i need your help

Over the weekend, I met a Maltese with a bit of a pee-pee problem. The owner scooped her up, apologized profusely when I wanted into the apartment, and admitted she had no idea how to predict or stop this.

Flashback to a childhood friend of mine: we knew to knock on her door and immediately step back so her pooch would come outside to greet us . . . and thus pee on the steps, not in the foyer. This accidental piddling often occurs around new voices and people in the home — some believe it's a nervous reaction that comes from fear, while others term it "happy pee" since it often happens around strangers/excitement. If you've experienced this submissive behavior, share your thoughts on it, and how to deal, in the comments below!

Source

Most kitties are not lining up to take a car ride like the cutely curious cat pictured. Leaving the house way less frequently than canine counterparts, home is definitely where their hearts stay.Relocating with a pet that hates cars is not easy but I've never stopped to consider the litter problem for trips including several days of driving. When advising about what to do with pets and movers on Thursday, I spotted this bathroom break question in the comments — peep it when you read more

Ouch! My friend's puppy made a recent trip to the groomer . . . and left with these battle scars. As you can see from the pictures, the lil pooch had some visible scrapes and cuts in a newly shorn coat. The facility came highly recommended, but she was admittedly concerned beforehand when they wouldn't let her stay to watch his first haircut. Now I've definitely heard of that practice – especially with young pups who may get overly excited by mom and dad's presence and for liability issues with other dogs around but I can relate to her anger, seeing her pooch with bow-owwies afterward.I've never brought my short-haired pup in for a trim so it's up to you to share your experiences. Have you ever returned to a groomer to see unexpected injuries and what would you do in this situation?

Now we've tackled barking issues on the site in the past, but my new pal, TrèsSugar came to me with one noisy dilemma. Turns out a neighbor has two dogs kept in the backyard at night. However, the two pups don't seem to care for this set-up as they bark or, as she says, one barks and the Pug sounds more like coughing or choking as it tries to chime in. Even though the woman occasionally sticks her head out the window to yell at them, the problem's keeping Très up at night.

I understand we live in the (fairly) temperate San Francisco, yet I'd never dream of leaving a dog outside, especially a smooshy! It's another case of who to call or what to do – I've got a couple ideas in mind but I'm curious how you would handle this sad, sleepless situation so let's hear it in the comments below!

Source

This insanely adoro pooch is named Harley – personally, I don't see how could you not love her cute face?! Well, seems her owner BloodyFuFu faces the problem that (sadly) many pittie owners see: people who want nothing to do with this breed based on things they've "heard."

Since they're in a pet-friendly office, several people bring dogs and she's worked with several co-workers to help them see how sweet her pooch is . . . but one has been scared of Harley since the pup was rescued two years ago and passed that fear on to her own dog. BloodyFuFu shares in the Pet Peeves group:

I can tell my dog's intentions from the pitch of her bark to her movements to her posture and I know that Harley sees this other dog as a potential playmate. The problem is really that due to fear, this woman sees Harley as a threat, her dog sees Harley as a threat, and she doesn't see when her dog is the aggressor or make any attempts to control her dog. I feel bad for trying to correct my dog for wanting to play, but I don't know what else to do. This woman also recently moved offices so now she is right next door and it seems like this will be a major issue. What can I do about someone that is unwilling to look past stereotypes and be comfortable with my dog? I don't want constant tension between the dogs, but if the owner is unwilling the dog is unwilling.

Please offer any advice below!

What a cute face! Meet Brutus, rescued pit bull of hippielovebaby. This 6-month-old pup has red mange (demodicosis), an inflammatory disease in dogs caused by various types of the Demodex mite.

Even though she's been using meds from her vet, she's not seeing any results for this skin condition. I did a little more research about this disease on PetMD and found that they recommend lime sulfur dips to relieve symptoms like the redness we see here. I'd definitely recommend giving that a try after bathing little Brutus with antibacterial shampoo. If any of you have experienced this with furry friends of your own, share more suggestions in the comments below.

You may recognize the pooch on the left as the sometimes mischievous B-Bop. Well, this lucky dog just got a new lil sister, the equally adoro Rocksy (short for Rocksteady) – what a musical family!However, Renees3 is worried about what kind of not-so-lovely tunes these two will create when left to their own devices alone. She writes:

Do you have any tips for helping to introduce Rocksy to our current two-year-old dog? I want to make it as easy and calm as possible for him. He has full run of the house while we're gone, but I can't trust a puppy to not get into things. Is it OK to crate (or contain) one and not the other?

I definitely think it's a great idea to give the new pup her own crate/exercise pen where she can escape and adjust to her new lifestyle and family – it's not a good idea to leave strange pups alone together regardless. Other than that I've never experienced this problem firsthand so that's where all of you come in: Anyone with multiple pet households, please share stories or suggestions to help this process go smoothly in your comments below.

Pups can get mighty bored – and mischievous – when left to their own devices so many dog owners (myself included!) offer up the occasional frozen Kong to occupy furry friends. While in moderation, this isn't a problem, what happens when this turns into a routine and pets become, well, pudgy?!

That's the question posed by TeamSugar member lilegwene who writes:

I feel pretty guilty when I leave my dogs home alone for an extended period of time (anything over a quick trip to the store!) and generally give them Kongs and bones to chew on while I'm away. They're getting a little pudgy around the middle, and I was wondering if there are any other activities that you can suggest to keep them busy that aren't food oriented . . . and they're not interested in non-edible chew toys, balls, or squeaky toys unless someone is around to throw them!

Can we put our heads together and come up with some snack-free solutions?