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I work from home and take care of the puppy during the day. The routine goes like this:

– Usually a quick walk or play in the morning after breakfast before work

– By 9 am he will take a nap until about noon

– At noon, a longer walk, play session, or dog park

– He’ll nap again until around 4 when he starts to get restless

– Finish work and feed him around 5 and then play or walk again

– From this point until he’s down for the night (usually around 9) he will do nothing but cycle between misbehaving (counter surfing or chewing on furniture), biting us if we come near him, or barking at us for attention

I’m at a loss for what to do with him at this time of day. It doesn’t seem like any amount of additional exercise after work tires him out until it’s bedtime. It’s the only time of the day we have to get anything done outside or work or just relax and the puppy is a terror the whole time.

Anyone have suggestions on why he is behaving this way? How to get him to calm down? Or even how to handle him on those days where he can’t be our sole focus all evening long? Thanks

Hi! My English bulldog is 13 months old. She is spayed. We have had her since she was 10 weeks old. She has suddenly stopped sleeping at night. Like I’m talking as soon as we get ready for bed she goes insane. Destructive mode (chewing anything she can find), chasing the kids, whining, etc.

She gets lots of stimulation during the day, walks, car rides, daycare once a week, playtime with her human siblings, puzzles, etc. and yet she absolutely refuses to sleep at night now!

She was crated at night until about 6m. Then once she was fully potty trained she began to sleep with my son. She slept great until she was about 10months. The last two weeks it’s progressively getting worse. She will not settle until at least midnight. I’m losing my mind.

Hi everyone! I’m trying to decide between a few breeds and would love to hear from people who actually own them.

Right now I’m mainly considering a Havanese, Portuguese Water Dog, or possibly a Toy Poodle.

A bit about my situation:

• I live in an apartment
• I work during the day but the dog would usually be alone around ~5 hours, sometimes less (no more than 5)
• I’m willing to take time off when the puppy first comes home and do proper training
• My partner runs and would love a dog to run with, which is why the PWD is in the mix
• I have mild allergies, so low-shedding breeds are important
• I’m very mindful of separation anxiety and barking, especially since I live in an apartment and don’t want a dog that barks all day when left alone

Personality-wise, I love the idea of a Havanese because they seem like really sweet companion dogs. My only concern is that I’ve read they can be more prone to alert barking and separation anxiety.

The Portuguese Water Dog appeals to me because they seem a bit more independent and less “yappy,” plus the allergy-friendly coat and my partner being able to run with the dog is a bonus. I know they’re higher energy though, and I want to be realistic about whether that’s manageable in an apartment.

I’m also curious about Toy Poodles since they seem very trainable and allergy-friendly, although aesthetically they weren’t initially my top choice.

For context, I grew up with a cockapoo in a household where people worked during the day, so I know many dogs can adapt to that routine. I just want to make sure I’m choosing a breed that will be happy with that lifestyle.

Would love to hear from people who have experience with these breeds, especially regarding:

• barking in apartments
• separation anxiety
• how they handle being alone for part of the workday
• overall energy level and trainability

Thanks in advance!

I have a couple questions so I'm going to be making a few posts.

My first question is how can I help him learn to give older dogs space?

I have a 16 week old puppy. I've had him since he was 8 weeks old. After doing a DNA test, I found out he's 3/4 Australian cattle dog and almost 1/4 Aussie.

He is so different from when my German shepherd mix was a puppy four years ago.

With older dogs he's constantly in their space. With my shepherd it's constantly trying to play and wrestle, or to take anything he has or shows interest in. For other dogs he meets it's trying to play and wrestle, licking their face, chewing on their collar, trying to mount them or humping the air next to them, grabbing their ears, etc.

My shepherd likes to wrestle with him, but not 24/7.

The puppy HAS to have whatever the other dogs have. Doesn't matter if the same thing is laying next to him, he needs what the other dog has, whether it's a chew, a treat, a ball, a toy.

The puppy doesn't take any dog corrections.

If he doesn't get what he wants he screams. I'm not sure how else to describe the ear piercing sounds he lets loose.

I try to distract him with anything else. Sometimes he spends time in his exercise pen to calm down a bit and give the shepherd time away from him. I try to praise him for the things he's doing right and guide him away from the things he shouldn't do but nothing helps.

He kind of knows leave it. We're working on it. He'll sometimes listen to it but often just ignores us. Usually if it's something he really wants.

It's gotten to the point where he now swallows any treats he gets in as big of chunks as he can to try to get more from the shepherd. It doesn't matter if they're separated he still just swallows things as big as a milkbone whole.

Not a puppy, but should’ve been done when she was a puppy. My dog, who was trained on pads (poorly) absolutely refuses to poop outside. She holds it on walks and tries to go inside as soon as we get home. When she does this, I take her back out and she doesn’t go, rinse and repeat. She is now holding it in as I won’t allow her to go inside. She got halfway through pooping inside yesterday before I interrupted her and took her outside – that’s been over 24 hours ago. She’s in a crate when I’m not home and is supervised when I am. Need advice BADLY

Puppy age: 11 January 2026 German Shepherd Had it 4 days ago

His name is Max, currently I have been trying to set boundaries limit and rule and some basic easy training like marker training only as of today (not working at all eitherhe doesn'tunderstand it or distracted whenever i click he doesn't look at me or react). However he is so distracted would run around a lot go to places I don't want him to go i have tried in an empty room with a leash but he only resist and stay still or bite when I have the leash on so I stop using the leash but he is constantly going away from me roaming around biting me doesn't seem to understand what I am trying to convey been watching tons of YouTube video from kikkopup, Zak, ceaser millan, etc. Nothing seems to work. I can only hold treats to is nose but all it does is makes him excited lunges and at me thou there's are some times where he does automatically sit for awhile I would wait just like 5 sec but he would either lunges or bite my leg cause he thinks is a toy and wherever I move he follows unless distracted by a shoe or item or a certain. I just want some advice on how to calm him down and focus on me and no lunges and understand his marker and training. He is a puppy afterall I get it that he wants to play and all but I am wondering am I doing something wrong or I shouldn't train now should I wait 3 more months or what..need some help please