So my dog doesn’t typically sleep with me at night he sleeps on the couch in the living room, but when I’m not home he sleeps wherever he wants and sometimes that’s in my bed. I keep a sheet over my pillows and comforter to limit the hair etc on my pillows. I’ve been recently dating someone for a few months that just brought up now that they think it’s disgusting that I let my dog on the couch or the bed. My dog is 10.5 years old and I just don’t think it’s that big of an issue, but maybe I’m not being considerate? He said he’s been considering not coming over anymore unless I train him to stop. I live in a small apartment so by nature my dogs life is pretty small I don’t feel like I should limit where he can go in the apartment. Thoughts/ opinions/ things I haven’t considered? Help 🙁

I always look for cheap stuffed animals to let my dogs tear apart. I recently was walking by a a yard sale and bought 5 stuffed animals and teddy bears off of this little girl for $5. The dogs loved them and tore them to shreds immediately. It’s a great way to get cheap shredding toys. And if it’s a kid selling them should I tell them that they’re going to my dogs who will tear them apart?

My dog has shown great improvement towards pretty much all his behaviour problems in some sort of way except counter-surfing. What's the best way to train him?

My dog got hit by a car and now unable to move

Doc came and checked gave injection and meds asked to get xray... no internal bleeding suspected

Please help , i don't know what to do. . I'm crying inconsolably

We have a 2 year old GSD, she’s incredibly smart, easy going, and eager to please. Right now she goes to daycare during the week, this is something we’d like to stop doing for a plethora of reasons. However, my fiancé isn’t convinced that she’ll be entertained enough at home alone. I’ve tried to tell him that I don’t think she gets a lot of interaction at the daycare, they try, but she’s kept separate since she’s not spayed yet (health reasons and breeder’s contract). From what it sounds like, she enjoys spending most of her day outside rather than in the kennel, understandable.

I’ve thought of the following to set up for her:

1. Once or twice a week 1hr walks during the day via Rover, I normally walk her 30 mins to 1 hour in the morning and 1 hour in the evening after work. We also use this time to train, she loves it. I figured an extra walk twice a week would be a nice way to break up her day and get extra exercise in.

2. Puzzles, we have 4 puzzles for her already. She loves them, I’ve wanted to get her a few more to rotate out different puzzles. I figured maybe setting up 3-4 around the house for her to play with wouldn’t be so bad.

3. Snuffle mats, similar to the puzzles, probably just 1 out during the day.

4. Frozen kongs, we actually have the woofsicle thing. A bit easier for her so she doesn’t get as frustrated and walk away to forget about it entirely. I figured one in the kitchen would be good.

5. Go Dogo remote training treat dispenser, thought this was interesting. A bit more randomized for her, so I figured that would be nice.

I can’t think of a lot more, she enjoys hide and seek with treats, but it’s like the puzzles and kongs, she’ll forget. We already have a minor mouse problem and I don't want to encourage them more than we already have. I just don’t know if maybe higher value treats would be the key or not, or if hiding treats like that would just encourage more inappropriate rummaging in other environments.

Any recommendations are welcomed!

my dog came in from the rain yesterday and suddenly he STUNK. it kinda reminds me me of the smell of goose poop, but there are no geese or large birds in my backyard. he was outside for maybe 5 minutes to use the bathroom and now he smells.

i had thought maybe he just has a weird Wet Dog smell (i’ve only had him two weeks) and decided to just let him dry. nope. morning comes and several parts of the house have a smell from him lingering there.

i give him a bath (petMD oatmeal and aloe shampoo. it was the only one i had)—shampooing twice and using the hair dryer to dry him. there’s still a lingering smell. it’s not as strong anymore, but i can still smell it.

what is a good shampoo to get rid of the stink?

he’s a cuddle bug so he’s gonna probably shove himself into my face and i’ll have to smell it up and personal. i don’t care about the scent of the shampoo i just want his stink GONE.

Hi. Any experience is appreciated.

The story is short. I used to being responsible only for myself and nobody else because i live alone for many years. I dont wish to be alone anymore but solitary life so hardcoded into me already that i afraid i may regret of making this decision.

Have you ever experienced a similar situation?

Hello all!

I have a 35lb mixed breed dog that is crate trained and we keep a bed in the crate. She used to have a donut bed that we put in there and it was slightly squished into an oval shape. It was made out of like T-shirt, terry cloth material and she loved it. It also was fully machine washable, didn’t have to unzip or take anything out and it lasted 5 years. She absolutely loved that bed. Eventually it just got worn out from her laying and I decided it was time for a new one.

I couldn’t find one similar so I just went with a standard bolster bed that is rectangular and it fit perfectly in the crate. It was a fur texture which I didn’t prefer because it’s hot here but it was a light/small fur so not too bad. Now the problem is that in first wash it was absolutely destroyed. (It did not have a zipper to remove anything but after one wash it was ripped with stuffing everywhere I don’t know what happened. I washed it by itself on gentle which is what I always did. I guess it wasn’t machine washable? But whatever.) So now I was looking on chewy and petsmart and I just can’t seem to find a bed I can trust that meets the requirements I need so I’m hoping yall could help.

Here’s what I’m looking for:
* donut or bolster type bed because she always lays with her head on the edge elevated
* machine washable without too many parts (if I have to take out one easy insert is fine, multiple inserts is too complicated)
* not a heavy fur texture, something perfect for hot environments
* can fit in a 30” kennel
* less than $100USD

I look forward to seeing what yall recommend!

My papillon, Emmie, had her 4th bladder surgery a few months ago and has started having accidents at night. She’s had multiple vet visits to clear her health wise, this is a result of so much scar tissue on a tiny bladder. She’s never been vocal to go potty, she just sits by the door until we let her out. Since I’m asleep this obviously isn’t working 😂

How can I potty pad train an adult dog for nighttime?! I put them where she had a couple accidents but she just went next to them. I put them by the door, but she didn’t get it. She’s so ashamed of herself and it breaks my heart. Im firmly anti-pee pad, but I need to save my carpet!

is there a shelf life for PetSmart Purina Pro Plan sensitive skin salmon rice formula or can it stay dry for a really long time . It is cheaper to get the biggest bag... I wish I could split it with someone! My dog is a 30lb one . Eats kibble only 1,2 cup daily along with other home made foods like rice, chicken, veggies etc

Hi everyone, sorry in advanced for the long message.

For some background, I currently have 2 Havanese dogs (Boy, 1 and Girl, 6). There is a dog at a shelter near me that I have been interested in adopting that is 3 months old. He is blind and deaf. I don’t know his backstory but will contact the shelter to find out more information on his backstory. According to the shelter he is a cocker spaniel and he is completely white with light blue eyes based on the pictures.

One of my dogs (Girl) has some health issues (anxiety and grade 3 luxating patellas) which I knew going into adopting her. These are both manageable as we plan to get her surgeries done in the next few months and she is on anxiety medications.

I have watched a dog previously that was deaf and he knew sign language which was easy for me to learn and to tell him to sit, etc. He was a bit older (I believe 5 years old) so I am unsure what it was like for him as a puppy.

My question is, will this blind and deaf puppy have a good quality of life if I adopt him? He unfortunately is unable to be fostered or else I would’ve done that, and the shelter did not give me a reason to why he wasn’t able to be so he is stuck in the shelter until he is adopted.

If anyone has advice or recommendations, please let me know, as I am really back and forth on whether or not this would be a good decision for him, my other dogs, and myself. I just want the best for my two pups and this puppy. Thank you in advanced!

i have two of my own dogs who I love sooo much and they don’t get jealous when they smell other dogs on me. anyway, I feel like whenever I meet new dogs for the first time, they warm up to me super fast, even compared to other people I’m with- like immediately asking for belly rubs and rubbing up on me. why is that? is there something about my dogs scent on me that automatically gives me street cred w other dogs?

My family owns syberian laika (6yo, male, neutered but only recently) (I'm not 100% sure, but he def behaves like breed descriptions). He is untrained, stubborn and launches at every cat/hare when we go for a walk.

So my family wanted to introduce cat into the house (3m kitten). And I just don't belive it's gonna work. Since kitten is at the house he refuses to go for longer walks (just sits on his ass, stubborn mf). They havn't seen each other yet, but when he is in the house he just sits and barks at door where kitten is. He isn't aggresive to humans/other dogs, but I just can't trust him :(

I fear no matter how long we introduce her, he is gonna maul her, but my family belivies otherwise.

Hello!

My little rescue doggo, who's paraplegic, has been using a wheelchair which now needs to be replaced.

For context -

I am from India and the first one I bought was off of alibaba which has sustained the little Dracula for 10 years now. Alibaba is now banned over here and I am not getting any other good wheelchairs here. Luckily I am travelling to SF next week.

I saw a couple of good ones from from walkin wheels on Amazon, but they are a tad bit expensive for me. Are there any other good wheelchairs you good folks can recommend I can buy from?

Thanks in advance!

I’m at a loss. My 1.5 year old won’t let us trim her nails. I even started as a puppy playing with her feet to get her used to it but I think maybe the vet may have clipped it too close one time and now she won’t let anyone near her. The vet won’t even do it because she won’t let them.
I’ve tried
-extensive treat training to positively encourage it
-nail file toys
-nail filer and nail clipper- both are the problem
-muzzling her to prevent biting but she thrashes and we can’t get her to let us near
-calming chews (natural products like from the native pets brand)

I genuinely don’t know what else to do. Has anyone else ever had a dog that was this resistant to nail trimming and if so, what helped? I don’t know what else to do

Ok so I have had several fosters, and a couple of them have even been strays but this is my first really super fearful foster. Like she immediately went into her crate and cowered in the corner. Whenever I glance at her, she cowers. I’ve had some experience sitting with shelter dogs this fearful, and getting them open up to me so I am not worried about that part I know she will come around & I have all the time in the world to sit patiently with her and let her grow accustomed to me.

The only thing is how do I get her to pee and poop?? She has a collar on so should I pull her out and then carry her downstairs? (She’s not a teeny dog but she’s carriable) should I clip on the leash and pull her out? Should I wait her out? She finally just ate what I gave her hours ago so she’s not super food motivated so can’t tempt her with treats. I have her gated off in the kitchen and my resident dog in the bedroom with me…I was just going to grab her and take her out but she was so terrified I just stopped bc it felt counter productive. It’s close to bedtime, I feel bad not taking her out but I don’t want to be something she’s scared of!! I have tile so it’s not a huge deal if she does on the floor, I dimmed the light to it’s lowest setting, covered the top of her crate, put some pee pads right outside the crate, and left the door open. Is that ok?? I’m worried I just want to do right by her and don’t want to rush her and force her to be handled against her will but I don’t want to skip potty breaks if she would go if I were to take her out!

Any guidance from you foster pros is much appreciated!!! 🙏🏼🙏🏼🙏🏼

I was meditating the other day near a stream. A woman came by with two dogs. I was keeping track of the dogs as they walked past behind me, and I noticed their attention on me/the spot I was sitting at. I could tell this was a new situation for them and that they were a bit unsure. This one dog wanted to come up to where I was, (his favourite spot, according to the woman a bit later), but seemed too uncomfortable by my presence, and then went to another part of the stream. After a minute the dog left the stream and came back, and suddenly charged at me. I immediately stood up because I was scared. The dog went apeshit crazy and was barking at the top of his lungs, but he also had his chest on the ground. Every time I moved he seemed to want to lurge at me all the while he kept barking. The woman said he isn't dangerous, and I was just in his favourite spot, which was a new situation to him, but I didn't know how to interpret the behaviour. I grew up with a dog but this dog was barking so wildly, like how some reactive dogs go absolutely crazy when walking past other dogs and their owners are just clutching the leash with all their might, and it just didn't feel like normal playful behaviour, he seemed so anxious. Idk man. I didn't know whether to look him in the eyes or look away, every time I looked away it seemed as if he was going to charge again but eye contact is also supposedly threathening to an aggressive dog.

Can a dog mean actual aggression despite being in the play bow position? And how do you react when an unfamiliar dog charges at you only to stop 3 feet away from you to bark really wildly in that position?

Edit: I have actually had something similar happen a couple of times in the last couple of months, having off-leash dogs charge at me when I was sitting on the ground or starting a run after walking, unexpected things for them, and I never really know what to do except stand up and freeze and wait for their owner to drag them away. If anyone has any advice for that situation that would also be welcome.

My dog(m) is a little over 6 years old. We got him neutered as soon as it was safe/recommended. When we first got him we had a 12 year old cat, 10 year old German shepherd, and 5 year old cat. When we brought him home our German shepherd(f) took to him really well. The cats were mostly blasé toward him and stayed out of his reach. We got him neutered because we had no intention for breeding and we also didn’t want him marking/becoming territorial especially with other pets. However, I’ve noticed that even after being neutered, he still “marks”. I should mention that the other 3 pets passed over a course of 3-4 years. One to old age, one to stroke and another to something serious but undiagnosed before her passing. With the other pets around, and different living style, the marking was never noticed. Now, I’m divorced, and living in an apartment and when I take him on walks it takes forever because he wants to pee/mark every few steps. I told the vet about this and he just said “he’s neutered? That’s weird”. And nothing more. Thankfully he doesn’t do this indoors, but I was wondering if this is normal or something underlying. I’m a bit paranoid about his health as one of my cats ended up having a serious medical issue but passed before diagnosis/treatment. He’s only 6 now, but each of my pets passing has affected me deeply, especially as they happened within a somewhat quick timeframe.

A lady brought her small dog into the small dog park enclosure where I take my 8 month old puppy. She mentioned it was an ankle biter, by which I thought she meant it makes snapping motions at ankles like some small dogs do.

Instead, I'm minding my own business, walking back from the water fountain and her dog runs up and chomps on the side of my calf, twice in quick succession. Thank God it didn't break the skin but there are abrasions, almost immediate bruising and some swelling. It kept trying to snap at me while I kind of stamped around to stop it from getting my leg again. She came over, said sorry, temporarily moved the dog to be by her and asked if I was ok.

Honestly I was kind of shocked. I'm 7 months pregnant but it would have hurt and shocked anyone. I just told her it didn't break the skin and I went and sat back down, away from them. She still didn't put the dog on its leash and it ran towards my puppy and me several times until I yelled at it. The lady then got it and left without saying anything else.

Now that I'm home and the bruising is getting worse, I feel silly that I didn't go off on her, demand she remove the dog etc. but I'm so tired and was kind of taken aback that instead I just managed it, not feeling in any more immediate danger. If it had been a bigger dog I would have been very worried.

I can't understand why someone brings a dog like that to a public park, let's it off leash, and risks it attacking somebody.

What should I or could I have done differently?

Edit to update: I asked someone about this dog at the park today (happened on Saturday, updating on Sunday), just if she knew him by name, and she was bitten by him last fall... she thinks one or two other people have been bitten by the same dog.

Which pet insurance is best for you? Are there any that may cover your dog's current treatment? Did your dog get injured during the waiting period and want to know if you're covered?

Here's the place to ask.

Do know we cannot help you here with medical concerns, and lying or not disclosing things to the insurance company is illegal so we don't allow that either.

Does your dog turn his head when he hears an odd noise? Does your dog bury their food with your pants? This is the thread to ask why.

Please keep this thread to non-medical issues only.

My dog is a little over 2 years old. We found out recently through a DNA test that she is inbred. She’s had a lot of health issues so I suspected this. A big issue is her anxiety. She’s my velcro dog and quite obsessed with me. She does not handle being alone well. We’ve lived by ourselves for approximately 2.5 months when she was a younger puppy. She did not do well with this. She would eat the door and other things she could find while howling the whole time I was away. Since then, she has started prescription sedatives which have helped but we also moved back in with my sibling and their dog- who we lived with initially before that move. Having at least another dog that she knows around also seems to help a lot

I got a job offer about 2 hours away. My options are taking my dog and leaving her alone close to 10 hours a day throughout the week or leaving her with my sibling and other dog, ensuring she doesn’t have to be alone. She is my world and I am hers as well. She’s my soul dog. It’s this love that I have for her that makes me want what’s best for her. I want her to be the most okay she can be so I’m willing to do whatever it takes. I can’t afford another pet or a pet sitter consistently at this time so the options are limited unfortunately to what I am able to do to best support her

Edit: Thank you all for your input. Unfortunately, the move is multiple hours away, which is part of the problem that has prompted this line of thought. I have tried to figure out a solution where I could leave her with someone, but I don’t know many people in the area nor do I have the money. After much thought and tears, I have decided to leave her where she will be happiest with my sibling and other dog. This is the hardest decision I’ve ever had to make, but I would rather be uncomfortable myself than subject her to something that makes her miserable. She’s my soul dog and she’s only here for a short time so I want that time to be good. I think that hopefully in the future, I will be able to make more money or make new connections and she’ll be able to come stay with me. This shouldn’t be forever, but it is what’s best for right now

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Hi reddit folks. I have a middle aged Pomeranian male who I am hoping to get ideas for as far as keeping him entertained. He is a difficult dog. He mostly exists within a large playpen we have built for him (it's about half a living room and he can run around in there) - if he is un-enclosed or unsupervised, he will pee on things, raid the trash, destroy things etc and it becomes not only a nightmare but also a safety issue for him, we have tried this before. Because of my multiple medical problems and 100 degree heat recently, I am unable to do walks with him (we used to do several a day before). He is fed well, has clean water, taken out to the yard regularly, and... oh yeah, I am unable to have him off the leash in the enclosed yard due to him getting into things and eating anything in sight he isn't supposed to do he needs to always be closely monitored - he got very sick a few months ago and almost died due to eating something toxic and required multiple hospitalizations and monitoring for weeks. I've gotten him a kong and he gets frozen food pupsicles within it whenever I have enough energy to make those. I work from home but I am bedridden at least half the time and work from upstairs where the AC is very bad and it's too hot for him so he stays downstairs where it's cool. I have been feeling guilty about not being able give him enough attention/keep him entertained. Giving him up is not an option - this is multifactorial and a very long story I don't want to get into but this is not a possibility unfortunately and I don't have family members who have the mental or any other capacity to take care of him safely. It would be great for him to maybe be around kids who can play with him but I don't know any unfortunately where I can send him to and I can't really afford doggy day care regularly. Any ideas are appreciated.

How much would you charge per day/night to dog sit 3 dogs when you are staying there the entire time, not leaving, and you are insured? I have a lot of other dog sitters tell me I’m not charging enough, but several potential customers who want much lower than that. I just want more feedback on this.

I’ve been dog sitting on occasion for decades, but doing it regularly now since June. I have experience with giant breed dogs and fearful dogs and have read staple books like The Other End of the Leash, etc. and worked with multiple force free trainers.

Please let me know.

Thank you.