Pavlov

Sounds familiar. My dog went through some surgeries after he ate cat toys (rubberish balls that then expanded in his stomach) and a corn cob. Now he always has a basket muzzle on when we're outside or he's home alone. Fortunately I had him insured (the insurance literally came into effect the day before the first incident) so I haven't gone completely poor due to vet bills.

My dog tries to eat nearly everything he sees. After a couple surgeries to remove toy balls and a corn cob I'm following the vet's advice to always have a muzzle on him when he's outside. At the same time, he still hasn't learned how to walk without pulling on the leash. Every suggestion I've seen for teaching how to walk with a slack leash suggests going on walks and rewarding the dog when it acts correctly (the frequency and manner seem to be the only differences). How can I train him while he's wearing a muzzle? Or should I try to slip food in (it looks similar to this: http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/41pvCrP3BvL._SY300_.jpg)?

My dog has a lot of fur on his hindquarters and tail, so much so that he regularly gets poop stuck in it when relieving himself. It would feel like a waste to bring him to a groomer just for this, but I'm not sure on how to take care of it on my own. Does anyone have advice for trimming the backside or other ways to prevent this problem?

My dog is only six months old and spends most of his time inside, and he also has brown around his bottom and the back of his hind legs. I assume it's just part of his coloring

Mine also loves every other creature he's met (human, dog, or cat) and hasn't displayed any herding desires. He'd be a terrible work dog, but he makes a wonderful pet

After doing better for a few days, Pavlov suddenly got much worse. He wouldn't touch any food, had no energy, and threw up repeatedly. After a visit to the vet and the hospital, it turns out that he had swallowed a couple objects. They say he's doing better now and I should be able to pick him up on Friday

I remembered looking up foods when I first got the dog and being unimpressed with what I read about Hill's. But he's had urinary trouble for a while and I had been giving him Taste of the Wild grain-free food with a lot of water. Unfortunately there aren't many options around here (and I don't have the time or money to cook him his own food). Aside from the one worrying day he eats the stuff without a problem. Hopefully he'll get over the condition quickly and we can go back to Taste of the Wild, which he goes crazy for and is the best available

Root Beer: Unfortunately the cat is very particular and has no interest in dog-safe toys (he can be a bully. Maybe he sees this as another fun way to antagonize the dog). As I mentioned above, we keep the cat's toys out of any pet's reach in my roommate's room and I lock up the dog when the cat is playing.

No. If he could learn through ingestion I'd happily buy him as many books as he wants. He's usually fine. The family that I got him from crate trained him but I don't really have room for one in my apartment. Instead, I tie him to a heavy trunk in my room and I've cleared away anything dangerous nearby. He's usually fine - the only other time he chewed on a book was on his first or second day here. I think this case was that he hadn't eaten in over 24 hours and dragged the trunk over to the bookcase. But his big weakness is the cat toys. If there's one nearby I can't keep his attention.

This is great. I just got home from work to find that his swelling went down considerably and his appetite is back. He also ate a nice book and has bad gas, but that's much better than what I had feared

We're careful about the cat toys - my roommate keeps them out of reach and we lock the dog in my room when it's the cat's turn to play. If he did eat it (which I'm thinking is likely) then it would have been when our third roommate opened my door and Pavlov ran out while the cat-owner was cleaning up after playing. I chased after him and didn't think he had the time to eat anything, but I may have been wrong. CMP - I had a similar idea. I saw he was walking and running funny so I immediately began looking up insurance and didn't mention a word to the vet yet. If that is an issue, and even if it's covered, that makes three separate medical instances (two probably major) within a couple weeks. I've already warned him that he's not allowed to even cough for the next five years

Thanks for the replies. He's only five months old, so it's not that his body is falling apart or the food is too hard. I had been giving him Taste of the Wild puppy food and the vet prescribed Hill's kibble designed to help with urinary problems along with antibiotics (he was developing crystals) After posting last night I noticed that his abdomen was strongly bloated and recalled that one of my roommate's cat's toys had been missing for a couple days so I called the vet. He said to make sure the dog has plenty of water and to bring him in in the morning if things haven't improved. He seems no better this morning so we'll take him in when the clinic opens. This is even more frustrating because I recently decided to take out insurance for him. However, it's a busy holiday season now so the insurance won't be processed until Sunday

I don't know if this belongs here it in the health section. I apologize if I got the wrong one The other day the vet diagnosed my dog with a UTI and have me special food to help him. For the past few days I gave him a mixture of the new food with his old. Today I wanted to start switching to only the new food, as the vet recommended. When I tried it, though, he took a few bites and refused to touch it further. Normally he eats anything he can and eagerly finished the mixture. After today's reluctance I tried giving him some of the old food , which he ate. I then added some of the old to the food he had left in his bowl. He sniffed it a bit and walked away. Now he's suspicious of any food and is reluctant to eat his old stuff. He's missed two meals today

Valid point. I didn't mean to make a diagnosis, just to write a heading that would give a quick idea of what the post would be about. I am looking for changes we can make to fix the problems

My dog's still a puppy and can't keep up with the big dogs at the park when they all chase each other. So instead of running around the perimeters with them, he'll go through the middle of the park to cut them off. It's fun to see some of the boxers and labs freeze in surprise when he appears in front of them.