Ask questions and share about your pet's health to help others.
I rescued a young Golden Retriever in May. She had spent the start of her life abandoned in a small cage, she was emaciated, covered in fleas and ticks and of course living in her own waste. She is a wonderful dog, everything is new and she has very much been a blank slate. She is well exercised, is very social with our other dogs and has successfully completed a basic obedience class and will be moving on to 2nd level training and beyond. Thankfully she does not hold her rough start in life against humans in the least. Her only downfall is that she eats stool from our other dogs in the yard. We keep the yard clean, however we have 5 dogs. Even cleaning the yard daily is likely to leave a pile. She will even wait for our smaller dog to go to eliminate so she can eat it as fresh as possible. I imagine that she probably ate her own feces when she was starving, I am quite sure that this is a learned behavior. Over the course of 5 years my family has fostered 80+ dogs. I know that this is a very hard habit to break, however “poop kisses” are rather disgusting so I would love some input on what has worked for others! Thank you in advance.
Question for Krista
Hi…wondered if you could give me some advice? As you know I’ve had Blue with Anal Sac Carcinoma and his mum Rio with Thrombocytopenia. My gut feeling is to keep all chemicals away from them both. I’ve been using a Homeopathic Essential Oil Flea spray and putting Rose Geranium on their collars as fleas and ticks hate the smell.
Not seen a flea all Summer till yesterday when a big one crawled off Blue and onto my arm. YUK! It was pretty slow, I caught it easily. It obviously didn’t like the spray on Blue’s coat otherwise it would have burrowed in not crawled off. No blood in it so hadn’t bitten him. However one flea and there’s probably more fleas. I wondered if you think Frontline Spot on would be safe to use on them both? It just sits in the hair follicles and doesn’t go into the bloodstream like some of them do. Thanks Krista hope all is well with you xxx
RESPONSE FROM KRISTA VIA EMAIL..she suggested I put this on the site as it may well help others.
“Hello! I always recommend my patients will be ok with a flea and tick preventative. Even with concurrent health issues. If you don’t use one you will get fleas. I don’t know of a safer product that has worked better. I know many of the Holistic Vets try other things but I just haven’t seen them be effective.
Regards Krista
Sending lots of hugs from the left side of the Atlantic! Xoxo
Sending big hugs (and licks from the crazy Spaniels) back ?! Xx
My 5 yr. Old chihuahua has a tick in ear ,can I safely flush it out and with what ?
How far down in the ear is it? If you take a q-tip and dip it in rubbing alcohol then rub it around where the tick is attached it will help release the tick. You want to do this before you use tweezers and pull it out because you don’t want the head to get stuck in the ear! Hope this helps, we get ticks all the time. Make sure to get your dog on some flea and tick meds, it will keep ticks from attaching and releasing their toxin! 🙂
He is up-to-date on all his shots takes heartworm and tick preventative medication . When we pick him up from boarding he had a oatmeal bath for the first time. We live in North Carolina but is spending the summer in New Hampshire we don’t have a vet in New Hampshire. We did ask where we boarded him if anything happened they said no
Find a vet and get him to them as soon as possible.
You need to remove the tick. If you aren’t comfortable doing so, take your dog to the vet NOW to have it removed.
My pet behavior change looks like something bother on his ear i check but i havent seen anything. could be a tick inside the ear whats bother him..?
If he has a bothersome ear, it COULD be a foreign body inside the ear but it could also be an ear infection. Please get him to the vet.
Thank you very much for your help i will take him to the vet.. infection can happen in one moment to another i mean he was fine and 20 min lameanhe came to me i saw him shaking but he doesn’t complain or cry but he doesn’t let me grab his ear at all.
my american red nose was bit by a tick, i removed it, what should i do for post treatment
In her old home she was bullied by other dogs so I’m not sure what it is. It’s not fleas or ticks.
Hello,
It sounds like a trip to your vet for an exam is in order. Lumps and other issues should be checked out by a vet. It is impossible to know for certain if lumps are skin related or from fighting without seeing your dog and knowing it’s history. If you can ask the previous owner about what is going on.
~good luck!
~kelly
I cleaned with peroxide and applied neosporin. I think it’s because he some times bites and scratches his self. Also, flea and tick free.
HI David,
Try just soap/water instead of the hydrogen peroxide,,,that stuff actually will irritate and dry out. If he’s biting and scratching you need to figure out the cause. If he is indeed tick and flea free, it sounds like a trip to the vet to figure out the cause of the skin irritation as well as the issue with his nipples.
Good luck!!
~kelly
Put flea tick prevention on cat. Had to wash off because he was irritated with it. His back is twitching. Anything else we can do?
It was for cats. He seems better but lack of appetite. Thank you and we will continue to monitor.
Hello My Dear Friend,
My rescued beaglette does the same. She also has the same back story and yucky penchant for poop. Here’s what I do.. clean up waste asap (yes, honestly I am not the best at this as I recommend others to be). I also use a clicker or beeper to break her of it while she is doing it. Some non-vocal (she doesnt really want to listen to me anyway in the fever of the fervor to eat anything) cue to say “HEY! YES! I mean you need to stop that!” It takes a while but all of my other dogs have grown out of it.. It takes time and patience like everything else in life. Be with her at all times outside. Use a leash if you can to correct her at exactly the moment she goes for it, or use a whistle to get her attention,,, try to only use it for the absolute dire corrections so it doesnt get as monotonous as our voices have.
Let me know what works for you guys.