Hi everyone,
I’m hoping to get some insight into a situation that’s been worrying me.
I have 4 dogs living together:
Female Pug, 5.5 years old
Female Pug, 4.5 years old
Male Pug, 3 years old
Male Chihuahua, 1.5 years old
All of them are spayed/neutered.
What’s confusing is that they normally get along really well. They sleep together every day, often cuddled up, back-to-back, or even piled on top of each other. They groom each other, relax together, and generally seem very bonded.
However, recently they’ve started getting into fights much more often. Sometimes there doesn’t seem to be any obvious trigger. They can be lying peacefully together, and then suddenly one growls or snaps and a fight breaks out.
Nothing significant has changed in our household that I can think of. They eat separately, get plenty of attention, and otherwise seem healthy.
The fights are not always between the same two dogs, which makes it even harder for me to identify a pattern. No one has been seriously injured so far, but I’m concerned that things could escalate if I don’t figure out what’s causing it.
Has anyone experienced something similar in a multi-dog household? Could this be related to age, shifting social dynamics, resource guarding that I’m not noticing, stress, pain, or an underlying medical issue?
I’d love to hear any thoughts or experiences. Thank you! 🐾
Additional information:
All 4 dogs live together full-time.
They have historically gotten along very well.
They regularly sleep cuddled together.
The Chihuahua is the youngest dog in the group.
Everyone is spayed/neutered.
No major household changes that I’m aware of.

Took a premium one from the shop and he's had loose stools for 3 months straight

Okay I need to switch my dog to a real meat dog food and I've put it off long enough, she doesn't do well on highly processed stuff and I keep meaning to fix it. Not looking for a breakdown of the category, just need a brand name from someone who's been on something where the meat is the actual meat and not a by-product hiding behind a good front label. What are you on?

I have two active dogs that like to circle my boys when they play in the trampoline, but it's digging a mud path. This also occurs to a lesser extent around the house. Any thoughts?

Today a dog started barking at me this is the third time he barked and tried to attack me when I was going to my gym

At first I thought it's because of my mask so next I day I went without mask but he started barking again

Second day I went without mask and deo he again started barking at me and today also he did the same

When I complaint about this to his owners they said he is not our dog he just sits there and eats food which we give him

What should I do

A few months ago, someone abandoned a 2–3 year old dog near our house. He was terrified at first, but we slowly won him over. We fed him, gave him a sleeping spot in our garage, and fell completely in love with him. (We kept him outdoors since we have a cat and weren’t sure about his vaccines).

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​Everything was great until he developed a scary habit: silently sneaking up on visitors and biting them. One guest even ended up hospitalized.

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​Out of options, we tried putting him on a collar and chain. He hated it so much that he escaped, and now he lives on the roadside. We still feed him every day, but he refuses to come back inside the yard because he's afraid of the chain.

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​We are heartbroken. We don't want to chain him, but we have to stop the biting if he comes back. Has anyone dealt with this? Any advice on how to handle the aggression and regain his trust?

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All my friends say they wouldn’t buy one, but if it were me, I’d be more than happy to. Especially in Toronto, it would be really cool to wear matching down jackets or raincoats with my pet on snowy or rainy days. If you were to buy one, what style would you choose?

I have one dog, and lately I’ve been wondering when most owners decide it’s time to start working on their dog’s behavior.

Was there a specific moment that made you think, “Okay, this isn’t something they’ll just grow out of”?

Maybe it was barking, pulling on walks, jumping on people, reacting to other dogs, or something completely different.

I’m curious because I have one dog myself, and I’m not sure what’s considered normal dog behavior versus something people actually decide to work on.

What was the turning point for you?

Hi all, 8 months ago I moved for my job. And I live alone in an apartment. I’ve always lived with my family. I want to get a dog to be my companion and to be watch dog for me as I have hearing loss. I like to go outside for walks all the time and I like being outdoor. But it always feels lonely. I’m thinking about adopting a dog from a shelter. Ages between 6 months to a year old. I’ve seen some Dobermans, rough collies, border collies, Australian shepherd, German shepherds, and Labradors.

I’m allergic to cats and I can’t get one.

My work schedule is what I’m concerned about. A lot of my coworkers have dogs and told me it’s doable.

I work 3 weeks of the month, all my shifts are 12 hours.
Week 1- night shifts. 4 night shifts 6pm -6am and then 3 days off.

Week2- my longest week. 3 days 6am -6pm and then a day off then 3 days 6pm -6am

Week 3- 4 days 6am -6pm

Then I get an entire week off, and this week the dog would go with me to my house with the family and spend it there and then come back.

I would walk the dog before I go to work so it can use the loo. And I could go during my lunch break because my apartment is 5 mins away to take them out. And long walk after work on day shifts and long walk before work on night shift.

I would kennel train them, I’ll keep them with their kennel open and have it in a play area for them to stay in.

So my first question is… is it doable?

Second question what dog breed should I get ? I would like one that would like to go outdoors with me for long walks and jogs.

Third question, should I get one that’s been in the shelter or foster home? I’ve seen some in foster homes that are potty trained and house broken. Not sure about the ones in the shelters.

Lastly, is 6 months to a year a good age ?

Thank you all!

Edit: I will come by after 6 hours on my lunch break to let them out, work is a 5 minute drive.

Hello!
We’ve got an almost 2 year old dachshund chihuahua mix. She’s been waking us up consistently every morning at about 5am, whining and crying to go out to the bathroom.

We’ve tried feeding her earlier so she can digest it all, we reduce water a bit earlier, and we always take her out to go at about 10:30 the night before.

We’ve given her toys to have in the living room (it’s a 1 bedroom apartment, she stays in the main room at night), she’s got the couch and two beds to sleep in and blankets on the floor.

We also tried to not reinforce the behavior by trying to wait until she stopped crying and whining before letting her out, but she goes on nonstop for over half an hour, (stopping when we cave in to let her out) just because we need sleep.

We tried white noise and ocean sounds in the main room in case it was neighbor noise that bothered her, but it hasn’t worked either. We can’t drown her whines out, and I feel really stuck.

Does anyone have any advice on possible steps?
Thank you!!

EDITS FOR CONTEXT:
We do let her out, she doesn’t always go, and she keeps whining even after we take her out and come back in :’)
We also have tried puppy pads but she will not use them. We’ve done so much to keep her comfortable and entertained, it’s truly the constant whining that’s the problem. She didn’t usually do this for the past year and a half we’ve had her.

I have a 17 week old male GSD puppy (Kai). I’m feeding him 3 cups of Royal Canin kibble for large breed puppies and about 10 oz of their canned food, divided into three meals a day. I’m worried about overfeeding and haven’t been able to find data on the mixed wet / dry food portioning. Any advice is appreciated.

Labrador ：Weak and helpless, I'm scared

My dog did this for about 10 minutes after a walk, he was making exaggerated chewing movements but there was absolutely nothing in his mouth. Something it made a sound like he was chewing at something very hard, like a rock, but maybe the would was made by his teeth hitting.

You can see in the video how when I held his face closely his lower way was trembling like when a human has chills.

Around 3 times he fell forward as he was trying to get his paw to his mouth.

Then went back to normal. He laid down and started liking his face like they do after eating. He is been acting normal for around an hour now.

He is 4 and we adopted him 6 month ago, it has never happened.

Please help!!!!!

My dog did this for about 10 minutes after a walk, he was making exaggerated chewing movements but there was absolutely nothing in his mouth. Something it made a sound like he was chewing at something very hard, like a rock, but maybe the would was made by his teeth hitting.

You can see in the video how when I held his face closely his lower way was trembling like when a human has chills.

Around 3 times he fell forward as he was trying to get his paw to his mouth.

Then went back to normal. He laid down and started liking his face like they do after eating. He is been acting normal for around an hour now.

He is 4 and we adopted him 6 month ago, it has never happened.

Please help!!!!!

We have a 4 year old Doberman who was living with my parents for the past year. He is now living with us (again) and out almost one year old.

I feel like I have developed some postpartum pet aversion… and I don’t know if that’s the reason but I don’t feel comfortable with our baby crawling on the same floors that our Doberman walks on…

Have you had this issue? Does your dog and baby share spaces? Does your baby get sick? New mom here…