Pet Help/Questions? Ask Here.

We've got a stray pitbull in our custody, and we don't know anything about pitbulls. He's well behaved, friendly, isn't very agressive (he doesn't seem to like other male dogs), and thinks he's a lap dog. I was wondering if anyone here has or had a pitbull and could give me some tips. We're trying to find him a home, but we may end up taking him to a no-kill shelter/rescue.

Pitbulls can be extremely friendly and lovable animals. Despite how he reacts now, you're not aware of his past and anything, even the slightest thing you find normal, could trigger a bad reaction from him. It's important to be cautious when dealing with strays because we don't know how they've previously been treated.

Until you find him a home, just be there for him, like you would a person. Feed him, pet him, talk to him, play with him.

Robert Pattinson:

Pitbulls can be extremely friendly and lovable animals. Despite how he reacts now, you're not aware of his past and anything, even the slightest thing you find normal, could trigger a bad reaction from him. It's important to be cautious when dealing with strays because we don't know how they've previously been treated.

Until you find him a home, just be there for him, like you would a person. Feed him, pet him, talk to him, play with him.

My dad likes to bring home strays, so I'm well versed on caution. So far he's been pretty relaxed, and we don't think he's full blooded. He's afraid of thunder and lightening, and is generally well behaved. He hasn't snapped at any of us, though he does flinch if we get to close to his food while he's eating, though I suppose most dogs do. When we found him he was clean, except for the fleas, and he seems to be in a healthy condition. It's possible he was just dumped. We're taking him to the vet this weekend to get a check up and shots, and he may have a new home within the week. Fingers crossed. Thanks for the tips!

^^^That may be the case that he was just dumped. I live in St. Louis, a city with a huge amount of stray pitbulls and overbreeding. Certain uneducated people think, "hey. . .I'll breed pitbulls because all my friends like them and they'll make money, or hey, I can breed pitbulls and make them fight and make money!" The problem with this, is that both things are highly illegal and bad for the animals. So instead of taking the dog(s) to the humane society, where their illegal activity could be figured out, they just dump them, when they realize that neither of these business endeavers are that profitable. I've seen this happen with people I know several times. And a friend of mine has had a dog for a year now (a pitbull mix), whom she found dumped by the river. It is possible that he's come from this situation.

Hopefully, he gets a loving home because it sounds like he has food agression (the flinch) which means he isn't adoptable, even at a no-kill shelter. xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

I have an interesting situation.

There is a cat that has been taking up residence in my backyard for awhile now and come to find out, she's declawed and cannot hunt for herself. She sits at our back door and meows and meows to be let in, so we know she's a house cat. But everytime we try to get her into the car to take her to the vet, she FREAKS out, she literally ran into the car window.

So I don't know what to do. We're leaving out of town for about 10 to 11 days and she'll be without food unless we tell our cat sitter to take care of her as well. Any suggestions?

I have a shih tzu pooch - nearly three years old - and he's been eating way too fast lately (and throwing up a lot because of it).

I've tried some solutions the vet's given - feeding him smaller portions at more frequent intervals (up from twice a day to about four times a day) - and it's still not working. He still gobbles up his food in no time.

I know that 'fast eating' can lead to healthy problems for dogs (bloat) so I really need a working solution (something that's not hand feeding because he's a bad-ass and nips when people get between him and his food).

Any suggestions?

* If it makes any difference: He's up to date on all his shots and has a clean bill of health from the vets (I'm just worried about what could happen). He eats dry food most days of the week, and gets a special treat of dry/wet food mix on Sundays. I haven't been giving him any other treats/snacks during the day because of his throwing up issue.

Audrey T:

I have a shih tzu pooch - nearly three years old - and he's been eating way too fast lately (and throwing up a lot because of it).

I've tried some solutions the vet's given - feeding him smaller portions at more frequent intervals (up from twice a day to about four times a day) - and it's still not working. He still gobbles up his food in no time.

I know that 'fast eating' can lead to healthy problems for dogs (bloat) so I really need a working solution (something that's not hand feeding because he's a bad-ass and nips when people get between him and his food).

Any suggestions?

* If it makes any difference: He's up to date on all his shots and has a clean bill of health from the vets (I'm just worried about what could happen). He eats dry food most days of the week, and gets a special treat of dry/wet food mix on Sundays. I haven't been giving him any other treats/snacks during the day because of his throwing up issue.

shih tzu and their badassery, what can you do? xD

They make bowls with ridges in the bottom so they can't eat fast, because they can't take big bites and they have to eat around the dividers. I've heard of people hot gluing a baseball or something like that in the middle of the bowl for the same effect, so they have to take their time and eat around it.

Caught.:

I have an interesting situation.

There is a cat that has been taking up residence in my backyard for awhile now and come to find out, she's declawed and cannot hunt for herself. She sits at our back door and meows and meows to be let in, so we know she's a house cat. But everytime we try to get her into the car to take her to the vet, she FREAKS out, she literally ran into the car window.

So I don't know what to do. We're leaving out of town for about 10 to 11 days and she'll be without food unless we tell our cat sitter to take care of her as well. Any suggestions?

Get a cat carrier? Or a collar and leash? She's declawed so holding her shouldn't be a problem.

Audrey T:

I have a shih tzu pooch - nearly three years old - and he's been eating way too fast lately (and throwing up a lot because of it).

I've tried some solutions the vet's given - feeding him smaller portions at more frequent intervals (up from twice a day to about four times a day) - and it's still not working. He still gobbles up his food in no time.

I know that 'fast eating' can lead to healthy problems for dogs (bloat) so I really need a working solution (something that's not hand feeding because he's a bad-ass and nips when people get between him and his food).

Any suggestions?

* If it makes any difference: He's up to date on all his shots and has a clean bill of health from the vets (I'm just worried about what could happen). He eats dry food most days of the week, and gets a special treat of dry/wet food mix on Sundays. I haven't been giving him any other treats/snacks during the day because of his throwing up issue.

My dog was a stray when we got her and she was terrified that she'd never see food again so she'd swallow it all without chewing sometimes. We've had her for a year now and she still does it every so often. I think it's just a weird thing they do. Bandit, my dog, will do it sometimes and other times she takes a mouth full of food and hides with it, spitting it out and eating it piece by piece.

I'd do the divider idea, sounds like it would work really well.

Thanks Kurtni and Cyanide-Charlie.

I've switched him over to wet food and instead of emptying the food into the bowl and mushing it up, I leave it in the little plastic container it comes in. It's a lot harder for him to get at the food, so it takes him much longer to eat it. So far so good. It's been over a week since I've started doing this and he hasn't thrown up yet. *crosses fingers*

I have two cats, they're probably 12 years old now. One of them, Sissy, has always been a little odd. Not like she has some cute quirks or does certain things, no, she's just off. She has never been bad enough to where we want to take her to the vet to know but here's my question: How do I tell the different between her having a mental disorder or just being a really weird cat? She's always been super sensitive and emotional. She's oddly shaped; small head, always been overweight, short legs, and a scrawny tail. She's never mean, always super affection to the point that she actually drools from happiness. She's a sweetheart but I've always wondered if there's something wrong up there? Does she have an anxiety disorder? Some type of cat mental disorder? I know it's a tough-ish question, but how can I tell if she has a mental disorder? What are the tell-tale signs?

GreatUnknown:

I have two cats, they're probably 12 years old now. One of them, Sissy, has always been a little odd. Not like she has some cute quirks or does certain things, no, she's just off. She has never been bad enough to where we want to take her to the vet to know but here's my question: How do I tell the different between her having a mental disorder or just being a really weird cat? She's always been super sensitive and emotional. She's oddly shaped; small head, always been overweight, short legs, and a scrawny tail. She's never mean, always super affection to the point that she actually drools from happiness. She's a sweetheart but I've always wondered if there's something wrong up there? Does she have an anxiety disorder? Some type of cat mental disorder? I know it's a tough-ish question, but how can I tell if she has a mental disorder? What are the tell-tale signs?

Cats don't normally drool, and with the body shape you described, it sounds like she may have some genetic defect. Was she a stray when you got her? Sometimes there can be so much inbreeding in a population of stray cats that you get things like that.

@ Kurtni
We got her from a animal shelter place. It's an animal sanctuary and they do take in strays and lots of rescues. As a kitten she was pretty normal but not until I got her out of the cage, when she was with the other kittens she was shy and not playful.

Hmmm. It does sound like she has some sort of issue, mental or genetic, but if she's alive and healthy, there probably isn't much else you can do aside from accommodating the fact that she's extra sensitive.

If a cat has a lot of ear wax build up, is that a sign of a bigger problem? I've been trying to google an answer, and I just keep getting information on cleaning cat ears.

My cats been scratching her ears a lot lately, and I know she doesn't have mites. So I don't know if it's just the earwax bugging her or another issue.

@ Kurtni

Hm.. I'm pretty sure that if a cat has a lot of ear wax, it's usually a symptom of an underlying issue. I'd take her for a check-up at the vets if you can.

Talking about ear wax...uh, is it weird that my cat likes to...well...lick it? Like, one time, I dropped a Q-tip after cleaning out my ears, and he started feasting on each side, and it was pretty weird. I don't know why. And then he always looks at me expectantly when he sees me cleaning out my ears, or someone else doing it. Does he have a problem?

@ water's cascade.
I doubt it's an issue. I wouldn't let him eat your ear wax though.

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Why does my boyfriend's dog like to repeatedly lick the sheets? She always picks out a random spot on the sheets and licks it (to the point of it being wet) and then finds a new spot to lick.

@ part of dru's world.

It might be because it's the place where your boyfriend's scent is strongest and the dog is reacting to the that. (Either your boyfriend's scent or your scent, if she's become attached.) Your guy can try giving her an old piece of his clothing or blanket.

*When my pup was small, he'd always steal a piece of my clothing and take it back to his bed to chew on and then fall asleep on. So to stop him from being a clothes thief, I bought a cheap blanket from Ikea (3 bucks) and slept with it on my bed for a week, then I cut it up in squares and gave put a square in his bed. From then on, he stopped stealing my clothes and just used the blanket square instead.

But that's just my guess. It can be any number of things (dogs are so freakin' weird sometimes), from the scent thing to something simple like it tastes good (maybe she likes the saltiness that may be on the sheets from sweat or the smell/taste of fabric softener/detergent that may linger on the sheet after washes).