So my dog is about 4 years old and he’s a pembroke welsh corgi. Not sure his weight but definitely 20-30. He has a vet visit tomorrow and I just picked up his prescription which was Gabapentin. It’s his first time taking it and I’m so nervous. They said it’s because he’s a very nervous and shows aggression at vet visits. Any advice on how I should give it to him? Like how long before the visit. The pills are 300mg I believe but that seems like a lot. I’m scared for how he’ll react.

Dog owners, I want your honest take on overnight sitters. I have been pet sitting in people’s homes for some years now. I bond really well with animals, and I also understand how vulnerable it can feel to leave your dog behind with someone you do not fully know yet. I know boarding works for some families, but I also know not every dog does well with that setup. Some dogs do best staying home with their normal routine and one consistent person.

I want to hear from dog owners so I can be better at what I do. What makes you feel safe with an overnight sitter? What are your dealbreakers? What are your green flags? If you have ever done overnight, in home care before, what made it a great experience, or what made it a bad one?

I’ve recently adopted a lab that likes to remove squeakers from his toys and swallow them whole. I’ve unfortunately had to remove the small plastic squeakers from his toys to prevent future ER trips and potential gi obstruction risks. He is now uninterested in his squeaker-less toys. Are there any plush dog toys on the market that still squeak but don’t have the plastic squeaker bit?

I just adopted a one year old terrier from a local shelter, and have never crate trained before. I was given suggestions and advice from the shelter staff, but I was interested in asking the community what works or has worked for them. I was told that when he whines or barks, to ignore him. If this doesn't work, suggestions would be greatly appreciated! Thank you all in advance!

Hi! I'm looking for an affordable pet cam recommendations, something that does either rotate or have wide view, has microphone so that I can hear (I don't need a speaker tho), AND lets me turn the camera on/off on the app. I haven't found anything that qualifies the last one tho, please let me know if there's any 🥹 If not, just any general good pet cam recommendations are also really appreciated. thank you!!

Hey so has anyone adopted a dog from pawprints to freedom rescue in the UK? I’m really interested in a dog but it seems that no one is getting back to me? On their Facebook they are so desperate for people to adopt and donate etc but won’t actually get back to me about a dog? I applied on Sunday and messages on Facebook but nothing…I get I should wait a few more days but every other charity I have raised a query with has responses pretty much straight away. It’s annoying because the dog I’ve seen and fallen in love with is with the one charity with no response 🥲

This is an odd question, but my dog adores our (fake) Christmas tree—he sits and hides under it, and will always intentionally walks under it when he’s near it. I like to think he’s scratching his back with the little branches… He also loves to rub and nuzzle against the couch almost like a cat.

Since I can’t leave the tree up all year, I was wondering if anyone has ideas of what I can put out in place of the tree so he can live out his back-scratching dreams for the other 10 months of the year?

I was looking into those cat grooming arches, but I can’t find one big enough with good reviews, and I can already imagine him knocking it over. I’ve also seen people attach brushes to furniture somewhat like the grooming brushes for livestock, but he wouldn’t be able to get his back!

Thanks in advance for any recommendations!

Tomorrows Aki vets visit it going mark a a very hard path of my life. Aki isn’t just my dog. He is my family. My quiet companion. The one who stayed with me when no one else even knew I was fighting. Some kinds of love can’t be explained. They are felt. And the love I have for him is the kind that lives deeper than words. Every time he looks at me, I see trust. I see loyalty. I see a heart that beats for me without ever asking for anything in return. And that breaks me… because I would give my whole life if I could change his fate. He still wags his tail. He still follows me around the house. He still curls up beside me like everything is okay. And I smile for him… even when inside I’m terrified of losing him. I never thought loving could hurt like this. I never thought the sound of his footsteps could make me cry from gratitude and fear at the same time.

If one day he’s no longer here, I want the world to know one thing: that he was deeply loved. That he was never alone. That he was my home on four legs. Aki, thank you for choosing me. Thank you for every day. Thank you for teaching me what unconditional love really is. If love could save you, you would live forever. 🐾💔

Hello! My GSD nearly ripped the entire nail off his front paw on New Year’s Day. We took him into the emergency vet and the surgery to remove the leftover nail and the sealed off the hole from the removal. The vet didn’t give pain meds at the time and he said he should be normal. I noticed a persistent limp and slight draining from the site like very slight. Today I went back to the er vet who prescribed more intense anti biotics and a pain killer and said if this doesn’t work they may have to remove the entire digit. I’m worried about him and wondering if anyone has any experience with similar injuries and how their dog reacted to treatment etc. thank you so much in advance!

Welcome to the quarterly Event List!

Here we crowdsource upcoming events in the animal training world (for the next 6 months) to add to our calendars, and help each other plan to expand our knowledge (and meet CEU requirements).

REQUIREMENTS

Events should comply with the following standards:

• Organisation/trainer running the event meets the criteria for trainer recommendations in the posting guidelines and wiki guide
• Major conferences, workshops and events only – it should be something that is sufficiently extensive and/or unique that it might be worth travelling and paying accommodation for if you are not directly local to it. Use this as a hypothetical question if it is an online event/conference. Events run by individual trainers should be by an already industry-recognised expert and offering CEUs; think Shikashio running his Aggression in Dogs conference or a Terry Ryan Chicken Camp, not your local CPDT-KA running their first public workshop.
• Professional – information provided sufficiently in-depth to have value to a professional as well as a hobbyist. No workshops intended solely for the general public, please.
• Events should be time-limited: the purpose of these posts is to help us all not miss events that have application/attendance deadlines and happen once a year at most, particularly at variable time schedules. If it's a webinar that is available on demand or has access granted every few months like clockwork, it's not suitable for this thread – send a modmail to suggest it be included in the wiki instead.
• The event will happen in the next 6 months (or the application deadline closes within the next 6 months). If the event is further in the future, it should go in a future quarterly thread. There is a separate Automod comment below to drop the names of such future events here as advance alerts with limited detail.

Events do not need to be dog-exclusive, just something that dog trainers and keen hobbyists would enjoy! For example, we wouldn't post a cat-only conference, but we would love to see a conference by PPG or IAABC that includes both dog and cat seminars, or a conference by animal behaviour researchers that has broad cross-species applicability.

FORMAT

Please post under the appropriate Automoderator comment below to group events by LOCATION (Online, Europe, North America or Other)

Suggested posting format:

Event Name – the name, obviously, for easy searching
Date – Please post in ISO standard format YYYY-MM-DD to eliminate any risk of confusion between USA and rest of the world date formats
Location – Online or Country-State-City
Organiser – Name of event organiser(s)
Website – link to detailed information
Special info – anything important to know in advance – e.g. early bird price close date, available scholarships, link to facebook group for event where people are organising carpools and accommodation sharing etc.

Code for copying format:

**Event Name** - **Date** - **Location** - **Organiser** - **Website** - **Special info** -