Dog Owner Chat V. 5

[coën]

Nemo seems to be terrified of any dogs that come too close to him. He's completely okay with dogs that are further away, or ignore him, but any dog that tries to initiate contact sends Nemo into a barking spree with his tail between his legs. The problem is that the dogs I know are all either very energetic or aggressive/dominant, which means that I don't have a calm familiar dog to slowly introduce Nemo to. We've been to a puppy meeting but a majority of the puppies there crowded Nemo and terrified him completely.

I really need some advice.

[juicebox!]

work a lot on obedience and confidence building. whenever you see a dog, ask for a focus and reward like crazy. keep building that until eventually he can ignore dogs completely. this helped the most with us. however, my dog is not good with other dogs based on his fear of them. so im not sure how to get them to actually like other dogs and some dogs its in their temperament/breed.

[Naeco]

hey guys, i have a pretty serious question for dog-owning apartment dwellers and/or college students here

a little background: i'm a full time college student that has a part time work study job (which means I am allowed to do homework on the clock). i am taking 16 credits this upcoming semester, and i am moving into a 280 square foot studio apartment with my long-term boyfriend who will be working full time about 30 minutes away. Both of us love dogs, and he currently lives with his family who owns 3 of them.

We desperately want a dog when we move out, but we recognize that we might not have the time to care properly for it. I know that a cat may be preferable in our situation, but neither of us are particularly fond of cats. If we did adopt a dog, we wouldn't get a puppy since they require a lot more time, we'd go for an adult dog.

On another note, our apartment is located just across the street from a pretty sizable park, and I am an avid distance runner and would love to bring a doggo with me for some of my long runs. That being said, our dog would definitely be exercised, just maybe not more than once or twice a day.

We were thinking about 'test driving' being a dog owner by taking care of one of his parent's dogs for about a week to see how it goes.

So, this brings me to my final question. Is it doable to own and care for a dog as a college student in a small apartment? If any of you have any stories or advice to share, or even breed recommendations, i would love to hear them!

TL;DR
college student and boyfriend want a dog, seeking advice and/or success stories and/or 'horror' stores

Honestly, you could definitely do it. If you do, find a dog that is lower energy. A dog that if you take it for a run or fetch session and it is good for the rest of the day. Or, find a dog that has a decent energy level, and train it an off switch. My dog is high energy and can go for a 2 mile bike ride, less than 30 min later do a 20 min fetch session, less than 40 min later do a 10 min intense frisbee session, etc. I could really put the miles on this dog if I wanted too. But I trained her an off switch so good that she can lay around sleeping all day for 5 days in a row with just a minimal short run in the backyard when she goes to the bathroom.

You would also want a more independent dog with minimal anxiety. You do not want the dog to be shredding the apartment due to separation anxiety when you are gone. I would also crate train the dog so that if accidents do happen, they are contained and not destroying the apartment.

[juicebox!]

i found a dutch shepherd breeder and i am so excited. i believe i’ll be getting one in a few years. it’d probably be a sport dog so we can compete in various sports and possibly a service dog if it might do well with that. i found out long-haired dutchies are a thing and im absoloutely more in love with the breed, lmao.

[Luzien]

awww you like long haired dutchies...old german shepherd and got a breeder of those near you that is great
dont think there are so many who breed them, what is sad!
when i was a kid there where two near us who where really lovely and one even got out each day for a walk on his own^^
i like there look, all the fluffy fur, when they are from a good breeder and old working breeding line, that they are look like a true shepherd should look, nice back and legs and this nice fur....and they are not as overbreed and inbreed like other shepherds^^

when you like different shepherds , did you ever see a harz fox, at a dog show?..they are red with such cute faces^^ but only did see one at a show....dont even know if there are many breeder...

[Radical Raven]

Happy birthday Marley!

[Luzien]

awwww...happy birthday marley:mrgreen: and also got such a nice cake
and the cute look in there face...can we please please eat now

[typically,]

anxiety update. 1 /// ROCCO'S ANXIETY NOT MINE DADODODODO



ok so i basically just feel like doing this, because my pup's social anxiety bothers me. like scares me in a way. because what he does is kind of scary or unsettling is the word. just in a small way. but anyway since my family travels a lot we were in tennessee for three days with my family. and while we were gone, rocco jumped the fence. (it is four feet and wire). woo, there goes my boy using his agility skills. :,) ). anyway, i was actually surprised once my sister told us. (our dog sitter is our sister's friend so ye). anyway, i hope this doesn't hurt his joints or anything though. because four feet is way higher than his shoulder. also, my boy is heavy (but not terribly overweight nor obese). he is around seventy- eighty pounds i believe. it may seem heavy, but i hope you believe that i do walk him. and seventy pounds is a lot of weight to fall onto. anyway, i just wanted to inform you of his adventures. also, he jumped the fence to run after this dog. which may i add, he has never ever done this. ever while we were there with him. the only time he ever jumped the fence is when he used a bench that was near the fence. also, he did this to follow us to school. (im saying also a lot jeez ). so yeah. i think he feels pressured or something. and i really don't know what is going on. but if anything else happens while we're away this is just a little post to tell you guys.

and i also figured out that i think a day is when he starts to worry. like a few hours is no problem. maybe if we are gone for the day & into the night he starts to worry a bit. and two days is probably what really puts him off. just wanted to add that little bit.

Firstly, perhaps your dog is territorial, which might be why he jumped the fence to get to another dog. If it was a female dog in heat, you probably would of had a litter of puppies on your hand. Have you considered getting Rocco fixed? Secondly, if he becomes anxious during the day or being left alone for long periods, maybe you could invest in an anxiety vest or see about pet-friendly medications he could take to reduce his stress.

rocco is fixed. and about being territoral, i don't really know about that. though i think he may be. yet i've never seen him harm another dog in any way. also about the vest & medications, i'll look into those. they may be good for him. again; thanks for your help.

[Radical Raven]

awwww...happy birthday marley:mrgreen: and also got such a nice cake
and the cute look in there face...can we please please eat now

Ah yes! They devoured it 😂!

This was Marley one year ago today... I miss him being tiny!

[ᴍᴀᴏᴄɪғᴇʀ]

@Radical Raven
Happy birthday, Marley! That certainly looked like a delicious cake. He was such a cute pupper, and such a cutie now too.
Calling a yellow lab "Marley" though. Ouch that movie still makes me cry ;-;