r/dogs

I reached out to a really good working/preservation breeder back in June. Submitted my questionnaire and application and sent an email writing more about myself and my home. They said that they are hoping to have a litter in the fall and should know more by October. Then they invited me to a couple training sessions they host with their dogs. I went to every single training session. It's now October and I'm wondering if I should re-reach out to them to ask about updates or timeline shifts or if I should wait until they get back to me. I know a lot of people go by the "no news it just no news" rule so i'd hate to bug them. It's my first time getting a dog through a breeder so i'm a bit confused on how i should go about this. Any advice would be awesome!

Note: This dog is a water rescue service dog and will be training them for such roles if anyone was curious haha!

We bring our 2y/o great pyr mix to local dog parks 5+ times per week. I am wondering what everyone’s thoughts are on families who bring young kids to the dog park?

Our pup gets very excited and often knocks into people when running and playing. Which isn’t usually an issue with adults, but we’ve had a few instances of him bumping into / knocking over kids. Typically results in the child crying, family leaving, and us feeling incredibly guilty. He’s a big guy so I can see how this could be scary for a child.

Is this something we should / can address with our dog? Does anyone else experience this and how do you address it with the family? I’m terrified of something happening and action being taken against us or our dog.

Edit to add: besides this, we have only had positive experiences with dog parks. Have been going almost daily since we got him 1.5 years ago. The ones in our area are large grassy and wooded areas

So recently, I’ve been seriously considering getting a puppy. But after doing some research, I have to ask: is it even worth it? Not just getting a puppy, but getting a dog in general.

I’ve read so many posts that make getting a dog sound like such a miserable experience. Some people are literally telling others to never get a dog, like, NEVER. And whenever I find a post from someone who had a good experience, the response is always, “I was just lucky.”

So the most horrific experiences are normal, but having a decent experience is just “luck”? What am I even supposed to expect?

I know raising a puppy isn’t easy, and I’ve always expected the worst. But after reading many posts and articles, my idea of the “worst” just keeps getting worse and worse and worse.

I’ve always wanted a dog, but now I’m starting to second-guess myself because it honestly doesn’t sound like it’s worth it. I’ve never seen a post talking about how getting a dog changed someone’s life in a positive way. Every single post I find is negative.

Also at what point do you become ready to get a dog?

Edit: Thank you all for the comments!!! Although I didn't respond to the comments, I did read them and they helped me greatly, so thank you. I have a lot of free time but not 24/7, and I have the money, so maybe I'll get an older dog.

I adopted a 4 y/o poodle a 6 months ago, and he's very polite and well trained. However, he's got some quirks and I wonder if it's because of commands I don't know.

For instance, whenever I feed him, he seems excited to eat. But when I put the food down, he sits or goes and lays in his bed and stares at me. Eventually he'll eat, usually when nobody is around.

Additionally, he seems interested but hesitant to join the household. He has his bed and his dishes in a room, and we usually leave the door open if we're in the house. At first, he wouldn't leave on his own at all, but soon we'd find that he would sniff and explore if we were being quiet and not looking at him. If he noticed us noticing him, he'd run back to his room and to his bed. I eventually got him to come out more often by slowly coaxing him out with constant attention. Eventually, we got to where I could make a hand signal at him and he'd follow me, but often still he'll get to the threshold of the door, stop, and run back to his bed.

He's great on a lead.

I have no way to contact previous owners. I don't know if it's new home anxiety still, but it really feels like he's looking at me expecting me to say something.

Looking for ideas on what to do on a day indoors with dogs?

She’s a lovely Shar Pei named Marley who’s around 7 years old. She was my bosses dog but they simply couldn’t have her anymore, with kids and life etc. I agreed to take her in and give her a home. It’s been about three days now and she’s super hit and miss. Sometimes she’s super chill and laid up next to me, other she’s pacing in and out of the house whining. I was expecting a bit of hardship and work but I just want some tips.

And the licking. She’s constantly licking me all over, the face, the arms, you name it! I understand it can settle her but I don’t want it to be a constant habit.

So, any tips? Words of advice? I’ll take anything haha.

Update: things are going a lot smoother now later on after paying attention to all of your amazing advice! We’ve got a very sleepy pup and a very sleepy owner signing off for the night.

I have a dog. A small dog. Everytime I go to take her out for a walk one of 3 huge dogs come running at her .off leash. I live in an apartment complex. When I leave I have to pick her out. And she's scared! The barks she makes. She's not happy. I spoke to one of the owners one time and she was complaining about that her dog gave her cat fleas? I don't want her off leash dog running at mine. Mines treated but still. People, put a leash on your dog in a parking lot!

I don’t know what to do with my dog. Gaba/Traz isn’t working. She’s been so agitated. Our first shot is 10/21.

Before starting heartworm treatment, my dog struggled to learn to sleep outside of her crate. She could settle on her place mat if I commanded her to, or sometimes she’d choose it herself while I was doing chores. There was no way she’d settle if we didn’t take a long walk that day, which we usually walked 2-3 miles per day before diagnosis.

That being said, this has been so hard. She’s uncomfortable on the meds and won’t settle. We can’t exercise enough so she’s always restless and now has started to regress in her crate training (which was 100% before). She’s on 300 mg gabapentin every 8 hours and 100 mg trazadone every 12 hours.

She gets agitated and nips. I can’t just put her in her crate because she finishes her Kong that I put in there with her and she digs to get out. I try to give her a frozen Kong, lick mat, or chew before she gets to the point of being agitated but I gave her everything today and then she wouldn’t even settle in her crate at the end of the day. We do nosework, tricks, and light conditioning work with kibble from her meals. She works for every individual piece, I don’t know what else we could do.

My vet is closed tomorrow but I did email. My dog is about 28 lbs (maybe 30 now with all the snacks). I don’t know if we can increase meds at all.

I just want my dog back to normal. I put in so much work into training her and I feel like we’re losing it all.

I unfortunately lost my dog a few years back and bc I still live with my family and I’m technically the only one who wants a dog [plus future plans get in the way of my ability to have one for awhile] I just really really realllyyyy miss interacting with dogs most of the time.

So im looking for some ideas for dog related events I might be able to attend just to talk to others about their dogs and their experiences with them and maybe share my art work and what not.

I want to know what these events are like before attending so I don’t feel out of place / awkward!

Basically the title. He's blind in one eye and I expect him to lose what remains of the vision in his good eye within a year. It's not degenerating further right now but I don't expect that to last.

He's 35lbs and a menace because he's a puppy. I've had him 2 months. I'm working on training myself out of hand commands because those are my default. "Stay", "come", "leave it", and "step/hazard" are on my list for things to train him on. He knows "sit", "down", "potty", and his name alright. We're also still working on his leash minding and that'll need to be stepped up, along with separation anxiety work because I doubt the kennel-free day care will be a super great option when he's completely blind but who knows! Maybe that'll be good for him! Should we get him used to a vet based boarding before his enucleation/s? Would that help him be less scared, do you think?

I'm kinda spiraling atm so yeah, anything actionable is helpful. Not bucket list things though, please.

So my Bella is wicked smart, catches on easily to what i want, one of the things i trained her with is to wait on the floor till i make my bed. She sits close by waiting and once I'm done i tell her go on. she will jump up and lay down in her spot. Great wonderful just what i wanted........ Except now she thinks she need permission to get on the bed all the time. when you get in bed she sits waiting, of she comes in to the room she looks at the bed and waits for permission.

I know "my lobster is too buttery" why am I complaining. because she won't even jump on the bed if I'm not home. She will sit on the floor or lay on the floor till she get permission. my bed gets made once a day. she will seek permission all day. and yes i know Dog beds exist but i have 3 and she won't use them. 2 are by the bed for this very reason. she actively lays on the floor beside them.

She is an old girl and a rescue i just want her last years to be comfortable. how do i fix this?

Does your dog turn his head when he hears an odd noise? Does your dog bury their food with your pants? This is the thread to ask why.

Please keep this thread to non-medical issues only.

Hi, can anyone recommend a harness that is fully adjustable.

I've bought a few, and there's always a section that doesn't tighten down enough - usually between the front legs.

Looking for a harness for a medium sized dog, where all straps are resizable.

About three weeks ago, this really annoying thing started happening in my bedroom: a constant humming noise, all night almost every night. I’ve been relentless in trying to get my building management to fix it. No one can figure it out and I’ve lost hope that this will be fixed, and I still have six months on my lease.

My main concern is my dog. Yes, the noise is driving me nuts, but there are things I can do. I have a white noise machine and play rain noises on my phone to try and drown it out. I’ve considered investing in some quality ear plugs, but I can’t get ear plugs for my dog.

She hasn’t given any indication that the noise is bothering her, but she’s not the best communicator! She’s always been a tough cookie and it’s hard to tell when she’s in pain or discomfort.

Would such a noise be bothersome or a health risk to a dog over a long term? If so, I might try to use that as an excuse to break my lease. I’ll leave a video of the noise in the comments if I can.

Dogs seem to learn the little patterns of everyday life surprisingly well.

Sometimes, just a small change like a different walking route, a different time to eat, someone visiting, or something moved around the house can immediately grab their attention.

I think it’s interesting how quickly they pick up on things people might not even notice. What’s a small change to your regular routine that your dog always seems to pick up on?

We got a 4yr old lab mix from the pound yesterday and we’re prepared for her to be anxious dog. We are in a hardcore two week shut down and feel good about taking things slowly with her.

We are having a problem we didn’t anticipate, she doesn’t want to come back inside once we take her out to potty. She was a stray before she ended up at the shelter so we think her only indoor experience is chaotic and stressful. She is a lot more relaxed outside and wants to spend hours laying in our front yard which wouldn’t be a problem but it’s 105 degrees out this week and we simply just can’t sit outside for that long.

Sometimes she will get up and we can gently coax her inside but other times she won’t get up from lying down or will just stand still and refuse to come in the front door. We are using wet cat food (the only thing she will eat) to convince her to come inside but we don’t like having to move the can when she is eating (she won’t eat it off a spoon) and I don’t want to pull her since we are trying to establish trust with her.

Any advice is appreciated!

What are some good ways to keep your border collie entertained. I live on a lot of land but am wondering about some more mentally stimulating ideas people have? Thank you!

I have an 1 year old female GSD/Collie mix and I adopted her at 8 months old and was told she liked other dogs and not much on her past but I do know there 3 dogs she does like and will play with and it's different sexs,size and breeds but here lately there been this one dog that has no personal space at all and the owner does not speak English and I try to move away and the owner does not pay attention to his dog and the dog is on one of those one leashs that you can control how much room you gave ur dog and my mine is not but his dog keeps coming up behind mine to sniff and I move away so what do I do ?

Hi everyone, I live in New Jersey and I’m looking for a reputable German Pinscher breeder. I’m having a hard time finding breeders with puppies available or upcoming litters.

I’m specifically looking for a male puppy. I’d prefer a breeder in New Jersey or somewhere reasonably close, but I’m willing to travel for the right breeder and puppy.

My main priorities are good health and a stable, well rounded temperament. I’m looking for a responsible breeder who health tests their dogs, knows their lines well, and puts thought into temperament and puppy placement.

If anyone has personal experience with a breeder they would recommend, or knows of any reputable breeders with upcoming litters, I’d really appreciate the recommendations. I’d also love to hear about your experience getting your German Pinscher and whether you would recommend your breeder.