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  • Did I traumatize my puppy?

    My puppy (4 months, dachshund mix) is finally fully vaxxed so we can now interact with other dogs. She has met a few dogs one on one and has definitely shown some hesitation and fear as she would sniff and then run and hide behind me. However, today we took her to a dog park in a quiet area. She met a few dogs one on one and would not stop barking and hiding. Usually, when I walk her in my neighborhood, she gets spooked by other dogs but would never bark. Ever since we took her to the dog park, she now barks like crazy at any dog that walks by and tries to sprint away. Does anyone have any advice on how to get her to calm down around other dogs? I have heard mixed things about limiting exposure to other dogs vs full desensitization. I have tried distracting and giving her treats but she now gets so nervous that she does not pay attention to me during her reaction.

    submitted by /u/Expensive_Tailor1888
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  • Did my puppy eat a lost toy?

    So I have a 15 week old golden retriever, she is mostly an angel but she does love to try to eat everything! We’ve had to cut the tails off of toys etc. I noticed today that one of her toys is missing. It was a small(ish) squeaker toy. Originally it was part of a set of toys that came inside a fake seed bag and she had to pull the different veggies out. We had to throw the bag away because she starting eating the corners.

    The toy was small but not small enough for her to swallow whole. And I haven’t found any stuffing or fabric to suggest she tore it up. I have checked everywhere I can think of that it could be hiding and can’t find it anywhere.

    Is it possible that she somehow ate the whole toy without me noticing? She is never left with it fully unsupervised, but she is sometimes playing with her toys while I’m working on my computer.

    She is eating, drinking, and pooping like normal and doesn’t seem to be in any distress. Am I being an overly cautious new puppy parent or should I be concerned?

    submitted by /u/Made_ForPeachOther
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  • Senior dog, urine smell

    My 13yo Australian cattle mix has lost the use of her rear legs. The vet says she has lesions in her spine.

    Once in a while she has some pee dribbles. This unfortunately happened in an upholstered chair and dried before anyone knew. We’ve tried different cleaners but I think they’re just making the odor worse and I don’t have anything suck the dirty water out of the chair if I wash it.

    What can we do?

    submitted by /u/funsk8mom
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  • Puppy jumping at people on walks

    We have a male, neutered, 16 month old, mix breed, medium sized puppy (dunno when I can’t call him a puppy anymore…)

    He’s generally great, good recall, friendly, and we don’t have any major worrying behavioural issues.

    This morning, we were out on a walk and he was off lead on a footpath. A woman came running from behind and I think she gave him a bit of a fright, he instantly was repeatedly jumping up at her. No signs of aggression or anything just really excited. The woman was not impressed and told us that “sorry wasn’t good enough”…

    We’ve had a few similar issues in the past, he’s never aggressive only excited to see people but it’s obviously a behaviour we really don’t want. When he starts it’s like he gets super excited and is just repeatedly jumping and won’t stop until you grab him, especially when people start pushing him off – that just gets him more excited!

    I worry that he will do it to someone who is unstable on their feet and cause them to fall and hurt themselves. He’s done it before to a man who had a baby strapped to his chest, ran from about 15m away to get to him.

    We’re finding it hard to train because at home he would never jump up at us as he knows that we won’t allow it.

    Any tips for training him out of this? he only does it with strangers when out so we’re finding it hard to train, can’t exactly find a stranger and say “will you run along so my dog can jump at you?”

    Any tips/ tricks/ advice welcomed

    submitted by /u/Competitive-Leg-1474
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  • dog pooped in bathroom with closet attached!!!

    my dog went in my master bathroom and took a shit all over the floor. it says online a diluted vinegar/water mixture can help get rid of the strong smell, since we don’t have any enzymatic cleaners. i just finished mopping with opened bedroom windows & back door. the good thing is that we have laminate floors all over the house and no carpet. the problem now though, is that our closet is attached to our bathroom and when you walk in the closet, it smells strongly of dog shit/sulfur.

    like i said already, i don’t have any enzymatic cleaners OR detergents, nor do i have the money to go out and buy them rn, so washing all our clothes rn isn’t an option.

    what can i do to get rid of the smell?? will the smell resolve within the upcoming hours?? i work tomorrow and reeeeeally don’t wanna go in smelling like dog shit.

    thanks in advance!

    submitted by /u/infinityfries
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  • Dogs really are the purest souls on this planet

    They don't judge, they don't hold grudges, they just love with their whole heart.

    submitted by /u/yoohuman
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  • I need tips for a 1st time dog owner

    I’m 17 and home 24/7, I do school at home and the dog will be with me in my room, I just wanted to see if anyone has advice for me because I’m getting a Cavapoo puppy plus I have 2 cats and 2 birds, cats are NOT allowed in my room

    submitted by /u/keegansonlyacc
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  • 10 week old puppy – behavior concerns or normal?

    I should preface by saying I’ve had really bad luck with dogs who have had severe behavioral issues (aggression towards other animals, severe anxiety/fearful towards strangers) in the past, though they’ve all been rescues.

    We just got a puppy. She’s almost 10 weeks old. Got her from a farm (accidental litter), met the mom (sweet, calm, social) didn’t meet the dad but was told he was goofy/nice. She’s a Rottweiler/old English sheepdog mix.

    She is smart, learning tricks, good with my other pets, etc. We are starting puppy classes in a few weeks when she’s 12 weeks old (post 2nd round vaccinations).

    She hasn’t really met any other animals besides my dog and cat. She has met some friends/family, we have taken her on car rides, and today we decided to take her to the farmers market (held her the whole time) to see if her mom was there because that’s where we originally met her. She was pretty nervous and shaking at first so I removed her from the crowded area and got some treats out. I introduced her to two people we know and she was shaking, so again, got some treats and they backed away for a second. She warmed up, stopped shaking, and was eating treats from them. One of the people was holding her paw gently and puppy barked a pretty good “warning” and scared the woman. Almost looked like she wanted to bite the woman but didn’t. I felt bad but figured puppy was overstimulated and was like “okay, time to go”. On our way out, we met another family who had a puppy from the same litter, and they said their pup is super sweet and good, no behavior concerns.

    Our girl also had some issues with growling when we/friends picked her up the first week or so we had her. We haven’t really let friends pick her up since, but we do occasionally need to grab her to help with the stairs (she doesn’t like to go down), or to help her on/off the couch or bed. She doesn’t growl much at us any more unless she’s overstimulated and we are interrupting her doing something she wants to be doing, but it still scares me when she does.

    Besides the growling/barking, she does have a crazy side (biting/being a general spaz) that comes out at the end of the day that I’ve attributed is most likely her being overtired. We have a hard time getting her to take naps because she hasn’t loved the crate but are working on it. She sleeps good over night in the crate at least.

    Overall I’m just looking for some validation that we aren’t royally fucking her up, she’s going to be ok, and that these are somewhat normal/typical puppy behaviors? I feel really worried about having a large breed dog that’s in any way aggressive or a bite risk. My other dog is extremely fearful and we can’t have a lot of guests over and can’t do a lot of “normal” dog things with him, but at least I can pick him up and am not worried about him hurting me. I can’t imagine having another reactive/aggressive dog to worry about. Also have never had a puppy this young to know what’s normal or not normal.

    submitted by /u/Pitiful_Remove_1863
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