Blog

Hello everyone!

I have a 9 month old standard poodle and I want to preface this by saying that I've always been kind of wary of dog parks in general, but my boy doesn't really get tired from walks and this dog park is pretty close by to where I live, so one day I decided to give it a shot. We actually had a lot of good experiences and I got into the habit of taking him to the park a couple times a week and he used to have the time of his life running around and playing with other dogs.

Today, however, there was a GSD (who we've met before and didn't know had any kind of behavioral issues) who was playing with a tennis ball, and when my puppy got close to her to play with it she snapped at him. The attack lasted maybe 5 seconds before her owner pulled her off of my dog — She just threw him onto the ground, growled and bit him a little, but she's not very young so her teeth didn't do any actual damage. However my puppy was absolutely terrified and ran away and hid in a corner, crying and shaking.

I checked him over and he didn't seem actually hurt, so as the GSD and her owner left I decided to stay for a little longer because I didn't want his last experience to be so negative. He eventually calmed down, but he was super wary of other dogs and only got close enough to sniff and get sniffed before taking a detour and coming back to where I was standing.

I'm honestly just so frustrated because I'm having a lot of problems with this puppy (we can't leave him alone without him barking and howling like a maniac, he swallows so many dangerous things) and I was just so happy he was, at least, very friendly with other dogs— He's always been so eager to play and just a happy-go-lucky puppy when it came to making new friends, and now I'm terrified this experience is going to make him scared of other dogs and it'll be yet another problem to deal with…

Does anyone have any advice on how to handle this? Should we go back to the park or stay away from it entirely? I sadly don't know anyone that owns a dog so I can't arrange any meetings or playdates that I'm certain would go well, so I'm feeling a little bit lost.

Hey guys!

So my dog is not a puppy, he’s an older dog, so with that naturally comes more problems, but I do love my dog, it’s just constantly cleaning messes that is not so fun. My question for you guys with senior dogs, what do you do if your dog pees in the house and accidentally steps in the pee and walks around and leaves tracks. I know the obvious way to prevent this is taking him out, but sometimes it still happens. He is a terrier mix, and he will be 16 in April. What I typically do is take him In the tub to get his paws clean, but I don’t think that will work either, since he gets nervous and poops in the tub, and causes a bigger mess than initially. I was just wondering, what do you guys do in this situation? Am I alone in dealing with this? Thanks so much for your help!

Our Olde English Bulldogge just had her first baby on March 18 (bred through the IOEBA) and unfortunately had to have a cesarean. She is recovering extremely well and baby is healthy, lively, and chunky. However, I’m having some concerns.

Persephone (mom) seems to be very uncomfortable with baby most of the time. We normally have to put the baby on her to feed because Percy won’t instinctively do it herself. She also is not cleaning her at all, stimulating her to potty, etc. so my boyfriend and I have been doing it.

Percy also will not sleep in the whelping box with the baby, she’d rather be in bed with my boyfriend and I. She is extremely persistent so no matter how much we try, she refuses to sleep in the box. We’ve had to put the baby in a cloth-lined heated box at night because we can’t get Percy to stop leaving her.

Sorry I realize this is long winded, but I am kind of desperate for some sort of solution or help. Should my boyfriend and I stop sleeping in the same room as her and the baby? And if we did, considering her other slightly concerning behavior, would it even be safe for her to sleep with the baby? Percy is an absolutely wonderful dog, she’s so sweet and gentle but is just not taking to the baby as much as we thought she would. 😟 Percy is my boyfriend’s dog, it was his choice to breed her (not mine) so I’m just a desperate bystander who wants a baby to survive. Any help would be greatly appreciated. 🫶🏻

Please help my year old dog he is house trained but only when my husband is home he will do his business inside even though our rules are the same I walk him regular when my husband isn't home the dog won't indicate needing to go out and even when I take him out to see if he needs to go usually he will just do a wee then poop as soon as we get home on the carpet. when walking my year old dog with my husband he will poop anywhere between 10 or more times. First 2 are solid then it gets runnier like liquid. People have said its scent marking but nowhere online can I find anything about poop marking. Every few feet it's a constant stop to clean poop he and I feel like poop collectors. According to the vet there is literally no medical problems but surely a dog can't be that full of crap. I stress very quickly due to my anxiety and having to keep stopping or going out for nothing makes it worse

As the title says, theres been a lot of stray dogs fighting on the street just outside our home. They are very noisy and even wakes up some of my family members who are having trouble with sleeping. Can i ask for any possible solutions for this predicament? Thank you in advance!

I have a 17 month old blue heeler. He's been here since last Wednesday and all he wants to do is lay/sleep on the couch or bed. He won't play with any of his toys, I've given him bully sticks and kongs which he usually LOVES, but he hasn't cared for them since we moved. I've tried taking him on walks so he can get some sniffs in and get familiar with the new area, but he just gets scared of the other dogs/people/cars and wants to go back inside. He hasn't been eating much, only taking a couple bites from his kibble each day. I did give him wet food today and he ate most of it. He doesn't respond to me when I call him to come by me unless it's potty time… He will allow me to touch him and give me kisses when I'm by him, but he doesn't follow me around anymore like he usually does. Is this normal? Is there anything more I can do to help him adjust? Thankfully I work from home so it's not like he's being left home alone all day to deal with it.

Hi there! I’ve grown up with bulldogs in my home, and I’ve noticed that the English variety seems to be pretty quiet in general. I‘ve rarely heard them bark, and never heard one howl. those of you who’ve cared for bulldogs, have you had the same experience? Have you ever heard them howl before?

My dog gets overly excited when visitors come over and keeps jumping on them. I’ve tried redirecting and giving commands, but it doesn’t seem to stick

I have two dogs and I swear… every time I leave the house (even if it’s just to take out the trash or grab something quickly), they react like I’ve been gone for YEARS when I come back.

Crying, jumping, running around like crazy… full emotional meltdown.

Meanwhile I’m like: “guys, I was literally gone for 3 minutes.”

They’re well taken care of, not left alone for long periods, and get plenty of attention, so I don’t think it’s anxiety… but their reactions are so intense it makes me wonder lol.

Is this normal dog behavior or are mine just extra dramatic?

I use a retractable leash to great benefit especially in the snow and ice but but occasionally my dog will see a squirrel or something and get very excited and pressing the button jerks us both which can be difficult in the snow and ice. I would love to have a leash with a real brake — ie a friction disk so that I can adjust the drag based on the pressure I apply. Does such a leash exist?

I know there are those autobrake leashes but I'm looking for more control over the degree of braking force not less. I also know there are elastic leash elements to reduce the shock but that permanently adds a bit of slack and I'd prefer to be able to control the braking force.