r/PetAdvice

I have 3 dogs, my oldest us the best behaved. My 2 younger ones are absolutely the worst dogs I've ever had behavior wise. I've tried everything I know to do. My middle pees on my bed even after we take h im out. My youngest pees everywhere even after I take her out.

I've tried treats they haven't been working. If it helps to know the breed, my youngest is a boxer and my middle is a pit lab.

Unfortunately the potty is not the only problem I have. My boxer/ youngest chases my cats and I've caught her drooling while looking at them, hes not a drooled otherwise. And all 3 have chewing problems that toys dont seem to fix.

I've tried bones but they dont last long and typically they start fights even when I have several. Me and my bf work 12 hour shifts not everyday but several times out of the week and I hate having them Kenneled all day but if I leave them out they eat everything. From my walls, to my clothes, and even my shoes. We dont want to get rid of them because we do love them but im at a loss. Its exhausting.

I feel like every step forward is but 2 backwards. Please help me out with what to do. I feel like I've tried everything.

Hey! I want to start this by saying this is not my dog. She is basically my god child, she’s to go to me if anything happens to her owner. Also I am a cat and aquatics owner and I’m known to dislike dogs. I like them, but from afar. They stress me out for a number of reasons. Chloe has been the single exception, there’s something about her that was love at first sight. Everything a normal dog does that stresses me out I couldn’t care less if Chloe did. So I while I know how dog behavior works and how to read them I’m not super knowledgeable on their care products.

The situation is a bit hard to describe but her owner is an elder man with health issues, he has ptsd and is a veteran as well as early (Alzheimer’s?).

Her owner lives in the family’s large outdoor shed right now, as he’s fixing his van. So Chloe is an outside dog. I’m not going to get deep into details but she is very well loved and he would rather feed her than himself. Not that the family allows it Ofcourse. So I know she’s well fed and a happy pup but he doesn’t really have money and no one in the family has renewed her flea collar.

Since she is always outside I don’t think traditional flea medicine would work very well, and would be really expensive to maintain.

I don’t have a great job as I’m still pretty fresh out of highschool and am finally getting into the works of a good carrier so I can eventually afford her.

I care about them both and want to make sure Chloe has everything she needs that he’s not able to cover.

I don’t like flea collars and wouldn’t use them in any other circumstance but they said the one the family got her last year worked really well.

Sorry for the long post, I get paid next Friday and planned to go get that, her favorite treats and some others I think she’d like.

Any healthy (quick to eat) recommendations for treats would also be loved 🫶 and just to add, her hair texture is very wiry and course because of the type of terrier in her.

My childhood dog of 10 years has been transfered to me as he was unhappy when I started college. He has always received yearly vet care but with new extra charges like senior bloodwork, and close monitoring of some minor stuff he has going on, should I consider getting pet insurance? I was always lead to believe it was kind of a scam, as they only reimburse and you still have to have the funds to pay on site before issuing a claim.

Most people I know say they just have a savings account for emergencies, but as a college student I don't really have that. I can afford routine care easily but the thought of emergencies scare me. My parents are not the type to "believe in vet care" even though they love him. Are there any pet insurance companies who won't charge out the ass for a senior and actually covers costs, not just reimbursement? He also has a new kitten sister, so would likely be including her as well.

Hi, I adopted a 6 months old kittten, unspayed female about a month ago.
She is supposed to get spayed in two weeks. I booked the soonest available appointment when I adopted her. I also took her to be seen by my vet the next day after I adopted her and she was perfectly healthy.
She was an absolute angel until two days ago. She started to be very vocal and in the next morning she was displaying behaviours common for a cat in heat.
I can survive this but she started to attack everyone now. I've another two (fixed male) cats and she attacked both of them when they did not want to "breed with her". One of them got bitten into neck and ended up with torn ear, the other one got bitten into his neck as well, there was blood.
I immediatelly separated her from my other cats and now she has her own "exclusive room".
Unfortunately she redirected her agression and attacks towards me and my bf.
When my bf went to change her water and food, she bitten him pretty badly.
When I went to clean her litter box in the evening she bit my ankle and later scratched me under my eye.
I took her to my vet because I felt like she was in pain, they did blood/urine tests, rtg, examined her and she's absolutely "healthy aside the heat".
They offered to sedate her but they won't spay her sooner, they don't consider her case as an emergency.
I recently moved across country to basically nowhere, so there're no other vets available that are not booked out.
She started to pee outside of her litter box too.
I'm still not sure if the sedation is the right way or if I should consider to change her vet.
I've never seen a cat in heat to act like this, so I'm out of ideas how to handle this.
I seek some tips/advices on how to survive this unpleasant situation for everyone involved.

So I took my dog for an acupuncture consultation. She was recently diagnosed with suspected ivdd and I’m taking a conservative approach to her treatment. Now one important thing to note about my dog, from the day we got her (7 years ago) to now she has consistently struggled with weight. She just seemed to never put on any weight and it constantly fluctuated.
Now I go to a vet that’s qualified in acupuncture in hopes of getting a quote on her treatment. She took one look at my dog and said she had degenerative myelopathy. Mind you 2 other vets before this lady had said she most likely has ivdd because she seems to be making a good recovery from a pyometra surgery shortly before meaning her mood was up, she was gaining weight and her overall health was improving.
Since that last visit my dog has lost weight which we’re trying to manage through high protein and things of that sort. This acupuncture vet takes one look at my dog and says that there’s no point in treating her with acupuncture because it is degenerative myelopathy and not ivdd. I kept asking her if theres any possibility that it’s genuinely ivdd and she shut the idea down multiple times tell me that there is slim chances for hope of a good quality of life. Basically saying that I should let my dog go. She based this off of the fact that my dog lost weight and that she’s lost bladder control from the very beginning of her diagnosis.
I’m hesitant to believe her for a few different reasons. She didn’t run any type of scan and just came up with this diagnosis off of these 2 presumptions. No MRIs/CTs (which I couldn’t even afford) and not very many questions on her weight history. A different location did do a standard x ray showing that their was an abnormality in the spin but since it was a standard x ray no definitive diagnosis can be given (which I’m assuming she looked at as well). I felt a little pressure to make a decision on the spot tbh. Also my dog lost the ability to walk over night which is a trait of ivdd. Degenerative myelopathy would of been a lot more gradual which was not the case. My dog was well coordinated and walking fine before. 3rd my dog still has function in her left leg where as her right leg lost more of its mobility. From my very limited knowledge, ivdd can look asymmetrical where as degenerative myelopathy may present in a more symmetrical matter.
What do you guys think? I’m still hoping to put her through acupuncture and rehab. I’m just not convinced that 2 other vets are wrong and this one vet happens to be right.

I lost my last two dogs within a year of each other. After my second dog passed away about a year ago, I adopted two kittens shortly afterward. They're a little over a year old now, and while I absolutely love them and their antics, half the time they want nothing to do with me. I really miss the close bond and companionship I had with my dogs.

My male cat is pretty confident and curious, but my female is much more cautious. She tends to hide whenever something spooks her or she's around someone or something unfamiliar.

I've been thinking about adopting another dog, but I'm worried about how the cats would handle it. I would only adopt an older dog that's known to be good with cats, so I'm not particularly worried about the dog's reaction. It's the cats I'm concerned about.

I don't want to bring a dog into the house only to have my cats spend the rest of their lives hiding under the bed. I love them, and I don't want them to feel uncomfortable or unsafe in their own home.

For those of you who've introduced a dog into a household with cats, how did you do it? Is there any way to get a sense of whether your cats will eventually adjust before actually bringing a dog home? I know there's no way to guarantee it'll work out, but I'd love to hear how others have handled this, especially with cats that are naturally more timid.

Approximately 4 months ago we noticed something growing on the side of our guinea pig. We set up an appointment immediately with a vet and were told it could be a tumor but they weren’t sure and that he was otherwise healthy so trying to remove it would probably carry more risk than benefit. Since then, it has grown by about 25% in size. He is still eating normally, hasn’t gained or lost weight, nor have there been any other notable changes to his behavior. Should I make another appointment with the vet? They made it seem last time like there was nothing they could do. Should I try visiting another vet? Also, he’s about 6 years old.

My precious Siamese girl was hit by a car and two of her hind legs were broken. She has one amputated due to the severity of the break, and an FHO procedure done on the other leg. She miraculously avoided major organ damage and internal bleeding. She had surgery on Monday, was kept overnight for observations and pain mgmt until wed morning when we picked her up and drove home (four hour drive).

I’m being overly paranoid I’m sure but so far since being home she’s just pulling herself around on the carpet by her front claws. Sometimes she’ll flop her lower body to get to where she wants to go. She hasn’t seem to have attempted to stand up at all. Is this normal?

She is eating and I think I caught her drinking some water yesterday. She also made her way to the litter box today and peed a little inside of it and a little on the pee pad just outside (she did this while I was asleep).

Currently I have her in a half open dog crate on my bed with warm blankets. She is calmest when she’s physically close to me. Does anyone have any tips or reassurances? I feel so bad for my baby and I want to know she won’t be like this forever.

Okay so I know this probably a stretch, but I recently got a place of my own and I really miss having cats. The problem is with my work schedule I work for 2 days without coming home, then I’m off for 2 days. So if I got a pet they would be lonely when I’m working.

But I know cats are pretty independent, so I’m thinking about adopting 2 cats so they will have company and having an automatic feeder and setting up cameras, everything to make sure they’ll be alright when I’m gone.

I’m just asking if this is still not enough and if it would be bad to still leave them alone for 2 days at a time consistently. Some coworkers of mine with the same schedule do what I mentioned above but I still am unsure if this is a good idea?

So my dog his name is buddy hes 11 years old. He belongs to my partners mom, but she considers him mine because i pay for his stuff. So he only wants to eat cat food. And ive tried feeding his normal dog wet food but he doesnt want to eat it. So what i did is sprinkle abit of cat food on his dog food. But he eats the cat food but leaves the dog wet food alone... is it okay to give him cat food straight up? (Yes I tried dog kibble with a little cat kibble he just doesnt eat it at all)

I’ve seen a couple posts about this, but would like to share my own story in hopes of some guidance and support.

My partner and I have seen this cat around our apartment and yard for a couple months now. This cat was considerably malnourished and emaciated. Additionally, it had a flea&tick collar on way too tight, couldn’t even fit a pinky under it.

We eventually made friends with cat, started to feed him in the driveway and build trust. One day, I decided to scoop him up and bring him to a vet to see if he’s microchipped, which he is not. We decided it would be best to take this kitty in, make sure he’s healthy with blood tests, and get caught up on vaccines.

We’ve been taking care of him, putting on some weight, and giving infinite love, cuddles, and attention. We’ve been caring for this cat for almost 3 weeks now. We have another senior kitty, and have been taking slow steps to introduce them.

Here’s my problem.

Like I stated, when we found this cat he was considerably malnourished and wicked skinny. Just today, I saw him posted on a missing cat page a week ago.

My point of view is this cat hasn’t been cared for in a while, isn’t healthy and isn’t safe outside. While we have infinite love for this sweet boy and will give him the absolute best life possible, I’m just not sure what to do. We’ve spent 100’s in vet bills to make sure he is healthy and has a plan to get back on track with his health.

While I already don’t agree with anyone keeping cats outdoors, he clearly wasn’t cared for, and wasn’t even posted missing after weeks of having been missing.

We will most likely keep this cat, we we’ll take infinitely better care for him than his alleged owners. Any advice helps <3

Yep, we have fleas throughout the house! Cat is treated and is on round two. We vacuum & use Vet-Kem on fabrics. Floors are hardwood throughout. Vet said steam is not enough to kill the eggs wo ruining the floors.

How do I get rid of these enemies?!

Hello all, looking for a bit of advice on our current situation!

We have had our cat for a year and a half, he is our only pet. Very long story short, my fiancé found an abandoned dog and after going through the legitimate channels, we’re currently looking after her on a temporary basis to stop her from going to a shelter, with the option to become her registered owners after a certain amount of time. She is a German Shepherd cross and a total sweetheart, I would not have let her in our home with our cat if I didn’t think she had a nice nature.

My cat is my baby, I’ve been clear from the beginning that if they do not get along, unfortunately dog will have to go.

We’ve gradually been introducing them. Cat has fallen asleep in the same room as dog, just there he let dog lick his face (although he looked a bit grossed out). It’s been four days (although my fiance takes dog to work during the day so they really only see each other in the evenings).

I’ve never had dogs but fiance grew up with them. Dog really does seem like a sweetheart but I’m just so anxious that some form of instinct might kick in, for example if my cat runs away from her, she’ll chase him. We have a baby gate-esque system so cat can always get away if he chooses and she won’t be able to get him but I’d just love a bit of advice from people who have gone through a similar situation?

I love my cat with all my heart but we want to do the best we can for dog as well.

We have an almost 5 year old FIV+ indoor only standard issue cat that had her rabies and feline distemper vaccine on 9/28, and we saw this on the wall near where my head rests (and where she will hop up on the bed near my head) 10/3 morning. There is almost no smell, but it does smell faintly like something that could come from her rear end (I have to almost touch my nostril to the sheet or wall to smell it and my nose is pretty good)

Background: my cat had a bad reaction to the rabies vaccine in 2024, and then got sick about a week after from the stress. I skipped the vaccine in 2025, but will be moving to a new state that requires current rabies vaccination. Giving her gabapentin before and then getting various shots before the vaccine (anti histamine, anti inflammatory, anti fever etc). And this time she didn't get sick or have a reaction (vomiting and fever requiring vet observation).

My question: is this a shart or anal gland emission, and could it have been triggered by her vaccine appointment earlier this week? And follow up, is this something to worry about? This has happened once before about a month ago.

Picture in comment since I couldn't figure out how to add the picture in the post.