Hi everyone,

For the past month or so, my dog has been constantly itchy from her lower back (under her tail) and legs. We’ve tried everything from dry skin shampoos, and at home remedies. She’s always licking her lower legs and attempts to bite tail to soothe the itch, scratching her back with the bottom of the couch and nudges us to get scratch her. Please help for any suggestions!!! She is also a pug!!

Hi, I hope you're doing well!

I’d like to share my situation. In March of this year, my 10-year-old Chihuahua developed an intestinal infection caused by bacteria—likely contracted from pigeon droppings near the park where she goes for walks. When she first got sick, she began vomiting and passing blood (literally); her stool turned into an orange-colored, foul-smelling liquid that she couldn't control. We took her to the vet, and she received treatment. What could be the cause of this? Since yesterday, she has been showing similar symptoms—though without the bloody stool or bloody vomit. She is vomiting, but the vomit has a very strong, fecal-like odor. We are quite worried, especially since we are going through a difficult financial period, and I am reaching out for your help to figure out what to do. She vomited all day yesterday.

Today, after I gave her the anti-nausea medication she was prescribed previously, she seemed fine—until about half an hour ago, when she vomited twice, and the vomit again had that strong, fecal odor. She is currently stable; she’s playing, she ate this morning, and her urine appears normal. She hasn’t had a bowel movement in two days, though everything was normal the day before that. An AI tool suggested it might be an obstruction—which would explain the odor—but she hasn’t been outside, nor has she eaten anything from outside the house. I’m not sure if it’s a recurrence of the previous infection; however, her blood tests were fine back then, which makes me even more concerned. A year ago, I lost another dog to respiratory failure caused by a congenital condition, and I am terrified of going through that again. My mother is currently giving her painkillers, medication for gastritis, and an anti-nausea drug while we wait for her to be seen by a veterinarian.

Last night and this morning she didn't vomit but she didn't sleep.

What do you think this could be?

6 month old small mix breed; 6 pounds; we noticed this yesterday. Not lethargic and still acting like herself. When we poke at the bump she doesn’t react

my babygirl jersey, she’s almost 2, she’s spayed, and utd on shots.

when we first got her everything was normal, and then right before she turned 1, she experienced a level 2-3 luxating patella on her back left leg which she had an operation to correct. today while i was at work and my boyfriend was throwing the frisbee for her she had a bit of an “episode”? with her good leg. she was running and then let out a yelp as picked up and held her good leg up for a few steps before putting it back down and returning to her play as normal. her regular vet closed at noon today and of course this happened at 1:30😕. she has been totally fine since, but this is sort of how it started with her first one. it very quickly progressed to much more than the incident i just described though.

how likely is it that her other leg is experiencing this less than 8 months later? I genuinely feel horrible. she is very high energy and recovery was not easy for her, or me. i’m very scared she’s experiencing the same problem and i don’t know where to go from here. it’s probably that right? she’s already so scared of the vet from her experience there. when the vet tested her bad leg, she just pressed on it and it popped right out and she diagnosed her. should i just go have her try that on her leg or is that a bad idea if that isn’t what’s happening? like i said she it totally fine now but i know i have to take her in due to her surgical history… but not sure what tests to ask for etc… are there other common problems i need to look for? do i see if it happens again before taking her in?? just need some insight i guess

she has an appointment to see the vets monday, but im just so nervous what they are going to say… her first surgery was 2 operations and it was 5000 total. i’m just scared for her and us.

Redmond

I have a 9 year old male schnoodle that has been lip licking and hard swallowing for about two years now. At first it was mostly at night but now he does it all throughout the day. He just seems really uncomfortable and becomes restless especially at night, waking up multiple times throughout the night. He's had such a long medical history in such a short span of time so I'm not sure what the cause is. Initially I thought it was acid reflux so he was prescribed metoclopramide and over the counter omeprazole but I haven't seen any improvement. He was also put on a hills science GI biome diet and we've even tried sucralfate and a cytopoint injection thinking maybe it was an allergy but again no real change. I guess the next thing would be to see a specialist but with his vet bills piling up I'm worried about how expensive it will be. Anyone experience anything similar with their pet? If so, were you able to get a diagnosis or an idea of what it could possibly be? Any insight would be really helpful, thanks.

I would like your perspective on my boyfriend’s boxer female dog over 3 years old. She is very thin and excessively drinks water quickly where if you don’t stop her she can vomit. She has been urine leaking for weeks. The dog will sleep with us and sometimes wet the bed. Every where the dog lies on reeks of urine. Bedspread, pillows, couch pillows, his crate blankets. The dog herself reeks of urine. For weeks I begged my boyfriend to take the dog to the vet to be tested for UTI and diabetes and general blood which would include kidney test. The dog was spayed but not sure how early it was done. The vet called back to say all her tests came back normal and prescribed Prion twice a day for incontinence. She is just started yesterday with prion. It’s the excessive thirst that bothers me and how thin she is. She is also very hyper. He does take her to doggy care three times a week. My boyfriend is done with spending any more money on his dog. He irritated with me and at this point I don’t want to come over his house anymore and sleep in urine smelling blankets and pillows. Or sitting on the urine smelling couch and pillows. It’s unhealthy.. The dog reeks of urine too. The dog is also not house trained. And instead puts pee pee pads on a side room for the dog to pee and poop. Needless to say the house can smell badly if it’s not cleaned right away. I’m my paranoid or am I the one making it an issue when there isn’t one? My boyfriend states it’s behavioral since he doesn’t or hasn’t had the time to train her properly and nothing is wrong with her. I’m hoping the prion helps her.

My dog was spayed 8 days ago. For the last 3 nights, she's pissed in my bed while she sleeps. Called vet yesterday and they suspect UTI, so they gave her a course of antibiotics. For the spay, they gave her carprofen for pain and gabapentin for sedation. Has anyone else dealt with bedwetting during sleep post spay and when did it stop? Behavior wise, she acts like her normal crazy self.

Hey everyone,

I’m reaching out because I’m honestly exhausted and just want my little guy to feel normal again.

My dog Poncho is a 6-year-old Cavapoo, around 16–17 lbs, who has been battling IBD for years. However, these past 3 months have been an absolute nightmare.

He hasn’t gone a full week with consistently solid stools, let alone a week without an upset stomach. Every time I think we’re finally making progress, something happens and we’re right back to square one.

CURRENT DIET:

For the past 4 years, Poncho has primarily been on a fish-based diet. Recently, I switched him to Farmina Vet Life Gastrointestinal HF (Fish), but I only use a handful of kibble as a topper over boiled chicken and white rice.
I’m starting to wonder if fish could be part of the problem, especially since he’s been eating fish-based food for so long.

I also tried Hill’s Prescription Diet i/d (Chicken), which initially seemed to agree with him, but eventually he developed an upset stomach again. He’s also been on chicken-based diets in the past.

Has anyone with an IBD dog had success switching proteins entirely? I’m wondering if I should try something completely different, like rabbit, duck, turkey, or another novel protein.

MEDICATIONS & SUPPLEMENTS:

Budesonide (steroid): We tried this, but after about 2–3 days he would develop diarrhea. This happened when we attempted it, so I’m concerned it may not agree with him.

Psyllium husk powder: Currently giving this daily, but I haven’t noticed much improvement.

Vitamin B12 drops: His B12 levels were critically low, so we’re supplementing.

Vetmedin (pimobendan): He also has heart valve disease and takes this for his heart.

NAD+ and CoQ10: Giving these for additional heart support.

SYMPTOMS WE’RE STILL DEALING WITH:

Inconsistent stools and recurring diarrhea

Frequent upset stomach and stomach gurgling

Constant lip licking, almost like he’s nauseous or dealing with acid reflux

Stress yawning throughout the day

Repeated downward dog/prayer position stretching

Periods where he seems uncomfortable and just can’t settle

The downward dog stretching, stress yawning, and constant lip licking are especially concerning because I feel like he’s trying to tell me something is wrong.

WHAT USED TO WORK:

In the past, whenever Poncho had an IBD flare, we’d do a course of metronidazole along with boiled chicken and rice, and he would bounce right back. Sometimes it felt like a complete reset, and he’d return to being his happy, energetic self.

But this time is different.
We’ve been battling this for 3 months, and nothing seems to get him back to normal. Even when his stools improve temporarily, the nausea-like symptoms and stomach discomfort never seem to fully disappear.

MY BIGGEST QUESTIONS:

Has anyone had an IBD dog suddenly stop tolerating a protein they’d eaten for years?

Has anyone experienced diarrhea from budesonide after just 2–3 days?

Did psyllium husk actually help your dog’s IBD, or did it make things worse?

Has anyone dealt with the constant lip licking, stress yawning, and downward dog stretching? Was it nausea, acid reflux, abdominal pain, or something else?

Has anyone experienced a flare lasting months when their dog previously responded really well to metronidazole?
I’m open to hearing about diets, medications, supplements, and testing that helped your dogs, especially those with severe or chronic IBD.

I just want my best friend back. He’s only 6 years old, and watching him deal with stomach discomfort day after day is heartbreaking. I’m doing everything I can alongside his vets, but I’d really appreciate hearing from people who have gone through something similar.

Thank you to anyone who takes the time to read this or share their experience. ❤️🐾

Hi everyone. We have a 5 year old female Chesapeake Bay Retriever. She was spayed as a puppy and is up to date on vaccines. She weighs about 80 lbs.

She was house trained since she was a puppy and we have never had an issue with her going potty indoors, until about six months ago.

The only major things that changed were that we moved to a new house and began new jobs so our routine is a little different.

It initially started small, we would find a small puddle here or there. It gradually got worse and we could tell she clearly wasn’t feeling well. At one point while taking her for a walk I noticed that urine sometimes just drips out when she’s just walking.

Sometimes she will dribble when she’s sleeping or just resting (sometimes it’s much more than just a dribble). We will sometimes use cloth diapers if we will be away from home all day. Sometimes the diapers are dry at the end of the day, sometimes she dribbles a little, sometimes they are soaked.

We have taken her to the vet twice for the issue and they have given some antibiotics and steroids. That so far has not worked.

It seems that she can make it a few hours without going potty most of the time, but doesn’t seem able to make it through the workday without having an accident.

We have NEVER had issues with this in the past she has always been very good about doing outdoors. One of my friends said sometimes female dogs need to hade a vulvoplasty (sp?) because their girl parts don’t allow them to completely evacuate the bladder and leads to urination issues but my vet has never mentioned this.

Anyone experienced this? Got any ideas? We just have no idea where to look at this point.

My dog has been suffering from ticks for maybe a month or two, and I've been trying my best to eliminate half of it but it keeps on coming and coming like a never ending battle, I have probably killed above 15 atleast a day but they just keep on producing. I know I should get my dog a vet check up but I'm suffering financially, barely have dinner sometimes, before you judge hear me out, before all these financial droppings, I'd take my dog to the vet monthly but after the droppings I can barely afford myself a meal, so that's why I need an advice or anything can do. And I'm very worried for him also. Ive heard of simparico trio and I'm saving it up for that and if there's any advice or help you could give me, please let me know I'd be more than glad.

Vets of Reddit I need your help

My 10+ year old doggo had major abdominal surgery a week ago, and initially received stitches, of which the skin-layer ones have inflamed despite antibiotics. These started to tear and eventually had to be removed by the vet, while the inside stitches still hold nicely. We are now working on clearing the wound with a mix of antibiotics and sugar therapy, so that hopefully the outer layer can be stitched up tomorrow, so I only need a temporary solution for maybe the next 36 hrs or so.

Good and bad thing is that the doggo is at peak energy and excitement and happiness level, he is super relaxed, and wants to sleep in his usual and preferred position: twisting around, throwing his feet in the air, and tensing a lot of abdominal muscles in the process - which is clearly bad for those stitches. I know its a long shot but do any of you have any humane ways for us to prevent this? We are up with him, around the clock 0-24 surveiling, and try to calm him down, whenever he gets the excitement bursts and wants to twist up, but it's very difficult, and we are worried it will hurt him in the long run and hurt the inside stitches also.

He has a cone on, and we take him for short walks, to try and get some outlet for his energy, but obviously he is not jumping or running around, so he has just too much amped up joy inside him, god bless.

My 12 yr old dog was diagnosed with lymphoma last week. He was immediately started on prednisone 100mg. He weighs 102. He has had diarrhea ever since starting the prednisone. Yesterday was his first chemo treatment where he got a shot and a pill at the vets. I told them about the diarrhea and they didn’t seem to concerned. Today he can’t keep food down has thrown up twice and has had diarrhea 3 times. I’ve called my emergency vets office where he is getting this treatment and they called back to say to give him a bland diet and probiotics. He’s already on both of those! I’m so frustrated and feel so bad for my boy. Anyone with any information please let me know.

5 years old, Finnish spitz, she just got spayed at 5 years old and the vet said when the cut into her they had to take out abnormal fat. I’m just so worried waiting for biopsy

I’m really hoping for some advice on our options given to us by our vet.

Background: we recently adopted a Border Collie puppy. We have a heeler/pit mix and my Mom has a senior pit, who is definitely on the larger side. We were at her house, everyone was in the yard including our 2 kids, when we heard the puppy yelp. My oldest is the only one who saw the whole thing happen and she says my mom’s dog stepped on the puppies back hind leg and the puppy was trying to pull it out from under her foot.

Long story short, he’s been seen by the vet and had x-rays done. They’ve determined it’s a calcaneal fracture. They called it a freak accident. I’m not sure I agree, I feel so much guilt. We were referred to an orthopedic surgeon, who has quoted us $6100-7100 for the repair and overnight hospitalization, plus the required follow up visits. They gave us other places to call and I might try that but it seems like a decent price to me, all things considered.

When we were at the vets office, they said our other option besides surgery was splinting it. They warned that surgery gives him the best chance at full rehabilitation and splinting it doesn’t guarantee it fully heals properly and could also lead to muscle damage?

The specialist we were referred to said they could get us in Monday, which they made seem like is really not fast enough, but I don’t know if we can come up with the full balance in time. Would the splint possibly do more damage than good? Do you think, if we can’t get him in for that Monday spot, we should have it splinted as a temporary measure? We do have him on crate rest, thankfully he took to one pretty quickly, but he’s still a puppy and wants to move around so bad on potty breaks.

I’m sorry this ended up so long, I appreciate anyone taking the time to read and offer advice 😢

Our Frenchie experience is a significant skin infection every summer. It is cured by antibiotics without any problems. He also will have G.I. upset once or twice a year with repeated vomiting episodes over a week or two. The vet is recommending a very strict very expensive hypoallergenic canned food diet for him… I’m not convinced it’s the answer.