What could be causing sudden appetite loss in a dog?
my 2 year old pitbull is completely healthy and super active but lately he has really lost his appetite. he used to eat his food voraciously but recently i have had to put gravy in it just to make him interested, and lately that isnt even working. switching the food upsets his stomach and he is sick of his current food. he rather not eat than eat his food, which is purina large breed formula. is there a better food for dogs with sensitive stomachs??
Why is my dog suddenly wanting to be by my side constantly?
My dog and I have always been close, but usually she favors her daddy :) Recently, however, she has been SUPER attached to me....While it is sweet, last night it started getting out of hand. She has been laying outside of the shower wating for me, laying on my feet while I am eating, and whining if I step outside without her. Last night she went so far as to lie down ON TOP OF ME while I was resting on the couch and would not budge! I had to have my boyfriend pick her up to get her off of me! she couldn't be lured with lunch meats! VERY UNUSUAL FOR THIS HUNGRY GAL! When he put her down on the floor after picking her up off me, she started nervously shaking and whining and pacing around the couch. Same when I went to bed, so I ended up letting her sleep under the covers, on top of me. I don't understand this one bit. She is three years old now and has never acted like this before. The only thing I am thinking it could be is that I just found out that I am pregnant and so maybe she is trying to protect me in some way? would she know those kind of things? It is very sweet, but how can I get her to back off?!
Can dogs suddenly become afraid of things?
To make a long story short, my dog has never been afraid of anything. Not even the vacuum cleaner. But the other day I was swatting flies in my house (something I have been doing since he was a puppy) and my dog suddenly decided that the flyswatter was scary, even though he has seen me use it 100000 times. Now he is terrified of the flyswatter whenever I pick it up. His fear has spread to my other dog and now she is afraid of it too. They are both 2 years old. So why the sudden fear of the flyswatter? I find it strange.
Why would a dog suddenly start to drool excessively?
I'm glad to see you have consulted your veterinarian, and generally, sudden drooling, if your dog is eating and drinking normally, can be attributed to something caught in the dog's mouth. I am concerned that the dog has had excessive drooling for such an extended period of time. If something is caught in the dog's teeth, the problem should have resolved itself within several hours. There are many reasons why a dog starts excessively drooling. The most common reasons are due to dental issues. Tooth decay and mouth disease can cause drooling. Check your dog's mouth and look for tarter buildup that can cause irritation and drooling. Check the gums and see if they are pink and healthy. Make sure there is no foul odor, which can be an indication of infection and other problems. Dental problems can pop up quickly, especially if your dog is not a bone chewer. Dental problems left untreated can cause many other more serious problems. Other less common reasons for excessive drooling range from upper respiratory infections to injesting poisonous plants to liver and kidney diseases. Another possibility is the presence of a tumor. All of these cases require a veterinary check up.It is a good sign that the dog is eating and drinking normally, most likely ruling out the more serious reasons. However, it is concerning the dog has been drooling for three days. You know your dog's behavior best, and if the dog is behaving normally or not. If the drooling continues, it would be well worth a trip to the vet to get the pup checked out.
Dog suddenly snaps at people...?
If professional training is not an option, then returning the dog to the shelter or taking him to your vet yourselves to have him euthanized may be the best option for this dog. Very very rarely do dogs just snap out of the blue and when they truly do snap for no reason with no advanced warning it is extremely dangerous behavior that can not be tolerated in a family pet. It may be that Duke is giving you subtle signals that you are simply not picking up on and once these have been "ignored" long enough he feels pressured into snapping. Growling, snarling, and raised hackles are actually pretty advanced signs of discomfort from a dog, they usually give a lot more subtle signals before they resort to these obvious warning signs. Your dog may be going straight from very subtle signals to snapping because of previous experience. Simply punishing a dog for "aggressive" actions such as growling and not addressing the problem itself directly can lead to a dog that has been taught to suppress the more obvious warning signals for fear of physical punishment. This more often than not does not fix the problem but rather leads to a dog that reaches a point where they just can't take any more and bite "out of the blue." Your dog could also have a medical problem that you are unaware of. There are many medical conditions that can cause pain, and ultimately aggression, that your vet can not detect with a simple physical exam. Lyme disease and hypothyroidism are two examples that come to mind where a dog may appear to be completely healthy from just a physical exam but bloodwork quickly reveals a treatable medical problem.
I have a puggle. Hes been getting these sudden bursts of energy, How do i calm him down?
It may be that, even if he is getting enough physical exercise, he might need more mental stimulation. Teaching him some new tricks or tasks might help. What I do with my dog when she gets overexcited is have her sit or lie down and stay until she calms down. It takes some practice to get to the point where the dog will sit whenever you tell it to no matter what else is going on. My dog will be barreling at me, about to jump up on me, and if I tell her to sit she will. It works great, because they can't sit and jump on you at the same time. When he jumps up, you can also quickly turn away with your arms crossed and ignore him. When he nips, yip to let him know it hurt you (even if it really didn't) and ignore him. Pay attention to him when he is sitting calmly. Whatever you do, don't pet or play with him when he's in overexcited mode. The mood he is in when you pay attention to him is the mood he will maintain. So make sure he's calm when you pay attention to him. If he is overexcited, making him stay and ignoring him for a few minutes should calm him down.
My dog has started lying down when he eats as though he's too tired to stand and eat. He's an old dog (12ish). Could this be a symptom of something more serious?
Your dog sounds like it may have some serious health problems. Animals have a high threshold for pain and when they cry or yelp its really serious. When they have a hard time standing up or just standing to eat, that is another serious sign. It can be severe arthritis that you didn't know to treat, or possibly other muscle, ligament problem. Whatever it may be, please, please get him/her to a veterinarian immediately. I had a border collie/lab mix (Indy). When she was 6 she started limping. It turned out she had hip dysplasia. Now mind you she was still running around and playing, behaving perfectly normally except for a slight limp. I didn't want her getting worse so I took her in for hip replacement surgery. The doctor called me after her surgery and told me it was the worst hip he'd ever seen. He was surprised that she wasn't limping worse considering her condition. A couple years later she started to develop ataxia. This time it was a tumor on her spine. Within a week of diagnosis she couldn't even lift her head. We said goodbye to her that day. December 23, 2003. Please take your dog and get him/her the help he/she needs. I hope its nothing more serious than arthritis and you can give her medication to treat it along with something for pain. May you have many more years of joy with your furry child. Best of luck and positive wishes for you both.