Socializing anxious stray dog
Question :
Our dog (1.5yo female neutered mutt) was tied up behind a derilict building for 6 months. As a result she is a nervous and very timid dog. She is much better with me and my fiance now but still has habits we cannot break. After a year she is still going to the toilet in the house at night if she is not sleeping in our room. We cannot leave her alone in the house as she howls and barks, and if we leave her on the balcony she breaks the door down to get back in! She won't play with toys as she doesn't like or know how to hold them in her mouth, she just drops them. She has learnt to sit and go to her bed, so she can be very obedient, but her inability to know how to play or just 'chill out' is very saddening. How can we increase her confidence when alone, and is there anything we can do to help her learn how to play and have fun?
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Dog with problems walking
When I came home from work yesterday, Sparrow(6yo female neutered mix breed), who stays in my basement with access to the crawl space under the house, was having trouble going up the stairs. She seemed sick - hot nose & depressed. She has a knot midway up her tail about the size of a quarter. Her hindquarters are slightly swollen and tender. Her behind was dirty with dust, some fecal matter, and little black dots that looked like flea eggs (she doesn't have fleas - she's on med from the vet.) It seemed she had been dragging her bottom on the ground. My gut feeling is that she may have been bitten by a spider or god forbid a snake (in my basement?!!) but I'm also worried that she's hurt her back. She can still walk - even jump on the bed - but she is not moving correctly. She is still eating and drinking. She's not any worse this morning, but no better. She's not limping, but she acts stiff - is not moving her hind legs with ease, but I don't see where they look out of whack. For example, when she goes up steps, she just goes one step at a time, very slowly and carefully when she usually bounds & skips steps. It doesn't look like she's knuckling over, and her feet and legs look normal. Another thought after babying her this morning - she has had trouble in the past with her anal glands being blocked. Usually I try to massage & expel them when I bathe her. I haven't noticed her dragging her butt, which usually happens when her glands are filled and need expelling, but is it possible this could be the problem? Or constipation?
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