Category: Top Dog

My dog Pepper found a dead mouse in the garden earlier today, ever since then she has been pacing, barking, whining and stress yawning/licking. Nothing we have tried has been able to distract her, and as far as I can tell the mouse is the only cause for this stress, I asked her if she was feeling sad or hurt and she chose sad (she knows how to pick between 2 options and how to identify her own emotions, so I trust that her stress isn't being caused by any sort of pain). I said to her "Pepper sad, mouse hurt?" And she ran over and sat down in front of me, which is her usual indication for “yes”, so I'm sure thats the reason for her acting this way. This behavior is very odd for her because even though she absolutely loves animals, she understands the concept of death and has never been bothered by it before. We have had several pets that Pepper was close to that died (2 rats, 1 rabbit) so she knows the word "dead" and that it means she can't see that animal any more. We also always point out dead animals that we see on walks to reinforce the concept. When she first found the mouse in the bushes, she picked it up and brought it over to my mum. Pepper was whining and licking it as if she was asking for us to help it. My mum took the mouse away and told Pepper that it was dead, which she usually understands and accepts, but for some reason this time it really upset her. The only other time I have seen her react like this was when my other dog Clover got surgery, and Pepper was very upset at the fact that Clover was in pain. Pepper is very empathetic, if I tell her I'm sad she will run up and lick my face until I smile. I should mention she's a border collie and therefore has a tendency to get fixated on things (especially to do with animals) so I just want to make sure this doesn't become an obsession. She has had an obsession before about a spider she saw and it took her a month to stop staring in the corner looking for it. We tried taking her mind off the mouse with play, training, a walk and hugs but she was just so distracted and distressed the whole time. She's in bed right now, so hopefully she will have forgotten about it by morning, but if she continues to fixate how can I help her get over it and feel better?

I adopted Luka a year ago from a no-kill shelter. He was 13 years old then. I still say he's 13, even though he's probably 14. I'm not even sure his real age. His passport says he's a senior dog, but he's such a sweetie, full of energy, and life, that there are times I wonder if he isn't younger! But he definitely have arthyritis, several health issues that popped up throughout the year and that were fixed after long visits at the vet, and he's constantly slipping on our floor.

He also is potentially a bit blind, from the many times he walked into a door. I think he's also partially deaf, unless he's just being selective about listening to me.

But to be short – he's just a sweatheart. The softest gentleman out there, so patient and kind.

But he is also my first dog. There were a few reasons I didn't want to adopt one, such as executive dysfunction and depression. I'm absolutely awful at going outside, even for my own health. But when I saw Luka in this shelter last year, the only senior there, shaking from the cold, and winter fast approaching, I was just incapable of letting him stay behind.

So i adopted him, despite the many reasons I had not to.

I found a few solutions throughout the past year. He has two different walker per day that walk him a reasonable amount of time. I give him one morning and evening walk of around 5 minutes or less for pee/poo. If i'm feeling alright, i'll do a bit longer.

But my question here is:

Is my dog unhappy? He seems to have gained in energy and youth through the year, becoming more confident and energetic than when he first arrived. But. Because he was never before inside a home or a flat, he doesn't have the proper education if I may say so. He'll destroy the room searching for food of any kind (he's extremely food motivated). So whenever I can't keep an eye on him, I put him inside a large crate that has his bed and his waterbowl. His own room where he can stretch and stand and walk in circles if he wants.

Every night when I turn off the lights and go to bed, he barks. For around fifteen minutes. Perhaps even longer. I don't go back to the living room to tell him to stop because the vet told us not to. But he just doesn't seem to understand that I'm still there, just a room away. Why is he barking? Because he's anxious? Because he's sad? Because he's afraid?

Another problem.

No matter if I walk him at midnight, and then at 9am. Or 7pm and 7am. No matter when was the last walk and the first one in the morning is. His diaper, because I refuse to be on my knees all day long cleaning I'm so sorry, is soaking wet. I just can't conclude it's incontinence because when we are together, lounging, and he'll wake up abruptly, he won't just go and start peeing in the room. He'll be agitated, but clearly waiting patiently to go outside.

What can I do?

My dog is not a puppy but this story relates to the topic of puppies.

I ordered my usual pickup of 12 cans of purina pro plan 7+ salmon and rice sensitive skin and stomach wet food for my 11 y/o beagle who needs a mix of wet and dry food.

I have only gone through 2 cans, but I noticed today that the dogs are different on some of the cans. I looked closer, one can has an adult dog and the other can has the same breed and color but a puppy instead. I look closer and some cans say 7+ and some say puppy. Now I’m annoyed that I’m going to have to take 8 cans of food back to the store lol.

But I looked at the ingredients list along with the nutrition, vitamins and minerals, and they are exactly the same, word for word, % by %, in the same ingredient order.

Is it possible that they are the same exact contents?

I’m starting to worry that I’m not setting her up to be a good adult doggo. 😅 I just got her this past weekend, and so far she knows how to sit, come, and we’re working on down. She is great with being handled everywhere, but hates being brushed, so we’re working on that. I’m going to start trying to brush teeth. We go out to parks twice a day, so she’s seeing a lot of people and dogs, and has been able to meet quite a few nice dogs already.

I’m planning on working on more basic commands like stay and wait, and work on impulse control. But what else am I missing? 😅 thanks guys!!

My wife and I recently adopted a 7 month old Golden Retriever (Copper) and until last week he had a pee accident at least once a day every day for about 2 months. My wife and I both felt hopeless and felt like we were trying everything, including scouring Reddit for a solution. I found a lot of people in similar situations we were in and I feel like I would have appreciated a post like this, so here it goes:

Some “symptoms”: He was only having pee accidents, so we knew he knew to go outside, and he knows how to ring the bells on our back door to go outside. He still has never had an accident in the middle of the night (we let him sleep in our bed). He was also obsessed with water and would constantly empty his water bowl and then paw at it for more when he was finished. He was probably peeing 7-12 times a day and 2-3 of those a day would be in the house when he would just suddenly seemingly lose focus and pee. No warnings, no sniffing, no attempt to go downstairs, just a sudden blank face and squat.

After almost losing all hope I found a post of someone with a similar situation and a comment suggested taking the dog to a vet to rule out a UTI, but these were all female dogs and I knew that UTIs in males were very uncommon. I was so desperate that I took him in anyways and sure enough – he had a UTI! 5 day dose of antibiotics later, he stopped having accidents. He still drinks a ton of water and pees a lot, but he hasn’t had an accident in over a week. I am so proud of him and at one point never thought I would be posting this.

Another thing I think that really helped that we got a little lazy on was giving him a treat every single time he goes potty outside. He’s to the point now where I think he intentionally goes outside and pees a little just to get a treat, but honestly I am happy to do it! So proud of my little man!

TLDR: if you’ve really tried everything and your puppy is still peeing inside, go to the vet and rule out a UTI before you drive yourself crazy

My 18 week old Bichon does not seem to like his purina Puppy Pro kibble. I have been serving it to him with a bit of water to soften it up and topped with some cooked, shredded chicken. He devours the chicken and eats whatever kibble comes into contact with it. Otherwise, he doesn't really eat his kibble. Hsd anyone else had this issue / have any suggestions?

I need help. The dog has escaped AGAIN and I don't know what to do I am at my wits end and I think I am going to have to crate her. I hate that she will have to be crated for so long but there is literally nothing else I can do. She slipped her collar (which was fitted properly, the finger between collar and skin) and I genuinely don't know what else I can do, she gets out of the harness I got her too

hey so i have a 19 week old gsp who is very treat motivated! i always treat for potty and obedience commands but have kinda fallen into the habit of ‘treating for good behavior’ during the day and now its snowballed and im not sure if its a bad thing? like shes great – not destroying the house she doesnt eat furniture or any destructive behaviors but when she sits on the couch ill throw her a treat to kinda like reward the calmness. i have a feeling this has almost turned into a demand behavior bc i cant get her to even sit next to me without a stream of treats. im not concerned about her health/weight now but i dont want it to be a problem! I would love to hear any perspective or advice!

she does get really jumpy and excited when i have them and sometimes will have a puppy biting attack if the ones she likes is in my pouch and im not giving them to her.