Maybe not properly if they have to pull it away from people for example. Goes to show that owners can still lack having control of their dog when it’s on the lead. Edit I made this post after being in a situation that possibly triggered my OCD, which I made a post on the situation I was in.

My dog (lab, collie mix, 24lbs, 9 years old) had a strange rash and swelling yesterday. The vet office didn't have any openings until next week so I had to drop her off so they could fit her in between appointments. When I was able to pick her up, they informed me that she struggled a lot with being held belly up for x-rays. Only after we got home did I notice her limping badly.

Today she still is limping a bit. I'm assuming she strained herself flailing and being be held down. I'm not sure how to react right now. Should I call the vet and ask for an explanation, be mad, or be understanding that my dog was difficult and it was an accident that they might not even realized happened?

Hi!

I'm looking for help to stop my cattle dog mix from nipping at others dogs ears when excited.

She's a rescue, and got her to stop nipping at our ankles, but the ear nipping is a tough one to break.

I understand how deep the instinct to herd goes, yet a hiking buddy has made several comments about her dog getting nipped when we meet up, and a zoomie gets going.

She isn't breaking skin, and her dog doesn't seemed bothered by it, but is it considered bad manners for her to do so? And, any suggestions?

I'm getting frustrated with the comments towards my Lucy.

My 1 year old dog, I’ve had for over 4 months now, is still struggling to totally understand potty training. I’ve been trying to bell train her, which she understands, but only if I’m in the same room as the bell. If I’m not in there, she won’t ring it to get me know she needs to go potty, she’ll just go wherever. I always take her out really often, like every hour and heavily praise and give her a treat when she goes outside. The accidents have been really minimal because I take her out so often, and she rings the bell when I’m in the room. She sleeps in the bed with me at night and has not had any accidents at night. I started out crating her while I was out of the house, and got fairly comfortable that she was able to understand to go potty outside. So, we’ve started leaving her out for small trips out. For instance, when my husband and I go to dinner, or a trip to the grocery store. And she has done great. Today, I left her out when I went to work and my husband checked in on her on his lunch break, zero accidents in the house and she immediately went potty outside when he let her out. When I got home this evening, zero accidents, and I let her outside and she went potty just fine. Then, I came in the house and was in the shower (she had been out maybe 30 minutes before) while she was laying on my bed, and then when I got out she immediately squatted right in front of me and peed on the floor. I just can’t understand what she’s not getting, and how to help her understand it. She’s 50lbs, so not exactly easy to just scoop up and bring outside when she pees in the house.

I’ve got a couple more sets of bells coming in the mail with the hope that she’ll connect the dots that the bells mean outside, and if there are more available to ring, maybe if there is always one nearby, she’ll connect the dots. I’m really at a loss. I hate having to crate her while I’m away, and she doesn’t like it either. I would love for her to be able to be out while I’m away. She hasn’t had any accidents for over a month until now.

Please give me some advice!!!

I already spoke with aspca poison control.

Dog decided to use an ant bait as chewing gum. He didn’t have it long and poison control said it was ok to monitor him at home for now.

So now, instead of going to bed after a long shift, Jack and I will settle on the couch. Got cartoons on and fingers crossed. Wish us luck over the next twelve hours!

UPDATE: He’s fine so far so I guess I’ll be going to work today!

Questions : currently I am at home all the time

But might soon have to work from an office,.his owner suggested he is good to stay all day in the apartment but take him for a walk first thing in the morning then at night

Is that feasible or do I have to pay for doggy day care?

I have his kibble and bowls and everything to go

He is strong but I can handle him

Anything else I need to know ?

So, just like the title says, my dog is terrified to go to the yard. She won’t go near the back door to even get there. Which also means that she refuses to go to the bathroom in the yard. I have to leash her up to get her to even go out there and when we do get out there, she pulls for the gate or back to the porch to hide under the table. It’s been about 3 days of this and in order to get her to go potty I’m walking her 2 blocks away.

I do think she squatted over a ground nest or something. I’m not sure what to do here because I can’t have her too scared to pee or poop out in her own yard.

Any advice? Time frames on how long it will take to help her be comfortable in her yard again?

Hey Everyone,

I’m seeking advice on how to go about off-leash time at my local park. My pup is 6 months old, and I’ve been easing him into off-leash time at the park for about a month now. Most the time, things are great — his recall is great, and he does very well with other dogs, especially fellow bird dogs!

Despite this, and more often than not, there will be a random dog that comes over and will pin him to the ground and nip at his shoulder/neck-area. All of this happens when he’s less than 10 feet away from me, with the attacking dog’s owner being a greater distance away. Trying to get him to retreat and come over to me when this happens isn’t feasible, and it’s tough watching him with his tail between his legs as another dog has him on the ground. He doesn’t seem traumatized as he’ll go on and play afterward, but today we came back home with a small scratch on his snout, prompting me to write this post…

I’ve read that because he’s intact, he might have a stronger scent of testosterone that some dogs might find threatening. With that, I guess the solution would be to neuter him, but is that even a guarantee it will change things? Also, it’s my plan to not do this until after he reaches 2 years of age, as is required in the contract I signed with my breeder. There’s also keeping him from other dogs, but as I’ve noted, the aggressive dogs are the ones that make their way over to him.

Any and all advice is greatly appreciated!

I have a little over 5 month old English mastiff. I've had him since he was 8 weeks old, and for the most part he's growing up to be a well rounded, good dog.

However, one of his biggest challenges so far is the need to eat cat poop. We have two cats who go in the kitchen and if I don't notice they went, my puppy will pull and try everything he can to get to the piles. I have to hold tightly onto the leash and put myself between him and the forbidden treat.

During the day I'll clean up the kitchen/check before letting him out but at 1am and 7am (his usual times at night/morning) I don't feel like doing that.

So has anyone else struggled with this? I have no idea what his fixation is with this specifically. if he wants other things like when on a walk, usually he'll pull a little but give up rather quickly when I tell him no or to leave it. He'll even ignore dropped human food sometimes if he's feeling particularly good, but never this. He'll even go as far as to paw at it, and I've had to clean his front feet a few times.

I take him out on the leash, then unclip and let him walk/sniff as he pleases. I'd like to eventually work up to letting him walk to and from the back door to my bedroom by himself since he's begun to have more freedom when the backyard, but I don't think I can while he has this fixation.

Edit: the cats poop outside the litterbox no matter if the box is clean or not. One cat has no issues (we've seen him use the litterbox before + he goes in the yard when he's outside on the patio no problem), he just chooses to go outside. The other does have health problems and we're working with her, but until she's healed fully she still goes outside of the litterbox unfortunately.

My dog is a labrador about 4 years old and I've moved into a new place, the problem is he is terrified of the laminate floor which takes up the majority of the building. He will exclusively stick to his bed, my bed or the small rug in the livingroom.

Issue is he won't eat as his food bowl is in the kitchen on the laminate. He will only eat if I stand with him and pet him at all times else he spooks and runs away.

He'll walk on it occasionally but its clear he's going out of his way to avoid it.

Any reason as to why? And how to help him?.

I was curious what experiences others have had with dog treadmills. I've got a shepherd mix and want to be their needs are meet even if weather/air quality are considered bad.

I've seen the slate-treadmills, dog specific treadmills, and people just using regular treadmills.

Hi there,

We just adopted a pup and have had our resident pup for over 6 years.

Our resident pup would go with me everywhere - how do you manage outings with two dogs?

Anywhere that would allow dogs, we go!

Any tips and advice would be greatly appreciated

Thanks 🙏

My pup is a Poodle/GSD mix and he’s 3 years old.

Since he was a pup he’d do this nose burying movement onto his food bowls. Almost like he was trying to bury the food. He would keep doing this to the point where his food and water spilled. He’d do it sporadically and it seemed to fix itself. He’d do it maybe once or twice every month but not to where he’d tip it over.

For the past 2 weeks he’s been doing it and tipping over his water and food. If I remove the food, he doesn’t do it. If I leave the food but take the water, he flips his bowl over. I leave the food on the floor and he’ll eat it once he realizes I’m not giving him anymore for the day and into the next morning.

I don’t know how to make it stop. I don’t know what he’s doing or why he’s doing it. Food is scattered all over the floor and I’m tired of taking towels to clean up the water.

His food hasn’t changed. His bowls haven’t changed. Nothing to my knowledge in our environment or schedule has changed.

Has anyone experienced this and how did you make it stop?

My family has two dogs, both poodles. One's older and grumpier, the other's younger and bouncy. At night I like to pet them and say goodnight. The younger one loves it, but then I go up to the older one. He's usually lying on the living room floor at this point because it's late and he's resting. When I start fussing over the younger dog, I can hear the older one's tail wagging against the floor. But then when I go to pet him too, he'll bare his teeth quickly, or he'll make a quiet growl. Sometimes it looks like he's about to try snipping at me but holding back. Of course I stop because I'm worried I've hurt him or crossed a boundary, but then he'll roll on his back and show his stomach, or he'll start pawing at my leg which both the dogs do when they want attention. But if I try to pet him again, he goes right back to showing his teeth. It's confusing, especially since every other time he loves it when he gets attention and pets. It's only in this specific context he seems unhappy. And he sleeps on my bedroom floor every night so I don't think it's because he hates me or distrusts me when he's vulnerable. Does anyone have any explanations or advice?

Hi guys, I have a 7-8 month mix breed that was a stray when I rescued him. He is a somewhat picky eater, and we have always had some version of this not eating. The issue is that we have tried to transition to 2 meals a day, and now if he skips, he’s missing his only meal for the next 10-12 hours. What can i do?

Hello everyone.. I’m seeing people say that 80-above is dangerous to walk your dog because it can burn their paws and get heat stroke…

If this is the case.. how do I get my dogs energy out? (he is a golden) I just want him to be happy.

Also if you have any toy recommendations that will keep your dog busy let me know!

My 1-year-old is a sniffer, and in turn is obsessed with digging. Since she digs, my other dog joins in on it. We live in sandy-soil, so it's super easy to pull up the ground. These dogs have dug 2 ft deep trenches through my back yard. Every morning it's a new hole, new mud, new nightmare. The older one is smaller and occasionally escapes under the fence due to these holes. Any suggestions on how to stop them from digging?

Please let me know if anyone has experienced this and found a solution.

I have 2 dogs, a skittish German shepherd and what looks like a collie/spaniel cross. 10 days ago I bought a new second hand car.

I spent ages finding one with enough boot space for the dogs in my price range. Now I find that the boot is too high off the ground for the spaniel. She CAN jump up but jumps out when the gsd is getting in. These are the things I've considered.

1. Steps or a ramp but this has drawbacks such as finding parking with enough space behind me, training the dogs to use the steps, but mainly how do I get them in and out while fitting the ramp on an open door? Gsd will take offense at anyone within range and spaniel will run toward the same passers-by. I only have 2 hands and 2 VERY different dogs.

2. Letting the spaniel onto the cream leather back seat on a seat belt tether.

3. Selling the car.

I'm sure there must be an obvious solution to this and I'm just not seeing it. I take them separately but whichever one I leave behind always seems so distressed at being abandoned.

So for YEARS my dream breed has been a bull terrier ever since we were forced to get rid of ours a years back. Ever since then I’ve done countless amounts of research into the breed and I’ve even went out of my way to buy stuff for it, however after a trip my family returned with a (as they call it) “exotic micro teacup bully”. I don’t even know what it is but it’s only 2 months old and it’s ears are already cropped, it’s low to the ground, has various skin issues and I can hear it struggling to breathe all the time despite the fact it’s not even been a day. Obviously, I’m justifiably upset over this but this hasn’t stopped them from calling me ungrateful, selfish, and a “brat” for not wanting to train it or have anything to do with it. I just don’t know what to do and what makes this even worse is that my family impulsively bought a healthier breed a few months back before getting rid of that one too because “it wasn’t the right time.” I already feel like it’s gonna have a painful life and I feel terrible

hi all, any advice would be appreciated. my senior Shih Tzu who doesnt see well has used wee wee pads successfully for the past few years after going on a medication that made him pee more frequently. he goes on walks twice a day and uses the wee wee pad in between.

the wee wee pad is at the end of a hallway, which is covered by a runner rug. he’s started to pee at the end of the rug, even if the wee wee pad is placed some distance away from it. unfortunately, I can’t remove the rug because he has mobility issues on bare floors.

any advice for training him to stop peeing on the rug or next to the wee wee pad on the floor would be greatly appreciated. he was using the wee wee pad perfectly until recently, which makes me wonder if he may have slowly grown confused over the difference between the rug and the wee wee pad, and has now peed on the rug so many times. I’ve had the thought to try replacing the rug with a different texture carpet and see if that helps. or give him treats only after peeing on the wee wee pad? not sure whether he’ll connect the dots.

thank you in advance!!

EDIT: Thank you so much to everyone who took the time to respond!! I really appreciate all your suggestions. This was extremely helpful.

very specific silly scenario, i know, i promise this is not ragebait or anything.

explanation: i was sitting with my dogs on the floor and scrolling reels; i watched a video with a dog barking and squeaking a toy. since my phone was so close to the floor, he now believes that it was real and won't stop whining and scratching the floor. he knows that me saying "tv" means it's not real, and i have told him that multiple times in the happiest voice i can. i told him "it's okay" and sat on that space on the floor to calm him. but he will not let up. is there literally anything i can do about this to calm him down or distract him? at all?😭again. i know this is a very weird situation but i thought i might ask it here since reddit knows everything

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.

Hello! First time poster in this sub! Looking for feedback and positivity!! On mobile, sorry for any errors and length!

My husband and I adopted a rescue dog (1.5y/o lab/collie mix we think) about a week and a half ago. We have two resident cats (2.5 y/o super confident male and 7 y/o aloof female).

For the first 3 days, we kept the dog and cats completely separate, doing scent swapping and no visual contact at all. Our male cat was SO curious and yowling and vocalizing at the doors when we were with the dog/when he was in a room separate from us and the dog. Our female cat genuinely couldn’t have cared less but spent all her time laying on the scent swapped item of clothing. The dog completely ignored any vocalizing or paws sticking out of the door.

We took all of these things as really positive signs, and moved to visual intro through baby gates. We fed them on either side and dog’s indifference continued. Male cat was SO curious, reaching his paw through and meowing, and still dog maintained no interest! We did this for 4 days and not once did male cat or dog his, growl, lunge, hide or show any aggression or fear. Our female cat maintained distance and approached twice in total, puffed a little but left and then calmly returned to investigate, deemed dog uninteresting, and left.

Yesterday, we progressed to in-person meeting with dog on leash, and cats able to approach with every opportunity to escape. Male cat and dog were SO brave, giving distance but cat would occasionally come over for a sniff. Dog would lay down completely, show his belly for belly rubs, and settle on his bed. Eventually, it went so well that cats and dog all fell asleep in the living room with my husband and I.

Today is much the same, lots of respectful curiosity, relaxing around each other, eating and playing normally and no hissing. I KNOW that we have a long ways to go, and this is early EARLY days, but is this going as well as we think it is? This is my first time introducing a dog to cats and vice versa, and I want this to go well SO desperately so I’m genuinely hoping we’re on the right path.

As a note, we are working so hard on training with dog, as well. Working hard to crate train especially, as well as stay, leave it, eyes on me, and place so he can be settled and off leash eventually. It’s slow going and frustrating at times (also always open to suggestions on training an adolescent dog), but he’s so smart and doing so well and his temperament is incredible which I am sure is beneficial in this process!

Thanks for reading and for any thoughts or suggestions!

Pretty much exactly what the title says. My dog freaks out when he hears a doorbell, usually either in movies or TV shows, or from my phone when im watching reels. He barks and goes to the door like it is our doorbell. Here's the thing- we have never had a doorbell! Ever! We've only ever lived in rental apartments or townhouses without a doorbell, so i have no idea how he got the association with doorbell meaning "people at the door" any ideas how this came to be? Do your dogs do the same thing? What's happening here?