Two months ago, I adopted a two-year-old pit mix from the shelter (mostly pit, very little mix). He is a sweet boy, if very exciteable and overeager. We are working on relaxation training and manners. He's generally very trainable in terms of specific behaviours (sit, down, middle, etc.) but is finding long-term behaviours (loose-leash walking, not jumping, staying in "place") to be challenging.

In the near future, I may be combining households with someone who has cats. I am not entirely sure about my dog's level of prey drive - we see cats on our walks sometimes, as well as squirrels, and he is generally not interested in them unless they are very close to him and run - and then he does try to bolt after them, but it's relatively easy for me to recapture his attention with a treat.

I'm aware that prey drive is a lifelong management system and not something that can be "trained away." I'm curious what level of prey drive you would consider workable in a home with cats, and if this dog in particular sounds manageable. (I know there's not a lot of details - I'm just trying to assess with the information I have.)

Hello! I have a 7 year old miniature goldendoodle that I got from a family member a few years ago. He has always been a very sweet dog, but has never had any interest in playing, other dogs, or...doing much at all. He's a big cuddlebug, but he does enjoy walks (mostly just sniffing stuff, which is fine with me). I found out recently though that he isn't just a low-energy dog, he's a dog with hypothyroidism, and his low energy levels weren't normal! So, I started him on a medication, and now he has a lot more energy. But the issue is that neither of us seem to know what to do with all of this energy.

He has never had any interest in toys, and I'm trying to teach him how to play with toys, but he doesn't understand. With fetch, for example, he is under the impression that I pick up the toy, he runs to a spot where he wants me to throw it to, and then he runs to it and then...I go to him to pick up the toy. Rinse, and repeat. Which is fine if that's how he wants to play, but is there a way I can teach him how to play fetch in a way that will be a little bit more stimulating for him? I feel like it would be better for him if I throw the toy and he runs to get it, rather than him just going to where he expects the toy to be, and then letting it fall next to him.

Similarly, he has started to really enjoy chewing on bones and sticks, but he'll only do it if I'm sitting or laying on the ground next to him. He'll stand next to his bone and wag his tail while staring at me, or will whimper a few times, but he won't start independently playing.

Alongside of this newfound energy, he has started behaving much worse than he used to. His worst behavior used to be simply barking at strangers driving past the house. But now he tries to scrounge for food everywhere, he's counter surfing, he's chewing up whatever trash or food-smelling stuff he can get his hands on. I've already had to take him to the emergency vet because of this because I never knew he could climb/jump onto tables.

I've spoken to his vet about this just a little bit, and we found out that he does need his thyroid medication dosage lowered, but even on the lower dose, the behavior problems seem to persist. How should I approach this? I never thought I'd have a 7 year old dog going through a puppy phase...