Blog

I’m curious how common this actually is. We went through a phase where our dog had on-and-off digestive problems that didn’t seem tied to food changes. Loose stools, picky eating, sometimes refusing meals altogether. Vets ruled out anything serious, and nothing obvious was “wrong.”

What surprised me was realizing how closely it lined up with stress. Changes in routine, being left alone, even subtle things like travel or guests in the house seemed to trigger it more than diet itself.

Once we focused less on constantly switching food and more on routine, calm exits, predictable walks, and reducing overall stress, his digestion slowly improved too. It wasn’t instant, but it was noticeable over time. I’m not saying gut issues are always emotional, obviously there are medical causes. But I’m wondering how many of you have seen stress or anxiety show up physically in your dog’s stomach before behavior ever did. Would love to hear what you’ve noticed or what helped.

Diamond is at Devore Animal Shelter in San Bernardino. She is a young GSD. It is open-intake and has a high turnover, run down facilities, and minimal resources. Her animal ID there is A835140. She has only been there for 11 days and is scheduled to be euthanised at 2PM PST on 1/14/26. She came in with puppies and as soon as her last puppy was adopted she was shortlisted for euthanasia.

If you can foster or adopt, know someone who can, or know of a rescue that can help, please contact the shelter immediately. Even just spreading the word can help as she has very little time and the more traction she gets the more likely her life is saved. The shelter’s phone number is (909) 386-9820. Even just calling and asking about her could help give her more time.

TL;DR: Our dog often wakes us up 1–3 hours before our alarms, and sometimes doesn’t need/want to go out. Trying to figure out if this is something we can change or if it’s just who she is (especially given our living situation).

We adopted a ~2.5-year-old rescue dog in March 2025. We live in a 2nd-floor condo with no fenced yard, so no doggy door. We totally understand the occasional off-schedule wakeup if she needs to potty, but lately she’ll wake us up and then… not actually want to go out.

For example, she’ll come into the bedroom early, very happily looking for attention (tail wagging, licking my face). If I get up, sometimes she just hops on the couch and goes back to sleep. Other times she gets into harness position and is ready to go out. This happens a few times a week, not every day, but we’d love to sleep in more consistently.

She didn't really use the crate we bought and she likes to move between our bedroom and the living room sometimes, so we leave our doors open at night. I suspect she would whine/scratch if we closed the bedroom door, but it is something we haven't tried yet.

She gets at least 3 walks a day and usually goes each time. She’s also a very inconsistent eater, but her vet and behaviorist aren’t concerned. Unrelated (or related?), she's been seeing a trainer for leash reactivity and has recently started a prescription regimen, though waking us up early predates that.

Is this something we can train or manage better, or is this just part of who she is, at least while we’re in a condo with no fenced yard, and something we need to get used to?

My family’s dog is 17 and is for the most part a happy dog who still eats well. We’ve had her since she was a puppy. However, she’s going deaf and blind and is incredibly confused with her surroundings. She stays in bed for 16+ hours a day and the other dogs can make her snap at them when they try to play. She falls down a lot, too. My family has never had an old dog like this before and we want to know what to look for in knowing when it’s time to euthanize. Is she doing well enough that we should wait for her to pass on her own? Any other advice on how to make a blind/deaf dog more comfortable would also be appreciated. Thank you!

Hello, we just adopted our first dog, a three year old Golden Retriever. It’s an interesting case because the part of the city that he was found in would imply that he had to of been living indoors with some small amount of house training, but he has none. My only thought is that we was just tied to a chain in the yard for those years until he somehow got away. My point is that he isn’t socialized, house trained , or anything else.

The main thing I’m posting about in here though is whenever he’s overwhelmed, be it fear, anxiety, happiness, excitement or whatever, if it’s enough of any one emotion he starts peeing. And at first we thought we could just be more calm and not react and slowly it would correct but it almost seems like it’s getting worse. It’s to the point that multiple times a day we have to mop because he pees everywhere.

Today my wife got really good news and we just raised our voices at eachother in excitement and our golden retriever peed so much everywhere. One time I looked at him too quickly. One morning my wife turned on her bowl dryer while he was in the bathroom with her. Then sometimes we moan or groan at the sight of the new mess, and he knows we’re upset so he unleashes even more across the house while running away. We have no idea how we would train this out of him

Please help!! And forgive me if I’m posting in the wrong subreddit or not properly following the rules of this one, I’m very new to this platform.

Hello! I am planning to travel with my dog over this summer. We live in Asia & the destination we are planning to go does not have cellular coverage. If you have similar experience, please leave your advice. Thank you!

Hi everyone, looking for some advice with my new (had for 2 months) high energy, ~1yr old rescue. Previously a hunting dog that wasn’t cut out for the job and abandoned in a canyon. Not sure breed (just ordered a DNA test), but he’s likely hound/doberman/etc. mix.

The main challenge I’m facing right now is demand barking. I don’t think this is learned from humans because he wasn’t in a family home before. Ignoring does not work (he figured this out quick and it started behavior loop of bark, leave, come back, treat) leaving the room and putting myself in time out works for a moment but once I return the cycle repeats. I’ve recently started putting him in his own timeout (in small kitchen w/ baby gate) until he settles down on his bed. I feel like this is reinforcing possibly because I am giving him attention by physically moving him to/guiding him to another room. His barking is getting increasingly worse, I’m sound sensitive and we live in an apartment so it’s really stressful. He often sometimes does other attention seeking behavior (stealing pillows, jumping on couch and bed, which he’s not allowed to do).

He settles down for naps in the mornings typically but has been barking after finishing his puzzle toys in the afternoon mostly. I’ve been able to notice when he’s about to bark and try redirecting but I’m a consultant and my job is quite demanding despite working from home so the afternoons when he’s triggered are often busy.

I think we need to work more on teaching him how to settle? I think he’s getting adequate stimulation (maybe too much after walks where he really doesn’t like a dog) but please lmk if not. Also plan on enrolling him in AKC events this spring (cat chase) and starting some tracking training.

I have been capturing calm, working on Karen Overalls relaxation protocol, and know this will take time for him to grasp, but I think I’m more failing with immediate response when barking. I also have been trying to give him more alone time (kitchen time for an hour or so in afternoon) because he does follow me around the house / get up if I leave the room unless he’s exhausted.

He sleeps in a crate at night no problem (although has recently started softly whining in the morning; stops after a “no”) and is fine when we leave the house (we keep him in small kitchen with baby gate rather than crate).

—————————

His daily exercise/stimulation:

– 45 to 1 hr morning walk (loose leash, training collar, very sniffy) he’s very slightly dog reactive so working on sit and focus command if we encounter another dog. also work on recall/sit/down/stay on walks. occasionally do some foraging with kibble in grass on walks too

– breakfast is split between snuffle mat, kibble for walk, and some other type of enrichment (kibble in box with paper, paper towel rolls, towel rolled and tied in a knot, hidden food around apartment)

– 2x a day 10-15m of play. his toys other than solo chewing are kept in a closet with cues for starting and finishing playtime

– puzzle toy feeder frozen, woof pupsicle, chews 1-2x a week (trachea, rabbit ears, bully sticks, cod skin)

– 20-30m night time walk

– dinner is about 35-45m of training

– cuddles/pets on the floor at nighttime for 20ish m, cuddles and pets throughout the day when he’s being good (rewarding with attention for being in bed, etc.)

– note: we do not have a backyard, i take him on hikes about 1x a week on weekends

—————————

commands he’s learned in the last 2 months:

– sit, down, up, recall, step up (for pivots on stand), center (between legs), heel (working on this), working on search (for food)

– place (more go to place, some duration + distance: can walk across apt and he stays but not at the point where he can consistently settle)

– stay / don’t eat food, can leave him in a room alone with food in front of his face (or even on paws) in a down stay and he won’t eat it

Hello everyone, I'm writing to ask for a discussion with dog trainers/behaviorists, because I'd like to verify that the management we're adopting is correct and understand if there's room for improvement.

Context • Premature baby, recently returned home • Dog: Adult male pit bull, energetic, with no previous experience with children • Recent cohabitation, managed with great care and supervision

⸻

Observed Behaviors

The dog: • Remains calm and at a distance • Sniffs without exaggerating • Remains calm when the baby cries • When the baby is moved (e.g., changing table → crib), raises head and ears and observes, remaining still • Breaks gaze, changes position, and often chooses to lie down next to me • Communicates with me (paw, soft vocalizations such as "uuu," soft wagging tail), not directly with the baby

Does not exhibit: • Body rigidity • Prolonged fixations • Impulsive attempts to approach

⸻

Current Management • Constant supervision • Distance Safety (~1 meter) • No mouth-to-baby contact • No calling the baby toward the newborn • Reinforce calm • The dog has a kennel/safe area

We made an initial mistake (calling him while I was holding the baby), which led to a slight pinch of excitement with no consequences. From there, we made the management more structured.

⸻

Questions for educators 1. Should the attentive observation with ears and head raised, but body still, be interpreted as neutral attention, or is there something that needs to be monitored more closely? 2. Does the fact that the dog chooses to move away and then seek contact with me indicate good self-regulation? 3. Is the safe distance appropriate, or would you recommend something else? 4. Are there early signs of overexcitement that I might be missing? 5. What would you strengthen or change in this management?

⸻

Objective

We're not looking for forced interaction, but rather a peaceful and safe coexistence with an emotionally stable dog and a protected newborn.

Any constructive feedback is welcome. Thanks in advance to anyone who would like to share their perspective.

I have a stubborn 4 year old Labrador. I don’t know what it is about winter, but she turns into a different dog in this season and we have to go back to our basic walking lessons.

Anyways onto the main issue – I am retraining my dog to be better on a leash. I started with always keeping her on my left side, and making sure she only sniffs the ground when I give her the word. If I didn’t do these things my dog would be dragging me all over the place!

Anyways, the crux of the issue is it’s as if she’s been so good for so long she cannot help but be bad at the end of the walk. And it doesn’t matter if this is a 30 minute walk, hour walk etc, it’s like she knows 70% of the walk is over no matter what direction we are walking lol.

The main issue comes when I tell her “no” for ANY reason near the end of the walk. If she tries to eat something off the ground, if she sees another dog I don’t want her to greet, if I get her to move on from sniffing etc. she suddenly gets into an absolute frenzy and starts lunging at the leash, my mittens, my coat and it’s next to impossible to get her to stop. If I DO manage to get her to sit, she starts boot scooting and then launches into frenzy mode all over again.

I am all ears on how to fix this issue. By the way she NEVER does this with my husband, but with me it happens nearly every walk.

My dog has also been the one to abuse treats. For example when I taught her “drop it” and would reward her, she would then find anything to pick up in her mouth rapid fire, drop it, and the look to me for a treat. I am weary to use treats to get her out of the frenzy in worry it will train her to do the frenzy to get the treat if that makes sense.