Dog self mutilating
Question :
4 weeks ago our dog (2yo male neutered Jack Russell Terrier) had surgery to repair a luxated patella. The surgery went well but 2 days after surgery he chewed up his tail so badly that it had to be amputated. Following that he was placed on chlomipramine and fitted with a cone collar. He was doing really well for about a week so we removed the collar and about 2 days after that he chewed up his penis. His vet up the dosage of the chlomipramine and took an x-ray of his knee which showed that the pin used in surgery has migrated. They think that may be the cause of his self-mutilation if it's causing him discomfort and have advised us to have the pin removed 9 weeks following surgery. We have also taken him to a family member's house for 2 weeks of intensive training as our relative is a dog trainer. My concern is that none of the vets we've seen have heard of this kind of behaviour and therefore can't really help us with any advice. Is there anything we can do to make sure he won't continue to self-mutilate? We love having our Jack Russell and would hate to have to put him down if the self-mutilation doesn't stop.
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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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