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If your puppy sleeps the recommended amount and is crate trained well, that means you have about 5 hours of awake time with your puppy everyday. That makes it a part time job, except worse because it doesn’t count the 1-2 bathroom breaks you need to take your puppy out for in the middle of the night.

If you don’t have time for part time job on top of your real full time job… Well…

What the title says. We can walk 2 hrs in the morning/early afternoon, he will clearly search for a place to poop but just doesn't. His poop is very good in color and consistency and when he does poop it comes out easily, so I know it's not about a physical issue. Also if he is off-leash, he will poop every time (but I can't keep him off-leash most mornings in the city).

I just feel bad for him having to hold poop for hours just because he is so picky, but obviously I just don't have 3 hrs every morning to walk him. Also it seems like he can only use the same place to poop a few times until it expires and then he can't use it for weeks.

I know for someone this doesn't sound that bad, but I want my dogs to be comfortable and holding your poop doesn't sound very comfortable to me 🙁 I just don't know what to do. Our other dog just poops when she has to, I don't understand why he is so picky when he clearly needs to poop.

Sigh. Please tell me someone has been in this situation and figured a way to help?

TL;DR: I’ve always had a greyhound, including when my partner and I met. I now feel ready to adopt again. I’ve even found the perfect rescue greyhound. My partner suddenly doesn’t want a dog and can’t explain why beyond vague reasons, even though I did all the care previously. I’m lonely at home and miss having a dog deeply. If I adopt, he may resent it; if I don’t, I’m giving up something core to who I am for no clear reason. Not sure what to do.

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My partner and I have been together for 3 years and live together. When we met and for most of our relationship, I already had my own greyhound — he was my absolute soul dog. I now feel ready to open my heart again.

I’m incredibly passionate about rescuing ex-racing greyhounds here in Australia. There is such a huge need, and anyone who has ever loved a greyhound knows how gentle, cuddly, goofy, and sensitive they are. I work from home two days a week, I’m home every weekend, and it’s honestly lonely and quiet without a dog. My partner works six days a week out of home, so he’s barely here during the day.

With my soul dog, I took care of almost everything — walks, feeding, medication, cuddles, the lot. My partner would help sometimes, but as most greyhound owners know, they’re incredibly low-maintenance dogs. And it was never an issue. He loved my dog too.

Recently, after looking at reputable greyhound rescues, I found a dog that feels like the perfect match — 4 years old, low-energy, no injuries or anxiety, an absolute sweetheart. One short walk a day is all he needs. We went to meet him, and honestly, we both really liked him.

For context, my partner is otherwise incredibly loving, caring, supportive, and level-headed. We have a very strong relationship, communicate well, and he’s usually very fair and reasonable. That’s part of why this is throwing me — this reaction feels out of character for him. He isn’t someone who makes decisions from emotion or fear, and he’s not usually rigid about things. But now… he has suddenly put his foot down.

He keeps saying it’s “not the right time,” “too soon,” “the dog is too big,” etc. But none of these reasons truly make sense, because a greyhound was already part of my life when we met and for most of our relationship (we live together now). Nothing about the lifestyle or dog size is new. And he can’t actually articulate what’s different now — just that he isn’t keen and it’s too soon.

He says I can make whatever decision I want, but that feels like a trap — if I go ahead, I risk resentment. If I don’t, I’m the only one sitting alone in a quiet house, missing something that has always been a huge part of who I am.

It feels unfair that he can just say no without a clear, rational reason, especially when this was part of my life from the beginning. I’m trying to respect him, but I also feel like I’m shrinking myself down to keep the peace.

So I don’t know what to do. Adopt the dog at the risk of resentment? Or give up something deeply important to me without any real explanation?

Edit: he has said maybe next year we will be “ready” and it’ll be a better time. But won’t explain why need to wait. For me, if we will adopt one anyway, why not just now when we found the perfect one? I know there could be more suitable dogs in the future, but it makes no sense why we have to wait. He did love my previous greyhound but not in the way I did.

Hey there, first time posting here. I brought home my Japanese Spitz puppy about 4 days ago (she's 11 weeks old), and I adore her. But I'm so tired and overwhelmed and could use some advice and help.

I absolutely adore her, I put so much research into her breed, her breeder, etc., but I'm just struggling.

Potty training is tough. I take her out often, but lately she won't go outside and will just go once I put her back in her play area. I use deodoriser and cleaner to make sure the smell doesn't stick around, but I'm not quite sure what to do. Whenever she goes to the toilet outside I praise her thoroughly, but I'm not sure if this is just the current phase she's in and she'll grow out of it, or if there's something else I could do?

Every night she goes to bed in her crate. I try to make it a fun, happy safe space for her. I cover it, there's a couple chew toys for her in there, a snuggle toy that smells like her mum, a blanket and a yummy chew. She'll whine for a bit once she's been put in her crate but will eventually settle. However, in the mornings once she knows I'm awake/it's morning she will bark/howl incessantly. I try to wait for her to be quiet before letting her out, but she gets so hyper and gets so, so loud and excited to be let out, even though I try to keep it calm and boring.

She usually has accidents in her crate over night too. And I do the same thing I mentioned earlier, but it tends to happen every night regardless. I don't get mad/frustrated with her, because I know she's only small and can't control her bladder much, but I really want to do the right thing.

Shes a little white fluffy thing, and whilst I bought a bunch of different types of brushes for her coat, I've ended up just using a rubber brush (same one I use for my double coated cat) as it seems to bother her less. Even still, brushing her at the moment is getting a couple strokes in while she's distracted. Not the finest work but at the moment it's the best I can manage. She also gets quite annoyed with me when I try and clean her paws up after being outside. I'm Australian, so we have a lot of prickles and dirt outside. Her coat doesn't get dirty so much, but I try and wipe down her paws and she is not a fan of it. Im trying to desensitise her to having her body checked over (ears, nose, eyes, teeth, tail, paws included) and treating her when she lets me, but I'm not sure if there's anything better I could do?

Will it get better? Is there anything else I can try to do differently? I know I've only had her 4 days and she's likely still settling, but I just want to give her the best chance of success I can. I want to do dog sports and lots of advanced training with her as she gets older, so I want to do everything I can.

Thanks!

For those who’ve raised puppies, I’m curious about your socialization timeline.

At what age did you start introducing your pup to:

New people Other dogs Different environments Various sounds, surfaces, and experiences

And how did you do all of this safely before full vaccinations? Did you use controlled meet-ups, stroller outings, carrying them outdoors, puppy classes, or mostly indoor exposures?

My dog, whom I adopted from the street almost two years ago and who has never shown signs of aggression before—except for growling at another dog if it comes near his food—bit me on the nose last night. He sleeps on my pillow, and I often wake up during the night and turn to the other side, which wakes him up or moves him. Last night I did the same, and he growled and snapped at my face three times. I would think he was asleep and not aware of what he was doing, but he did it three times, not just once. He didn’t break the skin, but my nose is red and sore. I’m pregnant and we’re having a baby soon, and this really worries me. Please give me advice and an explanation for why he did this.

My Staffy needs to bite on a toy when people come in the house because of excitement, otherwise he’ll nip. He’s learned to get his toy so he doesn’t end up hurting anyone, but I’m wondering if this is common.

My 9 year old yorkie use to sleep at my feet or in the nook of my knees. If it’s too cold for him he’ll still sleep there but under the covers. I sleep right by the edge of the bed. Lately he’s been pushing his way in to sleep in between me and the edge of the bed. It started a month ago. Initially he did it in the morning after his early morning potty break. Now he does it at night sometimes. It’s not necessarily a problem, other than it makes it hard to access my nightstand. I’m just curious why he would start doing this now. There have been no change in circumstances (people, location). Thoughts?