Category: Top Dog

Hello!

I have had my corgi for about 4 months. She’s 6 months old. She has gone through regression in every area. Such as her crate training , walking , etc. It was very hard to socialize her in the beginning as I couldn’t afford her vaccinations at the time. She’s been fully vaccinated for about 2 months but her socialization has gotten worse. She’s went from just attempting to run away and hide from random dogs we see on walks to now full on lunging and barking at dogs AND people. I have tried taking her to parks and pet stores to just desensitize her but I don’t think this is helping?

Her potty training has also regressed really bad. She only pees inside on pee pads now when before she was able to pee outdoors. When I take her out in the morning with pee pads she is very much on high alert and refuses to even sniff the pee pad instead she’s pulling and trying to eat things off the floor. We could be outside not even walking for 30 mins but won’t pee or poop. Once back inside she will immediately run to do her business on the pad.

Are there any tips that may help with the reactivity and also potty training?? I’m feeling so overwhelmed especially since I have a job and don’t have the extra time to train her for longer than 30 mins at a time. Please help !!!

Can’t say exactly how old my puppy is since he’s a stray but the vet when I first took him guessed around 6 weeks so now he’s around 14-16 weeks. Have very very little information on him other than what we learn as he grows. No idea what breed he is, I asked the vet her best guess and she said her and all the staff were tossing out Pyrenees, Golden retriever, or Lab mix. I’ve bonded with him. I love him so so much. He quite literally gave me a reason to live after losing my soul dog back in October. Potty training has been a nightmare but we’re managing with just a few pee accidents here and there. Now the main issue is teething. He’s biting hard. I feel like I’m constantly buying him new toys to chew on but he doesn’t gnaw on them. He totes them around and likes to play fetch but doesn’t actually use them for their primary purpose. He would rather bite me. Hard. So so hard. It’s wearing on my sanity and hurts really bad. I’m all scarred up and he’s got to where he draws blood and has bitten my face a couple times. I do everything I’ve seen people recommend in this thread. I stop play altogether. I replace my flesh with toys. I separate myself from him. I’ve tried frozen carrots and unfrozen carrots. Nothing works. I can’t just sit with him and pet him without him wanting to rip into me. I’ve never had a puppy that bit this much.

She’s seven months old and I’ve had her for three months. She’s nine pounds so she’s heading into semi adulthood as compared to larger breed dogs.

In the last two weeks, she was finally seeming to understand potty training and she recently slept until 4:40 am! We were at 3 am for months so really a huge deal! I thought finally, she’s feeling like family instead of just all work. She was still barking when I left the house, but hadn’t loose pooped or peed and we’d worked our way out of anxiety (banging the crate etc) and into just complaining for a bit barking. She even had an okay puppy class where she could calm enough for about half the class to be mostly educational!! I was thinking wow instead of only on or off modes she’s finding her low key friend mode!

Now enter today. I work from home and she decided her normal nap in crate time was unacceptable so she started yelling in a dog complaining way. I had to move her out of the office and she yelled the entire hour long meeting and pooped her crate. (No she wasn’t overdue for a potty break she has always pooped if she gets to any yelling.) I had to run an errand tonight and within minutes she had semi-loose pooped her crate and danced on it so her feet were covered. It feels like three months of routine and effort is just poof, gone. I’m having a rough day.

I’ve had other dogs and this one might be the death of me. Don’t worry I’m still not being mean to her and she goes to the vet and I even have a professional trainer, I’m just frustrated and venting.

As per my vet’s advice, I am waiting until after my puppy’s first heat to spay her. She is ten months old and a small dog, so I have been told to expect it soon (if it hasn’t happened silently already — though I’m pretty vigilant about checking). She’s been acting strangely this week — sometimes sitting down and refusing to move on walks except when there’s another dog nearby, sometimes sniffing so intensely that she tries to run into the road to follow a scent (she’s normally a pretty light sniffer), not eating even when her food has exciting toppers — so I keep thinking she must be about to go into heat, but I’ve been checking regularly (the vet said to press a tissue against her vulva) and there’s still no sign of bleeding. Is it probable that the behaviour change is caused by going into heat? Or is there something else that could cause this shift?

I’ve been struggling to find a Havanese puppy and found a 6 month old puppy recently. Not sure whether to go with this puppy, or a wait to find a 8 weeks old puppy. This would be first dog of our own. Any thoughts/ experience to share?

I adopted a 7 month old border collie/corgi mix last week. He is so sweet, listens well, is crate trained, potty trained, but as he starts to get more comfortable he is starting to become more vocal (he previously did not make much noise) which is okay but I don't want it to escalate and become an issue. How can I deal with this new behavior so that it does not get worse?

He is also starting to jump up on us at random times when he didn't before. Again, I dont want this to progress into a future issue, so do we go the route of guiding him off of us with saying down and not making a big deal of it? Do we turn away from him without saying anything? Or is there a better option for this?

Also- how long should basic commands take? I was working with him 2 days ago on giving paw. I did this by holding a hand in my closed fist and allowing him to sniff until he touched my hand with his paw. By the time we finished training for the day he wasn't getting the concept of giving paw without a treat in my hand, but today he did it multiple times without a treat ever being offered (yay!) I started working with him tonight on stay. He seemed to get it some times and other times got up too quickly. I stopped training for the night because I could sense him getting reckless and only wanting the treat so he wasn't staying as well as he was at first. I know each dog is different so they will all get things at different times, but how do I know when to stop? I also worry about giving him too many treats lol.

There have been certain things that he doesn't get a treat for during training or even now. When he successfully started pottying outside, when he comes to the door and sits to get his harness on/off before/after going outside. So I know he isn't always food motivated and I am so proud of the progress so far.

We have a 9 month old asian spitz type pup – I don’t want to be specific about his breed because the breed community is very small, and I’d like to be able to vent without worrying about judgement from a fellow owner or breeder. He’s our second dog of this breed – our first was the most incredible being I’ve ever had the honor of knowing. We also raised him from puppyhood, and he was intelligent, gentle, contemplative, and affectionate. We lost him to sudden illness last year. We have breed experience and a good understanding of what this breed needs in terms of mental and physical stimulation.

We adopted our current pup from his breeder at 9 weeks old, and we knew *immediately* that settling was going to be a struggle for him. I’ve had dogs my entire life – rescues, purebreds, puppies, seniors, labs, shepherds – and I’ve never encountered a dog who struggles to regulate the way our poor boy does. In the time between 9 weeks and 9 months, he’s never once voluntarily settled or napped for even five minutes. We’ve worked tirelessly on settle/place training, we’ve been doing various relaxation protocols since the first week he came home, we’ve tried varying how much/how little stimulation we provide, and none of it has translated to even a small measure of relaxation. He paces the house relentlessly if he’s not constantly engaged. He’s crate-trained and is quiet/calm in his crate, but even after months of regular, enforced naps, he still emerges from the crate and is almost immediately over-stimulated. Worth mentioning that we live in a very quiet and calm house – two adults, no kids or other animals. We live on a large wooded property, take him for daily hikes at nearby parks, and provide mental stimulation in the form of nose work, obedience training, puzzle toys, chews, and rip-up boxes. We’re both home with him all day, so outside of enforced naps, he spends very little time in a crate.

We consulted a veterinary behaviorist today, and she feels strongly that he has hypersensitivity-hyperarousal syndrome. She prescribed fluoxetine (Prozac) and says that dogs with similar anxiety-related behavior struggles typically respond very well to it. She said we could wait to start the medication until after he’s neutered – we hope to have him neutered in the next month, and even though I know it’s very unlikely, I’m hoping maybe it helps his behavior in some way. She did warn that waiting to medicate could potentially give his hyperarousal time to become even more habitual than it already is. While I know that objectively his condition isn’t necessarily a failure on our part (or his!), emotionally it feels a lot like failure.

Just wanting to vent and seek experience from anyone who has been through something similar. I’d love to hear from anyone with experience with fluoxetine, anyone whose dog was similar and just needed time to mature, anyone for whom neutering was a magic bullet (although I’ve read the research and know this is rare). I’ve never had to medicate a dog for behavioral issues – I’ve never even had to seek professional help for behavior issues. I want him to be happy and well, and we’re willing to do whatever it takes to get him there. Appreciate any help.

Hi everyone!

I’ve been wanting a dog since childhood and I’m finally in a position to own one! Unfortunately, the breed I am interested in owning is not too common here in the states with very few ethical breeders to choose from. I’ve been doing my research and communicating with a few breeders through the country and was set on a kennel that checked off all the boxes for me. To my surprise, they actually have puppies available with no waitlist required.

Originally, I was interested in getting a male dog and the breeder told me they would send pictures when the pups were about a month old. The breeder did eventually send me the picture of the puppies, but the girls of the litter caught my eye and I truly fell in love. Dam of litter whelped 4 boys and 3 girls (2 of which were born with a very uncommon yet striking coat color which I favored). I asked the breeder if any of the girls had been spoken for already, and they let me know one of the two had already found their home but the other was still available. So of course I asked if I could claim her, which the breeder agreed to and I was so happy. I’ve been thinking about names, possible dog trainers, showing people her pictures and everything.

Now here’s my problem. Dude, like literally in the middle of the night I get a text from my breeder saying others “higher in the list” are interested in the dog I want and if i was still interested in getting one of the boys. I was so confused and very upset when they told me this, so I responded back basically saying how unfair that it is and if there was anyway for me to still be considered for getting her. After like 2 days of no response, I texted the breeder an even longer message basically saying the same thing but trying to smooth things over since he never responded back. Still no response and it’s been like 5 days. And she has on her read receipts, so I know she say my messages.

I have moderate-ish anxiety, so these past few days have been nothing but terrible for me as I hope for the best (tears have definitely been shed) and I really don’t know if I’m overreacting and need to be patient, or blow her phone up some more. I also really don’t want to tarnish this owner-breeder relationship we’ve been building for something as trivial as coat color, but I have to stand in business!

Everytime I see my dog in the video while I’m working for 8-9hrs I do feel bad for her. I do give her with lots of kisses, treats and attention whenever I’m at home. I still don’t feel that’s enough, so I decided to bring her to a daycare.

She had an experience with daycare before already, but there was no camera, though everytime I picked her up she always seemed so happy and tired. I love my old daycare/vet, but it’s a 40min drive for me and I had to look for a new one.

Last Saturday was her first time in the new daycare and there were cameras wherein I can watch her. She didn’t interact with dogs at all, she was so timid and felt so sad watching her. Caretakers didn’t interact with her too unlike to my old daycare.

Should I still bring her to a daycare? I am looking for a new one again where there will be interactive games/activities.

Also I am aware she just likes dog watching especially under the sun and only gets excited when humans will give her attention.

**Introduction**

1) Will this be your first dog? If not, what experience do you have owning/training dogs?

No, I’ve owned a Golden Retriever and a Corgi.

2) Do you have a preference for rescuing a dog vs. going through a [reputable breeder]( http://ownresponsibly.blogspot.com/2011/07/identifying-reputable-breeder.html)?

No. Leaning towards reputable breeder due to the importance of dog having a good temperament.

3) Describe your ideal dog.

Calm, patient, playful, cuddly. Won’t obsessively chase our cats. Good with young children (ages 1and 3)

4) What breeds or types of dogs are you interested in and why?

Beagle, yorkie, Havanese, cavapoo, mini daschund, Labrador.

5) What sorts of things would you like to train your dog to do?

Basic obedience. Not pulling on leash.

6) Do you want to compete with your dog in a sport (e.g. agility, obedience, rally) or use your dog for a form of work (e.g. hunting, herding, livestock guarding)? If so, how much experience do you have with this work/sport?

No

**Care Commitments**

7) How long do you want to devote to training, playing with, or otherwise interacting with your dog each day?

More time at first when it’s a puppy. Then probably 30 min walks once or twice per day, with intermittent play throughout the day.

8) How long can you exercise your dog each day, on average? What sorts of exercise are you planning to give your dog regularly and does that include using a dog park?

30 min- 1 hr. Includes walks and dog parks.

9) How much regular brushing are you willing to do? Are you open to trimming hair, cleaning ears, or doing other grooming at home? If not, would you be willing to pay a professional to do it regularly?

Brushing ok occasionally or daily. Don’t want to groom much on my own.

**Personal Preferences**

10) What size dog are you looking for?

Under 60 lbs. Small to medium.

11) How much shedding, barking, and slobber can you handle?

Don’t want a lot of barking or slobber. Some shedding ok.

12) How important is being able to let your dog off-leash in an unfenced area?

Low importance

**Dog Personality and Behavior**

13) Do you want a snuggly dog or one that prefers some personal space?

Snuggly

14) Would you prefer a dog that wants to do its own thing or one that’s more eager-to-please?

Eager to please

15) How would you prefer your dog to respond to someone knocking on the door or entering your yard? How would you prefer your dog to greet strangers or visitors?

Don’t want dog going crazy with knocks on door.

16) Are you willing to manage a dog that is aggressive to other dogs?

No

17) Are there any other behaviors you can’t deal with or want to avoid?

Aggression with cats or children.

**Lifestyle**

18) How often and how long will the dog be left alone?

Not often at all. There’s almost always at least one adult at home.

19) What are the dog-related preferences of other people in the house and what will be their involvement in caring for the dog?

My husband has the same preference as myself.

20) Do you have other pets or are you planning on having other pets? What breed or type of animal are they?

3 cats. One 14 yrs & two 8 month old kittens

21) Will the dog be interacting with children regularly?

Yes. Two boys, ages 1 & 3.

22) Do you rent or plan to rent in the future? If applicable, what breed or weight restrictions are on your current lease?

No. Own a home

23) What city or country do you live in and are you aware of any laws banning certain breeds?

Near Atlanta. No laws.

24) What is the average temperature of a typical summer and winter day where you live?

Avg summer day is 80-95 and humid. Winters are mild, but can get down to mid 20’s or 30’s on occasion.

**Additional Information and Questions**

25) Please provide any additional information you feel may be relevant.

* No additional information.

26) Feel free to ask any questions below.