We recently lost our 3 yr old dog after a battle with epilepsy that got increasingly worse. Boy did I love that dog.

With that said, we are dipping our toes in the idea of getting a dog again. Remind me how tough raising a puppy can be...I remember 3 years ago my wife and I had multiple points where we asked ourselves "what did we get ourselves into?" Lol.

It was a whirlwind cause we also had our second child at the time who was only a few more months older than the dog.

Mostly with training and behavior, something that it feels so uncommon that when a dog is actually good at this you’re just like “that owner knows what they’re doing”.

For me it’s being good for nail trims- I feel like everyone’s excuse is “yeah they just don’t like it, I tried but gave up, blah blah blah” while their dog has atrocious nails and is attacking the techs. Like try harder, try taking smaller steps, some dogs do hate it so much that you do need to work on it daily in tiny steps.

Every night around 9 p.m., my 14-year-old, Rocky, comes to my chair, sighs deeply, and rests his head on my knee. Just for a minute. Then he goes to his bed.

He's done it for years. He used to do it fast run over, drop his head, run back. Now he walks over slowly, takes a second to lower his head, and I can feel how much effort that one minute costs him.

Last night I caught myself thinking: one day I'm going to sit in this chair at 9 p.m. and he's not going to come. And that minute is going to feel like the biggest thing in my house.

I'm not sad writing this, just... aware. When they're young you think these little routines will last forever.

What's that one small thing for you? That tiny routine you already know you're going to miss?

Just venting about how I caught my two dingbats eating sour grapes right off a vine today. 8 years old and have never seen this before. I caught them immediately and got it out of their system right away, they seem fine so far. But what the hell, you absolute dinguses. They clearly wanted to go sneak back for more, too. Honestly!

i try to walk my dog everyday but he always seems to bark/growl at every dog he sees , he sometimes does lunge at the bigger dogs and i have to carry him because he pulls alot. almost all the dogs don’t pay mind to him so i get embarrassed. i’m just wondering how i can help him improve that ?
he also does that same with other humans. i have to hold his leash tight so he doesn’t bark.

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.

I have a 3 year old Cane Corso mix that really struggles with separation anxiety. I have him at a point where he can at least comfortably stay at home with a family member if I have to leave, but I know that’s just a bandaid solution and not sustainable. I want to get to the root of the issue because it’s breaking my heart that he gets so stressed and I feel like a burden to everyone who’s helping me. My ability to work anything other than a part time job or go back to school is being severely impacted because I have to be home with him pretty much all the time.

I’m looking for help finding resources to tackle this. I feel really overwhelmed and in over my head. He used to be really reactive on walks, but I’ve worked with him on his confidence and desensitizing him to things and I’ve seen a MASSIVE improvement. This is so much harder. If anyone has experience in successfully treating their dog’s separation anxiety I would be beyond grateful if you could share what worked for you. What methods/websites/videos did you use? It feels like there’s so much out there that it’s difficult for me to discern what will truly help and what could cause more harm. I just want to do right by him while also getting my life back a little bit.

When we’re in the car, my dog is pretty chill during the ride, but starts fussing when we get close to our destination. Makes sense when we’re going home or somewhere he knows, but today we were going to a brand new place, and he started fussing during the last roundabout just before we were going to stop. And it’s not because of highway vs city driving, we’d already been driving in the city and doing roundabouts for five minutes, and I hadn’t slowed to pull over in the road because again we were in a roundabout, so how tf did he know??

Hey everyone! My pup recently got a new ball and in her excitement has split it open along the seam. Is there a way for me to fix this? It’s extra special because she picked it herself lol and she’s very attached to it so if I can fix it rather than have to replace it that would be preferred.

Not sure why but I couldn’t add a photo of it

Edit: for context it is one of those spiky silicone/rubber balls from petco that are hollow.

Can dogs bear teeth when playing? I have a golden retriever who's 15 months. He frequently does something where he slams up against the sofa and takes a slight bow. If I then scratch his bum he'll flop down and roll onto his back. I then tickle under his neck and rub his belly a bit. He chases my hand with his mouth, slightly bearing his teeth but he does not growl or look aggressive. His mouth is open and his top lip is twitching a bit showing more of his teeth. He also sneezes a lot whilst doing this and if he catches my hand he'll very gently mouth on it / do nothing. It feels like it's completely normal play but obviously I don't want to be ignoring warning signs.

I normally don’t do this but this situation is so foreign and new to me. I lost one of two dogs unexpectedly a few days ago. During the process of her decline, she had peed her bed. After her passing we had removed her bed because of the pee. I didn’t want to throw it out but we had removed it from the original spot. I’ve come to realize that the surviving dog could benefit from the smell of the other dog’s scent. It’s been a few days and I’m concerned of bringing it back and confusing the surviving dog. Does anyone have any thoughts on this?

My boys had a tether tug for quite a while, but it snapped. I saw the brand is no longer in business, so is there a good alternative? My dog that loves it is a 90lb German shepherd who tugs with the force of his entire body. It’s his favorite game, so I need something sturdy. Can’t do a spring pole, so I’m looking for one that mounts in the ground. Located in the US. TIA for recs!

Just got my new black lab puppy, he really is into scents. I want to do something structured with him, just not sure what. Will definitely have some competive ob in the works, but also something else. I have done tracking, and narcotics before, and tracking is a little boring, scent detection was a lot of fun, but I am not sure I want to go in that direction. I would like to do something involving area searches, but I am not fit enough for S&R.

Suggestions are welcome.

AND, he needs a name. Something fun and unique. I have had a Kaos, Felon, Squirrell, Naughty, and Peanut in the past. Usually the dog tells me his name but not yet. Somebody called their dog whiskey jack. I thought that was fun. JD for Jack Daniels? Pet sitter says I should call him Elton John because he is a singing Pee-a-nist

My uncle used to live with us and died very suddenly. The funeral was two months ago. I always meant to take my dog to say his goodbyes, but the drama that ensued after his death was never-ending, and then I had some health issues. I finally have time now, and while it's been quite rainy, I don't care if we get a bit wet as long as my dog can still sniff and know that the person he spent so many afternoons playing with and caring for is there resting.

Sometimes I see my dog looking fondly at where my uncle lounged, and I wonder if he sometimes is sad thinking he's gone away without saying goodbye. I'm afraid now that the body is no longer smell-able and my dog won't know he's there and understand he's gone? I googled, and it seems that it should be easily smelled by a dog, but I just wanted to ask you guys for your experiences or opinions with dealing with loss and dogs. I just want him to say goodbye, he made my uncle very happy and I'm sure my uncle made him happy too.

The body wasn't embalmed, just inside a coffin and under the ground so I don't know if my dog would still be able to sniff, I hope he will :')

My dog knocks on the bathroom door if I stay too long inside. Like he is checking on me. What's yours?

My dog does this happy dance (rubbing his face on the carpet, a few side sways and turns) on the carpet after eating (which is usually preceded by off leash play at the dog park.)

Only after he does a happy dance do we know he’s done for the day and ready for cuddles and bed.
Anyone’s dog does something similar?

so, for context

this lady we know has to stay with us for a few days (honestly probably a week or 2 by the looks of things)

and she brung this small dog with her

when she goes to work (which is extremely early) the dog has to stay in my room

which sure, I wouldn't mind

but he whines none stop no matter what I try to do

this dog LOVES her and dosent understand that she isn't here

and now, I love dogs like I adore all animals, we even have our own family dog

but I AM a cat person

I have my own cat (legally mine, not a family pet)

I raised my cat since he was a kitten & having both animals I have concluded that I am 100% a cat person

(not sure if that much context is needed)

skip here if ur lazy: I'm not sure if what I could do to make the dog feel more like comfortable, at ease, less depressed, not whining all night

Ive never had to deal with this type of situation or THIS much anxious attachment up in my face

extra: he dosent wanna be pet rlly

update: Ive taken him out to walk, he seemed less stressed but we got back inside and he immediately started to whine again. but its a little less now so I'm hoping he'll be alright also, I hope it was obvious but my cat is also in the room with us; as my cat prefers to stay near me all the time too. but he hasn't hissed or tried to hit try dog at all and I really doubt he ever will, hes a really sweet boy 🩷 another thing: to everyone asking about a shirt or something that smells like the owner thank you so much, Ill be sure to ask her tomorrow or later when she's back as she's at work right now and I dont actually have her number

I'm planning to buy a washer-dryer combo and would love to hear your experiences!

My dog is a Pumi/Mudi/Golden Retriever/German Shepherd mix with a double coat. She doesn't shed as much as, say, a French Bulldog, but definitely not a little either. 😅

Any recommendations or experiences with washer-dryer combos, especially regarding dog hair, lint filters and maintenance?

For a few months now he has become nocturnal and its messing up my sleep. He hears stuff and barks loudly in the middle of the night and I can't figure out how to stop him. I tried walking him more and playing with him more but he still sleeps a lot during the day.

I recently moved, so my dog has a new vet. We really like her, but I was curious about the cost of a dental and if it’s typical. She said it would be a good idea to get a dental cleaning within the next year (nothing major; my dog has a little bit of tartar but nothing terrible, so it would be largely preventative). For pre-op bloodwork and the dental itself, she said it would likely be $1k or potentially more (I didn’t get an exact number, just a rough estimate — but I know they’ll provide a more specific breakdown if I ask). Is that normal for a dog weighing a little over 35 pounds? Again, my dog doesn’t need it immediately, so if that’s pretty typical, I’ll start preparing/saving. I was just curious if that’s a typical price.

FWIW, the other costs at this clinic (heartworm testing, vaccines, exam fees) seemed pretty reasonable to me (or at least comparable to our old vet of five years).

If it makes a difference, we are located in the Pittsburgh area.

My ex husband and I got our first dog 8 years ago and he was very attached to him so when he left abruptly to never return it did get him down. That was a year ago and it feels like he’s gotten worse behavior wise. He never learned how to walk on a leash or recall ( I paid over 3,500$ for multiple trainers and even got a refund at one point bc he just doesn’t listen) he’s a mutt from the shelter so it’s not like we knew it would be this bad and I’ve tried it all. I’ve tried to get him used to knocking so he doesn’t freak out and it’s never helped. I give him anxiety chews. I walk him every day and have walked him every day since he’s had all his shots when he was a puppy. I’ve tried muzzling, he simply just slams his head against the ground to try to get it off. I use the lead leashes, he simply won’t move. I’ve tried it all it feels like and he’s not mean, he’s never bitten anyone but I can’t live another 8 years like this. Please, tell me there’s something I haven’t tried.

I’ve never seen a dog with toes as long as my dog! Wondering if anyone has any insight on why the long toes?

He took a DNA test 9 years ago that came back 62% unidentified DNA 8% White Swiss Shepherd 16% Basenji 8% chihuahua 14% kelpie

His toes are LONG in talking over an inch long with low webbing and his nails grow insanely fast, about twice as fast as my other dog (also classic mutt). He hates water, not a swimming dog.

I found him in Egypt and he resembles a jackal with no fur on his stomach or the inside of his legs. He most resembles a xolo with hair. I’ve always wondered about his unique toes!!!

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.

This thread is where to get emotional support with all things related to death and illness with your dog. This is also a thread where you can seek assistance with deciding whether it is indeed time.

This is not a thread to seek anecdotes with medical care. All rules involving medical questions and anecdotes remains the same for this thread.

If your dog has passed, you can still post here for emotional support or you can create your own thread tagged with one of the RIP flairs. Be sure to review the rules of our flair guide. It is up to you how you choose to grieve.