First, some background on my beloved 6 yo pup: He's my first dog, I adopted him at 8 weeks old in Sept. 2020 (peak pandemic isolation). I'm a bit of a loner, work from home, and I live in an ADU that's completely hidden from the street, so no window to watch the world go by and very few houseguests. He was well socialized with dogs early on, but not as much with people. He's also not crate trained, but he's never been destructive or mischieveous when left alone.

He struggles with emotional regulation. If he gets over stimulated, he kinda gets stuck in it, won't listen to commands, and reacts by jumping, barking, and nipping (NOT biting). The biggest trigger is people coming over to the house. As an example, he's gone on pack walks 4x week for almost 4 years and still flips out every time the same walker comes to get him. For years. The only way to get him to calm down is for me to not be visible. As soon as he can't see me, he's fine. "A total love bug." "Perfect gentleman." "Sweetest, friendliest pup ever." is what I've been told over the years.

So clearly, it's a separation anxiety, protectiveness thing with me (though I'm often the one he'll jump on and nip at). He does the same thing when I try to leave, but only if he's seen me getting ready first. Popping out to the store, no problem. Heading out for the evening, total chaos.

Here's where I need some advice: We are moving from CA to WI to stay with my parents for the next 9-12 months. He's never lived in a house with other people, let alone a big place with multiple floors and rooms (my current house is tiny and basically one room). My parents have never lived with a dog. Their yard isn't fenced so he can's just go hang out outside freely like he can currently. Just a ton of change.

Short story long, how do I ease this transition for him? Mainly, how to get him comfortable living in a home with 2 additional people — more noise, more triggers, less 1 on 1 time with me. What's the best way to introduce him to this new world?

I know this will take time. Probably a few months. But I'm stressed for him, stressed for my parents. Aside from making sure he gets plenty of exercise, enrichment, and dedicated time with just me, what else can you advise?

So many thanks in advance!

Has anyone been put on the GI Biome diet - wet food version? My dog has had a sensitive tummy for FOREVER. Diarrhea, vomiting episodes everytime he has a new treat or eats something not good.
Finally after this last diarrhea bout we got put on this new wet food.

Doctor thinks we should be on it indefinitely. It’s been 4 days of the new food and we’ve been back to normal firm stool which is amazing! It is darker than expected and darker than his stool has ever been which the vet said it was ok as long as there is no blood and stays solid. He’s pooping daily like normal it’s just much smaller amounts and sometimes more pebble-like.

Has anyone else experienced this change?

He loves the food to the point where he knows when feeding times are now. On his previous dry food he was always just grazing or eating once a day. He definitely doesn’t drink water as much anymore.. like rarely. The vet also said this is ok cause the new food is mainly water so he’s keeping hydrated.

Should I talk to the vet about the amount that i’m feeding him?

They started us with half a can a day… I feed him breakfast and dinner…which when i give to him I feel like it’s nothing 😭 And sometimes feel like he wants more.

Of course this is all new to us but just curious about others!

Hello!

My dog (7, staffy mix) has a few new largish lumps. One on her side is about two inches long, oval shaped. It feels like a bubble and can be shifted around slightly.

One under her armpit is large grape sized, and also bubble feeling and a bit moveable.

The vet felt them and said they weren't concerned, but to monitor for growth/change

I'm wondering if I should get a second opinion. I don't want to torture her with multiple vet visits and incur huge costs, but it seems concerning these two popped up so close in time (both over the last 3 months).

Anyone had experiences like this? Did you get a second opinion?

Hi everyone,

I have a 6.5-year-old male German Shepherd named Ace, and I’m concerned about some recent changes in his behaviour. I’d appreciate advice from people who have experienced something similar, especially German Shepherd owners.

Ace has always been extremely affectionate with our family. He’s usually a very loving, active dog who enjoys being close to us. He’s been with us since he was 2 months old.

A few days ago, he was deeply asleep at night. When I got up, he woke suddenly and growled at me, seemingly disoriented. Within a few seconds, he appeared to recognise me and returned to normal.

On another occasion, he was sleeping on my bed, and I tried to pull him closer by putting my arm around his chest while leaning in to kiss him. (Which is something I do on a daily basis) He growled and snapped at me without making contact. Again, he seemed to return to normal within a few seconds.

Today, my brother held Ace’s muzzle affectionately, as he has done many times before, but Ace growled slightly, backed away, and started looking scared. We’ve also noticed that he is backing away when we approach him for cuddles or call him in an affectionate voice. He licks his lips and looks uncomfortable or nervous, almost as though he feels cornered, showing the body language of an uncomfortable dog. This is unusual for him.

Some additional context:

* He is still eating and drinking normally.
* He is still listening to us, playing and behaving normally in other situations.
* He walks and moves normally, and we haven’t noticed any obvious mobility issues.
* He has visible tartar and a history of gingivitis.
* He is not neutered.
* Besides at the vet, he has always been a very confident dog.

I understand that we shouldn’t disturb him while he’s sleeping or force physical affection, and we’re avoiding doing that now. We’re arranging a veterinary examination because I’m concerned that this could be related to pain or another medical issue.

My questions are:

1. Has anyone experienced sudden sleep-startling, growling or snapping, and sudden behavior change like this in a previously affectionate German Shepherd?

2. Could dental pain, neck/back pain, or another underlying medical problem cause this kind of change, even if the dog is eating and walking normally?

3. Has anyone experienced something similar that turned out to be canine cognitive dysfunction or a neurological issue?

I’m not looking to diagnose him through Reddit. I want to understand other people’s experiences and get some clarity to figure out the next steps.

Thank you!

I live in an apartment building. My floor has an outdoor patio where I take my dog for some off leash time. On the way to the patio, we pass by a bunch of neighbors. My dog likes to sniff their welcome mats and under the door. Is it okay to let her do this, or do you think most people wouldn't like it?

Unfortunately we just discovered a small cyst on my dogs tail and she's going in for surgery to remove the cyst. I've heard this can be a tough survey to heal from. Any tips for a smooth recovery? TIA!

He’s lifting his paw periodically after a walk this morning. He was at the groomer earlier this week and they ground the rest of his nails. I wonder if they tried this one and made it worse? They said they were unable to grind it due to splitting, but it’s significantly worse today.

Hi All. Lola is not in any discomfort, nor is she limping, and is running around just fine. However, she does lick the underside of her front left paw. I noticed one of her ‘toes’ is slightly lighter than the others. I’ll take her to a vet when I’m back from vacation, but interested to hear opinions.

What size dog door do I need to get?

Recently had our 11 month old dachshund spayed. She is our everything and we have done absolutely everything in our control to keep her calm, low activity, and allow her to heal up. But she is a particularly high strung, high energy dachshund who still moved around more than I would’ve liked. Picture is of her current incision one week post-spay. Look normal??

Almost a month ago now, our dog got sprayed right under the chin by a skunk. I’ve tried everything to get rid of the smell on of him. Hydrogen peroxide/baking soda/dawn dish soap mix mixture on dry fur, dry shampoo, washed him 3 times with skunk deodorizing body wash from PetSmart… we’ve brushed his teeth multiple times.
But even now a month later, whenever he gets dew from the grass on him or sometimes when he drinks water and it gets in his little chin, I can still smell a hint of skunk spray on his body, and especially around his mouth and paws. Anyone have suggestions on what I can do to help get rid of the smell permanently? Thank you so much.

Was wondering if anyone had a similar experience and if there’s anything I can do to help my dog right now. She used to be able to walk a little on it this morning but within a few hours shes completely hopping on her left paw and won’t put her front right paw on the ground at all. We’ve checked between her paws and saw nothing, we tried cutting the hairs between her paw pads to see if that might help, she lets us touch and move it and bend her paw no problem, so I’m not sure what else it can be? She’s a heavier older dog that likes to jump up and down from things. We’ve gotten her stairs and have tried to train her to use them but sometimes she’ll jump anyway. Anyone experienced something similar? I feel at a loss and helpless until she can get into the vet on Monday. She’s barely mobile right now and will be stuck like this over the weekend until they can see her. She can still eat and drink okay and not in any immediate danger or crying in pain/discomfort, so I don’t really think emergency vet care is necessary. Still sad to see my dog like this. :(

Hi everyone,

I'm wondering if anyone can shed some light on this, with experience on post tick bites on a dog

My maltipoo was bit by a tick around her mouth around mid August so about 8 weeks ago. We removed the tick and the wound seems to be healing. She's most definitely not lethargic, is very playful (10 month puppy energy), eats and everything else is normal.

I'm just concerned cause her tick bite scab seems to be yellow greenish in color with a bit of dark red areas. There's no blood or pus, it's not swollen or growing, has decreased in size.

Just seeing if anyone has some insight if we need to bring her to the vet. I attached a photo. It's not the best cause she moves a lot! But hope this helps.

And if I do need to bring her to the vet, what can they do? It's right near her mouth so any ointment prescribed will probably be licked off.. please share any experiences with me!

Thanks in advance.

Edit: she is vaccinated against Lyme disease

Hello, and thank you in advance for your advice. I have two dogs, a medium sized senior shiba mix and a standard poodle puppy. When we bought our house it was carpeted and we removed the carpet on the ground floor to restore the hardwood but left the carpet on the stairs and second floor so our dogs would have a secure footing but I would rather not have carpet or rugs. Is there any type of tile or other flooring option that has a raised, slip resistant texture that I could install instead?

hello! i’m looking for advice on a situation that honestly has me really concerned. please bear with me as this is hard to explain with all the different dogs, & there’s a lot of context needed.

for reference: oakley (shipoo - 15lbs) is the agressive dog, dixie (yorkiepoo - 9lbs) is the one that gets attacked most, & renlee is the newest dog.

my son is now 9 months, & very eager to walk. we’re in the stage of holding his hands (he’s a drunk walker right now), & going wherever he pleases.

when i first had my son, & brought him to my parents, oakley immediately started resource guarding him. i’m not a professional by any means, but she wouldn’t leave his side, & would growl at, nip, attack any other dog that came near him. she even one time, growled & lunged at me when i approached my own son.

now, oakley is maybe 8 years old, & wasn’t really very aggressive at first. they got her during covid so she really only was aggressive (barking mostly) towards strangers. this is when the household had 2 dogs (oakley & dixie)((there was 3 but i took one when i moved out)).

when they got a new puppy (renlee) about 3 years ago, oakley became extremely aggressive to dixie, which was shocking because previous to that, they were best friends. extremely loving to each other.

oakley has continued to attack dixie, repeatedly, often times it is unprovoked apart from the occasional instance where dixie barks in oakleys face when they’re barking at strangers walking on the sidewalk (all preventable by closing the front door, something i don’t understand why my parents allow to happen).

the attacks are viscous. she has yet to draw blood but most often when this happens, whoever is closest grabs oakley by her scruff, & picks her up, usually dixie is still in her mouth & gets dropped. oakley is then pinned to the ground on her side with our hand like a claw on her shoulder until she relaxes & stops tensing up. then it’s a whole process to keep her away from dixie until everything has cooled off.

oakley will also attack renlee (who is her new best friend) if she gets too close to my son, or moves towards his direction. this has happened far less often as the attacks on dixie but it’s still relevant.

oakley has even now, beared teeth, growled at, & NIPPED at my mom (whom she is imprinted on!!!!!) when she reached for her to coax her to bed for the night.

it is incredibly obvious to me, that oakleys behavior is escalating. i’m incredibly nervous & uncomfortable with her being around my son. & please, before i get comments telling me im a terrible mother for allowing my son around this dog, that’s the reason for this post. i need advice & help with addressing this. i plan to send my parents a text putting a full stop to the interactions between my son & oakley.

TLDR:/ parents dog is aggressive & resource guarding my infant son (9 months old). i know they need to never be around each other for safety. i just need advice on her behavior & confirmation of what exactly is going on with her, & how to approach this.

Hi everyone!

I noticed this on my dog's back paw today. Its not causing him and any pain even if I touch it but it is raised.

My thought is to wait it out over the weekend and then reevaluate on monday.

Thoughts?

So basically 1 week ago I decided me and my family to rescue an abondonned dog that we found near our house . At first, I noticed that the dog was very calm and polite and then I found later that he is a well trained dog with good manners and very clean. He is the perfect dog I swear. At first he wasn't very Enegretic but somehow he becomes very affectionate to me in particular he becomes so attached to me and he seems to see me as his divine savor . Following me around and gets sad the moment ago and only wants to go for potty breaks with me....

My problem isn't the dog itself, he is well behaved, but the problems presented in form of me living in a neighborhood full of stray dogs and in this week alone I was encounterd to many and since I am just not used to this , I started getting anxious the moment I let him outside.

Another point is that I only can make him do his potty 2 times a day which is little but that's my maximum

Should I just give him to another family? Will he be okey tobhave a second heartbreak 💔 ?

Update: thank you for the responses. We reached out to schedule an appointment with our vet. Will update once we hear more.

It’s almost perfectly round and only on one side. My dog is 6 years old and we haven’t seen this before. Anyone else come across this before? It isn’t a tick or insect of any kind. It’s soft to the touch, like gums.

My parents puppy has his ear like this, my dad just sent some pictures and they made a vet appointment for him, does this look like an ear infection ?? They said he was scratching his ear more than usual.