u/No-University-9748

I currently have a rescue 4 lb terrier mix (and a 10lb cat). I want him to gain some weight, so ideally he will be 5-6 lbs at his healthiest. Would you ever trust a large breed dog around a dog his size? Has anyone here had a large size difference between their dogs? I am hoping to rescue another dog within a year or so, and will be doing so through a foster based rescue because I want a dog that has successfully lived with cats before. My dog likes other dogs and has been around dogs of all sizes and he either is their friend right away, or does eventually warm up to them. I guess im concerned less about aggression and prey drive, and more concerned about accidents. The dogs will likely never be together unsupervised and I am an experienced handler. I have had other dogs, and professionally work with dogs as well. I have seen successful large size gap dog siblings, but I'm curious to know how them getting to know each other went?? Sorry this is vague, I do not have a specific dog or size in mind as I plan on rescuing (though i may consider a breed specific rescue if i decide on a breed I connect with) so im not entirely sure what the next breed I will get is, but I do tend to lean toward larger breeds and wanted to hear opinions or hear personal experiences with this.

I was out of town for less than 48 hours and left my dog home with my best friend. he mostly hid under the bed and in the crate most of the time which is normal for him. got home an hour ago and he was happy and looked fine at first, but like 10 mins later his right eye was all squinty and he seemed a little uncomfy. hes a chihuahua mix so his eyes do water frequently but his right eye was more watery than usual. I got a damp paper towel and gently swiped the goop up and he seemed like it was maybe a little painful. asked my friend what happened and they said they have no idea what could have happened and that they didnt notice it when they were there. I looked at the pic they sent of him this morning and it looked slightly squinty, but the pics from last night he looked normal. hes still drinking water, chewing his bone, and eating. otherwise acting pretty normal. other than him peeing on the couch which hes NEVER done but in his defense hes a very anxious dog and hes never had a dog sitter before. ive never left him over night before. he always sleeps through the night and doesnt get into stuff so im wondering if it could just be seasonal allergies, or the start of an eye infection or something that the anxiety sped up the progress on?? its sunday so the vet is closed. is this something that I can just monitor for 24 hours and if it doesnt get better, then I call the vet? or is it best to act fast ?? theres nothing in his eye that i can see, no white or blue coloring, and hes ignoring it. any advice would be great

My dog is a 1 yr, 5 lb, terrier mix. I have had him since February. The only known health issues he has had has been severe stress induced colitis which caused him to poop blood and mucus and excessively lick his butt, which started 2 weeks after i adopted him. He has been completely symptom free for a month. Early april he started showing signs of seasonal allergies. started with sneezing, but the sneezing stopped after a few weeks. since the grass pollen got bad in about late may/early june, he has been itchy. he scratches his back/shoulders, ears, face (especially chin/jaw), and licks his stomach/groin and his tail/butt a lot. I thoroughly checked him for fleas and have not seen proof of fleas. I have other pets and he is the only itchy one. Despite the itching, his skin is not flaky or even really red. Though the scratching isnt super obsessive, but he did over scratch his chin/jaw area a little though. I'm wondering if it may be a pollen allergy? I am also concerned it could be a chicken allergy. He has had chicken his whole life though. his current food is chicken based and he gets chicken regularly in a kong (with his probiotic). He is very picky and absolutely will just choose to starve if he doesnt like his food (ask me how I know.) so im honestly not willing to cut it out of his diet just to check atm, and symptoms only started after the grass pollen got bad. How can I sooth his skin? primarily his stomach/butt area? and possibly ears as well. Last month, his glands were expressed at the vet and they said they were healthy, and there hasnt been a foul odor coming from his butt. I'd take him to the vet again but he was there very frequently over a month ago, and the vet seriously stresses him out (hes reactive), and it killed my savings so for something like itching, id rather try my at-home options first.

Is it possible for seasonal allergies to cause my dog to excessively groom his butt? he has mild seasonal allergies that cause ear itching and sneezing. he's been to the vet for stress induced colitis symptoms before and I mentioned the excessive grooming, they said it was either stress grooming or his anal glands (stool sample came back negative for parasites). they checked his glands and all is fine so they said stress grooming. well, even when he is not stressed at all he grooms quite a bit. he also licks his stomach/genitals as well but not as much as his butt/lower tail. since the vet said all looks fine, I can only think of maybe seasonal allergies? I do wipe him down after his walks and im thinking of getting a topical allergy relief thing for him. anyways, was just wondering if this was common for seasonal allergies or if I should try taking him back to the vet. also thinking it may be inflammation due to the fact that he still is recovering from colitis/still get flare ups from time to time. I know yall cant suggest diagnoses much, but just wondering if anything I suggested is a possibility.