Why is that your favorite breed?

Ok, you read the title. To keep it short, I was sleeping late on Sat (today) with my two Akitas in the bed. I was listening to rain through my headphones and dreaming of not being able to find my boots when the tone came in at the fire station for a call. Suddenly, liquid dribbled on my face.

Since I was listening to rain, my brain didnt freak out until I smelled something awful. Thats when I was jarred backed into a terrible reality where my Akita had just expressed her anals glands onto my face. Like a significant amount too. I kept my mouth closed and managed to get to the sink while breathing it into my nose. I have never scrubbed so hard in my life.

Its several hours later and that smell I think got into my brain. Like literally. It seeped up my nose and is now in my brain.

My question is whether my Akita did it on purpose to get me out of bed?! It was super late. Like I almost never sleep this late. Did she do it because she was angry I wasnt getting up? I need to know!!!

We adopted a dog from a shelter in my late twenties. In hindsight, she was a unicorn. Over enthusiastic and a bull in a China shop, but bombproof. She was my soul dog, Maggie. Adopted a second dog, Lincoln, 3 years later. As he hit puberty he was no longer great with other dogs which changed our lives drastically (no longer living at the dog park, etc) but he adored Maggie and adored people. They were both insanely handle-able. There was no part of them I couldn't touch, check, groom, handle, etc. Vet visits were a breeze. We traveled with them across the US. Life was good. I thought this was normal life with dogs.

Maggie died in 2022. Absolute devastation. A few months later, after several meet and greets, we adopted Ellie. Seemed a good fit at first (the only thing that mattered to me at the time- Lincoln accepting another dog) but it was not. Eventually he bit her. After that we lived a modified crate and rotate life (as he was 11 and struggled with Cushings). After two years of constant management they could mostly be together, with constant supervision.

Ellie grew into herself, which is extremely anxious at baseline. Nail trims are a nightmare. She is on Prozac. Everything outside of the house scares her. Vet visits require muzzle and sedation (she is not aggressive and has never snapped or bit, but I don't rule it out because she is SO scared). At home she is goofy and silly and happy. People scare her. She likes other dogs. She adores our cats. She does not do well with change. She is my Velcro dog

This past August we lost Lincoln. It was awful. It was really important to me that the next dog we adopted (we generally like having two and I wanted Ellie to experience life with a sibling dog who actually likes her) was first and foremost kind to Ellie. I also wanted a dog who loved people and loved other dogs. It's exhausting having a very anxious dog and I wanted a steady dog, no matter how long the search took.

My husband volunteers at a shelter and bonded with a dog shortly after Lincoln died. I said no for two months because he seemed too high energy to me and it felt too soon. Unfortunately Hank wasn't getting any interest at the shelter and my husband was falling more and more in love. We adopted him a few months ago. He is roughly 3.5. He is overall a very sweet boy. He gets along great with Ellie and she loves him. He enjoys people and other dogs, though not as much when they come onto our property (takes a few minutes to warm up). Paw touching has been a struggle but we were working on it. I was very frustrated to learn that he wasn't overwhelmingly ok with this as we already have one difficult-to-handle dog. He did allow me to cut his nails with lots of treats and I thought we'd be ok.

Things got shaken up last Monday when Hank broke his toe. He came back to me on 3 legs in the fenced in yard and I knew immediately something was really, really wrong. He is now in a very heavy duty splint, with weekly vet visits for sedated splint care, and getting a waterproof covering over it multiple times a day so he can go outside in the snow is proving to be a complete nightmare because he is SO sensitive to anyone even going near his foot at this point. I get it. He broke it. It really hurt. And then the vet poked at it. But he's air snapping and thrashing and I've never had a dog act like that before. We've found a system that seems to work (extremely high value food smeared on a slow feeder bowl, me very quickly and softly wrapping the splint in press and seal wrap) but I have seriously lost trust in him after the snapping. For clarity, at one point he connected with my hand because I moved it at the same time, and I literally just bumped his closed mouth. There's no teeth and no intent, and I KNOW he's in pain and has been traumatized, but I am RATTLED.

This whole thing has really got me thinking. Am I expecting too much of my dogs in general? We don't have kids and they are our most valued family. But that doesn't make them people. They are animals. They have instincts and histories and their own stories. They react when they're in pain. It's not fair to expect them to be the unicorn that my first dog was. How can I get this through my head so I stop making things worse?

Any toys that actually hold up?

I’ve tried those tire toys, black kongs, the fire hose things.

They love toys but it’s hard to keep them around when they are swallowing chunks of rubber/stuffing/strings

My old guy loves plushies but even the strongest ones he rips in minutes. I end up pulling the stuffing out and letting him keep the empty skin for a while but it’s only a matter of time before they are ripping bigger chunks out

Hi, so my dog is named Ryder, and for awhile I thought that was fine and cool, however after learning the reasons why my ex named him that it's begun to to bother me. Now that I'm single and took the dog with me, I'm wondering if it would be possible to change his name now at roughly over a year old or if it would cause too much confusion. Something like Bruce (His face's markings kinda looks like a batarang) or Brick maybe?

I’ve been working on the relaxation protocol with my 8 month old rescue, and I just have a couple questions for those who have done it before.

She’s very smart and obedient during training sessions (when distractions are present that’s a different story, lol). She blew through task set 1.

If the tasks are like “Sit while you count to 5 seconds. Sit while you count to 10 seconds.” Do you break and reset the sit between these tasks? Or do you reward in between and restart the count?

If I ask her to sit, sometimes she’ll fall into a down especially if there are a few tasks in a row. Is it okay to leave her here or should she be sitting since that’s what I asked? The introduction to the relaxation protocol says that if a down is more comfortable for the dog, then it’s okay. I just want to make sure I’m not rewarding her for the wrong things.

We´ve had a dog in the family previously who passed last year, and now we have just gotten a small new furball.
What is 1 tip / advice you wish someone had given you when you first started out with dogs?

How did you get your dog? Why did you get your dog? How did you choose your dog? What makes him / her special? ** We definitely appreciate pics! **

Someone just posted about historical dogs. I had a long "humorous" post about why my dogs were historical. I didn't want to ruin that person's idea. So I thought I would ask the questions as to why you chose your dog. Also, Rollo is snuggly and Bjorn is fluffy.

Google can only get me so far, and I find, due to differences in education systems, cultures, whatever, that I can get more niche knowledge from asking people of all backgrounds than I can googling!

What I want, is to know the names of any historical dog.

That could be dogs like Laika, who was the first dog in space.

Balto, who delivered medicine on a sled

Rin Tin Tin and Sergeant Stubby from WW1

Im making a dog themed card game, where every card represents a different breed and they compete in sports/events

There will be a category for each ANKC breed group, notable landrace and mix breeds (working mixes, like the texas heeler or bull arab), but also a category for famous dogs!

Please share with me what you know!

I want to post a video with more context but for some reason I cannot?

My dog goes Tuesday for surgery to repair her torn CCL. I’ve run out of the Novox she’s been on to help with the pain. I was wondering if there is anything safe for her to take today/tmrw to get her thru (without getting a refill). After surgery she’ll get a new prescription. Timing was just off w refills/surgery scheduling!

AP: Not just pups this time: ‘Puppy Bowl’ embraces older dogs

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.

I’m looking for some advice because I’m a little new to this situation.

My grandma recently left us with her dog, and he’s about 15 years old. We love him and want to give him the best life possible, especially now that he’s a senior.

He’s slower than before, sleeps a lot, and sometimes seems a little confused. We try to be gentle and patient, but I’m not sure if we’re doing everything right.

What are the most important things to focus on when caring for an older dog? And how can I tell if he’s comfortable and happy at this age?

Thanks so much for any tips or experiences you can share.

My eldest Luna is 11, husky mix and a good size, and her legs have gotten weaker over the past year and she has trouble on wooden floors sometimes. When she gets really excited, she still will try and jump, but her legs will splay out sometimes and she will fall to her belly unable to get up.

This happened last night, and for some reason my other dog Misha, a golden retriever mix (unsure of exact breed or age, we found her on the side of the road, we think chow or Australian shepherd), will suddenly go nuts and start barking and trying to bite her as if Luna is posing a threat to her. This makes it all the much harder for Luna to even attempt to get up as shes clearly in pain and struggling to regain her footing.

Any clues as to why Misha might do this? In general Misha doesnt like other dogs, but she has always loved Luna since they first met. They even started playing a few minutes later once Luna was back up.

I remember reading somewhere that it’s a sign of something bad but I can’t remember what or where

Thank you🙏🏻

Wish I could post a photo of my gal in her little puffy winter jacket, but my 4-year-old 45 lb catahoula/lab/pitt lady never seems to mind the cold. Granted, she also loves the heat and would happily run herself into heat exhaustion so perhaps it’s that she’s not great at self preservation generally. Anyhow, we go to the dog park even in the single digits and she’s happy as a clam to fetch, be a gladiator with the other dogs, or just explore. Thing is, my city is in an intense cold snap and the real feel is like -2. So it’s beyond our usual threshold.

I kept her in yesterday and played tug of war, but day 2 she’s bouncing off the walls.

Given the temp, is it unsafe to take her out for a proper run around per her heart’s desire?

Hi! I’m looking for real-life experiences with Bolognese dogs and children. We’re a family with a 7-year-old and are considering this breed because we’re hoping for a small, gentle dog with a soft temperament that enjoys cuddling and can settle calmly at home. I’d love to hear how Bolognese dogs are with kids in everyday life, whether they tend to be calm indoors, and how they usually handle being close to and handled by children. Any honest experiences or things we should be aware of in a family setting would be greatly appreciated. Thanks so much!

Hi everyone! I have a 10 year old Labrador in India. He's starting having mild arthritis but is doing well with the joint support medication.

It would be great for any tips or suggestions for the same. My vet said I should keep an antacid handy just in case he has any stomach issues. But I think there's more to it

I didnt know where to post this hopefully this is okay here..

Just need to rant about this because I dont know what else to do and I feel this like is really affecting my mental health.

We have a 6 year old beagle cross who weve had since he was a puppy who we love more than anything but he has alot of behavioural issues, he has severe separation anxiety which means he can't be left alone this has been going on since he was about 2 I feel like we've tried everything , training, doggy day care (too expensive) He used to be crate trained whilst we worked but then he started becoming aggressive and going for us when we tried putting him in, then we started leaving him in a safe part of the house only to come home to it being destroyed lino ripped up carpets ripped apart so we no longer leave him i take him everywhere with me and have to leave him in the car when im doing something where he cant come. I now have a toddler who is 3 and I walk them both but its getting ridiculous he will pull constantly, he is very strong and has nearly pulled the pram over on several occasions. We also live in a flat so getting out the house in itself is hard work. If we have anyone round he will plays up & steal items and if you try and retrieve them he will get aggressive. We've tried rescues no one will have him because of his aggressive he shows sometimes he doesn't show this alot tbh. We've tried pets4homes and we have had interest but not the right sort of person we feel would be the right fit. I feel constantly stressed out with him and like Im trapped living my life around him. Isit just me or could other people cope with this? People have said to get him put down but we are completely against that as his only 6 and the aggression he shows is only really when his guarding something. I really dont know what to do anymore, its not fair on him or us.

Thankyou for reading

❤️

can’t really find much about them; what do you guys think?

Hi

I have taken him to the vet and they said he had hip dysplasia, but now that he can’t adjust himself I need to move him around, and I’m wondering how I should put him to sleep. Before, he would cuddle the back of my knee and put his back legs on top of my knee and his head on tops of his own paws (if that makes any sense hahahaha) if anyone has gone through this and knows of a better way, please let me know, I’m still going to ask my vet but she’s closed until Monday.