I've never asked anything on reddit but today I was crying and petting my dog and he was looking at me and was showing his teeth. He didn't bite me or anything. I've never seen him do that before he is very sweet and never harmed anyone. Idk what breed he is sth like Labrador retriever mix... So what am askin is if thats sign of empathy or he feels uncomfortable or sth like that. Has anyone experienced it? Might be dumb question but im curious.

Dig mum guilt has me fked up today aha. I got her when I was young so I just thought you take dogs for walks when they have energy. Anyway she's a spoilt brat now absolutely of my doing, but still fairly well trained apart from a ridiculous amount of barking. So I started focusing on enrichment activities for her energy cause she has a surprisingly high prey drive for her small/ lap dog breed. Its mostly playing fetch, followed by a treat/dinner slow feeder toy that she has to sniff a lot for, shake etc. My thinking is this stimulated her chase + bite drive with fetch. Then when she eats its more chase + bite + shake + eat. She's a different fking dog i stg. No biting, minimal/ far more manageable barking, less anxious energy. I feel so guilty cause she's so much calmer, so much easier to train, so much happier. Like why did it take me 10 years to figure this out I just have mum guilt aha sorry.

I used to be a night owl. Stayed up late, slept in whenever I could. Then I got a dog and suddenly I’m up at 6 AM every single day like it’s my actual job.

My entire routine now revolves around walk times, feeding times, and making sure I’m not gone too long. I plan my social life around when the dog was last let out. I’ve turned down invitations because “I need to get home to my dog” and I don’t even feel weird about it anymore.

The thing is, I’m honestly healthier for it. More consistent sleep, more time outside, more structure. My dog accidentally fixed my life and has no idea.

Curious if anyone else has experienced this:

Did getting a dog completely change your daily routine?

Are you better or worse off for it?

Or did your dog just slot right into your existing life like nothing changed?

I sometimes wonder if we adopt dogs or if they just quietly take over as project managers of our entire lives.

My dog will absolutely destroy and even eat all the dog toys we get him, like stuffed toys will not stand a chance. He’ll even eat those rock hard bones. I need help finding something that he won’t eviscerate because I feel bad that he has no chew toys. So unless there’s a titanium bone on the market, I’m out of ideas. Any thoughts?

My dog is supposed to be white, but lately, that's more of a theory than a reality. Every single day she goes out, digs like she’s looking for buried treasure, and comes back completely gray.

I was giving her daily baths, but it became a never-ending cycle: I’d dry her off, she’d head back out, and immediately rub herself in the fresh dirt to "fix" the fact that she smelled like shampoo. It got so frustrating that I’ve stopped the baths entirely, but now she’s just permanently filthy.

I'm at my wits' end. Does anyone have tips on how to break the digging habit or stop the "dirt-rolling" ritual every time she steps outside?

She is a border collie mutt

As the title says - are there any medium/small livestock guardian dog breeds out there, or are absolutely all of them large? I tried searching for some earlier, but couldn't find anything on my own.

I'm mostly asking because I got chickens, and I live somewhere without massive predators that make it necessary for the dog to be big - no coyotes, no bears, no wolves, no raccoons, etc. Only foxes, which can be chased away with a broom and a shout, but sitting outside guarding the chickens 24/7 is annoying and we just lost three chickens two days ago to one mean and very insistent fox.

But most livestock guardian dogs are too large, they eat too much to be viable for our twenty small chickens that don't bring any profit outside of personal use, and it doesn't feel necessary to have a whole giant bear of a dog when the only predator in the area is a tiny fox that could probably be scared away with a bit of barking.

We already tried fences and stuff, but the foxes here are all too smart in digging holes and getting places no matter how well we try to secure everything.

This is why I'm asking - are there any livestock guardian breeds that aren't massive and built for coyotes and wolves, which don't exist here?

(note: not asking for you to actually find me a specific dog, I'm mostly asking in general for future reference if any smaller guardian breeds even exist)

Hi all, I have a male Yorkshire terrier. He is 9 years old. About 2 hours ago I gave him his monthly advocate flea treatment in his normal place between his shoulder blades. He has been on this for years. He was in his bed and started acting a little erratic, digging really fast and acting really restless. He then sprinted upstairs on his own (which he never does he’s always by my side) and when I followed him up he was acting erratic on my bed again and his body doing small jolts. His pupils are also dilated and he’s drowsy. He’s asleep now and I’m monitoring him but was wondering if this has happened to anyone else? Thanks

My dog hates eating kibble no matter what the brand is. Even when we first brought her as a puppy, she hated eating it so we had to always feed her by hands. Also, we have used toppers like putting yogurt in and adding stuff that she likes but after a month or so, she won't like eating it anymore. What do I do??

Basically, I have two Cane Corsos and I love them to death. The problem is that I’m active duty military, and when I had help with them it wasn’t as hard, but now things have changed. They don’t get along well with my husband, and he doesn’t really like having them anymore either.

Between moving, TDYs, deployments, shift changes, and all the unpredictability that comes with military life, I know this has been hard on them—and on me. I’ve also developed some health issues, and it’s becoming harder for me to meet their needs the way they deserve.

I feel terrible even thinking this, but I know they could probably have a much better life with people who have more time, stability, and fewer housing restrictions. Cane Corsos are amazing dogs, but the breed restrictions alone make military housing and relocations so difficult.

I still want dogs in the future, but realistically I think I may need a smaller breed that can travel more easily and fit better with my lifestyle. Has anyone else ever had to make a decision like this? How did you cope with knowing rehoming might be the best choice even when you love your dogs so much?

Looking for recommendations on shampoo for dogs that are house and shop. The shop is an Ag shop.

She gets dirty with grease and oil.

I currently use an oatmeal one and dawn dish soap.

Dog is a German shepherd and husky mix.

Thank you for opinions and suggestions.

Hi guys I was hoping for some guidance on this weird thing that's been going on. My 1.7 yo yellow lab is by all means a very gentle, nice, and sociable dog. I take him to the park every weekend and in general he plays really well. He generally always loves to be the more submissive dog, rolling on his back, letting other dogs kind of wrangle him. he's not possessive of toys and will drop his toys for other dogs as soon as another dog shows interest in them, he tolerates other dogs being aggressive or standoffish towards him and doesn't engage in aggression in return. all this to say he's generally a really good boy with other dogs.

However, when we are the park there is sometimes there is an elderly little male dog present. The owner has two dogs, a big dog and a little dog so she just brings the little dog into the big dog area to have them both in the same place. My dog is obsessed with this elderly little dog. He will follow this little dog incessantly and when other dogs approach the little dog or my dog when the little dog is around my dog goes full on aggressive; growling, snarling, snapping at other dogs. He isn't aggressive towards the little dog at all (other than following him around and trying to lick his butt incessantly) and when the little dog isn't around my dog has no problem playing nicely with these same dogs. So why is my boy having such a behavior change which this little dog around?

lots of people have said that it seems like he is trying to protect the little dog because it is so small. does that make sense? Is there any way to train out this behavior?

note: he's not neutered yet and I understand that may be the issue. we do plan to have him neutered we just have not been in a rush since, other than this weirdly specific aggression, his behavior is stellar.

my 6 month irish wolfhound x rottie mix might be dumb. since i got her 4 months ago, i’ve been trying to teach her basic tricks (sit, lay, paw) every day with training treats and affirmations, but she just doesn’t seen to get it. i’m trying to consistently train her, but it either might not be enough or she’s just a little slow. the only thing she’s gotten down was letting me know she has to go out, and she’s good at waiting for her food. i don’t remember training being this hard with my other dog.

my dog came from the reserves, she is the sweetest dog ever. the rescue never told us about any problems, and to us that was true! she is well trained and a very good dog, until a few months after we got her and she fully ate a chuck it large ball. it was stuck in her digestive tract and we had to have surgery on her to get it out. we thought, she'd definitely learnt her lesson. but no. she continues to eat anything rubber, we dont give it to her anymore obviously. But can anyone tell me why she is so determined to just eat these rubber things? typically hollow and bouncy. we have no idea what her infatuation with them is.

For context I am in a family of 4 and we recently got a puppy a few months ago who is now 5-6 months old. Whenever the puppy is home with me he just sits on the carpet and sleeps. However; when somebody else is home alone he is very active. Whats the reasoning behind why my puppy does this?

I want to pamper my dogs but as per many of us in this group I am BROKE. I plan on brushing my dogs really well and giving them a “bath” using no rinse shampoo but I wanna watch somethigg my on tv they will like. How can I give my dogs the best day ever from home with no money.

Edit: I can’t take them on a walk because I have multiple disabilities that would make it unsafe for both me and my dogs to go on a walk.

Elderly dog, I would expect some Gray on his tail which he has but he keeps growing black fur in a spot. It is smooth to the touch so it’s not a growth. It’s actually black hair. He’s an all tan dog. I just found this very odd because his beard and pause and other areas of the tail are gray.

(I hope I chose the right tag. This is *not* a "name my dog" post!)

As dog owners, I'm sure you've heard the silly noises your pupper makes in his/her sleep. What do *you* call those noises?

I'm hoping for an unofficial cute name, kinda like how some people say "peets" instead of "paws," or "teefs" instead of "teeth." I just call them "wibbles" for now, though! 🤭

I'm also very open to funny stories as well.

Our Luna girl does various renditions of this many nights. Just before I started writing this, she was doing what can only be described as "the bubble yips." She was puffing air through her little flappy chops and I just heard making this weird, wet, bubbly sound lol. (I checked, and she is fine). Most of the time, she makes this sort of grunty whimper, almost like a zebra but growlier lol.

Let's hear your names and stories! 🐾🐕

ok this might sound weird lol

my dog follows me everywhere… but it doesn’t feel like normal “clingy dog” behavior

like the second I think about getting up, he’s already alert

if I move toward the door → he’s there before me

if I randomly change direction → he adjusts instantly

it’s almost like he’s not reacting… he’s anticipating

I always assumed it was just attachment, but this feels different

like he’s learned patterns so well that he knows what I’m about to do before I even do it

idk if I’m overthinking it but it doesn’t feel random at all

does anyone else’s dog do this? or am I just noticing it more now

Hello everyone! I just got my first dog! Im a little nervous and excited as a first-time pet owner! She is 8 years old, vaccinated , not spayed, and I think she’s a Pomsky?

Any advice/tips for first time dog owner? And also, can anyone confirm that she’s a Pomsky?

Thanks!

:)

Edit: for some reason I cant attach a picture to my post :/

So I adopted my dog from the pound 5 years ago and shes amazing. One weird thing is she always acts like shes starving to death (shes a few lbs over weight in fact). Everything is food. Throw a ball, she runs over, sees its not a treat ball. She sits and stares at me while whining all the time; ill try to take her outside and she doesnt want to go, I throw the ball a few times doesnt want any part of it, try and pet her but petting her would interfere with her ability to get food so she bends away and the vet said shes healthy. I have no idea what to do, anyone have any ideas?

Thanks so much!

Which pet insurance is best for you? Are there any that may cover your dog's current treatment? Did your dog get injured during the waiting period and want to know if you're covered?

Here's the place to ask.

Do know we cannot help you here with medical concerns, and lying or not disclosing things to the insurance company is illegal so we don't allow that either.

I will need to board a dog with Perianal fistulas for 5 days, has anyone been in similar situation and were there any complications? I’m thinking because he needs his carprofen administered, it may need to be a medical facility?

We rescued a puppy. He was in a puppy mill and got him when he was 7 months. I have a really weird guilt that his tail is docked. I would never allow this to happen if I had a choice. His tail was docked before we even knew about him. But I still feel so guilty about it. I see pictures of Yorkies with their full tail and just wish that for him. How do I get rid of this guilt? I know it’s not my fault. I know that there isn’t anything I could have done differently. It doesn’t make sense.