u/birdyburgs — reddlx

Paw pad troubles

This is Scoobie. She’s the sweetest 7 month old girlie.
We have been to the vet three times in the last two months and spent about $3700 on vet bills due to her paw pads.
First it was her front right, she licked it raw, was infected and needed to be sedated to get it cleaned out twice. Now, it’s her back left paw. The same thing happened again. She didn’t need to be sedated, they were able to clean it and now she’s on a round of antibiotics along with some ointment.

I’m just trying to see if anyone had this situation with their Mainecoon. Her paw pads have long hair that come through, and while I’ve tried to trim them before- and we are actively working on building trust to trim the paw hair- she doesn’t enjoy it and won’t sit still for it. We use clumping litter and the vet is assuming it’s getting stuck in the hair and she’s pulling the hair out by over cleaning. However today I noticed her just laying down cleaning herself and she was just pulling her hair out of one of her paw pads.. hadn’t used the bathroom beforehand either.

Does anyone deal with this?
She’s not an anxious girl, she’s very outgoing and lovey. We have switched to pellet litter in one litter box and 3/4 clumping litter and 1/4 pellet in another box (one of the other cats we have won’t use pellet litter and protested by peeing outside the box until I brought the clumping litter back)

I don’t really know how to help her other than shaving the hair between her toes- which I will be trying. Any suggestions or if you’ve been in this situation and had success please let me know.

This is Scoobie at the vet today- she was fawned at by everyone lol.

u/birdyburgs — 8 days ago

▲ 2 r/dogs

Looking for advice or any alike situations

I have a 2-year-old Saint Bernard named Lucy who has recently developed some behaviors that are completely new for her, and I’m looking for advice on how to safely manage things while we wait for our appointment with a veterinary behaviorist.

A little background:
-We lost our 10-year-old Saint Bernard about three months ago.
-Shortly afterward, Lucy started resource guarding high-value chews. We’ve been working on management and trading for higher-value rewards, and she has shown improvement with it be we are still careful and she eats chews in her crate.
-she refuses food
- at her latest vet appt she was anxious maybe? Growling during a recent veterinary visit, which was very unlike her. We muzzled voluntarily for safety.
-She recently went through her second heat cycle, and we already have her gastropexy and spay scheduled in two months as we were told you need to wait three months after heat.

The biggest concern happened last night. One of our cats walked into a room they have all shared with no issues, Lucy suddenly got up, growled, and chased the cat aggressively. Thankfully the cat escaped, but it was clearly not playful behavior.
We also have three young children (ages 5, 3, and 1), and while Lucy has always been gentle with them, this new behavior has me taking extra precautions.

Can this all be linked to hormones? Once she is fixed everything can mellow?

Until we’re able to meet with the behaviorist, I’m looking for advice on management:
What changes would you make around the house?
How would you safely manage interactions with the cats?
Are there any routines or environmental changes that helped your dog through a sudden behavioral change?
Any recommendations for preventing situations from escalating while we wait for professional guidance?
We’re already supervising closely, separating animals when needed, removing high-value items, and taking safety seriously.
I’m not looking for a diagnosis—just practical management tips from people who have navigated behavior changes while waiting to see a professional.
I’m nervous for obvious reasons. She’s a 160lb dog, obviously could do damage if she wanted to.

This all has started after we lost our older saint so I’m not sure if this is could be related.
Just looking for people who have dealt with similar things.
TYIA

reddit.com

u/birdyburgs — 26 days ago

▲ 698 r/MaineCoon

Scoobie

Here is your reminder that just when you think you don’t need pet insurance .. you do. Lol

This is Scoobie, Scoobie has smelled like poop and I thought she just wasn’t cleaning well. After cleaning her paw with a wet wipe I realized one of her paws between her paw pads is raw. She’s been licking it a lot so I make a vet appt and go today.
I explain everything, they are confused because they don’t see much because she’s wiggling a lot. We mentioned a week ago our Saint Bernard accidentally stepped on her paw while they were playing.
They recommended sedation, X-rays, antibiotics, pain meds.

Okay. Sure, we do it all to ensure she is okay. Well guys $2,000 later we find out she has a scratch deep between her paw pad.

She will have the cone of shame for 7 days.

So here I am, registering for pet insurance.

u/birdyburgs — 3 months ago

▲ 1.5k r/MaineCoon

Scoobie

This is my sweet Scoobie Girl. She’s 5 months now, she is seriously the sweetest snuggly girl.

Her hair is getting longer and I know I need to start brushing more. Can I get some good brush recommendations?

u/birdyburgs — 3 months ago