Category: Top Dog

Recently my MIL got a rescue dog, shes around 2 years old and from what we know she was a stray. She’s super energetic and a terrier.

Anyways, my dog who’s five is having a hard time getting along with her because every time this dog sees her, she goes to bite her neck, no play initiated or anything. My dog will just walk by and as soon as she sees her she launches for her and immediately bites her neck. It doesn’t seem aggressive, the other dog’s tail is wagging and she’s super excited but my dog absolutely hates it. She ignores her and when that doesn’t work she bares her teeth.

I’ve stopped bringing my dog around but my MIL loves my dog and she’s been missing her so I feel bad and want to find a way to fix this. Can anyone tell me why the other dog is doing this and what can help?

My partner and I adopted a 1 year old daschund/chi mix from a shelter back during Christmas and are looking for advice on how to minimize barking for when we move to our new apartment. Our girl is moderately reactive to people and very reactive to other dogs (barking at people and barking and lunging at dogs). This started about 3 weeks after we adopted her. We never really have people over so this isn’t a problem and her reactivity is manageable on walks and trips to go potty. After 2.5 months, she has really begun to chill out and is finally able to settle and go to sleep on her own during the day without enforced naps. I would say she is a pretty normal-ish barker, but she barks when she gets frustrated and I don’t know how to fix it. There are three times she barks 1) trying to get food from the counter, 2) reacting to things she sees or hears (mostly has been solved with some privacy film on the windows) and 3) frustration about being crated or left alone at home. She responds well to corrections for the first and second situation. It is usually a few barks and then she stops so within a completely normal amount, but I am worried about the barking when left. It isn’t seperation anxiety because if I leave or crate her while she is already sleeping or resting she doesn’t bark at all, but if I crate her or leave her while she’s active or awake she gets frustrated and will bark or whine for a few minutes probably 3-7 before settling and going to sleep. I have always ignored her barking, but it hasn’t worked even though I have been very consistent. I think the barking itself is rewarding because she is just frustrated and so barking relieves her frustration a little. I am hesitant to use the frozen kong trick because she is only 12 lbs and it wouldn’t take much extra food for her to become overweight. Right now, we live in a pretty soundproof townhouse so it isn’t a big deal, but we are moving in June and I am so paranoid that we will get a complaint and have to rehome her. Is there really any solution to this other than a long lasting treat? I tried busy bones, but they don’t last long enough for her to not start barking once she finishes.

Sure, I totally get that he wants to tear his toy apart and get to that thing making the sounds, and sometimes he just wants to crush their little plastic larynx and leave it at that, but sometimes he gets in there and really starts piddling and picking and eating the whole plastic thing. I catch him in the act when he does it, and he only gets toys on supervision because now he can't be trusted alone until the squeaker has been removed.

I just don't get why the plastic? It can't taste good, like even cat shit's gotta taste better than that. I'm just wondering if there's any smarty pants on here that could tell me why my dog is so obsessed with literally trying to eat these things?

Thinking of driving from Pasadena to Salt Lake City with our boxer, Mookie. Any suggestions on routes and safe stops to make along the way. Thinking of doing it in one day.

My dog is 12 and his anxiety has been increasing. We live a few miles from a train yard, where they pull the trains in, couple and uncouple. It makes some deep booms, and he seems to register that like thunder, which he developed a fear of at middle age (along with fireworks). So some nights he shakes, cries and cannot calm down.

I often have to go to the sofa where he sits right in front of me. At least there, I cant feel his shaking so badly as on my bed, and he usually seems to calm after hours, and then climbs onto the cramped sofa. I'm in my 40s and the poor sleep is wearing at my sanity. I spent a month traveling to help family recently and he only has an issue one night, during a storm. We've been back a week and hes had multiple nights of crying, shaking and no sleep for me. I'm trying to find a new rental but struggling to meet all of his needs of a yard, window to watch out and no stairs. I have other stressors and him freaking out for no good reason I can identify is so upsetting.

Part of it: I suspect hes upset to be here with only me and is lonely / pitching a fit. Hes a cattle-dog / husky mix, very particular. I've tried lots of calming remedies and meds. Some of them give him gas, which GUESS WHAT? Also freaks him out. I'm so tired, so burnt out. I don't know what else to do except move and I'm trying to do that but things keep falling through. I've tried ignoring, acting like its no biggie but nothing helps. He has never been a snuggly dog. I'm afraid I'm getting mad and making it worse because we are safe and fine, I just need him to let me sleep

I’ve been looking at dog training videos on teaching a dog to speak and have been running into two issues.

1. Dogs can be trained with toys like balls and ropes.

Issue: My dog is not toy oriented at all.

1. Dogs can be trained with treats by making them impatient which results in a bark.

Issue: My dog is entirely too patient for this method. Which I know isn’t necessarily a bad thing overall just for training. I stood with a high value treat for a half hour and didn’t get so much as a whine out of her.

Any tips or suggestions are welcome!

Hello, I recently, 4 weeks ago, rehomed a 1 year old pug. Before I got her she was owned by a 70/80 year old housebound woman who was in poor health. Due to this my dog had never been left alone, ever, she was also never toilet trained 🙃 now she won't let me leave her at all. I have managed to crate train her and she is very happy in her crate (sleeps in there all night and goes in regularly on her own accord) so I have been trying her in that when trying to leave and it's helping a bit. So far, I'm building it up slowly, couple minutes away, come back etc. I have just started her on calming tablets to try and help too. I don't feel like we are making any progress at all though. Has anyone else ever been in this/ similar situation and actually managed to successfully get to the stage of comfortably leaving the dog and them staying calm? If so any tips and how long did it take? Tia

Hello! I'm going to provide a little backstory incase any information may help:

I have a 7 year old male chihuahua who is neutered. He grew up with 2 male cats and a female chipin. I got him when I was a teen, he is trained for basic commands/recalls and does love to perform and get treats.

That being said, he wasn't that friendly with other dogs or small kids. Over the years he has gotten way better, I've noticed that I think it's a boundary issue. He will be chill with them but if they get close to him/touching range then he will get defensive.

Now fast forwarding a bit to current times, he lives with another old female chihuahua and a male pit puppy- who is much bigger than him. He's chill/kept to himself just doesn't like when the puppy gets in his face.

The "issue" presumably, that I've noticed is (he does this with any dog) he will go to sniff their butt, focused on it like a mission, then go ham with licking. I have to intervene a bit if he starts licking because he won't stop. I can manage the sniffing/licking before it happens by telling him no (he backs off).

I know dogs do this to greet, but it feels like mine does it excessively, he already knows and lives with these dogs, and would continuously do it if I didn't stop him. Why is he doing this and how can I prevent it? Thanks for any help!

TL;DR: My 7yr M chihuahua (neutered) continuously sniffs and licks dogs butts unless I intervene to stop him. What is this & what can I do?

Hi everyone,

About three months ago we adopted our dog Brody (7.5 yrs, neutered male English Setter) from a shelter in Italy. He had lived in the shelter for about a year. Before that, he spent around six years with a hunter where he was used for bird hunting. At some point the hunter decided Brody was no longer good enough for hunting, and after he was diagnosed with Leishmaniasis, the hunter apparently wanted to shoot him. A neighbor noticed this and informed animal welfare, which is how he ended up in the shelter and eventually with us.

Brody is a wonderful and very sweet dog (can't imagine a life without him anymore), but we're currently struggling with one issue… he keeps peeing and pooping inside the apartment.

I've read through the wiki on house training, but our situation has a couple of specific complications that I couldn't find addressed there.

We think the main reason is that he previously lived in an outdoor kennel his whole life and never learned the difference between inside and outside. He has access to the garden at least ten times a day and gets three walks daily. About 75% of the time he pees in the garden without issue. On walks it's rare. He's too distracted by smells and birds, and he's not a fan of rain either. That remaining 25% is where the problem lies. Birds especially trigger his hunting instincts, and when he can't settle enough outside to go, he eventually relieves himself indoors.

We worked with a trainer who recommended blocking off the room where the accidents first happened using a steel net, since it wasn't a room he regularly used anyway. She also suggested getting him outside as soon as possible in the morning. We followed that advice, but he's since started going in a new spot closer to where we all spend time, near the couch area. The block-off approach isn't solving the underlying problem.

We've cleaned all affected areas thoroughly with an enzymatic cleaner, and we don't use a crate or tether. He has free roam of the apartment.

Do you have any tips, training ideas, or strategies that helped your dog learn the difference between inside and outside and become reliably house-trained? Especially interested if anyone has experience with former hunting dogs or dogs that spent their lives in outdoor kennels.

Thank you and all the best

I have had my 13 week old, 8 pound puppy for about 4 weeks now and he is a cavalier mix. I am having a hard time potty training him in my apartment.

His potty spot is one of those dog turf patches that I have on my balcony and if I am outside with him he knows to go on that patch. I take him out about every hour when I am home and within 5 minutes of eating. When he goes, I will give him verbal praises and a treat. However, he takes FOREVER to potty when we are outside or will only poo but not pee. I always assume he is done when he sits by the door and I will take him back inside.

In the apartment, he is restricted to his crate and play pen (half taken up by his bed and the other half by a vinyl mat). Within minutes of me taking him out (regardless if he actually went or not), he keeps peeing on the vinyl mat, never anywhere else in any of his spaces. It is almost like he is waiting to pee on that instead.

I have been told to not "punish" him when he goes inside and instead just clean it up in front of him then take him outside. However, it does not seem like he is getting it and the accidents in his pen are happening more frequently.

Note: He can sleep through the night and if he his crated while I am away he holds it for up to 4 hours. I am always in the room watching him when he is in his pen and he makes no sounds or any sort of warning, just starts peeing then whines at me after he has peed. I also clean accidents with an enzyme cleaner. I have had multiple dogs before that picked up potty training quickly, but this is my first small dog.

TLDR: I have followed (at least I believe I am) all the advice on any potty training website and my puppy is still peeing indoors. Any advice for small dogs is appreciated or if there is anything that I am doing wrong.