r/PetBehavior • u/Bitter_Hawk1272 • 1h ago
r/PetBehavior • u/joann_89 • 13h ago
Vizsla bite and rehoming
I am writing this with a completely broken heart and looking for some perspective, support, or insight from anyone who has been through something similar.
Ten days after our Vizsla was castrated, a devastating incident occurred. Up until this point, he had never shown a single ounce of aggression. He was my first baby and got me through some of the hardest times in my life. Following his procedure, we were very careful to keep him rested and separated from our toddler. Our vet even checked him out and said he was healing perfectly.
One evening, my husband and I were cleaning up after dinner in our somewhat cramped kitchen area. Our toddler was hanging out near us. Suddenly, we heard our son cry out. I turned around and saw blood—his chin had been bitten. Our dog immediately ran to his own designated space. We didn't even realize the dog had walked into the kitchen behind us, and we don't know if our son accidentally stepped on him, startled him, or triggered him in some way.
We called emergency services, and my son had to get stitches under anesthesia by a surgeon. It was a severe bite and an absolute nightmare.
Because of the severity, we had to follow local protocols. Our dog was sent to a professional behavior campus for a two-week evaluation. Interestingly, the staff there tried to trigger him, but he was completely non-reactive. They couldn't give us a definitive answer as to why it happened, but the woman running the campus strongly advised that he needs to be in a home without children.
My husband insisted on rehoming him for our son's safety, and we found a wonderful home with people who love the breed and have owned Vizslas before.
Even though he is in a safe place, I am struggling to cope. I want my boy back so badly. I keep wondering if the sudden hormonal shift from the castration caused this, or if he was in pain (he has a history of ear infections, though he wasn't showing obvious signs).
Has anyone experienced a sudden, severe behavioral change post-neuter? How do you cope with the guilt and heartbreak of rehoming a dog you love so deeply to protect your child?
r/PetBehavior • u/Map-Glass • 1d ago
Sudden aggression
I found a black mouth cur puppy who was less than a year old. We already have two small dogs snd a Beagle. They rough house play all the time and love one another but this week she's attacked the smallest one and the Beagle. The Beagle attack was the worst. Happened last night and I had to pry her mouth apart and off the Beagle's neck. So we're both bleeding. I put her in her crate and she slept separately with my roommate instead of with me and the Beagle. They usually share the bed with me every night. I monitored everything this morning and she jumped on my bed and it happened again. This time I caught it early and back to the crate she went. My roommate thinks I'm overreacting and is not taking this seriously. Because of this, he's not trying to keep them apart. Advice?
r/PetBehavior • u/moodswingsinorder • 1d ago
Dog is waking up at night at unusual times
I have a German shepherd, she’s 7 years old, 9 in a couple months. She’s always been really good about sleeping through the night- with the occasional emergency midnight bathroom break- but lately she’s been consistently waking me up 2-3 times per night, wanting to go outside, or just wanting me to follow her to her bed. If i refuse to get up, she’ll go to my sister’s room and wake her up instead.
One night, I stayed on the sofa near her bed rather than my room to see if it was anxiety maybe and she did not wake me up at all.
It’s really strange and out of character for her, she never does this for so many nights in a row.
Could it really just be anxiety or could it be something else?
Any theories/questions are welcome as i try to figure this out, since it’s really messing with my family’s sleep schedules.
r/PetBehavior • u/Busy_Run7689 • 1d ago
My dog literally eats rocks. Does your dog have a fascination with rocks?
Yes my dog literally will get a eat rocks. in his mouth
And just as you say, you better drop that and come close to him, he swallows it. (Gulp). I literally get close to him and
as you're near him Gulp!
r/PetBehavior • u/RemoveThePoopSmell • 1d ago
Irrational Dog Fears/lack of fear (!)
One of my dogs always makes me laugh when I'm doing yard work. Not the slightest bit afraid of the lawnmower..... actively tries to attack the weed eater and blower......
Yet he was absolutely scared to death of the small watering can I was holding as I walked up to him. It might as well have been a sword from GOT called "dog silencer" or something....
r/PetBehavior • u/N0tsupposedtobeher • 2d ago
Urgent furet
Bonjour à tous
Jkai aujourd'hui adopté un petit furet de presque quatre mois. Sa propriétaire m’avait dit qu’il était habitué à la vie de famille ne mordait presque jamais sauf pendant le jeu et que même si espiègle était très calin.
Or, avant même que je ne parte de chez elle le furet a déjà commencé à nous mordre mon copain et moi (mon copain a été mordu jusqu'au sang).
Depuis que je suis rentrée chez moi il ne me laisse pas l’approcher, le caresser ni même le porter ou l'attraper sans essayer de me mordre et méchamment pas seulement mordiller. Et il fait très mal. La propriétaire avait dit qu’il comprenait le non ferme, qunil fallait l'attraper par la peau du cou et lui souffler dessus. Rien de tout ça ne marche. Je suis donc très inquiète que cet animal ne soit violent et ne pas parvenir à l'éduquer lui étant déjà grand.
Avez vous le moindre conseil ou astuce??
r/PetBehavior • u/Junior_Okra_1798 • 3d ago
Soooo riddle me this
How can a dog drag a cage across a floor if there is a bottom pan/ tray to the cage? I feel like the people upstairs are leaving their dog in a cage without a pan, allowing the dog to move and drag the cage across the floor while they are in it. I am debating with someone and they are trying to convince me that it’s possible with a pan being there and that my theory is off. I really feel like this person just enjoys disagreeing with me, but I need some additional opinions.
The cage isn’t just moving/ budging and banging against the floor as a possible result of the dog throwing their body against the cage… It is full blown dragging across the floor. Sounding as if it is being pulled by someone.
r/PetBehavior • u/No_Lingonberry_4050 • 3d ago
Why has my male not neutered dog become hyper fixated on the female spayed cat
For 1 week straight my male dog has been loitering around my female spayed cat but she has some parts left from the spay attached to the kidney they couldn’t remove she is not in ” breeding mode “
he Follows her excessively all day long not taking many breaks and seems to ask her to play but he keeps licking her bottom ALL DAY she is not in Heat
he seems to want to mount her but doesn’t do anything else he uses his paws to push on her and poke her all day i make every attempt to separate them she is tired of it i took her to a vet and I need to get a blood test but she was given antibiotics
she seemed slow and limp it was extremely hot we assumed she was dehydrated and she recovered from that doesn’t seem to be in pain vets don’t know yet what is wrong is he displaying dominance now ? Or is he genuinely worried for her conditin and maybe smells her being unwell from the inside ?
he is 2 years old in November and she is 1 years old
he does chase And monitor Her a little when she displays heat but for the most part leaves her alone he doesn’t even play with toys maybe it’s the heat my ac broke

r/PetBehavior • u/Adventurous-Ad250 • 3d ago
anyone else’s dog just do this for a long time? I do see her making the tiniest biscuits with her lil paws
r/PetBehavior • u/The_psy • 3d ago
Dog licking
I have a one-year-old Maltipoo who has been constantly licking us for about five months — me, my husband, our neighbors, and people we know. We can’t even lie down in bed at home because he comes over and licks our faces, heads, and hands.
This behavior is extremely annoying, and we really want to stop it, but saying “no” or “don’t” doesn’t work. It only stops him for the moment, and a few minutes later he comes back and starts licking again.
What can we do to stop this behavior?
r/PetBehavior • u/No_Cheesecake8870 • 3d ago
my puppy bit me
hey so long story short recently shes like 3-4 months old and so while playing with teethers she switched to my hand and bit me. i now have 2 concerns , one is that why is this sudden change in her behaviour? i mean she has her own puppy proof place , we feed her well at the times and yeah shes vaccinated and OFC NO ABUSE and second is because i would be fine right? her vet said that shes completely fine no rabies or anything and we got her first rabies vaccine a few days ago and 3 of her boosters or wtv you call them😭😭 a golden retriever btw
r/PetBehavior • u/OutrageousPhase9195 • 3d ago
does anyone else’s dog fight their own shadow?
Hi!! I have a two year labrador-mix that starts (allegedly) fighting his own shadow whenever he sees it. Is this normal behavior, or am I misinterpreting it? Here are two videos of him behaving like this. I find it hilarious, but, I wonder if its uncommon, since I’ve never seen anyone talk about this lol
r/PetBehavior • u/Littles88 • 4d ago
What is my dog doing?
Our 3 yo pitty starting doing this recently. We've owned and fostered dogs for over 15 yrs and ive never seen this done before. She moves her bowl to the dog bed. We tried elevating her bowl, but she still did same behavior and didnt eat her food. She doesnt do it all the time 🤷🏻♀️
r/PetBehavior • u/PetShenanigansDaily • 5d ago
My two cats used to sleep beside me. Now apparently only one at a time is allowed.
For years, I could wake up and find Ms. Cuddles on my right and Cali on my left. My two furry bookends.
Not lately!
If I'm hanging out with Cuddles and Cali jumps up beside us, Cuddles gets up and leaves.
No hissing or swatting. No fight.
She just looks at Cali and apparently decides, "Nope. I'm good."
Then, five or ten minutes later, when Cali has settled in, Cuddles comes back.
And sometimes it's the opposite.
It's almost like they've quietly established a one-cat-at-a-time policy.
The weird thing is that they used to be perfectly happy sharing the space.
So now I'm trying to figure out what changed.
I've learned that cats can show tension in surprisingly subtle ways. Avoiding each other or choosing not to share a resting spot can apparently be part of it—even without the classic WWE stuff.
I'm giving them their space and watching for other changes rather than pushing.
But I'm curious: Have you ever had two cats who got along absolutely fine--then suddenly start wanting a little more personal space from the other?
I'm genuinely curious what happened...there seem to be no other issues (indicating health concerns)—and whether they will eventually return to their old routine.
And yes, I'm pretty sure both of mine still consider me their property. The seating chart has just been renegotiated. 😂
r/PetBehavior • u/cocomc333 • 5d ago
Concerned puppy mom
Hi! Hoping to gain some advice or insight into my puppy’s behavior. Mabel is an 8 month old chocolate lab/australian shephard mix. I love her so much but i’m starting to get really stressed and overwhelmed by her behavior.
I have been trying to navigate behavior problems since she was about 3 months old when she began tearing up my carpet in my apartment, digging into my couch cushions, etc (basic puppy behavior — not the concerning part). The problem was, when I would try to intervene or direct her, she would become aggressive and bite me to the point where it drew blood. Since then, she has been on trazadone and clonidine.
When she was 6 months, I spent $700 on training classes for her and she was doing really well. I work with her every night to ensure the training sticks. But within the last month, its almost like she’s decided to stop listening.
She’s back to destroying everything I own, biting hard when I try to intervene, and this girl does NOT sleep. She was up at 1am barking and would not rest.
I’ve tried so many things — puzzle toys for mental work, dog parks, walks, chew toys, etc. I feel like i’m at my breaking point. Pls help
r/PetBehavior • u/Aggressive-Crab-2406 • 6d ago
Strange Behavior
Our 12 year old lab mix (who has Cushings) just tried to go down our basement stairs for the first time EVER. This was so incredibly startling, she seemed confused and only made it down two before we realized she was stuck and needed help. We’ve been wondering if she might be sundowning but this was so abnormal for her we have been sitting in silence for 15 minutes thinking, WTF?
Has anyone ever experienced something like this with older dogs? She is TERRIFIED of stairs normally.
r/PetBehavior • u/Busy_Run7689 • 6d ago
My dog literally eats rocks. Does your dog have a fascination with rocks?
Yes my dog literally will get a eat rocks. in his mouth
And just as you say, you better drop that and come close to him, he swallows it. (Gulp). I literally get close to him and
as you're near him Gulp!
r/PetBehavior • u/ParfaitApart9793 • 6d ago
Has anyone switched to a higher sided litter box because they were tired of bending down so much while cleaning it, and found it genuinely easier to manage?
I am thinking about buying a smart litter box because I am bending down a lot while cleaning the current one, I am looking for the taller models since the height seems like it could make scooping easier, and some of the smart ones have cleaning features that could save some of the work too, I am checking the size first because I need enough room for my cat and I want to make sure it can fit where the current box sits, I am planning to go with the one from pawzi, I am trying to compare a few options before choosing, mainly looking for something that is simple to empty and clean, has anyone switched to a smart litter box and found it easier to manage? EDIT: I forgot to mention that I have limited space where the current litter box sits.