u/sheeeeelby

My lab/rottweiler mix loves to try to hunt bugs. Normally, I try to discourage this behavior because I don’t want him to get stung by anything. He does occasionally catch and kill flies if they get into the house. He doesn’t seem to want to eat bugs, he just enjoys the hunt and the kill. In my area, there’s an infestation of invasive lantern-flies. Since my dog enjoys hunting bugs and ecologists are encouraging people to squash these bugs, would it be bad for my dog if I let him chase and kill these bugs? Do these bugs have any toxins that might harm my dog? Will letting my dog chase only these specific bugs make his prey drive worse/encourage him to go after other types of bugs? Thanks!

Starting today, my dog began whimpering when standing up. He’s an 85lb lab/rottweiler mix. Unsure of his exact age, but he’s less than 6 years old. I leave for vacation early on Monday morning and am supposed to drop him off at his boarding place tomorrow afternoon. Should I take him to the emergency vet tonight or just wait and see if he gets better over the week? His normal vet won’t be open until Monday morning. He is eating/drinking/pooping/peeing normally. His activity level is the same. He’s just occasionally yelping when he moves his hip. He’s had no falls or mechanical injuries that I’ve witnessed. What do I do??

I adopted my adult, male, lab mix about 6 months ago. The shelter said he was great with people. Everyone that I’ve had him meet, he’s absolutely loved. He is a very sweet and affectionate dog to almost everyone. But, twice now, we’ve been on a walk and passed by people who have stopped abruptly, froze and tensed up upon seeing him. This has triggered him into growling and lunging! He has never acted aggressively towards anyone except for these two people. How do I fix this? I’ve been working on muzzle training him since this last incident, but I’d like advice on how to modify his behavior and prevent it from happening again.

I’m glad that Jules rejected Rue. Her choosing to reject Rue was probably the smartest thing she could’ve done for herself. Rue has done nothing but cause problems for herself and her friends. I mean, Rue nearly ruined her relationship with her sugar daddy. Not that that relationship is necessarily healthy, but at least she’s safe and has her basic needs. She’s not owned by a drug lord/pimp, like Maddie is now.

I adopted an 85lb, adult, male lab/rottie mix from the shelter a few months ago who is reactive on leash and has pretty poor leash manners. I’ve been working with a balanced trainer and his behavior on leash has significantly improved. I use a hermspringer prong collar and a bag of training treats when I take him on walks. I live in an apartment with my partner, so walking is his only real form of exercise and enrichment outside. Anyway, when I walk with my dog, whenever he makes eye contact with me, he gets a treat. As I said, his manners on leash have improved, so on good days, he sometimes gets a treat every few steps. This has been great for positive reinforcement, but not so great for his diet. I mix his training treats with kibbles, so he’s not exclusively getting fattening treats, but he becomes uninterested when the kibble-to-treat ratio is too high. I fear that this method of training is not going to be good for his health/weight, especially since his breed mix is predisposed to developing joint problems in later adulthood. Is what I’m doing appropriate? Am I rewarding him too much? Am I rewarding him at the wrong time? Will he ever be able to ween from the amount of treats he gets on walks?