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Until recently, he was high energy and playful, despite being underweight. Now he will not play, and lays down immediately if not eating or eliminating. He has also gone from EXTREMELY affectionate to seemingly avoiding physical contact
Hiya, my 6 year old German Shepherd has been limping oddly since last Wednesday but doesn’t seem to be upset or anything by it. She is really happy and still playing etc which is weird as normally if she hurts herself she acts like she is dying! But occasionally, especially when she has layed down for a while she can split her legs ever so slightly. She can still jump on the sofas etc too.
Have you tried putting her on crate rest for 24-48 hours to see if the limp will resolve on its own? Allowing her to continue behaving normally is preventing it from healing and may be making it worse.
Crate rest means in the crate for the duration, and all potty breaks are on leash. Out to toilet, then back inside…no walks, no play.
Sorry if this seems to ramble. I just have a lot on my mind.
He has already broken and melted my heart. I am a teacher and will actually be off work for the next 6 weeks to train, play, and “mother” the little guy. I think I have convinced my mother to watch him for the first couple of months when school starts to help him settle in because he is so young. Our best guess is that he is a lab mix. He will probably be medium to large in size.
I know that socialization is so important for a pup of this age. What can I do to help him?
I keep crying and my anxiety about the next 6 months is very high. My worries make it hard to sleep even when the little guy is sleeping. I’m so sad for him and I just want to make sure that he is a happy, healthy puppy. The shelters around here are overwhelmed and I refuse to leave the little guy. Euthanasia rates are pretty high.
He will eventually be an indoor/outdoor dog. I won’t be comfortable with this, though, until he is older. That is why I’m going to pay my mom to watch him. I will be gone from 7-3:30 and my man works from 7:30-5. On days with inclement weather, my fella would be able to come home and let him in or out. We have a large fenced in back yard with plenty of shady areas. I live in a rural area with very kind neighbors so I am not worried about anyone messing with him. I live in East Tennessee where there is rarely an extreme temperature; however, I’m also looking into adding a doggie door, too.
Here is what I have done so far:
(1) He has a lifestyle crate (with the partition to make it smaller for now) that is attached to a large playpen in our kitchen. He sleeps in this crate at night. I’ve been sleeping on a couch next to it at night to take him out when he wakes. This is generally every 2 hrs.
(2) I’ve taken him to the vet. They dewormed him and gave him a flea treatment that is appropriate for a little guy under 5Lbs.
(3) I take him out to potty every time he wakes up from sleeping. He has only had 3 accidents in 3.5 days. I clean up his mess well so as not to leave a smell and take him out anyway. I DO NOT scold such a young pup but rather just take him out and set him in the grass each time.
What can I do to ensure this little guy has a great adolescence? Especially considering he is off to a rough start?
It will probably take a little while to potty train him because he is so young. To socialize him you can take him on walks and play with him and get him toys to play with. Puppies are resiliant so even though he has had a rough start just give him a loving home and play with him and make sure he is happy and he will be fine into adolescence. I hope you and your new puppy the best!
Don’t worry about what happened to him. Think about how lucky he is to have a caring human now who is taking great care of him. Socialization is important. Make sure to introduce him to lots of people when he is old enough to go on nice walks. Also dog parks or other dogs that you know, should be a great way to introduce him to other dogs. Your vet should have a ton of info to share with you. Best of luck!!
Thanks for the encouragement! I had a torturous few day where I didn’t know if I should keep him or take him to the shelter. Many people on the internet acted like it was inhumane to have a dog if you couldn’t keep him indoors 24/7 and be with him most of the time; however, the lady at the shelter showed me all the cute pups there and told me that many don’t make it out. I refuse to give up on him! I’m not rich and I don’t have the resources to put him in a daycare every day but I do have a very comfortable and large home with a privacy fence. I have lots of love in my heart and no children, as well.
I plan to use the next 6 weeks to get him into the routine of our household. My mother won’t be able to help out because she takes care of my grandmother but my man is gonna arrange to drive 40 minutes here and 40 minutes back on his lunch to check on little man.
We are looking at collar activated doggie doors currently but he will be too young for that at first. I found a really cool solar paneled fan that can attach to a doghouse and “heated flooring” options for winter. I can’t believe this stuff exists! Who knew a dog could have a climate controlled doghouse?!?
Again, I really appreciate the supportive comments while I was panicking about what to do. 🙂
A few months ago, we adopted two pups from the same litter. They are blue heeler/ Victorian bulldog mixes and they are the loves of our lives. Well they got into a few pretty bad fights, and we figured that they were just puppies and were just playing around. Well one day, they got into a HUGE fight to the point that one was dripping blood. From that point on, we have had to keep them separated- one of them is in the cage constantly. This is not fair to us or them, considering they are cattle dogs and shouldn’t ever be confined to such a small area so often. Plus it is nearly impossible to potty train them like this. So now we have two dogs who potty everywhere and fight with one another if they’re ever near each other. We desperately need help!
Sad to say, this if a common occurrence when you adopt two males from the same litter. Either they grow up to be totally dependent on each other and can never be separated, OR they are in constant contention. How old are they? Have they been neutered? If they are over 6 months old they need to be neutered. This will help reduce the aggression.
However, it is not the cure. You need to find a behaviorist NOW! Don’t just pick any dog trainer – look for one that can come to your home and work with you there. Or one that specializes in aggression cases such as this. And sad to say – the only answer may be that you have to find one of the boys a new home. They may have developed such a dislike of each other that they will never live comfortably together.
You do desperately need help! But it is far beyond the scope of this forum. You need hands on help from a professional that can see your dogs and figure out what triggers the aggression. And in the future – remember – never get 2 puppies at one time!
They are almost a year old and have appointments scheduled to get fixed. You response is very insightful, but I do have one issue. One of them is a female. Does this make any difference? Thanks.
littermate syndrome – the issue you’re experiencing – has nothing to do with sex. it has to do with raising two puppies of the same age together and not giving them time apart for training and socializing.
and i agree with PK, this NEEDS to be handled at home. anyone giving you further advice online is being reckless. you need someone in your home, watching your dogs interact. until this can happen, continue crating each dog separately and rotating which has freedom in the house. this will help you to keep them safe from each other. every fight will get worse, every interaction will escalate, and you may end up with a dead dog if you continue to allow them to be around each other.
I have a dog that is 4 years old and is a pug. We cant afford to have it stay in a kennel for that long and none of my realitives and friends are able to let her stay at their place. So we hired a pet sitter to come to the house to feed the dog in the morning and for dinner, and to let out my dog in the morning afternoon and night. We also hired someone else to come in between those times to come to my house 2-3 a day while im gone to play with my dog and walk it for about 1-2 hours. Do you think my dog will be okay? I’m just so worried and stressed. Also the people we hired are trusted. Also we have cameras in my home and will be able to monitor and my dog has a designated area that is contained.
Is the sitter bonded and insured? Do they have excellent reviews? Have you discussed your concerns with them?
My cat is really really possessive over this one plant in the yard. Is there any way to get him to play nice with the other cats around this thing?
Other than removing the plant or keeping the cats indoors, I cannot think of anything that would make him friendlier.
Wire covers would work to protect the plant
Does the plant live in a pot? You could try adding scent around it that would make the cat want to avoid it.
my 9 month old rott/lab mix has several white blisters on his tongue he continues to eat and play any clues as to what it may be im very concerned i just found it like 5 min ago
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.
I have a long haired Syrian hamster, she loves to play at night when she wakes up, but the thing is I have to get to bed at 9:30, and that’s about the time that she wakes up, sometimes she’s so crazy that I can’t even go to sleep since she’s biting the cage door and going coo-coo! I do play with her in the morning but that doesn’t seem to help. Any suggestions? P.S>- One time she got so crazy that she broke the cage and escaped, I found her sleeping in the corner of the bathroom the next morning, I got so scared and sad for her, because that means she REALLY wants to play. What should I do?
Thank you so much, it helped a lot. I will give her tender loving care, I really enjoy playing with her.
Sometimes I just let her roam around on the floor because, just like you said I don’t want to drop her since my sister had a hamster before and the hamster died because she dropped it on the floor and broke her back :(:(
Thanks so much!
By the way I really enjoy using Pawbly, it’s a great free place where everybody can share their thoughts, thanks for creating it!
Yes, we have to care about animals too!
Thanks you too, take care! Talk to you soon!
Hi! I’ve recently adopted a kitten from a family member. The kitten previously belonged to a child, and has a round hairless mark on her front paw. The child has been known to recklessly play with lighters, and I’m unsure if I’m right to think that he (the child) had possibly burned the kitten, or if the kitten has some type of infection. Any help at all would be appreciated.
Can 1 dog get an ear infection from another dog? She didn’t have an ear infection 3 days ago when I took her to the vet. That day I let her mother come over & spend the night for a play date & she has ear infections in both ears & 1 is really bad. The owner doesn’t take care of the mother like I do my dogs. BJ’s has a tendency to get ear infections so I have medicated wash & a RX on hand for her. I wash her ears out once a week, but this morning her ear is red and she’s scratching it. I started her redgiment again & put her cone collar on so she doesn’t scratch.
I wouldn’t be thinking this if she hadn’t just seen her vet for her 6 months check up and nothing was wrong with her ears.
My dog had an ear infection that lasted for 3 months about 9 months ago. She went back 6 months ago for some more meds & got rid of it then. She’s 14 months old and a Corkie
Normally, I would say no that ear infections are not commonly passed from 1 dog to another, however, it is possible to spread ear mites from 1 dog to another and the other dog could have been licking your dogs ear which could have lead to an ear infection. Ear mites are not common in dogs. So it’s possible that the visiting dog could have been licking you dogs ears resulting in an ear infection.
Also, it is possible your dog could have just gotten an ear infection that just happened to coincide with the other dogs visit.
I’d be getting him to the vet. Sounds like he needs it.
Thanks I spent $5,000 on him at the vet since January I was trying to get input from other sources
Because this is a recent change, it’s warranted.
It sounds to me that he is in pain – the avoiding physical contact. Have you found a Great Dane group? Often things like this are specific to a breed and other Dane owners will point you in the right direction quicker than folks not as familiar with that particular breed. I found a Scottie group on Facebook that has given me tons of help with my new Scottie mix puppy since my first Scot was older when I adopted him.
When I hear about thin dogs that won’t gain weight I immediately think about Exocrine Pancreatic Insufficiency (EPI). This is a condition where the dog’s pancreas does not produce sufficient enzymes for the dog to properly digest their food and they can not gain weight no matter how much they eat. The undigested food in their gut leads to pain and and produces very large stool.
Enzyme supplements or feeding raw pancreas (you need to get the whole pancreas and feed it fresh, I believe) is the solution. Here is a link to a Whole Dog Journal article about this: http://www.whole-dog-journal.com/issues/12_3/features/Exocrine-Pancreatic-Insuffinciency-in-Dogs_16109-1.html
Ask on the Facebook page “Great Dane Rescue, Inc” there are a lot of Great Dane owners there with a lot of great knowledge of the breed