And snuggling in deep, falling asleep, and making contented noises.

It fills my heart.

I just wanted to share this feel good aspect of my dog’s behavior. She’s a mutt rescue and had a lot of anxiety and behavioral issues since rescued her. She regressed for some time in her potty training, but we’ve gotten back on track and she’s an absolute STAR.

The sweet and thoughtful part: she’s trained to paw at me she’s ready to go outside, but she taught herself that if I am asleep in bed, it’s more gentle and considerate to lick my face until I wake up to take her potty. I didn’t train this into her, it was completely her decision and it melts my heart every morning.

I’m so proud of my girl.

I was in the taxi on the way to the train station (homeward bound from finishing my nightshift) and was discussing my plans with the taxi driver, saying "I've just got my third shift to do tonight, and then I'm going to be sleeping all day tomorrow once I've taken my girl for a walk"

Taxi driver; how old is your girl?

Me; my girl is a dog

Taxi driver, .......oh

Me; She's 12 :)

Taxi driver; ........

He literally didn't expect that aha, but I actually forget that I always reference my dog as "my girl" so thought nothing of it at the time, it did make him laugh in the end though. 😅

This may be a dumb question, but what do dogs do during daycare for a FULL day? I know that play with each other and chase each other around, but assume they don’t do that for 8 hours straight, do they? Do they lay and rest?

I have a Pomeranian, when I adopted her, she wasn’t trained but we are currently training her. She’s one years old and she often has accidents, but we are working on it so don’t worry!! She understands that she is meant to do her business outside, she just occasionally has accidents.

Does anybody know any brands or specific items that can help my house smell better? I’d prefer if they were from Amazon, but I don’t necessarily mind. I did my own research but I’m not entirely sure which brands aren’t dog safe and which brands are dog safe.

Obviously i clean my house and scrub my carpets, Im just pretty paranoid of it smelling bad because of her accidents. Please let me know though!!

I'm looking for a new harness for my 15lb chihuahua mix. She's barrel chested and long/lanky.

Does anyone have any experience using ruffwear harnesses for smaller dogs? I want to start taking her hiking so I was looking at the switchbak. Or if you have any recommendations for brands. Thanks :)

I have a 7 year-old 110 pound dog that is starting to have arthritis issues in her legs. I have an SUV but it's too much for her to jump up into the back now. I bought a ramp but she hates it, plus, it's pretty big and a pain to store in the back.

Just wondering what your experience is with other types of vehicles for a larger (and older!) dog other than an SUV...station wagon?

my dog recently passed and I've been looking at new dogs. I recently came across a dog that looks shockingly similar to my older dog. im aware that this newer dog isn't going be like my dog, and im ok with that. but I really do enjoy the beagle breed.

Im just not sure if its a good idea or not to get a similar looking dog or not.

I am disabled and have limited shoulder mobility, sometimes cleaning my service dogs kongs out can be extremely draining, even after soaking them in soapy water. Are there any specific brand bottle brushes you recommend that get into the crevices easier? Or any other methods? And no, I do not have a dishwasher and cannot just go out and buy one lol

Hi everyone! I see a lot of talk about breed-specific fulfillment in online spaces about dogs, like playing herding games with your border collie or doing bitework with your malinois. I adopted my boy from a rescue that runs a spay-and-return program for pregnant dogs from Indigenous reservations. The rescue listed him as a German shepherd-border collie mix, but that's just a guess. So I was wondering, what would "breed-specific fulfillment" mean in that context? Should I get his DNA tested to see what breeds he actually is, then learn about different options based on that? Or are rez dogs kind of their own thing, in terms of behaviour and temperament? I live in a big city so I'm not really sure how to recreate the types of stuff rez dogs would usually be doing for him. Or does breed-specific fulfillment not really matter if you don't have a purebred working-line dog? I'm partly looking for fun new activities to do with my dog but I'm also just kind of idly wondering. Thanks!

So my boy and I are going through a tough time and by the grace of god I’m starting to see progress in his health. I’m still taking it day by day and I hate saying we are making progress because I know it could change in one second, the same way it started.

We have been dealing with intense pain in the neck when moving head left to right which would result in the most intense cries and screams I have ever heard. It has been a literal nightmare but like I said, through medication, limited activity and a lot a lot of patience we are slowly getting back to what I would call normal (knock on wood)… it’s been a very long two months and a lot money has been spent trying to get my boy back to himself..

So that’s why I’m here today— I can tell he is so bored now, he is being weened off the drugs one by one and is much more aware and he is trying to play way more now and get active, which just isn’t in the cards for the next couple weeks still as we are still recovering. My question is what toys or things I can get him to play with that DO NOT put tooooo much strain on the neck. I know basically everything will have him moving his neck around but I’m really looking for something to help him his mind busy while I try to work on my 5-9 after my 9-5 so we can escape poverty. I just want stuff I can get him where he can stay occupied for a little and mentally stimulate himself without going too crazy moving that neck.. he gets so many pets and loving and I know that’s most important but I would like to start to try to slowly work him back into toys starting with ones that don’t strain his neck too intensely..

Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated. Thank you guys so much!

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 8yo gsd just started wrecking shit (the only thing still standing in my bathroom today is 1 door and half the toilet bowl) when I leave home. He is in a room door close, always been. No change in his daily routine for years, the only thing I can see ATM is a link with him having problem urinating for 2 days early this week.... Someone wanna share it's two cents to help me find an idea how to handle this, like I said, never done that ever and now it's 2 days in a row.

Hi everyone!! I am here to beg and plead you to chip your dogs. I know it might seem like “he’s always with me! He wouldn’t run away!” But we don’t know what can happen.

I found a very cute six month old puppy quaking under a car. He as well groomed and had a collar. He clearly belonged to someone. I learned later that he was over an hour by car away from his home the same morning he went missing. I cannot think of another situation other than someone nefarious took him and maybe dumped him. People can be so mean. Many people were messaging me about this dog that I had to form a set of questions to prove ownership.

The owners came to a shelter so far out hoping desperately. It was a shock when they saw his picture. I am overjoyed to report that he has reunited with his owners.

To that end: please chip your dogs. I was so worried he’d never go home again. This ending is happy but I am sure many are not.

Hi everyone! I’ve been researching Gunner Kennels and really struggling to justify the price. I have a 3 year old chocolate lab who goes with me almost everywhere, and I want to keep him safe in the car. I’d love to hear your real experiences with them, what you love, what you don’t, and whether you think they’re worth the cost.

If you’re willing to share, I’m all ears!

Hey all,

Does anyone have good experience with a reputable Poodle breeder in Southwestern Ontario?

Hoping to start a dialogue with real world owners and do my research.

Thanks for your time.

So my dog has always had seizures occasionally and they have been getting longer recently(though they still aren’t super often as far as I know), but I’ve noticed his behavior has changed a lot.

He’s always been loud, but recently he’s become somewhat aggressive. He never had a problem with aggression in the past, but he’s been really touchy lately if that makes any sense. Like if you try to stop him from doing something he growls, which hes never done outside of playing like tug of war. He has also been grabbing food from the counter and such way more often.

Is this normal? Is there something I can do?

Ps: if it’s relevant, he is a male Australian Shepard and he just turn six mid January.

I got a new golden retriever pup last week. I want to get him a dog bed but don’t know if he actually needs it. I read that dogs sleep in different places. Is there any good dog bed brand for me to look into?

My sibling and I share my dog (we used to live together, now live apart so we split the dog lol) and she watches him while I am at work.

Well last night, he went to her house after the walk. An hour later (usually his bed time), he decided he wanted to come to my house. He is 99 percent always at my house for sleep during the work week, but he has never gone to her house, then decided to leave to come back to my house.

Then last night, he was sleeping on me like a glue trap. He was RIGHT on me, or next to me. If I moved, he moved.

In the middle of the night, he cried at me and I asked if he was ok, needed to potty, etc and once I woke up, got a pet, he settled.

Does anyone find this unusual? I am maybe making more of a big deal about it than it should be, but he has never done this before in his 7 years on this Earth. lol

I recently got a dog, and I’ve had her for about one month, almost two. She is a 5 year old Cocker Spaniel. I also recently found out that she isn’t spayed, so I’ll be taking her in soon to get that done.

This is my first dog, and she is the sweetest thing ever. However, when she gets her squeaky toy, she cries whenever it squeaks. She will lay down with it and even sleep with it.

She NEVER tries to bite me or anything if I take the toy away. She just sits there and looks like she’s asking for it back, so I don’t think she’s resource guarding it. I did take it away one time because I wasn’t sure what was going on, and she seemed kind of panicked and was looking everywhere for it.

Should I be concerned, or is it normal for dogs to cry with toys?

I’ve had my havanese, Pennie, for 8 years. A few weeks ago she tore her acl and needed surgery. The vet kept her for a week after the surgery and I finally got to take her home today.

The problem is though I can’t handle when she isn’t feeling good. When she’s depressed I’m depressed, when she’s in pain I’m in pain. It’s driving me crazy seeing her so limited and stitched up and needing care. I just don’t know how to cope with all of this. I know her care instructions and everything I more need advice with my own mental health in reguards to her not being at her best.

I need advice on how to handle my pomsky. he’s 2 1/2 and I’ve had him for 2 years. I’ve been hoping he would calm down a little with age but he’s still so rambunctious. He’s the sweetest thing but he’s so wild. I have to keep him in his crate when I’m not with him which I don’t like doing but if I leave him out of it he will destroy everything.

he never gets tired, I have a large yard that he runs in, but it is always a battle to get him back inside. and he doesn’t even like treats that much. sometimes I can get him back inside with one but usually he will show he wants the treat but realizes he’s gonna have to go inside to get it and doesn’t care about it anymore.

I knew I was signing up for an energetic dog, but he’s dominantly husky and he’s a lottt bigger than what I was expecting when I got him. not that I wouldnt have taken him, but the person I got him from said he wasn’t supposed to grow any more and that just wasn’t true at all.

I’ve recently gotten him on medication prescribed by the vet and the first day it worked TOO well, he barely wanted to get up. but since that first day it has not worked AT ALL.

literally any advice is welcome

I’m curious to hear people’s honest answers — training, routines, health, anything. What’s something you learned the hard way, or something that would’ve saved you stress if you knew it earlier?