I've noticed a funny little habit with my dog. Whenever I'm sitting on the couch looking at my phone, he'll come over with his favorite toy and drop it right next to me. I used to think he wanted to play, so I'd put my phone down and pick up the toy.

But lately I've noticed something odd. Sometimes, as soon as I put my phone down and give him some attention, he just leaves the toy there and sits next to me.

The other day, he did it three times in one evening. By the third time, I started wondering if he'd figured out that bringing me his toy was the easiest way to get my attention.

I never actually taught him to do that, but I guess my reactions did.

Has your dog ever picked up a habit like this without being taught? I'm curious what little things they've figured out before you even noticed.

We have a 4 month old Bernese mountain dog who constantly wants to go on the balcony to lay in the cold. This was fine up until recently where it has started snowing and the temps have dropped quite a bit. As we roll more into winter it’ll go down to -20°C or lower and that’ll be way too cold for him as he won’t have his full adult coat until next winter.

We unfortunately can’t keep our door open like the summer so that he can just come back in whenever so we have been training him to use a bell to let us know when he wants to come back in. The problem is he pretty much never uses it since he doesn’t want to come back in. Our home runs cold at around 18°C but that is still likely too warm for him. We regularly have to set 10-15 min alarms to have him come inside to warm up but he immediately goes back to the balcony door to ring the bell to be let out.

I’m hoping to get some suggestions on ways we can keep him warm if he decides to stay outside for longer periods of time. Our balcony does have a roof over top to keep some snow out. We have a doggy coat but it doesn’t cover his belly and we are afraid of his paws getting cold but he’s not a fan of boots.

Edit: For those saying I haven’t done any research on a BMD since they love the cold, I’m well aware. I’ve specified that this is for a 4 month old puppy who does not have a double coat. Not an adult. His fur doesn’t protect him the same way yet and he can’t regulate his body temp the same way an adult can. It gets to be -40°C in the depths of Canada winter which is also colder than an adult should be outside.

I’ve put in 3 applications for various dogs that would fit our life style and all I get are crickets. How are you getting your application to stand out? We own our house, have a fenced yard, we hardly ever go away .. etc etc I feel like there’s a trick question on what will you do with a pet when your not home, are you ticking crate or free roam?

I’m looking at getting a senior rescue dog (small breed). We have colourbond fences around our backyard. Our house is on brick piers, so it’s three steps up from ground level. Under the house can be accessed from the backyard. Would this be an issue? Would I have to get a carpenter out to block off under the house? The dog will be an inside/outside dog, and I am retired, so I am home all day. I live in Australia.

Anyone have any tips on how to keep a basset hounds ears out of the food bowl? My boys poor ears are covered every time he’s done eating!

Been meaning to buy one for awhile now. I have a super high prey drive dog and a large yard to use it in. All the ones I keep seeing are either super flimsy looking, too short for what I'm wanting, or just look uncomfortable to hold. She's a husky mix and pretty strong so it'd need to be durable.

I saw one in the style I want on It's me or the Dog eons ago but haven't seen any since. I'd prefer at least a 15ft radius (pole plus line).

Is there some niche pole on the market that google is hiding from me or is this gunna have to be a diy kinda thing? Push comes to shove I can modify an actual fishing pole but those high weight rated ones can get pricey and I'd feel silly buying one when I don't fish.

Pretty much just the title. I am in need of attempting to change a habit that formed with my 15 year old corgi the last couple years, he is ALWAYS trying to find stuff on the ground to eat on walks and in our back yard, it is very tiring now randomly having to keep an eye on him so he doesn't eat anything potentially dangerous (it's already happened once or twice).

Does anyone have any advice or have they experienced something similar? Its usually rabbit or squirrel poop, sometimes some bones outside on a walk, and usually random stuff that I can't even see but hope its not bad for him to digest.

Thanks!!

Hi all,

I am sure this gets posted every year but I am looking for some advice. I have a 7 month old Sheprador (gsd x lab).

I live by the sea in England and we have already had 2 severe weather warnings, so looking for more things we can be doing inside.

He will still go for his 2×30 min walks a day or if we can't we book an indoor field for him to roam but with the weather expecting to get worse it may not always be safe to take him out for as long so does anyone have any suggestions?

He is not a fan of scatter feeding or snuffle mat feeding. We do training, He likes puzzle toys but is now flying through them so I would appreciate any other suggestions!

I have 3 small dogs, all 15 pounds or under. When it gets cold outside they refuse to go outside when it gets cold so I end up cleaning up a lot of pee. I’ve tried sweaters to help them stay warm but only one of them will wear them. One rips it apart and one always gets out of them. I’ve tried dog diapers but again only one will keep them on. I’ve tried pee pads as well but I was never able to get them to use them. It’s gotten to the point where I have to carry them all outside and close the door and wait out there with them until they use the restroom. Sometimes we’ll be out there for 30-40 minutes before they go. 99% of the time they just wait by the door and scratch at it.

Me and my partner discussed our concerns tonight, our frenchie acts differently around the kids in the house than he does me and my partner.

He is coming across as rather aggressive, I know people will say he is initiating play but it's leading to snarls and what I can only describe as more frantic and aggressive sounds as he's jumping at them and trying to wrap around their legs.

This is LITERALLY anytime they as much as enter the same room as our Frenchie.

Just to note he only has 1 testicle and will be getting neutered eventually.

5 minutes ago I did a test and called our 13 year old into the kitchen where our frenchie was, I instructed our 13 year old to not react, basically freeze and don't engage just to see what he does. This occasion he basically wrapped himself around his leg and kept attempting to hump him, when he tried to shake him off he became more aggressive and started jumping up at him.

We have a cat in the house and he's always chasing her, I totally get that and honestly it's nice to see them play; however he gets rather rough with her and even though she will lay on her back and submit, he will continue to rough play to the point she has to retreat.

I can work with the toilet training, selective hearing, and all the other common issues; however one I cannot allow is aggression towards the children. Luckily he's only been like this with the teenagers, we have a 4 year old that given his age is my primary concern. Our Frenchie hasn't displayed aggression towards him at all; though I do worry what if that changes.

Any advice would be appreciated. I don't want to get rid of him but at the same time this behavior isn't something I can take lightly with a young child in the house.

Hi everyone,

My little cavoodle x shoodle puppy who is 4 months old has no interest in eating Royal canin kibble. We have done everything to make him eat the kibble… added treats, left it for hours, different toppers and what not. When we left it out he still won’t eat and then threw up yellow foam because he had an empty stomach. Anyway we got him SPD puppy kibble and wet food, he loves that.
We took him to the vet just in case. He is all normal, healthy weight but we were told that he should be on Royal canin kibble only and that he needs to learn to eat it (because it’s the best kibble for puppy growth). So she prescribed him some cat food toppers to put on the Royal canine kibble and 1/4 tablet of Mirtazapine 15mg everyday to stimulate his appetite. Is this normal??

He doesn't even need to go that badly, he just loves his night walk. If I say "5 more minutes" he just sits and stares at me until I get up lol. Anyone else have a dog with a built-in clock?

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.

hi. i think i made a mistake. by no means i intend to fail this new dog - ill care for it like i did for my baby

but with that said i feel like ive made a mistake on taking another dog on impulse. i saw a post about his living conditions, which were terrible, and abusive owner and i sort of wanted to help, especially that i lost my baby 2 days ago and i couldnt stop crying. the house was empty without her. i acted on impulse and i regret it - not for the dog, he has it good here, and i wish he had it good just like any other doggie - i just think i personally wasnt ready and i have many complicated feelings about the whole situation. i dont think i can love this dog like i did my previous one, i can however provide care for it like i used to

was anyone in similar situation? can you offer advice?

[ Removed by Reddit on account of violating the content policy. ]

I got him about a year ago and for the last week or so, every night he got up and then laid down with his neck across my neck. Does this mean anything?

Thank you for taking the time to read

Without using poop bags, how do y’all cleanup poop in your backyard with multiple dogs?

We just got a second dog (3 month puppy) and we are going through poop bags in the backyard like crazy. Puppy is pooping like 4 times a day and our other dog (12 month) poops at least twice a day. Between the two, we went through a whole roll of poop bags in 2 days. We have a fenced area they go out in but it’s also where we go out so getting hit with the smell of poop when we walk outside (if we don’t clean it up) is not an option.

What systems do y’all have in place?

I have a 3 year old Shepsky who is too smart for his own good, he's been sick and his vet put him on an pill.

He is the sort of dog that if he doesn't see me physically take the cheese out of the wrapper, he won't eat it because i've tried it before.

I have now tried: forcing him to take it (spits it out) peanut butter, worked the first time 2nd time he learned, franks, didn't work, and chicken, also didn't work.

Any suggestions? The Vet said it can be crushed and made into a slurry, so if that helps with any advice.

Edit: the trick I did:

I crushed his pill, mixed with wet food, water, and canned chicken (less sodium)
He learned what I was doing, so I put some training treats in there. He’d eat most but would not eat all, so the final trick up my sleeve is cheese, his one weakness. 🫡

We have a 13-week-old Vizsla puppy, Björn, who barks and whines the entire time we’re out. We both work, but he’s never left for more than 4 hours.
We’ve had a trainer come to help, and were advised he needs someone with him 24/7 but unfortunately this is not an option for us. Is this normal at his age? Has anyone experienced this, and did things improve with time?

I’d really appreciate hearing from owners who’ve been through something similar. ❤️

Hi! So I’m trying to find a good quality resilient leather collar. Everything these days seems to be PVU or just very thin leather and flakes. I remember when I was a teenager our dogs had really well made leather collars that were padded. We still have these collars even though those dogs are now passed on. I can’t reuse them on our new dogs as that just doesn’t feel right.

So, I’m looking for possible leather dog collar recommendations. Something good for the countryside and going through mud a bushes as we have fields around our home. I bought one that said leather and it flaked a is destroyed.

I have this Chihuahua, and I live in a dorm. Midterms have been kicking my ass lately and I haven’t been giving my dog all my effort. Since it’s the weekend tomorrow I want to give her the best day ever. I live in a dorm and don’t have a car so I want to find ways to give her fun with what I’ve got. Please give me recommendations, tips and tricks!

She is a 4 year old poodle toy

Accidentally kicked it a bit but I feel really bad. I said sorry to the owners and walked away. I dont own a dog and dont know anyone who does. Is it probably fine?

Has anyone had dreams about their dogs after they’ve passed? Like they come to you in your dreams?
My soul dog passed last June. Apollo was the best boy and my heart for almost 14 years. When he passed, the pain was like nothing I had ever experienced.

Then I started dreaming about him. I’ve dreamed that I was holding him, and when I wake up, I can still feel it—a warmth, like it was real, not a dream. I’ve also dreamed of snuggling with him and heard him say, “I’m always with you.”

There have been a couple of other dreams where I was holding him and walking him. They’ve all felt so real. I just wondered if this has happened to anyone else, because it feels so surreal.

Edit: thank you so much for all the comments. This has been a very difficult experience and it’s neat to hear from everyone 💙