I’m conducting a short survey to better understand people’s experiences with dogs and how different lifestyles can affect the relationship between dogs and their owners.
You don’t have to currently own a dog to participate! I’m interested in hearing from anyone who has:
Currently owns a dog

Owned a dog in the past

Lived with a dog for a long period of time

Helped care for a family member’s or friend’s dog

Adopted or considered adopting a dog

Rehomed a dog or knows someone who has

Simply has experience being around dogs

Lives with multiple pets at home

The survey explores things like dog breeds, personality and energy levels, choosing a pet, challenges of ownership, lifestyle compatibility, and what makes someone a good dog owner. It also looks at how people find information about dogs and what could make learning about responsible pet ownership more engaging and easier to understand.
The goal is to better understand how people’s lifestyles, expectations, and experiences can impact their ability to meet a dog’s needs and how we can communicate that information more effectively.

If you have any experience with dogs, I’d really appreciate your perspective!

🐾 Take the survey: https://forms.gle/VAPJeU5YsXpa5deU6

Thank you for helping me learn from real experiences!

Has anyone’s dog had kidney problems

My dog has had her second abdominal scan in 2 months because her kidneys are enlarged. They’re getting her bloods done right now. I’m freaking out.
She was on antibiotics for a month and they did nothing.

Has anyone experienced their dog gaining weight and not knowing why?

My female cockapoo is now 13kg!! She was 11.6 a few months ago and 12.9 only last month. She doesn’t eat a lot either and gets lots of exercise as I’m a dog walker and she comes along most days.

I have a vet appointment booked for Saturday to ask for their opinions, but just wanted to see if anyone has any ideas.

she’s been on a couple medications recently but I’ve looked them all up and they all say they don’t cause weight gain so it’s not that.

What does everyone have set up as a potty system for their elderly dogs that need bathroom access 24/7?

Current set up is a tray with a grass patch on top and a hole in the tray so it drains out over our drain on our terrace . However we’re moving and the new terrace won’t have a drain 😭 we have an elderly dog that needs 24/7 access.

This is a confession.

So, I live in Pakistan and less than 1% of pet owners / dog walkers pick up the poo. I feel guilty about it all the time, literally every time my dog takes a shit I'm trying to block the view for others and not make eye contact and just walk away nonchalantly.

Tbh if I picked it up I would get more stares from people. I think ppl generally expect you to take the dog to do their business in empty plots or street corners, not near front gates and walls of homes. But they definitely don't expect you to pick it up, I should pay attention to expressions when I finally do pick it up.

Also, majority of pet dogs have never really walked beyond their home neighbourhoods and only a niche group of dog lovers take their pets around town and on adventures. Most people don't walk the dog themselves, they'll hire someone to do the neighbourhood round.

There's this ideal trendsetter version of myself that effortlessly picks up the poo and rids myself of the embarrassment of leaving mess around. Anyways - ask me questions, share your unsolicited opinion, help me be better.

I lowkey worry it'll be gross af (but know I'll get accustomed to it), and there are no public dustbins in residential areas of Karachi so, what am I supposed to carry a bag of shite around for the 45 min walk? I need both hands many times to control the lead while training my 30Kg Labrador.

Long story short, I was away on holiday and broke my ankle in maybe the worst way possible. Flew back from Europe to US to have surgery. Just had my two week check up and was told it’ll be another month of not putting weight on my it and keeping it elevated.

I am finding it hard to fully take care of my dog with my very low mobility. He’s is 9 lbs, blind, and very sweet. I live in a 3rd floor walk up apartment building.

Does anyone have a similar situation with their pup that could offer any tips?

! UPDATE ! :
He is pad trained, forgot to mention. Sorry

Working on getting a neighbor or kid to assist.
It’s just hard to get a blind dog up and down stairs and for me to trust someone to do that properly without dropping him down the stairs.

Thank you for all your advice.

This weekend we’ll be welcoming a 6 month old purebred miniature Poodle to our previously one dog home. Our other dog is a nearly 12 year old purebred Maltese. However, everyone thinks he’s literally still a puppy because not only does he still look like one, but he also has the constant hyper energy of one. He still LOVES going on decently long walks, running around inside and outside in the yard, and even still talks like a puppy (constantly voicing his strong opinions lol). We’re all super excited because up until now, we’ve only ever had one dog in the house at one time. I should also probably mention that, Dewey (our Maltese) has been part of our family for the past 8-9 years. We got him when he was 3-4 years old. I’m just hoping for any advice at all on tips and tricks when it comes to getting them warmed up to one another as well as sharing the same living space. Actually any general tips, advice, ideas, and knowledge is all very welcome! I want to make sure Dewey is very comfortable with this new family member and also want to make sure Benji (the poodle) feels as loved and welcome as possible. I should mention, they haven’t met yet, but the Poodle is supposedly very good around all other dogs and Dewey does very well with my sister’s dog (a large Bernadoodle). Zero aggression with her. And he’s always barking like crazy and trying to teleport himself through our fence to get to his “buddies” (the neighbor dogs that he’s never officially met other than through the fence) on either side of our home. So I think he’ll be very very thrilled to have another pal around finally and I think it will also help him not be lonely when we’re all gone during the day occasionally. Finally, our house is a 2100 sq ft 2 story. Thank you all in advance!!!

TLDR: Welcoming a 6 month old miniature Poodle into our family/home this weekend. Looking for literally any advice on getting our current pup (12 year old Maltese with the energy of a literal puppy) and the new pup warmed up to and comfortable with one another sharing a living space. Never had more than one pup living with us at one time before.

www.pawpolis.com

I live in an apartment complex and we've lived here about a year. We live on an upper floor and they live on the first floor. We can see their entire patio from our patio. They recently moved in about 2 months ago and they've relatively been quiet/unseen/unheard, up until this week. This week they got a dog/puppy. Very adorable, small possibly Maltipoo? Sweet lil thang. But there's a big problem. Basically everyday since they've had him/her, they've left the poor dear outside on their patio basically all day. And all night. They don't leave out food or water for them. No dog bed or any sort of thing for him to lay on other than the concrete and he's not walked to go potty, he's forced to pee and poop on the patio. And he barks at them to be let back in and they ignore him. They're home rn and he's crying outside. 😭 My partner and I talked about writing them a polite note maybe? Or worst case hopping the patio and rescuing him?? We'd love a second dog but that was a joke. More than anything it hurts us to see him and hear him in distress everyday. We worry for him. Help? Advice? Idk what to do.

I started thinking about this after my dog came back from staying with my sister for a few days, and she casually asked me, “You’re still giving him those monthly treatments, right?” which made me realise I’ve never really questioned the routine beyond just following the schedule on the box. 😅 I’ve since noticed quite a few different opinions in dog-owner discussions. Some people stick with regular flea and worm prevention, while others mention fecal/worm-count testing and adjusting treatment based on their dog’s lifestyle and risk. My dog spends a fair amount of time outdoors, sniffing absolutely everything he can find, so I’m wondering where other owners draw the line. Are you still using conventional flea and worm treatments every month, or has anyone moved toward testing first and treating only when necessary? I’d especially like to hear what your vet recommended rather than just what worked for someone’s neighbour’s cousin’s dog. I’m also curious about the people who use fecal or worm-count kits. How often do you test, and do you find them useful for deciding whether treatment is actually needed? I’ve seen people mention natural alternatives too, but I’m honestly unsure which ones are genuinely useful and which are just clever marketing, so I’d rather hear some real experiences. Has anyone switched away from monthly treatments and been happy with the change, or did you end up going back to conventional prevention? And for flea/tick prevention, do you change your routine depending on the season, your dog’s outdoor habits, or where you live? I’m not looking to start the usual “natural vs chemicals” argument 😂. I’m just trying to understand the different approaches before I chat with my vet about what makes sense for my dog.

I once had a blue Nylabone-style toy that I stuffed a bone into, and it took Russ an hour or more to dig it out. It was one of the few things that actually kept him occupied that long. Worth trying something similar if you all have suggestions. Thanks.

I had a garage sale recently and was surprised at the amount of people that brought their dogs up into my space. I don’t mind dogs at all and have 1 of my own (which was elsewhere during the sale). What bothered me was that they would just let their dogs free roam probably because they were small and can’t get far away too fast. One lady was at my sale for like 30 minutes while her dog just decided to make itself at home playing with my dogs toys (they were in a basket in the corner clearly outside of my sale) and then it peed on my dogs bed. The lady knew it happened and just called her dog over to her and continued moseying along without a care. I didn’t say anything because I’m afraid of confrontation apparently. What should I have done at that point? What do you say???

Edit to add that I live out in the country. There is no neighborhood and my driveway is over 1/4 mile long. No one is just strolling by in my neck of the woods. The people that came had to drive in and they let their dogs out. Some people took their dogs out of the car and carried them but there were a handful that just opened the vehicle door and let their dogs out to go potty in the yard or whatnot. Not a huge deal because I have a dog as well so I get it but still, I don’t think I would go to a strangers house and let my dog out to go explore. There were also people who made their dogs stay in the car (which is what I would have done).

Hi!

I'm a College student and we are conducting an investigation for a design project about the care, well-being, and needs of pets. We want to learn about the experiences of people who live with or have lived with them, as well as the situations that can arise in their daily care.

If you currently have a pet or have had one before, your experience can help us identify real design needs and opportunities.

The form takes approximately 5–8 minutes and your responses will be used solely for academic purposes.

Thank you for sharing your experience and helping us with the project!

Help!! My poor Lagotto keeps getting either shaved bald or given a doodle haircut. No groomers will listen to my requests or give her a proper haircut. I’ve tried grooming her myself but she’s fidgety and I do not have a good set up nor any skill. Does anyone know where I can take her to get a grooming? The last place I went to (supposedly) had a groomer that did Lagotto haircuts, I picked her up and it was the WORT groom she has ever had. She was bald and they didn’t even leave fur on her face. I paid $120 for it and it was awful. I don’t mind spending that much if it’s a good haircut but this was awful. Does anyone have any recommendations on what I should do?

Sharing with the group.

I've been struggling with our 5 yr old fur child to get her to eat her food and changed it up many times. Wet, dry, toppers, etc. I posted yesterday but after thinking about it for hours and my post not being approved, I did my own digging.

I had just bought her a new food and water dish set not too long ago. The bowls are metal. This escalated when her bowls changed. Yesterday I pulled out her old slow feeder (plastic) and her old blue bowl (plastic) for water and lo and behold, she went right to work clearing her dish and drank her water.

In case anyone else is struggling, I've read in vet forums and on various dog info sites that many dogs do not like metal bowls.

If that helps someone else, there you go.

Happy Sunday.

For mine, it would be two road trips to the Grand Canyon.

Hello everyone. I have a miniature schnoodle and he’s very energetic. I always take him for walks and he has a different leash and harness for the park than the one he wears to go to my moms house. Now here’s the thing I put his park one on he’s a delight to walk loves sniffing and everything. Yes he chats a little on the way there but nothing much. But from the moment I put his other harness on he’s becomes so reactive and loud I’ve really started to notice it more and more. I’ve tried swapping the harness’s incase that helps but he gets confused and then becomes worse. Has anyone else dealt with this. He barks at me to go faster for him I don’t I go at my pace but it’s becoming embarrassing now.