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.
My dog died of parvo a month ago and want to get another puppy for my family. What should I do to ensure he is safe?
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My almost 5 year old Chihuahua/dachshund mix bit my 8 month old daughter in the face a few days ago. He is currently “quarantined” at home for 10 days. He is a normally good dog. He has always been very protective, hyper and a bit jumpy of new people. He has growled at people before but never attacked. My 8 month old daughter and the dog have never had a problem, but this day they were sitting next to each other and she was petting him, and then she grabbed his tail and he turned around and bit her in the face. I can no longer feel comfortable with the dog in the house around her. I do not want to put the dog to sleep as I feel this was a pretty isolated incident but she is too young to learn from her mistake so I feel it is very necessary to find him a new place to live. I am weary of trying to find him a new home in the chance he bites again, and I do not want to have that guilt over my head. Also, he is showing no signs of rabies but he has become more anxiety ridden since the attack/barking at all noises/people outside (with being quarantined though, I believe he is feeling depressed and scared). *Side note – I have a 9 year old son as well, who has been with the dog since a puppy (and my son was 4) and they have never really had any issues. The dog would get upset sometimes but he has never bitten my son. *Another side note – we recently moved (About 3 weeks ago) into a new home, and he has shown more anxiety/jumpiness since the move. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated as I do care about my dog a lot and want him to have a good life as he is not that old yet.
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PK Dennis DO NOT TAKE HIM TO A SHELTER! Doing so will condemn him to death. Even shelters that say they are no-kill often turn over dogs that have bitten to other organizations that then put the dog down. This allows the first place to keep their “no kill” label, but does not save the dog. These are highly strung dogs. You have made a lot of changes in his life, adding stress upon stress. I am not surprised that he defended himself in this way. The rule in my house is that NO CHILD UNDER THE AGE OF THREE gets to touch a dog, sit beside a dog, be allowed in a room alone with a dog. And – I do not approve any home with a child under the age of 7 to adopt one of my fosters since I feel 7 is the minimum age of reason in a human child (in other words at that age they can understand to LEAVE THE DOG ALONE).
Any dog that feels endangered will bite.Keep in mind that you will be causing trauma to your older child by giving this dog away. The BEST solution would be to find a trainer that would come to your home to work with you, your family, and the dog. But if you can’t consider that, the next best thing would be to find a Chihuahua rescue. You can find a dedicated Chihuahua Rescue by googling or looking through the AKC website for Chihuahua rescue. You will find there are Chihuahua organizations nationwide that, for the love of the breed, will accept your surrender of this dog and will help him find the perfect forever home.And be sure you don’t compound your mistakes by bringing another dog into your home before your youngest child is seven years old or older — or you will be doing this all over again with another innocent dog. It wasn’t the breed that bit, it was the compilation of mistakes that created the situation and led to the bite. -
Kasia R 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!
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Brittany Irons Thank you for your honest advice.
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Brittany Irons 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.
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Brittany Irons 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.
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Anonymous 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.
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PK Dennis The Humane Society should not even be on your radar! It is a sure death sentence for this poor boy. They take in so many dogs each year that they can only save the ones that are most adoptable! And a dog that has bitten is usually considered unadoptable by the HS. Your family members may mean well, but they don’t understand that by giving this boy a home you made a life long commitment to doing what is best for him – not just your human children. The only way to be sure he is not put to death is to keep the dog yourself (and work with a trainer to resolve the issues) or to surrender him to a Chihuahua Rescue. The Chi people understand the personality of this breed and will work to ensure he gets a home that understands how to work with his stress – helping him to be the best dog he can be. It comes down to how much time, energy and effort you want to expend to keep your family (dog and all) together. If you can’t make the time and spend the money for training then you have to find the Chihuahua rescue. Another option may be a ‘small dog’ rescue. There are some that specialize in small, feisty, dogs that have fear aggression issues.
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Brittany Irons Thank you, I will be looking into the Chihuahua rescue to see if they can assist me, I truly appreciate your help and honesty!
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PK Dennis I don’t know where in the US you are located, but doing a quick search I found http://www.Chihuahua-rescue.org that is working out of the midwest. And there is a request form for more information on the Chihuahua Club of America at this link http://www.chihuahuaclubofamerica.com/contact-the-cca/contact-breed-rescue that may lead you to a person in your area for rescue.
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julie brader 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. -
ashlyn hag I had a problem like that, sometimes the Humane society won’t take a dog that has bitten before, also you would be killing that dog, also I believe I made the wrong choice by putting my dog down he was still a puppy (9 months old) but he had bitten and had drew blood, and I just didn’t feel safe around him, and like I said we put him down which was the hardest decision of my life, so I don’t want you to make a decision like me, be good and caring person and do not let that dog go, like you aid you had recently just moved and some dogs aren’t good with stress, and when you moved you cause your dog stress, don’t make the same ,mistake that I did and keep that dog, other wise whreveer you take him he will probably just die anyways, because not most dogs find good forever homes and live happily ever after your dog could likely get beaten or killed by others, so NO MATTER WHAT KEEP THE DOG.
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PK Dennis 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!
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PK Dennis Great chart and videos about dogs and toddler supervision: http://familypaws.com/fpaw/wp-content/uploads/2014/04/5-types-Supervision-HR1.pdf
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Brittany Irons 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).
I need advice on puppy with parvovirus .. im at witts end. please someone help. I need advice badly
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Anonymous have you taken this puppy to the vet? that’s the best way to ensure your puppy gets the care it needs.
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brittany phillips 6my local vet wants 250$ deposit not including treatment my parents won’t pay this which leaves me to figure it out on my own
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brittany phillips I don’t know anything about veterinary medicine so I won’t pretend to . But I gave the titan the best care I could around the clock care every hour on the hour with fluids and medicine to combat the symptoms . He fought it very hard for 4 days but I guess I just didn’t do enough .. I do blame myself because I couldn’t get him the vet care . I hate that he passed in any kind of pain but I did make sure he didn’t go alone I held him rocked him sung to him . I didn’t have him long . He wasn’t even my dog but I loved him like family and I cared for him as much as I could . I regret all of the things that happened but I don’t regret loving him.
Hello, I have a year old large puppy and he has developed a limp from one of his back legs. I have read everything online about different causes and I have done a thorough examination of his leg. There seems to be nothing out of place, no swelling and he continues to run and play (he sure doesn’t seem depressed) and he doesn’t show any signs of pain at all….what could be the problem? The only thing I can even relate to what’s happening is that it might be pano, but I want to confirm before we change his diet. There is also no sort of thorns, cracks, or cuts except a small cut in between the left side of his toes and it’s not worth taking him to the vet for a small cut about 3 cm.
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Brittany Mullens He’s only been limping for about 3 days, it seems like the limping has gotten a little better since the first day. He has broken his front toe before and was showing a lot of symptoms of pain (of course we took care of it) but that’s what I’ve been basing his pain tolerance on remembering how bad he was hurting before and he’s pretty much normal except for the limp.
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Brittany Mullens UPDATE: took him to the vet today, for the past couple days before our appointment we’ve had him on bed rest and that helped alot. The limping got less severe and it seemed like he could put more weight down on that leg. The vet had said it could be a partailly torn ligament in his knee from the exam. X-rays at the beginning of next month and he’s currently on some doggy pain killers and inflammation drugs and two weeks bed rest! But he’s walking on it even better with the drugs even after one dose.
my puppy is not eating.. hes poop smells like fish and bloody pls help me
I earlier gave my puppy his deworming medication and a few hours later he vomited. Is this normal?
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Vicki Hamill I LIKE STRONGIT ( IN TWO DOSES ) YOUR VET WILL ADMINISTER. FOR PARASITES/ WORMS / FLEAS/ EAR MITES / TAPE WORM/ ROUND WORM/ LUNG WORM, ALL MY CATS Take ” REVOLUTION”– by Rx ( PRESCRIPTION ) FROM YOUR VET ..LONCE MONTHLY !!??. MAKE SURE ANIMAL IS HEALTHY..ITS STRONG. ITS A TOPICAL VIAL TO BE PUT ON NECK — ( LIKE ADVANTAGE )…Vicki H. ( Cat Rescuer X 35 Years ).
My 7 month old cane corso female puppy’s right side lower jaw is slightly firmer than the left side. What are possible reasons that cause this?
my dog is 4 weeks old. his mother has rejected him milk. i brought the dog from the breeder and she has already started feeding him puppy food should i continue giving him puppy food or milk from a bottle?
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Anonymous oof, that’s tough. you have a lot of work ahead of you.
first: please report this person. they’re breaking the law by selling puppies under 8 weeks of age. they’ve done you no favors by selling you a puppy that is lacking in ALL socialization with littermates.
second: at this point, i believe puppies should be eating a gruel made with puppy milk and puppy-specific kibble. http://www.dogbreedinfo.com/whelpingphotos4.htm
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Anonymous i actually called my breeder about my second point…i figure if anyone knew, it would be an ethical breeder!
My girlfriend and I are getting 2 french bulldog puppies. How long do use a crate after they are done housing training? I feel once they are house broken they should be free to roam. She feels they should always have it.
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julie brader Hi Brian……..its your decision of course but I would never advise anyone to get two puppies at the same time. Wait until the first one is 18 months or so then get another one.
Anyhow…..back to crates. Its really up to the individual whether you crate your dogs or not. They are very useful though. Never use them as a punishment, crates should be a happy place for dogs to go. If you cover them, leaving the door section uncovered they make a great “den” and dogs love dens.
If you decide to carry on with the crates after housetraining you can leave the door open for the dog to go in and out as they wish. If you need to go out and make sure the dog is safe pop them in the crates. Its really not fair to leave a dog locked up for hours though. You can buy water bowls which clip on the crate so the dog has water too.
Unless you are absolutely certain your dogs will be safe to roam around the house, plants are gone so they can’t chew on them ect then I would definately keep the crates.
Good luck and have fun with your puppies!
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Brian Adrian Why do you suggest waiting to get the second puppy? Our biggest fear is the puppy having seperation anxiety and feel with two puppies (siblings) they would comfort eachother.
I leave work at 6 and am home by 4, my girlfriend leaves work at 8:30 and is home at 5:30 but plans to come home at noon to let them out. How long is too long to have them in the crate?
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julie brader Hi again Brian, I understand your logic of having two puppies if you both work. Make sure you get a nice big cage so they have room to move-and think of them as adults when you buy it.
This is my personal opinion and I probably shouldn’t be airing it here lol
Having a puppy is, believe me, like having a baby in the house. To care for one puppy, housetrain, basic training, socialising and financial costs (believe me there will be) is very hard work and time consuming. To do all this for two is twice all of the above.
However, if you and your girlfriend are both prepared to dedicate a lot of time and effort to a puppy each it would work.
As for how long to leave them in crates….I know people leave puppies and dogs in them day in day out. Yours would have to be in crates for quite a while as you both work.
I guess its up to the owner but you may have problems with housetraining them….puppies ideally need to be put outside every hour or so for them to get the message.
I’m probably the wrong person to ask about this as I wouldn’t let a puppy go to someone who works all day…..again my personal opinion.
You seem to have given this a lot of thought and I’m sure it will all work out….it will be hard work for you both to start with though.
So good luck and enjoy your dogs.. I hope you have many happy years together. ?
She’s a 4 year old German shepherd and the puppies are three weeks old
Sorry about your pup!! Well, first, go to a rescue and get a puppy there! Most of the time, they have been vaccinated and have had a parvo shot! All puppies should have had their first set of vaccinations before you bring them home. Most are dewormed too and its all included in the adoption price. There is no guarantee. My rescue puppy had parvo too, at 7 weeks old, he was sick two day after I brough him home, but my vet saved his life and he survived. He is 8 years old now. Just make sure you know where you’re getting your puppy from. No pet shops! Best place is a rescue! Good luck!
Just a note, before you get another dog you need to thoroughly clean and disinfect your house and yard. Parvo Virus lives for a year after the dog suffering from it has gone.
Ask your Vet what products to use.
Don’t take a new puppy into your house unless it has been fully vacinated.