Category: Top Dog

Hi all,

We have a 9 month old English Cocker Spaniel. We had her from around 9-10 weeks and at the time of picking her up I had a super flexible work schedule which allowed me to basically work around her.

However I’ve recently taken a new role on which requires me to be in office 5 days a week.

While we’re working she stays at home, unfortunately some days up to 7 hours, in a fairly sizeable play pen as we can’t fully trust her to not demolish the entire house while we’re gone just yet.

While watching her on the camera she starts to get restless around 11-12 in the morning and completely disregards any toys and chews she has in her pen and chews (and eats) her bed and blankets, it’s gotten to the point where we can’t leave her with anything at all to sleep on because she’s thrown up bits of blanket a few times now and I’m worrying it won’t be long before it blocks her up. We’ve looked into a daycare type thing but we live in the middle of nowhere and the closest one to us is about 11 miles away which isn’t really viable on a work day.

What ideas can you suggest we do, things we can buy etc. to keep her entertained in the daytime. Snuffle mats are out of the equation as she will eat the whole thing.

psychology,behavioural and others. thanks

I have a Dyson vacuum that is always clogged from animal hair. I vacuum every day. Then I have to take it apart and clean out tufts of dog hair clogging the hose. My dog is a beagle mix, short hair but alot of it and sheds like crazy. This can't be normal!

Animal lovers of reddit, how are you keeping on top of dog hair? What vacuums do you recommend? Or am I doing something wrong? (other than getting a shedding dog, haha).

Does your dog turn his head when he hears an odd noise? Does your dog bury their food with your pants? This is the thread to ask why.

Please keep this thread to non-medical issues only.

How does your routine look and what kind of breed do u have?

Im wondering if its possible, and how to manage something like that.

(Meant for people who dont work from home)

First, my girl is a 5 year old Golden Retriever. We got 16” of snow on top of the 8” we had last week. I shoveled out a 20’x15’ area in the yard for her to go do her business. The snow was covered in heavy thick ice, which made shoveling difficult. I made her a nice little path to her spot. She’s fine using it to pee, but she’s not liking it for number 2s. Is the spot big enough for her or should I try to expand the spot? She keeps circling the perimeter, like she has to go and tries to tamp down the edges by circling. She’s not able to go in the deeper snow because she sinks and will not go potty because of that. I was just curious how big an area she should have. What do you do for your dogs when you get a deep snow? Thanks in advance!

My dog is now 1 year old as of this Sunday. She usually eats just fine, I portion out her food into 3 meals a day and try to feed her on a set schedule ld time to keep it consistent.

Recently she hasn’t been showing much interest in her food. She’ll eat a fee nibbles here and there but otherwise just leaves it. I leave it out for her in a safe spot so the other dogs can’t get it and she usually eats it all by the end of the day if not nibbling on the teeny bit left throughout the night.

Other than that she is completely normal. She’s running around, full of energy, eats her occasional treats just fine, etc.

I was wondering if it was just her food she was getting bored of, so I switched from the caesar tubs mixed with dry to Purina one mixed with dry. It helped a little but she went back to being meh about it. If I add some buddy budder she eats it cause she loves peanut butter. So I don’t think she’s feeling sick and refusing to eat cause of it.

Should I be concerned? Is a vet trip necessary? My two other dogs devour their food just fine and even the pickier one eats if you just change the flavor of the tub. Do I need to change her routine? I know some switch to twice once they get older.

Any advice would help 😊

My dog loves to chew and tear things into tiny pieces, including things she’s not supposed to have. She does have toys but I’d like to get her a much larger assortment and rotate them to keep her from getting bored and direct her chewing and destruction to more appropriate avenues. But dog toys seem to be so dang expensive and our budget is fairly tight (and she DOES destroy most of them eventually). Anyone have ideas for some inexpensive but safe and effective toys? I’ve thought about looking at goodwill and/or maybe giving her old stuffed animals or cardboard boxes to tear apart. But open to other ideas.

I slipped and fell on the ice during the recent weather & it's becoming more clear that I need a plan to deal with bad weather. Fortunately, I was well-padded by winter clothing, but I'm sore. And old enough to know it's not going to get easier.

My 20 lb Schnoodle is 5 and was really easy to house train, to the point that now, he won't go at all inside. I got him puppy pads hoping I could lure him to those, but nope, so he ended up spending the night in the bathroom, doors closed, with the pads and his bed. Never used them and no accident. He'll hold it for 18+ hours rather than go in a bad rain.

So, I'm going to buy some turf. He does use the artificial turf in the outside doggie area of my apartment building, so I'm thinking I'll take a piece of turf outside during better weather and train him to use it.

Any advice about the type or size or anything? He's not a big dog, but he likes to move around a bit before anything comes out the back end.

Edit: It can't be too large because I have to carry it to the outside pet area, and I will only use it occasionally. Thanks!

Welcome to the fortnightly separation anxiety support group!

The mission of this post is to provide a constructive place to discuss your dog's progress and setbacks in conquering his/her separation anxiety. Feel free to post your fortnightly progress report, as well as any questions or tips you might have! We seek to provide a safe space to vent your frustrations as well, so feel free to express yourself.

We welcome both owners of dogs with separation anxiety and owners whose dogs have gotten better!

NEW TO SEPARATION ANXIETY?

New to the subject of separation anxiety? A dog with separation anxiety is one who displays stress when the one or more family members leave. Separation anxiety can vary from light stress to separation panic but at the heart of the matter is distress.

Does this sound familiar? Lucky for you, this is a pretty common problem that many dog owners struggle with. It can feel isolating and frustrating, but we are here to help!

Resources

Books

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Don't Leave Me! Step-by-Step Help for Your Dog's Separation Anxiety by Nicole Wilde

Be Right Back!: How To Overcome Your Dog's Separation Anxiety And Regain Your Freedom by Julie Naismith

Separation Anxiety in Dogs: Next Generation Treatment Protocols and Practices by Malena DeMartini-Price

Online Articles/Blogs/Sites

Separation Anxiety (archived page from the ASPCA)

Pat Miller summary article on treating separation anxiety

Emily "kikopup" Larlham separation training tips

Videos

Using the Treat&Train to Solve Separation Anxiety

introducing an x-pen so the dog likes it (kikopup)

Podcast:

https://www.trainingwithally.com/the-podcast

Online DIY courses:

https://courses.malenademartini.com

https://www.trainingwithally.com/about-2

https://separationanxietydog.thinkific.com/courses/do-it-yourself-separation-anxiety-program

https://rescuedbytraining.com/separation-anxiety-course

​

Introduce your dog if you are new, and for those of you who have previously participated, make sure to tell us how your week has been!