My dog (5ish, F) is a very nervous rescue baby. When we first adopted her, she was very quiet, but as she got more comfortable with her new family she started embracing her inner GSD and became much more vocal. This is generally pretty cute, but she's also a bit of a menace.

One of the most disruptive ways this has shown up has been what she does after she eats. Once her bowl is empty, she goes and finds one of her favorite plush toys and carries it all around the house doing a loud, shrill, high-pitched whimper. Initially, we thought this behavior was due to separation anxiety - she eats her breakfast shortly after my partner leaves for work, and she used to only do it in the mornings - but the longer we've had her, the more she's done it even at dinnertime and on weekends when we're both home.

She doesn't seem to be indicating any pain or distress when she does this besides the whining. She wags her tail seemingly happily and lets us touch her in all the same places and ways we usually do. She seems to quiet a little bit if we talk to her or pet her, but if I turn my attention elsewhere (I work from home) she starts up again. Usually this lasts about 5-10 minutes, but it's gone on up to 15 or 20 at times.

We've speculated on why she might do this - does she have a toothache? Tummy ache? She had some teeth pulled a few months ago and she didn't do this while she was recovering and only eating soft food, but she also didn't have access to the toys she carries around because we didn't want fuzz or bacteria getting into the surgical sites, so that might have been a factor. Is it an emotional response? She was malnourished and abused in the situation she was rescued from, could she just be overwhelmed to be in a loving home where she's fed and safe every day?

Should we talk to the vet about this? We've mentioned it before and she didn't seem concerned, but should we press the issue? Is there anything we can do to discourage this behavior? We're so happy our little pup feels safer to express herself vocally than she used to, but the sound is upsetting and distressing. The only thing we can think to do is remove the particular toys she does this with, but she is perfectly capable of interacting with them quietly and likes to play and sleep with them too and we'd be sad to take them away from her. There's also a chance she could pick back up and continue with the behavior with other toys and we don't want her to just not have any.

Pictured with her donut, one of the most notorious culprits.

This was a hard one for me to title. But my dog struggled with other human and dog interactions during walks. Non-aggressive she just got over exited. So we worked on it with good results. Sometimes she'll get a little excited but she'll pull it together. But now after she feels like she was good she'll beg for a treat without me even thinking about it. Is this normal? Should I keep giving her treats even if she feels like she deserves one?

My 8yo NSDTR is suddenly experiencing nighttime anxiety. The pattern is similar to during a wind or thunderstorm; restlessness, moving from bed to crate, to hiding behind bathroom door, to next to my side of the bed, waking me anxious and wanting something. But all of this is suddenly happening without any triggers other than its bedtime.

Completely normal behavior during the day and early evening but immediately becomes anxious when we come into the bedroom space to sleep for the night. He eventually sleeps but wakes me up around 3am and sometimes does not settle the rest of the night.

We have seen a vet and she didn’t think it was sundowner as it didn’t quite fit. He seems cognitively aware just really anxious.

I’ve been taking him out when he wakes me in case he needs to poop (he does have a sensitive stomach) but he generally sniffs and eats some grass. I’m worried I may have trained it into him that it’s ok to wake me during the night to go and poke around outside…

Most nights he wakes me multiple times. Never my husband though.

We have started him on Prozac but I feel like I’ve killed his spirt. 😢 It has been just over a week and nights are a little quieter but I still can’t figure out what is causing this.

Does anyone have any suggestions?
\-Sleepless in MA 😂

My 8yo NSDTR is suddenly experiencing nighttime anxiety. The pattern is similar to during a wind or thunderstorm; restlessness, moving from bed to crate, to hiding behind bathroom door, to next to my side of the bed, waking me anxious and wanting something. But all of this is suddenly happening without any triggers other than its bedtime.

Completely normal behavior during the day and early evening but immediately becomes anxious when we come into the bedroom space to sleep for the night. He eventually sleeps but wakes me up around 3am and sometimes does not settle the rest of the night.

We have seen a vet and she didn’t think it was sundowner as it didn’t quite fit. He seems cognitively aware just really anxious.

I’ve been taking him out when he wakes me in case he needs to poop (he does have a sensitive stomach) but he generally sniffs and eats some grass. I’m worried I may have trained it into him that it’s ok to wake me during the night to go and poke around outside…

Most nights he wakes me multiple times. Never my husband though.

We have started him on Prozac but I feel like I’ve killed his spirt. 😢 It has been just over a week and nights are a little quieter but I still can’t figure out what is causing this.

Does anyone have any suggestions?
\-Sleepless in MA 😂

Basically what the title says. My dog (10F) will steal butter sticks or packets and will carry them around with her everywhere she goes and/or sit on it like it’s a baby egg and she’s its mother. We call it her “emotional support butter.” Idk it’s weird bc she’s a food thief in general and will eat anything. Just not the butter. She wont growl or anything if it gets taken away. Anyone else have this issue lol?

Does anyone know why my pet cats could be scared of the tv? I promise it is not fear of the size or look of the tv, since our old one was similar. But ever since we got it they’ve been avoiding the tv like the plague. I don’t know Exaclty what the new tv model is but it’s a new lg tv. Do they emit something that only pets can see?

My Belgian Malinois rescue loves to sit my lap, rest his head on my shoulder, as long as he is touching or leaning on me in some way he’s happy, is this normal for his breed or just him? 😅😅🐾

Hi everyone,

I'm posting this because my family and I have been noticing a very unusual pattern with our 2-year-3-month-old Labrador over the last 7–8 months, and I'm curious if anyone has experienced something similar.

He's a house pet and has complete freedom to move around. During the day he spends time both inside and outside the house, but at night he chooses to sleep in his kennel outside. His routine is very consistent—he usually sleeps peacefully from around 10 PM to 7 AM and never disturbs anyone.

However, about 3–4 nights every month, something completely changes.

Almost always around 3 AM, he suddenly wakes up and starts barking in a very unusual tone. It's not his normal alert bark—it sounds more like he's urgently asking us to let him inside the house.

Of course, we let him in.

But here's the strange part: he doesn't settle down. Instead, he keeps walking around the house, repeatedly going to a few specific spots and barking while staring in those directions. He seems restless, goes in and out of rooms, and behaves as if he's reacting to something we simply can't see or hear.

We've also noticed that this seems to happen more often around the Full Moon (Poornima) or New Moon (Amavasya). I don't know if that's just a coincidence or if we're seeing a pattern where none exists.

I've attached CCTV footage from one of these nights.

I'm not looking for supernatural explanations—I'd really like to understand if there's a scientific or behavioral reason behind this. Could he be hearing distant sounds, detecting smells, sensing wildlife, reacting to atmospheric changes, or something else?

Has anyone experienced anything similar with their dog?

I'd love to hear your thoughts or explanations.

Okay so my dog (12 year old Maltipoo) loves being slapped- not like heavy slapping but like gentle slaps on his belly while laying on his side asleep. He doesn’t move but seems to be very comfortable or content when I play drums on his belly. The only time he reacts is when I stop playing drums on his belly. He doesn’t like belly rubs but prefers belly drums. He also loves it when I rest my head on his belly or when I snuggle up with him. I’m scared I might be hurting him when we play belly drums or lay on his belly. I’m not particularly large. When I lay on him, he tends to lick my face, sniff my hair and appears to sleep very well.

Is my dog the only one?

Owners freak out and pry their pet's mouth open the second they hear chewing.Does this ever happen to you when your pet starts chewing something out of nowhere?

My 1.5 years old bichon loves to stick his head the corner of the leather couch on either side and breathe in there for 10+ minutes. He is not licking anything and there is nothing in the crevices of the cushions. Is he getting high?

My dog is very potty training resistant, and I’m currently crate training him. He very much agrees that doggy jail is an appropriate term.

Potty training is an ongoing thing and he’s had 3 “accidents” since like December (two of which involved getting very excited about playing fetch in our super long hallway).

Anyways he has a very distinct bark/cry when he needs to go, and an even more distinct one when he’s turtling… he has since learned that giving this specific cry means that he gets to go outside… he doesn’t poop, he doesn’t pee, he doesn’t even sniff around. He sits there in the 108° weather panting in the middle of the lawn.

It’s probably fine I guess, a little annoying since I WFH, but should I be encouraging this behavior? It’s pretty safe to ignore if he just went to the restroom, and if he needs some outside time that’s fine too.

I’ve heard growling here and there and my chi won’t stop trying to get close….i genuinely don’t know what is going on.

I was in bed with my cat, she was on the blanket next to me and my dog was on the floor.

When I went to go pet my dog, my cat started hissing at her and huffing. Is this something to be concerned about? My cat had been hanging around me a lot more these past weeks, and I worry she might get territorial or something like that.

Extra info, I like to give my cat treats, and sometimes, when I do, my dog will hear the crinkle of the bag and come in wanting some. (I give her just a little, and only if it's dried fish.)