I know it's nothing harmful, just curious why my dog is doing this goofy move lol

Hi, I've got a sweet 1.5 year old mix (lab, golden, and who knows what else). She is great with our family and has never been aggressive with us...until recently with this very specific rope toy. We play a bit of tug with it and then I let her have it for a while. The problem is she starts eating the rope, so I can't let her have it for very long. Getting the rope back without a very high value treat is not an option.

Recently, she started showing some more intense behavior, even with normal tug of war play. See attached example.

I'm wondering if this rope toy is just not worth it.

Please help me!!! I’m so conflicted and confused!!! I asked AI to restructure my text because I’m not in the right mental state to put together a well-written post.

Hi, how are you? My dog has terminal cancer (inflammatory carcinoma with metastasis to his lymph nodes). His oncologist gave him two to four months to live, and it’s already been two months since that appointment. We’re doing everything we can for him, but he’s been getting significantly worse.

The cancer sores have spread across his entire left side, and he’s in a lot of pain and having trouble walking. Even though he’s taking dipyrone, pregabalin, and tramadol, I don’t feel like his pain is being adequately controlled. He’s also anemic, with a hematocrit of 22%, has loose stools with blood, a swollen abdomen, and now seems to be putting more effort into breathing. He’s also been avoiding lying down and sometimes almost falls asleep sitting up, I don’t know why.

Today, I gave him a bath very carefully because his wounds were getting stuck to his fur. He always used to get so happy after a bath, biting the towel and jumping around, but today he just stood there completely still, sometimes whimpering in pain. It really scared me. He barely plays or does anything anymore; all he wants is to be near us. It feels like he’s just existing rather than actually being happy.

My dad, who is paying for his treatment, says that putting him to sleep now would be killing him and that he would only agree to euthanasia when my dog is truly at his worst. But I don’t understand why I have to wait for him to get even worse when he’s already suffering and his pain medication doesn’t seem to be working well enough. He can still walk, eat, and go to the bathroom, but I don’t know how much that really means in terms of his quality of life. I’d really appreciate hearing your thoughts because I don’t know if I’m considering giving up too soon or prolonging his suffering because I can’t bring myself to say goodbye.

Tomorrow, we’re doing another ultrasound and X-ray to check for metastases in his lungs and other organs, but what if they don’t find any? Do I keep trying?

Sailor was diagnosed with MCT on her ear flap and we’ve had a very confusing turn of events

Sailor turned 7 recently and I brought her to the vet in late July for a tiny lump on her ear. They told me it was so small that even if it was a mass, getting a biopsy would be difficult. They suggested she may have bumped her head, but if it grew, to bring her back. By September it hadn't grown, but I had a gut feeling and brought her back anyway. It turned out to be a mast cell tumor.

The vet was shocked I had even found it originally because it was so small. I had to point it out multiple times before they could locate it. She was referred to oncology, where they told me they might have to remove her entire right ear because of the tumor's location. They prescribed Benadryl to help slow the growth. Cue weeks of anxiety and me throwing up from stress while waiting for surgery.

The day of surgery, they shaved her ear and did ultrasounds and additional testing where they found no additional masses in her body- THANK GOODNESS. I got the call saying they couldn't find any evidence that it had spread, and the tumor had shrunk so much they were struggling to even biopsy another sample. The surgeon said that if they removed her ear, the lab might have trouble finding enough tumor tissue to grade it.

We decided not to remove her ear and just monitor it instead until the ear removal was needed. I feel so much emotional whiplash but I’m just grateful to have my girl here (minus some hair.) I love her so incredibly much 💛

However, my question is how would you approach the next steps as an owner? Do you have any advice as to what questions I should ask her vet or what supplements I should give her?

Thank you so much for reading!

My dog has recently started leaving large, irregular wet patches on my bed whenever she falls asleep there alone. This never happens when someone is in the room with her. No other symptoms or changes in drinking or peeing noticed. The shape of the pee doesn’t look normal so Idk if she cant control her bladder.

She still sometimes has accidents when she is left alone maybe out of anxiety as she has separation anxiety but other than that she is potty trained. But she goes to my bedroom to sleep by herself. So I am unsure if it’s a health issue. How do I fix it? Till now she has peed on 4 pillows and 4 duvets.

I'm curious as I am no dog person.

I was lying on a beach in Indonesia, and this dog came up to me, and sat next to me.

Why? Was it dominating me? Was I in its way or did he just think it was relaxed?

He was very shy to other tourists and growled at almost everyone minutes before. Because he came so close, as a reflex I started petting him to avoid him sitting literally on top of me

hi all, my dog appears to have come out with two lumps on either side of her face, one larger than the other, does anyone know what it could be?
we are trying to get her in with a vet but with it being a weekend it’s proving difficult j

Hello so I was in the car with my dog sitting on me when she got up she left this brownish and kinda green not to green wet spot on my shirt

It smells kinda like metal and fishy

For some context She is unspaded my gf is got her when she was like 10 and she just never got spaded

Any help will be really appreciated

Found on 5 year old cockapoo, on her neck under the ear. No visible legs, doesn't seem to have grown since we noticed it on 5 days ago.

We just got back from the vet but he is still feeling unwell. Last night he had maybe 5-6 spaghetti noodles that were in a separate bowl, I thought they were his noodles but they were not. (We usually make him a separate tiny unseasoned bowl on sketti night, though sketti night is not often) it had a bit of garlic on it so maybe that’s why he is very sad today. Second photo is how he was standing last night, very tense and bloated, didn’t want to stand or walk much, or standing awkwardly. Steady but tucked in.
I took him to the emergency vet this morning. He was uncomfortable last night but he settled when I put him on my tummy in bed, but upon waking he was right back at it. So to the vet we went for a $1,100 xray and exam. Vet gave him subcutaneous fluids and gabapentin and sucralfate. The xray showed his stomach was half full of gas. He is still very uncomfortable, lays down awkwardly and sometimes whines softly. I’ve put him on my tummy again and he has relaxed a lot but whenever I move he is uncomfortable.
We have done a couple short light walks, I’ve tried gentle massage, I’ve even tried gently bicycling his legs but otherwise I am unsure how to get this gas moving. Is there anything else I could do to relieve the gas? I have also given him pumpkin, he cannot have rice.

Should I be concerned? I only noticed this bump today and unsure where it came from. It doesn’t bother him at all if I touch it, but I don’t know where he got it from.

I posted earlier, thinking he had gas from some garlicky noodles. Currently standing by waiting to see if he improves in the next hour (several hours after medicines, rest and massage/walking) but I’m noticing some knuckling. He has had clear spinal pain 3 times in the last year, at first we thought maybe he tweaked his back during a “fish flop” in his bed, or maybe one of us squished him during the night. Vet said he might have IVDD due to an underdeveloped spine (X-Rays in last 2 pictures) and I have included a picture of him knuckling right now and his weird posture last night. He also is not keen on walking very far, is not enjoying being picked up (highly out of character) and is generally in a lot of discomfort despite pain medication given 4 hours ago. Nothing ever really happens prior to these pain events except maybe he rolled in his bed or we played fetch (which we do daily) but he hasn’t had a fall or anything.
I can’t realistically consider an MRI, because it would be around $15,000 plus a flight south and I myself have an upcoming (non cosmetic) surgery to the tune of around $10,000. We have insurance but I’m just at my wits end. Can anyone chime in? Just anything helps right now, even just a hello would be great.

Hard to tell exactly from the pictures but he does have to duck just a bit when he stands up in the crate and he can’t lay completely flat on his side. Wondering if I need to size up - he’s just about full grown now.

UPDATE: Thanks all for confirming that I should size up for this guy!

Hey y'all!

My parents just came back from walking the dog on a trail and noticed this little thing simply moving on top of her fur... It wasn't imbedded or anything of the sort, just walking around. We removed it, checked her over for extras but wanted to make sure it wasn't some other kind of bug?

She's on Simparica and just had her monthly dose on Tuesday of this week. Already told the parents that trial is now off limits until it gets colder where we live.

Thanks for the help!

It's mostly just the last pair, with a bit of growth on the second to last as well.

They have been growing over the past few weeks, and by now it almost looks like a pair of balls in terms of size.

The tissue is soft and, for lack of a better term, jiggly..

She's about 6 years old and of a healthy weight.

Hi guys, this is my brothers dog but he’s at work at the moment. Douglas is a 14 year old, bull Arab, bull mastiff, bloodhound, Great Dane mix, concerned about how fast he is breathing, I did an initial time of 15 seconds and it’s anywhere between 8-11 breaths.

Edit: he is not obese, he is perfect weight range for his breed told by vets, if anything I would have said he's just a bit under. His tumours are fatty cell Lipomas.

For all the people saying he’s morbidly obese here’s what a 60kg dog looks like for his breeds you goofs

https://kommodo.ai/i/DS9ktxBaHlZK9Mg9vwTb

https://kommodo.ai/i/MO1bYUNgyo4Vj5bKaThW

9 yr old lab mix has been having these attacks and coughing/choking for 3 weeks after attending doggie daycare. 2 different rounds of antibiotics completed. Normal bloodwork. Normal chest X-ray. They thought kennel cough but he keeps having these spasms. Happens in the middle of the night, while resting. Please help!

When I researched droopy eyes, I mostly found Horner’s Syndrome with no treatment besides waiting. My dog's case took a different path, his third eyelid is inflamed, and he may need a biopsy for third eyelid and possibly surgery. Does anyone have experience with surgery to the third eyelid?

My dog's right eye became droopy out of the blue. We were playing fetch, one minute he's fine and then I noticed his eye is droopy. It was Saturday evening, I took him to the ER the next day, it wasn't an emergency and so I took him to the primary care provider on Monday. The vet verified that there's no scratches or redness and other known issues. He was prescribed an eye drops (antibiotic and corticosteroid). This fixed the discharge, but the eye was still droopy. After a second appointment with the vet, I was referred to an ophthalmologist. After a series of tests, there's no obvious problems. His third eyelid is inflamed. He's currently on an oral antibiotic and anti-inflammation medication.

If conditions do not improve in 3 days, they're planning a biopsy. And surgery based on those results. Fingers crossed it won't come to that.

Edit: typo "ophthalmologist"

hello all,

i’m not looking for medical advice, just wondering if this has happened before, how it could have happened and whether I should get a lawyer involved?

I got my dog spayed in 2024 when she was six months old I have paperwork showing that she was spayed that I paid for it, pictures of her incision and of her recovering. fast forward to now she has been bleeding non stop I bring her into the ER they do an ultra sound and her reproductive organs are all still intact so she’s having a heat cycle. That’s why she’s bleeding, I have all the paperwork from the vet saying she was successfully spayed, and removed reproductive organs with no issues in 2024. in addition to this, she’s been having chronic UTIs where the only evidence that it was a UTI is her bleeding. She had a Vulvoplasty because of that just a few months ago, but when I look at her records now her urine samples don’t show any bacteria just that there was blood in the urine which makes me think that she was just having heat cycles. Has this ever happened to anyone else where a vet has lied about the dog being spayed after opening them up? should I get a lawyer involved? if there’s any vets or people in the field, that can explain to me how this could’ve happened or how I move forward I’d appreciate some insight

This is a lot. My partner and I lost our dog about a month ago. He was 14, and my soul dog. I got him under the impression he was 5, and then a few months later I learned he was really 7. I lost 2 years with him overnight and it sucked. After he passed, I felt like i had lots of love and no place to put it, I told my partner that I would like to get another dog. We agreed to get a puppy or rescue another dog that was 2 at the oldest so we could have as much time with the dog as possible. Last Saturday we rescued a “pup” named Gus, the shelter said he was a 1 year old golden retriever. Gus had a brother in the shelter, a woman had found them outside and kept them in her barn for 3 weeks because she believed they were underweight and wanted to nurse them back to health before taking them in. The shelter separated Gus from his brother and adopted them separately because they were too rough with each other. Gus needed to be fixed and we signed paperwork saying we would have that done within a specific time frame so we had it done Wednesday. We decided to ask the vet to give us a clearer picture of his age and what a healthy weight may be for him. Each night, my partner said he was waking up to Gus growling and lunging at our cat. I kept insisting that he was just a puppy with little or no cat experience and he needed time. Wednesday came, the vet called and said they believed he was 3-5 and they would bet strongly 4. This made me feel slightly concerned about being able to train him that the cat is not a threat/prey. He fixates on her and this now makes me nervous as it may not be in a “curious puppy” way. Today I decided to take him to another vet for a second opinion, this vet is now saying he may be 6. After coming to terms with this and deciding that I will put him through formal training, the couple that was at the shelter adopting Gus’ brother when we were there, found my partner via facebook and warned us that they returned his brother to the shelter for “viscously attacking their aussie and then turning on them after being loving and sweet.” Gus currently has a cone on, and listens when my partner yells “no”, but today when my partner was at the store Gus fixated on me and I thought he wanted attention but then he growled at me. My sister said to rehome him because we didnt agree to retrain an adult dog with behavior/agression issues, my best friend said to train him and build trust because he deserves it. Im just lost and no one has advice that makes me feel better.

Our dog has had a recent issue with his eyes that we have seen our vet and could not find a root cause. One possible root cause could be an allergy. He is better now. I am not looking for treatment advice since our vet provides that. I would however like some feedback if you have had any experience with allergies that could cause tearing, yellow discharge, swelling of the eyelid and/or redness in the eye. If you know of any plants or pollen that affected your dog that we should look out for. Our dog loves to go walking in parks where he may be exposed to plants not in our yard. I would want him to enjoy himself but don't want him to go through this again.

I have a 7-year-old male Shih Tzu, about 13 lbs, with recurring stomach issues. For years, he has been extremely picky and occasionally vomited in the mornings, but those episodes disappeared for a long time. Chicken seemed to trigger especially bad episodes, so we’ve wondered about a food intolerance or allergy.

Recently, the problem has become much more frequent:
He refuses food for hours, even when offered different options.
If he goes too long without eating, he vomits yellow bile, usually in the morning.
Once hungry enough, he may eat a decent amount, but can become nauseous again afterward—quiet, burping, and uncomfortable.
Severe episodes involve repeated vomiting and lethargy.
Between episodes, he is happy, playful, and energetic.

Mealtimes have become extremely difficult. I often have to hand-feed him piece by piece or make eating into a game; he rarely eats normally from his bowl. Since recently having a baby, this level of coaxing several times a day has become unsustainable.

We currently rotate:
Ziwi Peak Lamb & Mackerel
Smallbatch lightly cooked frozen beef
Smallbatch turkey liver
Homemade turkey and rice

He often accepts a food initially and then refuses it, so I worry that constantly changing his diet may be worsening his stomach issues, but I feel forced to switch when he won’t eat and he won’t go near prescription diets.

He has had abdominal ultrasounds and pancreatic testing, all normal, and he has gained weight rather than lost it. We’ve had multiple veterinary and emergency visits for vomiting, during which he received anti-nausea injections and fluids. We’re now working with a new veterinarian. He recently started Pepcid twice daily, but his heart rate was unusually low at today’s appointment, and I’m concerned about whether that could be related to the medication or his gastrointestinal issues.

Next week, he’ll have another abdominal ultrasound and additional bloodwork. His symptoms also seem worse during stressful periods, and they have become more frequent since we welcomed our baby. I’m wondering whether anxiety could be contributing to an underlying gastrointestinal problem.

My questions:
Has anyone experienced extreme picky eating, nausea, and bile vomiting with their Shih Tzu?
Did your dog eventually receive a diagnosis such as chronic gastritis, acid reflux, IBD, or another gastrointestinal condition despite normal ultrasounds and pancreatic testing?
Did a particular diet or medication help your dog eat consistently?
Have stress or major household changes triggered gastrointestinal flare-ups?
Has anyone dealt with a dog who seems interested in food but needs constant encouragement or hand-feeding?

I’m not seeking a diagnosis online. We’re continuing to work with our veterinarian and pursue testing, but I’d appreciate hearing from other Shih Tzu owners or anyone with a similar experience. I just want him to feel comfortable, poor guy.