Category: Top Dog

Our pup is a 4 month old German/Australian Shepherd mix. Initially, we had pee pads for her to go on that she used faithfully with only a few accidents; she would pee/poop outside when we walked her but not every time. Now that we've had her like a month, she won't use the bathroom outside during the walk and waits until we get back into the house. And, she's having incidents of peeing randomly around the house! She peed on my 1 year old son's floor paino, she peed in front of the dishwasher, she's peed in the den on the carpet. I just don't understand how to help her. We play with her with squeak toys and balls, try to get her running and chasing, her talk to her, her snuggle and coo at her. This is also the first time I've had a dog since I was… maybe 10? My dad got her for my daughter for her birthday. We've been cat people till now. ANY advice would be appreciated. I just am drowning in urine and feel like a failure.

Hi! I’m a first-time dog owner and very interested in Golden Retriever–type dogs because of their temperament.

Before committing, I want realistic expectations around:

• Training difficulty for a first-time owner • Common training challenges (jumping, leash pulling, separation anxiety, etc.) • Shedding and grooming upkeep • Daily exercise and mental stimulation needs 

I’m not looking for “which breed is better,” just real experiences from owners so I can understand what I’m signing up for.

My 10mo Supermutt (mostly Golden Retriever/German Shepherd/Pittie) is regressing in many ways. I know this is to be expected, but it's still extremely stressful. She's afraid of everything, including new things she's never been afraid of before. Taking walks outside, interacting with new ppl, being left alone for long periods of time in her crate, etc. All things she's been exposed to consistently and safely in her early months.

She is 100% crate trained (she looves her crate, always has) but has been crying/howling/pulling the cover off her crate when I leave the house longer than a few hours (out of routine that is, she's fine when I leave for work and come back at the same time every day). Or, if I'm home on the weekends and sleep in past 8am, she howls and cries for me. Which, understandable! She loves the routine. Also, everyday when I leave and come home, she barks and cries wildly in her crate the moment I pull in to my carport. She doesn't stop until I wait by her crate to let her calm down before letting her out.

My main concern is that I don't understand what the root of the issue is. Perhaps, seperation anxiety? Am I reacting correctly? I care a lot about her training and want her feel neutral. I'm mainly looking for advice as to help her, as this may be affecting the other factors we're facing. Better enrichment toys? More routine? Any advice or questions would be extremely helpful. 🙂

We got our dog in October and she was a perfect angel in the crate for the first two months. She’s about 9mo, and all of a sudden she has started barking in her crate at every noise she hears outside. We live in an apartment building with an outside staircase, and our bedroom is up against that staircase so whenever someone comes home/leaves she hears them and goes nuts.

This didn’t used to be the case at all – she only started doing this maybe a week ago. She starts barking and won’t stop after us telling her “No”, and doesn’t quit until we go physically up to the crate and tell her to stop (which as probably been our first mistake).

We never let her out of the crate for barking, and we have the blinds and curtains drawn, a blanket over her crate, and a fan going at night for white noise. These aren’t even things we did to try to solve the problem, they’re things we’ve always done anyway.

How can I stop this problem without accidentally making it worse?

Help, my Shiba Inu puppy hates his harness. He's 11/12 weeks old. He's been with me for two weeks. I've tried everything: distracting him with treats, talking to him calmly, being consistent. Nothing works. He just sees the thing and then wants to hide.

I even have to put it on him for short potty breaks because I'm afraid he'll escape otherwise.

15 minutes putting the harness on, 5 minutes potty break 😆 So sometimes I go out without putting it on him and then he comes along perfectly, but I don't want to wait until it doesn't go so well.

Has anyone else had this experience?

Perhaps a harness you'd recommend to make it more comfortable for the little guy?

Thank you very much.