Category: Top Dog

Understand, I don't mean to cause any arguments, but it just seems like almost everyone thinks that if you don't crate train and set a strict schedule for your puppy, he/she is just going to be aggressive, unhealthy and out of control.

I'm 52 and have had dogs/puppies my entire life. I have never had any of my dogs on any kind of schedule; I followed my old vet's advice to just let the puppy ebb and flow in their own rhythm…in other words, sleep when they're tired, play when they want to play etc…and it's worked fine. None of my dogs ever had behavior problems or anxiety or anything like that.

I now have a nine week old golden retriever puppy. The only schedule she is on is a potty schedule, along with eating at certain times. Other than that, we let her run and play. She crawls into her pen when she's tired. She's happy and healthy. She already knows "sit", "stay" and "come" commands…as well as "no bite"…all without crate training or schedules.

I'm wondering if anyone else has ever not gone the crate route. Did it work for you or did a schedule for better for you?

**I'm NOT here to argue or defend myself, so if you post argumentative comments, you will be immediately blocked.** I'm simply looking for other views and thoughts. Thanks.

I have a 6-year-old dog that was fixed around 1 year old. he is potty trained and never had issues with where to pee when he was younger (he had a pad inside the house that he did for poop and potty). A few years ago, we moved to a new house, and he suddenly started marking his territory everywhere, at first I thought it was a health issue, but everything with him was normal. We did give him some hempoil for anxiety, but it was 50% effective. Now we're moving to a new place, and I'm trying to prevent it from becoming like our last place. I talked to a trainer, and he recommended removing his pad and just making him go outside so he wouldn't get confused and that's what we did. he goes outside to potty 3-4 times a day, and he 100% knows that's where he should pee. But even though he's almost always supervised and not alone in the house, I noticed he marked his territory in 3 places already. (I don't even know when)

Here's my real question: Is this a habit that would ever go away? He used to have his freedom in where he goes inside the house, and he loves sleeping in my bed, but because I'm worried he would wake up and mark his teritorry I have to put him in a crate whenever I'm sleeping or need to go outside or even shower. I want him to be able to sleep next to me and have some freedom around the house without always being worried about him marking his territory but I'm not sure if that's possible..
If anyone has any similar experience or advice, I would really appreciate it!!

He's 2.5 years old. I used to come home and he'd come to greet me and be excited I was there. Now he literally doesn't get up, just looks at me for a second and then just ignores me.

My partner on the other hand, he's stoked. Runs over and jumps up on her, tale wagging and excited.

I don't know what changed but it's a bummer. I take him to the park or for walks every day and feed him his dinner, show him lots of affection and give him lots of treats. But just in the last 4-5 months it's been like this.

My Maltese yorkie mix for the last year or so has refused to sit on the couch. She used to love sitting with her humans on the couch but for some reason she just stopped. I genuinely have no clue why, she’s 5 years old and perfectly healthy (albeit like a pound overweight and has some dental issues) so it’s not like she can’t. If we put her on the couch she instantly jumps down. Its not even like a specific couch she just flat out refuses.

It’s not really a problem per se but we just want to cuddle our girl with us on the couch. If anyone has any theories as to why or similar experiences we’d much appreciate it

I have a 7 month old pup who is absolutely terrified of harnesses. We've tried multiple sizes, models, etc and trained for a long time but nothing worked well. Now I've been using a collar for a week and it's already working way better for her. However, the collar can obviously move around and the weight of the clip from the leash pulls the leash down, and then she keeps stepping over the leash. I have to untangle her like 5-6 times every walk. Anything I can do about this?

I have boots that I can put on them to protect their little feet…. they are both 80 pound dogs, and they start to lose their mind if they don't get walked. But it is -20° C (13°F for the Americans) and other than their feet, I don't know if it would be harmful to keep them outside for any length of time.

Edit. Thanks all! My roommate had me 2nd guessing myself. Taking them out for a walk now 🥶

We just adopted a 1 year old puppy almost two weeks ago & she is definitely a super chewer. She doesn't try to eat anything, but wants to chew and destroy everything- furniture, blankets, toys, pillows. I fill her kong with peanutbutter & freeze it, but that only keeps her busy for about 10 minutes. She does love the woof pupsicle, but those get a bit pricey. We just subscribed to the superchewer bark box in hopes that it will help. What toys/ mental stimulation tactics have worked for you? We're also going to look into obedience training for her, but in the meantime are there any videos or strategies you suggest?

I'm not sure how much to charge per day

I'm going to be House sitting(staying at the owner's house) for around 14-33 days.

I'll be provided with food and boarding.

I'm going to take care of an elderly dog, they don't go on walks but rather go out into the yard, and I can leave them at most for 7 hours a day to commute to go to work, which driving back and forth would be 2 hours of driving.

how much would you charge?

This is sort of messy because I'm emotional. Sorry about that, but I did try to make it into something somewhat readable.

I am a teenager that was "gifted" a dog not long after the previous family dog passed away. I was not over the death of the previous dog, and I did not once ask or imply that I wanted any other animal. It was a complete "surprise" from an aunt.

I've had him for a few years now. This dog, however, is not a family dog. This is my dog that I am 100% responsible for. A dog I never wanted and still do not want. It's a weird situation to explain, but everyone else loves the dog so much that they won't give him up, but they also will not do anything for him? I'm doing it all on my own. I have no one to rely on, which also means, that when I do eventually give this dog up, I don't know anyone personally that can take him.

I understand that the logical thing to do is give him up to a shelter when I have the opportunity, but I really do love him. On the other hand, he just stresses me out to no end. He will howl and cry if I'm not with him, even if I'm just in my room. He is so picky about his food. And as I mentioned earlier, I have zero help. I can't get him groomed because I have no money, so I have had to learn and keep up with dog grooming to keep him comfortable and presentable. I try so hard to cherish him but it's too much. He is so cute, he's fluffy, he's sweet to everyone even if he barks and hides at first, he's so happy to see me, would not bite anyone even if his life depended on it, and he is honestly such a wonderful guy outside of the negative things I've said, but I HATE owning a dog. This is the reason my original plan before this was sprung on me was to not have an animal at all.

What I'm saying here is that I don't want an animal but I have gotten way too attached to feel like I can let him go, even though I know there is someone out there who can treat him much better than I do. I don't always treat him like I should because I never wanted him in the first place. Not an excuse, I know.

I have to give him up for my sanity, really. I'm so overwhelmed, I can't do this for another decade (at least). I guess I'm asking for advice on how I'm supposed to detach myself. How am I supposed to give him up when I love him so much?

for context he’s 14 going blind and def. he’s a cockapoo breed. whenever he gets his food bowl he pushes it with his nose. sometimes he undershoot and rubs his nose against the floor. after he’s done doing this, sometimes he will eat his food but most times he will only have one or two kibble then leave.