r/GerberianShepsky

I can’t even believe I’m writing this but we just lost Belle after a 24 hour illness. She was only 17 weeks old. They think it may have been from eating toxic mushrooms. She had a mildly positive test. She developed liver failure all of a sudden and we had to put her to sleep today because she was declining so rapidly and horribly. 

We don’t even know for sure it was mushrooms and we really don’t think she got into anything else on the list. We live in the woods and we do have mushrooms in the winter but I don’t know what kind and I don’t see any around currently. She has eaten leaves and acorns and even a banana slug despite our efforts but I’m not aware of her finding any mushrooms. We almost always had her on leash to keep her from eating everything in sight. I do wonder if we weren’t keeping up with her appetite. The vet had mentioned the possibility of a congenital liver shunt causing this which would also have caused a big appetite and her being on the thin side but we will never know. Maybe I should have been feeding her more so she didn’t eat other random things. I thought she was just being a puppy. 

We lost our 9 year old dog Shadow a couple of months ago to cancer and then got Belle. We are devastated. We really wanted to do all kinds of things with her. I’m not sure I can ever get another dog even though I was so sure when we got Belle. I’m in total shock. I can’t even believe this happened. 

I feel so guilty. What if I could have done better?

Just about lost my mind when I stumbled across this sub. This is my angel baby Kaizer.

If a treat is split in half, is it still just one treat? Or is it two?

This futon thing is in the “cat room” and she’s decided that today is the day she identifies as a feline 🐕 🐈‍⬛

We got Kodiak during a very painful period of loss of our Basque shepherd Brooklyn. She immediately filled the gaping hole as best she could. She now reigns as alpha (who are we kidding, she was boss from the jump). In a crazy house filled with 2 street dogs and 2 doodles, she keeps them all in check.

It’s my first time having a German Shepherd Siberian husky mix puppy of eight months. I love that she just likes to lay in the hot sun on her grass. It’s so cute. I’m sure the neighbors are freaking out.

(For context, I live in a large multi-generational family compound with lots of greenery in a Southeast Asian country. Space for dogs is not an issue; my issue is mostly emotional/mental burnout.)

>TLDR: Family member brought home a second, untrained Shepsky who is pushy, demanding, killed chickens, and invades my gentle Shepsky’s space. I'm tired of acting as his default primary caretaker and feeling guilty for not liking him.

I’ll cut to the chase. I already have a 10-month-old Shepsky (Rambo) that a family member brought home (when he was 5 months), and it fell on me to take care of him.

I love him to bits; he’s very well-behaved, mild-mannered, independent, but also affectionate, and from what I know, he was the smallest of the litter, which might explain his submissive and easygoing behavior.

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About a few weeks ago, another Shepsky (Cocoa) was brought home by another family member, and he’s the polar opposite of Rambo. He’s a bit bigger, and I believe he came from the same parents/breeder/whatever, but he might be a bit older. 

He’s very pushy and demanding. He often intimidates Rambo; he barks, whines, and acts out when he doesn't have access to things that Rambo has (like pets, walks, access to the house). He flops to the ground when he's being involuntarily moved somewhere, which I honestly can't stand. He also chased and killed many of our chickens when no one was watching (Rambo stopped after being disciplined once), meaning I have to leash him before I go to bed, resulting in him howling and barking at night.

I installed a dog door to my house, which I usually keep open so Rambo has unrestricted access to the house and the garden. He loves spending his time outside (unless the AC is turned on), and he usually comes knocking on my bedroom door around 6 a.m.(I typically wake up late). 

This system kinda falls apart since Cocoa has figured out how to use the door as well; he often sneaks in uninvited, he eats Rambo's food, takes over Rambo's spot, etc. He peed inside once, although that might be because he was ill from blood parasites, which he is recovering from currently. So now I only let him in for a limited amount of time when he stays quiet and behaves himself.

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Between keeping an eye on him, feeding him, giving him medicines, making sure he doesn't encroach on Rambo's space, etc., I find it difficult to like him. I know he's just a dog and it's not his fault that he's untrained, but I often feel guilty for not giving him the same attention or affection as Rambo.

This dog is probably going to be staying here long term. Also, since he's probably Rambo's brother, I don't want him to end up somewhere worse either. I'm just looking to vent, I guess, and see if anyone has a similar experience!

We keep her well groomed but as soon as we seen some sunshine her coats blown three full shifts of this!!