Ask questions and share about your pet's health to help others.
I walk my 4year old Lab nightly for about 45 mins. About once or twice a month, our walks are interrupted by him becoming very uncomfortable to the point where he is rapidly panting, stops walking, sits, lays down, cannot get comfortable, constantly changing positions. On these occasions, we stop, I calmly try to talk to him, gently pet him, until he is okay to walk again. The whole episode lasts no more than 5 minutes. Then we walk home like nothing happened. I have racked my brain trying to find the common thread leading to these episodes. The only thing I can come up with is that he ate within a relatively short time before walking. Maybe 30 mins or less before walking. Usually he eats at least 2 to 3 hours before walking. Is the problem most likely related to his eating, then walking shortly after? Do you think it could be something else?
My 7-year lab mix tore her chest apart on a hose bib earlier this year. She developed a large seroma on her chest after her vet closed up the massive gash. We drained it once after the port holes naturally closed. She does not want to reopen the holes because of infection risk. To help the seroma shrink, she suggested a compression vest which I immediately ordered since I couldn’t find one locally. It will get here tomorrow. I hadn’t seen any comments regarding compression vests for seroma. Thoughts? My girl is happy aside from being a little dopey from drugs – she had an allergic reaction to who-knows-what and is on Benadryl. She’s been through so much over the last couple of weeks and we just want our Casey back to normal.
Hello,
If your dog is under the care and observation of your vet I think it is best to follow their advice and try it. They will be there to help if it either isn’t working/helping or causes other issues. Your vet always has the best advice for your pet.
let us know how it works?
my 6 months old cane corso just got a cherry eye but he just had a surgery under general anesthesia a few days ago. are there any concerns if i did the cherry eye surgery these days meaning that he will take general anesthesia 2 times in just 10 days? and is there any possibility that the cherry eye might go on its own?
thanks alot
Hello,
The cherry eye, or third eyelid prolapse can return to its normal position, but even if it does they typically re-prolapse. They are not an emergency surgery, so I would talk to your vet about the pros and cons of back to back surgeries for this specific procedure.
I have a male gsd. I’m wanting to add a lab o our family. Would male or female be a better fit?? I hear generally, you want to add the opposite sex but als heard the female labs are pretty moody.
We have a male GSD and then rescued a make lab shepherd mix. After a short introduction period, They are best buds for more than 6 years now. I think your expectations and your introduction have a lot to do with the outcome, as well as of course the temperament of the dogs. There are a lot of great books on introducing a new pet to your home. Good luck.
I, personally, prefer mixed sex pairs. GSDs are prone to same sex aggression, which cannot be trained out…and it usually doesn’t show up until living with another male dog.
All bitches are moody – it’s part of being female and hormonal. If you go through an ethical, reputable breeder who fully health tests and titles their dogs per the breed club’s code of ethics, you’ll be stacking the deck in your favor as far as temperament is concerned.
Hello! My 4 month year old Lab had diarrhea last night and seems to go every 2 to 3 hours. I tried her on some rice and she vomited. She acts ok. She still will play then nap, which is kinda normal. After the rice her pooped looked green?I wonder if anyone has some advice to avoid dehydration? How soon should I take her in?
If your puppy is 4 months old, this is an emergency. Get her to an emergency vet NOW.
I agree with Laura get your pup to a vet.
I have a great Dane puppy who is almost 4 months. When he arrived he had a few little wart-like bumps speckled across The back of his neck and the top of his head. Over the past eight weeks since he’s been with me the bumps are spreading and they seem to be growing bigger in size.
He’s not losing hair and the bumps are not pussy. They are dry and flaky. The breeder says that she’s never had puppy mange in any of her dogs and that she thinks it’s a bacterial infection. The vet wasn’t sure and just said to keep an eye on it to see if he started losing fur.
My puppy doesn’t seem to be in too much discomfort. He’s eating and drinking well. I feed him Diamond brand large breed puppy food. That’s what the breeder fed him and the nutritional levels are right on par with what you suggest on your website. Sometimes I feed him cold apples or carrots from the fridge, to help with teething. It seems like his gums are driving him crazy so I also give him bully stick to chew on.
The bumps have spread all down his side and his leg and even on the skin by his genitals.
Did the vet do a skin scrape?
My lab mix is unable to move her tail. She seems to be very uncomfortable. She was boarded this past week and I am unsure about any injuries. If it persists I do plan on taking her to vet. Are there any things I can do for her comfort?
One of them is a pit bull black lab mix, and the other is a pit bull rottweiler mix who is also fixed but the pit lab is not, not sure if this is relevant or not.
The one dog not being fixed is definitely the reason for the aggression. Get the 1 dog fixed ASAP then attempt reintroduction this may mean contacting an animal behaviorist for help.
Dr. Dawn is correct – you must get the second dog neutered, and even then you need to keep these dogs apart (so they can’t even see each other!) for several weeks afterward. This gives time for the testosterone to work its way out of the new neutered dog’s system.
Then, get the help of a professional behaviorist to reintroduce these two dogs – don’t attempt it yourself because they now have a history of aggression and will associate this aggression with each other. You need someone that can read the tiny signs a dog gives when they are uncomfortable with another dog. Even your own fear of something bad happening can trigger aggression between these two, so find a way to get help. If nothing else, contact your local SPCA and tell them your situation – and ask if they have someone that can help you, maybe a volunteer or a trainer that will help at a reduced cost. Explain that you are trying to avoid having to re-home one of the dogs and maybe they can help in some way.
Good luck – and don’t wait to get that boy neutered!
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. 🙂
my dog got injuried at a dog park today. we took him to an emergency clinic. They gave him Rimadyl and buprenex together. i wanted to know if that was safe because he is a shepard lab pit mix
Yes, they are frequently used together. The rimadyl is anti-inflammatory and the buprenex is stronger pain control, they work best when used together.
Hello,
I would wonder if there is any underlying issues like heart condition, blood pressure, hypoglycemia, thyroid issues, etc. I recommend a trip to the vet to discuss your concerns and I also recommend a blood work. I hope this helps. Let me know. Good luck
Thank you. I will schedule an appointment for him.
Once the vet has hopefully ruled out any medical issues, you might want to take a close look around where this episode usually happened. There might be something going on environmentally? I know it might sound hokey, but that might trigger some odd behavior. For example, we absolutely can not walk our dogs south down our road when the farmer that way has his bull out in the fields with the cows. Even if that bull is acres away… the dogs go crazy. I don’t know if they smell something, or sense something or what the deal is, but this is what we have determined. If that bull is out, anywhere, my two lovely dogs become insane. I know that this is different from your situation. I just wanted to share that changes in environment can effect them too.