Category: Top Dog

My 9-week-old Cane Corso x Neo Mastiff puppy regularly plays with my sister’s 16-week-old Neo Mastiff x Daniff. I’m starting to feel a bit concerned that the play might be getting too rough. My sister’s dog is about twice the size of mine, very energetic, and tends to be quite dominant. My girl is fairly quiet and shy.

She often stands over my puppy and will sometimes bite or pull at her ears, legs, and neck. There are moments when my pup yelps and retreats, which makes me step in to give her some space. But then as soon as the other dog backs off, my puppy runs straight back and initiates play again.

This has left me feeling a bit unsure. Part of me thinks she might still be enjoying it, but I’m not completely confident. When things seem to escalate, I try to separate them briefly, but my sister thinks I should just let them play it out.

Any advice would be very much appreciated!

Age: 6 approaching 7 months

Breed: chi-doodle

How long I’ve had him: 4 approaching 5 months

He does really well in his crate when I’m gone. I’ve tried leaving him outside of the crate for a few minutes a couple times, but he HOWWWWLS.

Is this normal? He’s crate trained and i guess he sees it as his safe space? Is this something i should be correcting?

My husky puppy is 13 weeks old. I got her at 11 weeks. By now she knows crate is where she gets toys and food during mealtime. She has her dinner at 7 and by 9/10pm she goes in her crate with a dental chew. She’s okay in the crate as long as someone is sleeping in the same room. Problem arises when I go upstairs to sleep. She will NOT STOP SCREAMING. I can’t move her crate upstairs either because that floor is closed off for my cats so they can have their own space and not be stressed all the time.

I am unable to even leave the room to go do laundry without her shouting bloody murder. My question is how do I get her used to it? I have tried gradually increasing the amount of time I can stay away but so far no luck. I was successful one day when I stuffed the couch with pillows and covered it with a blanket to make it seem like I was sleeping there but the next day she figured out the trick, she is very intelligent. She goes on at least one long walk every day ( we can’t take her to parks yet but the frequency will increase when her third shot is completed).

Also I have tried frozen kong, lick mat and even left clothes with my scent on it in the crate. Nothing calms her down unless me or my partner is in the room.

Looking for some advice. We have a 9 month old English cream golden, Mabel that we got end of December from a family friend. I don't have a lot of background on the first 6 months of her life. We also have a 1 1/2 year old golden/ great pyr. My husband and I also have a 4 year old son. Mabel is extremely anxious and we're dealing with some issues. I am feeling that she is fearful of my husband and any guests we have over the house. We have a fenced in yard and if she goes outside, she will stand at the door nervous to come back inside unless I am home. I work from home so I think she is most comfortable with me. She is also very anxious when left home alone, started to demonstrate separation anxiety (barking nonstop if crated, pacing if outside the crate). Looking for advice on how to handle these concerns before they get worse. I don't want to put her on medication but her anxiety for such a young age is concerning. I can't always be home so how does my husband overcome getting her into the house?

Title.

Puppy is 3 months and 3 weeks old, and as the title states, she adores to lick my hands. Absolutely loves it.

I feel like it's a good thing, and Google says it's a soothing/affectionate behavior, but videos on YouTube link it to anxiety and the like.

Is this a good habit? Bad?

She seems pretty happy doing it, so that's what my gut says, but I could also just be projecting.

Appreciate any input in advance.

I feel so guilty posting this. We have a new puppy, who in many ways is the sweetest thing ever, but her disinterest in food (all food, not just kibble) is getting really frustrating. We’ve had her checked by 3 vets and she’s been given a clean bill of health.

Background: Before my partner and I got a puppy, we tried to do the best we could. Tons of research, making sure the breed of the pup fit our lifestyle, good breeder, parents no genetic or health issues etc. I had 3 dogs many years ago, and my partner and I also regularly dog sit for our friends. However, due to work travel commitments, we weren’t in the position to have our own until recently. We were so excited. Bought tons of (too much) treats and toys, watched training videos…

Our pup has been with us for 2 months. She’s a lovely dog, charming, smart, well-socialised, chill at times, playful at others. She’s loves cuddles, settled well into her crate, can already walk on a lead without pulling (unless she sees other dogs but she’s still a puppy so that’s ok). Lovely.

But every meal time is a struggle. She is completely uninterested in food if we leave it in a bowl. She’ll eat when we give her kibbles in a toy, but slowly and she gets distracted from it easily. We also use kibbles as a training treat. But this process takes around 1h per meal, 3 times a day. And in the best case we get her to eat around 70% of her recommended intake. She’s on the thin side of healthy but it’s been a struggle to keep her weight up.

We tried soaking her food in warm water, bone broth. Nope. We tried other brands of kibble. Nope. Very expensive freeze dried food. Nothing. Tried removing her food after after 20 mins. She eventually gets hungry enough to eat, but she’ll eat maybe half of a single portion (after missing 2 meals) and she’s done. Tried her a couple of times of fresh food, which she’ll take (no vegetables though), but only on the day it’s made. No fridge/ frozen and reheated food for her. Cooking a fresh meal from scratch every day is just unrealistic for our schedules.

She is picky with treats but she does like 1 or 2. By like, I mean she will eat it and do training if she feels like it. But she doesn’t go crazy over them. If she doesn’t feel like training then she’ll just walk away. Even when we cook or eat human food, she won’t be interested enough to come over.

Honestly I have never seen this level of disinterest in food in a dog ever. Any tips?

Just like the title says.

My west highland terrier doesn't go potty outside NO MATTER WHAT. And I mean it.

He is now 5 months old and I've been taking him out religiously for a month now.

I live in an apartment, so obviously there is stuff going out in the yard. Cars, people. I do take him more to a secluded area but he gets so distracted by everything. Intensly stares and doesn't register anything else going on, even within his body.

I did use a pad when I got him when he was 8 weeks old and it was heavy winter, so yes, I didn't take him outside yet cause he would've drown in the snow.

I used whatever trick there is… moving the peed pad outside or napkin with his pee. Using the same spot everytime we go outside. Have the puppy training liquid which I used to use on the pad to trigger on where for him to go potty (other dogs got more distracted by it than mine). Stood in one spot without moving, in the end, he'd just end up sitting and watch what's going on around him. Just like today, it was minus degrees and he just sat for an hour with me, watching, distracted… until he began raising his paws and shaking heavily from the cold.

He would sometimes sniff around and I'd see him kind of curling up but he'd end up walking away everytime.

And in the end, it's the same. Once inside, he'll go. It happens to the point where he'll hold on for so much that he wouldn't even squat and just stand as his bowels physically couldn't hold anymore.

I have a puppy, he’s a sweet boy. Spicy, but crate trained really well and potty training is going well. It’s the whining/howl/growl that I want to be mindful of. Socializes well. Introduce him to our neighborhood dogs one at a time.

BUT, won’t be worried about me, at least vocally, until I get on the phone. I’m talkin bark, howl, very toddler energy. Ignoring him actually works, eventually! Is this something to be mindful of before he gets too old?

Also, the mid to late day barking, nipping, growl is a thing. Specifically when my daughter and I eat. I say “growl” loosely. No teeth baring. Just attitudey. Less of a thing when I switched to feeding 3x a day. But when I tell him no, he’ll talk back. I just don’t want to minimize it if it’s something I need to be more conscious of.