Question by Sarah: My dog seems to talk to us by burping, is this a “calming signal”?
For the past few years we have had two dogs, and the younger one has developed a habit of burping to us when we would talk to her. She is on a very healthy diet for a possible skin allergy, and even then does not each much, but she does seem to swallow air when drinking. I wouldn’t really notice except she will talk back to us in burps if we talk to her, I have heard of this happening with yawning and that it might be a calming signal. Anyone else heard of this? Also she is a mix of a whippet and Labrador, with some anxiety and went through some abuse before we rescued her.
Thats interesting bout the hiccups, she normally does it when we talk in a normal, most times we ask her to go get her toy, she only tries to get us to play “come and get me”, but is content with wondering around the house with it.

I’ll start paying more attention to the tone of the voice we use.

When she gets up set she’ll normally go in circles really fast and bites herself, we think it’s from being in a crate for so long.

Best answer:

Answer by ?shelter puppies rule?
Well I know hiccups are a sign of anxiety. (or a growth spurt for puppies). Maybe burping is another sign of anxiety. how are you talking to her? in a sweet baby voice? Sometimes when we coddle dogs, it really just reinforces their fear, like it’s telling them something is wrong and you have a reason to be afraid.

add: try not to dwell so much on her current behaviors being a result of her past (although probably are) she’s in a great home now it sounds like, try to refocus her when she starts spinning. she might like a game where you hide her toy and ask her to find it.

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Question by itry: my chihuahua’s eye seems to be irritated or infected? Why? How to heal?
It seems to irritate her, is a little swollen and she seems to be squinting with it. This started a day ago and she had a little discharge today. Want to see if there is anything I can try to help her with at home first.
I am looking for some home remedies to allievate or cure her symptoms. I have tried to do a compress but she runs away. I gave her a drop of infants tylenol today and she seemed more energetic. Seems to get worse at night.
(Yes, I know I should take her to a vet and might do it anyway. I first want to see if its anything I can fix. We just took our other dog to the vet and spent $ 400 to find out he had gas and basicaly I could have given him OTC med. This dog I spend $ 4500 for surgery on her leg when she broke it so I really cant afford anymore bills unless i am absolutely sure its not something I can help her with at home first.)
Here are some things I thought might have caused it…?Allergies? we have been on walks thru wildflowers lately, she will run thru brush sometimes-allergic reaction or scratch?
I have been pouring some powder from treats over the dogs food lately for them to eat-maybe some particles got in her eye?
She recently had a bath, maybe some baby shampoo accidently didn’t get rinsed off (although these have never happened before)
Or it could be something totally different!
Any suggestions, advice or experience? Tips would be so appreciated! I really want to help her and am wondering if its temporary or what we could try first. thanks!

Best answer:

Answer by ChihuahuaLovin
First of all, NEVER give a dog Tylenol unless a vet specifically tells you to and how much to give. Tylenol is TOXIC and can kill your dog if you continue to give it to her. You need to take your Chihuahua to the vet. You have no other option! You cannot cure or treat a problem, until you know exactly what the problem you are treating is. When it comes to the eyes, you can cause your dog more severe injury, more pain or you can cause your dog to go blind, if you start trying to treat your dog on your own without a vets advice. Never mess around when it comes to the eyes. If you are honest in what you are saying about really wanting to help your Chi, then do the right thing and take her to the vet, get her properly diagnosed and treated. Anything could have caused this to happen! Your Chihuahua is in pain! If you really love her, then prove it by having her eye checked by a vet! There is NOTHING OTC that will help her! Only a vet can! This will not get better on it’s own! If anything, it will get worse without medical attention! Again, PLEASE DO NOT give her anymore Tylenol!!!

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Question by ishyboo: My beagle mix seems to have itchy dry skin… Advice?
I have a beagle mix I believe the other half is collie, based on his coat, neck and facial structure.

He has always been very itchy. We had to get him a hydrocortosone shot in january when he was chewing the skin off his back legs. I got hydrocortoson spray, but he hates for me to spray it on him and it doesn’t last long. I’m not sure if it is his skin or an allergy. I dont believe it is fleas, because i never see fleas on him or in the bathtub when I give him baths.

He seems to extra itchy after a bath which makes me believe it is dry skin. I am using an oatmeal shampoo that doesnt seem to work. He itches all day. He makes his skin red with all the scratching. Anyone have any advice that has been thru this? I have never had a dog with a problem like this.

I was told to give him benadryl to see if it is an allergy, but i would have no idea how much to give him!
he actually has no dandruff or flaking of any kind. just scratching incontrollable constantly!

Best answer:

Answer by Kate
I have a beagle and he had horrible dandruff. We finally took him to the vet and discovered that he had a skin infection. We were very surprised because we also thought it was in allergic reaction to something. Our vet prescribed an antibiotic that cleared his infection. Now, he is dandruff free and has been for the last year!

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Question by Tullia: My dog has been vomiting partially digested food for about three weeks, but seems fine?
We did not change his dog food, no new treats. After two weeks of vomiting we did switch his dog food from Kirkland to Science Diet, because the vet said it was better and to try to eliminate the possibility of a new allergy or something. We have taken him to the vet twice so far. He has not lost weight, he has normal Bowel Movements. He had a blood test, and everything was good. His only other symptom is he has red swollen gums. It could have been caused by antibiotics. He took a round of them just in case. We were going to go in for an x-ray this morning (Monday), but he did not vomit on Friday and Saturday so we are hoping he might be getting better? He did vomit twice on Sunday though. If anyone has any similar experience I would appreciate it.
Thanks for all the answers so far! He doesn’t chew up his toys. He is 6 and a half and I’ve had him for 6 of those years. He has always eaten in the same way/speed as far as I can tell. I did check the recall food list, and his was not on it. Like I said, he seems fine otherwise (except for the swollen red gums). No diarrhea, no shortness of breath, normal energy and appetite. I’m clueless.
he only eats dry food. never has eaten faster than he has the past 6 and a half years, teeth ok, so we gave him an x-ray and the vet couldn’t really find anything. good news, he seems to have stopped. I guess we won’t really know why he was vomiting for 3 weeks.
the gums were a result of the vomiting. now that the vomiting has stopped, the have returned to normal. Thanks for all your help!

Best answer:

Answer by pitbull owner
I cant say the problem is except that my boxer sometimes vomits up partially digested food but only if she eats too much at one time ,try smaller servings of food for a few days to see if that helps

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I have a beagle mix I believe the other half is collie, based on his coat, neck and facial structure.
He has always been very itchy. We had to get him a hydrocortosone shot in january when he was chewing the skin off his back legs. I got hydrocortoson spray, but he hates for me to spray it on him and it doesn’t last long. I’m not sure if it is his skin or an allergy. I dont believe it is fleas, because i never see fleas on him or in the bathtub when I give him baths.
He seems to extra itchy after a bath which makes me believe it is dry skin. I am using an oatmeal shampoo that doesnt seem to work. He itches all day. He makes his skin red with all the scratching. Anyone have any advice that has been thru this? I have never had a dog with a problem like this.
I was told to give him benadryl to see if it is an allergy, but i would have no idea how much to give him!