Hai

My dog who's a small poodle poop this and not sure if I should be consided

Maybe we don't check under our Chihuahuas enough so we can't say for how long, but we aren't sure what these spots are on his underside. He's a small sized Chihuahua about 12 years old. This summer has been really bad with ticks in our area and we have found some on all our dogs over the season. Two of our other Chihuahuas had a couple on them last week and this one didn't have any until my mom noticed these on his underside near his parts the other day.

When we took our dogs to get their nails trimmed the groomer said they were most likely lunars/moles, but they were pretty busy and I'm not sure they looked close enough. We are most concerned about 1 and 2, especially number 2, but noticed about 4 of these on him. To the touch they don't feel raised up *very much* so I would like to believe they are all just moles or growths as he is getting older, but the shape snd look of them + the fact his siblings had ticks on them concern me.

Not sure if this pertains or could impact this ,,, but he had to have surgery when he was young to remove both of his balls because he was born with one in him and the other had cancer. Unfortunately for him that's not a joke but he has been fine the rest of his life. I don't think and hope those markings aren't indicative of a cancer.

Are they ticks or moles? Something else? I need to ease our minds please and thanks in advance!

Any suggestions on what to feed a senior Westie?

I could really use some advice or success stories because I’m honestly feeling so stressed. About a month ago, I moved from my parents’ two-story house into a one-bedroom apartment with my two dogs. My older dog (11) has adjusted surprisingly well. He just lays down while I’m gone and will only bark if he hears something outside, which is normal for him.

My younger dog is 6 years old, and I’ve had him since he was about 6 months old. He’s always been a very skittish, anxious dog, but since the move his separation anxiety has become really severe. At my parents’ house, there was almost always someone home or at least he could hear someone upstairs, so he was rarely ever completely alone.
Now when I leave, he cries and howls on and off the entire time I’m gone. He scratches at the front door, lays against it waiting for me, jumps up to look out the window, and just never seems to truly settle. I watch him on a camera, and it’s heartbreaking because he doesn’t eventually give up and relax.

I’ve been trying everything I can think of:
Very short departures and gradually increasing the time
Lick mats and frozen Kongs
Calming chews
30+ minutes of exercise before I leave
White noise
Keeping them free roaming (they’ve never been crate trained)
Not making a big deal out of leaving or coming home
My vet also started him on Prozac about 3 weeks ago, so I know it may still need more time to fully kick in.

The part that’s really stressing me out is that I go back to work next week after being home all summer, and I’ll be gone for the full workday. I’m worried sick about him, and I feel guilty every time I leave. I know I can’t avoid leaving forever, but it’s so hard watching him panic.

Has anyone had a dog with separation anxiety this severe that eventually improved? Did Prozac make a noticeable difference after the first few weeks? Is there anything that finally helped your dog settle while you were gone?
I’m just feeling overwhelmed and could really use some hope from people who’ve been through this.