Question by heather: How do I keep my puppy dog out of our cats food?
I have a serious problem!
I have a small seven month old puppy dog and a large old calico cat. My puppy constantly is eating my cat’s food! My cat is a nibbler and refuses to eat more then small amounts at a time and she will be very upset if it is put up. My puppy dog will knock over gates, get through any barrier and eat all of her food!
my question is what different ways can I keep my puppy dog out of her food? My cat is old and cannot jump up high for it because she has arthritis and cannot jump up. As well putting the food inside of a cat sized crate or a small area will not work because my cat is actually larger then my dog and probably always will be.
This has become very expensive and my cat gets very upset. I have tried several training methods but my puppy does it when I’m not looking and its extremely hard to catch him. I would appreciate any answers this has become very frustrating! Thank you in advance!

Best answer:

Answer by omnisource
Why not feed the cat on some sort of shelf, or raised area that the dog can’t jump up on?

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Question by aninocentangel: Advice on socializing a puppy?
At what age can I cut back on the socializing, or am I Cruella DeVille daring to think I can cut it back?
Here’s the whole situation, just so you won’t think I’m mean and evil. I am mean and evil, just not to puppies. :>

I was in a car accident several years ago. As a result I do a lot of walking to help maintain flexibility in my leg and reduce cramping and muscle tremors. I like to walk with my dog, but her arthritis is starting to make it difficult for her so I adopted a puppy to keep us young and moving and to take some of the strain off my old dog when the puppy is old enough. The pup has been loads of fun and we loves her very much.

She’s now 6 months old (still too young for a long walk) and because she has somewhat of a timid personality I’ve been taking her to the dog park 4x week for the past 3+ months to socialize her as per the ASPCA vets’ recommendations when I adopted her. It’s been great for her but because I don’t have time to take my walk on the days we go to the dog park my leg has been bothering me a lot lately. For the first time in years I have been having severe cramping along my old scars, and my jeans aren’t fitting so easily these days either. I’ve been trying to walk around the enclosure but it’s not enough and I have to do a lot of stop/start and dodging which is bad for my knee. I really need to get back to walking flat out at least 3 miles per day again.

Due to my schedule and the hours the walking trails and the dog park are open I’m pretty much stuck with a two hour window during the week, but on the weekends I have hours and hours. Unfortunately I can’t do all my walking on the weekends without damaging myself, would it work to do all her socializing then? She and my old girl do play together, and she plays with the neighbors dogs too.

Since my old vet retired a few months before I adopted her I’ve continued taking both her and my old dog to the vet at the ASPCA, so I called to ask what they would recommend. I don’t think they quite understood the situation because they told me that if I can’t properly see to her needs I need to return her to the pound. Um…kay…

So here’s my question. Is she old enough to still be properly socialized if I only take her to the dog park once or twice on the weekends or would I be doing a disservice to my puppy and I need to take her back to the shelter as suggested?
Either way I think I’m going to find a new vet…

Best answer:

Answer by Eddy
well i thought 3 times was to much and was thinking that how do you have they time to walk while at the park with your dog but i do think you have the answer to cut it down to 1-2 times on the weekends im sure the puppy wouldn’t mind to much and its not good to suffer like it seams you are

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Question by ಌвяïτταиу ρïεя¢εಌ: Will my elderly dog (11 yrs) be jealous of a new puppy?
Hi, I am Britt. My family has one dog (Sammy, 11 yrs) and three cats. We`re strongly thinking about getting a bernese mountain dog (I think we`re getting it in June when it`s 8 weeks or so). We absolutely love animals & have been wanting a berner for years.

Sammy, however, who is literally the most well behaved and most lovable dog in the world is older & has arthritis. We`ve done lots of research on berners and they are quite a calm and easy going breed. I`m a bit nervous about how Sammy will respond. She`s so great that she`ll prob adapt to the pup after a few weeks. However, I`m nervous that she`ll feel jealous and maybe sad because another pup is in the house. I am so torn. We want the berner so bad because we want to open our home up to another pet, but sammy is my biggest concern because, well..she is my baby

Do you have any experience with introducing a new dog to a home that already has pets, and maybe even an older dog? Advice plz and thanks. Thanks. Sammy is very loved so he will def still get lots of attention

Best answer:

Answer by Jasmine
That’s great that you care about your dogs feelings, as long as you remember to show him love too he will be fine.

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Question by Allie: A puppy and an arthritic dog?
We have just gotten a 7 month old male labrador from a friend. We already have a 5 1/2 year old female labrador mix with an arthritic shoulder. They get along just fine but my older dog is growling a bit and showing her teeth to the younger pup.. I understand why.. she’s older, she’s sore and she gets tired quicker. Occasionally the puppy plays too rough with my older dog and she yelps in pain (because of her shoulder) and goes after him to tell him off. We have gotten the puppy from a friend who wanted him to go to a good home for their own reasons and we said we’d try it out for 2 weeks at least (to see how both dogs get along.) All I’m asking for on here is a second opinion… is it too cruel to my older dog to get a rambuncious puppy when the older dog has lower energy and arthritis.. or will it be good for her to get her active and motivated more? I just don’t know what to do.. whether we should keep him (the pup) or not. Anyone else been in a similar situation? If anyone has any advice that would be greatly appreciated!!

Best answer:

Answer by UHave2BeKiddingMe
What type of arthritis medication do you have your dog on.
Talk to your vet, perhaps it is time to try something else for her. Clearly she is in pain.
Pain is a cause for lower energy. She would be motivated to do more if she did not HURT SO MUCH.

If you have not bothered to take your dog to the vet to get pain relief for her arthritis then I suggest you return the puppy and spend your time, energy, and money on the dog you have had for 5 1/2 years.

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Question by Alicia C: 7month old puppy, severe LCP – is it worth the surgery?
My 7 month old puppy was just diagnosed with severe Legg-Calve-Perthes disease (I think I spelled that right), otherwise known as LCP. Surgery is really the only long term solution. Medication will work for awhile but won’t cure it, nor stop the progression. Doing the surgery now would eliminate the arthritis that will go along with it.

It’s not something we can afford, but I’m sure we could come up with the money if need be.

The biggest factor for me is – is it right to do the surgery which will require us to crate the puppy for 8 months (4 for each hip). that’s almost as long as he’s been alive so far. What kind of life is that for a puppy that wants to be active and enjoy life? If we don’t do it, would I think we would put him to sleep, but that makes us so, so, so sad. We are heartbroken that such a sweet soul would have to have this?

I’m concerned about what happens to a dog that has been left to basically live in a crate. It has serious problems recovering from that. will that happen to our puppy, or will our love and affection while he’s in there override it. Also, I don’t think I have the time for the rehab that will come afterward, though a rescue group has offered to see if they can help out with that.

Please no judgment, we are just trying to figure out what is best for our little sweetheart. What do you think?
Unfortunately we got them from a backyard breeder. We didn’t know at the time what that was, or the problems associated with it. Ignorance is no excuse, but that is what happened. I would never return him to her. Her house was filthy, they were not even remotely housebroken at 16 weeks, a cockroach climbed on her leg, the one was flea infested and they both had worms (we got litter mates, but the other looks okay so far). I don’t have her contact info readily available but I am looking for it to let her know. I am just sick that our ignorance/lack of education led to this. Obviously, he would have had it anyway, and maybe it’s good we have him so we can act in his best interest because we love him so much. We’re just so sad about it. We love him so much!

Best answer:

Answer by Bonnie L
Return the pup to the breeder. The pup’s breeder’s health and hip guarantee states that they will either replace the pup, or refund your money, if a pup is deemed not fit by a vet.

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Question by Tetta22: My Maltese puppy has lameness in front legs-Vet says from radius longer than ulna. Anyone had this problem?-?
I took my 5 mo. puppy to her vet because she started occasionally limping and they did x-rays. The vet says it’s because her radius has outgrown her ulna in both front legs. My research shows this is Elbow Dysplasia and I could only find information in larger breed dogs (I couldn’t find anything on Maltese for this disorder). Vet recommends feeding cheap dog feed to try to slow down growth and treat with pain medication (as this leads to arthritis) because surgery would be too invasive where she’s so small (8 lbs.). I also am supposed to limit her activity. I am going to get second opinion but wondered if anyone had similar problem or any recommendations. I did see the xrays but I can’t find a picture of a Maltese skeleton for comparison. Thanks!

Best answer:

Answer by Zendogtrainer
As a trainer, I’ve seen this problem – often the dog outgrows this problem over time. Don’t feed the cheap food, feed a lower protein food which you can learn to make (Dr.Pitcairn’s book). An orthopedic is definitely the right specialist to see, they see these problems all the time. My sister is a specialist vet. Hope the pup feels better, be sure to take blood work regularly if the dog is on anti inflammatories to keep an eye on the kidneys.

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Question by Gabrielle: Getting a puppy and I need help?
I am thinking about getting an Australian Shepherd puppy but I know I need to plan before doing so. I am going to train him to be in dog agility and he will hopefully know basic commands so that Ican take him to hospitals to cheer up the little kids with cancer. Since he’s going to be doing agility will he need any medication to help his joints or anything to prevent arthritis when he gets older? Any tips or advice with anything would be great! And what is the best type of dog food for active dogs? Thanks for your help!

Best answer:

Answer by JenBa
Daily massages should help

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Question by Tierra: I need help with crippled puppy!?
ok my dog is a pit mix that was rescued from the ASPCA she is now 1.5 years old and has just been diagnosed with elbow dysplasia in both front legs and severe arthritis already forming….
Does anyone have experience with this kind of illness and if so what are some treatment options that you have found that works….
the vet said that surgery is not a option because she is to active and would wear right through any replacements and just make things worse…..please help
Sry I didn’t include this earlier…my pup is on rimidyl(spelled wrong I know) and has a muted since of pain…learned this from previous emergency vet visits….Our vet says that surgery is not a option for her as the problem is to severe at this point….thxs for the med advice I will look into it.

Best answer:

Answer by Lola
i have something that could help if you are willing to try since your seems to have not given you any options heres a natural treatment its simple put very warm water in a bucket next put some very cold water in a bucket take a cloth and wet with the warm water put it on her elbows for 10 seconds do the same with the cold water
repeat 5x’s do this as often as you see fit

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Question by michelle: My 5yr old female husky/boxer mix keeps attacking my new female pitbul puppy?
I need some help. I have a 5yr old female husky/boxer mix and a 2yr old male doberman that are outside dogs. About 3 weeks ago I got a new female 3 month old pitbul puppy. Everything seemed good and happy. Then the other morning my adult female started attacking the puppy and the then the male dog joined in and the puppy was screaming and crying. she now has a few scabs on her head and under her neck from what I call bullying. I took her to the vet to get her 2nd set of shots and when i brought her back home and was carrying her into the back yard and put her down, both dogs instantly starting attacking her all over again. it was just awful. they wouldn’t stop and i was pulling them off her and they just wouldn’t listen to me. they finally quit after a few minutes of yelping from the puppy. everytime i go outside to play with them, feed them and change their water, the puppy gets attacked again. i don’t understand what i am doing wrong or why they keep doing this to her. on the other hand at night i watch them play from the window and it’s all good. this morning when feeding them the adult female started to go after the puppy but left her alone after she saw i had the food. she was okay once i show the adult attention first then give it to the puppy. the puppy won’t even come to me now in fear of being attacked by my adult dogs. what can I do to fix this or will it just work itself out in time. Please i need help, it just breaks my heart to see the puppy in pain and scared. I am afraid they will kill her. It just looks so viscous!!! Please help!!

Best answer:

Answer by Cecil
Your older dogs probably recognise that your new pit bull is a dangerous baby eater, and people killer. Recognising your stupidity in bring such a breed into the house your dogs have taken it into their ownn paws to do something about it. Your older dogs know that soon enough they will be torn apart by a little puppy from a breed bred to kill.

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Question by Alisha: Should I put my puppy to sleep or keep him on pain meds?
My 9 month old puppy has severe hip dysplasia in both of his hips. He was diagnosed at 8 months, but has had pain since 6 months. We started him on k9 aspirin and glucosamine and chondroitin.

Now at 9 months his pain is significantly worse. He is now taking Previcox (a perscription anti inflammatory) along with aspirin. He feels so much better on his pain meds that he almost acts like a normal puppy. He still can’t really run, but at least he wants to play and can go on walks. In fact I also have him on a mild sedative to help make it so that he won’t try to run, I don’t want him damaging his hips more because he feels better enough to over exert himself.

I am not sure if it is my dog’s best interest for him to live out the rest of his life on pain control. Is that really a quality life? Is it fair?

So my question is would it be more humane to have him put to sleep, or should we keep him going on pain control?
My vet did tell me that surgery was an option, but the cost of surgery that he would need (total hip replacement) is honestly just out of our budget.

I also have done more research on going about this a more holistic way, as far as managing pain on herbal type of supplements.

Best answer:

Answer by BigBug
As long as its not getting extremely worse, keep him on pain meds. I feel so bad for him, and you. I hope all go’s good. GOOD LUCK!

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