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  • Excessive licking of my face normal?

    I have a 15 week old Small Munsterlander. We've had her since she was 9 weeks. She is a wonderful dog and the whole puppy experience has been great. Came pretty much potty trained, crate training took 5 nights, has been sleeping through the night for weeks, and clicker training is working really well.

    I work from home so I am the primary care taker. She has definitely bonded closer to me than my partner, although she loves him too. She will often fall asleep on me on the couch in the evenings, and our morning routine is couch time while I drink my coffee, snuggles, and then she falls asleep on my lap.

    What I am curious about is her excessive licking of my face. She will come inside from being out in the backyard, or getting settled in for the night, or just hanging out, and she will jump on me and lick my face for minutes. I will be sitting or lying on the couch, she will jump up, crawl up to my face, and put both paws on my shoulders. Then she will lick my face for at least five minutes. I try to put my hand in front of my face, but she gets mad and gets a little bitey (we are working on that, but she is a puppy). It feels like a grooming thing. My face is breaking out a little more than normal despite all the face washing. She often times falls asleep on me immediately after licking the you know what out of my face.

    Is there anything I should know about this behavior? Will she keep doing this more and more if I let her? Can I enforce making her stop?

    submitted by /u/TallGingerLady
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  • Puppy/adult dog play

    I have an 11 week old pit/lab mix male. And a 3 year old pit/lab mix female. I wish I could post videos here because I’m constantly stressed if the “playing” they’re doing is appropriate. Older dog has always been chill and quiet, even as a puppy. But my little dude is constantly growling when they play. We’ve had him since he was 6 weeks old (got him from the shelter) and he’s always been like this. We monitor them every second they are together. But it’s been 5 weeks and he still growls and bites my older girl constantly. Both tails wag while they play and it seems like they’re having a good time, I just don’t know if I’m encouraging the growling and biting by letting them “figure it out” for a few minutes. (He’s also on a strict crate nap schedule so it’s not because he’s overstimulated, it’s just how he plays). I guess I’m just looking for validation that he’s not going to grow up to be an aggressive/reactive dog

    submitted by /u/Hot_Play_4663
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  • Clay paw imprints

    Hi all! A while ago I bought a dud of a clay paw print kit and since then I’ve been searching for an actually decent one. I just thought you should know that, if you’re looking for a good clay for a paw imprint, I cannot recommend Sculpey iii enough!

    submitted by /u/Turtlegrandmacore
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  • Which option would be best for house training?

    I read the wiki and it did not have the answer to my specific question. I'm trying to house train my 8 lb, 2 year old Shih Tzu mix. I built a dog door with the eventual goal of letting him have free roam of the house and yard whenever I'm not home. Right now, I have a large 48×30 crate for him butted up against the dog door, so when I'm not home, he has full use of the yard plus a small area inside the house. I also have a smaller crate which is a more appropriate size for crate training. I live alone, so my options are limited. I work nights and sleep during the day. So I have a couple options and am wondering which is the best option:

    Option 1 is to crate him in his small crate during the day while I'm sleeping and let him out intermittently so I can monitor his peeing and provide treats when he goes outside.

    Option 2 is to let him have the yard and small house area during the day, and just restrict my house training efforts to my days off (I have 3-4 days off a week)

    Which would be the best option for my dog's house training? This is just temporary and my hope is that he'll be trustworthy enough to be able to do whatever pretty quickly. ​

    submitted by /u/Straight_Ostrich_257
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  • Flying my German Shepherd to Boston, US

    Hi everyone,

    I’m trying to figure out the best way to fly my dog from Europe (Cyprus) to the United States (Boston area) sometime this summer, and I’d really appreciate any advice from people who have done this before.

    My dog is a large breed, so flying in the cabin isn’t an option — it would have to be cargo or a pet transport service. I’ve been researching airlines and relocation companies, but it’s honestly a bit overwhelming and prices seem to vary a lot.

    A few things I’m hoping to learn from people with experience:

    • Which airlines allow large dogs in cargo on transatlantic flights?
    • Are there any pet relocation companies you recommend (or ones to avoid)?
    • What ended up being the most affordable option for you?
    • Is it cheaper to book the dog directly with the airline cargo department vs using a pet shipping company?
    • Any tips for summer travel (heat restrictions, best routes, paperwork, etc.)?

    I’m also wondering if it’s easier/cheaper to fly into New York and then drive to Boston instead of flying directly into Boston.

    Any tips, experiences, or things you wish you knew before transporting your dog internationally would be super helpful. I just want to make sure I do this safely without spending way more than necessary.

    Thanks so much in advance!

    Rafa

    submitted by /u/Trappedproducer
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  • Help with my reactive

    I just recently had my baby in February and my 8 year old Golden/Aussie Mix has been somewhat disinterested in the baby. Even when the baby is fussy or screaming there isn’t much of a reaction from the dog.

    However when my husband leaves for work (he’s gone for two weeks at a time) the dog starts growling and trying to show teeth towards the baby.

    Today he came over to snap at my baby’s hand when he was just laying here not crying just moving around.

    I thought he was coming to lay in front of us since there was no growling or any sign of aggression from him. I kicked him away in time before he could make contact.

    I’m scared to death since my dog is 110+ pounds and very quick. He has bitten my niece before years ago but we were rough housing and she screamed which I think is what triggered him.

    He’s shown aggression towards strangers and other dogs before which is why we were an only one dog household and put him up when company comes over.

    What are my options? What do I do?

    submitted by /u/Vivid_Swan8282
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  • Anxiety in my blind dog

    my 7yo bichon recently went blind from his diabetes and I’m really worried about his separation anxiety. I’m not employed rn but actively looking and he’s already showing signs by trying to pull me away from anything other than sitting on the couch with him. I know we‘re both still getting used to this but I’m not sure how to try and target this before it becomes a problem. Any suggestions on what I can do would be appreciated

    submitted by /u/Djinnijo
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  • Dog doesn’t like going for a walk in the evening?

    Hiii! I have a 1 year old female dog. And since a few weeks she doesn’t wanna go out for a walk in the evening. She sometimes comes out , but mostly stays under my bed , which is one of her main sleeping and privacy spaces.

    Should I just go for a walk sooner or can it have any other reason?

    submitted by /u/ElkIndependent4104
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  • Unsure how much to charge for dog sitting

    I’m new to dog sitting. I do have experience with dogs, I‘ve owned many myself my entire life. I’ve now got the opportunity to dog sit, their requirements are 2 drop in visits in the morning and night, 2 walks in the morning and evening for 2 small dogs. How much should I charge them per day? They want me to look after them for 5 days while on holiday, I’m from the UK.

    submitted by /u/Winter-Wealth-4768
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  • Need help, possible separation anxiety?

    I have a 1 year old yellow Labrador retriever and I am not sure if he has separation anxiety or if he is still just being a puppy.

    When we leave the house sometimes we don’t put him in his crate and we will gate him in our kitchen/basement area. However, every time we do this he messes multiple times. He probably makes like 5 different piles of poop. We make sure he goes on a long walk and gets play time in before we leave but he still does it. He never messes when we are at home or when he is in his crate, only when he is outside of it and alone. We always leave his toys out as well so he has stuff to play with. I feel like it doesn’t even matter how long we’re gone, even with a quick run to the store he still does it. I would like to be able to eventually let him free roam, but at this time that is not even close to happening.

    Has anyone had experience with this? I was assuming it is due to separation anxiety. Would calming supplements help? Or how can we fix this?

    submitted by /u/Perfect-Flower6429
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