipping again. Yes I have a new job but that does not mean I could before or can now afford an animal behaviorist. I know we have to get back into the routines. And I know this is going to be work, I just thought I would ask for some advice on how to make the transition from house to apartment easier on them. Because I know the change can and is stressful.

But nevermind, I know what I have to do now. They have been with me for two days and they seem to be adjusting better than I thought. Thank you for your advice.

The gifts are a great idea! Yeah I’ve spoken to the neighbors above and across from me apologizing. Though they all looked at me weird at first, they were pretty nice about it. They have been back with me for 2 days now and they seem to be adjusting better than I thought. especially since most of the furniture and things around them are from our house. So they are surrounded by scents they recognize and I think thats helping them. The only issue we are having is that one of my dogs is on high alert with every noise that happens outside. but when I say “Sylvy no barking” She stops immediately. Today while I was at work I set up a webcam in the room they were in, and they mostly slept all day and chewed bones. I was so proud, I bought them new squeaky toys and let them chase me at the dog park. Thank you! You have been so nice and helpful.

If your vet really said that a 3 year old dog can’t get mange she is crazy.  However, it most likely isn’t mange anyway.  With a terrier it is most likely an allergy.  The best thing to start with is a bath to get all the spores and pollen out of his coat.  Then a daily swim (do you have access to a swimming pool?) will help keep the pollen/spore count down on his body.  Even a small kiddy pool would help.  If you can’t get him swimming, then a daily rinse in a sink will help.  If you are doing the sink/tub rinse try using 1/3 vinegar, 2/3 water – work it into the coat and skin and then let him shake and dry – don’t rinse the vinegar mix out.  The vinegar helps reduce the itch and helps the skin heal.

If he has any raw spots, pat on some Witch Hazel with Aloe Vera (found in any pharmacy), it too helps with the itch and helps the wound heal.

Try Zyrtec instead of the Benadryl, it seems to work better – use the same dose the vet mentioned for the Benadryl.  

Next, get all the grain out of this dog’s diet, that includes treats.  No sharing bread crusts, cookies, or corn chips!  Many terriers can not tolerate grains and this leads to allergic reactions – ear infections, chewed off fur, hot spots, etc.  Go to a good pet store and ask to be shown to the grain-free dog food area.  Then start reading the ingredients.  You want to find a dog food that lists real meat (it will name the meat!  ie. bison, pork, elk, lamb, salmon meal, turkey meal, etc) as the first 2 or 3 ingredients.  Do NOT buy any dog food that lists “by products” as an ingredient.

It can take up to 3 months for a dog to grow a new coat – so it is way too early for you to see much hair on this boy, also he could have scared the skin with scratching to the point that hair won’t come back at all.  But, don’t worry about that yet – it is too early so worry!  I once cured a dog with terrible mange and she grew a lovely coat everywhere but on her tail – poor little rat tail!  Then about a year later the hair started to grow!  And in 30 days she had a lovely Cairn tail, just in time to be adopted to her forever home.  I love a happy ending, don’t you!

Thank you for rescuing this boy – he is going to need TLC and a good diet to be all that he can be, but he will be worth it!

The signs of mange: terrible itching, on a scale of 1 to 10, mange is about a 20!  Really – it is the most itch a dog or human can have!  Look for little yellow puss filled bumps, or raised red spots, constant chewing and scratching, and him running his back and sides under tables and sofas, on the carpet, etc to scratch the itch.  If this is happening, find a new vet to do a skin scraping (which may well be negative since you applied the flea stuff recently).  The treatment is 3 dose of Revolution given 2 weeks apart.  So if your dog is showing these behaviors, I would ask the vet for the Revolution and treat the dog for mange even with a negative skin scrape.

But if he does not show these behaviors, just wait – a good diet and the daily swim/rinse will work wonders.

Good luck!

try with a warm wet towel rub your kittens anal. softly. mothers lick their kittens to be able to go pee or poop. hope it helps(:

i’d call the vet first thing, to be honest.

i hope he starts doing alright tomorrow. you’ve certainly got your hands full with such a teeny baby! may he grow up healthy and strong. 🙂

sounds like the parent of a newborn anything. you’re doing well! you’re staying on top of things.

you. can. do. it. 🙂

well, it’s not like they have to worry about going to work or cleaning or anything like that. 😉

UPDATE: we are on day 8.. problem seems to have resolved. Thank you so much for everyone’s help!

has he seen your vet yet?  if not, that should be your first step.

I agree 100% with PK and Laura.  A vet is a crucial first step!

i would absolutely notify them of the incidents, with dates, times, and durations if you’re able to give that information.  they may want to see video of future episodes, as well as immediately bringing him in the next time this occurs.

understood – just trying to help you think of things the vet will probably want to know, especially going forward. they may also want to know about potential triggers…so, what the dog was doing just before the incident, whether they were calm or excited, etc. context clues can be a huge help with things like this.

Also I forgot to add she is a 12 year old German shepherd/lab mix

Angel,
Several things can cause diarrhea in dogs. I would collect a fresh fecal sample and see your veterinarian. They can test for intestinal parasites which could be the cause and treat accordingly. They can also determine if your pet is dehydrated. Any time I have a pet that is having fluid loss from either end (ie. vomiting or diarrhea) I worry about them becoming dehydrated. Furthermore your veterinarian will perform a complete physical exam and gain adequate history to try and narrow down the cause of the diarrhea and thus which treatment route to pursue. A bland diet for the next few days is never a bad idea either. Some examples of this would be hamburger and rice, chicken and rice, or Hills i/d.
Best of luck with your pup! Hope she is feeling better soon!!