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My wife and I adopted a shepherd mix 2 months ago, who is now 7 months old. He is our first dog so we’re not quite sure if he’s getting too much or too little stimulation for his age.

A typical day for him starts around 5:30am with potty time and breakfast, followed by a 25 minute walk around 6:30-7. He then typically will relax until around 11a, which is when he gets some backyard time and a puzzle toy. Then it’s back to relaxing from maybe 1-3. Second walk of the day comes at 4 and is anywhere from 20-35 minutes, followed by dinner. He’s generally awake the rest of the day until 7/7:30, at which point he sleeps basically through the night (with just a potty break when we move into the bedroom around 9:30).

The problem is that like half of the days around 6:00a, 3:00p and 6:00p, he turns into quite the menace. Chewing on things he shouldn’t, getting a bit nippy, and constantly asking to go outside just to find/chew things he shouldn’t.

We do mix in training and play (which for him is mostly just chewing lol) and he’s only crated if we have to run errands since we work from home. However, if we miss a walk or if he doesn’t get his typical amount of nap time it tends to be worse.

I guess I’m just curious if this seems like enough exercise and stimulation or not enough? Should he be sleeping more or less throughout the day? Or do we just need to try mixing it up more (as much as we can at least with work considerations)?

hi everyone! I have a hound pup who loves sent games, destroying toys, and is very good at chewing up cardboard without swallowing it, which makes for very low cost fun!

I’ve been curious if anyone has any other ideas for how I can incorporate paper towel rolls different as toys and games that isn’t just putting kibble in it and folding up the ends (that lasts 5 seconds for him at this point). right now, I tend to put kibble in them, hold at the ends, and put it inside other cardboard boxes with toys on top of it etc, so it takes him more time to sniff around and find it.

any other ideas for mixing up things or leveling up difficulty?

My dog has very black, opaque, and thick nails, and it stresses me out so much every time I try to clip them because I’m terrified of going too far. I’m thinking about switching to a nail grinder instead of clippers — does anyone have recommendations? Preferably something under $20 CAD.

I've been wanting to adopt or get a Samoyed for the longest time, but I need to ask something before taking the step in the future. I live in Murcia, Spain that has warm climate most of the time and sometimes it can be unbearable since it's also humid.

I wanted to know if a Samoyed would be happy in these conditions, I need to know so I can get in my head that I can't have one unless I move to a colder place.

Hey everyone! I’m trying my hardest to find this dog find a home. He’s been stuck at a clinic since March and he really is nice once he warms up to you. He is quickly misjudged because some people don’t know how to utilize his skills that he learned in training. It is super unfair to see such a playful, young dog totally disregarded and forgotten. He was originally found as a stray and he is healthy.

If this post isn’t allowed- I’m so sorry and I’ll delete

we have a 6 month old pomeranian puppy and he’s just absolutely a nightmare. he is crate trained and sleeps great and settles in there all the time but when he’s free he’s just too much all of the time. we give him puzzle feeders for all meals and he can spend up to 30 minutes working on it some days. we walk him in the morning and afternoon. we play fetch at least once a day. however when he’s not in his crate he is always moving. he never settles and will either be jumping all over us on the couch or doing other puppy things. we try to reward any type of calm behavior but just the sight of treats gets him seriously worked up. and if we give him something like a yak chew he will somewhat calm down and chew that but if i need to get up or move for any reason he’s up too and either jumping on me or following me after he was kind of calm. it’s exhausting and we don’t really know what to do because he do enforced naps in the crate but i don’t want an adult dog that can’t just lay there while i get up to do like the dishes or something. is this normal or did we go wrong somewhere??

My 5 month old lab has a schedule of pretty much one hour awake followed by one hour in crate asleep. When she’s awake she’s mostly got my full attention. If I have an appointment I’ll try to leave at nap time and get back as soon as I can. I don’t think I’ve ever left her longer than 2.5 hours and she’s never been crazy or barking when I get home. Still, I keep it to one outing per day only if I have to. Here’s my concern: I’ve got puppy blues and I’m feeling really buried in this Groundhog Day of puppy care. I have lots of errands building up but I can’t figure out how long I can leave her. She’s very high energy. Could I go out and leave her crated for 3 hrs, come home, run her, etc. and then go out and crate her for 3 more hours? It feels unkind but is that really the case? Would it upset her? Could I have more freedom than I’m giving myself or is it really just the way it goes when I’ve got a young pup?

Does your dog turn his head when he hears an odd noise? Does your dog bury their food with your pants? This is the thread to ask why.

Please keep this thread to non-medical issues only.

Which pet insurance is best for you? Are there any that may cover your dog's current treatment? Did your dog get injured during the waiting period and want to know if you're covered?

Here's the place to ask.

Do know we cannot help you here with medical concerns, and lying or not disclosing things to the insurance company is illegal so we don't allow that either.

Please can anyone tell me why someone would buy themselves a bulldog? I just cannot imagine why someone would want that? Please enlighten me