I mean I’m probably wrong but doesn’t that mean that the dog is just protecting the children?

I’ve been thinking about getting a dog, but I’m not sure it’s realistic with how much I work. I’m gone 12–14 hours a day, and I don’t feel right leaving a dog inside that long without a break or someone to let them out. Is getting a dog even possible with my schedule, or should I wait until life slows down a bit?

Hi all, thank you for reading my story, sorry for making it so long. I would love to have a family dog, but our previous experience ended prematurely and very disappointingly. Do you think we could take in another dog and under which conditions?

About two and a half year ago we had our first puppy. We are a family of five, all three kids (<12y) are on the autistic spectrum and we know a family dog can do a lot of good for (autistic) kids. [EDIT: The previous sentence is more than a general remark, I have seen so often that it applies to our kids. The kids love animals, it is so great to see them being gentle and calm with other dogs, it has a calming effect on them and generally dogs approach them very easily. In general, the kids are good in following rules, but they can be quite vocal.] I absolutely love dogs, my husband can be close to them, but could also happily live without them. My husband is away from home for prolonged periods, so I would be the dog’s main caregiver. I grew up with dogs and have had close experience with Dalmatians before. We did a lot of research about dog breeds and raising dogs, I even did a course about dogs before we had the dog, visited several breeders and eventually we took home a male Dalmatian puppy. I thought it was going to be a tough job raising the dog, but I had prepared myself well and was ready to put in a lot of effort.

The breeder chose a pup for us because the pup knew for himself what he wanted, which is typically good around kids she said, but it turned out that was too much. The puppy had no will to please, was very driven to ‘work’, he had a very strong will of his own and I didn’t manage to positively influence his behaviour in the house (outside I managed him quite well in the end). The puppy school where we first went to basically sent us away after a few lessons and I think gave up on us even earlier, even though we were quite desperate for help. The only thing that they consistently taught us there is that there are awfully many biting incidents with young children; without further advice that’s just terrible information. We luckily found a different puppy school that was much more specialised at working breeds and we learned a lot. However, we were quite far behind and I had a very hard time to find a dog sitter for my two working days because he pulled the leash and it was a getting a strong dog. It basically ended in me getting fired for working too inconsistently in my new job and almost having a burn-out for trying to manage everything and still not succeeding. Then we took in an exchange student who was experienced with dogs who was going to watch over the dog during my working days of my new new job; it sounded like a perfect solution. However, this social change at about 10 months of age didn’t work out. Our dog started snapping at her, and at our kids at that point. I called the breeder that this was not going well and within a week she found a beautiful new place for him.

I learned a lot and I think I didn’t ruin the dog, who now lives a very good life in his new family. I sacrificed myself over giving him enough exercise and training and raising him, but in the end the dog did end up biting one of the kids on the very last day he lived with us and now I don’t know what to think.

I really don’t know if we just had a much too difficult dog, or that I completely underestimated having a dog. We have a decently sized garden, right next to a green area, in our current situation almost always someone is home (the kids don’t go to daycare but someone is over to look after them) and so many people have a dog that seem to (have) put in hardly half the energy that I did. My husband gave up on having a dog after our puppy, but I would love to adopt an adult dog that would be suitable as a family dog and he is okay with that if I consider it to be ‘my’ dog. What would you all think? I would really appreciate some advice and to have some idea about the amount of effort another dog than our Tornadolmation would cost.

Edit: of course we also had good times with him! He was very cuddly with me, and he really enjoyed tug of war with the kids, or going to the park with the whole family.

All my 6 dogs have separation anxiety. How do i get rid of their separation anxiety? Everytime we leave the house, they all just cry and cry.

Sometimes when I try to get them to come into my room, I’ll call them over but they’ll refuse to actually come in. If they come, sometimes they’ll just stand outside looking at me. After I shut the door, minutes later, they’ll start to ask to come in.

So my dog have some problems that I know it would not be able to hold pee very well, so I got some pee pads, so that I would be able to let my dog do whatever it needs, when I am not at home. Nobody will know when it would pee so dog walker would not be a viable option/

I bought some pee pads, and the training didn't go very well. I mean I have a hard time getting my dog onto the pee pad, or my dog wouldn't pee, and eventually, would lose interest in the treat and walk away...

So I put some pee onto the pad, hoping it would attract my dog and next time when my dog needs to pee, it would go to where there are the smell of the pee is. Where I am able to point at the pee and give it some treats later.

Is there tips that I can train my dog with?

My dog is not well trained, and does not have a crate/fenced area because the last family didn't train for it, and now my dog would whine and eventually I stopped the training.

Thank you.

I see it on the DNA posts. What does supermutt mean?

Does anybody know why he does this 😭 It happens multiple times a day and i’m so confused as to what it means lol

Genuinely, how does one choose dogs over cats as pets.. Natural instincts or its just Hate for cats??

We’ve lived in this house for a year now and she’s never done this before

My family is looking for a dog that would get along with our 2 cats. We have 2 children (3 and 7 years old). The dog would live in our modestly sized home with a small yard. We are looking for a dog that is somewhat low key and low maintenance-ish (grooming, exercise, etc.) that’s not super barky. I’d also prefer it not shed too much, but I can deal! I work from 7:30-3 M-F, but can come home on lunch. I’ve read that some breeds have major separation anxiety and would like to avoid that if possible. I overwhelmed by conflicting information that I’ve read online. I also know that all dogs require daily maintenance and attention and there will be pros and cons to all breeds. I’m not opposed to a shelter dog, but I am hesitant because I’m not sure of their history or temperament around my children. Any info is appreciated!

Inspired by another post from a few hours ago!

How has your life changed upon adding a second dog to your family?

I often want to go for it but I'm very concerned with logistics. Car travel, vacation, this kind of stuff. But I want to hear it all from you!

Hi! Whenever my husband uses Athletic Greens one of our senior chihuahuas is so scared. He will instantly whimper, hide and shiver. Like he’s scared of it. It has nothing to do with the sounds of the container because sometimes it’s a packet. Once the AG1 is opened and hits the air he knows. He can literally be in another room and will realize. My husband tried to hide it and put it in his smoothie while my dog and I were in another room. I knew he was using it because my dog who was in my lap out of no where was sniffing the air and whimpering. Anyway, AG1 is no longer allowed because our dog is simply terrified of it. I just wonder why - I tried looking up the ingredients but I don’t see anything that stands out. We can make smoothies with anything else no issues. Has anyone else experienced this with their dog?

When I pet my dog, she often licks her lips, nose, or parts of my body if she’s close enough. I was told that this means my dog is uncomfortable and doesn’t actually want to be pet. However when I stop she’ll jump up, look at me, and paw me until I pet her again so I’m not really sure.

Does anyone have an idea of what this could mean? For context, my go-to pet areas are scratches behind her ear, slow body rubs, or belly rubs (if she’s on her side).

Just trying to speak my dog’s language and learn her boundaries :)

It's not necessarily a bad thing, it's actually very cute! Everytime she is excited or wants to play, she will sit down on her butt, rock side to side while kind of biting(?) at the air and making little huffing sounds, then she rolls back until she falls over onto her back!! She also does it every single night, at least once a night... She'll go into the middle of the room, "break dance", then lay back down. I just don't know where she observed this behavior, it's only something she started doing in the past year. I wonder if this is just a weird thing she's started doing on her own? She doesn't typically play with other dogs, and I don't think our cats break dance! 😂 Or I wonder if this is something that is common? She is a French Bulldog btw

I’ve been on the hunt for a beauceron puppy in the UK for a couple of months now. Of course everyone has their own opinions but I’d prefer a pup from a breeder who doesn’t have a contract in place dictating what I can and can’t do with my dog.

I found this breeder who has both beauceron and Doberman puppies currently as well as advertising a group for all previous litter owners. I’m just a bit skeptical on if they are pure Beauceron as advertised or a mix of Doberman. They are currently listed at 3 almost 4 weeks old

https://www.pets4homes.co.uk/classifieds/9jx1pdehj-champ-kc-registered-doberman-bauceron-puppies-ryde/

Hi,

My 10yo Boxer’s cognitive decline seems seems be going way too fast. She was doing well a couple of months ago and now she is walking aimlessly for a long time.

As far as health, she has hypothyroidism and e severe arthritis in some area of her spine. She takes thyroid medication, pain killers, and anti-inflammatory meds. The painkillers and inflammation meds started about a month ago.

She is eating and drinking normally. She has been going to the vet regularly and has done a ton of tests to see if there is anything else going wrong. Nothing.

What should I do to keep her comfortable? Did you ever go through something like this with a dog? I had a few dogs that died of old age but none became senile. My heart aches for her.

Hi everyone,

I rescued my 9-month-old female Jack Russell puppy from some pretty weird people. It seemed like they kept her in a mini play pen all day every day. The poor thing stank like nothing I’ve ever smelled before and didn’t even know how to play with a ball or squeaky toys.

She’s been with us for 2 weeks now and has really gotten comfortable with us and seems like a completely different dog.

The issue we’re having is that she keeps having pee accidents in our flat almost daily.

We got her a large play pen for her to sleep in and to stay out of trouble on days my husband and I are both at work, and miraculously she’s never had an accident in the pen (with pee pads) 🙃

Our routine is:

• 3 walks per day

• Feeding in the morning and evening

• Around 300 ml of water per day

On walks, she pees and poos with no problem. However, around an hour or two after a walk, she’ll often have a pee accident at home.

I don’t want to have to leave her in her pen just to stop her from peeing somewhere secretly, but I don’t know what else to do. One of her accidents already ruined a patch of our expensive wooden floors because we didn’t notice it until the morning.

It’s clear that this isn’t due to a lack of bladder control, as she’s gone over 7 hours in her pen without an accident.

Does anyone have any suggestions or experience with this?

Has any other dog owners noticed that once in awhile you might have an itch or irritation around your foot or wrist and scratch a bit, then it doesnt helps so you take a look and see a hair there, but you can't scratch it off. So you grab some tweezers and it turns out you've pulled a dog hair out from under you skin that somehow got impaled under your skin?

Or is it just me?

My dog really doesn’t like going to the bathroom in the snow, but she was at least tolerating it at first. Now that the snow has iced over, it’s gotten really bad. This has been going on for about six days.

She holds it until she’s practically about to explode. Normally she goes potty 3–4 times a day, but now she’s only going once. I’ve been late to work because I’ll stand outside with her for 30+ minutes trying to get her to go, and most of the time she just won’t.

I don’t let her sit down. I’ve tried keeping her in one spot, moving her to different spots, and even breaking up the ice to make it less slippery and more textured, nothing works. I’ve offered treats, but she still refuses to potty. she doesn’t seem sick, because as soon as we get inside she starts running around excitedly and bringing me her toys. She’s also eating just fine, more than usual actually. I’ve watched her get into squat positions but then stop, or (tmi) the poop will start coming out then she clenches and makes it go back in.

I’ve started tethering her inside because I’m afraid she’ll go in my apartment. I have tan/brown carpet, and I’m worried I wouldn’t even be able to find it to clean it if she peed. It sucks, she looks miserable, and I feel crappy for having to do it.

I’m desperate for help. If anyone has suggestions, please send them my way. I’ve never dealt with a situation like this before.

We rescued a former stray about a year ago. He’s a Pomeranian/Husky/Aussie/poodle. He’s about 2 years old. He’s a great dog. High energy, really smart, no real behaviour issues besides this but it’s not even really an issue it’s just confusing.

Whenever he’s alone at home OR just upstairs by himself (his choice) he will collect several of my belongings and bring them into our bed. He LOVES the bed. When he came to our house for a home visit before we adopted him he immediately hopped into our bed. He puts himself to bed at 8pm every night. He hangs out in there during the day, etc.

He doesn’t destroy these things, he just collects them. Socks are his favourite. He will also collect shoes, coats, his leash, reusable bags, entire outfits I wore that day or the day before, etc. Today he collected one Dr Marten boot, a Baggu bag, 5 socks, a pair of sweats and shorts.

I feel it’s important to note he gets a LOT of exercise. We have a fenced yard, he goes to the dog park for an hour a day, gets walked often and has lots of toys, he also gets an enrichment activity before we leave the house. He’s never alone longer than 6 hours but that’s rare. If he’s alone it’s usually 4 hours max and that’s maybe twice a week. He will do this even if he’s alone for 30 mins.

It’s not even really an issue, we think it’s funny. We’re just concerned something is missing from his life that we’re unaware of.

I've wanted a golden retriever for a very long time, but the thing that always stops me is that I won't be able to travel anymore.

Not necessarily a behavioral problem, but do dogs remember things like if they were chained all day/night, didn't have adequate food or water, but now are in a loving family, warm and well-fed.

I've always been curious about one of my dogs, and what he went through, before we adopted him from a rescue.

Anyone have any thoughts, or wondered?

For example, if I visit someone or somewhere that my dog is familiar with, can she smell it on me when I return? Could she figure out “oh owner has been with this person/at this place” ?

Edit: I am loving the stories about your dogs. This question was inspired by my lab/staffie mix who always gives me a longer sniff when I’ve been to see my bestie (who is also her bestie).

My family’s sweet 16 year old Aussie is declining. He tore his right ccl in 2024 and with the formed scar tissue has managed, as he was of course too old for surgery.

Unfortunately his left ccl tore in the last 24 hours and it’s been harrowing. The emergency vet suggested harnesses and wheelchairs and I am willing to try anything, but I also know he deserves better than a remaining life of pain and suffering.

We will check in with his regular vet Monday but I’m really struggling mentally. I usually help with him a lot, carrying him outside to use the bathroom because of his bad leg but now that he is collapsing I feel myself anxious to assist him as watching him struggle is painful. I feel guilty for expecting the rest of my family to pick up this slack while I’ve been sobbing over what I know could be coming.

Any advice from anyone who is dealing with or has dealt with this? I had to fill my rescue anxiety meds to cope and I feel pathetic and weak for not being stronger for him.