Animal Questions Not Deserving Their Own Thread

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Fishbulbz: Aug 24, 2004; What are the civilian applications?

wannabenomad posted:

I have a question of my own: Is there any reason why a healthy 1 1/2 year old, neutered male dog should suddenly be regressing on his potty training? We got him at about 4 months old and had no trouble training him. He hasn't had a slip up since, until the past 6 weeks or so. Now all of the sudden he's spraying on furniture, pooping on the floor, and generally being ornery. His appetite and energy level haven't changed, and his poop looks normal. He looked right at me and lifted his leg on a bag of groceries last night.

The following things have been different lately:
-It has been really cold. Too cold for him to spend much time outside.
-We've been spending a lot of time at my parent's with him. Their pets have been known to poop/pee in the house.
-I'm pregnant. (can dogs sense that?)

So what do I do about this?

Try getting him a coat and booties to go out in, or go out more frequently and supervise him. Bring treats to reward him when he does go. Cold weather makes my dogs regress too. It's been really cold here too, and this last week has been a trial. I feel your pain.

# ¿ Dec 4, 2007 18:09

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# ¿ Apr 19, 2024 12:45

Fishbulbz: Aug 24, 2004; What are the civilian applications?

Silly Hippie posted:

Argh, I'm so confused.
Male of female

I bought a trio of females from PetSmart that all ended up being male. Either that or females also flare and build bubble nests. All the containers were marked female and they were all dull coloured, but I think they were just too young to sex properly. Live and learn, I guess.

# ¿ Jul 29, 2008 01:59

Fishbulbz: Aug 24, 2004; What are the civilian applications?

RazorBunny posted:

Did they kill each other? In species where the sexual differences result in social/antisocial behaviors, it's very upsetting that stores get it wrong.

They were separated from the very beginning, since they hadn't lived together previously. My ten gallon quarantine tank was set up with two in floating breeder tanks and one swimming freely. The first night I clued into the free swimmer. "She" was being a hugh jerk to the confined ones, swimming up to the floating boxes and flaring. So that put an end to my hope for friendly Betta intereactions, the other genders were uncovered later as they matured. Now everyone is happily segregated. One of them lives in my planted 25 gallon. The other two share the quarantine tank, now divided in half with craft mesh.

# ¿ Jul 30, 2008 01:50

Fishbulbz: Aug 24, 2004; What are the civilian applications?

Helanna posted:

Recently a lot of moths have been coming into my appartment, via the balcony in the evenings.

My cats, of course, think this is superb, and Frijj always catches any insects, and Mango promptly steals and eats them.

Are moths liable to upset her stomach / cause any problems? She's eating quite a few of them. This is in Europe for the record, so I don't think we have many exotic bugs.

She may get an upset tummy if she eats too many. Moths are kind of fatty, so she's probably enjoying that.

# ¿ Sep 9, 2008 01:50

Fishbulbz: Aug 24, 2004; What are the civilian applications?

pixel8ed posted:

Thanks! I think I will try the dryer sheet, especially on her head and neck as she can't reach those areas to lick anyway.

Be sure to use a previously used sheet. Scent-free if you can.

# ¿ Sep 28, 2008 23:46

Fishbulbz: Aug 24, 2004; What are the civilian applications?

Noctone posted:

Kind of a food question, kind of a health question:

I've had a Shiba Inu puppy for a little over two weeks, she'll be 13 weeks old tomorrow.

The people we bought her from said they had been feeding her Prairie, so we bought that to feed her. She had loose stools from the get go. It eventually turned into fairly bad diarrhea by the end of the first week. We took her in to the vet's office and they couldn't find anything in the stool test, but gave us a general antibiotic to give to her anyways. They also had us get a few cans of Hill's Prescription i/d.

In accordance with the vet's advice, for a couple of days we fed her only the Hill's, and saw immediate improvements in her stools. Then we started mixing in a bit of Prairie and her stools were still decent, but getting slightly looser. We were getting the suspicion that maybe something in Prairie doesn't agree with her, so we bought a bag of Natural Balance (grain free). She had a mixture of Prairie and Natural Balance last night and this morning. We took her outside this morning and her stool was very loose, bordering on diarrhea. Any ideas on what the problem could be? (I should also note, she went nuts for the Hill's but has to be coaxed into eating any dry food that we give her.)

We're going into the vet again this week for vaccinations so we'll ask them, but I also wanted to get opinions from people here.

What kind of antibiotics did they give? Is she still on them?

My dogs (Papillons) are prone to sensitive stomachs so I can completely sympathize with your situations. Some things you can try that have worked for me: Fast (no food) for 24 hours. Then, feed small portions of bland food. Boiled hamburger and rice are gentle, I also use baby food (usually chicken) mixed with rice. I'd feed this for at least two days (up to a week). Longer is better, and it help the stomach from having a relapse.

As for dog food, I'd aim for ~24% protein. Later on you can feed higher protein food, once your dog is feeling better. I did this with one of my dogs who had an extended bout of looser stools. He was eating Innova EVO, and the vet recommended a lower protein food. So, I switched to regular Innova for a few weeks and gradually introduced the EVO back into his diet.

I don't know how applicable this advice is for your puppy. Hopefully, she doesn't have food allergies. I imagine the loose stools are just from a change in diet/atmosphere. Can your breeder offer any advice as well?

# ¿ Oct 6, 2008 17:30

Fishbulbz: Aug 24, 2004; What are the civilian applications?

xboobookittifkxx posted:

My 13 week old Pembroke Welsh Corgi has something in his eye. The breeders vet said nothing was wrong, but someone else said it could be a cherry eye.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v299/UberSpiffyChik/1227999636.jpg

Left hand side of his eye.

What does YOUR vet say? Did you take it in for a check up within 72 hours of picking it up from the breeder? If not, do so now.

# ¿ Nov 30, 2008 00:46

Fishbulbz: Aug 24, 2004; What are the civilian applications?

Sataren posted:

So far I think she has a hint of Brittany in her or possibly German Spaniel. How about you guys?

Are Nova Scotia Duck Tolling Retrievers at all common in your area? That's what she kinda looks like to me, or some mix.

# ¿ Dec 3, 2008 17:13

Fishbulbz: Aug 24, 2004; What are the civilian applications?

trigger posted:

We just adopted a dog from the local humane society, and she loves the rope/tug toy. Her obedience class starts in a week, but I forgot to ask her new trainer about the tug toy. People seem pretty divided on the subject.

What are the general thoughts on playing tug o war with your dog? Should I work on release commands with her while playing? We need to work on release commands either way (she never wants to give up the frisbee), but I was just curious about the opinions around here...

I've been told tug is ok in moderation. Too much can really injure the neck. I can't really comment on agression, I've never experienced it myself.

A good way to teach "give" is to trade up. The dog gives the toy to you, you give a treat or give the toy back for more play. The key is to make giving the toy to you rewarding and worth repeating.

# ¿ Jan 13, 2009 02:10

Fishbulbz: Aug 24, 2004; What are the civilian applications?

PotetoFurai posted:

She says they started out feeding EVO but decided that it was a little too strong. (And I guess he also had giardia at the time? it's been taken care of now and the fecals being done are clear.) So they switched to Wellness for Puppy and that was still giving him problems. She started adding some canned pumpkin to try and firm him up and that worked. Does she need to downgrade more from the Wellness for Puppy?

We went through this with our youngest dog when he was younger. He ate EVO with the older dog and had the same symptoms your dog did. We had done a 24 hour fast followed by bland food, but it wasn't clearing up. The vet then recommended a lower protein food. We switched him to regular Innova (protein ~24%) and the loose stools firmed up. He's older now and is back onto EVO with no problems.

# ¿ Feb 7, 2009 02:29

Fishbulbz: Aug 24, 2004; What are the civilian applications?

Burnt Out Case posted:

My wife and I are in the process of adopting a 1 old year shelter dog (chihuahua mix) to go with our 3 shelter cats who we have had for 5 years. We pick up Pepper on Monday, after she is fixed. In the meantime I am trying to get the place ready for her arrival. I put up a baby gate where the cats food and litter is, and they are not happy. I want to make this as painless as possible for them so I would like to use the smallest barrier possible to stop the dog from getting into their area. I guess I am wondering how low I can go with a barrier to keep a 11 pound dog out of the cat area?

One of my cats is very spry and jumped over with no problem. The other two seem to have trouble as they are bigger boned (not fat). Any have any experience with this or tips? Maybe the dog will not be a fan of feces but most are it seems.

What about a top entry litterbox?

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# ¿ Feb 14, 2009 06:13

Fishbulbz: Aug 24, 2004; What are the civilian applications?

I have a small scrap of rabbit fur that my dogs love to play with. Is fur a safe toy due to the tanning process? I've seen vegetable tanned leather marketed as safe bird toys, is there a fur equivalent?

# ¿ Feb 22, 2009 19:25

Fishbulbz: Aug 24, 2004; What are the civilian applications?

"[panic posted:

"]
We have a puppy Boston Terrier that is about 5 mos. old. In the last month or so, he has started scratching himself incessantly, and, to a lesser extent, biting at his paws. The scratching is bad enough to the point where he now has a couple of rather large scabbed over wounds on his front arms, and some minor ones under his neck and on his belly.

We have switched his food a couple of times now, and as of the moment he's been on Innova EVO by itself (no mixing old stuff) for about a week. We were suspecting grain allergies so we thought this would be the best option. His stool is hardened again so I think he has adjusted to the food fairly well. But he's still scratching away. We have also given him children's Benadryl to no effect whatsoever.

Anything else that we should try before we take him for allergy testing? Is allergy testing even worth it? Any chance he is just scratching as a behavioral issue?

Have you consulted a vet yet? They would probably recommend an elimination diet to see what the allergy might be, and advise you how to go about it. For all you know, the dog could be allergic to chicken, not grain. It does sound like a food allergy, biting feet and itchiness are signs. Don't put a vet visit off though, he needs to see the vet!

As a side question, did you buy the dog from a pet store? I've seen it happen before in a store bought Boston. Sweet dog, but tons of issues from coming from a mill.

# ¿ Feb 26, 2009 15:53

Fishbulbz: Aug 24, 2004; What are the civilian applications?

"[panic posted:

"]
edit: Do food trials really take 6-8 weeks? We were going with 4 weeks...I would hate to have switched off of something that may have worked.

I think this is your answer, food trails are slow processes. Good luck.

# ¿ Feb 26, 2009 17:42

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# ¿ Apr 19, 2024 12:45

Fishbulbz: Aug 24, 2004; What are the civilian applications?

SynthesizerKaiser posted:

My kitty just got skunked. Help. All the stores are closed by now so we can't go get tomato juice yet, but we do have tomato sauce that we tried... It didn't work immensely well.

Any suggestions?

This recipe works well (not mine, but it works):

1 quart 3% Hydrogen Peroxide

1/4 cup Baking Soda

1 teaspoon liquid soap
(Dawn Dishwashing Detergent is often recommended, but any dish soap will work)

Rubber or latex gloves

Mix in an open container (bucket or bowl); it will be fizzy, a clue that you shouldn't try to mix it or store it in a bottle or other closed container.
Thoroughly wet your dog with warm water and then the solution while it is still bubbline. Knead it well into his coat, to chemically alter every bit of the thiols on his hair. Be careful to keep the formula out if the dog's eyes, nose and mouth; you can use a sponge to carefully wipe it onto his face. Let the solution stand for 10 minutes before rinsing. Follow the bath with a thorough rinse. Be sure to protect the eyes when rinsing the head. Chances are you will not get all of the smell off of the face and will have to live with that as it wears off.After bathing, check your dog's eyes. If they are red and watering, your dog may have taken a direct hit in the face. Skunk spray won't blind the dog, but it's very painful. Contact a vet.

# ¿ Aug 24, 2009 15:15

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