Ask MetaFilter questions in the pets & animals category

Maybe she just needs a crazy straw...

nevercalm — Mon, 09 Nov 2009 16:25:48 -0800

Not really worried, more just curious about my cat and how she's been drinking water...she dips her paw and then licks the water from it, repeatedly. My cat Smudge is a real doll, and like many cats, totally fascinated by water. She's there every time fresh water is poured into the dish, trying to drink out of the jug and then spending some quality time with the bowl. Taking a bath? She's right on the edge of the tub, with that "how do you DO THAT????" look on her face.

As of late, she's developed a strange habit...she seems to exclusively drink by dipping her paw in her water dish and then licking up everything she can get. She then repeats this until, presumably, she's had her fill.

She's done a version of this since she was a kitten, but we always interpreted it as "finding the surface," trying to figure out where the water is in the dish so she didn't submerge her nose. For the past month or so now, she's pretty much only using the paw.

Anyone had a similar experience? She's pretty normal otherwise, so I'm not thinking this is something to worry about....but it's a pretty strange little quirk. Is she just another weird cat, or what?

How to help neighbour with barking dog?

Elfasi — Mon, 09 Nov 2009 09:06:43 -0800

New neighbour, new dog. Dog was home alone today(indoors), barking and howling, for the first time. Doesn't bother me one bit but I caught another neighbour outside, on the phone to the RSPCA (which seems an insane overreaction), to report this situation. What to do? How to help both neighbours and the dog be happy? Some background:

I live in the UK, own my house and have been there a few months. I'm getting my own dog very soon, you may find a question from me some months ago on that whole process.

My house and 3 others all join up back to back in a big block. New neighbour with dog is beside mine so we share a common wall. Neighbour with complaint is behind neighbour with dog and so shares a common wall with them. I just share a corner with complaint neighbour.

The new neighbour is renting and has permission for pets. She has a 2 year old male lab. They've been there just 3 days, no noise or barking till today, dog wasn't left alone till today.

Now there's plenty of advice around for stopping barking but I'm going to give benefit of the doubt for now and assume doggy needs time to adjust to the new place and will improve. But if a neighbour is calling the RSPCA after just 3 hrs, then suddenly I am quite concerned.

I like this new neighbour. I like her dog. I've already offered to walk and dogsit whenever I can. I want to help. But more than that, I want to foster a mutually beneficial relationship. I get my own dog next month. How wonderful to have a dog owner right next door, so we can help each other out! But, being a renter, just moved in, and already with phonecalls to the RSPCA, I can't help but think her position is suddenly very precarious.

I dont want to see her go, I see a very fruitful future together. But more than that, this could affect me in more direct ways. I get my dog next month. I don't intend to have a dog home alone, howling and barking all day, but what if I'm next on the RSPCA hit list? I'd love to try and fix this and reach an understanding first.

So, what to do? I'm going to give her the heads-up on the situation at least, and impress upon her that I'm home nearly every single lunchtime and I'm more than happy to check in on the guy, maybe even give him a walk. I'll suggest she makes nice with the neighbour if she can. I'll suggest she investigates methods to reduce separation anxiety if this continues beyond the settling in period from moving house. I want to help as much as I can.

Should I call the RSPCA and put my side? Should lady with dog? Should I chat to neighbour who complained? What to say? Assure her I'll be doing a lot to help reduce the noise problem? What do MeFites suggest?

What is best for my 9 year old dog? Should I bring him with me when I transfer colleges?

Anonymous — Sun, 08 Nov 2009 13:37:28 -0800

What is best for my 9 year old dog? Should I bring him with me when I transfer colleges? I was accepted to a college across the country, and I am planning to go.

All of the *logistics* of bringing him are settled (I will have adequate housing for us, I'll be able to support both of us, I'll have time for him, I've visited the area several times before, etc.)

The only focus of this question is whether being taken away from the rest of my family and his familiar environment would be too hard on him, or unfair to him.

Background info.

He's officially the family dog, but I've always liked and wanted him the most. My other family members think he's okay but they aren't that into him. They mainly just ignore him.

But, he LOVES everyone in the family, especially my brother, and he's always trying to get their attention while they usually (70% of the time) ignore him.

When it comes to his care, my mom and I each feed him and walk him about half the time. My brother walks him occasionally. I play with him and entertain him the most; my brother does that occasionally, too.

Even though he is in his later years, he's still very active and has a ton of energy.

A couple months ago, he had health problems which could have become dire if he hadn't received an unpleasant-and-difficult-to-administer treatment. I was the only one willing to administer this treatment, and I'm worried if I left him here, he just wouldn't get it if it happened again.

I'm also worried if I left him here, he'd just spend his days sitting around the house being bored and mostly ignored by everyone, except for an occasional short daily walk or two.

On the other hand, if I took him, I'm really worried that he would miss my family and wonder where they were and why he was taken away. I'm also worried he would be stressed out to be away from his familiar surroundings that he's seen his whole life, like the house, the neighborhood, etc. I'm worried it wouldn't be fair to do to him at his age.

What should I do?

OUR BARKING DOGS vs. My SANITY

mickeefynn — Sun, 08 Nov 2009 05:58:15 -0800

What other things can we do to stop Our relentlessly Barking Big Dogs from yapping constantly! HELP! I'm losing it here. I hate having to yell at our barking dogs all the time! We've tried EVERYthing! NOTHING works! collars of all sorts... doggie-speak techniques...a fake bird house that emits high pitched sounds when they bark... they're even bad inside this week... I am so bummed. We have a 3 yr old Great Pyrenees neutered male and a 2 yr old neutered Newfoundland female. All of these things have helped for a while but then these two just get used to them and carry on as if nothing had been done. These dogs can be and are sweethearts but the barking is making me very irritable and tense.

What were these bugs that we called "bloodsuckers"?

ErWenn — Sat, 07 Nov 2009 13:40:41 -0800

There is this insect/arachnid I remember from my childhood in Las Vegas. It had a body about the size of a raisin, only it was quite flat. They were red with black spots (larger than ladybugs, but flatter), and the kids in the neighborhood called them "bloodsuckers" for some reason. (I have no idea if they bit or not.) I don't remember them flying, but I could be wrong about that. What insects were they? Scientific name or common name is fine, anything I can use to find out more info.

Help me identify this animal we've not seen

bodgy — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 17:23:11 -0800

What is living in my yard and what do I do about it? I live in Central IL. Lately our dogs (chihuahua) have been acting weird around our bushes next to our back deck, acting like they see something from the deck and then running around to bark at the bushes. We've heard no noises coming back from the bushes but we figured something was living there.

Tonight it happened again and we investigated the exact location and found two holes in the ground. One is a hole straight down and about two inches in diameter. The other hole, about 3 feet away, is more slanted downward at a slope and is much larger, five inches in diameter.

These holes are right by the foundation of our house.

What do we have there, and what do we do about it? And what is our least expensive option to fix this situation?

Finally, based on this information, how worried should we be that something will attack our chihuahua?

(As an aside, in the field behind our yard we saw a baby possum that our dogs barked at. We haven't seen them in our yard but it's the only "critter" type thing we've seen lately other than rabbits which we do see in our yard from time to time).

How far should I walk my dog?

mola — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 13:09:54 -0800

How far should I walk my dog? He is a hound mix, 1-year-old, essentially full-grown at about 50 pounds.

Should he stay or should he go? Dog problems..

emkelley — Tue, 03 Nov 2009 21:23:42 -0800

When is it time to get rid of the dog? Fiance's poorly-trained dog has bitten me three times. I'm nervous about moving in with them and our future children. What do I do? My fiance received a gift of an American Eskimo from his girlfriend-at-the-time about one year before we met. Both Fiance and his Ex worked in jobs with long hours so never really had time to train the dog. When Fiance and I started dating, Dog was really horrible: when it was time to leave the house, he would position himself in front of the door and put up a big fight (growling, barking, bared teeth, etc.). When bedtime arrived, Dog would get up on the pillows and throw the same kind of fit. He doesn't like to play; he barks at any outside noise or anything he sees. As he's gotten older--he's 3.5 now--he's mellowed out a bit but mostly I think this is the prozac we've put him on after the most recent incident.

I never had dogs growing up so I've been skeptical but open... at least to the concept of dog ownership, but perhaps not this dog. Because he is so fearful (and because he doesn't see me as being above him in the pack?), he is very aggressive with me. He and I have had three altercations, the last one this summer involved a bite that sent me to the hospital for two nights. Fiance had been dragging his feet on medicating Dog and hiring a trainer but this incident made him realize he needed to do something. So now he's on Prozac, and Fiance also became somewhat stricter in terms of establishing dominance and enforcing rules.

Fiance and I don't live together yet, but we will probably be joining households this summer. I am extremely nervous about living with Dog full time. I am not comfortable around him, and I really fear what will happen when we have children. That is a few years off, so we will have time to work on training him and we have an appointment with a trainer in the near future. However, after reading AskMeFi's similar Q&As, it seems like the general advice is that once a dog has bitten, you can't let the dog around kids. This is my gut feeling, but Fiance refuses to get rid of Dog because a) he loves him and b) he assumes he'll be put down if we have to give him away. I know there are rescue groups so I don't think euthanasia isn't a certainty. Plus I think that Dog would be happier if we could find him a home with people who have time to be with him--Fiance works 60-80 weeks and doesn't have the time or energy.

I am trying very hard to see this situation from his perspective and be compassionate about it, but I have gotten to the point where I dread visiting Fiance because I have to deal with the dog. Is this beyond reasonable or do I need to just get over it?

A skunk is holding me hostage outside in the cold.

greta simone — Tue, 03 Nov 2009 17:20:34 -0800

HELP! I'm totally stuck outside because a skunk is holding me hostage, and it's cold. I stepped outside on my enclosed patio to have a smoke and read an article on my laptop. My patio is enclosed by a building and a tall fence (which the skunk apparently crawled through) and the only way in is through the door I came out from. I sat down and heard some rustling, and a skunk appears in front of the door and then popped back beside the concrete step that leads to the door. He keeps popping his head out and looking at me. I hear rustling.
Do I just make a run for it and try to get in the door (which means packing up my laptop and drink and having to open said door, which means I'll have to hesitate right beside him)?
Or do I try to scare him away by throwing a chair pillow in his general direction or making some noise or something? Will he go on the attack if I do?
It's pretty cold out here, and I'd like to not get sprayed or attacked. I can't get over the fence. Help me metafilter.

Faint of butt

ignignokt — Tue, 03 Nov 2009 12:14:09 -0800

While I was driving him home from the vet yesterday, the cat took a dump in his carrier, which was made of cloth. (He was in the front passenger seat.) After taking care of that, I noticed it still smelled like cat feces in the car. I didn't see any stains on the seat, and I had to go, so I just rolled down the windows and went to work.

Later that night, it still smelled like cat poo in the car, but I had a bad, tiring day, so I left it alone and hoped it would be better today.

Unsurprisingly, it's not. So, I guess some secret poo liquid got onto my car seat. What method for getting rid of it and the smell maximizes efficiency and minimizes effort?

Alternative treatments for canine ehrlichiosis?

esome — Mon, 02 Nov 2009 22:21:42 -0800

My dog has Ehrlichiosis and is not responding to standard treatment (doxycycline). Any MeFites with experience or knowledge about alternative treatments or specialists in treating this disease? Short of some off-label drugs (Imidocarb dipropionate), all I can find is information about palliative care. The disease is uncommon in the states (and even rarer here in Oregon) so I've been unable to find a specialist with much experience treating this disease.

Is it because I joined Geico?

cestmoi15 — Mon, 02 Nov 2009 16:36:46 -0800

Can anyone tell me what this (lizard?) is I found in the basement? We found this creature in the basement. Can anyone tell me what it is? Sorry about the photo quality its the best out of 4, he runs away.

We're wondering if it would make a good pet, I'm in the NY metro area and it is getting cold out, so I'd hate to put him outside, not sure he should live in the basement by himself either.

how can I play with my dog?

canine epigram — Mon, 02 Nov 2009 13:18:42 -0800

how do I teach my dog to play? We adopted a retired greyhound from a rescue group, and he's an adorable and very mellow boy. He loves his walks (and gets very excited about going) and trips to the dog park (although he's still trying to figure out what to do with other dogs besides sniff them).

Sometimes he grab a squeaky toy out of his basket, squeak it madly and catch it when we toss it around. Then, just as abruptly, he'll be done and walk away without a second glance. If he's not in the mood, he'll just look at you quizzically.

We plan to take him to obedience class soon, and have started some basic clicker training (which he enjoys.) What can we do to teach him how to play or engage his mind in a small condo (or local dog park)? chase a ball? a toy?

Obviously being a greyhound, no rough and tumble games.

I'm looking for a playful way of interacting with him, rather than just filling a kong with treats and watching him go at it (still funny!).

Help me, hivemind! Bonus for grey-specific knowledge.

Please suggest good toys for penned house rabbits.

joannemerriam — Mon, 02 Nov 2009 11:06:57 -0800

Please suggest good toys for penned house rabbits. We have three bunnies, all female, about ten months old. Right now, they're being kept penned in an area about four or five feet square, and they're bored. We don't really have the option of giving them more room (though we're investigating giving them more levels and making their area higher). They really like to chew and one of them is a great digger, and they enjoy things they can pick up in their mouth and throw, especially if it's noisy.

I'd like to fashion some rabbit toys for them. They need to be inexpensive (or preferably free). Currently I'm giving them boxes (whatever we have around that we've used up whatever came in it). Cereal boxes are a big hit, because they can chew on them and throw them around the cage. They tend to end up in their litter and get gross though, so they don't last long. Occasionally I give them a larger box with a hole cut in it and they like that, but it limits the area they can run around in which is already a concern.

Please suggest other toys that I can make which will keep them occupied and happy. Thanks!

Are these salamanders doomed?

alms — Thu, 29 Oct 2009 20:46:22 -0800

I found three salamanders under a trash can sitting on the cement walk next to my house. Is there anything I can do to increase their chances of survival through the winter? The trash can is filled with leaves, and will be left in place through most of the winter. It might get moved around once, though, if we have work done on our gutters.

Is it too late in the fall to encourage the salamanders to relocate to a more protected setting?

Should I even be worried about this? I have the impression that salamanders are protected in Massachusetts. Over the years I've found a few of them under old boards and such in my yard. It's always exciting to see them, and I always try to put the boards back carefully so as not to crush the little critters.

Other details:

The salamanders are muddy brown.

I live near Boston.

Dog Training

flipmiester99 — Thu, 29 Oct 2009 14:47:27 -0800

Dog(Pug)TrainingFilter: So....We have this pug which will turn 1 in November. Hes a sweet little guy however he has some very bad habits. CHewing on any and everything, darts out of the door at any chance and then plays a game having us chase him, barks all the time outside, and pees anywhere he likes. Heres my question....Is $850 in your opinion average, above average,under,etc...to pay someone to train him. The women that would train him takes him for Two weeks and then returns him home. I do know she is good because my brother took his dog to her 7 years ago and his dog behaves great. Just an FYI...we would try a class but to be honest the wife and i just dont have enough time between our jobs and having two kids.

Names for Black Dogs? Let's give them a leg-up in the adoption process.

taz — Thu, 29 Oct 2009 06:36:52 -0800

I need great, imaginative, appealing names for black dogs! A friend operates a rescue organization for dogs and cats, and mentioned how hard it is to find homes for black dogs (see Black Dog Syndrome)... and since I was already helping her come up with names, I thought I'd come up with a special list of Black Dog names that are perhaps evocative of personality types, and that might inspire interest so that potential adopters will maybe find their curiosity/sense of whimsy piqued and stop to at least read a description on the website, instead of just passing by any photo of a black dog. Some specific considerations inside... This is in Greece, where most people speak at least some English, and are familiar with exported U.S. and British pop culture in general and pretty much any world-famous person/literary character/film character/music reference will be recognized. Non-Greek names for pets are popular, so recognizable English, Italian, German, etc. names are cool, but "sh/ch" and "j" sounds are difficult to for many to pronounce.

The names can have some reference to Black, but they don't have to. For example, I thought of "Kafka" for a smart, "intellectual" perhaps sort of "serious" boy dog... and that one just also sort of "feels" like a good name for a black dog to me. Names of one or two syllables are usually easier for dogs to recognize and respond to.

So gimmee your ideas for great Black Dog names! Gimme!

How can I get my dog to stop gulping his water?

MeghanC — Tue, 27 Oct 2009 13:29:39 -0800

My new dog's gulping water so quickly that he's making himself sick. How can I get him stop? Yes, I Googled, but most of the answers dealt with gulping food and didn't seem to apply.

Last week, we got a dog, a sweet little terrier mix. He was from animal control, and has clearly had a rough time of it--you can count the knobs on his spine, and he's about the skinniest dog I've ever seen. (And that's after three weeks of regular feedings at the shelter.)

Housebreaking is going well, introducing him to the cats is going well... really, everything is pretty awesome, except that he doesn't seem able to moderate his water intake. Put him in front of a bowl of water, regardless of the size, he'll gulp it all down in moments. He's made himself sick on multiple occasions, gulping the water and then immediately vomiting it back up. How can I get him to stop?

Right now, he's on a leash in the house and it's easy enough to monitor his drinking habits. We're hoping to let him off by this weekend, but we can't do that until we're sure he's not going to make himself sick all the time.

Possibly relevant:
He doesn't mind when the bowl is taken away, just goes on to the next thing.
We have multiple cats, and they use a gravity-fed waterer. Only allowing the dog water on a schedule won't work, as he has access to the cats' water and will drink that if his own is gone.
He seems quite happy and healthy in all other regards, and doesn't seem bothered when he vomits the water back up.
He's urinating regularly with no signs of strain or distress.

Stay Away from the Banana Plant

billysumday — Tue, 27 Oct 2009 05:13:19 -0800

My cat is slowly killing my indoor banana tree by scratching the hell out of it. Now what? I live in Central Pennsylvania and in the spring of this year purchased a dwarf plantain plant/tree. It grew very well outside in the summer but now that the weather has taken a turn for the cold, I've brought the plant indoors and have placed it on a small table in front of our large south-facing window. It's continued to thrive and is still sprouting new leaves, but my cat is intent on killing it. He loves to scratch at its trunk and tear at the leaves. He doesn't dig at the soil or eat the plant, so I don't need advice regarding that. Just: how to keep the cat away from the plant? I'd prefer to find a solution that saves the tree while keeping it aesthetically pleasing - i.e., I'd rather not wrap the tree in aluminum foil. My strategy thus far has been to shoot him with water from a water bottle when he gets up in/on the plant, but now it's like he just jumps up there and looks at me for attention. If I don't shoot him, he'll cry and then scratch at the tree until I do shoot him, at which point he runs away. He's a bit challenged in the brain department.

Are there any sprays or anything I can use that would cover the plant in some sort of anti-cat repellent? I did some Googling but came up empty.

Thanks, mefi.

Wag more bark less baffles me.

mathowie — Mon, 26 Oct 2009 13:02:54 -0800

Where did the "Wag More, Bark Less" bumper sticker meme start? My own sightings of them have gone from extremely rare to many cars seen in every single trip I take. Is it a dog owner/pet store promotional item? Is it a political thing? Something on Oprah I missed?

What are fishtank plant sculptures made of (and are they toxic)?

johnstein — Sun, 25 Oct 2009 10:29:55 -0800

My wife bought this fishtank plant sculpture. One of the 'rocks' got chipped, leaving a big white spot (looks like plaster). Is it still safe to use? Can't find any material information on the packaging or on the web. We think it might just be ceramic.

Instinct says "Of course it's safe! It's designed for a fishtank. The material would have to be safe"

Skeptic says "Companies always try to minimize costs, so they may use some semi-toxic material, but so long as they cover it with plastic/paint that has a 95% chance of containment, they can sell it."

We are going to call up the company and see if they'll just exchange it, but if anyone has any insight, we'd appreciate it.

Badass small dog meets one bigger and badder

Atom12 — Sat, 24 Oct 2009 17:52:11 -0800

Our dog got in a fight and was bitten. It's just a flesh wound, but how should we care for it? I was at my folks' for dinner and let our two small dogs out on their deck. Normally the gate's closed. Tonight it wasn't and Alan, a toy fox terrier, tore off and ran around the corner. There was barking. I ran as fast as I could and called for him. He came running back with a stripe of blood along his side.

Yes, I know I should've checked the gate. Believe me, I've given myself enough of a guilt trip over this as it is. I'd like doggie first aid advice.

I plan to take him to the vet Monday. He was bit once, by what looks like a large dog. It's a pencil-sized hole. I cleaned it the best I could with soap and water, then spritzed some hydrogen peroxide on it. He seems to be his normal old self. I'm going to get some Neosporin to put on the bite mark.

He's current on all his shots (just had 'em in August).

Any help/insight would be appreciated.

For Dog's Sake - Help Me Start A Business!

Lipstick Thespian — Sat, 24 Oct 2009 10:07:20 -0800

What do I need to know about starting a dogwalking/sitting service? I need advice on starting a dog walking/sitting/grooming service in my town.

I've never done any kind of entrepreneurial work, and am doing this primarily as a way to build community where I live and meet a ton of cool dogs.

I'd like advice about the basics of starting a cottage business, especially from anyone whose done this kind of dogwalking thing before.

What are the pitfalls I can avoid, or some good advice about setting up a client base?

How to get cats to use the litterbox?

djduckie — Fri, 23 Oct 2009 06:51:22 -0800

How can i re-litter train my cats? We had two cats, and they were good cats. they are about a year old, litter mates, didn't fight much, used the litter box, or atleast pooped on the tile next to the litter box in their bathroom, which was easy to clean. Then one day we are walking to the apartment and a kitten that looks almost exactly like the jumps out of a bush and comes straight up to us. He let's me pick him up, he has no tags so i decide i'll feed him and see if someoen puts up signs for him. Well, no one did, and he thinks i am the greatest thing on the planet, so it's pretty much too late to get rid of him. The bad news being that the older cats took a while to warm up to him, and now that they have and everything seems ok, one of them has stopped using the cat bathroom entirely, rather opting for the carpet in the dinning room.

I found another similar question and everyone suggested isolation, but the is the problem with that (possibly). There are three of them, and we live in a 900 sq ft apartment. Their bathroom is like a glorified broom closet with bathroom fixtures in it (which as i am sure you could guess take up most of the space.

I know the question of "why three" comes to mind because it often comes to my mind. Well like i said we started with 2, the first we got, and then i realized that with my work schedule and school there were huge chunks of the day that no one was there and i wanted him to have some company, so that introduced his brother. The third was a chance encounter and probably a mistake, but i am a big softy when it comes to poor defensless kittens.

Any suggestions?

Cats are not getting along anymore! Help!

backseatpilot — Fri, 23 Oct 2009 06:12:09 -0800

Our two cats have taken a step backwards and are having difficulty living together. Need some help (re)socializing them. The two culprits: Doppler (formerly feral, about 7-8 months old) and Max (a shade over a year old). They're both male, both neutered, not siblings, and we adopted them at the same time about six-ish weeks ago.

While they were getting used to their new home, things between them were fine. They weren't exactly best buddies, but they would sniff each other occasionally and sleep on the bed next to each other. In the past few weeks, though, something happened that has caused their relationship to sour.

Max has turned a little aggressive towards Doppler, and Doppler is simply scared to death most of the time. Max will chase and pounce on Doppler, who then finds the nearest hiding spot and will stay there for hours on end. At one point he stayed under the bed for almost three days straight, only leaving to pee on top of the mattress. It got bad enough that we banished both cats from the bedroom and had to keep Doppler locked in the office.

Things have improved since that low point - they'll eat together now, for example, and Doppler doesn't stay in the office 24/7 - but it's not really where we'd like things to be. Sometimes it seems like they're both fine living together; if they're both feeling relaxed, Max will come up and sniff at Doppler and Doppler will just hang out and let things happen. However, Doppler is still very skittish - sometimes Max just needs to look at him from across the room and he'll run under the couch. Sometimes Max will attack him while he's using the litter box. We have to keep them in separate rooms while we're out of the house.

I really can't figure out Max's motivations. Sometimes it seems like he's just trying to play or assert his dominance, but other times it just seems mean - I'll hold Doppler and carry him around the house (he seems to like it and feels safe there), and if I let Max sniff Doppler while he's being held, sometimes Max will bite (not hard, just a sort of grabbing a mouthful of fur). Max also just tends to get aggressive when he's excited or agitated (or on catnip!) and will try to attack slippers, dangling arms, or whatever.

We really want them to be able to live together peacefully, and we've been feeling really bad about having to confine one of them to a single room during the day. We tried some slow resocializing after the bed peeing (Max in a crate in Doppler's room, supervised playtimes, etc.) but we need some more suggestions. I think what it boils down to is a) Max needs to calm down and stop attacking Doppler, and b) Doppler needs to "grow a pair" and stop running all the time. Any ideas?