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I have a 3 1/2 yr old male Cavalier King Charles Spaniel and are getting another Cav puppy. Is it better to get a female this time? I want to create the best opportunity for them to get along. Is another male ok?
This is the third day without Atlas — Apollo’s littermate, alpha and captain. We lost him due to hemorrhage and dehydration. He just recently turned 4 months. Apollo hasn’t been eating and drinking water today. Was asleep all the time, too. Previously, he wakes up at night and cries so he comes to me in bed to wake me up. Last night he started vomiting and having loose stools. I can also here rumbling in his stomach, and i think is passing gas. Earlier that day we went on a walk and had munched a few plants/weeds on the way. He has also accidentally taken in expired milk he left the other day. Today the stool had a few blood patches in it. I’m worried he might end up his brother. Is he only suffering from dog depression, or is there other medial conditions?
This sounds very serious… the lethargy, the blood in the stool and loose stool. Not how a four month old puppy should be acting. I would make an appointment with the vet right away. The first fear that comes to mind is possibility of parvo… which can be deadly. I hope your puppy is ok.
Thank you so much.
I agree with Sarah. Anything abnormal in a puppy goes to the vet immediately. Period.
Hello. I appreciate your input.
8 month puppy was bit at the dog park. He devoleped a big lump filled with loose fluid a few days later where it started smaller and then grew to about the size of a baseball in under 1 week. I didn’t think the event at the dog park was was a factor because there was no blood or any sign of skin puncture at all. He also seemed to be happy, eating normally and still crazy full of energy as usual.I took him to the vet where they said it’s a seroma and should go away on its own in about a week. Ive been doing a warm compress but it doesn’t seem to be working to shrink it, and it has gotten even bigger and tighter 5 days later now. It still doesn’t seem to hurt him, and he is acting completely normal/happy. It has now been about 10 days since the seroma started, and 5 days since the vet. My concern is that it has gotten a bit bigger, and wasn’t as loose as before and is now a bit tighter/harder. I can still feel that it’s moveable fluid but just tighter. The vet didn’t tell me to cut down on activity, and I have been going on runs and playing a lot with him. Should I be trying to avoid activity? His harness is about 6 inches away so it doesn’t rub on it directly, but still fairly close to the bump. Just wondering if I should keep away from running/walking and try to keep him calm until it goes away? (not likely as he is high energy)
Hello,
I consider every dog bite or fight an infection. And if it isn’t healed in 5-7 days I consider it a problem to keep monitoring closely with the help of your vet. Please go back to your vet or get a second opinion. Your puppy is too young to not have healed quickly and completely by now in my opinion. Better safe than sorry I always say.
Thanks so much krista, I REALLY appreciate your input here and for taking the time! I will be taking him in again
Hi. I have a 3 day old pit bull puppy. He was born very small. I didn’t even know my female was pregnant. She was suppose to have been spayed but that’s something I will have to take up with the office that suppose to have done it. Anyways, the puppy at first was suckling fine from mom. Over the last couple of days it’s progressively gotten to where he will not even open his mouth to feed. I went and bought puppy formula, baby bottle, eye dropper and have been trying to get some food into him. He still will not eat. What else besides see a vet can I do? I’m very limited on funds right now because I had a work related injury and was off of work few days last week so no money for a vet.
Hello,
Puppies are fragile and without intensive dedicated care they can die quickly. You need to find a local breeder or rescuer with experience and you need to do it immediately. Put out a social media plea for help and call every local rescue and shelter to find someone who can help guide you on taking care of a puppy. They need to be kept warm and fed to start but other critically important things are disease and infection. Along with checking for birth defects that might prohibit growth. I wish you luck. Please be diligent in some cases I have seen puppies die in a day or two from hypothermia, malnutrition and disease. .
Hi, my bernese puppy just had, 5 days ago, a jps (Juvenile pubic symphysiodesis) surgery as prevention for hip dysplasia. He has stitches just under his penis. Yesterday, he had the worst zoomies which caused him to run so fast, he got to the end of his leash and litterally backfliped. He seemed physically fine until I noticed quite a lot of bleeding coming from his stitches: for sure from the leash. I cleaned the wound with soap and water and everything looked fine. No more bleeding, stitches were fine too (picture #1, where we can see a finger). Today, we found out he had quite a big, pretty firm bump around the stitches (picture #2). No signs of infection. It seems to change size depending of his position, too. I just found out about seroma, but a bump like that is pretty scary. I will talk to the vet tomorrow but would really appreciate a quick opinion. The JPS recovery is already so stressful because we have such a hard time keeping him from running and jumping, now this…
Good morning- it is really hard to see anything from a picture. I would just keep him calm as can be and try to get into the vet ASAP first thing, so that they can take a close look and feel around. Hope everything is ok????????
Hi Can you please help me with a puppy crate question?
Our now almost 12 wk old golden puppy has been crated at night for 3 weeks and he is still up every hour crying..
I let him cry for about 20 min at most and he usually falls back to sleep but then wakes up again an hour later..
I will take him out only once a night (for a very boring and quick trip outside to potty) if the crying
lasts longer than about 25 min
Because I’m Exhausted… I finally caved and moved him into our bedroom in the crate (where our older dog sleeps on a dog bed) and he has slept through the night for the last three nights…
But….I hear him panting and moving around all night so I can’t sleep!
Is it okay to put crate in the basement where I won’t be able to hear him and just let him cry it out?
I’ve never had this problem with previous puppies…
Any advice you can give would be greatly appreciated!
Thx!
Sarah
Good morning- have you tried keeping the crate in your room with white noise or a fan on during the night in your room to block out any sleep disruptions? I think there are even apps for your phone that you can download for this with a Bluetooth speaker. It might make things easier for you and your puppy.????????
Are you wearing his brain out prior to bedtime? I don’t mean a run in the yard – I mean puppy push-ups (sit/down/sit/stand, rinse repeat for a good 15 minutes) or something similar at this age.
My 7 month old retriver puppy has real behavior issues I cant seem to break. I cant afford a dog trainer since everyone I’ve contacted wants atleast $500 for 5 hours of basic training. The problems: she pulls on the leash…hard. she is constantly chewing on stuff. Anything in the floor. As soon as i turn my back shes into something… the trash, litter box, cat food, chasing the cats… she knows it wrong because when she sees me she looks down in shame. I have a prong collar for walking her, a shock collar for teaching her no. She’s smart and knows how to come, sit, lay, catch, drop it… However now she refuses to drop something she really wants. I cant give her chew bones or long lasting treats because she’s started growling and snaps at my kids when they come near her with it. I have a crate, that I put her in when she being bad. She refuses to calm down at all when there is something interesting like new people or another dog. I spend my entire day scolding her for doing bad things… so much to where I really dont want to be around her anymore. My kids hate her, and my husband is trying so hard to like her. Im at a complete loss as to how to train her to calm down and stop doing things she knows she isn’t supposed to do. I have a severe back injury and it is really hard for me to contain her when she’s acting a fool. Ive also tried having turkey in a treat pouch and only giving it to her when she’s being good. Which she will do till I run out then she’s right back at it. If anyone has any ideas please let me know.
Hi there???? First off, thanks for caring so much about this dog. Secondly, a private trainer or personal session with a trainer is quite expensive- BUT- a group session is much more affordable. I would call around to local petsmart or other pet stores/people to try to find one. You can get somewhere between 8 and 10 sessions for around $200. You will get a wealth of knowledge there, so long as the trainer is good. Third, as tricky and difficult as it can be at times, try to remain calm. I know easier said than done in the heat of the moment, but your dog will feed off of that anxiety or stress. I know you said pulling on the leash is an issue- a trainer can definitely help with that. And once that is improving, walks will be much more beneficial. A tired dog is a well behaved dog. ???? I find that a prong collar does not help with pulling, to be honest. We have GSDs and we’re advised years ago when we first started rescuing them to use a chain collar, high on the neck where it should be just behind the ears if pulled. This has the desired effect with minimal tug and is easier for the person to maneuver. Another trick with walking…. every time the dog pulls, change direction. This makes for very silly looking (and time consuming) walks in the beginning, but does help get them to follow your lead. You have a very energetic dog, so getting your walks down is a must. Plus, walking helps establish order in your pack and lets them know you are above them. You also may need to “dog proof” your house with some baby gates for the time being until your dog learns where it can and cannot go (i.e. to eat the litter box). Continue reinforcing good behaviors with a reward- it’s great that you do that!! Correct misbehavior with a firm no and then change he situation. Guarding of bones and toys can escalate to worse very quickly. My advice on that would be to limit the amount of time (ideally when no children are going to try to take it) and then trade a treat for the bone/toy. We have a rule toys=outside, bones=inside but only on beds.(dog beds) If you have the space, a chuck it and a ball can really help tire your pup out. Also- nothing is free. Dog wants dinner? Sit and paw first.or something like that. .. down, belly, whatever payment you feel is right. Dog wants to play? Again, sit or down…. dog wants a treat? Same. Dog wants affection? Calm first then love. Again- look into a group session as they are more cost effective. Please be patient not just with your dog, but yourself as well. It is not easy, but nothing worth it ever is. Very best of luck to you! Hopefully some other Pawbly friends will have more advice. I hope you find some of this helpful. If there is anything else we can help with, please reach out again.????????
Thank you so much for the info. I had another dog in some group classes years ago, and I’ve implemented that into my training, but I will search outside of my town for some groups thats arebt so expensive. The trainers asking for $500 are group classes here and its $200 extra for private lessons on specific issues. ???? unfortunately the group i went to before is no longer there. I do ask her to sit for leash on and off, before getting a treat and before she goes out. I dont give her enough exercise I know, since I’m hurt I can’t walk her alot, especially when she’s yanking me. Ill buy a chain collar and try with that. Thank you so much for the tips. I will definitely give it a go. Currently I am working on keeping her out of her kennel except when she’s beung bad, or when she’s too wild, and maybe still sleep in it. Not sure yet.
If she’s pulling while on a prong, it’s likely not positioned correctly. It might also have a larger link size than she should have. Go with a smaller link and position it right behind the jaw. Make sure to have a backup slip lead on, just in case. Work on this in the yard before going on a walk.
I suspect she has far too much freedom and too few rules. You’ve gotta go back to square 1 with obedience. Utilize trades (not food) instead of just taking things from her. Crate her if she’s chewing something. Consider umbilical training to prevent bad behavior, and praise the heck out of good behavior. Since group classes are not a thing in most places right now, look into Fenzi Dog Sports Academy. It’s an online-only school, and they might have something that will work for you.
Beyond that, try looking here for trainers: https://www.canineprofessionals.com/find-a-professional
I have a question about dog food. Years ago, we had a german shepherd who was allergic to chicken. We switched him (and our other 2 dogs) to grain free and they all did amazing on it. We mixed proteins and had no issues. Now, years later, we have a german shepherd pup (9 months old now). When he came to us at 8 weeks he was eating Victor grain free active dog and puppy. Our vet is anti-grain free and recommended Purina Pro Plan large breed puppy (chicken). We transitioned over a couple of weeks, but he had soft stools or diarrhea all the time and was itchy. He ended up having anal gland issues. We added pumpkin, bananas, yogurt and nothing helped.
We switched to the sslmon/sensitive skin and stomach puppy formula but it didn’t get better. We ended up adding Victor back in, and he got better. Now he is back on the Victor puppy grain free, mixed with the Victor grain included formula. No issues. But our Vet has us worried about heart issues, and I’m worried that we’re going to get a lecture because she only recommends Purina Pro Plan, Science Diet, RC, Ian’s – big companies with a vet on staff. Should we keep trying these, or stick with what’s working? (Our previous vet retired 🙁 ) We want to do the best thing for our puppy.
Hello,
I am anti grain free too. I have seen perfectly healthy dogs die, in some cases even multiple dogs in the same house die from grain free diets and heart disease. It has changed me and I won’t recommend grain free until we know exactly what is happening and why. Along with what we can do about it. For now I don’t feed or recomend grain free. I also do not believe the anal glands are associated with the diet. I’ve seen thousands of dogs over decades and they don’t correlate to diet and anal sac issues. Please don’t think that we lecture because we are influenced by anything other then our training, our individual experiences and our deep fondness for the animals we have dedicated our lives too. To say we are paid or influenced by the pet food companies Is both untrue and unkind. You should find a diet that works for all of you and is safe to feed. My best to you all. Be kind to your vet. They want what’s best for your dog.
Thank you! I definitely don’t think that our vet is influenced by anything. I just feel sort of lost – we’ve had many dogs but never one with a sensitive tummy. We want to do what’s best for him. We’ll keep trying!
Hi- we have a household of german shepherds. We feed Purina One large breed with glucosamine. There is a sensitive stomach option as well as a senior option. At the moment our GSDs are loving the venison option. Our youngest did have an adjustment period of about 2 weeks from when we got him until his stools got back on track with our food. Other than that one instance, we have always been very happy with this food. I should add that their health and lifespan has been great on this diet as well. ..14 years and very healthy up until the end. I would say chat more with your vet and see what comes of it. They may be able to provide you with more information that you will find useful.????????
Thank you!
I feed the food the dog does best on. If that means Victor, or some other grain free brand, then that’s what it means. (Though I’m really not a fan of Victor.)
I have been a fan of Merrick for a long time. Try them, or Castor + Pollux, their other brand. If you think your dog is allergic to chicken, make sure you read labels carefully – LOTS of brands use chicken fat in formulations which do not list chicken as a main ingredient, and even a little of it will make our girl break out in hives and have loose stool. I can feed grain-inclusive foods as long as they’re limited ingredient.
11 month old puppy has welts/hives/bumps all over her body and legs.. not sure if it’s from something she ate, bees, allergic reaction to some type of plant? She’s acting pretty normal otherwise, just looks terrible! Her vet doesn’t have any appointments available for 10 days. He did say to give her Benadryl, which she has had two doses of and doesn’t seem to be helping much. When should I worry and consider taking her to an emergency vet clinic?
Hello,
Call around and find a vet who is available to see you ASAP or ask your vet which emergency facility they refer to. I would start there. If it lasts longer than 6 hours I recommend an ER visit.
At what age do I stop feeding my Labrador puppy 3 meals a day?
Hello
without knowing Patient specifics I usually say about 3-4 months old. But if your pup is underweight, undermuscled or over active, or has any kind of disease process that might change. This is a question for your vet who knows your pup best. ,
We fed our Doberman 3 meals a day until she was nearly 6 months. When she lost interest in lunch, we dropped down to 2.
I would go with a female, yes.