Category: Top Dog

I recently rescued a four month old puppy dachshund mix. I work during the day 7 to 3. When I’m not home I have been putting him in a crate, is this the right option?

Should I get him a playpen instead of the crate for when I’m gone during the day, and put him in the crate for when I leave for short periods of time. I feel so bad putting him in the crate. All he does is wine and cry and bark loudly for 30 to 40 minutes.

Please let me know the best way to contain him during the day.

Hi! I have an 11-month-old puppy who is an American Cocker Spaniel. She’s incredibly smart, but she has a serious obsession with squirrels.

She will paw at our blinds until we raise them or until she can see behind them. Once she spots squirrels outside, she starts crying and barking at them. If we let it, this could go on for hours.

I’m really struggling to stop this behavior. She becomes completely hyper-fixated and nothing seems to redirect her for long. I’ve tried puzzle toys, enrichment games, and structured training sessions, but as soon as those are over, she goes straight back to our dining room (which has four windows) and starts barking and crying all over again. Until it gets dark outside and then she stops.

I’m feeling pretty stuck and would really appreciate any advice on how to manage or correct this behavior. Please help!

My partner has never had a dog of their own, and has been wanting to get a dog for years — I agreed, eventually, after saying goodbye to my soul dog 2 years ago. For some insane reason we chose to adopt a mix puppy from a shelter last week, and I’m really, really struggling with the choice we made. Puppy blues are hurting me, my INTENSE fear that she will be prey-driven towards our cats as she grows up is keeping me up at night. I keep thinking what if we raise her and she ends up needing to be rehomed later if she and the cats don’t mesh… I just wish we made a different choice, but my partner is already bonded with her and devoted to making it work. I just feel sick and so, so upset with this choice. And I’m so scared! Why did we get a puppy 😭 there’s so many unknowns 😭

So my dog Winston, who is 5 or so months, has been in daycare for the for almost 2 weeks. The daycare is well accredited, and the dogs are well taken care of. I feel bad though. He goes 5 days a week from 7:30-5:30 while I am at work, then from 5:30 to 8 pm we hang out, play, and whatever until he goes to bed at 8. For some reason I feel bad I can’t spend more time with him and that I’m doing the bare minimum.

I’m looking for advice and especially experiences with starting medication for dogs with anxiety/arousal issues.

I have an 11-month-old intact male Rottweiler. I got him at 8 weeks old, and he has been a handful from day one. He has always been extremely mouthy. I put him in puppy classes starting at 10 weeks, and even the trainer commented on how unusually mouthy he was. Multiple vets and trainers reassured me that it was normal puppy biting and that it would improve after teething—but unfortunately, it’s only gotten worse.

From puppyhood, he seemed unable to settle. If he wasn’t eating or asleep, he was constantly panting. We ruled out medical causes and started working on “place” and “settle,” but he’ll only do those behaviors for treats. Once the food is gone, he’s immediately back to pacing, chewing, licking, or getting into trouble.

We’ve tried:

– Plenty of physical exercise and mental stimulation

– Place/settle training

– Tethering (he chewed through leashes, then the cot itself)

– Bully sticks and long-lasting chews

The only time he truly relaxes is when he’s actively chewing something like a bully stick. Once it’s gone, he immediately starts chewing inappropriate things (couch, leash, me) or obsessively licking me for long periods of time. If I let the licking continue, it can go on for hours. Eventually I have to crate him just so everyone can calm down. At this point, he’s crated unless he’s chewing something appropriate, which feels awful but otherwise he’s destructive or biting.

Over the last few months, leash reactivity has also become an issue. A few months ago, an off-leash dog ran up to him in our apartment complex. Before that, he was mostly neutral to dogs on leash. Since then, he lunges and barks when he sees other dogs. We’re working with in-home trainers and group classes, but living in an apartment complex makes management extremely hard—there are corners, entrances, and blind spots everywhere, so avoiding triggers is nearly impossible.

The most concerning issue is his arousal biting. Once teething ended, he started biting the leash or redirecting onto us—lunging and biting arms when he’s overstimulated, excited, or frustrated. It usually happens after pooping, running around in an open field, or on walks. This isn’t nipping. He’s nearly 100 lbs now and bites HARD. We’re left with bruises, and sometimes he breaks skin. I truly don’t think this is aggression—he’s otherwise a very sweet dog—but the behavior is dangerous and escalating.

Things we’ve tried for the arousal biting:

– Not reacting (very hard when it hurts this much)

– Tossing treats to redirect (he eats them, then immediately bites again)

– Tethering him to a pole or object so he can calm down (not always possible, especially outside)

Sometimes I’m being actively bitten while trying to get enough distance just to escape. He’s been through a board-and-train program, but it didn’t make a meaningful difference. Right now, we are muzzle training for safety but I still have to walk him on leash for potty breaks, so complete avoidance isn’t possible.

At this point, I’m wondering if this is primarily an anxiety or arousal regulation issue and whether medication could help him reach a baseline where training can actually stick. It feels like he’s constantly living in a state of over-arousal and simply can’t self-regulate, no matter how much training or structure we provide.

If anyone has experience starting medication or has had a dog with severe mouthiness or arousal biting that improved over time, I would really appreciate hearing your story. I’m also open to insight on whether this sounds anxiety-based or something you’ve seen before. I have considered neutering him but have heard that can make reactivity worse. There’s only one vet behaviorist near us and we currently have an appointment for April but I need help sooner so I was thinking about consulting our regular vet tomorrow.

I truly love this dog and am doing everything I can to help him succeed, but we’re running out of safe options and I want to make sure I’m doing right by him.

So I’m brining home a nine week old puppy in a few days and am worrying a bit about starting potty training while not fully vaccinated. I live in the country and while i have a fence animals still tend to get in our yard. Just last night i was outside looking for the northern lights when I heard something walking in our yard. It was probably a coyote as someone saw one a street away this morning. Do i need to worry about where i taken him in my yard to go potty? I plan on going outside tomorrow (it’s already dark out) and seeing if i see any signs of animal. I’m worried about the puppy possibly getting sick from stepping wear another animal has stepped. How do I go about this? Also do I need to worry about my shoes bringing in stuff when I go to the pet store or the vet? I’m not a first time dog owner but this is my first time getting a puppy.

Hello everyone,

I have a 7 month old cockapoo. She is my best friend in the entire world, and she’s very bonded to me. She is both the most hyper and the sweetest dog. But she has picked up a new bad habit and I’m not sure how to fix it.

Puppy loves to lick peoples faces. We have tried redirection but 9/10 it doesn’t work, and she more so licks cheeks which… icky but not the ickiest so we have let it be. Recently she has started licking peoples noses. Again, no redirection works and if you move her she’ll come right back. Then she’ll bite the nose. Not necessarily hard, it’s almost like her teeth get in her way, like an accidental nibble. Obviously though, we’d prefer not to have our noses nibbled. Anyone experience similar, or know of any redirections for licking?

And yes, I know this is a very silly problem all things considered. But would still prefer to train out the nibbles before she does it to the wrong person