Ask MetaFilter questions tagged with dog

Name. That. PUPPY!

BlueHorse — Wed, 15 May 2013 16:30:06 -0800

So, new-to-me pound hound, red heeler mix with golden eyes. She needs a name. MeFites are good at this, so please help me name her.

As an adoptee, they know nothing about her at the pound, other than they said she is picky about her people. She's still a pup--probably under a year. Weighs about 35lbs and stands about 20in high. Apparently she's potty trained in several ways: both housebroken and including knowing how to drink out of the toilet (ick!) so I think she's been someone's pet. She's less than a year old and very, VERY active. I don't know how they got a picture of her to post on the adoption website. Loves Frisbee and squeaker toys. Right now she's working on a peanut butter kong next to me--otherwise she'd be zooming around the house.

Why is my dog shaking?

mibo — Sun, 12 May 2013 17:43:13 -0800

Why might my dog be shaking and what can I do to help him? Petey is my 11-year-old rat terrier. Today was a normal slow day around the house; he slept under the covers for several hours like normal, ate his food, and we've gone outside twice like we always do. Maybe an hour or so ago he came on to my lap and is trembling. He doesn't seem to be in pain anywhere. He seems alert, he's following me around like usual when I get up, but then he just sits close to my feet and shakes. There's no noises -- I vacuumed the floor but that was hours ago. He turned up his nose at his treats, but got very interested in some cookie dough I dropped -- I took it away, so I know it's not sugar or chocolate.

What's going on? How can I help him? I need to take these cookies over to a friend's in a little bit, but I'm worried to leave Petey alone when he seems out of sorts.

My beloved dog has cancer

cecic — Sat, 11 May 2013 08:20:13 -0800

My sweet 8 1/2 year old golden retriever has been diagnosed with an aggressive peripheral nerve sheath cancer this week. She can hardly walk on one leg and is on a lot of pain medication and she still is quite uncomfortable. We have been offered palliative radiation as a method of reducing some of her pain, not extending her life. Have you ever chosen palliative radiation for your dog? Was is a good decision for your pet or in hindsight would you have chosen euthanasia instead? Money is not an issue. Her comfort and happiness are. I know it's my job to know when to let her go when it's time and to keep her from suffering, I'm just not sure how proactive I should be in trying to treat her in the meantime.

When do you become "the neighbor with the barking dog"?

patheral — Mon, 06 May 2013 09:21:28 -0800

When we first got our dog, Brandy, we didn't even know she *could* bark because she never barked. Now that she's come to realize this is her forever home, she's bound and determined to let everyone and anyone know it, so she barks at everything. My dog Brandy has over time become quite territorial and will bark when our surrounding neighbors come into their back yards. We have a four-foot concrete block wall on three sides, so they're quite visible. We do plan to put up a privacy fence in the future, but it's not in our budget right now...

Anyway, she'll also bark when someone comes to the door, when someone pulls up to our next door neighbors' driveways, when the garbage truck comes by, when the mailman delivers the mail, etc...

However, her barking doesn't last more than a couple of minutes each time. For example, if the neighbors go into their back yard, she'll rush the wall with a burst of barking (barkbarkbarkbarkbark) then come back to the house and follow with about three minutes of intermittent barking (bark......bark......bark....bark) when she realizes they're not coming into her yard, then she's done. She never tries to go over the wall, she just goes up to about a foot of the wall. Just let them know they're too close to her space.

Let a cat stroll across the wall though... well, she's a dog. That's when she tries to get over the wall and it's a barrage of barking for as long as the cat is on the wall. And some cats like to sit up there and taunt her. I'm home most of the day, so if she barks more than five minutes, I'll bring her in.

She also barks at anything that moves in the night, and we have a huge back yard that isn't well lit, so... a lot of things move in the night. Sigh. We try to not let her bark very much -- less than a minute -- at night.

Our other dog, Cocoa, doesn't bark at hardly at all. But neither did Brandy when we first got her, so I'm thinking he's just biding his time.

The thing is, I don't want to be the "neighbor with that barking dog". But dogs bark. That's what they do. I'm so not going to punish her for barking. It's her yard, she wants to protect it and defend it. So, I'm asking, how much barking is too much barking? When does it become excessive? Am I over thinking this? When should I be concerned about the neighbors?

Questions on adopting a dog, with consideration for desert and a baby

filthy light thief — Fri, 03 May 2013 10:09:53 -0800

My wife and I have talked of adopting a dog for a while. Following the untimely passing of one of our cats, this is more feasible, and could help console us. But we have questions for adopting a dog in our desert climate, and on dogs coming into a family with a baby, and a cat. And we're concerned about being good owners, as our time at home is limited during the week. Also, we're discussing what a good age range for an adoptable dog would be. Details inside. My wife and I had two cats, one a big, scared fellow, and the other is a feisty lady. They're both cuddly cats, though the little lady is also mostly made of claws. We dog-sat for a while, and the little lady was OK with the dog, but the big guy wasn't so sure, even though the dog was fairly oblivious to the cats. The dog didn't stay with us for very long, and we didn't want to subject the big fellow to another intruder in his house. The fellow had to be put down this week, due to health issues, and we're still recovering from that.

We've talked about getting a dog for a while, as our 20-month-old son is really excited to see dogs, let alone get near enough to one to pet it. He's fairly gentle, though he'd spook our now-gone cat (though most things could spook that guy). Our son is gentle enough that our lady cat will stick around while he pets her and plays with her tail.

Like many yards around us, our open space is "landscaped" with rocks, and not a lot more. There are a few things that sprouted up recently, and we'd like to plant more. Some of our neighbors have dogs on their rocky yards, while others have barren yards of sandy soil. We don't want to get rid of our rocks, but we want to have a good yard for our dog. We have nice, deep over-hangs to provide shade during the day, and there's a near-by part with a nice big grassy area, so our dog could have places to get away from our yard of rocks. But my wife and I work away from home, and by the time we get home, we're preparing dinner for ourselves and our son. We could take a 10-20 minute walk after dinner, but we also have to get our son to bed before too late.

As for the age of the dog, my wife is hesitant to get an older dog, after losing our cat so recently. I like the idea of adopting an older dog because they'd be house-trained, more relaxed, and I'd like to give an older dog a nice home for the rest of its life. Also, I wouldn't feel as bad as leaving a younger, lively dog in our yard all day. But a younger dog could be more playful with our son, and they could grow up together.

I'd love to hear ideas and insight into my quandaries. Thanks!

Full time work, less people time for dog.

Blisterlips — Tue, 30 Apr 2013 12:57:43 -0800

Our dog, Apple who you might remember from some other puggle-problem questions- is doing really well. She no longer shows signs of separation anxiety and we've even got her to stop barking hello when we walk in the door. But for the first time in her little life with us- I will be transitioning from working at home to working at an office full time. Poor little apple will be alone for a good seven hours five days a week. So what do we do to make it easier on her? So a dog walker and doggy day care are out. Our plan so far is to specifically dedicated more time each day to giving her attention, but is there anything that you can think of?

How worried should I be if my puppy ate part of leaf sprayed by RoundUp?

Quincy — Mon, 22 Apr 2013 11:43:51 -0800

I have a 5 month old lab mix, about 22 lbs. Yesterday I sprayed some weed on our porch with RoundUp, and my SO went through and weedeated afterward, but failed to sweep remanents of weeds that were scattered out all crime scene like. This morning took puppy out for walk and he IMMEDIATELY grabs something off the porch and eats it. All of the pieces scattered were probably smaller than a thumb print, but he swallowed it before I could get to him. We are short at work today and I cannot leave to go check up on him, but I am getting increasingly paranoid as the day goes on. My dad should be home to check on him within the hour, but I am making myself sick with worry that he is going to be sick. RoundUp is pretty vague about the dangers and I can only really gather that it is "safe" after dried. Does anyone have any experience with this at all? What are the chances it will make him sick? If it does do I need to take him into the vet or will it pass, as long as I make sure to keep him hydrated? I only sprayed that area because it is a place that in my mind the dogs don't go, but clearly I had overlooked that issue. I will not be using RoundUp again after this scare, will be using only entirely pet safe non toxic products. But what to do now?

New dog has lost her potty training. Help!

Autumn — Sun, 14 Apr 2013 15:30:15 -0800

I adopted a three year old Chiweenie from a couple unable to keep her. The dog seems to have lost her potty training. The couple said she was fine with it, she goes to the door to be let out... But absolutely refuses to use the bathroom outside. Help! I thought maybe it was an adjustment thing, but it's been a few weeks now. I wake up to piss and shit on the carpet almost every morning, and if I leave the room she'll use the bathroom on the carpet and then cower in the corner. She continues to ask to go outside but then whine and no matter how long I wait out there with her she won't go. Asking here because I can't afford a trainer. I've also tried walking her to see if that will make her go, to no avail. I'm finding myself having to get the carpet shampoo'ed because my clean up methods aren't sufficient enough to keep the carpet from smelling like dog piss.

Maybe relevant - I have another dog that was there before her and uses the bathroom outside. Could it be a smell/territory thing?

Dog Runs Like Crazy Inside for No Reason

juniperesque — Tue, 09 Apr 2013 11:39:02 -0800

So, we recently moved from a small apartment to a big apartment, about 3x size of the old one. Tiny dog has adjusted well, except for one thing: he runs around the house, to get from Point A to Point B. Walking no longer occurs. We'd really like him to walk like a civilized beast again, if possible. Our dog, a small rat terrier, used to live with us in a tiny one-bedroom, and is a lazy little guy who doesn't even enjoy walking on a leash. He spends his days sacked out near his human(s) if we're there, or in his crate if we're not. Since moving to this big new space, however, he's started running from room to room, as though he cannot get to the kitchen fast enough from the living room. This was never a problem at our old place, because the kitchen was two steps away from the living room. Now that it's clear on the other side of the house... zoom. He is extremely fast, and does a full sprint following us from room to room, guaranteeing that he will beat us to whatever room we're headed towards.

His speed and stopping tears up the carpet loops and is probably making our downstairs neighbors unhappy, though we've not heard a complaint. It's making me super crazy because it's irrational; I know dogs are not rational creatures but it is just so bizarre for him to run from room to room just to get there faster. There's no reward for getting there first. Note, this is a dog who actively opposes exercise; he hates walking on a leash, and when let off-leash in a play area, even alone, he clings to our ankles. Not actively fearful of play in general, just... not into it.

Can anyone recommend a training method that will encourage our dog to walk instead of run inside the house? Or is this a lost cause?

How do I help my barky dog relax with contractors in the house?

stufflebean — Mon, 08 Apr 2013 09:44:02 -0800

My dog generally loves people, though she's usually a bit shy at first. Normally, when we have people come over, she has a chance to warm up to them and is their best friend in no time. However, we're having an upstairs bathroom remodeled, she's having a hard time with it (the noise and strangers), and is subsequently barking a lot. I have considered some of the anti-bark products (citronella, ultrasonic), but since I suspect this is fear-based barking, I don't want to encourage her to be even more fearful. We are especially motivated, because we're expecting a baby in 10 weeks or so, and we don't want her waking him/her up every time something goes bump. Does anyone have any tips or tricks that could make things better? Thanks, MeFi! Some more information that may or may not be relevant:

She's a 4.5-year-old lab mix.

She seems to do better when I can be by her and treat her for not barking, but my wife and I are not able to be in the house for much of the time the contractors are.

She generally doesn't bark much, if at all, when out on walks with us, but can be barky when she hears noises around the house or when someone comes to the door, even outside the remodeling stuff.

We have been keeping her in her crate downstairs during the remodel to keep her contained, since the only other spaces where we could contain her are the laundry room (see below), our bedroom, where the cats currently are (and therefore a non-starter), and the nursery, which is immediately next to the bathroom under construction.

We've tried putting her in the laundry room with the exhaust fan on, which seems to help by blocking out a lot of the noise and helping her feel more secure, but in her crate, she takes up basically the whole space, which is inconvenient for us and potentially for the contractors, since the laundry room is directly under the bathroom that's being remodeled.

Puppy's chewing me out of house and home.

lunasol — Tue, 02 Apr 2013 12:16:26 -0800

Looking for new chew treat/toy options for my puppy. Snowflake details inside. My 14-week-old puppy, like many puppies, is a voracious chewer. So far, I've managed to keep him from eating my shoes/furniture/carpets by providing a steady stream of chew treats. These also keep him occupied while I'm working (he comes to the office with me). But I'm running out of affordable, safe options and could use some new ideas. Right now I'm spending over $20/week on things for him to chew on and that is just not sustainable.

What he likes in a chew treat:

- Tastes/smells like meat
- Can actually make a dent in the treat (ie, chew off pieces or tear off strips with his teeth, or crunch pieces). His jaw is still pretty weak, but getting stronger by the day.
- In addition, I would like something that will keep him busy for more than a half hour so I'm not constantly buying new treats.

Things I've tried that he liked:

- Bully sticks: these were a hit for a while, but he seems to be losing interest, and they are super-expensive! He still likes the Happy Pet braided sticks (from Trader Joes) that he can gnaw and crunch into nubs, but he's done with one of those in a few hours' time and they're $5/pop.
- chicken/duck feet: he LOVES these but they're gone in 10 minutes.
- rib/marrow bones/joints: also a big hit, but I don't want them to be an every day thing because they give him the runs (probably too much fat in the meat/marrow for his puppy tummy)
- He has a hoof of some sort (given to me by his puppy class trainer) and he'll usually chew on that for a few minutes but then loses interest.

Things he's not interested in:

- Kongs stuffed with kibble and peanut butter: he gets the stuff that's easy and then loses interest
- antlers
- nylabones (no interest in the plastic ones, and an edible one resulted in an emergency vet visit, so we won't be doing that again)
- non-food-oriented toys (stuffed animals, braided rope - he'll play tug-of-war with them but won't chew on them)
- Himalayan chews - he'll lick them for a few minutes, then get frustrated, whine for a bit, and give up
- I have a few treat-ball toys that he eats his meals out of, but he's not interested in chewing on them after the food is gone.

I haven't tried rawhide yet because I've heard mixed things about safety (my vet says they're fine, though).

Ideally, I'd be able to keep him in chew treats for under $10/week. The impossible dream?

Least traumatic way to spay a dog?

symbebekos — Fri, 29 Mar 2013 13:38:38 -0800

I recently adopted a rescued terrier mix, about 3.5 years old, and she's a bit of a snowflake - loyal, intelligent and sweet but also previously abused, lived on the street, quick to fear, and absolutely terrified of other dogs. Love, fresh air and positive reinforcement training have been mellowing her out over the few months I've had her, but she needs to be spayed, and I'm worried about the effect it'll have on her. My vet keeps post-op dogs together in a room, and they told me she'd be so zonked on drugs that it wouldn't be a problem. I'm not so sure. Are there vets that have private rooms or areas for dogs after surgery? Does anyone have experience with this kind of situation? I'm in Southern California, and the dog licensing law does require that she gets spayed.

Help me chill out my dog

corn_bread — Tue, 26 Mar 2013 18:33:00 -0800

I super love my 4-year old German Shepherd, but his desire to work/have a purpose has not waned with age, and I feel like he would be so much happier in life if I could help him find that purpose. His favorite thing on earth is playing fetch, but I know I can give him more than that. Suggestions? He is incredibly intelligent, athletic and has seemingly boundless energy. I'm looking for things I can train him to do and/or activities he can participate in.

Any ideas for a thoughtful gesture to a lady who lost her dog?

timsneezed — Wed, 20 Mar 2013 14:46:42 -0800

A regular customer at the coffee-shop where I work just lost her dog. She is a lovely, somewhat lonely seeming older woman. She and her pup were attached at the hip and a familiar presence in the cafe every morning. One day she came in with a crestfallen expression and told me the little dog was having minor strokes, and that she had a tumor growing around her aorta. About a week ago I found out from a coworker that she had just put the dog to sleep. I've seen the woman a few times since and she looks devastated.

I was thinking it would be nice if my coworkers and I did something to honor her loss but I'm not sure what. Would a card be too generic? Any ideas?

Dog training snags

taz — Wed, 20 Mar 2013 13:51:49 -0800

I have some problems with a couple of dog training efforts: discouraging snapping at treats (but she doesn't always snap), and how to train "drop it," when she's not typically interested in holding something in her mouth to drop. I'd love some ideas on these two problems. Snapping Problem: My problem with teaching her not to snap at treats is multifold. First, I'll say that she gently takes treats when a) she's in normal calm mode, b) I'm just casually giving her something, and c) it's not expected. So, basically her more standard auto-mode is to be gentle with us (less so with other people).

However, when she's expecting a treat, she gets too excited and tends to snap at it -- but the complicating factor beyond this is that when I do the typical training technique of holding it in my loosely closed hand with just bit showing (so that she could nudge and lick, but not snap it right away), she gets into some crazy thing where she won't take it at all, and very dramatically tries to prove that she's not even looking at it, would never, ever try to take it, no sirreee. I have to call her back and tell her it's okay over and over, which is bad training technique, and isn't working anyway. She's obviously very concerned that I'm going to think that she's trying to take my thing (even though I'm soothing and encouraging while offering it to her)... or else (or "and") she's learned her other training way too well: when I ask her to sit or lay, then put the treat down on the floor, and she has to wait until I tell her it's okay to take it.

So she'll either turn away and avert her eyes, or drop to the floor and wait for me to set it down. I call her back to me, and she's obviously aware that we are in a training mode sort of thing, and tries to do right... either by not looking at or approaching the treat in my hand (I never taught her this, or anything similar), or laying down from her sit position and waiting for me to put it down. She's confused and that makes me feel bad. I'm the problem here.

At any rate, begging her to come take a treat in order to teach her to take it gently is not really making any sense or working out very well.

I also don't really know how to get her take treats from other people gently, since they tend to dangle a treat just out of reach, so she really has to sort of jump and snap to get it at all. I try to tell them to give it to her on the palm of their hand, or just drop it on the ground, but they will persist. So this situation has the problem of her being a bit overexcited about getting a treat anyway, plus that really bad dangle-just-out-of-reach thing makes me think that I can't really fix that very well, since I can't train random people who want to give her treats.

Drop-it problem: I'm not sure how to tackle this one (we haven't started). My dog doesn't really play with her toys very much. She will carry them just so that she has them around her places (her rugs and pillows), and she will "kill" them when she's feeling overexcited or frustrated, but there's no chance of me being able to train "drop it" by getting her to drop a toy because she never really has them in her mouth much, and when she does she's overexcited and it's not a good training time.

So I'll have to train her to drop one food item for another, higher-value food item, but I'm not sure what to use other than a rawhide sort of thing, which she likes, but I'm not crazy about them because I don't feel like they're necessarily safe, and it also messes up her system, typically causing some constipation followed by a small hard block of poo, followed by soft yucky, smeary "baby poo." Aside from that all I can think of is a bone, which also causes me concern, and it's not easy for me to get the sort of bones that I feel more okay with (marrow bones, I guess).

She doesn't like any kind of toy except plush squeakies, and pretty much won't touch anything else, doesn't like to play tug. She'd kind of like to chew on shoes, but with rare exceptions understands that they are our things, not hers. She is extremely food motivated, though, so if I can think of something that she wouldn't just swallow first before coming for the higher value treat, that will work.

Possibly helpful to know: She's a rescue; she's very smart (she figured out that dumb, expensive Tornado toy thing in about three minutes, and aces all the doggy IQ tests). She's very respectful and aware of property (what's hers and what's ours; not something we trained, exactly -- she just developed that way after a couple of weeks when we adopted her five years ago, though she wasn't that way in the beginning). She's well-behaved and not at all typically anxious. I/we don't punish her or yell at her ever, but she definitely treats me as the one in charge; she's not overly submissive, though she was at first when we got her. She's confident and has learned everything else I've taught her nearly instantly. We are not in the US so may not be able to get particular brand items, though we can probably get most anything that's available in the UK.

Advice on puppy house training in a flat.

molloy — Sun, 10 Mar 2013 16:14:09 -0800

I live in a 12th floor flat with a large balcony, 3m x 9m, which is enclosed, glazed, heated, pretty much counts as an extra room in the flat. It is tiled, and was once exposed, so has drains and is designed to withstand the elements. Could I house train a young spaniel pup in such an environment? Could I allow the pup to wee down the balcony drain in the short term, and would this make it difficult to train it to only poo outside? I don't mind accidents in the short term. Is it cruel to keep a dog in such a flat? The pup could have the run of this balcony until it is housetrained. I work at home, often from a desk on the balcony. So they pup would get lots of contact. I can happily provide 3 good long walks a day no problem, but I'm worried about the initial period. I live across the road from a dog friendly beach and park. Though it takes a few minutes to get from the flat to the road, which is ample time for accidents to happen.

DINKs need a dog.

sparklemotion — Wed, 06 Mar 2013 11:45:33 -0800

Mr. Motion and I are getting ready to take the plunge and adopt a dog. Please help me figure out what I _should_ be figuring out before we go and meet some dogs. Much beanplating within... Here are the things we know/have thought about:

We live in a house that we own with 3 cats and 9 fish. We have a 5500 sq. ft. fenced back yard. We live in a suburban area and the neighbors have lots of dogs of various sizes.

As far as I know, our homeowner's insurance does not have any breed specific restrictions (but just typing this has reminded me to check to make sure). That being said, Mr. M is not interested in any pitbull/staf terrier mix.

We both feel very strongly about adopting from a rescue/humane society as opposed to a breeder (and definitely not a pet store/puppy mill -- rescue adoptions via pet stores are obviously awesome). I feel like puppies are adorable but not worth the amount of work, Mr. Motion is willing (and able) to put in extra work with a puppy, so I guess we are flexible about age.

We also want to be flexible about breed. Mr. Motion has a penchant for small dogs, I'd like any dog to we get to be larger than the cats. Mr. Motion is willing to deal with a large breed if it has come kind of useful hunting skill (but he doesn't hunt right now). We've got a list of breeds that sound like they fit our needs, and we are obviously open to mixes/mutts. Besides pits, we are open to most breeds larger than chihuahuas and smaller than labs that aren't too hyper. Breeds on the list that kill us both with cute include: corgi, pug, brittany, dachsund, shiba inu.

We are both the world's biggest softies, and I'm a little worried that the first furball that looks longingly at us will come home with us (what will really happen is that Mr. Motion will go all goopy for some cute thing, and then I, being a slave to his goopiness, will pull out my credit card). I'd like to have some more logical framework on which to base our decision so that I can feel comfortable making a decision right away when we meet the right dog.

To put my concerns in some kind of context: I am greatly comforted by the application processes required by some of the local rescues because it means that someone else will make sure that we are really ready for the amount of responsibility that we are about to take on. Beyond the application though, are there things that we should be considering, personally?

Here's my questions:

1. Are there any hunting (specifically pointing) breeds that we should consider given that we couldn't really commit to much more than a 1 mile walk, plus lots of running around in the yard time daily? We'd probably like to do a few hours at a dog park once a week as well, but I'd hate to get a dog that _needs_ that, and not be able to provide because we are busy at work or somesuch. I'm wary about hunting breeds because the ones I've had experience with (ok, one, and it was a german shorthair) need lots of stimulation/training/actually doing hunting type things in order to be "happy" (not neurotic).

2. Beyond selection of dogs, are some rescues "better" than others? There's some drama around here about certain rescues that ship dogs from areas where there are more dogs than potential owners (like Mexico), to Minnesota, where apparently it's easier to find homes for them. I'm not sure I care about that drama -- should I? Are there any red flags I should be watching for from a rescue to deal with? So far, I'm just looking at Petfinder and getting a feel for the rescues based on whether or not they seem to have good foster care programs (also, the cuteness of their pictures, which seems to be the wrong way to go about it).

3. Are there any books/websites that I should make sure to read before we even get the dog? I feel like once we've chosen one, it will be a little easier to narrow down what I need to research based on that dog's personality/needs. But is there a general "Dog Owners Should Know This" book that I should grab now?

4. If we are pretty happy with our vet for the cats, is there any reason to seek out a new one? We are pretty laid back about checkups for our indoor cats though (by laid back, I mean we sometimes go years in between -- I understand that dogs will need more regular visits).

5. What else am I missing? I feel like no one should get a dog unless they can provide: love, space, time for walks and play and grooming, money (for food and vet needs), and extra love. I also feel confident that we can give a dog all of those things. Is there some other variable in the equation though?

tl;dr: Is there something that you wish you had known before you brought your dog home?

What are these strange, crusty bumps on my dogs ears?

Nelsormensch — Sun, 03 Mar 2013 20:49:26 -0800

Our dog has a couple of raised, crusty bumps on the inside of one of his ears, near the tip. On the other ear, he has a patch of dry, crusty skin on the inside of his ear maybe a centimeter or so long. They don't seem to be bother him, but they're certainly not normal and haven't always been there. We went to the vet who ran some tests and gave us a topical antibiotic and steroid, which didn't make a difference. I'd like to have some idea of what they are and ideally, how we can help resolve them. Way more details and photos below. Here's what the bumps look like (weirdly, it's easier to see on a smaller photo). You can see there's a couple of notches out of his ear as well, where hair fell out the same time the bumps appeared. Here's the crusty patch on his other ear. And here's just what he looks like generally.

So the bumps appeared back in late September or early October. He had a vet checkup anyway, so while there, our vet looked at him and said it seemed like outer ear dermatitis (or something very similar to that). He's got quite large ears and apparently dogs with very large ears sometimes have limited blood flow to the eartips, especially when the weather changes, which can cause the dermatitis. She said it should resolve itself in a month or so.

It didn't (didn't change really, worse or better). We went back, she took some hair for a fungal test and gave us "Fuciderm Gel" a topical antibiotic and steroid. She said to apply it for a week, which we did. Still no change, better or worse. She called us and said the fungal test came back negative and so we could try another week course of antibiotic cream. We did, still no change. And to obviously come back in if it seemed to be bothering him or got worse, which it hasn't on either account.

So it's been almost half a year and there isn't a change one way or the other. I would like to know what this is though and maybe some things we could try to get things back to normal. Obviously since it's not really bothering him, we wouldn't want to go for something drastic. But it's abnormal for sure and it's already put a couple little (maybe permanent) notches into his ears, we'd to avoid any more.

Any ideas that might help our furry guy would be appreciated, thanks!

Puppy in the office!

lunasol — Sun, 03 Mar 2013 18:39:38 -0800

What should I do with my puppy when he's not sleeping or playing with me? I brought my puppy home! So far, it's going really well. The first day was a little rough but we're settling into a good routine. He's peeing/pooping outside, sleeping reasonably well at night, learning really quickly.

Here's the problem: I'm not really sure what to do with him when he's awake and I'm not playing with or otherwise exercising him. I took Friday off so we've been together pretty much constantly for the last three days. I've noticed that if I'm moving around (ie, cooking/cleaning), he's fine for up to a half hour just watching me or maybe playing with a toy. But if I'm sitting down (say, reading or watching TV), then he'll only play on his own for a few minutes before he starts barking, whining, etc to get my attention. At that point I'll usually wait until he stops whining/barking and then play with him.

That's been ok this weekend, since I've had the time to play with him a lot. But I'm going back to work Tuesday (taking tomorrow off) and he'll be coming with me. I definitely plan to take him outside every two hours or so, and give him good walks plus playtime in the morning, evening and at lunch. But in between, there will be a lot of time where I'm, you know, working.

My vet recommended crating him at work, and we are working on crate training, but I'm worried he won't be quite ready by Tuesday. I also ordered one of these "puppy playpens" but it doesn't arrive until Wednesday.

Anyway, what should I do this evening and tomorrow to set us up for success on Tuesday? And what should I do the first few days to make the transition as painless as possible for everyone (including my coworkers!)?

Probably good to know: We're starting obedience classes tomorrow night. I have my own office with a door that closes, and there's a green walk outside for walks and bathroom breaks. I talked to the vet about parvo and she thinks the office set-up is low risk. His personality is bold and energetic but eager-to-please and SUPER food-motivated.

My Dog Thinks He's A Cat

iarerach — Fri, 01 Mar 2013 09:11:15 -0800

I have a 3-year-old pomeranian that has suddenly decided he wants to get under and behind all the furniture. The problem with this is that he gets himself behind, say, the trash can. And he has plenty of room to get out, but he is either too afraid (How did I get here? Oh no!) or...something to get himself out. So he sits quietly, ears back, and it takes us about 5 minutes each time to realize he's disappeared. When we call him, he won't make noise to tell us where he is, so it takes a few minutes to find him.

I wouldn't mind this exploring instinct he's suddenly discovered, but he's gotten stuck under my bed twice now, and it involves taking my entire captain's bed apart to get him out. As a short-term solution we've blocked everything off, but he's still finding places to get into.

This started recently, I think, because we had mice and he's trying to find them. We've gotten rid of them now, so I guess he's still trying to hunt down where they're hiding.

Any ideas on how to discourage this behavior?

Looking for a blog post about gender pronouns & dogs

citywolf — Tue, 26 Feb 2013 22:02:47 -0800

I remember reading months ago (could have been as long as 1-2 years ago) a blog post written by (I think) a man talking about the assumptions people make about gendering dogs. I think people always assumed his female dog was a male. Anyway the whole thing lead to a discussion about gender and equating male with "neutral" or "default." Would love to read it again (in part to fill in all my obvious memory gaps).

TIA.

WHAT on EARTH is our dog doing??

michellenoel — Tue, 26 Feb 2013 15:51:53 -0800

So here is the traditional routine: I get up in the morning or I come home from work. I get dressed or change out of work clothes. Here is what happens... The dog, Bookie (rhymes with "spooky") comes into the bedroom. He sniffs the pants I am putting on. The smell tells him whether they are inside/stay home clothes (Yay! He jumps around and gets excited) or go out clothes (Shucks! He slinks away).

I usually stop by the restroom to use the bathroom and he follows me in there and waits. However, lately, he leaves the bedroom while I'm still dressing and goes into the bathroom and takes up his station as if I'm already on the toilet.

He stands there with his back to the bathroom door and seems surprised when I walk up behind him, as if he thought I was already in the bathroom.

He does this about one out of eight times or so now on a regular basis. I would think he was anticipating my move from the bedroom to the bath, but if so, why not every time and why is he surprised when I come into the bathroom? And if he is anticipating my move, why doesn't he stand waiting facing the bathroom door instead of the toilet?

Thanks much. I can't wait to hear what you think. Oh - he is 18ish but still mentally sharp AFAIK.

Stun guns and dogs

Maximian — Tue, 26 Feb 2013 13:22:35 -0800

Are civilian-grade stun guns effective on dogs? Internet searches turn up plenty of recommendations, and some stories of law enforcement officers using tasers on dogs, but is there any data on ordinary stun guns being used on aggressive dogs? To be extremely specific, I'm talking only about the application of the business end of a stun gun or stun baton to the body of a medium-sized dog or similar animal (not taser darts, not frightening the dog by test-firing, etc).

Just a bunch of woo?

ablazingsaddle — Mon, 25 Feb 2013 18:46:40 -0800

Do nutritional supplements for dog cancer work? I'm not looking for a cure, but some sort of immune system support seems nice. Unfortunately, I am a believer in evidence-based medicine and not a fan of holistic veterinary medicine (especially considering that so many of these alternative medicine vets want to sell me some TOTALLY ESSENTIAL product that is probably crap).

Any benefit to using lysine? Fish oil? I don't want to skimp on something that could help my dog, but I don't want to spend a lot of money on snake oil that does nothing. I'd honestly rather spend a lot of money on treats and other things that make my 77-pound baby happy.

In short: Did/does your dog have cancer? Did you give your dog nutritional supplements? Do you think that made any difference?

Getting a dogwalking gig with no dog experience

imalaowai — Fri, 22 Feb 2013 19:55:00 -0800

I often wish I had a dog to take with me on solo Friday hiking jaunts, but a dog is not possible for me right now. Today I got thinking that, hey, I live in an absurdly wealthy part of the country: perhaps one of these rich people would be willing to pay me to take their dog on a hike. Problem is, I have walked a dog exactly once in my life and don't have much experience with them beyond that. I'm wondering how likely it would be that someone would be willing to hand their precious doggie off to me given that lack of experience, and if they are, how I should go about finding 'clients' and how much would be a reasonable amount to charge. I am in the North Bay area.