Q. I have a 6 week old kitten. Had bloody diarrhea x 2. Eating and drinking fine. No vomiting. Still playing and doing the normal. What should …

ANSWER : A. You should see a vet as soon as possible even if animal seems to be fine right now- bloody diarrhoea is a very bad prognostic sign that could be connected with serious infectious diseases.

ANSWER : A. It is possible it could be play behavior but without seeing it in person, hard to say. Is the male kitten neutered? You may want to consider doing so. Also, try re-introducing the kittens slowly by creating a safe space for the new kitten behind a closed door in a room. Keep her there for at least a week so she is protected but your male is still able to smell her. After a week or 2, you can then graduate to using a baby gate so they can then not only smell each other but safely see each other as well. If that is going okay, after another few days you can bring the gate down. Also, be sure to have feeding bowls in separate locations and at least 2 litter boxes.

ANSWER : A. When it comes to poop eating, you want to consider a few things. First off, what is his diet like? Maybe something is lacking in his diet that is causing him to want to eat his own poop. This is the most common reason why dogs eat THEIR OWN poop. Try a higher quality kibble like Taste of the Wild, Ziwipeak, Orijen.. and try feeding three meals per day, instead of the more common two meals per day. Remember to gradually switch his kibble. Add a little bit of the new kibble and reduce the old kibble very slowly.. little by little every couple of days until the bowl is mostly new kibble! You should also be cleaning up his poops IMMEDIATELY after he does them.. I mean like, you have a bag in your hand, and you are low enough to scoop it up RIGHT when he finished so he doesn’t have a chance to eat his poop.

When it comes to nipping there are a few things you can do. First, you should yelp as soon as the teeth touch your skin, stand up, cross your arms, and ignore the puppy until he is ignoring you. Once he is off doing his own thing, swoop down and calmly reward him by playing with him WITH A TOY so he doesn’t nip your hands. Whenever you pet him, or interact with him, you should always have a toy on-hand so you can give it to him. This toy should be a soft braided rope toy that YOU own. This means, your puppy is never allowed to have this toy on the floor, and your pup can never “win” tug games with this toy. This is YOUR toy that disappears when you’re finished playing, and reappears when you want to play. If you keep this up, in a weeks time, your puppy will be so excited to see that toy, that as soon as you bring it out, he stops nipping you because he wants to play with the toy. Another thing you can do is have two bags of toys. Bag#1 is full of chew toys/soft toys/squeaky toys/etc. After one week, Bag#1 disappears and out comes Bag#2. Bag#2 has the same types of toys as Bag#1, and it only stays out for one week. This keeps the toys feeling like new to your pup!

ANSWER : A. As another user mentioned, dogs can eat grass when they want to vomit. Sometimes, when a dog has an upset tummy, they will eat grass. If you notice your dog eating grass frantically, you can assume vomiting will shortly follow. Grass does not digest and pass normally. If your dog eats too much grass, it can cause serious issues with pooping. Your dogs poop can end up all tangled inside of her, and it can need veterinary assistance to remove it. The same goes for celery, so avoid feeding celery to your dog.

The other day my boyfriend accidentally left the laundry room door open where we were keeping the trash that was filled with cooked chicken bones. She ate one of the chicken bones lightning fast. We had to induce vomiting by feeding her some hydrogen peroxide. After we had fed her the peroxide, she immediately began frantically eating grass because her tummy was upset.

If there is something lacking in your dogs diet, it could be that your dog is eating grass to make up for it. I am sure that my dogs diet is extremely well balanced (I do not only feed her an air-dried raw food-type diet (Ziwipeak), but a wide variety of safe, healthy foods), so when she eats grass, I know that it is because she has an upset tummy.

That is why I think it is important making sure your dog has a very well balanced diet. If your dog is on a low quality kibble, your dog may be trying to let you know by eating grass (or eating poop).

ANSWER : A. Diarrhea in kittens can be caused by many things, including intestinal parasites (very common in kittens), wrong formula, recent changes in diet (from queen’s milk to formula or from one formula to another), and other gastrointestinal upsets. Their bottoms are likely red and irritated from the diarrhea soiling the fur and skin, trapping moisture against the skin and serving as a breeding ground for bacteria. First, stop feeding the formula. Second, collect a fecal sample to be analyzed by your veterinarian for intestinal parasites. Third, call your vet and make an appointment as soon as possible, ideally the same day. Diarrhea in kittens is serious business and can lead to death from dehydration and loss of nutrients. Finally, in place of formula give an electrolyte replacement solution (like Pedialyte for infants/children) – plain, no flavors, no colors – for at least the next 1-2 feedings. This is not the same as a sports drink. After the 1st or 2nd feeding of straight electrolyte replacement solution, start to add formula back into diet at 1/4 strength ( 1 part formula to 3 parts water), The following feeding mix 2 parts formula to 2 parts water. Then, 3 parts formula to 1 part water. Finally, offer full-strength formula. If the diarrhea continues or worsens with increasing amounts of formula, go back to just electrolyte solution and repeat the process.

ANSWER : A. For the most part, this sounds pretty normal to me. English Bulldogs can be like this. What you can do is teach him bite inhibition. He needs to know that biting gets him nothing. Each and every time he nips, even gently, you immediately yelp like a puppy would, stand up, cross your arms, and ignore your puppy. Once he is ignoring you, go back to calmly playing with him WITH A TOY. Remember to always use a toy when playing with/petting/interacting with puppies. They will be teething very soon, and they don’t understand that biting you is inappropriate, so using a toy to redirect their attention is important. He needs SOMETHING to bite, or else he will choose your hand. Give him more options.

Another thing you can do is have a toy that YOU OWN. This can be a soft braided rope toy or something of the like. Dot not allow your dog to have this toy whenever he wants. This toy disappears when you are done playing with him with it, and reappears when you want to play. Never allow him to “win” games with this toy. Eventually, the toy will hold so much meaning, when he sees it, he will be instantly interested in the toy instead of your hands.

It also helps to have two bags of toys. Bag#1 is full of chew toys/rope toys/soft toys/etc. It comes out for one week, and then disappears and out comes Bag#2. Bag#2 has the same types of toys in it. This will keep the toys feeling like “new” to your pup and make him less likely to chew on you during play!

ANSWER : A. Interactions whenever a new pet is brought into the house should start off slow, then can be increased in time. The best steps when introducing a new cat is to allow your cat or kitten to have a room in the house all to him or herself. Allow your dog to sniff under the door to get used to the kitten’s scent, and even show your dog articles such as bedding the cat has slept on. After a few days, an introduction with your dog on leash, or a barrier such as a gate where both pets can look at each other but not see each other is best. This will allow each to get used to seeing the other without the ability to jump, bite or scratch the other. Once the two are used to this, then a face to face interaction can begin. If at any time a fight or scuffle breaks out, separate the two pets and try again at a later time. The amount of time this introduction takes can vary depending on how the two react to each other.

Until your kitten is older, or you are sure both are fine together, do not leave the two pets together unattended. Even a well-meaning and playful dog can accidentally break a leg of a kitten or worse without meaning to! A safe room for your kitten to be in while you are away, or a barrier to allow your kitten to escape to safety if needed will help until both are big enough to play alone safely.

ANSWER : A. You can try with holding food for 12 hours. Offer unflavored Pedialyte if she’ll drink. If she doesn’t vomit or have diarrhea for those 12 hours you can then offer small amounts of a bland diet such as boiled white meat chicken (25%) and boiled white rice (75%) without flavoring or fat added. Offer about 1/4 cup every 2 hours. If she continues to do well and has an appetite do this for 12 hours, then transition back to a normal diet slowly. If she continues to have vomiting or diarrhea I think it’s important that you seek veterinary care, since continual loss of fluid through vomiting and diarrhea while nursing is very dangerous to any dog, but especially to a very small dog like a chihuahua.