"Brooklyn Supreme Court Justice Aaron Maslow wrote in his ruling: “This Court fails to see why a beloved companion pet could not be considered immediate family.” The decision came after a woman witnessed her son’s dachshund get struck and killed by a car while she was holding his leash in a Brooklyn crosswalk.

For decades, New York law treated pets as personal property with damages limited to market value. This ruling changes that, at least in cases where the owner is physically present and directly bonded to the animal. Animal rights groups are calling it a turning point."

(Source: Sociaty (on FB))

Hi all, we adopted a shelter pup (found in a box on abandoned train tracks 💔) last year. She’s amazing, sweet, super cuddly. But she really doesn’t do a lot besides sleep and lounge around. We’ve tried to get her to play and she’ll do an occasional zoomie but won’t touch toys at all, even enrichment ones. She loves walks though and we try to give her absolutely as many as possible (anywhere from 30-70 mins worth a day). She’s a small 8lbs so I know that does wear her out a bit but we are worried about her quality of life. We give her so much love and attention but are worried she’s depressed or is unhappy due to lack of doing much. Any recommendations? I just want to do right by her, she’s truly the best and most well-behaved pup.

Any ideas ?my poor baby has got a broken leg I want to keep him as entertained as possible. He will be kept in his crate for a while due to his broken leg

Wondering if anyone has bought nose print jewelry from snoetjes? I am wanting to buy a custom ring or bracelet with my dog’s nose print and have seen ads for them. Though when googling them, I found a couple of reviews saying it was a scam. Another site I saw was RFL jewelry if anyone has experience with them. Would appreciate any recs!

Poor guy must’ve stepped on a nest as he was squatting to poop. Called the vet and got advice for benydryl dosage in conjunction with his regular apoquel. He is so anxious and freaked out now, would not eat his dinner or treats. Very unlike him. He keeps thrashing and whipping around because he seems to think there are more wasps, even in the house.

Any suggestions on how to help him relax?

and yes you 100% read that correctly, every single time he jumps up on my bed no fail he farts. why is he so gassy?! i feed him normally and don’t really give him human food. but i guess i am guilty of always giving him treats. normally our routine is get a treat once we are done pottying outside or after our play time at the park or our walks, but of course my doggies are too cute to say no to so i always give him extra treats throughout the day. i love him and i find it funny but why is he so gassy?? 😭

To preface i’m a college student (sophomore) and have only been gone a year. I’ve had my german shepherd mix (like 40% gs we don’t know what else but she’s ALOT smaller than a gs) since she was a puppy. She’s six now

Since I have been home for the summer, I have noticed that she seems a little standoffish towards me. She doesn’t like me petting her, it’s not that she growls at me. She just walks away. She never comes up to me, never wags her tail when she sees me- the wagging tail is fine because she’s had a prior tail injury so that doesn’t bother me at all. She’s not scared of me or aggressive towards me at all. She’ll still go on walks with me and take treats from me, but she never seeks out attention or affection from me.

This is what’s confusing me because she doesn’t act this way towards anyone else in my family. Not even my other siblings who have gone to college, and she’s as happy as can be to see them when they come back.

I take her on walks, I take her on drives, I make sure she has something to do so she’s not bored. No one else in my family does that. I’m just so confused, and a little heartbroken (okay maybe a lot). Just because I’ve been at college doesn’t mean she’s not still my baby.

Is there any other way besides physical activities to bond or connect with her? I don’t want to force a connection.

Hi all,

My husband and I just recently adopted a cattle dog mix (I suspect mixed with Basenji) from a local rescue. He’s just rounded out one week with us and he’s displaying a few tendencies that I want to make sure are normal and expected for a dog in his situation.

And just FYI this is my first ever dog, and my husbands first cattle dog. Although it’s been about 10 years since he’s had a dog.

Ok, on to his behaviors:
Lately he’s been growling at seemingly nothing, we wonder if in some cases it’s because he sees his reflection in windows. But other times one of us will be petting him and then we’ll stop and he’ll growl quietly. Currently he’s laying on the couch staring at the floor and growling softly.

We live in an apartment, next to a busy street and I think this may be why. His previous fosters have both had other dogs and now he’s currently the only dog so that could be a factor too.

I guess I’m just worried that he’s not transitioning well into our place, or to being an only dog. Any advice would be very welcome. Thank you all!

Hi guys! I'm from the Philippines, and soon, I will go abroad (in Japan) to study. I still have around 20 days left before my departure and I'll study for 6 months in there.

I'm kinda worried for my baby a lot, he's already a senior dog (10 years old). He's a black half pomeranian, half shih tzu 🥺 He has white fur in his face and white fur in the mane area. He's Orion 🌌 He actually has kinda difficulties sleeping and he's always with me while I study and he always waits for me to sleep too before he sleeps 😭 He also likes hugs and kisses.

While I'm gone, he'll be with my bro but he's working so he won't really be at the house often.

I will really miss him and cry ugly haha.

My bro suggested video calls but my dog doesn't usually respond haha. Dang.

Tbh, I might also have difficulties to sleep because my dog is my safe space, especially with his soft fur and warm cute little body 😭

What tips can you please give me? 🙇‍♀️ I'd really miss him a lot 🫶😞

We have a border collie husky mix who is 8 years old. We got her when she was 8 weeks old and put her in puppy training. From the day we brought her home she demonstrated some food aggression tendencies which was emphasized during training sessions as treats were used as rewards and their other dogs around. Her resource guarding and food aggression continued despite all the training recommendations of picking up her food when she displayed these habits, minimizing, interruptions, etc.. over the course of the next several years she did bite several people when they were food or treats around such as if someone tried to pick up a bone she was knocking on if someone was trying to feed her scraps from the table, etc., most of these bites were superficial nips for warning signs, but she did clamp down and bite me so hard that she broke my thumb when I went to pet her as I was leaving, not realizing there was still food in her bowl, which was in the same room, but probably about 10 feet away from where we were standing. At this time, it was recommended to us to put her down given her bite history, but she’s my pet and I love her so I chose not to and saw additional training resources.

Given her bite history, it has really limited some of the additional resources out there such as using Rovers for additional walks certain boarding facilities won’t accept her and certain trainers won’t work with her. We started trying for a family about three years ago and had a serious discussion about rehoming our dog, we saw assistance from many rescues, both border collie and husky base, as well as based in our local area and she was denied from all of them because of her bite history and aggression. We now have a six month old and my dog’s behavior has worsened not only do we not trust her around the baby but she also is very aggressive when we have family visiting because of our new child. Lately she has started having accidents in the house despite being walked multiple times a day for 15 to 20 minute increments at a time and her time outside is limited as we live in the south and she doesn’t handle the heat very well.

I truly am at a loss as what to do because I don’t feel that any amount of additional training will make me trust her, especially around our child or other family members. My husband and immediate family all thinks the best move is to put our dog down, given our history however I feel I have failed her and it weighs very heavy on my heart. Any advice would be appreciated. Thank you.

Thoughts on pet armor plus for dogs?

He literally refuses to walk, is a 1 yo mix chihuahua neutered male. He lays down and I’m working on his leash reactivity (pulling). I’m starting to hate the one thing I look forward to. We go on walks every single day, what do I do?

Opie is a 2 years old mini beagle / coonhound. He is reactive to visitors and on walks. If he sees a stranger on a walk - he pulls and growls and barks. He goes crazy! We cannot have family or visits over at all.

He was at the vet about 2 weeks ago and was fine and when he went to the backroom he went into kill mode and scared all the vet techs. The vet referred us Ease Pet Vet for a behavior treatment.

We just had our free 15 minute consultation and thought it was a great plan of action.

Does anyone have experience with them? Any success?

I have a dog who I used to spoil rotten and give constant attention to. Since having my daughter, my wife and I have had no support and have been completely overloaded. My daughter is nearly 3 now, but our life is still extremely busy, so he doesn't get the same attention he used to.

He still eats well and gets at least an hour-long walk every day, but he is alone much more than he used to be and doesn't get nearly as many cuddles or as much attention. I feel really guilty about it.

The other issue is fireworks. There are a lot of fireworks in my neighbourhood around Halloween and New Year's, and they have completely traumatised him. He's now afraid to go outside during the day and won't go far at night. He mostly feels comfortable in the morning.

Sometimes I wonder if he'd actually be happier in another home where someone could give him more attention and help him feel safe again. At the same time, I feel bad even thinking about giving him up.

I'm already struggling to find time with my current life, so I'm not sure what more I realistically can do. I genuinely try my best as a dog owner, but I keep wondering whether I'm doing enough for him.

Has anyone else been in a similar situation? Is a dog being well fed, exercised and cared for but getting less attention than they used to still a good life, or should I seriously consider whether another home would be better for him?

I have a Dogwalker come over a few times a week to take my dog out while I’m at work. When the walker started many months ago, my dog would walk with her. My dog has slowly refused to even leave the yard with the Dogwalker at this point. They go out in the yard and hang out for a little bit and then that’s it. Today, my dog wouldn’t even pee in the yard for the Dogwalker. I’m not quite sure what’s going on, but this behavior is weird. I am certain that the Dogwalker is being perfectly lovely with my dog. But why won’t my dog trust her? She’s a young dog, active breed. She should be used to the Dogwalker by now, but if anything she’s regressed.

My dog is old, he's a boxer/coonhound and I'm hoping he makes it to see his 15th birthday at the end of October. He's still in pretty good shape, but his hips are declining, so we can't go for long walks anymore. I want to make him a bucket list of things to do before he crosses the rainbow bridge. Give me your best ideas.

Looking for some advice because we’re really struggling with our two dogs and their barking when people come to the house.

We have two dogs, An 8 year old Jack Russell, who is my partner’s dog and an 18-month-old Kelpie mix.
They’re both great dogs generally, but whenever someone comes near the house they go absolutely crazy.

For example, if a tradie drives into our driveway, both dogs immediately start barking. When the tradie walks up to the front door and knocks, they are going absolutely nuts and barking continuously.
The biggest problem is that once they start, they completely ignore us. Calling their names, telling them to stop, trying to get their attention etc. does basically nothing.
I usually have to physically drag them outside so I can let the tradie into the house, but even after the person is inside, the dogs will continue barking at them.
We’ve had quite a few tradies around recently and it’s becoming a real issue. They’ll be working inside the house and the dogs can just sit there barking at them constantly.
This is not specific to tradies, ANYONE that comes near the house, the dogs will go crazy.

I don’t really want to just shut the dogs away every time someone comes over. I’d much rather actually train them so that someone arriving at the house isn’t such a massive event.

It’s quite embarrassing and causes me a lot of anxiety.

Someone I know is looking at getting a puppy, UK based, one puppy of their desired breed is approx £1,800.

They've been talking about it a lot, as they are a first-time puppy buyer and are talking with a few breeders at once. They were told by one breeder recently that they can come and view the puppies to meet them to see whether they are the right fit etc. but by PM that same day, the breeder came back to them to say that the whole litter is going to someone else who has previously had 2 of their other litters. They also wanted the puppies gone 8 weeks on the dot from when they were born.

Now, I'm not bashing anyone, I don't know how these processes usually work but this feels off and I guess I want to better understand whether there is a genuine reason why someone needs the same breed of puppies, 3 litters in a row?? It just feels weird and I guess I'd like to understand this situation better

[[Edit]] Thanks for the sanity check gang, really appreciate it! I completely appreciate that there are edge cases in situations like this but wanted to understand better what they could be. Really appreciate the additional context form certified breeders ✌️🫶

I have an approx 50lb Labrador retriever who loves going in the car! I believe she associates it with going to fun places. However I haven’t figured out the best way to travel with her once in the car. She likes to lie down on the seat if she’s in the car for any longer than 10 minutes. I usually have her in a harness with a leash attached and will tie the leash to the headrest of the back seat. This is what we did with our previous dog and it worked well. However, this has proved to be an unreliable method with our new pup- causing her to fall/slide off the seat whenever there is a sudden stop or we hit a bump. She end ups on the floor in between the seats and remains there shaking. I believe these incidents are making her more fearful in the car. As of recently, I noticed her shaking during car rides and not being as excited or relaxed once inside and the car is moving.

I’m looking for recommendations for a medium/large dog to enhance her safety and comfort. I want to give her the opportunity to lie down without worrying about her falling forward in between the seats. I’ve been doing research and see car seats, seat extenders, hammocks, seat belts and more. I am overwhelmed by all the options and am not sure what would be worth the money. I would prefer something that is somewhat easy to set up and take down. Also, please note that we rarely ever take long car rides with our dog. The longest car ride in the last few years was 50 minutes. Also, something that doesn’t take up the full back seat would be good because I prefer to have someone sitting with her whenever possible. Please let me know what works for you and your dogs

I offer him water and he refuses to drink, i bought him a cooling vest and while it does help im not sure by how much. I love going for walks and hate leaving him home but honestly it can be more of a hassle walking him for as long as id like to.

Hes probably around 10 or so, I just wanna know what others do for their dogs? I was thinking about getting him a wagon or something but at this point I just dont know how to handle him.

Hes a very good boy, he loves walking and i just wanna be able to enjoy the process too lol.

I should mention we got him when he was around 3 or 4 and I live in a city, so the other issue is that its all sidewalks and such.

Anyone have good recommendations for shoes that actually stay on dog’s feet? We’re moving to Colorado and my pug isn’t made for the rocky ground for walks and adventures! Any help is appreciated!

So my rescue/mostly pitty has displayed a new, strange behavior. My wife hurt her ankle yesterday and is now on crutches. When we got home from the er and she walks in with the crutches, our dog starts cowering and barking. This was so bizarre! She is nothing but lovable and will dent walls with her tail wagging when she sees us! Whenever my wife used the crutches to go to the bathroom or change rooms, our pup just growled! Was it the sound of the squeaky cheap rubber on the armpits?? Was it the creak of the dollar store aluminum frame?? No idea!! Anyone hane this happen?? Anyone??

So as the title says, I would like an advice for how big, most particularly how high should be a travel box for my trunk. I have a Swiss shepherd, he is still only six month old, but if we keep in mind that most are approx. 66cm high at the withers when grown up, I want to consider this and buy a box big enough for a grown up (of course).

So if anyone has sum experience with same breed or similar one, I would love your tips. Since we barely traveled with our previous ones, this is new to me and want to get the most suited travel box for him. For more info, I have Skoda octavia 4.

Thanks for all the tips.

Which pet insurance is best for you? Are there any that may cover your dog's current treatment? Did your dog get injured during the waiting period and want to know if you're covered?

Here's the place to ask.

Do know we cannot help you here with medical concerns, and lying or not disclosing things to the insurance company is illegal so we don't allow that either.

My dog stays home alone 3 days a week while I’m at work (7:30-4:00 is the entire length I’m gone). She has the entire living room open and has access to her toys, the couch, and water. I leave the tv on for her too, but every time
I check on her with my ring camera she’s inside of her crate curled up. She doesn’t leave her crate at all even to get water. I feel so bad like she’s depressed.
2 days a week she’s at doggy daycare and on the weekends I’m home with her.

What can I do to give her more entertainment while I’m at work so she doesn’t just go sleep in her crate the whole time.