Category: Top Dog

Hi, to introduce, I'm planning on traveling to Cuenca, Ecuador on March (enough time to start palnning i think) for 8 days with my dog (small breed) and I was doing a bit of flight research and I found this option on Avianca, the price is ok, but Im worried about the itinerary. I first have a 6 hours flight from Chicago to Bogota, there I have a 6 hour layover -> then a 2 hour flight to Quito, another hour layover -> then finally a 1 hour flight to Cuenca, a total of 20 hours between flight ans airport. Is this too stressful for dogs? This would be his first time traveling with me and I'm worried if this would be too stressful for him, he's usually calm and sleeps a lot so I'm not sure. I need advice on this and if you have done a similar itinerary, how did it go?

( I still have to go to the vet to get the certificate that he's healthy, he's up to date with vaccines)

The flight back is similar, just a 9 hour layover in Bogota. Help meee.

My partner and I are new to having a small dog, in addition to our hundred-pounder and three cats. Little dog is also a particular brand of gross that we haven't encountered before. While our big dog likes to eat cat poop (normal gross), our little dog likes to dig clumps of pee out of the litter box, carry them around, and chew/play with them. He seems to already know that this is not desirable behavior, because he only does it if we are not in the same room, so I can't easily catch him to stop him BEFORE he gets in the litter box. (He has some other quirks that make us suspect he was scolded or possibly smacked by a previous owner and learned to hide things.)

We solved the big dog litter box issue by putting the boxes in cabinets, but the little dog can just walk right in. He's barely bigger than the cats. I tried turning the cabinet so the opening is facing the wall, but he can still get in (and if I move it any closer, there won't be enough space for the cats). Picture: https://imgur.com/a/fbvTen0

Most of the litter boxes in the house can be gated off to prevent dog access, but this particular one is in a main area of our home, where all the pets spend a lot of time. It is also the most popular litter box, so just taking it away isn't a great option. We can't switch to a top-entry litter box because our big dog can get into those.

Any suggestions?

We have a 15-week-old male Brussels Griffon. He has a playpen with his little crate inside. During the day, he’s great — he happily goes into the crate on his own to nap or hang out with a Kong or toy. He’ll take 2–3 hour naps in there multiple times a day.

He’s an active pup. We live downtown, so he goes on short walks, and we also do:

1x weekly puppy social 1x private training session 1x group training session

We both WFH. Everyday we play fetch, do puzzle feeders or training games, and sometimes he just chills on our lap with a no-hide chew. In the evening, after his zoomies, he’ll often put himself to bed or crash with us on the sofa. Bedtime is usually between 7–10pm, depending on how the previous night went.

He’s eating, drinking, and going potty regularly although imperfectly on the latter. I think we’re doing all the right things while also trying to live normal human lives.

But… after about 3–4 hours of sleep, he wakes up in his covered crate (with white noise on) and decides it’s PARTY TIME. Even if he goes potty, he’s fully awake and ready to play.

Here’s what I’ve tried:

Quick potty break, back in crate → cries Let him sit with me with a chewy, then back in crate → cries Let him fall asleep on the sofa, move him to crate → cries Frozen Kong in the crate → eats it, then cries Meal in the crate → finishes, then cries Bring him to bed → climbs on our faces (no one sleeps 😅)

No “cry it out method” suggestions please. Otherwise mods will delete this and I won’t get any useful advice.

What do I do?! I’m losing it during those 2–4am hours, (honestly I don’t even know what time it is but it is 3-4 hours after he goes down for the night) — I know he’s still a baby, but I’d love advice from anyone who’s been through this and survived.

As I'm looking for a medium weight wind blocking jacket for my dog I've noticed that a lot of them are designed the same. There's one strap under the belly as far forward as possible and nothing to keep the back from flapping around. The material is soft but just stiff enough to hold its shape, unlike a sweater, so sitting, moving, leaning, causes the back to gap and constantly be letting cold air in. So the only part that's truly covered for warmth is the chest and shoulders. Why aren't there more fastening points to keep this from happening? A lot of people obviously use the jackets anyway do you not feel the wind is blowing in that gap and compromising the function? My dog's rain coat has elastic loops for the back legs to keep it in place, I thought about trying to fashion something like that which could be sewn on to any coat but I imagine some of you already came up with better ideas than that.

In case someone thought of bringing it up I know there are some nice coats like Hurtta expedition coats that don't have this problem but that's why I'm calling what I'm referring to as jackets. I don't need a full on snow coat (I already have one). What I'm looking at is lighter than a full coat and easier to put on than a full coat.

Would it be ok to give an almost 6 mt old puppy 2 meals a day instead of 3 meals?

Sometimes my puppy will scarf his kibble down. Other times he won't even touch it. Mostly eats 2/3rds of the bowl then walks away.

Thinking it might be better to give him 2 larger portions than 3 normal ones. Or would this be bad for my puppy?