Blog

Introduction

1) Will this be your first dog? If not, what experience do you have owning/training dogs? * This will not be my first dog. I've had dogs in the past but they were when I lived in a house with a backyard. I currently live in a decent size apartment 4 minutes from my work.

2) Do you have a preference for rescuing a dog vs. going through a reputable breeder? * I would preference to rescuing a dog.

3) Describe your ideal dog. * My Ideal dog would be a medium size dog that is good for apartment living and that I can take on hikes with me.

4) What breeds or types of dogs are you interested in and why? * My Ideal dog would be a medium size dog that is good for apartment living and that I can take on hikes with me.

5) What sorts of things would you like to train your dog to do? * I would train my dog to be able to go on walks downtown around people withoit going crazy and to go on hikes with me.

6) Do you want to compete with your dog in a sport (e.g. agility, obedience, rally) or use your dog for a form of work (e.g. hunting, herding, livestock guarding)? If so, how much experience do you have with this work/sport? * No I don't want to have the dog for work use or for sport use.

7) How long do you want to devote to training, playing with, or otherwise interacting with your dog each day? * Before work I would take the dog out to the bathroom, during lunch come home take the dog out to the bathroom before heading back to work and after work take the dog on a long walk. On weekends take the dog on longer walks/hiking for a few ours.

8) How long can you exercise your dog each day, on average? What sorts of exercise are you planning to give your dog regularly and does that include using a dog park? * Before work I would take the dog out to the bathroom, during lunch come home take the dog out to the bathroom before heading back to work and after work take the dog on a long walk. On weekends take the dog on longer walks/hiking for a few ours. Occasionally using dog parks.

9) How much regular brushing are you willing to do? Are you open to trimming hair, cleaning ears, or doing other grooming at home? If not, would you be willing to pay a professional to do it regularly? * I'm willing to do daily brushing when needed.

10) What size dog are you looking for? * I'm looking for a medium size dog.

11) How much shedding, barking, and slobber can you handle? * depends on the right dog.

12) How important is being able to let your dog off-leash in an unfenced area? * I would like to let the dog off leash when I can but not necessary.

13) Do you want a snuggly dog or one that prefers some personal space? * I would like a dog that like to chill next to me but also don't mind if they want some alone time, either or works for me.

14) Would you prefer a dog that wants to do its own thing or one that’s more eager-to-please? * I would like a dog that somewhere in between being independent and wanting to snuggle.

15) How would you prefer your dog to respond to someone knocking on the door or entering your yard? How would you prefer your dog to greet strangers or visitors? * l would like a dog that is calm when a stranger enters until commanded otherwise.

16) Are you willing to manage a dog that is aggressive to other dogs? * I could work with that.

17) Are there any other behaviors you can’t deal with or want to avoid? * none I can think of.

18) How often and how long will the dog be left alone? * when I go to work until lunch time when I come home to let them out and until I get home after work.

19) What are the dog-related preferences of other people in the house and what will be their involvement in caring for the dog? * I live alone and will be the sole caretaker of the dog.

20) Do you have other pets or are you planning on having other pets? What breed or type of animal are they? * I do not have any other pets at this time.

21) Will the dog be interacting with children regularly? * No they will not be interacting with children kn the regular.

22) Do you rent or plan to rent in the future? If applicable, what breed or weight restrictions are on your current lease? * I currently rent a decent size apartment right now and there is no size restrictions, I just prefer a medium size dog thats good for apartment living and good for hiking.

23) What city or country do you live in and are you aware of any laws banning certain breeds? * I live in a urban area and most dog breeds are okay over bere

24) What is the average temperature of a typical summer and winter day where you live? * I live in nevada weather closer to California boarder.

25) Please provide any additional information you feel may be relevant. * No additional information.

26) Feel free to ask any questions below

Archie is a 9-month-old Chihuahua/Havanese/terrier mix. He's a great little guy, but we just cannot seem to get to the point where he will be consistent with potty training. Maybe I'm expecting too much? He will keep his kennel clean overnight with no issue. In the morning, he will go straight to the door and ring the bell to go out. He pees and poops like a champ. He gets treats immediately and we celebrate. From there, it gets less consistent. He will ring the bell and go out to pee if prompted, but will rarely ring it on his own. I mostly work from home and take him out at least every 90 minutes. He always pees when he's outside, but will also pee or poop within minutes of being outside. I'm trying to keep eyes on him anytime he has freedom, but he will literally poop in 2 seconds if my back is turned. If he has access, accidents area always right near the door where he goes out. We've been trying to keep him corralled in the living room away from the problem area, but then he started to have accidents in there. Ugh.

He recently went an entire week with no accidents. As soon as he peed on the floor near the door again, it's like all the training went out the window and we're back to multiple accidents a day. I don't love kenneling him all day when I'm home, but is that the only way we're going to get past this?

Hi everyone! I have a 15 week-old Irish setter that I brought home at 10 weeks old and have been crate training since day 1 of bringing her home.

She does really well when we put her down for naps when she's tired and is getting better at settling faster and staying in her crate for longer even if she wakes up after a nap. She sleeps in it overnight happily too.

A general struggle I'm finding is she doesn't seek out her crate to sleep or nap in herself and will only do so if I put her in there. She knows when she's overstimulated/overtired that we will put her in the crate to nap so will stay as far away from it as possible. I used to be able to lure her in by scattering her food inside and she would very quickly eat it then go to sleep fuss free but now she won't go near the crate with food inside if we are standing nearby.

She stays with my parents during the day two days a week and she would much rather sleep on the hard floor than inside her crate. She has three dog beds within our house that have been gifted to us which she just thinks are big toys but she will sleep in my parents dog's bed just fine if given the option. We've given her one of my parents old dog beds which smells the same and again, she thinks it's a toy.

We have tried to let her settle herself and fall asleep wherever in her own time without us putting her down for a nap but she just gets so feral with biting we can't even distract her off with toys. The only place she will settle herself is on our couch which we don't want her to get in the habit of, we would much rather she seeks out a bed or crate.

Apologies for the word salad but any help or ideas would be greatly appreciated!!

Hi all, I’m having problems with keeping my dog’s face clean (not smelling like poop every week).

I’ve been having health issues this year so I’m not as mobile as I have been in the past. I pick up after my dog’s poop every 2 days. He does it on the gravel in the backyard, so the smell doesn’t really go away? The issue is, he sticks his face to sniff his poop either before or after he goes. Sometimes I let him roam around in the backyard multiple times in a day. It’s almost every week now where he comes back in smelling like poop. I don’t know if resorting to shampoo his face every week is the best idea.

I also don’t know if this is anything health related but I do have a vet’s appointment scheduled soon.

Does anyone have tips to help get rid of the smell? I saw some website recommend using a baking soda mixture to wipe the dog’s face with. Haven’t tried that yet, thought it would be better to see what others have tried first.

Does anyone else dogs always give ay the belly or her neck any time u touch them i try to rub my dogs head and back but she only lets me for a few seconds before she turns around and gives me her belly or her neck why does she do this is this a good thing or normal for Velcro dogs

First time (potential) dog owner. It’s difficult but let’s get some non biased opinions on whether or not owning a pet dog is truly worth it? The good the bad the ugly.