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Hey guys. This is a bit silly, but I find myself worrying about my dog.

Shes 11, and shes my first pet of the 4 legged variety. Shes my rock, I've had her since she was 12 weeks old and throughout my hardest times.

She doesn't play anymore, not even tug of war when I try play with her, or fetch. She has cataracts already. She sleeps all day. She just wants to be with me all the time, napping. Which is fine by me, I'm disabled so I spend alot of time in bed now.

I know I only have a few years left with her and its hard to imagine my life without her. Shes been my constant companion for years. We have always shared each others presence.

I'm just worried on the day she passes, I'm going to break down and she will be scared because she sees me crying. I don't want her passing to be anything but peaceful. I want her to not notice that I'm sad, but I don't think thats possible for me.

Can I get some advice on what I can do to ensure when she goes, if its within my control, that she goes without distress?

Hi, I have a 2 month old American staffy puppy and she has displayed some aggression which I understand can be normal but I don’t really know how to handle it. I’ve had multiple staffies growing up and have only known them to be the most beautiful, loving dogs.

My current puppy Nessie is a lot more stubborn than any other dog I’ve had, she does not want to listen, though I do recognise she is still quite young so I haven’t been that concerned.

However, I have noticed that she has been growling at us when she is disturbed during sleep or doesn’t want to get off the lounge. Last night she was all comfy inside and we have been trying to get both dogs (we also have a year old foxy, which she gets on great with) to sleep outside in their kennels.

She has no problem being outside and doesn’t wine when out there, however this routine is still quite new. She wasn’t coming when called so I went over to move her and she growled and then snapped at me.

I don’t want to be scared of her so I obviously want to stop this behaviour. I get that she is probably just being a moody puppy and her intention was not to hurt anyone but I don’t want her to keep doing it. Maybe as she gets used to being outside at night she won’t put up a fight, I just don’t want this aggression translating to other scenarios when she doesn’t feel like doing something I’ve asked. I have never experienced this with a dog before so that’s why I need advice on how to train her.

Any advice would be greatly appreciated. Thank you all.

I’m putting together a self-assessment to help owners check in on their dog's emotional well-being, and I wanted to get your take on the first question. I've read that predictability is huge for reducing anxiety in dogs, but I know real life doesn't always allow for a perfect schedule.

How consistent is your dog's daily routine (walks, meals, and bedtime)?

• A) Like clockwork — We do things at the exact same time every day.
• B) Flexible — We have a loose routine, but it shifts around based on the day.
• C) Total Surprise — We don't really have a schedule; we just go with the flow.

I’m curious—if you are a "Type B" or "Type C," do you notice your dog getting anxious when things change, or are they pretty adaptable? Would love to hear your experiences!

Question from PawSense

10 month old puppy. She was adopted from the shelter about 1 month ago. She gets fed 2x a day in her crate and she stays in for about 45min – 1hr after each meal. I’m worried about her stomach flipping.

Not anytime soon, but I do eventually want her to have meals out of her crate once she’s completely potty trained. But the whole bloat and stomach flip thing really scares me!

I have a 3 month old female rotty and I’ve tried everything. I got a big crate because I know she’ll grow, however, I use a divider. I feed her twice a day take her out every hour and every 15 minutes after she drinks water. At night I tried leaving a blanket and toys however she pooped all over them. I tried putting a blanket over top. She ripped it through the crate. I leave it empty even after potty breaks and me getting up every two hours through the night, she still finds a way to poop, pee, and smear everything around the crate, including poop on the bars. I can’t leave her out of the crate. She’s already tried chewing the baseboard and bottom of my doors. I could really use some help.

Fortunately, my SO will be home to take care of her and she doesn’t need to be put in a kennel, so I shouldn’t be worried about traumatizing her. But, my SO (I’ll call Pat) and Alice didn’t start bonding until a few months ago so I’m worried that she won’t feel secure with them.

Getting a puppy was my idea. Pat was not really up for it (still grieving over loss of other dog a year earlier) so I have been the primary caregiver. It took months for Pat to warm up to Alice (petted and treated her kindly, but didn’t fawn over her the way I did). Pat wasn’t involved much in Alice’s training although they would follow my lead in house rules and take Alice outside occasionally (we have to walk her bc we don’t have a fenced yard.) Over time, Alice and Pat have become closer and now will enjoy cuddle time, something they never used to do. She usually wants to immediately get back to me though.

I am clearly Alice‘s human and she is with me (or on me!) whenever she can be so, I’m not confident that she will feel OK when I’m gone overnight and then for three more days.

She stays in her crate when we go out and doesn’t seem to have separation anxiety but those times she spent alone have only been 3 to 4 hours at most and infrequent (we’re retired).

How can I prepare Alice for my absence and are there any suggestions on how to prepare Pat for the experience?

Hi! Sorry for the long backstory that's about to start. I'm planning to get a golden retriever puppy right before Christmas, she'll be 9 weeks old by then. She'll be my (kinda) first dog. So my family has a french bulldog female who's 7 years old now. I used to live with them until last year, so I've been living with her all this time. I moved to an apartment a year ago. Since then, I took the frenchie with me for 1-2 weeks at a time many times. She's VERY silent, NEVER barks except when I really rile her up and purposely trigger her during intense play. I don't know how that happened. I've never heatd of a dog who never barks. She was not trained not to bark. She just never barks. Maybe it's because she grew up with 3 cats?

Backstory over.

Anyway, now that I live in an apartment, I'd appreciate if I could train my new puppy not to bark indoors. My sister lived here before with her puppy and she had issues with neighbours because of his barking. So I know the neighbours won't be happy if my new puppy barks a lot./ But since the frenchie was not trained not to bark, it just happened, I have no idea how to achieve that. Any tips? I also have 3 cats, so she may naturally imitate them and be more quiet like the frenchie, if I'm lucky…

Can you use regular baby schampoo for your dogs?

And another question.

Can you knit homemade blankets for your pup or should you avoid it? I’m thinking wool and or cotton.

Every single morning in bed once my husband gets up for work, my dog (all 30kgs of her) will jump up and lay across my stomach, she wont move and I swear she adds as much weight as possible pinning me down. Shes the sweetest, sooky dog ever who will leap into to my lap on the couch if something scares her, so its not weird aggression, but also don’t know what she thinks shes achieving?

Please bear with me -this needs a little context.

My daughter is 11, an only child, and most of her family (including cousins her age) live abroad. She’s very empathetic and sensitive, and she’s been having a hard time with school social dynamics, especially bullying by exclusion. This has created a lot of anxiety around being alone.

She thrives in nurturing roles… when younger children visit their class and she gets to be a “buddy,” she lights up. At home she struggles with nighttime anxiety, and I’ve been supporting her through co-sleeping and weekly therapy. Her teachers and I are in regular contact and they are also working to help her in different ways. Some methods to re integrate her with the girls (she hangs with the boys since the girls exclude her) … and others are to help her cope with her emotions, which have become deregulated.

The dog part:

We have a female pug who bonded completely to me, despite our hope that she would bond to my daughter. My daughter recently asked for a lizard for Christmas “so it wouldn’t be too much to ask,” which broke my heart a bit. We won’t give a surprise holiday pet, but we would like to seriously consider a second dog or a reptile with proper planning.

We’re currently researching Cavalier King Charles Spaniels, since we’re hoping for a mellow, affectionate family dog. If we go this route, we’d be looking for a male to pair with our female pug. I’ve owned multiple dogs, but never a male, so that part is new to me.

My goal is to support a bond between my daughter and the dog by giving her primary responsibilities -feeding, playing, training, and walking- while I step back despite working from home.

My questions for this community:

• What are your best tips for helping a child build a strong bond with a dog who is their companion?

• Are there considerations for adding a male Cavalier to a home with a female pug?

• Any advice about breed temperament, ethical breeders, bonding strategies, or things I may not be thinking of?

We’re in the research phase and want to take our time and move carefully. I truly believe that having a loving dog as her companion could give my daughter a sense of stability and confidence as she grows, as long as we choose carefully and set everyone up for success.

Thank you in advance for your insights.