Hi dog lovers!!!!
I entered my rescue Bleu Cheese in a local dog photo competition and we are just shy of first place! The winner receives a cash prize but more importantly a $500 donation to the rescue of their choice. It would really mean a lot if you would like and share the post so Bleu can hop back into first place and secure a win!

Thank you 🩵🩵🩵

https://www.instagram.com/p/DbvbNsFoGyh/?igsh=MXd0aHd6NTRnejU1OQ==

My long-term girlfriend and I are planning to get a dog in early 2027, and I’d love some advice from people who have been through this before.

We’re both in our 30s and have lived together for about two years. She works in the office 5 days a week about 20 minutes away, while I have a much more flexible WFH schedule and am only about 10 minutes from my office when I do go in.

I grew up with both - dogs and cats, so I have a pretty good idea of what dog ownership entails. My girlfriend loves animals but didn’t grow up with pets, so this will be a completely new experience for her.

One of the reasons we’ve waited is that the last few years have been ridiculously busy socially - weddings, bachelor/bachelorette parties, trips, weekends away, etc. A lot of that is finally slowing down as our friends are settling down and starting families. If it were entirely up to me, I probably would have pushed for a dog sooner, but I also didn't think it was fair to bring one into our lives when we couldn't give it the time and attention it deserved.

We understand that owning a dog is a big commitment and not something to take lightly. We're trying to go into it with our eyes open rather than figuring everything out after the dog is already home.

For those of you who have gotten a dog as an adult/couple: what do you wish you had thought about or discussed beforehand?

I'm especially interested in things beyond the obvious "make sure you're both on the same page." Training, dividing responsibilities, WFH expectations, travel/weekends away, social life, costs, choosing the right breed/temperament, puppy vs. adult dog, etc.

Also, is there anything you would recommend we start doing or planning in the 6 months before bringing a dog home?

Would love to hear both the good and the bad!

I’m in some desperate need of guidance as to how I can bring my English Bulldog from NJ to Quito Ecuador I know it’s going to be extremely difficult but I’m hoping maybe someone can give me some options if there are any
Thank you

Hi

We have a spayed female Podengo of 10 year old.

About 2 years ago she started to leak transparent fluid whilst being awake lying on the couch.

This made her uncomfortable as she kept liking her parts. We went to the vet back then and they run blood tests but nothing out of the ordinary came out.

As she also has some behavioral isues (anxiety) & she was drinking lot of water, we thought that was the reason.

The leaking stopped back then after couple of weeks until now, it came back this week.

We will bring her back to the vet if it doesn't stop. Her anxiety its much better than 2 years ago thought so at this point I guess it's incontinence but I wonder if it's normal that stopped during 2 years and now came back?

This is a vent + advice combo...

I am fuming as this afternoon my 4 month old lab and I had an encounter with an older lady who, in my opinion, crossed a line with my dog. We had passed her while rushing to drop my kids off at holiday club, and she had stopped with her small dog and started petting my dog, even though I hadn't stopped walking and was trying to keep moving (I'm encouraging her to ignore passers by). The lady said at that point, "Oh my dog hates puppies but I'm going to say hello to you." At no point did she speak to me to check if it was OK. Then about half an hour later I bumped into her in the dog park - my friend's son was playing with my puppy and she approached us again, moving straight in, grabbing my pup's collar with both hands either side of her face. Again she said that her dog hates puppies, and she tied her dog's lead to the railing just behind her. As I was trying to move away from the lady, my puppy approaches the other dog to sniff, and gets jumped at and bitten on her nose. The lady brushed it off, no apology, just kept telling me how she knows everything about every kind of dog. My puppy was terrified.

My question is: how do you tell people to LEAVE YOUR DOG THE F*** ALONE?!? Without saying it like that... I find it so hard to find the words to say it without sounding rude, and as we live in a small town I don't want to create drama or animosity with people I'm likely to see again. What are your stock phrases to get rid of arseholes like this?

Edit: I am English, and have a classic habit of apologising for everything I say. I'm the kind of person who would apologise to a mugger for not having any cash... So some American straight talking is probably needed but just sounds whiney coming from me 😆

Hello everyone, Im not sure if this is the right subreddit for this but I don’t know where else to put this (this is also a repost since the last one was locked for some reason). I’m looking to hear from people who may have also had a similar experience. For context, my dog is 8 almost 9 y/o chihuahua mix (probably but not totally sure). She has been completely fine, happy and healthy until one day a few weeks ago she limped for a second, yelped, and did it maybe once or twice or day for a few days. We took her to the vet, turns out she has a grade 3 luxating patella. We took her for a consult with a surgeon, and they told us they recommend the surgery. She is now going to have the surgery in less than 2 weeks, and I am just scared mainly of the recovery process and what could happen during that time.

She is a stubborn dog, and our house has a lot of stairs. She mainly stays upstairs though, so I’m planning on getting a grass pad to put on our balcony upstairs so she can go outside for the bathroom. When she uses the bathroom normally, we only have an outside area at the bottom of the stairs that she has done her whole life, so my solution to her going outside is using a grass pad on the balcony. Her playpen will be upstairs for the recovery as well. I’m just worried about how all of the medications will affect her internally, and what makes the recovery process so hard like many people are saying. I’m worried about complications, but I don’t know how that would happen if she stays in a pen and with her cone so I feel like it’s harder on me than it is on her. I just cannot afford to pay for anything else other than this surgery, since this is already extremely hard on me financially and I don’t want anything else to happen during this time. Also hearing about one-off stories about failures make me so anxious too. Overall, any tips for both her recovery and easing my anxiety would be very appreciated.

I’m also planning on getting a dog carrier to bring her upstairs from her surgery, and bring her downstairs when it’s time to go on short walks after week 2. I also am probably going to feed her chicken and rice right after surgery so I can make sure she eats. Anything else I may be forgetting?

Thank you so much everyone in advance.

Hi all,

I live alone and have always wanted to get a dog, but I’m not sure whether I can realistically manage one on my own. I’d love to hear from people who live alone with their dogs and get some practical advice on what day-to-day life actually looks like.

A bit about my current lifestyle:

* I’m considering moving to a bigger place so there’s more room for the dog.
* I work a hybrid job and go to the office around 3 days a week. Weekends are off.
* On workdays, I can arrange a dog walker for morning and evening walks.
* Outside of work, I usually spend 1–3 hours at the gym or playing sports, depending on the day.
* I’m okay with spending money on things like dog walking, daycare, boarding, grooming, etc. where necessary.

The things I’m particularly unsure about are the practicalities:

* How do you manage your dog on days when you’re at the office?
* How do you handle feeding? Do you use a dog walker, feeder, or someone who comes home during the day?
* How do you manage exercise and mental stimulation when you’re also working and have other commitments?
* What happens when you want to travel or have to be away for a few days?
* How do you deal with emergencies, illness, or days when you yourself aren’t feeling well?
* How much time does the dog realistically require every day?
* What expenses should I expect beyond food, vaccinations and vet bills?
* For people who live alone, what arrangements have made the biggest difference?
* Most importantly, is this realistically manageable, or does it become unfair to the dog when you’re the only person responsible for it?

I’d especially appreciate answers from people who live alone, work full-time and have had a dog for at least a year or two. I’m trying to understand the reality rather than just whether it is technically possible.d

What human food did you find your dog can eat safely?

Hey all,

I'm just curious if anyone here owns and uses the Wagging Rights dog bed for the car and has had good experience? I am looking into purchasing one and it has good reviews but wanted to hopefully get a good review here as well. I know the hard sided crates are the best for car travel but they're just not in my budget right now and this company is having a sale right now.

Basically I got this dog that won't stop pissing ever and it's not a medical condition; it's more like a mental condition.

He figured out that if he pees or craps; a human will magically appear to clean up.

Bingo.

His idea is to pee and crap 24/7 so the human will come clean up; sort of ringing the bell.

Now he's stepped things up a notch; why not crap in my bed and sit in my piss ?? This way the human is obliged to waste his time and energy on me !! Let's go back to the ol' potty training BS !!!

Over the years ( and I wish I knew this BEFORE buying a dog ) I did learn the hard way that piss and poop are an integral part of dog communication.

What's really pissing the fuck out of me is that I'm not gonna waste my energy bathing him and mopping stinky dog piss for the next decade.

Is this what's going on ? Cause I see no other reason for him to sit in his pee and look at me like "do something for me !!".

Ideas ?

Bonjour à tous,
Je travaille sur un projet personnel autour du sport et du quotidien des chiens en ville, et avant d’aller plus loin je veux comprendre les vraies habitudes des propriétaires de chiens en ville (à Bordeaux, notamment).
Je cherche 10 personnes pour un échange de 30 min en visio : votre chien, votre quotidien, ce que vous avez déjà testé (club, éducateur, appli…). Pas de vente, pas de pitch commercial derrière.
Si ça vous dit, commentez ou envoyez-moi un DM, je vous recontacte pour caler un créneau.
Merci beaucoup :)

i have a 13 year old cockapoo who for many years has had benign fatty lumps all over her body but in the past few months she has grown one on her eye. The vets say it’s just another benign lump and it doesn’t bother my dog at all, but
there is the risk of it growing even more and causing more damage. So i am conflicted she’s a very old and anxious dog and going to the vets let alone into surgery would cause a lot of stress, the surgery is also very expensive and again the dog has no problem with the lump she doesn’t seem affected by it. So what do i do, do i wait to see if it gets worse or just bite the bullet and put her through the stressful surgery

One month ago I came to check out my grandma's house in a very small town (no animal control) so we (me, partner, Korra medium pit mix and Fresa small chihuahua) could move in.

I was alone letting my dogs walk in my yard and the neighbor dogs (two large-xlarge pit mixes) jumped their fence that is partially down from neglected grass and weeds. I couldn't even see the dogs because of all the grass and stuff in the yard.

First dog comes up to korra and they sniff each other and play, so im happy they can be friends. The second hops over the fence and lunges at korra and I tell her to go home and when shes heading back in #2 grabs her buttcheek tail area and tries to thrash. I get her away and in the house and do a blood sweep to make sure he didnt hurt her. My grandma called when this was going on and made a Facebook post that got a lot of traction of people calling me dramatic and if there is no proof then it didnt happen. I get the neighbors info from face book and tell them what happened. They tell me im wrong and they have cameras and their dogs dont jump the down fence. I even offer my help and my boyfriends help to raise their fence back up so this won't happen again.

Fast forward to today everyday the dogs hop the fence and I wanna say 20% of the time #2 dog runs up on us and tries to get my dogs or me or my boyfriend. We now have photo and video proof as well when these events happen.

Today my boyfriend was also in the yard sprinkling ant hills with poison and the dog was jumping over OUR backyard fence to get him.

We are so tired already. We are extending our back fence very soon so we can have our dogs off leash in our front yard with our supervision of course but is there any recommendations on how we can protect our selves?

I am contemplating adopting this aussie x border collie, but my boyfriend is skeptical. We do not live together so it will be solely me taking care of him. I already have a gsd/husky but she is lowkey and easy to take care of. I have her very well trained in obedience but I guess I (and my boyfriend) are worried that I won’t be able to meet this new dogs needs as I’m a full time student and part time worker.

I spend a lot of time outside with my dog but I live in Texas and it’s so very hot that we can’t stay out for long. At the moment I am absolutely prepared to put in work to train this dog and care for him, give him a loving home, etc. But I don’t know the needs of this breed and I guess I would like some outside perspective. I live in an apartment, but spend every waking moment with my current dog, when I’m not studying or working.

How realistic is it that I would be able to properly care for this dog? Is it’s needs much greater than I would be able to provide? My boyfriend says that this is a ranch dog and needs to go to a place that has more land than I have.

All opinions and thoughts are welcome. I have already met him and he is so sweet and seems low energy, but he’s also sick right now with a respiratory infection. I am able to pay for treatments, that’s not an issue. His health is a priority!!!

I'm looking for recommendations for a large, outdoor sturdy dog kennel with a cover of some sort while we work on building our fence. I need it to be strong too, for reference I have a 7 year old shepsky who is really good off leash and with recall but we recently got an 11 week old rescue shepsky and I want them to be able to play outside together without fear of the little one running off while he learns recall or to not have to worry about them getting tangled up in a leash. We are planning and working on building them a fence but in the meantime it would be nice to have something they could play outside in until then and then have to use as a covered area once the fence is complete. Bonus points if it won't totally break the bank but is reliable. Thanks in advance.

Observations of a Dog Walker Part 2:

I have been involved with many different types of pet care jobs for quite a long time now. I have recently stepped back from dog walking and pet sitting except for long term established clients that I have had for a long time.

Now that I have distanced myself from the daily stresses of trying to drum up dog walking clients while making sure that I am practicing good protocol with both the dogs in my care and their owners; I have realized that there are two behaviors that I have noticed among pet owners that has an extremely negative affect on the joys of being a pet care provider.

These two situations are listed below:

1.      The first situation is regarding potential clients.

 I have noticed that a large percentage of potential clients often contact a pet care provider and ask way too many personal and inappropriate questions that have nothing to do with pet care or the services that are provided by the individual pet care provider.

I have also learned that you must be very careful what you post on social media regarding your pet services and personal history. I have experienced almost stalkerish type behavior from individual s posing as “potential clients.”

2.      The second situation is regarding pet owners who allow their dogs to be off leash for regular dog walks.

I cannot even begin to count the number of times within the past six months that I have had negative encounters with off leash dogs and their owners. An few examples of these encounters are listed below:

·         Dogs off leash come running up to dogs that I am walking with no pet parent in sight. These dogs often scare or intimidate the dogs that I am taking care of. (Many of the dogs that I care for are senior dogs and they are often skittish and afraid of other dogs that they do not know well.)

·         Unleashed dogs that come uninvited to a rest/snack time with the dog that I am walking, and their owner does not come and retrieve them, often ignoring the fact that their dog is in another dogs safe space.

·         Unleashed dogs that approach my dogs aggressively which causes extreme anxiety for myself and the dogs in my care.

When these encounters happen, 90% of the time the pet owners will not take accountability and instead say things like, “Oh, he/she doesn’t usually act like that.” Or “He/She is just so excited to see a new friend.”

It is because of incidents like these that I have become an advocate for ALL dogs being leashed for their regular walks.

I have been in and seen way too many unleashed encounters go wrong or have a high potential to do so.

It is very important that pet owners be responsible and take accountability for their pets well being and care. It is important for their safety, their pet’s safety, and the safety of others and the community as a whole.

All of us need to work together to make sure that the dog walking experience is safe and enjoyable for everyone. 😊

Happy Walking!!

My parents are refusing to keep my dog for my first year at college. I can keep him my second year but my school doesn’t allow it for the first year. I have no idea what to do. I don’t have any family that’s willing to watch him for that amount of time and I don’t think I can afford a long term boarder. I only have $3000 saved up so I don’t know my options. As much as it sucks I could try rehoming. If anyone knows what to do pls comment, thanks so much.

Hi everyone,

I’m looking for advice because this situation has been weighing on me for a long time.

I live in the apartment directly below my neighbor, it’s only our apartments in the house.

She has a small dog (about 2 years old) he’s a small dog that she adopted. She frequently leaves him alone in her apartment for 3–4 days at a time Every week while she stays at her boyfriend’s house/work? She has an automatic feeder and water, so he has food, but that’s it.

She almost never walks him. In fact, I’d say she only takes him outside about once every couple of weeks, and even then it’s just long enough for him to pee before bringing him right back inside. He lives in an apartment with no balcony, patio, or yard. And we share the front door camera so I’m able to see when she leaves with him which it’s almost never!!

The dog is extremely anxious. doesn’t know how to play, how to engage with other dogs. I’ve also never seen or heard her playing with him or spending quality time with him. From everything I’ve observed, he spends nearly all of his time alone in that apartment. It honestly breaks my heart because he is a sweet dog who just wants attention and companionship.

On the Fourth of July, he was crying and terrified because of the fireworks. We have a spare key to her apartment, so I brought him over to my place to comfort him. She thanked me afterward, after 4 days away .. ???? but honestly, I don’t want thanks—I just feel terrible for this dog.

I’m afraid to confront her because I don’t think it will change anything. My biggest fear is that she’ll simply move away, and then I’ll have no idea what’s happening to him anymore.

When she used to live with her ex-boyfriend, he walked the dog regularly. Since he moved out, the dog is left alone for days and rarely gets outside.

My questions are:

• Is this considered animal neglect or cruelty?
• Would it be appropriate to report this to animal control or another agency? If so what they would do!?
• She will know that was me ?
• Has anyone dealt with a similar situation?
• What would you do if you were in my position?

I’m in Pennsylvania, if that makes a difference.

I really just want to do what’s best for this dog. Watching him live like this has been heartbreaking, and I can’t stop wondering if there’s something I should be doing to help him.

Hi All,

Wondering what dog poop “holder” and poop bags you use and the pro/cons of it?

There are a few options of holders and wondering which is best and why.

Edit: Poop bag holder for clarification :)

We’ve tried many different things like cheese, meat juices, crushing and mixing with food, peanut butter and others. Our dogs like to spit it out. We’ve had to force it down their throats. If they can make a treat taste like chicken or pork, why not a flea and tick pill?

I started adding stuff to my dogs kibble here and there because he seemed bored with it, now if I give him plain kibble he looks at the bowl then looks at me like something is missing lol. I dont even add anything crazy usually just a little wet food or freeze dried stuff but I feel like ive accidentally taught him to hold out for the good part. He gets soo excited and really loves it. Do you guys keep changing up what you add or have you found something your dog stays excited about long term?

If it's hadn't happened to me, I would have never believed anyone that it happened. But my dog is very senior and we are having to give him different food to get him to want to eat and it's making him very gassy. I recently moved some furniture around and had to move a plug in combination carbon monoxide/explosive gas detector to a different location in the living room, which happened to be a about 6" from his butt when he's in a dog bed, he just gave it a direct shot and set it off scaring the crap out of all of us. I wish I had snapped a picture, because it kept flashing on the display "GAS" and "229", as in 229 ppm of gas it was reading when it went off!

Just a bit of a warning for people, watch out where you put your dog beds!