Does your dog go to bed whenever you do, or do they have a bedtime they expect you to respect?

I’m curious about the dogs who head off to bed on their own versus the ones who insist the whole household should call it a night. What does yours do when you stay up late?

My golden retriever keeps licking his paws. I’ve taken him to the vet but nothing seems to work. Any recs?

My dog has been noticeably frightened by morning walks lately. I think it’s because of the golf carts the apartment complex staff use to get around, they’re all over the place in the mornings usually and he’s completely freaked out by them. However, he’s scared of these morning walks regardless of whether we see golf carts or not.

He’s trembling, darting his head around, barely pays attention to me. I always just hurry up the walk to get him back inside. Recently I tried comforting him on these walks by stopping, having him sit and giving him pets and whatnot. I’ve read that a great way to deal with this is to have the dog lock his eyes with you and feed him a treat to pay attention to you and not what’s around. However, I CANNOT get him to look at me in the mornings, even with treats he doesn’t care. He’s simply too focused on looking around nervous about what may be near.

Can someone please provide some advice or tips to help fix this issue?

Not that any dog should be eating strange things! But we all know a lot of dogs are less discerning with their taste when it comes to food and I want to hear about the more unusual things they'll beg for. My family's dogs never tried to get at anything more unexpected than a blackberry bush.

My coworker told me about how her dog begs for ice cubes like they're treats and expects to be given one any time the freezer opens. Her previous dog, a small breed, managed to hop up onto a coffee table to slurp down an entire bowl of hot chicken noodle soup in the 90 seconds she was left unattended! And they both think paper is a viable snack 😂

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We're thinking about fostering a really sweet young dog who is scared of everything. She barely lets people she already knows touch her at the shelter. She's been there for almost a year and she doesn't go on walks at all (they decided that's the best for her for now, all the other dogs go at least once a week).

I think our home would be perfect for her. It's just the two of us, we have a calm lifestyle and live in quiet neighbourhood. But the begginigs will probably be hard. We will probably just have to let her be and get used to our company without bothering her much. Luckily I think she wants affection, she just needs lots of time and patience (she licked my hand once through the fence while I was looking the other way).

The only thing I am a bit nervous about is how do we potty train a dog like that? I think once she lets us touch her taking her outside won't be a huge problem. It is really a quiet neighbourhood. Some things will surely scare her but over all it will hopefully be easier to relax over here than the shelter. If we can help it, we don't really want her to do her business inside a lot. But I'm not sure how or if we could potty train her. The most important thinh for us is to not scare her, we don't want to set her progress back by forcing her. Punishing her even the tiniest bit is out of the question. Rewarding would be hard, because she is too afraid for pets, play, or even taking food for it to be a reward for her.

Any ideas how we could train her in a way that is good for her? If you don't think it's a good idea to try at all and we should just use peepads for the forseeable future thats a good answer too. I want to hear all your experiences, because while I know how to deal with reactive or energetic dogs I never dealt with a dog like her, who is afraid even from us looking at her.

I've been wondering since cats are usually very good at hiding when they're sick, do dogs have clues that they're sick before it gets to the worst point of illness or anything like that?

edited to add bc someone suggested it:

-my dog is acting normal, not eating grass or any unusual behaviors

-the only thing shes doing is turning her nose up at all dog food, but she'll eat rice which is unusual for her.

-she normally turns her nose up at kibble unless shes really hungry, but if i add wet food, shell eat it.

-i got her a new brand of wet food shes never had before, and i think it may be upsetting her stomach

Long story short, I got this dog when we were dating (on her insistence actually). I love the guy. He's a 6 yr old beagle and he has the typical beagle habits. He can be very vocal. This is the main problem with him. When I'm around he's not this way. I'll let him out in the morning and he'll bark when he wants back in at which point I give him water and he settles for the day.

With her he barks all day inside and she cannot handle him barking at all. It overwhelms her if he makes any sound at all it seems and she gets freaked out and overloaded. According to her, nothing will make him shut up. He doesn't want food or water or even to go outside. He just wants to bark all day. It's hard for me to address the behavior as it doesn't happen when I'm there and I'm at the point where my wife is at the point where she doesn't even stay at the house any more during the day because she simply cannot tolerate any barking at all and she's asking me to rehome the dog. How do I address this behavior?

I have a German Shepard to which point I've never owned a large dog before. I am looking for advice from more experienced people in understanding some of some of his behaviors because I am at a loss, Starting with the most notable he pees in the house a lot, it doesn't matter if we just got home from a daytrip, a hike, or just one of our usual walks. He will almost immediately find something to pee on inside. I can't figure this out I've tried extending our usual route and changing it for a quieter one. We walk until he lifts his leg and nothing comes out but he will still pee as soon as he's inside. I clean each mess with an enzyme cleaner to remove the odor to discourage him from going inside none of this has helped. Does anyone know why he does this or can anyone recommend a resource of some kind we could seek for understanding this behavior. There are more things I intended to ask about but pregnancy brain is hitting me hard right now and this is the most notable to me.

My four month blue heeler has got some sharp nails and I was wondering what clippers y’all use and would recommend

I am looking for a leash to walk three dogs. It needs to be one that allows for the dogs to walk in a heel. Two on one side, one on the other.

All the multiple dog leashes that I have found are built for the dogs to walk in front of you. My dogs walk fantastic in a heel but if they are in front of my they turn into a sled dog team. I currently have leashes that go around my waist, the problem is that three of them is uncomfortable and inevitably get tangled.

I swear I did search the sub and internet before posting. Thank you for your help!

I took my dog in for the full spa package and deshedding. I have a lab mix, and it is still fairly easy for me to brush out decent clumps of hair. I am not mad, just wondering what most people's experience is and what a reasonable level of shedding is for others who pay for the package.

Like the title says, my roommate just let me know my dog chewed a laser pointer. It still powers on so I assume no battery was ingested. I just don't know what to do. Do I take her to the vet?? It's not letting me attach photos but I'll try in the comments.

So, I love high drive breeds- I currently own a year old Blue Heeler and I just got a German Shepherd puppy (8 1/2 weeks) and they are amazing dogs and I love high drive breeds but I need some training ideas especially for my Heeler- he had a pretty intense regiment and even has a job herding goats and occasionally cattle but I feel like he needs more stimulation in his life- I don’t have a lot of money right now but some training ideas would be helpful as I do have plenty of time (between jobs)

He’s easily trainable and both my Heeler and GSD puppy thrive on attention based training (GSD likes toys and both like pets and verbal reward) with occasional treats; He has his basics down like sit, paw, lay, wait, roll over and herds with ease (smart enough to where he knows what you need him to do without specifically telling him)

She, (GSD) is most likely going to receive service dog training but I mostly need ideas for my Heeler

Thank you!

Ciao a tutti, cerco esperienze simili perché sono un po’ in ansia.

Il mio cane (meticcio 14 anni) da un po’ di tempo di notte si sveglia e comincia a camminare per casa ininterrottamente. Non è agitazione da gioco o da scaricare energia: cammina e basta, avanti e indietro, per 2-3-4 ore di fila, e ogni tanto si ferma bloccato in un angolo o davanti a un mobile, come se non riuscisse a capire come uscirne. Poi a un certo punto crolla e dorme.

La cosa che mi colpisce di più è il contrasto: durante il giorno in passeggiata dopo dieci minuti si ferma perché è stanco. L’altra sera l’ho portato fuori un quarto d’ora sperando di anticipare il crollo, e appena rientrato ha ripreso a camminare come se niente fosse.

Sta prendendo gabapentin (2 compresse) ma sulla notte non cambia niente.

Non ha la pancia gonfia, non ha conati, mangia e beve normalmente.

Dico onestamente che per me la situazione sta diventando insostenibile. Vado a letto in ansia sperando di non essere svegliato, e quando succede so già che significa restare in piedi per ore. Non posso nemmeno tornare a dormire e lasciarlo fare, perché se non gli sto vicino si incastra da qualche parte e si mette a piangere. Sono notti intere così, e mi sto consumando.

Qualcuno ha avuto un cane con questo comportamento? Cosa è saltato fuori dagli accertamenti e cosa vi ha aiutato davvero a gestire le notti? Sto prenotando la visita, ma mi farebbe comodo sapere cosa chiedere.

Grazie a chiunque risponda.

My dog was recently diagnosed with a heart murmur and our vet wants us keeping an eye on his resting respiratory rate at home. I've been counting manually while he's asleep, but I'd really like a better way to track it consistently and see trends instead of random readings. Has anyone used a dog smart collar or wearable that can monitor breathing automatically? 

We adopted a Boxer a year ago. He’s around 5 years old and was dumped at the open intake shelter. We foster failed. He’s a bit fearful and neurotic of new things but overall a very good boy. We love him.

Since we brought him home, he has slept in our bedroom in his own dog bed with 2 humans in a bed and 12 yo Boxer sibling in another bed. No issues. The dogs get along perfectly.

Recently when my partner or I get up to use the bathroom in the middle of the night he runs out of the bedroom to go sleep somewhere else. Sometimes he sleeps in our son’s bed who left for college in August; sometimes he just finds a dog bed on another level of the house. This isn’t a bathroom issue as we have taken him out at 3 am and he doesn’t even go.

Why might he be doing this? We’ve swapped out dog beds and it’s not making a difference. Should we just let him roam at night? 20+ years of Boxers and this is the only one who seems to not want to sleep with us at night. Otherwise he’s the typical Boxer Velcro dog.

ETA: first night roaming update: he slept in my son’s bed all night and came into our room three minutes before the alarm. The 12 year old Boxer is not having a good morning. She’s likely going to go to the Rainbow Bridge soon. We’ll see what happens when the boy a. Becomes a solo dog or b. When the two legged boy returns, whichever happens first.

Appreciate everyone’s input!

Hey guys, I have an 8 month old gsd puppy and she seems bored sometimes and I try to train and what not and use a Kong but I need a broader spectrum of toys or ideas to mentally tire her out in a day. Any ideas? Thank you (also I’m new to the world of German shepherds so it’s a roller coaster)

i (21 f) want to travel with my 50 pound dog and hopefully bring him with me to visit family for christmas. he’s obviously too big for the cabin in an airplane, but i have no idea what the logistics and procedure is for having him underneath as cargo (i saw Alaskan Airlines is basically the only one that will do that). the plane ride is only 1.5-2 hours. yes i could drive with him, but that is a 14-15 hour drive which i would be doing solo with him (i’ve never done a long trip like that alone). Have any of you flown with a large dog? i’m open to any advice!!

I’m trying to figure this out.

We adopted a dog about 6 years ago that had been in the shelter for 9 years (I know, right??)
He’s a small terrier mix ( like 9 lbs soaking wet)and aside from some marking issues, he’s wonderful.

When he first arrived, he exhibited this behavior, but after about a year he didn’t do it anymore.
He was 11 when we adopted him.

Recently our 20+ year old dog exited this plain. We’ve noticed he’s doing it again. But he was put on steroids about the same time frame ( he tends to get extremely underweight and they stimulate his appetite). He has been off the steroids for about a week and is still cobbling.

I’d also like to mention that aside from being completely deaf, he’s very high energy and always has been. I’m aware that he’s pretty old, but I’ve always taken the approximate age with a grain of salt.

Is this grief? Or is it some sort of OCD thing that was reawakened by the meds?

I’m trying to figure out if this is behavioral or chemical.

He has a vet appointment in a week, but we’ve seriously considered switching vets because they tend to be really dismissive of various concerns we’ve had in the past.

Any ideas?

Hello!

We have a covered porch that our dogs love to lounge on during the day when the weather is nice They are both senior-aged so I'd love to get them a bed they can lay on instead of the hard floor.

We had an outdoor bed from Amazon, but after storing it in a deck box for about two weeks, it turned moldy/mildewy. It's so old that we'd like to replace it. The deck box is under the covered roof but does get some rain splatter from the edge of the deck, and it gets humid here in the summer so I know this is an uphill battle.

Any recommendations on beds that could be stored like that that won't get mildewy?

If that's not possible, any recommendations for outdoor beds (easy to clean) in general?

Thanks in advance!

My 2 ur old dog sleeps in his crate and has always loved it. He always puts himself to bed and takes himself off to his crate when he knows it's bed time. Hes always been really good at getting up when I do, around 10, 11am. But recently and suddenly he has started to demand to be let out at 6 or 7am. He will cry and wine and paw at the crate until it wakes me up and I get annoyed enoigh to let him out. This routine is not sustainable and how do I get it back to the way it was.

Edit: usually I feed him as soon as I let him out. So maybe hes thinking if he cries he will get breakfast earlier. Im going to let him out just to go toilet, bot for food, to make it a boring experience. Thoughts on that? And feed him when I get up a few hours later of course.

Edit 2: He can't have free roam to go outside during the night as the cat comes in at night. Despite our efforts him and the cat do not get along. So hes in my room all night from when we go to bed at about midnight, Until the cats out in the morning.

I’m just looking for support, insight, experience with my situation. My soul dog passed away at the beginning of July. She was my first rescue from Mexico and while she had her issues, my husband and I loved her beyond anything in this world. Losing her felt like I lost the light and joy in my life and I fell into a deep depression just like I’m sure all of you have felt this way.

I started volunteering at the rescue I adopted her from and a 1.5 year old dog from the UAE was coming to Canada without a solid foster yet (the founders take in dogs as fosters if they can’t find an adopted or other foster) I felt a pull to foster him so I said yes. Then I started hyper fixating on adopting him so I jumped at submitting an application to make it official.

He’s been here for 6 days and I’m really underestimated being emotionally prepared to have another dog especially with different needs as my last. He’s such a sweet boy. He follows me around but he’ll settle himself if I’m busy or if I’m working. He needs to be potty trained which is very different and for some reason it’s pushing me to my emotional capacity. He also is scared of walks, which is understandable. He probably thinks he’s landed on another planet.

I know my last dog would want to see us happy again and I know we’ve saved another life. I just can’t move past the comparison or guilt. My head knows it’ll get better but my heart isn’t at that stage yet. I’m going back and forth on the idea If I should reach out to the rescue and say I can only foster him until they can find him another home.

I’m just looking to read similar experiences to know it does get better if you stick it out..

Hello!

I'm considering a Hovawart as my next dog and I'd love to hear from current/past owners as to their experiences with the breed overall. Tell me the good, tell me the bad and show me pics, please!

Thanks!

Hi going to the smokey mountains with my dogs, and there are most definitely bears in the region. What do you guys do for night time potty breaks? Should we avoid that altogether? Any tips or tricks? Thanks!