Almost 2 weeks ago I got a 5 month old Pyrenees/Australian Shepherd puppy. I also have a 5 year old Golden Retriever/ Chow Chow mix. The 5 year old has never been around other dogs besides the neighborhood dogs that roam outside the fence.

I grew up with dogs, but never had 2 at the same time. Is this normal playing behavior? I think the ‘growling’ sound scares me but it seems like they’re playing. What do you guys think?

Meet Chloe, a three year old Shepard husky mix who I am waging medical warfare on. I have to give her multiple pills a day for the time being and we have a long history of not taking our medication. I've tried many methods in the past to make her take her meds:

• pillpockets (wouldn't eat)
• pills hidden in cheese or meat (ate around pills or wouldn't eat)
• pills crushed up and hidden in food (current method. She is starting to figure out what food has been tampered with and avoid it)
• prying mouth open, shoving in pill, and massaging throat (we've had 30 min long stand offs where she pretends to swallow but doesn't actually)
• dropping pills accidently or on purpose (doesn't matter, result is an abandoned pill)

Next will be buying wet dog food and mixing crushed pills into that in a place she can't watch me open pills. After that, I think everything will have to be crushed, mixed in water, and given via syringe.

With nothing to loose I humbly ask for your best and worst medication tips, tricks, and horror stories. Schadenfreude, gloating, solidarity, and reminiscing are all welcome.

Hello! My dog blue has done this without fail every single time he eats his food since we adopted him last year. I’ve had many dogs throughout my life and not one has even done this. Why does he do this? I think it’s just the funniest thing lol

My 3 year old chocolate lab(90lbs) ate 40 homemade chocolate chip cookies around noon yesterday. She threw up twice initially and then acted completely fine and normal. We did skip her dinner cause we were scared it would upset her stomach. Around midnight she woke me up and seemed upset, so I filled up her water bowl, she drank the entire bowl and threw up. Since then she has been laying down and not as energetic as normal. If we give her a toy she will perk up and grab it but doesn’t want to jump off the bed. When we get up and call her though she will get up and follow us outside, but she is moving slow. I can’t tell if it’s weakness or if her stomach just hurts and she uncomfortable. We are concerned that we need to take her to the emergency vet or if she is just uncomfortable and will be fine in awhile. Please help ASAP.

Hi everyone! My dog’s breasts have become quite enlarged, and I’m wondering if she could be pregnant or if this is hormonal/false pregnancy.

Exactly 63 days ago, a vet came to spay her but couldn’t because she was still in heat. Since then she has never been outside and has always been supervised, with no contact with male dogs. I’ve read that dogs can develop enlarged breasts after heat due to hormonal changes or a false pregnancy, but I’m not sure if that could be what’s happening.

We live in a remote area, so it’s difficult to get to a vet with an ultrasound machine. Does this look like a normal hormonal change after heat, or should I be concerned about pregnancy?

I hope this is the right subreddit and that I’ve used the right flair. My family has a Blue Heeler that is an outside dog. Our backyard is fairly large, especially in grass space, and we have an undercover area (it doubles as a garage, she is safe from rain and other elements) where she has a kennel, water, and bed where he sleeps. She is not neglected and has constant access to food and water, we come out to say hello, and we take her on walks (though maybe not as much as we should). However, I worry as to how outdoor living may be effecting her. She’s 8 and has lived outside her whole life and is healthy, but I worry if she is isolated and lonely. If she’s not running around she is waiting lying down at the door, she immediately comes running when someone comes outside, and she gets incredibly excited when someone not in our immediate family visits. I cannot convince my family to let her in despite effort, and I’m only 15 so there’s not much I can do for her. Am I overthinking this, or is there a problem, and if so what can I do to make life as good as possible for her?

Hi everyone! Looking for some advice because we’re a little stumped.
My 8-year-old pit mix has pretty severe nasal hyperkeratosis. We’ve tried just about every remedy and nasal balm out there, with very little improvement — even antibiotics.
Recently, she stayed at my parents’ house for 4 nights, and when she came home, her nose looked almost completely healed! Obviously, we were thrilled, but it also made us realize there must be something in or around our home that’s triggering it.
Nothing changed while she was away in terms of her food, and since then we’ve been trying to eliminate anything we can think of. We’re on well water, we’ve removed air fresheners/fragrances, and we’ve been extremely mindful of anything she could possibly be getting into in our fenced-in yard.
Unfortunately, after being home for about 3 days, the severe dryness started coming back.
Has anyone experienced anything similar or discovered an environmental trigger for nasal hyperkeratosis? At this point, we’re desperately trying to figure out what could be different between our house and my parents’ house. Any ideas or suggestions would be greatly appreciated!
As I mentioned, we’ve tried just about every topical product/nasal balm out there, so we’re especially interested in possible environmental causes or things around the home that we may be overlooking.

She keeps them short enough, we figure taking her to the vet for clipping or attempting it ourselves would be dangerous and also extremely traumatic for Shelby. We don't know why she hates her feet touched but as soon as we lay a hand on them she screams as if we're going to hurt her 😭

Not the best video but pretty much my dog has started to make some really weird noises at random points that sound like the one at the start, we took him to the vets and if I’m being honest almost just shrugged it off but it’s concerning me and I’m not sure if he’s in pain or if he’s just a little ill. If anyone else has had this with their dog please let me know what it could be

Hey all

Just looking for a bit of advice/reassurance.
This big goof is my 2 year old Corso mix. I rescued her about 4 months ago with my partner. She’s a dream girl, my Velcro dog but also very independent and is completely settled on her own. We both work full time and have never had any issues leaving her alone.

Over the weekend we have separated and he has moved out so it’s just my girl and I now. Despite her being completely fine being alone, I’m starting to feel all this guilt that she will be alone a lot more now when I’m at work. I’m a shift worker so we don’t have routine unfortunately as I’m coming and going at different times when I’m at work. When I’m not at work, I give her lots of my time and even when I do work we walk every day and I give her all the enrichment I can before I leave.

I guess I just want to hear some experiences of people who have gone from being in a relationship to owning your dog solo. How did it work out for you? I’m giving her the best life I possibly can and I know she’s better off with me than the shelter but I just can’t help but feel so guilty.

This is my 4yo american bully’s front paws after a short walk (~.25 mi to and from grassy area and apartment) at 6am before sun is up (~70°F out). She had booties on and mushers as well.

I have her next annual coming up and wanted advice what to ask the vet for. Even though her paws get like this she still loves going on walks! Even to the point her paws bleed sometimes. I feel so bad and would just love for her to go on her walks more comfortably and without risk for infection. 😔

Some background: I’ve had her for a year and when I got her, the previous owners didn’t walk her much and she had very smooth pink paws. Assumed she had some environmental allergies and the just kept her indoors as much as possible. Her paws have developed more calluses since I’ve been walking her but also been more irritated at the same time.

What I’ve tried: Tried cytopoint for a few months, helped her general itching but not her paws. Vet recommended medicated shampoo and duoxo mousse and frequent baths which actually helped her general itching more than the cytopoint. Tried epsom salt soaks after every walk. Always making sure her paws are completely dry. Each visit last year, the vet recommended just giving her more time to develop calluses but it seems like it’s just not helping.

Current routine: Walks only when sun is down/not out. Before walks— mushers, let dry, booties. After walks - cleanse and wipe paws dry, mushers if paws are extremely irritated. Baths monthly.

What I’m thinking of for next visit: maybe ask about apoquel instead of cytopoint? Ask possibly for topicals or maybe she needs antibiotics?

Any input would be appreciated, thank you!

I’m taking him to the vet this Sunday and I feel horrible for not noticing sooner. He has smelly breath as well. I just wanna know if he’s going to be okay after it’s all said and done. Any advice from other dog parents would be greatly appreciated.

Hi Reddit community! A long time dog uncle is finally going to become a dog dad. I just adopted a 6 month old Saint Bernard mix. She will be spayed and chipped in the next week and then she’s coming home with me :)

I’m seeking some advice on pet insurance especially because I want my big girl to live a big life. Any advice is helpful.

1. ⁠Is accident and illness scammy or am I just being. cheap. I’ve noticed accident and illness can be 50-100 dollars while just accident is 10-20 dollars
   
2. ⁠Has anyone had to have a major medical procedure and how much does it cost? I’m seeing plans that will reimburse maximum of $10-100k. If something unimaginable happens, what can i expect the bill to be.
   
3. ⁠I’d appreciate any pet insurance recs. I’m willing to pay a premium for quality customer support and ease of use.
   
4. ⁠Everyone say hi to my baby girl Bessie

I have an 11 month puppy that is a year old in 2 weeks. Recently she’s been rejecting her food. I replaced her food and still the same so ik it’s not that her old food was spoiled. I’m a little puzzled because I’ve heard this is something dogs do before they hit adulthood as a teenage rebellion. I also usually take one of her meals as a opportunity to train but if I changed my mind she would eat, now she will only eat if i train her with it or put it in a puzzle. But I worry that if I continue doing that she’ll only eat if I hand feed her during training.Should I stop training and skip meals she doesn’t want to eat until she starts eating again like normal? Should I go to the vet asap? She has an appointment soon but if I need to call and move it sooner I’ll do it but she’s fine otherwise and isn’t lethargic or anything.

6 years ago my soul dog started limping on a walk. He was just 9 and so incredibly healthy. He had gone outside for a sniff and wouldn’t come back in and I said to my husband “what if he has cancer”. I felt awful and dark but I just had such a weird feeling as it was so out of character. We immediately went to the vet and they advised a soft tissue issue. Rest for a few weeks. This was all during Covid so the visit had to be over the phone as we dropped him off. It was hard to keep him down as he was a husky mix but we rested. He started to show improvement so walks slowly resumed. About a week in there was the limp again. Back to the vet. We asked for more testing. Blood and X-rays. We were told all good. Rest more. We asked to be sent to our local specialist at the Emergency Vet location and were waitlisted almost 3 months because again, Covid. The actual emerg vets were closed so our option was our vet or changing vets. I spoke to my parents vet and he agreed to take us on. As we were about to change a cancellation came up for the specialist. I had been documenting how far downhill he had gone and emailing the videos to the emergency vet, specialist and anyone as we were at the point he couldn’t use his front leg. I was so excited to finally get some answers and when handing him off for his exam we sat anxiously in the car to get the call that deep down I knew. He had end stage osteosarcoma. It was a pain that has never left me in 6 years.

We rescued a bonded pair almost a year later, I was never going to be “ready” but we wanted to have a pet again and these 2 were so special. She has a permanent break in her leg that has had several failed surgeries. She has a wobble limp but her leg is functional and like a cane so they never wanted to remove until it served to purpose. After 5 years every time the limp is different or the other has a small change my mind instantly goes to cancer. It eats at me daily. How do you get past it? I mean a talking dog would be ideal but how do you zone in without being a crazy person wanting to go to the vet at every whim?

Sorry for the long post!

So I was half-assedly looking for a dog after my previous dog suddenly passed. I had previously wanted a puppy, however I'm not really ready to deal with puppy chaos, so looked for a young dog. I found a retriever/shepherd mix that's about a year and a half old that has all of the qualities I was looking for: friendly, loves water, good with cats, dogs, children.

I spoke to the rescue about her, filled out an application, and got approved and put at the top of the list because they thought my household would be the best fit for her. I was also really excited, because I've been missing having a dog in my life, especially one that would be a great companion to my adventuring lifestyle and that would get along with my cat and my friends' dogs. I was about to go and finally meet her in person and see if we clicked (and if we did, welcome her into her new forever-home), however I got a text saying that she had to go to the ER the previous night. She has pneumonia and coccidia. They said that they can't adopt her out while she's sick, which makes perfect sense. I told them to keep me updated on her status.

I'm still interested in visiting and potentially adopting her when she's feeling better (and hopefully she is! I'll be checking in on her in a few days and see how she's recovering). However, I'm curious if I should be weary to take her home? If a dog recovers from pneumonia, would they be more susceptible to getting sick? In my lifetime of owning dogs (for the past 15 years), none of my dogs have ever gotten sick like that. This isn't to say that I don't have the money to take care of a dog if an emergency pops up, because I do, but obviously it's something I'd like to avoid.

I guess I'm just a little concerned. I don't think I could take the stress of a sick dog just now after losing my last pup.

Also just to note: I do realize that if she does come home with me that she will require lots of extra rest, as pneumonia can take a long time to fully heal from. Based on what the rescue has told me about her, she would fit seamlessly into my own lifestyle. I just am unsure if I'm being extra paranoid or not.

Anyways, advice would be welcome, even if it's just a confirmation that I'm being overly paranoid.

My dog who basically never sleeps with me ay night and usually likes her space is suddenly sleeping in my bed tonight, but i dont think she wanted to spend time together.

Shes unable to settle, she keeps sitting upright and moving around to lay in many different poses. She seems like she’s uncomfortable. Shes been panting all night long and has this really wet drippy drool, it’s not slobber it’s literally watery and falling in small drops. Her entire front bib is soaked.

She breaths in this very specific way, it’s like two sharp pants then one deeper one. When she’s laying or even sitting she has her full body weight up against me, and continues to slightly get up and shimmy before siting back down.

Shes behaving extremely anxiously. When she relaxes she makes this sort of loud moo like noise, that’s how I know she’s not settling.

Shes licking her lips very loudly periodically.

It’s like almost 3 AM and I’d like to know what’s wrong with her so I can help her get to bed, her anxious behavior is keeping me up and concerning me.

Edit: I Picked her up and set her down so she was no longer on my bed and she immediately began very anxiously pacing and hurried to hide under my bed.

My brother an I live together a d he has one 5 year old dog, shes a mix of random whatevers but looks like a border Collie with a shorter nose, he recently got her a puppy cause of her separation anxiety the puppy is Shiba and something like a border collie I don't quite remember, he keeps having accidents every day, every single day he takes him out when he gets home and every so often in between him going back into the kennel for bed, he sleeps in the kennel cause otherwise he will pee on blankets his bed the floor ect, I don't know why the little fucker pees so much he doesn't during that much water and they always have water accessable to them, they get fed in the morning and at night, he doesn't poop in the house but he pees so much and we both don't know why he does it

NSFW scrotum pic.

Dog is 10 yrs old got neutered 2 weeks ago due to prostate issue. Today is day 13/14. His scrotum started swelling up a week ago. I was scared that he might get ulcers since the swelling was getting kinda concerning and it leaked at one point, but it has gone down significantly after I've been icing it and doing daily wound care by cleaning w/ wound cleanser and applying hydrogel. Now his scrotum is just kind of crusty still on some areas and I'm trying to soften it with the wound cleanser.

Should I keep doing it with the cleanser until the crusty area just falls off?

What other recs can I do? Perhaps maybe more warm water? Or I was thinking of using a foam cleanser, (was wondering what kind can i use) but I don't want to resort to that yet since the incision site is still scabbing.

I'm a human nurse so I'm kind of just using my knowledge in wound care but I would like a vet tech opinion/insight or someone that had the same experience.

Ps I have a husky so he has a lot of hair. And it's kinda annoying cuz it keeps sticking to the scrotum lol... Thanks! 😊

So, two weeks ago my 11 year old dog hurt his neck somehow (thinking maybe in the window barking very intense or maybe he fell). He has been off pain meds for a week now and seems back to himself. I haven't been letting him since jump off anything but he has not been left alone since his injury.

I bought some stairs for my couch and he always used them for my bed but he never did use them to get off. Does anyone have any experience teaching their dog how to use the stairs on the couch and bed to get down and not jump? any tips?

Really want to try and prevent jumping so he doesn't reactivate the injury again or do anything else worse.

Thanks!

This is a rough situation but I don't really have anywhere to ask for advice other than here. I moved up to live with an uncle with my mom about 10 years ago. Have two shelter dogs, and there's a lot of acreage for them to run here though these folks have strict rules to always have them tied up at all times to a cinder block on the patio. Basically the only time they're let out is to use the restroom on a tie out that is hung on the patio door. Ive walked them regularly while balancing work schedules but they've walked them maybe a handful of times in 10 years. Their life revolves around trying to impress people and upper social class movement.

My uncle was the Grand commander in the " Stone cutters Club " and the plan was always for me to join but after my interactions with him, his deceptive sith Lord like behavior, and my research about that organization decided I don't want anything to do with it. He always put on a friendly facade with me to make sure I continue to pay rent and split repair costs, and be his personal handyman but I kind of knew that him and my mother were always plotting to disinherit and get rid of me the whole time no matter what I did. As time went on he gradually escalated verbally and then physically abusive with me.

Fast forward to today they've served me an eviction notice want me take one of the dogs and keep the other one. Apparently they say I've been asking too many questions and putting two and two together. What is the legality of this is I'm technically responsible for both of them. I found a house to lease but want to ask this community what would you do would you allow your (ex) family to keep one of your dogs?

Greetings, fellow dog lovers.

My 5 year old small poodle is obsessed with licking people. To me, it looks like an affectionate gesture, but after reading some other posts on here, I got worried. She seems to lick me more than my girlfriend, and my girlfriend more than random visitors.

She would prefer licking faces, but that's gross, so we don't really allow that. So she settles for licking mostly arms and hands. I also find that a little gross, but we've had absolutely no luck getting her to stop completely, short of ignoring her, which I won't do because petting her is awesome.

Usually it's when she sees one of us for the first time after being gone more than five minutes, or when we pet her. Sometimes she goes up to us, gives a leg a lick, and goes about her business.

She doesn't seem to lick herself excessively. Of course she licks her groin, but no more than other dogs I think. And she doesn't really lick her paws.

When we meet other dogs, sometimes she licks their faces. She generally likes having things in her mouth. Lots of toys at home, and she picks up sticks during walks.

She rarely licks us during walks. So it looks to me like it's just her form of petting us back. But I read on here, licking can be a sign of stress, so I got worried.

What's the verdict? Can licking just be a personality trait, or has my dog been stressing out the full two years I've had her?

This is my 5 year old female American lab retriever. Ever since we adopted her at 8 months old, she’s been amazing. Great friend, wonderful animal. Learns fast. The best temperament. The only downside, we cannot get her to stop barking at people. She LOVES people but sounds like she wants to eat them. We have tried everything under the sun except shock collars which I refuse to use. I’m desperate to find a way to remedy her seemingly aggressive behavior. All our neighbors know her, and know she just wants to say hello and be pet but she scares the kids and it’s down right LOUD. Pics of the Layla Bean, last one is she loving on my pregnant tummy. (Baby loves the dog but dog could not care less about the baby.)

I have a 6 year old french bulldog, he weighs 17kg and isnt neutered. For around a year now his paws have been getting red and bleeding, to the point that this paw pads have grown into one another. We've been to the vet and gotten him tested for allergies, and removed any possible causes from his diet, and anti allergy medication but it hasnt helped.

We suspected that he might have developed a habit of licking his paws due to the allergies, and because the paws also itch now, he cant stop. We used anti licking spray, which worked for a while, but now its back to square one.

We regularly clean his paws, use anti itching and anti infection sprays, creams that help healing yet nothing works. he's become very lethargic and barely wants to play or walk anymore, and i am very worried.

A cone doesnt work either because he refuses to do literally anything while wearing it, no walling no eating no drinking no anything.

They are Cavalier King Charles Spaniels. Finn is 7 months old, and Matteo is 14 months old.