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Someone left their jack russell terrier (Jaz) on my street two days ago and I took her in. I currently have a 5 year old pitbull mixed with a chihuaha(Taco) taco is little bit bigger than Jaz. Every time Jaz sees taco Jaz snaps and growls at her. We give them both attention I don’t think it’s a dominance or jealousy issue because taco doesn’t fight back, Jaz would wait for taco to be vulnerable and then try and bite her. For example today we took them both walking both were fine and we both went inside and taco looks at me not paying attention to Jaz and then jaz tried to bite Tacos leg. Taco stays with me and i have jaz in a room she listens good with everything. she doesnt leave her room even if we leave the door open and she doesnt have a leash on. She just cant be around taco. I’m not sure what to do or what’s wrong, we want to train Jaz so she can be part of our family. Any suggestions?
MY cat has been sick for 5 days with a fever. No vomiting no diarrhea except for a little on the second day. He has a fever, he’s drinking a lot, lethargic, not grooming. I took him to a vet who gave him something for the fever and an antibiotic shot. He’s eating and drinking which is good but the fever is not going down. The vet prescribed Fevadol which has paracetamol in it. We are in a country with no good vets and no real access to pet medication, but everything I have read says that paracetamol is poisonous to cats. I would give anything for him to get better, but there are no vets that I trust here and I am so confused on what to do. He’s obviously fighting an infection but the vet said he doesn’t seem to have a URI, he has no signs in his chest and no discharge from eyes or nose. I just don’t know what to do and it’s breaking my heart watching him in pain. please help.
He’s a 4 year old male.
Normally I would tell you to follow the doctor’s instructions but it seems paracetamol is acetometaphin which is very toxic to cats!!! However, without examining your cat it is impossible for me to really give you any advice. My recommendation is to try and find a vet you trust because your cat needs treatment.
Good luck
Dr D
Thank you for your response. I know he needs treatment, I am very scared for him, but as I said there are no reliable vets here. Is there something over the counter that could bring down his fever?
No there really isn’t.
A few months ago, we adopted two pups from the same litter. They are blue heeler/ Victorian bulldog mixes and they are the loves of our lives. Well they got into a few pretty bad fights, and we figured that they were just puppies and were just playing around. Well one day, they got into a HUGE fight to the point that one was dripping blood. From that point on, we have had to keep them separated- one of them is in the cage constantly. This is not fair to us or them, considering they are cattle dogs and shouldn’t ever be confined to such a small area so often. Plus it is nearly impossible to potty train them like this. So now we have two dogs who potty everywhere and fight with one another if they’re ever near each other. We desperately need help!
Sad to say, this if a common occurrence when you adopt two males from the same litter. Either they grow up to be totally dependent on each other and can never be separated, OR they are in constant contention. How old are they? Have they been neutered? If they are over 6 months old they need to be neutered. This will help reduce the aggression.
However, it is not the cure. You need to find a behaviorist NOW! Don’t just pick any dog trainer – look for one that can come to your home and work with you there. Or one that specializes in aggression cases such as this. And sad to say – the only answer may be that you have to find one of the boys a new home. They may have developed such a dislike of each other that they will never live comfortably together.
You do desperately need help! But it is far beyond the scope of this forum. You need hands on help from a professional that can see your dogs and figure out what triggers the aggression. And in the future – remember – never get 2 puppies at one time!
They are almost a year old and have appointments scheduled to get fixed. You response is very insightful, but I do have one issue. One of them is a female. Does this make any difference? Thanks.
littermate syndrome – the issue you’re experiencing – has nothing to do with sex. it has to do with raising two puppies of the same age together and not giving them time apart for training and socializing.
and i agree with PK, this NEEDS to be handled at home. anyone giving you further advice online is being reckless. you need someone in your home, watching your dogs interact. until this can happen, continue crating each dog separately and rotating which has freedom in the house. this will help you to keep them safe from each other. every fight will get worse, every interaction will escalate, and you may end up with a dead dog if you continue to allow them to be around each other.
So lately I’ve been thinking about getting another dog. My current dog is a Chihuahua and possibly Rat terrier mix; he’s about 13 years old. Before I got him he used to have another chihuahua he always hung around with, but that was when he was around five. He only barks when there is someone making noise outside or that get too close to our fence, the same goes with barking dogs or ones that pass by our house. Other than that he is very friendly with strangers, especially when they come into our yard. He does however, have an issue if dogs come onto his territory, like most dogs do. He has never been to a dog park and has gone to a pet store a couple times, either for shopping or to be groomed. Our neighbors have a dog who barks at everyone and everything, even if I open the back door for a second. My dog occasionally fights with him through the fence, and by that maybe every few weeks. My dog doesn’t bite, growl, nip, scratch or anything at strangers when they come over, even if it’s our pest control. I’m not sure how he will react when we bring another puppy home? We’re either thinking of getting a border collie, lab, doberman pinscher or possibly an italian greyhound. Any tips on what to do when they first meet? Do you think he’ll be alright with another puppy? Any advice helps, thank you!!
Has he ever been around a puppy? Are you willing to separate the dogs and rotate which is out, if things go south?
A warning about dobes, because I have one – they are NOT gentle with littles. You’ll have to work very hard on teaching a dobe puppy to be gentle with smaller animals – our girl is nearly three and still occasionally stomps my cat. They’re also tough puppies and are quite literally a full time job until they’re around 2 years of age…I’ll happy talk more about the breed if you want, but I don’t want to flood this particular answer with my babble. 🙂
This is how my rescue recommends you introduce a new dog to your home (and I do this with all fosters coming to live with my pack of 4 terriers, one of which is a Cairn/Chihuahua mix):
Before the new dog arrives pick a place in the home for him to live most of the time for 3 days. I use my guest bathroom some times, and other times I use my craft room – both have tile floors so it is easy to clean up any accidents that may occur with the new dog. Inside that room I place a dog crate appropriate in size for the new dog/puppy.
For the first 3 days after the new dog arrives, we play musical crates and/or rooms. I do not allow the dogs to see each other, they only smell each other on me, and under the door, etc. When my dogs are loose, the new dog is in the prepared room. When my dogs are crated or in their kennel the new dog is allowed to be out of the room, in the yard, or house with supervision. There is ALWAYS a closed door between my dogs and the new dog.
I spend time playing and training the new dog each day, and will crate my boys for an hour or so in the evening so I can just plop on the sofa with the new dog for cuddles. With a puppy you will need to be spending a lot of time with it as you will not be able to resist! Spend an equal amount of time with the older dog. One of the activities you want to focus on with the puppy is learning to walk on a leash – this is critical for the 4th day.
On the morning of the 4th day, put leashes on both dogs and immediately go out the door for a walk. Don’t give the dogs time to sniff or eyeball each other – the job is to walk together with you for at least 10 mins. If the puppy is older keep walking (5 mins. per month of age is a good rule of thumb – too long a walk puts too much stress on the bones and joints of a puppy).
Once we have finished the walk I take all the dogs into my fenced yard, drop the leashes and allow them to sniff, play, ignore each other as they see fit. Dragging the leashes allows you to step on a leash or pull one dog away from the other if things get hairy.
I have had 99% success with introducing dogs this way. The only exception was a foster that decided my smallest dog was prey – good thing I had that leash to grab! It saved my dog’s life.
We believe the reason it works is that it allows the dogs to smell each other without any misunderstandings of body language. In the wild a lone wolf will spend weeks haunting a new pack’s territory. They stay mostly out of sight, but scent mark in the territory. Then they start showing themselves to the pack from a distance. Finally they approach members of the pack. If the pack wants them they are welcomed (usually by the female members of the pack). So while our dogs are no longer wolves – smell is the first thing they pick up on. First scent, then sight, then hearing. So this 3 day of separation, but crossing each other’s scents helps the dogs get to know each other without confrontation.
With my dogs it works so well, they don’t even sniff each other’s butts once we are done the walk.
Since your dog is used to fighting through a fence I caution you to make sure that he and the new pup never see each other through a fence or crate during those 3 days. Keep that solid, shut, door between them.
Your 13 year old dog may never want to play with the puppy – but the puppy will want to play with him! Be sure your older dog has a place he can escape the puppy – such as a dog bed or crate, maybe in a different room. When your Chi is getting too much attention from the pup, tell the puppy to “leave it” and ask him/her to play with you. This will help the puppy learn to leave the older dog alone when he is in his quite place.
An Italian greyhound is a better size for your current dog, and they generally are ‘softer’ dogs. The other 3 breeds you mention will be a real challenge for you, and will overwhelm the Chi. It is a giant leap going from living with a Chi to living with these 3 other breeds. They all are high energy, need WAY more exercise, and a lot of training to become good canine citizens. The Border especially, will need a job. Borders are scary intelligent.
All that being said – give your dog a month with the new pup before you decide if it is going to work or not. Good luck!
Living with together with 2 more others Hamster.
Have a serious cut on his head, but it dry and became a wound. Yesterday, I am not sure whether he fight or hurt his wound and cause the wound drop and bleed seriously. Now it’s much better after applying some medicine in it,
He’s not active as before. I try to feed it with some water but totally rejected and feed him food also rejected.
i would be worried about fighting between them. are the others male? can you house him separately?
Yes, the other are male. I have separated them earlier. But it’s still the same , what should I do 🙁
well, i’m not a vet, but i’d be worried about serious injuries. hamsters should never be housed together – they’re a solitary species – and when house together will often fight until one is dead.
Husband wants 2 put dwn, but I refuse! If the General fights 4 life I will 2. But, laceration looks terrible & husband refuses 2 put a lot of $ n 2 him. What can I do 4 his neck laceration?
Yes, he probably needs antibiotics, maybe even sutures to close the wound. Unfortunately, only your vet can provide the care your bird needs- the antibiotics aren’t available over the counter. If you have Rimadyl on hand, a med/large breed rooster can have 12 mg, I believe, for pain/inflammation until he can be seen. I hope he heals!
He’s peeing regularly now. No blood no strain. I found out he got tape worms again. He has diarreah because of it. I’m feeding him in small portions with the medication and water mixed in. He has an injured leg and won’t walk on it. I’m going to call the animal hospital and talk to them what to do about his leg. Its a little swollen. His paw has some damage and it looks scabbed. I’m pretty sure it’s from a cat fight of some kind. I’m not letting him outside anymore. Because of his diarreah he pees out side the cat box but it doesn’t bother me at the moment. We have tile floors. Have a job interview today. Hopefully I can get this job to help me Pay for a vet. Prayers for Sebastian please.
Thank you!
i am having a very hard time put my dogs medice in his ears he fights me i try to be very easy and talk to him and tell him that i will not hurt him but it is a battle
Hi! I have the same problems when putting drops for an ear infection in the ears. Always a battle..but now, I wait till he is relaxed and sleeping beside me..I use a thin syringe (without the needle of course) and I do it when he is sleeping..so much easier..the bottle they give the drops in, doesn’t go deep enough into the ear that is why I use a thin syringe.
you can do passive restraint by holding his snout, and give him a great reward when done. Dogs ears are hard to clean, and need to be done until the problem is resolved.
Hi!
My dog was diagnosed anaplasmosis. She got treatment for 30 days with doxycycline. Before the treatment blood test sample from serum said:
Anaplasma phagozytophilum (Antibody, IFAT)
A.phago-Ab: 1:320 , but after treatment: 1:1280
(Interpretation titers 1:40 and higher are considered positive).
What does it mean? Was the treatment successful? My doctor said, that new result shows, that body fights for the bacteria, but it doesn´t really say anything to me. Shouldn´t bacteria be gone for now (30 days after treatment)?
Dog is feeling well, she have had no complaints and her organs work well. What we should do now? Our doctor said, there is nothing to do and we have to make blood tests once in a year to control her kidneys.
Thank you for your answer!
Dog owner from Estonia, Europe
Have a female American Bulldogog at the end of a heat cycle. She will be spayed Very soon. However, she has started fighting with my other female, an Alapaha Bulldog. Unspayed dog new to house 4 weeks no problems until a few days ago.
This sounds like a recipe for disaster. I would spay both of your dogs ASAP. In my experience, fights between new pack members always begun 4-6 weeks after the new dog arrived. There is kind of an initial grace period where everyone is adjusting, getting comfortable, and figuring out what the rules are in the home. Having to intact dogs is only going to intensify a problem that may already be there. I truly hope that spaying you dogs will be the solution to your problem, however if it is not I would recommend an trainer how specializes in dog aggression.
We spay all,of our dogs. The only one that isn’t is the new edition. We were told that she had been already. Took her in for a check up and found out she was just beginning a heat. We are waiting for that heat cycle to end. She is a sweet dog and they have gotten along well together until two days ago. I was questioning if the heat could cause this sudden aggression?
Sorry, it sounded like you had 2 intact females in your home. Having a dog in heat can definitely cause some aggression. I hope that is all it is
You need to go back to square one. Put Jaz in a room where Taco can not see Jaz. This could be a guest bathroom, or mud room, etc. You want a closed door between the 2 dogs for the next 3-4 days. Give each dog their own time with you – but separately. This allows each dog to become familiar with the smell of the other dog. They get to know each other this way – but without any confrontation.
Thank you! They are both female. Taco is spayed and Jaz is not we are taking her to the vet soon to get her spayed.