Just bumping this into the answer section….

from Dr. Magnifico, founder of Pawbly.com : Would love to talk to you all about this.. Krista@pawbly.com.

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).

Ashley,

I would recommend calling your vet to see if they will spay a dog in heat.  It is riskier to spay a dog in heat because of the excess blood in the uterus during this period of time and the fact the tissues can be more fragile.

In answer to your question, dogs cycles last about 6 months.  This time period can vary from dog to dog and in different breeds.  However of the 4 phases, the 1st 3 phases are the ones that are going to concern you the most.  The 1st stage last 7-9 days, during this period the vulva is swollen and the discharge tends to be bloody.  During this phase the female will not allow the male to mount her.  After this phase, starting around day 8-10 and lasting for about 2 weeks is actually standing heat.  At this point she will allow the male to mount her and she can become pregnant.  The 3rd phase can last up to 60 days.  During this time the female will slowly begin to return to normal or if bred the puppies will grow.  All dogs go through a false pregnancy during this phase.

I’m trying to not get to involved in the phases so that you understand but aren’t overwhelmed by the information.

I hope this answers your questions and you get your baby spayed before you have any unwanted puppies.

Hello,
I’m not sure if it’s the angle of the photo or not, but your kitty looks like it’s upper mouth  and general face area is  swollen and  really distorted and does not look typical.

The brown/reddish color you describe reminds me of exactly how dried flea dirt (blood) looks. So make sure that you examine her carefully with a flea comb to see if that is an issue for her.

If she was an outside “feral” cat, be sure to get her tested for Felv/Fiv as well as a vet checkup to rule out upper respiratory infections, a rabies vaccine and distemper vaccine and spay would be good too–if you haven’t already done that. I’d take a trip to the vet to have her mouth/face examined.
Good luck!
~kelly

Hello Erin…..you need to take him to the Vet. Urinating suddenly like this could be sign there something wrong…kidneys, crystals a bladder infection…all sorts of things. Take a urine sample with you if you possibly can, it will help the Vet pinpoint the problem. 

Hope he recovers soon! 

There could be a number of reason why he is peeing outside the box. 1st thing could be the change of hours you are working now,  cats do not like change, 2nd reason could be the size of the litter box it may be to small for him now, you could get a bigger litter box, 3rd reason could be the kind of litter you are using, the best ltter is small pieces and clumping, also you should always make sure the litter is clean and once a week you should wash the litter box   with soap and water. Where ever he is peeing outside the litter box you have to make sure that you clean the spot really well or he will just keep coming back to the same spot. And last you should buy a second litter box for him and put it closer to where he is going. If he is eating and drinking the same and hasn’t change at all then i don’t think he is sick but if you try these things and he is still peeing outside the box and if he stops eating and drinking then please take him to the vet, or if you feel that none of these things will help you then you should take him to the vet. Sorry but i just thought of something,  even if a male is neutered they will sometimes spray but its not a big amount like pee would be, its a small circle and has no smell, and cats are like children in some ways, i think your cat is upset about your new hours and is just acting up. I hope this will help you and your cat. Good luck and take care.

Hi Ashley,
I just love green cheeks!! I used to have several and they are just wonderful. Nandays tend to be a  little bit larger as well as more “possessive” and more boisterous birds than the green cheeks. But you can certainly try them together. I would NOT recommend just sticking them together in a cage and hoping for the best. First, you’d want to keep them isolated for at least 2 weeks until or until you can take your new bird to a vet for a general exam/check up and to rule out any disease.

Next, once your vet clears him as healthy I would be sure to closely montior them when they are near each other. You will want to be sure they each have their OWN cage to be in. Putting them in the same area, but not directly near each other is a good first step., then moving the cages closer if you’d like. Until they are next to each other. I’d never put the cages so close that they can grab one another through the bars, so be sure there is still a good gap.

Once you’ve had them near one another and they seem interested but not screaming or trying to attack, then you could try introducing them together on neutral territory,,,like a playgym. Always ALWAYS stay near so you can step in and remove one if they start to hurt each other.

I always keep birds in their own space when I’m not around –unless you have an aviary type situation with lots of room for them..they really need their own areas unless they are a very bonded pair. So until that happens make sure you have two cages.

In general I’ve found birds either love each other or hate each other. Usually no in betweens. You def are taking a risk with bringing a new friend home, either it will work ,or it will fail. But there is no way of telling how they will react based on how the green cheek is behaving in the store with a bird it already knows.

Good luck!!!!
~kelly

I really appreciate your even-minded response. What is frustrating about this is that their product has been seemingly intentionally mislabeled. While we’re all affected by advertising, but when determining his diet I tried to avoid advertisements all together and focused on ingredients. However, I can’t trust that they are even listed honestly then I am not sure what to do. I am tempted to switch foods but my method now seems unreliable.