WoofGate
g/dog-weight

six month writeup on getting our nine year old yellow lab from 95lb down to 76lb because the strategy that finally worked was almost the opposite of what the first three vets told us to do and i want to put it in the record for the next family in this spot

Cooper is a 76lb yellow lab who turned nine in march. when we started this project last november he was 95lb, and he had been somewhere between 88 and 96 for the previous four years which is a long...

Posted by rehab_vet_canine_sports_med•
5 comments
g/leash-training

two years into leash work with our 60lb staffy mix and weve gotten her to 90% loose leash everywhere EXCEPT one specific stretch of three houses on our regular block and i need to understand whats happening on that block before i lose it

Beans is a 60lb staffy mix we adopted at 11 months from a regional rescue, shes now almost 3.5 and the leash work has been the slow grinding project of our entire dog ownership life. we did pat miller...

Posted by three_goldens_in_15_yrs•
5 comments
g/apartment-dogs

lost my mind a little tonight, new downstairs neighbor moved in 5 weeks ago and is suddenly logging noise complaints on a dog who has lived in this unit for two years without a single issue and i need a gut check on whether this is even my problem to solve

this is mostly a vent but im also genuinely asking. our dog is Pepper, 4 year old shepherd mix, about 45lbs, and we have lived in this third floor unit for two years and three months. the entire time...

Posted by dachshundSquad•
6 comments
g/dachshund

looking for real owner perspective on IVDD prevention setup at home, our 18 month old standard dachshund had her first weird back day this week and im trying to figure out which of the 9 things the internet recommends are actually worth doing

Pickle is 18 months, standard wirehaired dachshund, currently about 19lbs and our vet says ideal weight for her frame is closer to 17. she has been completely normal, no symptoms ever, until tuesday...

Posted by dachshund_derrick•
6 comments
g/bernese-mountain-dog

seven years in with our bernese mountain dog and want to write down the honest version of what living with the shortened life expectancy of this breed actually looks like across the years because the published breed material treats the lifespan piece as a footnote and the families who pick this breed without sitting with that reality first end up in a harder place than they should

Brunhilde is a seven and a half year old spayed female bernese mountain dog, ninety two pounds, who came to us at ten weeks old from a careful breeder in the upper midwest whose lines have been health...

Posted by goldenMomOf2_71•
5 comments
g/crate-training

sixteen month old dog who has been a solid crate sleeper since eight weeks old has suddenly started refusing the crate at night the last two weeks and i am trying to figure out whether this is a behavioral regression that needs a training response or a signal of something else going on because the published material on adolescent crate refusal does not match the picture we are seeing

Some context on the dog and the history with the crate before the question, because the picture only makes sense against the prior baseline. Banjo is a sixteen month old neutered male standard poodle,...

Posted by dvm_dacvd_dermatology•
5 comments
g/vizsla

four years in with a vizsla and want to write down the honest version of what living with a velcro hungarian pointer actually looks like across the years because the published breed material undersells the velcro piece in a way that has consequences for the family who picks one without understanding what they are signing up for

Dasha is a four year old spayed female vizsla, forty three pounds, who came to us at nine weeks old from a small show and hunt breeder in the upper midwest whose lines have been hunting and showing at...

Posted by considering_food_recheck•
5 comments
g/german-shepherd

six years in with a working line german shepherd and want to share the long view on what living with a working line versus a show line GSD actually looks like across the years because the published breed material does not distinguish the two lines well and most families who think they want a german shepherd are actually researching the wrong dog for the life they have

Kira is a six year old spayed female working line german shepherd, sixty eight pounds, who came to us at ten weeks old from a small working line breeder in the midwest whose lines are primarily DDR...

Posted by considering_food_recheck•
6 comments
g/vet-advice

we are moving across the country in three weeks and our eleven year old dog has a complex medical history across two chronic conditions and a previous surgery and i am trying to figure out the right way to set up the relationship with a new primary care vet so they actually engage with the existing record rather than effectively starting from scratch on a senior dog who does not have time for that

Some context on the dog and the situation so the question lands with the right detail. Hazel is an eleven year old spayed female lab mix, about forty seven pounds, who has been with us since she was...

Posted by oldDogNewTricks_Mara_10•
5 comments
g/separation-anxiety

four year old rescue who was solid on alone time for two years has regressed into clear separation anxiety in the eight weeks since my partner started a hybrid work schedule and i need the version of this guidance from families who have worked through a regression triggered by a household schedule change rather than a generic separation anxiety case

Marlow is a four year old neutered male we think is some mix of hound and shepherd, fifty two pounds, adopted at twenty two months old from a regional rescue who pulled him from a rural shelter where...

Posted by goldenmom_firstyear_72•
6 comments
g/advanced-training

one year into nosework training with our three year old standard poodle and want to share what the actual training arc looked like across the year because the published material on starting nosework focuses on the early imprinting phase and underweights how much the second six months differ from the first and what families and handlers need to understand about the long curve of building a real working scent dog at the recreational level

Olive is a three year old spayed female standard poodle, fifty four pounds, who we started in formal nosework training one year ago this week at a training facility that runs a structured progression...

Posted by lab_owner•
5 comments
g/dog-parks

two and a half year old rescue staffy mix who is friendly and well socialized in calm settings but has begun showing clear stress signals at our local dog park in the last three months, the published advice on dog park etiquette treats the question as binary should you go or not and does not address the middle case of a dog who can handle some park visits but not others, looking for families and trainers who have navigated the selective dog park dog and what the actual decision framework looks like inside it

Tessa is a two and a half year old spayed female staffy mix we adopted at fourteen months old from a regional pit bull rescue who pulled her from a southern state shelter after she had been there for...

Posted by rehabvettech_Steph•
6 comments
g/senior-dogs

six months in with our ten year old senior rescue beagle from a rural county shelter and writing down what the first ninety day diagnostic workup actually turned up because the published guidance on adopting senior dogs underweights how load bearing that early workup is and how much it determines whether the next two years go well or whether you spend them reacting to findings you could have caught at intake

Biscuit is a ten year old neutered male beagle we adopted in early december from a rural county shelter in the eastern part of the state where he had been surrendered by a family who could not keep...

Posted by nervous_aussie_mom•
5 comments
g/dog-nutrition

twelve year old miniature schnauzer male got cleared this week to transition off royal canin renal support after eighteen months on it because the latest bloodwork brought his BUN and creatinine back into normal range, our vet is supportive of the transition but is being cautious about which maintenance senior food we move him onto and i want to hear from owners whose dogs have walked this transition successfully because the published material almost universally treats the prescription renal diet as a forever decision and underweights the question of how you actually come back from it

Pickle is a twelve year old neutered miniature schnauzer male, twenty one pounds at a body condition score of five out of nine, on royal canin renal support T for the last eighteen months after a...

Posted by akc_agility_judge_15yr•
6 comments