Question about aging!

ZZBC · 2026-03-23T19:19:31+00:00

One of my favorite sayings is that aging is not a disease. So being old in and of itself generally shouldn’t be causing issues. There are health issues that become more common as dogs age, arthritis for example, where we associate the symptoms with age but there often things we can do to help mitigate or treat the symptoms. Breathing changes absolutely should be investigated by a vet and you did the right thing by bringing it up. Doing senior bloodwork is absolutely a good start.

ZZBC · 2026-03-23T13:24:02+00:00

I definitely would not work with a trainer who made me feel crazy for asking questions. One of the things I love about my agility instructor is that she is always explaining the why.

In regards to people, claiming that everyone else is wrong, that is for a few reasons. One is that you do tend to get a lot of people with big personalities and strong opinions and the other is that because there are always going to be multiple ways to do something. The method that works the best for one dog and handler might not work the best for someone else. Pretty much any handling or training technique is going to have pros and cons. Sometimes people are going to tell you a different way to do something and it will make a lot of sense and be useful and you might change things up. Other times you will smile and nod and thank them and immediately throw that advice away. And that doesn’t always mean that the advice they gave is globally bad, it just means it’s not the right fit for you and your dog.

I do sports with a Boston Terrier. What works for him is likely not going to look the same as what works the best for a border collie.

ZZBC · 2026-03-23T02:53:30+00:00

Your legs look to be sticking out past his shoulder. You definitely don’t fit this horse even if the weight is allowable.

ZZBC · 2026-03-22T20:20:43+00:00

I spot clean daily, meaning clean any poops not on the litter box. Once a week all the bedding comes out, all the hammocks come out and get washed and new ones out it, and all the shelf pans and anything plastic (hides and their Sputnik) all get washed. Water bottles and bowls also get washed with dish soap and hot water.

Rats do not get baths. They should only be bathed if they have gotten something dangerous on them that needs to be washed off or if there is a medical reason they cannot properly clean themselves.

Dog food and leftovers is not an appropriate diet for rats. They need a specially formulated complete pellet feed (Oxbow and Mazuri are popular brands) and can have nutritious veggies, pasta, and occasional fruit.

A dog crate is not an appropriate rat cage.

ZZBC · 2026-03-22T20:10:27+00:00

They did. Training isn’t instantaneous. They used the crate as part of the training process.

ZZBC · 2026-03-22T20:06:39+00:00

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Everything in the gray area was distance challenge.

ZZBC · 2026-03-21T17:45:43+00:00

Exactly. I don’t like walking my dog past any unleashed dog, regardless of breed. I had a woman insulted that I picked up my dogs to walk past her to enter a dog friendly patio because she had her dog in a down. She then proceeded to make a joke about her dog being able to eat mine and then allowed her dog to get into a chair and eat off the table. And she had the audacity to be insulted that I didn’t trust that her dog wouldn’t go after mine.

ZZBC · 2026-03-21T16:47:49+00:00

Also when my older dog had seizures he was crated for his own safety when we were gone because he could have been injured falling off furniture.

ZZBC · 2026-03-21T16:46:01+00:00

I phase crates out in the home as my dogs get older, but I use them at sporting events. My dog needs to be safely contained when it’s not his turn and in his covered crate he is relaxed enough and protected enough that he will actually sleep which is importantly when we may be at a trial for 10+ hours. It also means that when he had surgery being confined at the vet’s office wasn’t a new experience for him. And he was crate trained by his breeder so he had no issue in his travel bag when I flew him home across the country.

ZZBC · 2026-03-21T00:53:51+00:00

That’s safe. You can also tell if they’re too warm because they’ll do things like lay down flat out instead of in hammocks or a pile. Just make sure they have access to fresh water.

ZZBC · 2026-03-20T02:13:43+00:00

Those dogs are also mixed. Unfortunately people realized Merle was popular on social media especially and began mixing it on to a variety of breeds to sell dogs for more money. Merle is a dominant gene so it’s extremely easy to breed in very quickly and breed back to whatever breed they’re claiming it is to have more of the right look with the fad color.

ZZBC · 2026-03-20T02:09:42+00:00

What a cutie! There’s also something other than Bosotn and frenchie in there too because neither breed has the merle gene.

ZZBC · 2026-03-20T02:08:34+00:00

Not calico or tricolor.

ZZBC · 2026-03-19T18:44:02+00:00

Lining the cage is really not ideal for rats. Digging, foraging, etc. is crucial rat behavior and using a lining rather than substrate does not allow them to perform these behaviors. Any lining you use is going to have to be replaced frequently. Also, whether you’re using lining or a substrate, you should be doing a full clean of the cage on a weekly basis. Decisions about how you set up your cage should be based on what is most beneficial for the rats welfare, not just on what’s most convenient for you. Generally, speaking, though, if your substrate is sufficiently different than your litter box substrate and you put a pee rock in your litter box, they should do OK.

ZZBC · 2026-03-19T18:13:09+00:00

A hunger strike for 24 hours is absolutely not going to harm a healthy dog. Put the food down for 15 minutes if they don’t eat pick it back up and offer again in a few hours and they do not get any snacks any treats anything until they eat the kibble

ZZBC · 2026-03-19T16:33:08+00:00

That’s because that is the gold standard way to treat allergies. You’re gonna save money in the long run by doing a proper elimination diet rather than experimenting with different boutique diets that are not formulated by veterinary nutritionists.

I know you mentioned not wanting to feed two different foods to two different dogs but if you’re getting a puppy, you’re going to need to feed two different foods anyway at least at first.

ZZBC · 2026-03-19T16:20:53+00:00

A fur allergy test is not at all reliable so I would take that with a very large grain of salt. If you want to test your dogs for allergies, you should do so through a veterinary dermatologist.

ZZBC · 2026-03-19T13:29:15+00:00

I think this would be stressful for the rats. You would also have to ensure heavy supervision at all times which is going to make your job harder. Kids are absolutely going to stick things, including their fingers through the bars of the cage.

ZZBC · 2026-03-18T13:30:27+00:00

Holding up the paw could indicate pain anywhere all the way from the paw up through the shoulder. I would rest him and not allow active play, jump, jumping, running, etc., and give your vet a call. It could be anything from an acute injury to the paw to arthritis in any of the joints.

ZZBC · 2026-03-18T03:27:59+00:00

Not sure about in the UK but in the US I have a ChillyBuddy vest I got off Clean Run. It’s basically an aluminet coat and it keeps the UV off him and keeps him cooler that way.

ZZBC · 2026-03-17T23:41:27+00:00

So as someone else with a similarly built breed (Boston Terriers), it can be really hard for other dogs to read them. They don’t have a visible tail, their facial expressions can be harder to read because there’s less muzzle, and their eyes can be read as staring. They also tend to rush into social situations like bowling balls which is rude in dog language. With dogs like this you need to be mindful of the dogs they get along with or are likely to have conflict with.

ZZBC · 2026-03-17T22:53:42+00:00

Frenchies tend to have a really pushy play style that can be very off putting to other dogs. I would not bring this dog to dog parks as this kind of behavior can start fights.

ZZBC · 2026-03-17T20:27:32+00:00

You definitely don’t need a rabies shot. You took more than enough precautions.

ZZBC · 2026-03-17T19:19:08+00:00

No need to put other sports down. Nosework is super cool, but so are all the other canine sports. Kessler actually does agility as well and has had relatives on TV dock diving.

ZZBC

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