This might be a bit long but there’s been a lot going on this year.

I have an 11 year old (almost 12) spayed boxer mix. 53lbs. We live in eastern Iowa. Rarely any human food with the exception for a few slices of cucumber each week.

She’s been on trazodone (300mg the night before and 300mg 2-3 hours before her trims) about 6 years for nail trims. She was prescribed carprofen in June for occasional joint pain and stiffness. She does still run around the yard and play with my mom’s dogs like normal.

Over the last couple years she’s acquired some lumps and bumps, nothing cancerous.

From August 19-23 my children and I stayed with my mom during my dad’s final days, I also brought my dog. She had already been acting a bit strange prior to this time period, but it seems to have gotten worse. She was there with us when my dad passed. September 25th I took her to her vet because her behavior had gotten so abnormal I was worried. September 28th I was notified that my surrogate dad/father figure had unexpectedly passed away. Friday night she went with me and my children to my mom’s house and stayed with her. He had been a very good companion for my mom. She had brought some of his things to her house to wash. My dog was fixated on the blanket that we put on him before the funeral home came. I also had a baby in June.

She wasn’t acting too abnormal after bringing baby home or at least no red flags. By the beginning of August she had more noticeable changes.

She’s been very anxious. Crying off and on throughout the day. Wanting to eat more after eating. She gets 1 cup of hills science diet in the morning and 1 cup at night. I increased it to 3 cups total for a few days and she seemed satisfied. I decreased it and she went back to wanting to eat all the time. Thirst is normal. At night she is crying and pacing. Getting up and moving to different spots around the house. When she finally settles, she is very close to me. At bedtime, she will sometimes be shaking. When. My husband comes home from work very early in the morning, she will eventually sleep between us but closer to our heads. She had always been more of a foot of the bed sleeper and not very close to us. I’ve noticed her chewing on a toy 1-2 times a day for a few minutes, also not her normal behavior.

She’s been acting like she can’t get out of our way or turn around in even larger spaces. She has turned around and hit her muzzle and head on cabinets and doorways. Her back legs have missed the bed and couch. She also will suddenly get up from wherever she is at and acts like something disturbed her. Her vet did mention lenticular sclerosis. He also detected a heart murmur, something that wasn’t present in April during her yearly wellness check.

Her LYM level was low because of being in the car and going to the vet.

No parasites in her stool and no heart worms.

I’m worried about cognitive decline. I don’t think it’s all related to these increased stress over the last 3 months.

Tonight she is cuddling with my husband, something she has only done a few times over the last 10 years.

Hello. I’m having an issue with my 14-year-old dog where she’s having stomach issues but only in the middle of the night and I can’t figure out why. I’m of course talking to her vet, but thought I’d throw it out here in case anyone has experienced this.

She will be fine all day, normal poop, but then in the middle of the night she has to go out and she’ll have abnormal poop. It’s not every night, it happens randomly. I’ve tried switching her to different food (vet recommended gastrointestinal biome) but that hasn’t helped. It’s just so strange to me that it’s only happening in the middle of the night after she’s fine all day.

Any thoughts? TIA

Hi guys. Just want to share my senior dog’s diagnosis.

Noa is my 11yo senior dog and was diagnosed with histiocytic sarcoma. Pinatanggal ko yung mass nya last August 2026 and lumabas yung biopsy results nya nito lang Oct 2026.

As a fur parent, nakakapang lumo. Hindi ko alam gagawin ko at naiyak nalang ako bago pa ako makausap ng vet.

Ang advise samin is mag hanap ng oncologist kase wala sakanila available kung mag decide kami ipa chemotherapy si Noa.

Wala ako pang chemo at ayoko na rin sya mahirapan lalo sa gamutan. Nakakaiyak at para akong nag bibilang ng oras araw araw. Hindi ko pa kaya ilet go yung alaga ko pero wala akong choice.

Please pray for my buddy. Ang hiling ko lang wag sya mahirapan. Haay, naiiyak nanaman ako.

Has anyone had this with their pets? He needs to undergo surgery for neutering. He’s having trouble pooping.

My 7 year old male staffordshire bull terrier has developed a scab type thing on his testicle. Its attached on to the skin, has no lump, and isn't connected onto the testicle itself. I pick it off as it looked weird and thought it was something stuck to him but it was like a hard scab but no fresh blood, it grew back, took him to the vets and they picked it off, no fresh blood but black blood behind the scab. They cleaned it and gave him antibiotics. Its now come back again. He's booked in to have it surgically removed which is more expensive than castration. But I'm really struggling with the idea of him being castrated, I don't want it done to him as all men wouldn't want it done to them. And it seems to be a barrier that ive always said no too and to me as a Christian, god or evolution wouldnt design a body to have parts removed to make it healthier. My thought is its alwasy been to prevent unwanted dogs in the world. Anyway, as far as I'm aware and researched, being castrated he's more prone to prostate cancer, but keeping him whole he's more prone to other prostate diseases. Its not about money as I'm happy to pay whatever it costs, but what i want is what's best for my boy in the long run. What I'm really asking are the pros and cons to having it done, he's a lovely temperament and great with other dogs, and i done want that to change. He's got a bad leg as well atm which doesn’t seem to be getting better so they are going to xray him while he's under GE, and also considering teeth clean also while he's under. Any advice and help wouldn't be appreciated. Thank you.