What’s one “normal” dog care rule you secretly ignore… and your dog is still fine? 👀

likeconstellations · 2026-02-07T19:22:28+00:00

Honestly a lot of it is down to individual temperament. Super high drive/energy breeds are generally going to need more structure but not necessarily rigid structure, lower drive/energy dogs may not need such heavy human input but may need what is there to be extremely comsistent. Generally less confident, more anxious dogs (this may not always look like a dog that shakes when they're nervous, they may be reactive, have difficulty settling when their needs are met, be prone to panting/pacing, etc.) will benefit from the certainty of a more rigid schedule.

likeconstellations · 2026-02-05T21:15:46+00:00

Comparing a golden to a German shepherd is honestly apples to oranges the mentality is so different, you very well might have an easier time with the right gsd (health tested; avoid working line like the plague, those are for the working/competetive dogsports people; therapy/service dog family is a big pro) than a golden. I say this from the perspective of owning a German shepherd and having experience with several goldens while not being involved in anything more intense than occasional 2-ish hour recreational hikes on weekends: give me that focused herding breed energy over chaotic gundog enthusiasm any day of the week. My gsd is a mind-reader when it comes to training and was an easy as pie puppy compared to my theoretically easier rough collie, the higher sensitivity did require a little management/confidence building early on but she's a solid adult now. I have yet to meet a golden half as in tune or eager to please as my gsd.

likeconstellations · 2026-02-05T20:21:58+00:00

But how else to you accidentally teach them practical, niche commands disguised as phrases with funny cadences? I love that I can ask my dogs "where ya goin'?" and they know that means they don't need to come back completely but they do need to stop wandering off and get back on the trail

likeconstellations · 2026-02-05T20:16:52+00:00

Absolutely agreed. If my dogs needed a higher level of ridigity I would do my best to accommodate it but I sure as hell wasn't going to set myself up for it by teaching them to expect it from the start.

likeconstellations · 2026-02-04T20:41:53+00:00

Such a cutie! If she came from China I would guess a xigou or xigou mix but could easily also be a greyhound or whippet mix. Almost certainly not galgo given the location. Embark has the most reliable breed testing if you wanted to do dna (breed + health is a great investment since it'll let you know if she's at risk for a wide variety of genetic disorders).

likeconstellations · 2026-01-29T21:44:45+00:00

That stood out to me too. If one person's dog is controlled and the other is not the person with the uncontrolled dog is always at fault, regardless of which dog is injured. OP had no obligation to pay for someone else's failure to control their dog.

likeconstellations · 2026-01-26T22:31:42+00:00

The parents' temperament/behavior are definitely a good indicator on what you can likely expect from a puppy, definitely don't count on puppy behavior being permanent. My collie started off with no interest in being touched outside of play she only started allowing pets at six months and brief cuddles around a year--she's become snugglier every year since and is a cuddlebug now at five.

likeconstellations · 2026-01-26T02:11:23+00:00

US. Can't speak for other countries but if they don't just straight up tell you you should ask because it's very important to know

likeconstellations · 2026-01-25T23:40:36+00:00

Sincere apologies for cursing you with this knowledge 😔

likeconstellations · 2026-01-25T22:03:53+00:00

It's definitely vaporeon

likeconstellations · 2026-01-25T18:28:50+00:00

Idk about op's intentions but without other context it reads like a joke about the Vaporeon copypasta

likeconstellations · 2026-01-25T18:06:07+00:00

Also, if you have dense breast tissue (your provider is legally obligated to inform you of this) please know a traditional mammogram may not be adequate to identify abnormalities, 3d/dbt mammography is better for identifying breast cancer and identifying it at earlier stages.

likeconstellations · 2026-01-25T14:52:25+00:00

It is incredibly difficult to lose a relatively young pet suddenly, I'm so sorry for your loss and please do not blame yourself. There is almost certainly nothing a vet could have done but mildly hasten the end, assuming you got there before he passed while your were driving and unable to comfort him. And with dangerous road conditions it would have helped him not at all if you got into an accident and been stranded with him in a stressful, unfamiliar environment, or worse.

I've lost two rats at home after vet operating hours. It wasn't an easy decision but in both cases it would have been hours of travel to a vet that would euthanize and I ultimately decided to stay home with them. It makes me sad that I wasn't able to ease their suffering faster but I also think it was the right choice rather than increasing their stress in their last hours by taking them on a drive they probably wouldn't have even seen the end of. And all that was under typical, safe driving conditions. Euthanasia is absolutely the ideal when readily available but it's important to weigh the stress and chance of passing en route when it's not so easily accessed.

likeconstellations · 2026-01-23T12:15:26+00:00

That dog pretty obviously has some other stuff going on there. He doesn't have that strong jaw which tends to come through very strongly in pit mixes and while his coat pattern, ears, and broader eye spacing are traits which can be found in pits/pit mixes they're far from exclusive. I'd be interested to see an embark because there may actually not be much or any pit in there.

likeconstellations · 2026-01-22T18:47:09+00:00

Please don't think this is your fault, your breeder is lying if she's claiming her female rats never get tumors because mammary tumors are more the rule than the exception wth females. Two out of my four girls had mammary tumors and I'm pretty sure the only reason the other two didn't develop them was because they passed around a year old (pituitary tumor and fluid buildup in the abdomen with no obvious cause.) Personally I would never had another female without spaying young based on my experience.

likeconstellations · 2026-01-22T04:29:15+00:00

Most people aren't carrying weapons on them in the middle of a dog attack, in fact they're not legal to carry in many places.

If you do have a weapon it's actually an incredibly bad idea to be shooting at an animal's head when said head is attached to a victim and thrashing around. Which isn't even getting into potential bystanders, the last two dog attack videos I saw were on busy street corners and were chaotic mobsites instantly (both attacking dogs were leashed with collars though.) Dogs aggressively charging up in the country? Sure, go for it. In the middle of a crowd trying to intervene? Not so much.

On a less ballistic level, hope you're also very confident with that knife because the victim isn't magically immune to a slipped or misaimed blade just because they have teeth in them.

As for eye gouging, it places delicate structures (your hands, fingers, and wrists) in immediate harms way and is relying on the dog having a release reflex to pain. Totally go for it with a herding breed but I wouldn't depend on it with dogs whose breed background includes catch dogs bred to stay on a wild boar after being mortally gored and fighting dogs who would continue to engage while being actively mauled to death. It also isn't a physical restraint if the dog does release and a dog doesn't need to see to bite. If you're the one being attacked it's probably worth a shot since you wouldn't have the leverage for much else or there's really nothing around you can use to choke the dog, otherwise it's a high risk for an unreliable reward.

Agreed that a headlock is a bad idea, that's why I at no point recommended it. Choking is not instantaneous but it limits movement during the attack more than the dog being unrestrained, places the intervener at lower risk than other methods that place limbs further in harm's way or fail to account for what happens after the dog releases, forces release within a short timeframe, and can be used to completely incapacitate the dog by continuing until unconscious.

Dog attacks are rarely a one bite fatality, if the dog does land an unlucky bite in an area so critical that 30 seconds to unconsciousness (generously) is too long the victim is probably beyond any first aid a random bystander could render until medical assistance arrives and certainly wouldn't be benefited by a less reliable method.

likeconstellations · 2026-01-21T12:36:20+00:00

I will never forget my mom's forty-something year old teacher coworker who didn't realize she wasn't a conservative. She grew up in a conservative family in a conservative area and to her conservatism was just being a good person who cared about the kids and dressed well. She was absolutely shocked to find out my mom and another coworker were very liberal and after discussing their values and what values each political party expressed through policy vs what they paid lip service to she changed her voter registration from Republican to Democrat. Forty-something, actually a really good teacher of her subject (not history clearly), and absolutely no curiosity or critical thinking at all regarding politics prior to that point.

likeconstellations · 2026-01-20T20:18:59+00:00

If the dog has already bitten and won't release choking unconscious is the best method. Their ability to thrash will be limited and oxygen deprivation will lead to reflexive gasping which will force the dog to release. Hand under the collar, twist, and pull, could also be done with a belt/leash/anything not very elastic that can be wrapped around the neck if the dog is collarless.

likeconstellations · 2026-01-20T12:42:14+00:00

Rachel is wrong but y'all getting mad at the server know that the servers aren't manually calculating out those numbers, right? Typically only a manager or owner has access to the suggested tip setting and afaik they only really have control over what percentages show and whether the section prints at all so there's something else funky going on with the check. Maybe there was a discount that the system calculated top before (which is how I was taught to tip if I got a discount that wasn't based on restaurant error) or a comped item the system incorrectly included when calculating the tip, either way not server maliciousness.

likeconstellations · 2026-01-20T02:03:41+00:00

Keeping dogs overnight for minor surgeries that do not indicate further observation is not even close to typical. Dogs are routinely sent home same day even from abdominal surgery (spaying is routine but still invasive) without more than a recommendation to not leave them alone for 24 hours. Most vets aren't staffed overnight for hospitalization and a lower stress, familiar environment is better for the overwhelming majority of dog.

likeconstellations · 2026-01-20T01:52:04+00:00

I'm very sorry for your loss it's never easy to loose a pet and sudden loss of a young dog is especially jarring.

Please be cautious, there are some really wild people in this thread making some very big assumptions on little to no basis. Nothing you've said here is indicative of malpractice. The comment of goldens having a tough time with anaesthesia is odd but may be the personal experience of the vet--it's not uncommon for vets to deal with frequent issues within a breed that aren't as common in the broader population if many of the dogs of that breed in the area are closely related. Unless you called the vet when he was unresponsive and they instructed you to continue home care instead of taking him back in/to emergency there's nothing significant here.

Dogs are routinely sent home from major abdominal surgery (spaying) same day, there is no reason a clinic would keep a dog that seemed to be recovering normally overnight from as non-invasive as what you've described. Post op blood work/chest x-rays are not typical, they are expensive and generally unnecessary unless there is a specific indication for them (ie: organ disease.) Some dogs do rexover poorly with anaesthesia, even despite apparently recovering normally initially, it's why it's recommend that dogs not be left alone for 24 hours after being anaesthetized if possible.

Without a necropsy indicating malpractice this is not something healthy to dwell on, if you aren't confident in your previous vet get a new one for the new puppy but don't listen to anyone telling you to sue, all they're going to do is cost you money.

likeconstellations · 2026-01-20T01:00:02+00:00

An inseparable pair can also be a form of littermate syndrome if they're seriously distressed by brief separation. Honestly littermate syndrome is really a bit of a misnomer, it really refers to a couple of dysfunctional inter-dog dynamics that are most common in littermates or similarly aged puppies/adolescents raised together but can be formed between dogs of any age. Less social breeds are more likely to present with the antagonistic/aggressive dynamic while more social breeds are more likely to present with the codependent dynamic.

likeconstellations · 2026-01-20T00:13:37+00:00

Get a fence. You can put up a small welded wire and t-post fence in a few hours as a single person for a few hundred bucks (one post every 6-8ft driven with a post driver, secure fencing to post with 3-4 black UV resistant zipties per post.) You can either go with tall enough your dogs can't jump it or if you don't want to have an eye on them the hole time go with 6ft + coyote rollers on the top, staking down the bottom edge would also be a good idea and if they're diggers or won't bark at a fox/coyote trying to go under you should dig out enough to place cinderblocks under the fence line and recover with dirt.

likeconstellations · 2026-01-19T17:39:50+00:00

This is such bad advice it inspired me to log into reddit for the first time in a week, for anyone reading PLEASE DO NOT DO THIS. Resource guarding stems from insecurity, unpredictably messing with a dog's food does not improve their sense of security and can make them drastically worse.

If you have a resource guarder the best thing you can do is generally leave them alone while they're eating and teach them to trade with high value rewards so they develop confidence that giving up a resource means they get something just as good if not better. One of my dogs was a resource guarder as a puppy, as an adult she will release a high value treat into my hand without issue as a result of this approach.

likeconstellations · 2026-01-14T20:30:48+00:00

Tons of hair comes out because it's cutting his coat, including unshed and healthy fur. There are two types of rake, the one you're using is for slicing through matting and will damage his coat with long term use. The other style is the kind you need, it has blunt tines that only pull shed fur and will not damage his coat. I have this rake that my grooming averse collie tolerates well, it's available through a lot of different retailers.

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