WoofGate
g/hiking-with-dogs

planning first 3 day backpacking trip in the whites in september with our 7 year old lab and almost every "hike with your dog" article online reads like it was written by someone who has never actually carried a tent, looking for real perspective from anyone who has done overnights with a dog this age

Quick context. Cooper is our 7 year old black lab, 72lb, no joint issues on his last orthopedic check in march, generally fit, walks 3 to 5 miles every day rain or shine, and we do 6 to 9 mile day...

Posted by beagle_senior_life_56•
4 comments
g/rescue-dogs

one year mark with our pit bull mix who had been returned to the rescue three separate times before us, the turnaround was bigger than i would have believed twelve months ago, writing it down because the rescue feed is mostly heartbreak content and the version that worked is also worth reading

Apollo is a 4 year old pit bull mix, 58lb, came home with us last june from a county rescue that had pulled him from a hoarding situation as a 7 month old puppy. by the time we adopted him he had been...

Posted by nervous_aussie_mom•
5 comments
g/dog-dental

vet quoted us $1,800 for full dental on our 12 year old shih tzu with a grade 3 heart murmur and the anesthesia-free place at the pet store is $190, and i know what reddit will say but i need actual help thinking through what the risk numbers actually are for a dog his age with his heart

Mochi is 12 years and 4 months, shih tzu, 14lbs, generally pretty healthy for his age, but at his last wellness exam in march his vet picked up what she described as a grade 3 of 6 heart murmur that...

Posted by shelterhoundheart•
4 comments
g/multi-dog-households

six month writeup on integrating a 3 year old blue heeler rescue into our household of two resident retrievers (5yo gsd-retriever mix and 3yo golden) because the "going from two dogs to three" transition is something nobody actually writes down in detail and we made every classic mistake the first six weeks and i wish someone had told us

Otto is our blue heeler / cattle dog mix, 3 years old when we adopted him from a regional cattle dog rescue in january, intact when surrendered, neutered at the rescue before placement. our resident...

Posted by MuttLover_KC_64•
5 comments
g/vet-advice

vet recommended TPLO surgery for our 6 year old labs torn ACL and the orthopedic surgeon she referred us to wants to schedule next month, but i want a second opinion before we commit $6000 and i genuinely dont know the etiquette for getting one without burning my relationship with the vet weve had for 9 years

Murphy is our 6 year old black lab, 78lb, otherwise extremely healthy, who tore his left CCL three weeks ago jumping off the back of my husbands truck the way he has jumped off the back of that truck...

Posted by oldlab_steady•
5 comments
g/senior-dogs

eight month writeup on at-home hospice for our 14 year old golden mix from the congestive heart failure diagnosis through the end last week, because the practical day to day picture of what at-home hospice actually looks like is almost impossible to find when you are trying to decide between hospice and earlier euthanasia and we needed it badly last october

Riley was a 62lb golden retriever / golden mix we adopted from our county shelter at age 4 in 2016. she made it almost ten years with us and she died at home in her bed on june 9 at age 14 and three...

Posted by apartment_lab_dad_neil•
5 comments
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•
6 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•
7 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