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I noticed that my dog only growls during tug of war when I ruffle his fur with the other hand. He is usually not very vocal during play so I’m not sure if the vocalization is just because it makes him more excited, maybe like how a stick is used in bite sports, or if he’s giving me a warning. He doesn’t back off or anything and doesn’t mind being touched in any other situation, even when he’s chewing on something.

Hello! I wanted to post this if it helps anyone who is in my same position (please delete this mods if it’s not allowed).

I’m Cat and 4 years ago I posted here as I rehomed my chihuahua puppy due mainly to mental health issues.

It’s been 4 years and now I have a 5 month poodle toy puppy named Evie. At first I had so much guilt and thought I could never have a dog, and that I failed by rehoming my chihuahua.

Well he’s doing amazing in his home (he has other chihuahua siblings, and is very well behaved!) and after a lot of work, I’m doing really great!

I felt shame that I wanted to try having a puppy again, and even after I had decided I struggled telling anyone because I was embarrassed. I even also had puppy blues when I got Evie as a tragedy hit around the same time.

I just wanted to encourage anyone who is having puppy blues to be compassionate and kind to yourself. I also wanted to thank this sub and the people who supported me in my last post- thank you very much!

Our 12 week old puppy is still peeing and pooping in the house and I’m at a loss of what to do. This is our third puppy and has been by far the most difficult to potty train. He is incredibly food driven and we reward him every time he goes outside and watch him constantly inside and will catch him/scold him if he starts going inside. He knows he’s supposed to go to the back door to go outside. But it’s like some times he just doesn’t care or is too lazy and just goes inside? And if he does go to the back door he will not hold his pee or poop at all. If we don’t open it within 2 or 3 minutes he will just go to the bathroom right there even if he has peed like 10 minute prior. Sometimes I think he’s just bored and wants to go out and play but if we don’t let him immediately he goes inside in retaliation.

Also – he drinks SOOOOO much water. Today he finished two large bowls of water within 5 hours. Our other dogs never drank this much – they will drink MAYBE a whole bowl a day. My husband thinks we might need to take him to the vet to see if something is wrong? But it’s both pee and poop so I don’t think it’s a urinary issue.

What are we doing wrong?? Please help! I don’t know what else to do

Edit: he doesn’t pee or poop in his crate. We crate him all night ( ~9 hours) so I know he CAN hold it – he just chooses not to.

Hi! My 3 year old shepsky accidentally ripped my finger nail off when we were playing (wasn’t his fault at all, it got stuck on his collar). I tried to not make a lot of noise but I also had to get both of us inside the house asap so I can put a bandage on. At first I thought he was playing but then he started following me inside.

Since then he’s been watching me from afar, and not getting close to me. I’m in a lot of pain so I don’t know if they can sense that, but he’s been distant all day. I tried to show him affection but he only licked my hurt finger (it has gauze on it dw). I’m worried he’d scared of me now or is mad or I don’t even know. What should I do? Is there something I can do so he knows I’m not mad?

Ik this might be silly but I feel so bad, it wasn’t his fault.

I have a lab who is 9 – he seems content but he’s a couch potato and I worry that he is just bored. I take him for exercise every day and do my best to keep him active and enriched. However I was dog sitting my friends dog this weekend who we used to live with and my dog seemed a bit more animated. They don’t really play together but he seemed to be slightly more engaged and drinking more water, less dragging on the leash and not wanting to walk, etc.

I used to live with roommates and this other dog so my dog had more sources of “things going on”, but now that I live alone I worry he is bored.

I’ve toyed with the idea of getting another dog so the new dog could learn from my current dog and also to cushion his eventual death for me.

Anyway, how did getting another dog (more specifically a puppy) affect your senior dog?

My 5 month old puppy begins barking as soon as we step inside. He's crated, doesn't complain at night, voluntarily walks into the crate to snooze during the day.

Today, he's maybe slept 1-1.5 hours off and on between 7 am through 3:30 pm. I left the house around 340 to pick up my daughter from school. I was home by 410 and as soon as he realized we were home, he begins barking to be let out. He used to be fine taking forced crate naps in another room but now it's a huge tantrum.

The barking drives me insane. I don't want to reinforce any demand barking so I can't go get him until he's quiet. It's just taking ages for him to be quiet for more than 15 seconds.

He's not a big barker otherwise. The neighborhood dogs are all set off by people outside, cars, etc. he is never triggered by them, by the gardeners in the backyard, and rarely by my 4 year old. How do I get prevent this from becoming a bigger problem?

My nine week old, mini dachshund is obsessed with tearing things he loves tearing apart Velcro straps, but also he ends up chewing it up and pulling the seams apart. Is there anything or any toys that would help with a puppy that likes tearing things?