Raleigh, Archie, Gus

You might be able to entice him to drink more by offering him a little diluted chicken broth (mostly water) a few times a day. He might not like it cold. Try warming it to room temperature. Does he like ice cubes? Rosie loves them. She comes running whenever she hears the freezer door open. Buddy wouldn't touch them. You could try that. Filling Kongs and freezing them is good too. Does it seem like he's not getting enough fluids because our Cush babies drink a ton of water? Rosie drinks like a camel. She'll drink a lot, then not for several hours. I think they are all different. Did the vet say that Archie appeared dehydrated? You certainly have your hands full. xxxxxx

Hi Kathy,
Thanks for the suggestions. I will give them a try tomorrow.
I'll talk about the spraying another time. I am getting worried about his lack of drinking. He saw the vet a couple of weeks ago. The vet said at that time he was not dehydrated. He told me he is not worried because he eats canned food which has water in it. This started back around the time when he started with the diarrhea weeks ago. Everything all around the same time.
He hacks like there is something in his throat. He just did it a few minutes ago and he did it a couple of times. It sounds horrible. Scares the crap out of me. He made that sound right before he had his seizure. I sure wish I knew what the heck is going on with him. I worry so much about him. There is just so much going on.
Before all this started whenever Gus or Raleigh would get a drink, Archie would get a drink with them. I have tried to give him water out of my cup but he won't drink any. It's just so strange how it changed when he started having all these other issues.

Kathy,
Thanks for answering me.
Regarding Archie's peeing, he goes out many, many times. He lifts his leg so many times and sometimes nothing comes out. He can go in the house and in no time he sprays. A lot of the times it's in the area where Raleigh is. He doesn't do it everyday. He had accidents in the house where would pee when he was younger but now it's just spraying. A couple of weeks ago when he was at the vet, they checked a stool sample and a urine sample. The vet told me it's a behavior problem. I don't remember exactly when it started but it was somewhere around the time everything else went wacky.
Archie and Gus each have their own crates and they go in there when we go out. He has not had an accident in there. He can also hold it at night. Last night before we went to bed he went to the door. He had to go out. When he had diarrhea he would go to the door so he knows to go out. Just so many issues.

Kathy,
I tried putting beef broth in some water for Archie. He just sniffed it and didn't drink any. I didn't want to use chicken broth because I still have the thought that he might be allergic to chicken.
He did lick an ice cube and tried to bite it.

Hope you're feeling better!

Here is the million dollar question? ARE ARCHIE AND RALEIGH NEUTERED? If not, I would bet that the spraying problem is a guy thing and neutering Archie would definitely help. Intact males have a very high level of testosterone and have a very strong need to mark their territory. That would make sense that he'd feel the need to mark in the area that Raleigh is. Hopefully others will chime in on this, but that's my theory. I have seen it before. If both are neutered, then that blows my theory.

Yes, stay away from the chicken broth if you suspect an allergy. Archie doesn't need more issues. Poor little thing. Xxxx

Kathy,
Raleigh is neutered, Archie is not.
I asked the vets if neutering Archie would help the spraying and they both said NO. Just the other night I read on Veterinary Partners website that it would help. I was thinking after the holidays were over that Archie would get neutered but the one vet thinks we should wait. He said that the issues Archie is having are because his immune system hasn't matured. I think the rabies shot played havoc with his immune system. The vet says to wait on the neutering to help his immune system. I didn't know testosterone had anything to do with the immune system. Archie will be 7 months old on Jan. 6so there isn't a rush for getting him neutered.

When I was growing up, we had a male dog named Spot. He was intact. We ended up taking another intact male dog in because the owner was being transferred oversees and couldn't take him. Spot had been housebroken for many years and started spraying in the house after Snoopy arrived. We finally had to rehome Snoopy. Neutering wasn't routinely done in those days.

I am not a vet, but I still think Archie's spraying is tied up with marking. As far as neutering now, Archie has other health concerns that do need to be considered, as neutering is surgery. He does have a weakened immune system. I agree with your vet on that one. Xxxx

Happy New Year Vicki- Raleigh, Archie and Gus and Angel Scoop

I hope this year is a better one than last year.

Hugs,
Sharlene and Molly Muffin

Thanks Kathy and Sharlene.

Happy New Year to you both and your families.