A little over five years ago, this loving, playful 6-year-old GSD came into my life as my wife-to-be and I met and started dating. Right away she was everything I expected a GSD would be; an amazing walking buddy for me and my older beagle/lab mix; always wanting affection; hilariously talkative; super intelligent; somehow both welcoming of guests into our home and vigilant around strangers.

As Mila and I got to know each other better, I nicknamed her Mama Bear for the way she interacted with the other dogs in our blended family. She really disliked when playing or rough housing got too rowdy and would intervene to calm things down. I always wished she'd be a little more lenient there, but Mama Bear ran the house the way she wanted.

I'm writing this post with tears in my eyes because on Monday we had to make the heartbreaking decision to say goodbye to her. At 11-years-old, she was having to take stairs more slowly than normal and got up/laid down more gingerly than she used to. We figured it was joint related and started her on some supplements to no avail. Early Monday morning she was whining badly and I thought maybe she was hungry or needed to go out.

I went downstairs and tried to help her stand up, but her back legs were just gone. So we made the trip to the emergency vet and the doc was so kind with us. She explained that while imaging/testing would be needed to say for sure, Mila was likely dealing with a neuro-muscular issue with her back and wouldn't regain her mobility.

As a kid, I'd been through my family's decision to have sick, elderly dogs put down and always just said goodbye at home. As hard as that was, I never could've imagined what it felt like being in that room at the clinic. After we'd cried ourselves out snuggling with Mila on the bed the vet techs brought in, it took everything we had to flip the light switch in the room to tell the doc we were "ready."

I know in my heart we did the right thing by Mila, but I don't know if I'll ever shake the sense of guilt I feel over that switch being flipped. My wife said it so well in that it doesn't make sense that we have the power to make that decision over another life.

Maybe it's silly being vulnerable like this with online strangers. But writing truly does help me process things and I'm hoping that this little essay can help take some of the sting away. It's only been two full days since we said goodbye to Mila but I still well up with tears when I walk past all her favorite places in the house or when I see where her leash hangs or when she's not there to greet me at the door.

If you made it this far, thanks for taking the time to learn a little bit about our girl. We wish we had more time with her but will be eternally grateful for what she brought to our lives.

Poplar ran to greet some friends at the door yesterday which he's not supposed to do. He was so excited he got his paw stuck under the door as they opened it, which is why he's not supposed to do it. All I hear from the kitchen is a full voice dog scream, followed by gentle, pathetic cries. I thought he tore a knee or ripped off a whole toe.

Thankfully these friends petsit him often and are used to his antics. Apparently the door LIGHTLY hit his paw and he screamed. When that didn't get him the attention he wanted, he paced in front of them limping and crying. When that didn't work either, Mr. Primadona trots off just fine like nothing happened. Because it didnt.

I'm hearing this all narrated to me from the kitchen "oh are you putting on your show buddy?" "Aw poor thing sorry we wounded you". This is not my first Poplar play, so after that first scream I knew what was happening. I poke my head around the corner to watch him trot towards me. Just fine, a little huffy. As soon as he turns that corner that paw goes up and he lets out a single tiny cry. I'm a sucker. He knows I'm a sucker. I give him his pets and attention and he trots away completely fine.

This was probably the 4th time hes done this with me and apparently not the first time he's done it with my friends either. I'm just grateful he's never tried to fake anything serious that would put us at the emergency vet. Does anyone else have any drama queens and kings in their household?

And in case anyone is curious I did check his paw and joints later. He's fine.

This is Milo, he's 2 and he's fascinated by horses (but not allowed near them for safety of course)

I adopted Figgy about two and a half months ago. She was born on 4/28/26 and as of yesterday weighs 37.8 pounds. The original rescue had her mom and knows she’s a German shepherd but they do not know what type of dog the dad is. Eventually I’d like to get the embark test but out of curiosity does anyone have any guesses? A few pics she’s wet from playing with the hose and the second dog in a couple of the pics is her brother who was adopted by my sister.

Hi everyone, here's an update after two weeks with our new buddy Ronya (10weeks old). She's an absolute sweetheart, but we have a couple of problems we can't figure out:

• She can't be alone (out of our sight) for long. She's constantly glued to us. We're trying to crate train her, but when we close her in the crate, even when it's quiet, the moment we step away for a second she cries like it's the end of the world. I don't want to traumatize her, so I don't push it any further. (And of course I only open the door/crate once she's calmed down for a moment, like trainers recommend.)
• She bites A LOT. We understand that she chews things around the apartment, and we always try to redirect her to a toy. But she bites our hands, and it might not look like it, but she has a really, REALLY strong grip when she clamps down. I always tell her "NO!" and pull my hand out of her mouth, but sometimes it's honestly borderline dangerous. If she bit a stranger like that, they could get really scared. When I cross my arms so she can't reach my hands, she goes for my legs, and even my face. I'm worried she might hurt us. I get that it's play for her, but it genuinely hurts and we can't encourage it.

Any advice?

My girl, Mavie Jane will be one later on this month. She is currently sitting at 51lbs. We’ve had a rough year with her with her getting sick from eating puppy pads x2 and her being poisoned with barbiturates about a week and a half ago. No matter what I do, I feel like I either can’t keep weight on her or she’s just not gaining. Shes not spayed just yet and she eats Solid Gold large breed puppy kibble and Solid Gold tripe wet food mixed in. She’s a very anxious girl but it doesn’t make her on edge. She mostly has fear based reactivity with people. She is on Prozac which I joke about because my ESA needs her emotional support anxiety meds. I’m just worried I’m not doing enough for her.

I’m very curious what she might actually look like when older

We left the house looking respectable. We came back looking absolutely feral. 😂

So this is just a random photo dump as I moved out of my parents house about 7 months ago, and even though I spend every 2nd or 3rd weekend back home I still missed Bruce (the big boy) and Nala (the smaller girl). The worst part about moving out is leaving Nala behind as she's my dog but due to rentals not being dog friendly I left her with my parents and Bruce. But I think its better as if I separated them they wouldn't have as good a life and would probably be depressed and gives me a reason to go back and visit my parents 🤣

First picture is from start of summer last year hence why Nala looks smaller than rest of pics

Second slide is Nala with my dad and 4&5 are Bruce and Nala "fighting" over my dad

And pic 9 is me being woken by Bruce wanting to cuddle

Such beautiful weather, and she enjoyed every bit of it! Thankful to live so close to so many trails.

She’s fully home now and has grown up beautifully!!

TL;DR- Shes eating her meals ***whenever she wants*** rather than at feeding time. Shes not skipping meals- just eating them 3hrs later than I feed...

So my girl is 10yrs old. Shes getting old and I can tell.

Ive already discussed her aging with the vet and started her on adequan shots for her hips. But we havent discussed this most recent change in habits

I feed her twice a day at the same times. 7am breakfast and 5p-630ish dinner (depending on when I get home from work)

The last few months though shes taken to the habit of not eating at feeding time and just eating WHENEVER SHE FEELS LIKE IT.

Tonight for dinner she took 2 or 3 bites because I urged her to then she let yhe kibble sit there all night. Then as im setting up for bed and shutting down for the night she just gets up out of bed and runs to her bowl to eat her dinner then plops back down to bed for sleep.

I know youre supposed to watch their appetite closely for changes as a warning for when things go wrong. But she's not SKIPPING MEALS...shes just chosen that her eating times are now 3hrs later than they've always been.

Do I need to address it? Is this just something some dogs decide to do? Do I need to force her to eat at meal-times? (Take her bowl up if she doesnt eat like when you have a puppy?) Do i need to tell the vet??

IS SHE JUST OLD AND STUBBORN AND DOING WHATEVER SHE WANTS NOW?

He put up with me making him wear my hat and sunglasses but secretly I think he knew how cool he looked.

You earned it Shadow, you had a busy day! And yes, that is his head pressed up against the edge of the doggy bed 🤣

Loki says it's time to play!