Hey I am just starting out with my two year old male dog. This is a first for us both. How do I touch him without hurting him and how do I make him come out of his sheath? Any tips on starting out with touching your dog would be helpful. Is it normal that he doesn’t seem start to mount and thrust his hips. He seems more curious about what I am doing. Placing my fingers at the base of his knot in his sheath and gently apply pressure and strokes? Is this right ?
Veterinarian here: ask me anything!
- Thread starter Deagle113
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Deagle113
Citizen of Zooville
offgridk9lover2
Citizen of Zooville
my late wife could grip like you wouldn't believe though, had to use some force to pop back out when she clamped down! but stuck? No
Deagle113
Citizen of Zooville
Absolutely. There are excellent guides on here for the entire process.
Thank you
ikanon
Citizen of Zooville
Hi Deagle.
Recently I adopted an elder neutered male dog, 9 years. He sometimes seem to have issues with his penis, he seems irritated there. He is very dry in his sheath, and the penis can't be moved in the sheath, without adding some moist first. As long as there is some moist in his sheath the irritations are not there. I do clean his and my other intact male dog's sheath on a regular basis, basically just using sterile water. Is the something I can safely use for him where the "lube" effect lasts longer than water?
Recently I adopted an elder neutered male dog, 9 years. He sometimes seem to have issues with his penis, he seems irritated there. He is very dry in his sheath, and the penis can't be moved in the sheath, without adding some moist first. As long as there is some moist in his sheath the irritations are not there. I do clean his and my other intact male dog's sheath on a regular basis, basically just using sterile water. Is the something I can safely use for him where the "lube" effect lasts longer than water?
Deagle113
Citizen of Zooville
Good on ya for giving a loving home to an older boy. When you say irritated what do you mean exactly? Licking at the area more than often? Red and inflamed? What prompted the water cleansing? Canine sheaths are generally self cleaning and don't usually require extra care.
offgridk9lover2
Citizen of Zooville
to add to deagle pure water will dry things out, you will want isotonic saline as a flushing rinse to help things. Too much cleaning is harmful it will destabilize the natural processes and make easier for un wanted bacteria to move in
0.9% (weight/weight) You take 0.9 grams of sodium chloride and dissolve it into 100 grams of water.
UR20Z
Dumpster Diver
Strongly advise using a good brand (Morton's is one) of Kosher salt. That's *SUPPOSED TO BE* pure salt, no anti-caking additives, sand (silica) potassium iodide, etc. The amounts of "stuff other than salt" is small, but non-zero, and could, at least in some cases, cause issues.
ikanon
Citizen of Zooville
He licks his penis quite often, and turns his head to it when he makes movements that makes the penis sheath shake. He is so dry in his sheath that the penis can not move in the sheath, it is stuck to the sheath. When I wash him out he is OK for a short while, that is a few hours. There is no infection or inflammation. It seems more like small stitches of pain/irritation due to his movements.
Deagle113
Citizen of Zooville
You may be making things worse by rinsing it so often, drying out the area and flushing the natural secretions away as well as disrupting the microbiome. Have you given it time without rinsing to see if it returns to normal?
ikanon
Citizen of Zooville
The actual problem here seems to be irritation from a varix, just above the sheath. Still, he is very dry in his sheath, even without any measures taken.,
That's an amazing thing!
FlareFanatic
Citizen of Zooville
Hi @Deagle113
I wanted to get your expert opinion on what to give a dog who gets motion sickness on car rides.
I have an almost 2yo german shepherd who excessively drools on trips in the car. With summer time pretty much here I like to take my boy to the beach, lakes and on other adventures where he can run around and be happy. Ive tried getting him comfortable with short car rides to the mailbox, encouraging him with trips to places he enjoy, making the ride as comfortable as possible but he still isn't that big of a fan of car trips. I know you can get prescription medication to help and ive read dozens of home remedies online but I want to ask if you had any home remedies or suggestions that might help make car rides easier for him. Thanks!
I wanted to get your expert opinion on what to give a dog who gets motion sickness on car rides.
I have an almost 2yo german shepherd who excessively drools on trips in the car. With summer time pretty much here I like to take my boy to the beach, lakes and on other adventures where he can run around and be happy. Ive tried getting him comfortable with short car rides to the mailbox, encouraging him with trips to places he enjoy, making the ride as comfortable as possible but he still isn't that big of a fan of car trips. I know you can get prescription medication to help and ive read dozens of home remedies online but I want to ask if you had any home remedies or suggestions that might help make car rides easier for him. Thanks!
oliveyote
Tourist
Alright so I'm not a licensed vet but I have owned cats all my life. It sounds like he could be dealing with separation anxiety, specifically when you stated how he starts yowling when you leave the room. There's a decent amount of cat species that are prone to separation anxiety.
I'd recommend looking up videos on how to approach separation anxiety and help your cat through it. If that doesn't work you may have to go to a behavioral specialist or potential mentioning to your vet that he's having these problems and you would like to seek out some anti anxiety medicine. The medicine isn't always a cure though and may not be the best option but that's up to you to decide.
iwanttobeabottom
Esteemed Citizen of ZV
But the thing about that is that he'll be lying ON TOP OF ME while I'm in bed petting him, then he'll just get up, bolt out of the room, and start doing it.
Did that, three times. No dice.
oliveyote
Tourist
Hmmm have you tried following him and seeing if he's trying to show you something or like ask for something? What cat breed do you have? You could have accidently got one that's very vocal in general.
What did they say when you brought it up? Did they mention anything that you could try or be prescribed to help?
I've always wondered if it's okay for animals to have foreign substances like pieces of poop in their vagina, what do you think?
I know there are problems with people, but looking at the bestiality data, I'm curious that they don't seem to pay much attention to animals.
If there is a problem with the way you speak due to the use of a translator, I apologize.
I know there are problems with people, but looking at the bestiality data, I'm curious that they don't seem to pay much attention to animals.
If there is a problem with the way you speak due to the use of a translator, I apologize.
Cookiecaretaker
Esteemed Citizen of ZV
Deagle113
Citizen of Zooville
No. Good point about the extrapolation. The attention paid to people should also be paid to other species of animal. The issues are the same.
Fragcat
Tourist
What are some reasons one should not spay their female dogs? I have seen lots of positives and also negatives for both, and I am starting to go back and question my original decision to never spay my dogs. I really don't want to spay, for many reasons but just want to make sure that isnt a bad choice.
DogLoverTwo
Zooville Settler
There have been numerous studies that address the pros & cons. While there is an increased risk certain cancers like mammary tumors if you do not spay them. There are also decreased risks of other cancers like hemangiosarcoma amongst others. There is an article on the Golden Retriever Club of America dealing with "The effects of early spaying & neuter"
BrotatoChip
Citizen of Zooville
Is there any benefit, at all, to docking tails or cropping ears on breeds where it's common (cane corso, doberman, rottweiler, etc)? No, right? I have to admit I find the look attractive, but I wouldn't want this if there's nothing in it for them. This is mostly curiosity, I'm not looking for a dog currently but I am trying to get my ducks in a row and learn stuff right now.
creaturelover
Zooville Settler
this has probably been asked, but what would be the best way to find a vet who can do a vasectomy/ovary sparing spay and what to say... I feel most people would be like "why are you paying extra money and making g it harder for the surgeon"
Cookiecaretaker
Esteemed Citizen of ZV
call them and ask? its ur decision and u can say that u dont want that healthy tissue/organs get removed when not needed for the ,,result,,
thats not really connected to be a zoo question, normal people do the same
UR20Z
Dumpster Diver
Cropping ears and docking tails is something that *TRADITIONALLY* was done on "working class" dogs. Those you named are the primaries, The reasoning is at least halfway sound - Long tails get damaged/infected/end up being amputated in the course of treatment, at a higher rate among these breeds (never mind that the tails on these breeds are USUALLY pretty ... what's the word I want... "wimpy" will do for lack of anything better I guess - These breeds usually have "wimpy", easily damaged tails compared to other breeds where the tail is more robust. So essentially, docking the tail is, in at least one way, "mercy" - No tail, no tail injuries to treat, become infected, require amputation.
As an example, I once knew a lab - normally VERY rare that they get docked. She was closed inside while owner made a store run. Owner came home and found the walls spray-painted with blood from floor level to about the four-foot-high level, and the dog had a tiny cut at the end of her tail. Best explanation/reconstruction anybody could come up with is that when she was closed in before owner left, she wagged wrong, hitting the wall hard enough to cause the nick in her tail - maybe she whipped it against the wall splitting the skin, maybe she hit a corner, maybe... Nobody knows, but it's the best guess available - and it caused the nick in her tail. Then, while the owner was gone, she wandered around the house wagging, and in the process, splattering blood in all directions, much the same way that if you turn off a garden hose, then swing a few feet of it back and forth, you'll fling water all over the place.
Edit to add: She ended up docked just as tight as a dobie or rotty, because she kept wagging it against walls and whatnot, breaking open the wound and having it get infected, go gangrenous, and have another joint worth cut off the end until she was down to "nothing but a dobie-like stump", when it *FINALLY* stayed still enough to scab over and heal.
Ears are similar, though mostly used in "badger" and "rat" dogs - The ones, like Dachshunds (wiener-dogs), sent underground into badger sets and rat burrows and similar to kill and/or flush out the occupants for whatever fate awaits them. Ears are vulnerable to injury in such situations - much more so than "always above-ground" dogs. So it became routine to trim 'em down - In the case of dobies, a "natural" dobie is a flop-eared beast that was originally a hunter/herder dog, subject to ear injuries, and *VERY* prone to getting loaded up with burrs and similar as it goes through brush in pursuit of its duties. By trimming them back to an upright form, you get fewer and/or less severe ear problems. Similarly, for the "underground" dogs, getting loaded up with who-knows-what-might-be-encountered inside a badger set is greatly reduced, reducing the chance of infection due to having "gunk" trapped in 'em, and lessening the damage that might occur as a result.
Similar applies to draft horses with docked tails - If you've *EVER* been on a runaway due to one of your team getting its tail up over the lines, you'd be likely to demand ANY driving horse be docked. Never mind that a long, flowing tail on a drafter puling farm implements is a danger - Imagine the train-wreck if the tail gets pulled into the pickup head of a hay baler, or corn cutter... <shudder>
Yes, tails can be braided up. This is practical for todays "hobby" critters, but back in the day when you and your team going out *NOW* could be the difference between getting the hay in for the winter, and having to shoot them come January rather than watching them starve 'cause you spent time to do the braiding/wrapping and the hay was ruined in the field, rather than safely stowed in the barn... Well, you do the math...
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BrotatoChip
Citizen of Zooville
Sweet, thanks for taking the time to write all that. The lab getting docked is pretty interesting, I'd never heard of that before but it makes sense when you write it out like that.
DingoJay
Citizen of Zooville
I have known a couple of pit bulls who have suffered what one Vet called "happy tail syndrome." Both had long, narrow "whip" tails with only a thin coating of hair. Both dogs wagged their tails very fast and hard when they got excited.
One visited his human's workplace, where there was a very small office with just enough room for two desks and little more. He got overly excited and wagged his tail against the corner of a desk, splitting the tip of the tail open and flinging blood all over. The place ended up looking a murder scene! The injury required a Vet visit and a few sutures; the tail seemed to heal OK. It happened again a year or so later, so now the dog only gets to visit his friends outdoors, at least until he calms down a bit.
The other one was playing with a neighbor's dog where the two were separated by a chain link fence. That dog ended losing about 2 inches / 5 cm off the tip of her tail due to infection.
The odd thing here is that pit bulls are not one of the breeds that are traditionally docked.
One visited his human's workplace, where there was a very small office with just enough room for two desks and little more. He got overly excited and wagged his tail against the corner of a desk, splitting the tip of the tail open and flinging blood all over. The place ended up looking a murder scene! The injury required a Vet visit and a few sutures; the tail seemed to heal OK. It happened again a year or so later, so now the dog only gets to visit his friends outdoors, at least until he calms down a bit.
The other one was playing with a neighbor's dog where the two were separated by a chain link fence. That dog ended losing about 2 inches / 5 cm off the tip of her tail due to infection.
The odd thing here is that pit bulls are not one of the breeds that are traditionally docked.