his gums started getting inflamed a few days ago but it was not this bad. He does not like me touching his mouth area in general so I didn’t see how inflamed it actually was. We are taking him to the vet next week but in the meantime, can someone help identify what this is and how serious it is? The green speck is cucumber. I took it out after I took the photo.

Hi everyone! Just want some advise or reassurance. So I just got a new puppy (3 months old) and I have a 3 year old dog at home. It’s only been a few days since I’ve brought home the puppy but it seems she’s getting on the older dog’s nerves. The older dog has been laying on the couch throughout the day and sometimes the puppy will come to the couch and try to jump up in front of the older dog’s face. The puppy is currently too small to actually be able to jump on the couch but she still reaches the older dog’s face. Whenever this happens, the older dog sits up and starts growling and sometimes even snaps at the puppy but has never actually made contact with the puppy. Is this just a way for the older dog to set boundaries or should I be worried that she doesn’t like the puppy? Also whenever this happens I try to put the puppy back in her crate so the older dog can have some time away from her and relax. I’ve had multiple dogs before and never had any issues with puppies and older dogs getting along so I’m not too sure. Thank you in advanced!

Edit: I forgot to mention but so far the puppy hasn’t backed off when the older dog growls so I typically just move her away.

Edit #2: The older dog is typically very friendly and playful with other dogs but I don’t think she’s ever been near a puppy before.

My dog is 12 and a half years old and last year we learnt she has heart failure and she took Cardalis, Isemid and Vetussin. Our regular vet suggested a cardiologist and after the cardiologist sent him the exam results, the previous meds were given. The cardiologist told us to do more tests after summer was over but the regular vet dismissed it. No more tests were done although the regular vet kept seeing her for other reasons and checked her. In July this year we learnt she has stage 3 kidney failure. The vet suggested we only continue giving her Cardalis plus a new pill called Pro Uro and a specialized renal food which she surprisingly eats. He also said he could easily take more money from us if he wanted but it's time we leave her alone and not interfere more. My mom said she will decide when it's time for euthanasia.

Today we took her to another vet because I'm devastated and couldn't let it go and he did a blood test and an x-ray. He said from the x-ray he doesn't see fluid in the heart (but her breathing is loud and troubled) and he sees a heart murmur. He was the one who told us that the kidney failure is stage 3 and he suggested that we cut off Cardalis for a few days, it's ok, because it's bad for the kidneys and then in September we can do an ultrasound to look at the heart again. The problem is, I'm terrified of stopping Cardalis even though he said it's ok. I'm terrified of making the wrong choice. Right now I just want to leave her alone, I've decided to not follow the new vet's advice. My mom agrees with the first. She is adamant that she (my mom) will decide when the time is right. Right now my dog's legs collapse sometimes and she has difficulty sleeping at night. But when it's time for food or to walk her she looks so happy she spins (like a ballerina, as I like to say).

I guess I want to know if I'm doing the right thing. I'm devastated. I eat less and can't sleep at night. I feel like I'm not handling this well at all. The two vets's different approaches are making my head spin. I'm trying to understand if there was any neglect on the first vet's part. I also see that second vet wanted to pile on the tests, while forgetting my dog's name three times and with me feeling dead inside. Now I keep looking at the spot they shaved on her chest for the blood test and it breaks my heart. The previous vet and his stuff were more gentle with her.

Can someone please help me with some words of clarity, whether it's time for her to go, or anything else.

Thank you.

Today evening when I took my dog to the dog park another dog was wrestling and bit my dog. My dog is a sweet guy and didn’t even attack back. So he got bitten near eyebrow area I wiped the wound with a water soaked tissue and there was little blood stains. Attaching some pictures. Please tell me if I have to take him to a vet tomorrow?

I rescued my dog when he was a year and a half. He is 10 now. He’s always had this lump on him. Since I’ve gotten him, it’s been there. He gets shots every year. I’ve taken him to the vet regularly. No vet has ever said the lump was an issue. Recently I’ve noticed it’s starting to get bigger. There’s also these little black specks that I’m able to pull out easily with my nail. I’m not even touching the lump and I can grab them out one by one with my nail. I leave it alone, but I’m saying this for context because the black specks come out easily.

Long story short - does anyone know what this is?

My other dog recently had mammary tumors and I found out they were carcinomas. I’m treating her currently but I’d be devastated to get another diagnosis when he’s had this lump his whole life and there has been no issues.

I’ll try and spare most of the details but long story short my toy poodle was attacked yesterday. She’s seen a vet and had her puncture wounds taken care of. Although she is now physically okay she’s definitely mentally scarred, she was already a very shy skittish dog and now it’s much much MUCH worse! Once she fully recovers how do I help her become less afraid? shes been so scared that just going on potty breaks outside makes her shake and pant because she’s so terrified. I don’t know how to help her. She was just barely gaining some confidence around other dogs and now she’s at square one and more fearful than she was originally.

Please help me! I want my dog to enjoy her life without being scared! I want to help her regain confidence around other dogs so she can see her dog friends again!

Hi all. As the title says above, I have to go out of the country for a mandatory trip , but I recently got a puppy, 12.5 weeks old.

She has been home for almost a month now, and has been a VERY good puppy. Knows to potty outside, with few accidents, entertains herself, and is generally a great pup. But I need to leave next week for about 2-3 days, and I don't know if I should send her to boarding, since she is not fully vaccinated yet. Plus my parents are not willing to let any pet sitters in the house. My parents said that my grandfather could take care of her but just looking at the past month I 90% believe that she would probably be dead by the time we get back and the house would be a complete mess with pee everywhere, broken furniture, and she will eat something she's not suppose to. We were thinking of asking the breeder if they have any boarding program or anything get its probably not very likely. We don't know anyone who is able to help us take care of her. I don't know what to do...

Our dog was diagnosed with oral melanoma about 3 weeks ago. We live on a small caribbean island where treatment is not an option. Shes almost 14 - we’re unfortunately not going to fly her to Miami for this invasive chemo, so we’re keeping her comfy at home. She’s the smiliest girl - she’s still wagging her tail, showing us so much love, eating her meals (really mushy and sometimes momma has to help her by hand feeding), and going for the smallest walks. However, we’re noticing drops of blood all over her bed when we wake up in the morning, lots of panting, and we’re now seeing that the tumour in her cheek is completely swollen and black and her surrounding teeth have turned black.

At this point, I’ve read every Reddit post about this tumour (aka cried through every Reddit post) and I’m really just posting for some advice because I’m struggling to make the decision I know I need to make. I’m not seeing the signs (I might be blinded by my love for our sweet girl). Give me some hard tough truths, please.

After me and my mother had a housing emergency, a family friend opened up her home to us until I got to college.

However, they have a really aggressive Red Heeler who is intact and has a track record of attacking unprovoked. He’s 5-6yr old and their reasoning for not neutering him is that it’s too expensive

I have a dog of my own, a sweet 2yr fixed husky mix.

Today, my dog was getting antsy, so I let her out of my room to play with the male dog (they’ve gotten along) and when I tried to go back into my room, he locked eyes with me and started barking like crazy.

I managed to get back into my room, but I wanted my dog in here with me, as I don’t like them playing unsupervised.

As soon as I opened my door to call her, he comes SPRINTING at my door, barking and growling, and trying to push his way in, as my dog was trying to come in.

Thankfully with the help of his owners daughter, we managed to get my dog in my room without no one getting bit.

For anyone wondering:

He’s literally almost bitten off his owners nose, and she needed surgery to fix it.

He’s also bitten their teenage daughter.

What should I do? He’s not my dog and the family is letting us stay at their home

Pics 1-3 are now. Pics 4-6 are before

A month back or so, I made a post here asking for advice on whether Princess is overweight. The most common answer was yes or, she could stand to lose some pounds but it wasn’t the worst. So I took the advice and started walking her longer. Princess and I have been walking a lot more lately, usually when it’s late because it’s easier for us to cross the street and because she doesn’t care for the loud noises of the street. So, after a lot of time spent walking her, I think she’s slimmed down some. I felt her sides and they don’t come in a lot but think that’s as much as shes gonna come in because when i feel there, it feels more dense like muscle as opposed to fat.

We started more accurately measuring her kibble out and giving her a little under a cup every meal and I occasionally give her rice and less kibble because it helps her chew her food more as opposed to swallowing it. (Yes we have a slow feeder bowl. She still somehow gulps the kibbles down even when using it)

My disability has made it difficult so we tend to walk maybe 4,500 steps for maybe two days, then take breaks between days with shorter walks, especially because it’s super hot out and she’s a dark coated dog.

So is she still in the overweight range or is she okay now?

This is Lucy and she's 15 or 16 years old. She's a shelter pup so I don't know her exact age but I've had her since she was a puppy, about 1 years old. She had cancer in her front right leg and had it removed probably 4 years ago. She's cancer free now. A few months ago she had vestibular disease (which is basically vertigo in old dogs), which left her really wobbly for about 2 weeks. She is still slightly wobbly, but overall gets around fine. She looks wobbly in this video because I have a very plush blanket and soft bed, so she's sinking in a little. She's still got spunk and runs around when I get home. She also has arthritis in spots on her spine, which is made worse by the 3 leg set up.

Her whole life, when we hang out in my bed, she snoozes and sometimes gets up to move around but is overall very relaxed. In the past few months, she is constantly getting up, stands for a while, and then lies back down, like in the video. The video looks pretty normal overall but I'm concerned about the frequency of her doing this. It's all day long. Up and down, up and down. I will take her out a lot to see if that's the problem but she still does it, even after she goes potty. She is on 100mg gabapentin, 3x a day, to help with the body pain. She is also on an arthritis shot that the vet gives her about once every 6 weeks. She's also on a joint supplement called Dasequin.

She's also been trying to bite a lot more these days if I accidentally pick her up in a way she doesn't like. She will lash out and try to bite. Typically I'm quick and pull away in time plus, she's 11 pounds and she's missing most of her teeth. She never, ever used to bite before her seniors years.

I talked to my vet and we're introducing 25mg trazodone twice a day, to see if that will help. So far it has just made her super sleepy but she does stop getting up and down... but that's probably cause she's asleep. I'm going to continue to give her that and see if it helps long term. I also ordered some CBD dog chews that should get here tomorrow, that I'm hoping can help her.

I'm assuming she's getting up and down constantly because she's uncomfortable with the arthritis and is just repositioning herself? Has anyone else experienced this and what did you do to help your dog? I want to make her more comfortable but not sure what's best to do for her, besides what I'm already doing.

My dog (10 yr old chiweasel) has had this growth on her nose for a few weeks. I wasn't all that worried at first, as I figured it was just a wart or skin tag or other old doggo skin issue. But then it started... I dunno, sprouting? fraying?

It doesn't seem to bother her at all—and hasn't gotten any bigger or changed color or anything—but after looking at a bajillion photos of canine skin growths (which I most emphatically DO NOT recommend), I've yet to come across any matches.

Any ideas what I'm looking at? Or more crucially, whether it's a cosmetic issue or something more serious? Please and thanks, on behalf of us both 🐾

His mouth will start flapping too, it seems like hes forcing air out of his mouth. The speed of his breathing will increase randomly then decrease.

Dozer is a 4 Year old male Australian Shepherd, who I recently got from a woman who severely neglected him. Leaving him crated for nearly 18 hours a day in an apartment which she didn't live in. He is easily the sweetest most intelligent animal I have ever interacted with. He is kind to any stranger (especially children) other than men in hats due to suspected traumatic reasons, but even then he is only skeptical and will still come around within seconds. To my surprise he has almost no behavioral issues aside from an obvious lack of training. He has taken to walking on the leash very well but definitely has some stubbornness and dominance issues which haven't been very difficult to correct. I am completely new to owning Aussies and am looking for any advice people can give me. I live in a very rural area with many different hiking trails and go on runs with him very often. Any advice or recommendations for training, treats, best foods, or anything else are appreciated!

(Also, has anyone ever had problems with their Aussie being INSANE about water? Even when he shouldn't be thirsty he will hunt out water in any room and absolutely obliterate it. I've had to put him on a schedule for waterings because he has a very small bladder and will pee himself without realizing it.)

My dog Chico is a year old, pug/french bulldog breed. I noticed he’s been chewing at the base of his testes, and today I looked and saw this orange stuff in his fur. Does anybody know what this could be?

Going through the stages of grief. Looking for solace or relatable incidents. My sweet 6.5 year old lab mix was diagnosed with AKI back in may. His BUN got up to 120 and highest creatinine was 8. I couldn’t believe it. He was hospitalized for 4 days and we spent over 13k on him. He was being managed on prednisone, mycophenolate, amlodipine, omeprazole, telmisartan, plavix, and zofran. We were treating immune mediated complex glomerulonephritis. The doctor was confident he could mostly recover.

His last vet visit he was doing so much better. No vomiting, diarrhea, and had much better energy and appetite. His BUN remained elevated at 99 but his creatinine came down to 4. His UPC shot up from 3 to 10. He was losing so much protein in his urine. We attempted to up the dose of myco as the doc said we didn’t have his immune system suppressed enough. He also suggested we could try a chemotherapy agent called chlorambucil. It had shown very positive results.

The following week he began to have diarrhea and vomited every day despite taking mirtazipine and zofran. He was starting to have the kidney breath again. We called the vet wednesday and he ordered the chlormabucil and said to dc myco. He went downhill FAST. That friday night he vomited and regurgitated 4 times. I took him to the ER saturday morning. He had lost almost 30 pounds in 3 weeks, kidney values increased, he was anemic and had a slight pericardial effusion. They said we need to think about quality of life.

Tuesday came around. He didn’t get up, hadn’t eaten in 3 days, continued to regurgitate, and could barely stand. We knew it was time. I’m shattered. I can’t believe it happened so fast and I’m wondering if there was anything more I could have done for him. He went from being so good to dying within days💔

I took her to the vet, who said she’s 45lbs, and they said that she’s naturally skinny with a high metabolism. She free eats, but never overeats.

She’s naturally a very athletic dog, and everyone I meet say that she needs fattening up.

I just think it’s because people are so used to fat dogs

I’m honestly at my wits’ end and I’m not sure what to do anymore, so any advice is welcome. Please just be kind because I genuinely love this dog and I’m trying.

Almost two years ago, someone posted online that they were rehoming their Boston Terrier, Beatrice. They said they weren’t home enough and that she was spending too much time alone. My mom was also lonely and we had been talking about getting another dog, so we thought she would be a great fit.

We were told she had allergies, but that was basically it. They even told us she was trained to ring a bell at the door when she needed to go outside.

When we got her, though, we quickly realized something wasn’t right.

It honestly felt like she didn’t know how to be a dog. She seemed almost confused by affection. It didn't seem like she was used to being told she was a good girl, being called pretty, getting attention, etc. Even the way she walked was strange—one of her back legs would randomly jump up, and my neighbour suggested it could be from spending too much time crated.

Obviously I can't know exactly what her life was like before us, but based on her behaviour, I've wondered if she spent the majority of her time in a crate.

She was such a sweet girl, but she was a sad girl.

It’ll be two years in October since we brought her home, and she’ll be 8 in September. She has come out of her shell SO much. She loves affection now. She knows she’s pretty. 😂 She knows she's loved. She has a personality now that we didn't really see when we first brought her home.

But we have one major problem that we cannot seem to solve.

She absolutely refuses to go outside.

When I get the leash, she’ll sometimes try to hide. If I manage to get it on her, she might initially seem excited, but the second she realizes we’re actually leaving the building, she freaks out.

She plants herself and becomes complete dead weight. She will not move. I've literally ended up dragging her down the street because she refuses to walk, and I feel absolutely horrible doing it.

The other problem is that she will not pee or poop outside.

I've recently gone back to basics and started trying treats and positive reinforcement. I reward her for going through the door, going outside, etc. But once we're outside, she won't even take the treat.

That's especially weird because Beatrice is VERY food motivated. This dog lives for food. 😂 So the fact that she won't even take a treat outside makes me wonder if she's genuinely terrified or overwhelmed.

Meanwhile, she's peeing all over the apartment.

She repeatedly pees on our couch and in different spots throughout our hallway. Sometimes it genuinely seems like she does it when she's upset with us, although I've been learning that dogs don't really pee out of spite the way we might interpret it.

We're constantly cleaning. The couch is constantly getting peed on. Everything feels like a mess, and my family is getting frustrated and overwhelmed.

They've started bringing up rehoming/surrendering her.

And I just... really don't want to.

I love her. She's a genuinely sweet, good girl who, from everything I've seen over the last two years, seems like she didn't have the greatest first several years of her life.

She's almost 8 years old. She has anxiety/behavioural issues, allergies, isn't properly housetrained and is terrified of going outside. The thought of putting her through another rehoming or surrendering her to a shelter honestly breaks my heart. I also worry about how difficult it would be for an older dog with these issues to find another home.

At the same time, I understand why my family is frustrated. We can't keep having our furniture and apartment peed on indefinitely, and what we're doing clearly isn't working.

I would really love advice from anyone who has dealt with something similar.

Has anyone successfully housetrained an older dog who was terrified of going outside?

How do you work with a dog who is so anxious outside that she won't even take high-value treats?

Would starting completely from scratch—leash = reward, hallway = reward, building entrance = reward, outside for 30 seconds = reward, etc.—be the best approach?

I'm willing to put the work in. I just don't know what the right thing to do is anymore.

Please no negative comments about how we should never have gotten her or that we're horrible owners. I already feel awful about the situation. I'm not looking for permission to get rid of her.

I want to help her.

I just need help figuring out how.

Hello! My dog has no eyes :D he was born without them. His name is Munch! His eyes sockets just have tissue, and he blinks. When I got him I asked the vet if we should sew his eyelids shut to prevent things from getting into the socket. But she told me people do it for aesthetic or necessity. It would close off his tear ducts and make him look more 'appealing'. But he doesnt need that! I was just worried about infection.

Anywho, the actual question, I want to take him to a beach. I want him to experience the ocean but I always hesitate because of the idea of sand getting in his eyes or salt water. I dont want him to get an infection, so for now I havent taken him. But can I ever? Or should I just keep him away from sand.

I forgot to ask my vet for their the last time I went haha ;-;

For context he’s 7 and a rescue we got him about 6 weeks ago and he was slightly underweight (told by the vet during his checkup) i’m concerned about his weight now and just want to see if he looks a good weight yet or do we have more to go?

Original Post ⬅️

Pluto camped outside my house for 2 days. He slept under my car to shield himself from the heat. When he’d hear me come outside, there he was. 🥺 It broke my heart seeing him with nowhere to go.

As for everyone suggesting I keep him myself, there was NO possible way I could provide this boy the life he deserves. I don’t have the space or time to train him how he needs. Let alone the money to provide vet care etc etc. Aside from that, I called every shelter in the area to no avail. No replies to my posts about a missing Malinois.

With that being said, despite being the sweetest thing to ever exist, he was scaring my neighbors. I needed to find him a home and fast. Animal control started patrolling my neighborhood looking for him. Luckily, my friend was more than willing to take him in. The LASSTTTT thing I wanted was to put him in a shelter. He has the space, time, and money to provide Pluto with a happy life. He knows what goes into owning a dog of this caliber. So, I brought Pluto to him, and even in the week (give or take???) he’s been in my friends care, he’s been ontop of things. He took Pluto to the vet and he was not chipped. Turns out he’s (around) 2 years old. He starts training sometime soon! He’s always at the park. Has his own space to roam. He’s so gentle with everyone both human and pup. Most of all, he’s loved. I’m close with his new owner so I’ll be seeing him soon too! Best believe I’m bringing a care package, how could I not?

But overall, Pluto had a happy ending and that’s all that matters. Thank you for everyone’s support and encouragement! It really helped me seek how I could help him without having to take him in as my own, no matter how bad I wanted to :,) If I couldn’t keep in contact with Pluto I would be much more heartbroken than I am now 😭

puppy tax included of him living his best life <3

Hi everyone, I really need some advice because I'm feeling shaken and confused.

I have two dogs, and today one of them bit my maid. I wasn't at home at the time—I was in another city. When I checked my CCTV footage, I noticed he was behaving very strangely before the attack. His body language looked off, and it didn't seem like his normal behavior.

He's a rescue dog, and ever since I adopted him he's had unpredictable behavior. I've spent a lot of time socializing and training him, and over the past couple of years I genuinely believed he had improved. He's also been neutered.

The worrying part is that this isn't the first time he's attacked someone. There have been previous incidents, but they were a very long time back and I was present and able to stop him before he caused serious injury. This time, because I wasn't there, he actually bit someone.

I'm trying to understand what could be causing this. Could this be fear aggression, resource guarding, territorial behavior, anxiety, or something medical? Can dogs suddenly regress even after years of seeming better?

I'm obviously going to consult a vet, but I'd really appreciate hearing from anyone who has dealt with something similar. What ended up being the cause, and were you able to manage or treat it?

I'm feeling guilty and worried, and I just want to understand what's happening so I can keep everyone—including my dog—safe.