SilverWolf73

In the wild, wolves carry undigested meat back to the den and vomit it up for the partially weaned puppies to eat. So I can see why dogs would eat vomit...it is an instinct. But as for poop...my dog would not eat his but would eat other dog's and cat poop is a delicacy! I think they just like it...Gross!

Update: Finally got Willie to the vet this week and he did have yeast in his ears (no mites). I switched his food back to Wellness and he had been doing better but was still scraching at his face. My vet put him on drops for the ears and a short course of steriods for the itching. He thinks there's a good chance he has some kind of a food allergy since at his age he hasn't really been exposed to environmental stuff (like pollen) long enough (he has only had one summer). Even though I hadn't noticed, the vet showed me where he has been licking his paw pads (the hair around them was orangy from his saliva) and this along with the face/ ear itching and ear infection says allergy. He said its usually a protein allergy at this age, so if he's not better after this bag of the lamb and rice Wellness, I may try a fish/ sweet potato version. I have been giving him milkbones and rawhides, too, so it could be something in those. He said switch to either a single protein treat or just give things like carrots, apples, or rice cakes for treats. Of course Willie is ravenous on the steriods, and apparently it affects his ability to hold his bladder as well, because he had his first "accident" this morning in six months. He also got into the trash this morning and ate some stuff...sigh, and is back to poop eating so its leash walking in our fenced yard for him. Puppies....I hope he didn't eat anything indigestible because our vet is closed and we have just gotten 4 inches of snow (rare for Nashville!). He ate his breakfast and seems fine but I am watching him closely today.

When I take him to the vet I will ask about the food allergy thing. Of all my dogs, he has had the most problems with his tummy (gets the runs a lot) so I kind of suspected that, too. I usually give the dogs a high quality food like Solid Gold or Wellness, but cash was tight so I got a big bag of IAMS this last time. His tummy is ok (other than some really nasty gas), but now he suddenly has an ear thing going on...

Thanks! The discharge is very sticky/oily...and I do have a cat as well, so like you said it is possibly yeast/ bacteria with or maybe without mites. Oliver had yeast in his ears about 3 months ago or so and had an extended course of nasty ear drops that made his fur look pretty gross for a while (he's a maltese mix, so it would get in his fur and attract dirt) but it worked. His ears are nice and pink now. Is yeast contageous? I guess we have a trip to the vet soon!

Hi! This question is about one of my other dogs (the brussels griffon). I am pretty sure he has ear mites. I was wondering if anyone has had any success with the over-the-counter type ear mite medications. I have one I ordered from Foster's and Smith and just started using a few days ago. He seems a bit better but I am wondering if I am just wasting my time. He has the black exudate, particularly in one ear, and scratches/ shakes his head a lot. I am cleaning out his ears and treating him with the drops every other day as prescribed on the bottle. He is also scratching around his face a lot but doesn't have any fleas. He has prick ears but they have a lot of hair in them. I also wonder if maybe the fact that he has been off the Frontline for the winter months has made him more susceptible to mites. Doesn't Frontline kill mites along with the fleas/ ticks? I will take him to the vet if he doesn't improve soon but I hate to be running to the vet for every little thing if its not necessary. Thanks!

[You can give 1/2 a pepto bismol tablet per 20 lbs of body weight. I used to work in a kennel and it is pretty safe, especially if the diarhea is due to stress of travel (which is very common). Of course, if a vet is available, by all means go, but Pepto will work in a pinch.

My schnauzer mix Heidi gets very stressed/excited in the car and I have noticed the nasty anal gland smell several times in the car, followed by her licking that area...so it apparently is a stress reaction for some dogs. Little skunk!

I will definitely give the bones a try...I was a bit apprehensive about them because a friend's dog scraped the enamel off one of her teeth chewing on one, but the bad breath has got to go!

Hi all! Sorry if this has been discussed before but I did do a search and didn't see the answer to this question (doesn't mean its not there, since my search pulled up 3 pages worth of topics...) but I saw an article which claimed that supplimenting with alaskan salmon oil could reduce shedding by 90%!! I wouldn't mind supplimenting and fish oil is cheap, just never heard of the reduced shedding claim...I just assumed it was used for the same reason as it is in humans...you know, reduced heart disease, inflammation, etc. Dixie is not shedding any more than normal, but any reduction in the black and white dust bunnies would be great! She eats Merrick or Wellness food, with occasional Nutro or Proplan if I am short on cash and is very healthy. The only other concern I have is her breath. She is 5 years old and has had her teeth cleaned once (around age 2 or 3?) and the vet said she could use it again...but I hate having to put her under anethesia if there is some other way to clean her teeth (other than brushing, which I doubt would remove tarter buildup anyway)...she is not a big chewer. She will eat cow ears or rawhide but ignores nylabones (Heidi chews those daily and at age 6 her teeth are in great shape and have never been professionally done). What about "dental" foods? Anything any good? She is a very picky eater. Thanks,

I like the personality of the Cavalier King Charles...I used to work at an upscale kennel and I never met a bad tempered one. They are very sweet, laid back dogs...pups are playful but not manic. I wasn't aware of the health issues but I know there are now a lot of King Charles mixes out there...like the Cavachon (a bichon and a king charles)...maybe a mix would have fewer health issues...not sure why grooming would be such a problem. Its not that expensive to get a dog shaved down a few times a year...you don't have to get it groomed to "breed standard" especially if its just a pet. Another option noone has mentioned it the Brussels Griffon. I have wanted one since I saw the little monkey face in the movie "As Good as it Gets" and finally got one last friday! He is very sweet, happy, playful, and while he is the rough coated version and will need to be trimmed or clipped occasionally, he's pretty low maintainance so far (especially compared to my border collie at his age!). They are companion dogs like the King Charles and are supposed to be 9 to 12 pounds in size...although they can get up to 20 lbs in reality. I wish I knew how to post a picture of my dog. Good luck with your search! P.S. I tried to attach a picture...Yea! it worked!

Luckily my border collie doesn't pull, is a very submissive dog and I have no problems walking her on a loose leash. On the other hand, my schnauzer/ terrier mix, who is six years old and should know better by now, is VERY dominant and once she is excited by the prospect of going for a walk, her IQ drops by about 50 points and she forgets who's in charge! I have tried everything...prong collars worked for a while but she is very dog aggressive so I think it was making her more aggressive that if she saw a dog and started pulling and lunging, in her mind the pinching from the collar was the other dog's fault, which made her want to kill that dog even more!! I tried a Gentle leader, but she refused to use it (I tried for over a month) and our walks were spent with her basically throwing a fit and trying to get it off the entire time. I tried the gentle leader harness for a while and that helped, but she still manages to pull just enough so that it gets annoying after a while. I recently got another gentle leader and the video to go with it. It is working better this time because now I have if fit correctly and am not allowing her to pull at all, but even still our walks consist of walking about 4 steps on loose leash, her going to the end and beginning to pull, my pulling her back and releasing tension, and repeat that process indefinitly. And if she sees another dog, forget it, she throws a fit, tries to get it off, etc, etc. Very frustrating for an otherwise very smart, biddable and enjoyable dog....I do not enjoy our walks!!

I got my dog Heidi (a schnauzer mix) from the pound at 12 weeks of age or so. I took her for vaccinations that day. She contracted severe Parvo (bloody diarrhea, vomiting, etc) and was hospitalized for a week. Even after that she was still vomiting and unable to hold down much of anything...I wonder why they sent her home, actually. I honestly don't know how she survived on so little food and water...she was skin and bones and began to have that glazed "death" look in her eyes. SLOWLY she began a recovery, and now, six years later, she is the best dog ever!! No lasting effects at all so far...she is VERY smart and sweet and loves to play just like she did as a pup....hopefully she will live a LONG time with no more ill effects. One lasting effect that is not health related is that she is kind of dog aggressive to strange dogs because I missed a window of socialization opportunity...she was too sick to take anywhere until she was about 5 months old! Another is that we really bonded during that time and she is my heart dog...I love that raggety little rascal! You can see her on Dixie's dogster page...there is a link to her page as a member of Dixie's family.

I always thought the red came from the black hair being "bleached" by the sun...Dixie has a fluffy butt and some of the hair on her black "breeches" looks reddish...I've never cut it, though.

If you are bothered by the hole-digging at all you can get square concrete stepping-stones cheap...we put them down in our dog's outdoor kennel and its been great...no more mud!

It is also possible that she has some sort of infection...either a bladder infection or some sort of intestinal parasite she has picked up. You might want to ask your vet about her...sounds like she was doing well and suddenly not so that's what brought to mind an infection. I had a pup who started peeing in the house after being pretty much housetrained and she had a bladder infection. After a round of antibiotics she was able to "hold it" much better! I used a crate also and it is a lifesaver!! I reccomend one that has a slide-out bottom so if she messes in it you don't have to drag the whole thing out to clean it...just pull out the bottom and hose it off! Also don't waste money on those crate pads...they are wonderful chew toys and your pup will probably destroy it in an hour! Stick to old towels or nothing at all till she's older.