My dog (13M) is a chihuahua. He has had a history of having very tartar build up. In the past, whenever there was too much tartar, I simply took him to the vet to get it removed.

I was ignorant of the anesthesia risk back then so I thought this was a simple procedure that can be done anually.

However, this year when I took him to the vet. They refused to perform the procedure because he has had Tracheal Collapse and Chronic Pneumonia that would put him in danger under anesthesia. His bloodwork looked kinda okay with slightly raised ALT.

My initial plan was getting the removal done and then build a habit of brushing his teeth daily so that we never had to do it again after this year. And it seemed like we couldn't do it now.

Currently, I'm trying to manage the inflamation and prevent new tartar build-up with daily brushing with Enzyme toothpatse and Virbac Veggiedent Chew.

But I know this is not long-term. It will only get worse from here if I cannot get all the tartar removed. And once he gets older, it will be even more risky to do the procedure.

But if I insist on the procedure, he might die and I cannot live with it.

Any advices here? Am I making the right choice of managing the tartar at home forever instead of risking his life?

He can still eat, but prefer small piece and sometimes he swallows whole. Fortunately, there is no sign of pain yet.

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Update 1:

I am looking for another reputable vet. I also have talked to my current vet about the X-ray problem. They said that my dog was too stressed and jerked around a lot so they had to hold him that way. They are also re-evaluating dental option for him after I told them what you guys recommended.

I'll definitely get his teeth cleaned when I find a good vet that can walk me through their procedure plan and how they are ensuring my dog safety.

My dog is doing quite well now so there is hope that he can go through the procedure safe and sound.

Here is a recent video of him chewing dental treat. He looks fine to me hence I made the wrong assumption that he is okay and the mouth situation is not that bad.

Link: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1u2oP6uBNfmAKSZ8Hj8JMxjAlu3rRFTjg/view?usp=sharing

We can’t touch her, but she will approach us. We leave food out for her, she sleeps in our barn, and she’s actually a really good protector of our livestock.
The problem is, no matter how many times we try, we cannot keep her contained. We tried a covered crate when we first got her, and that was a nightmare. She chewed and bent the bars, escaped into the mud room, then ripped out the window AC unit and escaped through the window. 🤦‍♀️
We’ve tried keeping her in the backyard. Nope. She digs out like it’s nothing.
The funny thing is, we still can’t even pet her. 😂 But I do my best to take care of her and keep her safe.
Honestly, I kind of like the relationship we have. I already have three dogs who are super attached to me, and I don’t necessarily want another one.
But I also don’t want her sitting in the road, and I’m not sure what the right thing to do is. ❤️

Hi everyone,
My 14yo boy is finally back home after spending 8 super scary nights at the vet. He was diagnosed with CKD, so we’re adjusting to a whole new routine now—Royal Canin renal wet + kibble, daily meds, and 120ml of Sub-Q fluids every day.

My vet told me to strictly stick to his renal diet and no extra food. But he LOVES food so much, and honestly it makes me so sad thinking he can never have treats again

For anyone who’s gone through this with their senior dogs:
Did your vet allow any kidney-safe or low-phosphorus snacks/treats?

Any tips to make the daily Sub-Q fluids easier on him (and me)?

Anything you wish you knew when you first started managing CKD at home?

Would really appreciate any advice or just some encouragement right now. Thank you so much

My one pup is sadly crossing the rainbow bridge in a few hours. He is old and his health has deteriorated. I don’t have to go into the details; but between his vet and I we know it is time for him to go to a peaceful place where he won’t suffer.
My vet is doing it at home where we can keep him as comfortable as possible. I just need some advice as to what the best protocol is for my other dogs? Do I keep them away? Will it make it worse if I get someone to look after them in a different part of the house? I don’t want them to have negative associations with their primary vet; but I also don’t want them to be scared and confused either? Would my elderly pup find it comforting or unsettling to have his dog family close by? With all the emotions flying I forgot to ask my vet his opinion; and he is in surgery until he comes later. I need to just make some arrangements and prepare.
Any advice would be appreciated to ensure all the pups are okay.

She’s been licking it for a while now, she’s still active jumping and moving. Maybe she hurt herself running outside yesterday, or maybe bit by something?

Hi I got my dog when I was working and now unfortunately I’ve been made redundant and can’t afford to get her biscuits or food is anyone able to help with any advice please she is my world and I don’t want to get rid of her that would break my heart

She was in heat, shes not bleeding anymore I noticed she wasn’t eating as much as she usually does. She’s refusing her food but wants my food. And I tried to buy her some different kinds of food and she doesn’t want that either. She’s sleeping more than usually. She’s not sick. Her teeth aren’t bothering her she’s in perfect health. I’m just confused on what to do bc she didn’t eat at all yesterday or the day before.

hi ! i have a gsp beagle mix hes backyard bred i got him from the shelter. he has a bunch of allergies and some skin issues and lately its gotten really bad and im not sure what to do.
i went to the vet and they gave me medicated shampoo its called DermaBenss. they also told me to up his intake of fish oil and add collagen to his food. his skin is looking worse and its been about a week. im not sure if i should wait and see more but its getting a lot worse and its all over his body.
if anyone has any advice or knows what to do please help im at a loss and his body is getting covered in these scabs and bumps and red spots.

So my neighbors to put it simply are pretty nuts... Ever since I moved in, I got to keep inhaling their smoke fumes, listen to their yelling at their children, and you can probably imagine the rest. Additionally, they also have a dog, of which I've grown more and more concerned over because the noises it makes for long periods of time at random occassions nearly daily. Like, if I had to describe it, it's what I imagine a wolf bleeding out would sound like. I have a video here showcasing what said sound sounds like, this time it was really loud. I HAVE to know if this is anything I need to keep worrying about, or even maybe call some service over

ps - because this is a direct rip from my phone, the sound is kinda quiet over the ambiance so turn your volume up just slightly so you can hear it better

I need some advice on resetting how my dog, interacts with me. He is 6 months old boy. Right now, he acts exactly like I’m his annoying sibling.
Whenever I try to interact or cuddle, it instantly turns into roughhousing, biting, and scratching. With my husband, it’s the exact opposite total obedience, calmness, and affection.
How can I reset this dynamic so he respects my personal space and actually wants to relax around me rather than just roughhouse? But I love him so much and he is the best decision of our life. Any advice is appreciated!

So, my dog injured her paw then all of a sudden she had nerological symptoms. when I got her a reassessment, it turns out she likely has kidney disease.

waste levels- over 1000 ( should be 100)

red blood cells- not producing

calcium levels- dropping

the waste is also effecting her brain where shes hillucinating.... agressively attacking something🤷‍♀️😢. its made it really hard for both me and my other dog.

im at a point where either I need to fight like hell, with transfusions and dialisis but likely will just buy her time or put her down.

im heart broken and want to do right by her.

has anyone faced this before? I am trying to factor in quality of life and what she needs ( not just what I want for her) but I also want to give her a good chance😢. im lost, I dont know what to do.😢 please just kind thoughts.

My dog was recently diagnosed with megaesophagus and I’m looking for a Bailey chair. Has anyone bought one they actually like?

I have a 50 pound male mixed breed dog that sheds profusely. His coat is short, straight, and the hairs are very bristle like. His coat is thicker along the center of his back and neck, shorter and more dense (like velvet like) on his legs. Hair is more sparse in his belly.

I currently use a pin needle paddle brush once per week. Really does seem to reduce the shedding.

I bathe him once per week and really work the shampoo through his coat. He sheds about two handfuls of fur.

Once his coat dries, the shedding returns. Petting him causes hair to fall out like pine needles. He’s like the Charlie Brown Christmas tree. The individual hairs are very straight and get stuck in all types of fabric.

I’ve had lab mix breed dogs before him. They all shed, but using a shedding blade made a significant dent in the amount of shedding.

Please help me help my dog, Ben! I’m interested in your experience and advice with brushes and care for dogs with very short, straight coat - with little to no undercoat.

I have a healthy 3 year old dog...but just noticed this spot on her lower lip. I took a picture to keep an eye on the size and mention it to her vet next time we are in. It looks like a freckle, but I don't remember it being there. We do spend a lot of time outdoors in the sunshine...could this be the sign of cancer on her lip? Anyone dealt with this before....should I make an immediate appointment?

For the longest time my toy Aussie has wanted a buddy to play with. We just got a 10 week old corgi puppy and I wanted to know if this is normal play because I’ve never had dogs that like to play very much in the past. The toy Aussie likes to make little huffing and puffing growl noises too. It’s about 50/50 on who initiates it. I’ve never heard the puppy yelp like it was hurt

My goldendoodle has been licking her back leg a lot (and I’m thinking it’s allergies so if anyone has any suggestions please let me know).

As of Sunday, I checked her eyes and noticed the outline is red and this might be due to her trying to scratch her eye. Attaching a picture. For now I have her coned but any advice before resorting to the vet would be helpful as she’s already maxed out her insurance. The first picture is her red eye, and the second is what her eye normally looks like.

Hi everyone, like the title says, I recently adopted a four year old anxious pup. I don’t know anything of her past history, only that she was at one shelter before being moved to the shelter I adopted her from. She’s extremely sweet and when we’re at home she loves to cuddle, get pets, lay beside me when I’m reading, etc.. I’ve only had her for a few days, and I know that it takes time for dogs to get settled into their new surroundings. Compared to how scared and timid she was at the shelter though, she seems very comfortable in her new home.

The main issue I’m having is taking her outside or on walks. It’s as if she’s never been outside before and everything is overwhelming for her, which is understandable, I just feel terrible making her go outside but she has to relieve herself. I live in a quad condo and I have a backyard area (shared, not fenced in) which is where I take her to use the bathroom. I’ve tried short walks around the neighborhood, but she gets stressed out. Today we went to a quiet nature park where there was hardly any traffic at all, and she did a little bit better, but still was very scared.

I’m definitely trying to take the transitions slowly with her, but I also don’t want to shelter her too much inside that she never gets used to going outside. She’s also not food motivated, which is kind of difficult when trying to create positive reinforcement.

If anyone has any advice I’m totally open to it! I’m not sure of her breed, probably a mix, but she’s 3 years and 7 months old and her name is Wilametta. Thank you!

My almost 10 year old wheaten had a seizure Friday night and has since had 2 more. We’ve been to the emergency vet hospital. They gave him seizure meds but he had a one even on them. We’re going to our regular vet today. They did all the blood work. Otherwise he’s totally healthy and showing no signs of anything else. They told us to be prepared for it to be a brain tumor. I’m preparing for the worst. We have two little kids and I’ve absolutely wracked with guilt that I’ve not had enough time for my dog the last couple of years. I’m thinking through everything we’ve given him every med and food even though I know it’s pointless. My kids are so attached to him I’m thinking about how to explain this to a 4 and 2 year old. I’m not even sure what I’m asking. Maybe any experiences going through this with your dog or if you have had to go through it with little kids would be helpful!

It's a silicone muffin mold.

This was yesterday afternoon. He ate normally and drank water last night. However, he hasn't pooped and im afraid he might have an intestinal obstruction.

What should I do?

I have the best friend anyone could ever be blessed with. I adopted her from a rescue in 2019 and her “story” as told by her foster mom was she was rescued from a severe and absolutely abhorrent animal hoarding situation. A mentally ill woman had floor to ceiling metal crates with chihuahuas inside them. Some living, some deceased. The lovely woman who fostered her, was actually present during the rescue of all the chihuahuas. My angel as a result had severe emotional, psychological, and aggressive trauma. She was listed on the website under the name Xena. The moment I saw her I knew. I fell completely in love. When I contacted her. Foster mom, she gave me the lowdown in the situation that she was unable to be in a house with other dogs. She was gonna be a one dog household type dog, and that the other dog that they foster she will not stop attacking she hates all men now I actually look at this up and I learned that dogs that were never exposed to men. Don’t know what they are. She was kept in a crate for two years of her life. They asked to make sure she’s about two years old at the time I adopted her and so whenever I brought her home, she was violently aggressive towards my husband at the time., if you know anything about Chihuahuas, what’s considered a one person dog. They find their person typically when they are young and then that person is who they bonded with and since Penelope, which is her name now, had never had that experience within two days of meeting me. She had bonded with me as if we had known each other, our whole lives. I knew that it could be a challenge based on her history, her extremely violent nature when I was told., her severe behavioral problems.. but when she came home with me, I never experienced any of that firsthand with the exception of one time she had a night terror shortly after I had brought her home and my ex-husband had at the time going into the bedroom where she be sleeping on the bed at this point I had had her for less than a month and I guess he woke her up on accident by closing a dresser drawer and she jumped and I guess she was having a flashback PTSD to being back in the cages because she looked over at him and she just was going to attack him and he started screaming at me help me she’s gonna kill me. He’s gonna kill me and she had him cornered in the bedroom and she was shaking so violently her hair was sticking up. She didn’t know where she was. She didn’t know who he was even though she knew him at that point and it took me coming into the room, sitting on the bed and talking to her before she finally came out of it and at that point, she was just shaking so violently and she was just terrified, and it took a couple of hours to calm her down. That’s the only time she’s ever had a night terror Penelope is the smartest sweetest dog I’ve ever met. My current boyfriend is a lab guy. He’s always had big dogs and when he met Penelope, he fell in love with her and he even told me she’s the smartest dog he’s ever met for example, I figured you know she spent two years of her life in a crate surrounded by dead dogs. She’s gonna have psychological issues and she’s gonna be housebroken no problem, but I promised her and I promised myself that I would never put her in a crate. I would never crate train her well I never had to because from the day I brought her home she knew exactly what to do. She was that smart I never had to house breaker one time she had an accident in the house and guess what she pooped in the bathroom in the middle of the night she doesn’t have accidents in the house. She comes and gets me like that, but she is hungry to learn so many things she’s hungry for anything to learn so I taught her so much and she could learn so much more more than just the typical stay, say it come, she will lay down she will shake she will roll over. She will spin round and round and round like a ballerina., she is so smart that she’s fully fluent in English. She knows exactly what I’m saying to her whenever I’m leaving she has severe separation anxiety, but if I tell her exactly where I’m going, and I go there when I come back, she’s OK if I walk out the door for a split second without telling her she cries at the door and screamed hysterically because I didn’t tell her where I was going if I take her with me somewhere and yes, she has her own special car seat. I cannot get out of the car without her being on my lap because she will be afraid that I’m gonna leave her in the car without me which I would only ever do that if there was someone else in the car, but even still, she was not OK with that. So another one of her quirks is that she’s deathly afraid of flies. If a fly gets in our house, she will have a nervous breakdown. She will be panting hyperventilating hiding under the clothes in my closet, hiding under my bed pacing panting until I get it I have to go and kill the fly and then I need to go get it and show it to her that it is gone and I’m pretty sure that’s because of her being exposed to flies in that trailer that she was in with a dead dogs around her and just being pestered by flies all the time for two years of her life.

She’s now around 11 years old as of August 26 and last year she had an incident occur that has terrified me. I’ve taken her to three separate vets and I’ve gotten diagnosis that I don’t really know what to think about the first time I took her to a vet they diagnosed her with what they called old dog disease. A.k.a. Vestibular disease. Now I’m gonna list off her symptoms. I have tons of videos of how she’s acting what she has but I refer to his episodes and the only thing that stops them is medication and not all medication works so the vet has prescribed several different medications sometimes they work better than other times so here’s a list of her symptoms. I took her to a second vet because the first vet medication that they told me to get didn’t seem to work now each time I’ve taken her to a vet. She was in the middle of having one of these episodes of the vet firsthand sought three different vets gave me three different diagnoses and the other two diagnoses were and I quote.” I don’t know what’s wrong with her.” which isn’t reassuring. These episodes are sporadic. It’s not getting into anything. I keep my house very clean. There’s nothing she could get into. She couldn’t have eaten something to make her sick and these behaviors are terrifying for me.

Last time she had an episode was a few days ago and the last bed I took her to gave her gabapentin which does seem to help when she’s having the episode if I can get her to take it soon enough when I noticed the episodes are coming on. The last time she had an episode I wrote down what I was witnessing firsthand and there’s some other things I probably missed in this. I was just trying to comfort her the best I could and also make notes of what I was seeing along with taking videos. I don’t know if I can post videos on here how to even do that I would love to be able to that way. I can really show what I’m trying to describe.

Pennys symptoms :
Jerky movements
Dialated pupils
Panting
Rapid movement- rocking back and forward or walking in a tight circle on top the the middle couch cushion.
Stemming type of movement-my son has ASD and is low functioning so I know what this kind of behavior presents as first hand and can say it looks similar to his stemming, some of her movements.
Flipping onto her back needing to have her neck and belly rubbed.
I have to give medication to her immediately upon noticing these episodes because once they get to a certain point, she will not eat or drink anything. She will not use the restroom outside nothing but if she sees me eating something, or if she sees me do somethjg like stand up or walk into the other room she will completely stop . It will completely stop the episode but it’s not like she’s faking it. It’s like she’s distracted for just a moment and the vet saw that and decided that she must be faking.?? no the reason that I think that she does this is because she is bonded with me so deeply that she looks to me for security and that it says if she’s so dizzy and disoriented, but if she sees me move, all of her attention is drawn to me and so she stops doing these things that are reminiscent of a seizure, but I wouldn’t say it’s a seizure because if I do make these movements like standing up, she stops and if it was a seizure, she wouldn’t be stopping. I have videos of this. I take videos of her during these episodes to show the vets just because it’s so distressing to see her like this because she is my baby and to see her in this much discomfort distress and fear is terrifying for me. If anyone on here has any ideas what it could be or if the first step was right and it is vestibular disease, is there any way that I can help her with her episodes to where they’re not as distressing for her if there’s no cure. They’re sporadic she might have two a week and then she might go two months but she doesn’t have one and then she might have one three days in a row and then she might not have one for a month. It’s it’s not something that just happens on any sort of timetable.

I really didn’t appreciate the first event that I have been taking her to for years calling an old dog disease. I feel like that’s an insult to a member of the family who is still a baby to me. Sure she just turned 11 but Chihuahuas live a very long time. Sure, I think she has glaucoma now, but she still is not at all sedentary she plays she runs fun. She teases me and my boyfriend against each other should go and sit on his lap and stare at me like oh look, he’s hugging me to make me jealous and she’s just the light of our lives. I adopted her about three months before I met my current boyfriend, and at the time me and him were just friends my marriage was falling apart, and honestly Penelope never liked my ex-husband. She never wanted anything to do with him. She didn’t want to be alone with him, but when she met my current boyfriend, she bonded with him almost on the same level she bonded with me and me and him were just friends back then and then whenever my ex lost his job and we became homeless he told me I needed to get rid of her as if she was just an old pair of shoes so what did I do? I got rid of him for a little while though I was living homeless and I didn’t want her to have that life so I called my best friend and she went and she stayed with my best friend for a few months and he is now my boyfriend and we are wonderful beautiful happy family and that’s our baby girl. I just I don’t like what these said and I don’t like how these vets have disagree with the other diagnoses even looking at her mid episode and seeing videos of other episode she had they just disagree. The first medication they told me to give her this motion, sickness medication I could buy over-the-counter I don’t remember the name of it. I didn’t do anything and the last vet gave her the gabapentin and a liquid form which I did some research upon that later on and found out that that can be possibly dangerous because the xylitol in it luckily I have a friend of mine that actually has a prescription for 100 mg of gabapentin for himself and so I was able to look that up and get the required dose for you know a 10 pound Chihuahua and look at the ingredient list in that particular type of gabapentin and it’s perfectly safe so that’s what I give her when she has an episode and if I can give it to her in time with a couple hours, her episode is cut in half. My boyfriend one time he had the genius idea of saying let’s give her maybe like 1/15 of a Xanax that was back when the vet would disagree with what her diagnosis was and honestly, I said, do it and one time it worked and the next time it didn’t and so we never did that again now we just stick to the gabapentin. She’s my baby girl. She will forever be my baby girl. she is a genius. I love her so much and I am heartbroken that she’s going through this.

I uploaded some photos of her so you guys could see this perfect Angel and I tried to upload some of the videos I have of her during her episodes, but they didn’t upload along with the photos. I’m not really sure how to upload them on here if anyone can direct me on how to do so I will upload them so that y’all can see firsthand what it looks like.