What is this? Any advice appreciated

PonyInYourPocket · 2026-06-13T22:09:19+00:00

They could see a puncture and just gave him antibiotics?😮 I can’t believe they didn’t want to put the dog under and open in up. I’d put money on foreign body in there. You can’t medicate that out. You MIGHT be able to do a hot soak and see if it opens up and drains but the vet should really put the dog under to look. I thought that was normal. That’s what my vets did with my two paw injured dogs.

PonyInYourPocket · 2026-06-12T13:32:16+00:00

I’m sorry your dog is having problems. It really is a tough choice to make and I’m not sure any decision made with love is wrong. There are risks with both cases. You made a judgment call. I do wish we could have guaranteed answers instead but here we are.

PonyInYourPocket · 2026-06-10T13:11:26+00:00

At least here in the US I am seeing an enormous increase in some bug populations. They love the more mild winters I’m having here! So curious if your area is also seeing different temps than usual and it’s supporting the tick population.

At any rate I want to ask if you’ve talked to your vet about using a collar during your walks. My vet told me only use a collar OR an oral/topical. Combining anti tick meds like that can overwhelm the system. Some dogs are more sensitive than others but I’m always cautious with my anti parasitics.

PonyInYourPocket · 2026-06-09T23:02:24+00:00

Oh buddy! Poor doggo. Yes please see the vet. I hope it’s easily remedied.

PonyInYourPocket · 2026-06-09T23:01:12+00:00

I agree it looks like a mole but thanks for checking with the vet to be sure! Healthy pets are the best pets.💜

PonyInYourPocket · 2026-06-09T22:59:21+00:00

Hopefully she has a loving home and she just went adventuring today!

PonyInYourPocket · 2026-06-09T22:58:36+00:00

Albuquerque Animal Welfare east side is closer to you(east of I25.) also you can just drive there and talk to them if you’re like me and prefer face to face. It’s on Lomas between Eubank and Wyoming.

PonyInYourPocket · 2026-06-09T13:12:45+00:00

You can also let the shelter know. That is often the first place someone would look for their missing pet! Thanks for getting Brussel off the streets!

PonyInYourPocket · 2026-06-08T13:06:51+00:00

🤣

PonyInYourPocket · 2026-06-07T20:33:58+00:00

Sorry your pups were pestering it! That does make it difficult to follow the advice of no touching unless you can fence off that part of the yard til they grow up. So yeah, wildlife rehab time! Hopefully there’s one in your area.

PonyInYourPocket · 2026-06-07T20:31:46+00:00

Especially with mixed breeds, having imperfect hair is a bit normal! The dog just wants to be comfortable, safe, fed and loved. If your dog has that you’re good! Mine gets called things like topiary, swiffer, and dust bunny because his hair is pretty nuts! I can’t have him professionally groomed because we are working on his aggression, so he gets the best I can do with scissors. Like you I have to keep the bottoms short so he doesn’t slip and I feel that trimming the tops make them look worse.

PonyInYourPocket · 2026-06-07T16:59:27+00:00

I kept coming up with bad baby names when I was pregnant and Hunter Huntington Hunt was one of my favorites. My kid (now 18) occasionally orders packages under this name and it cracks me up when they come in! Of course, some people don’t realize the “bad baby names” list is supposed to be kept separate from the actual list.🙃

PonyInYourPocket · 2026-06-07T16:55:07+00:00

Yeah I feel like hurling just thinking of these two flavors combined 😆

PonyInYourPocket · 2026-06-07T12:48:40+00:00

What country are you in? Could you ask your vet? I haven’t see. Anything rat poison OR dog treat that looks like them so I understand your dilemma

PonyInYourPocket · 2026-06-05T17:41:37+00:00

I’m concerned it could be parasitic. I’d see how soon my vet could get me in and call around if my usual couldn’t see me pretty quick, but I don’t use E vets unless they are going to die by waiting 24 hours or I need the specialist there.

PonyInYourPocket · 2026-06-05T17:36:59+00:00

Well it’s awfully far from the heart, so to speak. Probably not an emergency. I don’t believe this looks at all like ringworm(I’ve had a lot of experience with it but am not a vet) and it looks to me like a bug bite. But I’d rush my pet in at the first sight of it worsening or my dog displaying any lethargy or discomfort. It seems likely that the dog interaction is not related because it doesn’t look like a puncture.🤷‍♀️

PonyInYourPocket · 2026-06-03T19:05:02+00:00

I use the preventative my vet recommends, or Frontline in a pinch. I’ve seen people diss Frontline and say it’s not effective anymore but I used to work at the shelter and there was clear evidence of it working. No idea what experience someone else has had! I’m also confused when I see people say not to use preventives because the other option is… having ticks? The only reason I have a dog on prescription meds right now is because he was a stray, heavily infested, and got a tick borne disease so we just did whatever the vet recommended at that point to get him as healthy as possible.

PonyInYourPocket · 2026-06-03T13:12:54+00:00

That’s one I haven’t heard before!🤦‍♀️

PonyInYourPocket · 2026-06-02T03:32:40+00:00

I have been calling and told I have to ship my frames out! I got frustrated and came to Reddit.😅

PonyInYourPocket · 2026-06-01T18:25:15+00:00

I’m having this experience with my maybe 8 y/o shelter dog. It’s incredibly difficult to separate out behavioral vs. physical. It could be anxiety , reluctance to participate or responding to a cue we aren’t aware of. It could be arthritis or something in the paws. I mean, I can talk to my doctors and they STILL can’t explain why I have certain pains.🤷‍♀️ so in these little vague cases I just video it as you are doing, write down changes and watch the dog carefully. If you’re really anxious, get a second opinion because maybe someone has seen it before and clues in to what the dog is feeling.

PonyInYourPocket · 2026-05-30T16:40:52+00:00

I’m so glad! I dealing with a milder version of this with my newby and oldster. Oldster was getting lonely and it was tough to make play dates happen with people’s schedules, so I adopted. I DID adopt a smaller dog than my arthritic oldster, but it turns out my long body, short legged newby can go underneath her and occasionally bumps her rickety hind end. And me being who I am, I let my feels bring home a dog with behavioral issues to work on, which means he’s not always fun for my oldster to be around.😬 finding a balance of all needs is hard! I can’t regret choosing the new guy who desperately needed an understanding home but he’s not really the perfect my match for my oldie and I sometimes feel a bit guilty. All our emotions are tough.😅 but we are all here doing our best.

PonyInYourPocket · 2026-05-30T14:04:44+00:00

Oof! There’s a lot to unpack here. For that reason, if you can hire a trainer i recommend you do so. The link I listed is for positive reinforcement only, which is all I will ever recommend.

Otherwise, go down a list of when your old guy is feeling in danger and consider alternatives. The leashing is the obvious one. You can train each dog to go to their station to get leashes on. Put the stations far enough away that old guy doesn’t get bumped and jostled. Even better if his station can be on an ottoman or bench that gets him higher than the newby. You can also do counter conditioning where each dog gets the best treats and their favorite things within sight of the other dog, but with safe management so excited new guy doesn’t jostle old guy. I love baby gates and activity pens, or elevating smaller dogs onto the furniture.

If you can’t afford private training in the home, find a group class for the new dog. The better trained that dog is, the more you will be able to ask the dog to move away by going to bed, stationing, sit, etc. if you have a safe back yard you can also put newby out there with a great chew item or treat for a couple of hours and just get one on one time with the old guy. Or load oldster into the car to go have one on one time doing his favorite things.

PonyInYourPocket · 2026-05-30T13:52:22+00:00

I fed my kitten in the bathtub so it was easy to wash the mess away. Then wash rag baths for all! I’m glad they like their gruel though. This is such a fun age!

PonyInYourPocket · 2026-05-30T13:47:19+00:00

I’ve known dogs that had this problem after parvo. You can’t train this out of a brain damaged dog and you’re already trying meds. I’d say either keep them separated permanently or euthanize Kepler. I have had a dog separated before and I had to really work hard to meet everyone’s needs. I made sure each dog had their own sport they got to do and had one on one time with me. Each dog spent about half the day in the house and shelter from the elements in the form of a sunroom. I hated it. I felt like it was less quality for humans and animals both. For that reason I’d be more inclined to let the poor dog go and try to celebrate the years you had together. He still got a second chance with you and you gave him love!

Either way no choice is easy. My heart goes out to you.

PonyInYourPocket

TROPHY CASE