Category: Top Dog

Hey y’all, My neutered 7.5 month shelter mix

(30/20/20/20/10 pitbull/husky/aus shepherd/cattle dog/“supermutt”)

has had felt and fabric and rope toys just fine since we got him in April… until now 🙁 the last 2-3 weeks he is HELL BENT on ingesting any and all string, fabric, rope, felt, wool, carpet, you name it.

I can throw enrichment puzzles, treats, bones, horns, …I’ve tried so many kinds of toys and if they have anything that can get compacted in his intestines it’s like his life’s mission to f it up and consume it as fast as caninely possible.

He’s been pulling and kind of a jerk on walks too and it’s been hard to take him out. He’s super well behaved most of the time and usually a chill dog but I worry he’s either not getting enough exercise or he’s anxious or something?

If I give him too many kongs and stuff he won’t eat his puppy food either so that’s tricky.

Some trainers have suggested he needs a “job” bc of the cattle dog in him but all I see is lazy pit vibes and stubborn husky vibes at home. I’ve tried a few approaches from YouTube and stuff for giving him jobs and if hes not internally motivated, forget it.

I’m losing my mind bc I’m worried he’ll get an impacted bowel. He’s gone constipated twice now only to poop a day later and it has a bunch of string or long unchewed plants or god knows what. I had to pull a 9” long undigested frond of plant from his behind the other day😵‍💫

I have two kids and I’m very vigilant to try and keep any of their stuffies or toys or drawings etc. safe and it’s just been a shift that has me really stressed. I’ve asked at pet stores for toys that might satisfy that front-teeth-flossing, shredding sort of fix he seems to be looking for but everything they’ve suggested has either been fabric (snuffle ball he tried to tear apart and eat immediately) or treats that take him no time to consume and are costly ($12 beef tendon jerky or something from yesterday that he has almost gone through entirely in less than 24h because I’ve given it to him when I have to take something else away).

I bought him a new rope monkey yesterday and the last two lasted him MONTHS and within 15 minutes he’d destroyed it!

And it’s so subtle, it’s not like standing up and tearing and shaking it back and forth or growling or whatever. He lies down politely and just seems to quietly gnaw and shred.

Hellllllllp!! Suggestions? He’s not interested in any of his hard toys including bully sticks or bones or yak cheese anymore aside from occasionally. Boy only wants fabric ☠️

EDITED TO ADD: he doesn’t have parasites (labs are clean recently) and he takes semparica trio or whatever it’s called monthly.)

New to the sub, sorry if this has been covered already! I have a 14 year old jack russell mix who has separation anxiety. For this reason, and just that he’s old and I don’t want us to miss out on adventures together, I want to find a way to take him with me places.

It would be awesome to have something that would allow me to take him on hikes, but also easily put him on my lap/floor when we are on the train. I’m not sure if this exists. I looked online and saw a ton of different options and I’d like to know what works for other people before making a decision.

If you have a favourite dog carrier bag for these situations please leave a suggestion! Thanks in advance!

I have an 11 month old female standard poodle who is spayed.

My dog LOVES dogs, and is very eager to play with them any chance she gets. We are learning when to leave it and when to engage, but I’ve been sick recently and haven’t been able to take her on walks, so we’ve been going to a large dog park near me for her to get her energy out.

This is my first dog so I am still learning body language, but I’ve gotten pretty good at understanding that my dog is almost always initiating play behaviors and showing submission to other dogs (tail wagging, loose/bouncy movements, give-and-take engagement). She does not growl or become stiff, and I know when she needs a break from a pushy dog when she comes to me and curls her back end in.

That being said, my dog is a little pushy with wanting to play. I have noticed that some dogs don’t readily engage with her, and will chase her/be chased by her, but also kind of bite at her neck or legs. My dog also does this, but it didn’t seem like it was in an aggressive way, and she only does it to dogs she knows well. My dog will continuously try to engage play in a dog that doesn’t seem interested, and I am worried about a dog attacking her.

So, my question is, when should I disengage her behavior and redirect her? It’s been difficult for me to tell when a dog is showing aggression since my dog doesn’t show it often, so I don’t have much experience. We haven’t ran into too many problems (other than a dumb owner letting go of the leash of a clearly aggressive dog) and overall have had good experiences at the dog park, but I would hate for something to happen or make another owner uncomfortable.

Should I be teaching her to back off? How do I do so? When is a dog showing aggression to another dog during play when it looks like they’re playing? Anything helps!

Hey guys,

My puppy doesnt mind his crate, its not his fav as he HAS to be involved in everything, usually he quiets down and sleeps within a few mins. However, this he REFUSES to sleep, even after eating his own food, if he can smell food cooking.

We dont have the luxury of moving him upstairs yet due to him still being in potty training.

The whines are heart breaking! Any tips?

My pom puppy is nearly 9 months old and since 7 months has had a tendency to randomly be very impulsive, reactive and crazy when we are out in public. I notice he struggles on buses, in cars, in cafes. Sometimes will bark on the way to the park. He seems frustrated/overstimulated. He used to be able to do these things fine, and sometimes he can if distracted with a chew. Other times he is crazy. It’s embarrassing and I cried on the bus. Lol

We have tried lots of things to try to get him used to these scenarios, but they don’t really seem to be working. Could this be him forever? Or is it a fear period… 2 months seems too long.

SOS will he calm down haha. He has not been neutered yet – can’t tell if this will help or hinder his behaviours…

We have a beautiful 10 month old Maltese mix (believed to be part dachshund) that we got from a shelter. He'd been found in an abandoned home and was with the shelter for about 2.5 months before we got him. All they know is he was abandoned. No idea of his life prior to the shelter. He has been with us for about 5 weeks now.

Overall, he's an amazing dog. Very wary of strangers and loves to play and cuddle but he also really loves hand biting.

We've tried saying "ouch" and tipping, we've tried standing up and ignoring. We've tried "no bite" nothing works. He gets distracted and goes off and then comes right back.

However, the worst is when we're doing something…could be anything. May be playing with a pull toy, maybe my wife and I are at dinner sitting at the table and out of the blue he goes into this frenzy and starts biting. First ha ds and if that doesn't work, anything on us he can grab. If we stand up, he will go for legs.

If I pick him up and hold him he'll usually calm down but may or may not go back into a frenzy or may or may not just go on biting hands.

Any tips? Thoughts? Ideas?

We love him dearly and he's been with us just over a month now.

Looking at the Ruffwear Climate Changer Coverall and the Ruffwear Climate Changer Fleece Jacket for extremely cold and snowy days. The only difference is one has 2 front sleeves and the other one has 4 sleeves. Which one did/would you pick? or do you have a different recommendation? Thank you.

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.