The one on the bottom is a three year-old female and the one on top is a two-year-old female.

They are inseparable, play together, eat together, walk together, and now I realize that they even sleep in the same bed all the time even when they’re just resting.

Is this OK? Do they need their own space? Should I encourage them to sleep in separate beds? Also, should I walk them separately sometimes?

These are my two dogs, larger one is female and she’s 4. Smaller fella is 6. These two Co exist very well apart from they don’t play. They’ve two very different play styles, but will have a good chase when out in an open field together.

This scenario will happen occasionally where they’ll jump about, the small one is a vocal and growly player but I don’t know if these are happy playful growls. The big gal will also come up and lift her leg for him to sniff??

Would love some expert eyes on this! Should I discourage this behaviour? Leave them be? Thank you!

I love my dog, truly. She's such a sweetheart. But the truth is I didn't ever want a dog. I'm really a cat person. Not because I don't adore dogs, I do! So much! But because I don't feel like the needs of a dog align with my needs from a pet. I have a lot of anxiety and depression and I struggle with panic disorder. I don't want an animal dependent on me for walks and all the stimulation a dog requires.

My mom is a recovering alcoholic and currently, we are living together to save money. My mom is the most dog person you could ever meet. She lost her dogs some years back and it devastated her. She would wake up dreaming of them almost every single night. It broke my heart to see her mourn them so viscerally. So she told me, "I just need a dog to love and take care of and it would mean so much for me." And I knew it was true. That's just how she is, she adores them. So she adopted a dog while I was living with her and unfortunately ... This dog attached itself to ME. This dog adores me. Waits for me to come home from work. Snuggles with me like I'm her angel. Didn't attach to my mom at all. I tried to push her towards my mom but she just wasn't having it. Even when she tries to take her outside, she refuses if I don't come with. She loves me to death. And in turn I ended up loving this dog. But I didn't ask for this.

She's unspayed and I've been trying to find resources for a cheaper spay but we're really poor and every place quotes like $600 which we just can't pull off right now. Every time I try to save for it something comes up that puts it off. Because she's unspayed she tears up all my blankets, constantly paces, and loses her mind if she sees another dog at the park. She's so sweet and I don't want to abandon her but again, this wasn't a responsibility I signed up for. I know myself and I wouldn't have intentionally put a dog in the position of depending on me because I know I'm not currently equipped for that. I do my best taking her to the park on my days off and doing what I can for her but I'm emptying my limited amount of energy right now to be there for her and I know I need to give more energy to myself right now.

My mom got her off of Facebook from someone giving her away for free after they allegedly took her from someone who was leaving her tied out all day and kicking her. I have no clue about the validity of any of that but I do know that she seems skittish around certain men and it seems like she probably has trauma. I don't want to give her up without knowing that she'll end up somewhere loving and calm. There's a no kill shelter in my town but I don't want her to be stuck there for ages. She's very clingy and just needs a lot of attention so the idea of her sitting in that shelter for ages breaks my heart. What is the best way for me to find a good home for her? I adore this dog and I'm scared to just give her up without knowing where she'll end up.

EDIT: Thank you to everyone helping me find options that aren't giving her up. I'm going to do my best for her to keep her with me with the resources y'all have provided. I just want this sweet girl to be happy and you all are right, she does give me something that I think will help me through my own stuff too so I don't want to abandon her if I don't have to. She might be here for me just as much as I try to be there for her.

He's been limping, staggering, reluctantly to move, lost a lot of wait in 4 days, lost of appetite, constant yellow/white eye and nose discharge.

9-year-old dog diagnosed with a grade 3 sarcoma after her 3rd abdominal surgery. Looking for experiences with treatment and outcomes.

Raven: almost 9, spayed female Lab/shepherd mix, ~ 70 lbs

History

June 2025: A 13 cm mass on her spleen plus enlarged lymph nodes. She had a splenectomy, and pathology came back benign (a hematoma).

April 2026: An 8 cm mass grew where her spleen used to be. The first pathology read suggested lymphoma, but further testing (immunohistochemistry and PCR) ruled that out. The final diagnosis was a benign, reactive lymph node. She also has a ~3 cm right adrenal mass we're monitoring, which has stayed fairly stable.

October 2026: Ultrasound showed two new masses in the same area. Both were removed on Oct 12. A suspected liver mass seen on ultrasound wasn't found during surgery. Chest X-rays before surgery were clear.
Biopsy results (reviewed by 3 board-certified pathologists)
Larger mass: high-grade (grade 3) sarcoma, likely a splenic stromal sarcoma. They believe it grew from leftover spleen tissue (ectopic spleen) left behind after the splenectomy.
Mitotic count over 20: a measure of how fast the cells are dividing, which makes it fast-growing.
Smaller mass: benign nodular hyperplasia, also in leftover spleen tissue.
Margins were clean on both: the masses were fully removed.
Plan: Her surgeon and his oncology colleague are both recommend chemo. We have an oncology consult coming up.

Questions
Has anyone dealt with splenic stromal sarcoma, or a sarcoma growing from leftover spleen tissue? How did your dog do?
For a high-grade sarcoma that was fully removed with no visible spread, did you do chemo (IV doxorubicin or low-dose oral)? How did your dog tolerate it, and did it seem to help?
Did your vet recommend a CT scan for staging beyond chest X-rays?
Has anyone used turkey tail or other supplements alongside chemo?

picture of raven for flare

Spunky is 14 and over the summer it has really progressed. The vet gave us gabapentin to give him twice a day to manage the pain but I need to do more for him. He still eagerly wakes up in the morning for his walks and the only change is he moves slower. The biggest issue seems to be when he’s standing still, particularly when he’s eating. His legs bow out whether we put the bowl on his little table or on the floor until they collapse and he lays down while he eats. I’m definitely worried it’ll be difficult for him to stand while he goes to the bathroom and he’ll feel defeated.

Has anyone been in this situation? Are there any good results with “manual therapy”?

This is my first dog. I met him when he was 2, played with him every week, and he became mine when he was about 6 when his previous owner passed away. I guess I never really entertained the idea that he would grow older and I just want to do anything I can to make him as comfortable as possible.

My dog started doing this at night for the last few days. If I have him get on the couch, he stops. He’s done it standing up too. It’s always a few hours after eating dinner and after he’s been laying down for awhile. But he doesn’t do it after his morning meal. Any thoughts? I searched the group and found it could be nausea or acid reflux. I’m wondering if it’s a potential apoquil side effect since he’s been taking that but I’m going to look for alternatives.

I'm not sure whether I should let them do this. It's so hard to separate them because my cat is super food motivated and this happens every time I feed her (which is more frequently than I feed the cats). My other cat stays away from the dog entirely. The cats have plenty of escape routes and dog free zones in the house.

Any idea what this could be? Dog is eating and drinking like normal but has been coughing and reverse sneezing

So my 9 year old malamute/ husky mix all of a sudden has to urgently use the bathroom multiple times at night for the past 5 days.

She’s on thyroid medication, is eating and drinking like normal, and usually is very demure and can hold her potty through the night. But now, started at around 12am and every 2 hours after that until about 8 am she will wake me up whimpering, tapping her feet, poking me with her nose and scratching at the door. This is unlike her and I followed her out to see what she was actually doing and it’s mucus-y poop and very small quantities of pee every single time. I think I can see her straining to pee as well.

We went to the vet yesterday and her pee came back clean of crystals and bacteria, a probiotic was given for her yuck butt, and they threw around the word “dementia” a few times since the night time exclusivity of it seems behavioral. She’s very lucid though and I can’t find anything online that matches what she’s going through.

I know she’s uncomfortable and the every 2 hour wake ups are killing me, I’m looking for any advise as to how to help her, tests to ask for from her vet, ANYTHING!

Thanks! :)

The vet keeps saying her breathing is okay, but it seems very unusual to me. She was at rest and then started breathing like this. It happens at random times. Any insight on this?

This is day 3 with my new dog Rocco. He's around 8 months old and looks like a pit/Rottweiler mixed with something much smaller. He spent about a month at the shelter before I adopted him.

He's gotten along well with my Chihuahua, Peanut, and they'll occasionally play together, although Peanut has apparently become a chronic humper. 😂

Rocco was extremely scared when I brought him home—to the point of having diarrhea. He picked a corner of my living room as his safe spot, so I gave him a blanket and later a large crate there. I leave him alone whenever he retreats to it.

His diarrhea has stopped and he's becoming increasingly curious about me. He'll repeatedly come looking for me when he can't see me, then run away once he finds me. Sometimes he'll sneak up, boop the back of my leg with his nose, and retreat.

The exception is my bed. He'll approach me there and let me pet him, but if he thinks I'm getting up, he's immediately ready to run.

He still won't take treats directly from me, won't eat unless I'm about 6 feet away, and usually only sniffs me briefly before retreating.

I'm mostly giving him space and letting him approach on his own, but is there anything else I can do to help him feel safe around me and build trust

Hi! My dog got her spay sutures removed yesterday after the full 2 week recovery. Looked fine yesterday, however today they are insanely inflamed. Vet or no?

Girl laying down is my 8 year old who I've had since she was 8 months. Boy sitting up is a 1.5 year old dog who I adopted about 2 months ago.

My girl acts very much like a 'house manager' and checks him a lot, she's mostly herding breeds and Rat Terrier. The boy has always taken all corrections in a very chill way, he's mostly Coonhound and poodle/setter/shih tzu.

Is my girl stressed out? She often rolls onto her back like that and paws him.

Does anyone know what’s wrong? He was breathing like this for a couple minutes and then he was okay. He’s 14 year old cairn terrier. He’s blind and deaf. The vet just said he may have a heart mur mur but denied any treatment for him. Should I take him to the vet?

Noticed my dog is closing one of her eyes a lot. Opened it and saw this. Any idea? Going to vet but curious.

She’s 14

Lab border collie.

My girl is a 12 yr old American Staffy. She tends to whine at night for a bit and sometimes also pants. She is starting to have joint issues and arthritis. We just had a vet visit and awaiting blood test results. Any advice on what I can do to help her be more comfortable? We do give her joint supplements twice a day. I don’t want her suffering.

We adopted a German shepherd mix dog two years ago; he’s now three. When we adopted him, he was on a very low dose of gabapentin for anxiety from being at the shelter and we have weaned him off these meds. For the first six months, we were able to walk him without too many issues and even take him to the park for a run but since then he has become incredibly reactive on walks and we now struggle to get him off our street without fixating on houses that have dogs. He lunges and pulls on the leash, making walks extremely difficult. His reaction doesn’t seem to be aggression as once we’re close to other dogs, he’s actually playful and friendly. It’s the reactivity on the lead that we’re struggling with and it’s obviously very intimidating for anyone walking near us.

We’ve worked with three different trainers, all have said he’s a difficult case and recommended using a slip lead. We’ve tried this along with a halter and harness but nothing has really helped.

My husband now feels we’ve exhausted all our options and wants to rehome him. The hardest part is that he’s such a fantastic dog at home — he’s loyal, loving and a real joy to have around. He’s also intelligent so I’ve always made sure he’s stimulated with brain games, scent work and command training.

I’m feeling torn because I don’t want to give up on him but I also understand how exhausting and frustrating this has become as we’ve now got a newborn.

I’m wondering if anyone has experienced something similar or has any advice on what else we could try before making such a difficult decision.

I just noticed that my 7yr old golden retriever have a bump on her mouth should I be concerned and take her to the vet? Or is it something that can be left alone and heal? Thanks.

I'm honestly beside myself... I've just been crying since the vet called. The told me to take some time to think of what to do and that she'd call me again early next week.

I honestly struggled to even process all she even said to me but I'll try my best to make this make sense.

Essentially, my 2 year old (he just turned 2 Sept 21st) German shepherd started limping suddenly beginning of September, I tried some at home stuff like heat and cold compress and some dog pain meds I found at local pet shop thinking he simply hurt himself while I was at work because he always does silly stuff because you know... hes a puppy... well after a week of him still limping a bit and it getting worse (the limp) I called the vet and they gave him some Deracoxib. It worked great! Then the day after his final dose, immediately he went back to limping. So called vet and they prescribed a refill and said to maybe give it more time and if it still progressed after this dose, we'd do an xray.

We completed the dose, he limped again, we did the xray. The xray showed what my vet believed might be cancer or she tried to optimistically hope for a bone infection. We sent the xray to a specialist and he just confirmed on his end that he is certain its cancer.

He said a lot of stuff about why he was certain but honestly thats all fuzzy memory. My vet did suggest I could get a bone biopsy to get a 100% yes but she did say that she completely trusted the specialists judgment and believed as well that it was cancer.

She did say there was options like chemo and amputation as well as just pain management via meds but overall, there is no actual cure. Hes on limited time. She also did mention there were new studies being created they could try to get him in one but i dont even know how to go about such a thing and wouldn't those cost a crazy amount of money? Which i feel sick to even mention. Because i love my dog, I really do, and it feels horrible to even think that money needs to be mentioned when it comes to the life of my animal... but it does. I feel guilty and horrible and sick even admitting that but I just. I dont know. Im so beside myself. I want to do whats best for him, I really do. My vet seemed more inclined for amputation and also seemed like she didnt think chemo was worth it because she didnt want to make the decision for me of course but I also just dont know what to do. This is my first dog and I honestly thought id have years before id even have to make such a decision for him. Its just not fair 💔

Any advice? People who have had dogs with bone cancer, what did you do? What would you have done differently?? Please help

Hi!! I’ve got a small 11-year-old dog who loves to go running. We always do the same route because it’s easy, quiet, and has a fountain that my dog acknowledges as drinkable, hahaha. I’ve been wanting to switch up the route, but I’m afraid to because my dog doesn’t like the other fountains and refuses to drink from any bowl or water bottle I’ve brought. He also refuses to eat any treats until we get home. Any advice on how to keep picky dogs hydrated?

Looking for a bit of advice for a dog blood pressure monitor for my little Hank. Little man has stage 1 CKD and also high blood pressure. He’s started on meds right away, and we go back every week to check his blood pressure at the vets, which is costing a consultation fee every time. I’m totally happy to pay that, but I’m more worried about the fact that the vets think he might be suffering from elevated levels partly due to stress from being at the vets.

Every time we take him we have to take him in the car (which he hates and panics the entire time) and then he pants the entire time he’s at the vets, so it’s a stressful time for him. They suggested trying to daily test at home… now I have no idea what to buy in terms of blood pressure monitors.

I’m happy to spend whatever’s needed to keep him happy, but the monitors are so inconsistent with the reviews. When I asked the vets they weren’t very helpful. On Amazon there blood pressure monitors for pets, but they seem like human ones just with different sleeves? I know this is a dumb question, but is that essentially it, the sleeve size? A human blood pressure monitor with an additional pet sleeve is about £50, but a ‘pet’ monitor is over £150? Any advice welcome 😅

Photo of Hank for payment as best man at my wedding a few weeks ago!

Noticed he wouldn’t stop licking this area and it was red and blotchy, he has the one scratch at the top that looks gunky, where he can scratch himself with his back paw (he’s a flexible little guy). We’ve put a cone on him to see if it improves but wondering if it looks like a rash or just him irritating his skin by licking. No spots or anything on his tummy where he can’t lick.
Vet? Wait a bit (a week?) and if no improvement then vet?

Just started shaking today alittle bit while awake and alot while sleeping

Hi guys! Sorry for long content..

My dog chipped her tooth while chewing on a yak cheese stick. She is turning 4 years old soon. I took her to the vet, and they confirmed that the pulp is exposed. Unfortunately, they said the only treatment they could offer was extraction.
Since I really want to save her tooth if possible, I contacted a veterinary dentist. Apparently, the earliest available appointment for surgery (root canal or whatever procedure they can do to save the tooth) is November 3rd.
I asked if there was anything I could do to prevent infection since her pulp is exposed and we have to wait about three weeks for the procedure. They told me they could prescribe antibiotics, but they couldn’t provide any temporary covering or protection for the exposed pulp.
So right now, there’s really nothing I can do except give her soft food, make sure she has clean water, and wait.
The thing is, she has absolutely no symptoms. She’s eating well, acting completely normal, and sleeping just fine. I actually only noticed the chipped tooth because I was brushing her teeth. She did try to avoid the toothbrush touching that specific area, but that’s literally the only reaction I’ve noticed.
There’s no swelling, no redness around her gums, nothing that seems unusual.
So I decided not to get the antibiotics for now, especially since she isn’t showing any signs of infection. I can always go back to the vet and have her reassessed if anything changes.
I’m just really worried about leaving the pulp exposed for three weeks while waiting for the procedure.

I would really appreciate any advice on what I can do to prevent infection while waiting for her procedure.
I also have a few questions:
1. If an infection develops during these three weeks, would it still be possible to save her tooth with a root canal and crown? Or would extraction become the only option?
2. Would it be better to start antibiotics now as a preventive measure, or wait until there are signs of infection? I decided not to get the antibiotics for now because she’s acting completely normal, and I’m concerned about giving her antibiotics unnecessarily for such a long period of time. I don’t want to put extra stress on her body if she doesn’t actually need them.
3. (MOST IMPORTANT) Is there anything else I can do at home to protect the exposed pulp or reduce the risk of infection until November 3rd?

My biggest concern is that I really want to save her tooth, and I’m worried that waiting three weeks with the pulp exposed might make that impossible.
Has anyone been through something similar? I’d really appreciate any advice or experiences you could share!