u/hot-summer77

By “crap” I mean literally crap and non-food items. My 7mo floof is pretty good and trains well, however, she is still a puppy. It’s really only soft fabric items. I’m very glad she doesn’t eat or mess with furniture, but I am distressed over her getting a blockage. I didn’t notice she ate a sock the first time until she passed it and tried to eat it again… she would nab my microfiber towels off the counter so I gave her one to shred. She never tried to swallow it, got over that and doesn’t care for hanging dish towels, but SOCKS and clean undies are an issue. She’s passed three socks and a pair of undies. Again, I didn’t notice, she didn’t make a sound, tummy was soft, still peed and pooped normally and handled it like a tank.

She has a variety of toys and it’s getting better but I pulled my toddlers socks out of her throat today. Socks are not allowed in common areas and she is not allowed in our carpeted bedrooms yet. I do my best in monitoring and missed my daughter taking her socks off for <5min.
She also eats her poop. It’s only when she has an accident inside and not outside so I’m thinking she’s “cleaning”?? She eats Blue Buffalo puppy kibble with occasional add-ins like berries, spinach etc so I don’t think it’s diet related.

Do they age out of this?

Just got my first eye exam with dilation. Turns out I have 20/10 vision, I thought the C was an O and missed one letter on the lowest line. This was also my first exam after being prescribed glasses 2 years ago— felt really cool. Google freaked me out with the possible dilation side effects but I still had full clarity and wasn’t too light sensitive, just felt my eyes trying to “zoom” when reading up close. My prescription is very low, but I appreciate the full clarity as I have myopia.

I feel kinda silly asking this, but I’m a planner. I live in a heavily populated, dry, suburban city. Most of the grass is turf and the landscape is mostly dirt and sparse trees. I’m so tired of looking at dirt / traffic and want to go to a northern city for a weekend relaxation — creek walks, intermediate hikes… (I need to drive a few hours for this as parks are the closest I have to real grass or ponds)

My pup is a 6mo GSD and I’ve have had her since she was 8weeks. This is my first dog as an adult and first time with a large breed. We’ve had our CHALLENGES, but I zoned in on relationship building and training. Things are going really well and I want to take her with. I’m a newbie and am so used to city life that I would like to plan ahead. I’m assuming ticks are gonna be a thing (never saw one in person before). She’s now old enough to use the flea and tick collar I have, do those work? Do I bring a a comb for those “spur” things? We have rattlesnake vaccines, is that a good idea?

I’m trying to build a puppy list and could use some help (maybe I’m overthinking it, but I’d like to be prepared as I’ve been a city mouse for the majority of my life).

I have a travel food/water container, different leashes and a harness. Do I need booties? I’d also like to go paddle boarding but maybe not this trip, does she need a floatie? Halp!!

I’m considering a minor but could also take recommendations as electives. I’m a business major, however, I chose that path as more of a professional/financial decision. Aside from that, I love learning about anthropology, archaeology and exploring the recent -> distant past (humans, lifespans, developments, genetics, “why’s” and “how’s”…) If you have a suggestion or if there was a class that stuck with you, let me know!

Hi, I got a puppy to hopefully train her to be my service animal. She’s a 5mo GSD. She learns commands pretty easy and I’ve been trying to build basics to later use as the foundation for service commands. I can’t afford the $10k+ quotes I’ve received and want to try training her myself.

What I’d like her to do:
My main goal is for mobility support -> if pain is severe, I can stumble or have trouble walking, if she would brace me or let me know when it’s time to take a break, before I get to that point. I would also like for her to retrieve items, household or medical (meds, therapy devices etc).

Additionally, I have low glucose dips (non-diabetic) and if I can train her to smell it and remind me to get something sugary or just bring me a juice box from the fridge, that would be awesome. I also have ADD and will accidentally not notice until I feel like passing out.

I have an idea about how to train these but don’t know exactly. For the glucose, I was thinking of letting her smell low readings, but would I need to train the “alert” first then we introduce the detection?? I know it can take awhile and she might not be the dog to do all I want and that’s ok!! Lastly, shes my first working breed, is this enough of a job for her? When I’m not having flare-ups, we go on long walks and I get her energy out. Is best of both worlds a thing? Where she can still be her energetic, protective self but also my aid when needed?

My 5mo GSD has made my 4yo into her sheep. It’s less of a thing when we’re home and we’ve made great strides in ignoring little kid behavior but, when we’re outside, my daughter is a sheep lol. When we’re on walks the pup won’t take her eyes off her (which I like) but she boops my daughter with her nose and can gently “nip” at her clothes to move her around. She’s never broken skin or left a mark— I trained her bite awareness and annoyance desensitization early. It’s kinda cute/funny since that’s what her breed was designed for and they wear each other out as my daughter isn’t an obedient sheep.

It can be annoying as I like to keep the pup close when outside, but if my daughter isn’t right next to us, she feels the need to corral her, yanking me along the way. She’ll break if I say the command and my daughter isn’t bothered by it... This is my first dog and I haven’t heard anyone else mention this, is it normal?

We’ve had her for 3mo, I don’t try and correct it unless my daughter doesn’t want to play like that.

A week since my last post and I’m back. My 4mo GSD freaks out when leaving our appt. She scratches the floor like she’s about to start a race, barking, wining— just chaos.

Background:
Everything else has been pretty easy to train but this. I’ve tried a slip leash but she doesn’t respond to pressure, just doesn’t care at all so we use a harness (doesn’t care about it either but it’s less stimulating).
She can walk on a leash fine indoors and outdoors. It’s this small breezeway that is a nightmare. She’s not reactive to other people or dogs, just chills unless we’re at the damn door.

I’ve done the “don’t open the door till she’s calm, close it when she’s chaos, reward calm” routine 2-3x a day for 3 weeks and there’s zero improvement. She won’t listen and is just blinded by this hallway horror ghost. I’m desperate and don’t know what to do, I don’t understand why this small space is our issue. It’s a problem when leaving and coming. I’ve played with her to wear her out before leaving, no change. I bring kibble treats, high-reward treats and water with us so there’s nothing she’s really trying to get to upon return…

I have appt pressure for her to be quiet and it’s making me resent her. I tried an open mesh muzzle just for that space and it’s alright. She can still yap so I really want to correct the root issue. My neighbors are dicks and complained about the 2-4 yaps over 10 sec when I would take her out and management sided against us. I think keeping her indoors is wrong and I’m tired of pee pads, I need help… the only other thing I can think of is to finish the “bed” command and try to keep her in a place while the door is open during the day. I live in the desert and don’t really wanna do this but don’t know how else to normalize this space.