Category: Top Dog

Hi. This is my first time posting here, so I am sorry if I am doing this wrong.

A month ago, my girlfriend and I adopted a male Cavalier King Charles Spaniel puppy. He is now four months old, and everything is kinda doing great except alone time. **Note: I am not currently working, so I am always home with him.**

He sleeps in a crate in our bedroom, and we have a playpen now, in which we provide toys (on rotation so he doesn't always play with the same ones). We feed him in there, we make treasure hunts with hidden food, and play with him inside, so that he can associate it with fun time. Since we just can't be with him at all times, he must learn to play alone. I also have a few Kongs in which I place a combination of solid and wet food that I freeze, but he eats it all in 5-8 minutes and loses interest when there's only morsels left inside. We also know his peepee-poopoo schedule, so we're sure when he's empty or needs to go.

Here is my problem: every single time I place him in his pen when I cannot watch him, whether it is before or after exercising, playing or taking a nap, or whether if I leave some Kongs or the TV on to distract him, he just stands there and waits for me to do something. I have learned to ignore him, but if I do he just yaps until he goes on his bed to sleep, but I want him to play alone, not rest. Poor thing seems to be bored unless my girlfriend or I do something with him directly, and I feel extremely bad.

I cannot even go take a thirty minutes toilet break + shower combo because I hear him crying constantly until I come back, where he stares at me. I have places to go, and I don't go far away or leave for too long, but I just imagine he must be doing the same stuff when we are not there to witness his actions.

What am I doing wrong? I am kinda worried about when I'll have to go back to work, which is in a few weeks. I don't want his life to be miserable and I don't want him to develop separation anxiety…

Any advice is welcome.

Thank you.

I have a nearly 12 week old staffy pup, and he has been sleeping in his pen for the last nearly 4 weeks no problems. Now if i leave him in the pen and go to a different room he is uncontrollably barking and yapping, where before he would settle. Could this be because of teething? Or what else could it be? It's testing me 🥲

We've been having a few undesired behaviors from our 7 month old boy such as ripping up furniture and biting people's clothes and hands. Two trainers have told us to try putting him in timeout in another room for 10-15 seconds when he does one of these behaviors (one suggested using his playpen for timeout, but I'm pretty firmly against building up a negative association with it.) It has been kind of working, and I'm trying to be consistent with it, but it makes me feel kind of mean. Should I keep at it or am I just scaring the poor dog?

Hi!

We have had our rescue Irish Doodle (poodle x Irish setter) since 3 months old.

He’s now nearly 8 months & he is really in the thick of his teenage craziness.

Do we have a serious issue, or are these all common issues that he will work through with consistency from us?

1. Sudden intense lead pulling – constantly pulling on lead, knows to come to heel if we stop- but goes straight to pulling

2. Ignoring us when outside! No treat is good enough anymore, outside is way too exciting and overwhelming (even short ‘boring’ walks)

3. Demand barking – will occasionally start demand barking, whether it’s to play or just for attention

4. A new one this evening – toilet training regression! He has been perfect with going outside to toilet since about 4/5 months, no accidents inside, consistently signals- however this evening he has peed twice inside with no signal!! Fully emptied his bladder.

I’m constantly stressed that he’s going to be a naughty dog. He learns so quickly but we’re really struggling with these elements and seems like nothing we do will click.

Any reassurance / advice would help so much.

I have a mini poodle puppy who is a wiggle worm and needs to be carried past busy areas / outings where I don't want to over-extend him physically.

I have a traditional hard carrier but it's bulky and difficult to use the heavier he gets (he is now 6 kg and could grow up to 9 kg).

Since I am not very strong I've been searching for a backpack or front carrier. I bought this backpack off Amazon but he wiggled right out of it! 🙃 https://www.amazon.com.au/dp/B0BG3JXKZJ?ref=ppx_yo2ov_dt_b_fed_asin_title&th=1

I'm now looking at either:

• K9 Sport Sack AIR 2 or,
• Ruffwear Hitch Hiker backpack

Does anyone have experience with either of these? Or alternatively, what has worked for you?

Currently struggling.. we got a puppy a few days ago. It's our first time having a dog of our own, but we both grew up with dogs. He came from a chaotic home that didn't have time for him, by the looks of things when I picked him up, he spent his time shut in an empty room with just a bed. When he was out, there were two kids acting frantic around him. He's a 5 month old german shephard cross (not sure what the other half is). He's also very underweight, but we are working on building up his food and looking to add a calorie dense additive to it.

All that considered, he's a good and smart dog. Extremely sensitive. He can pick up on your mood and will absolutely match it. Currently walks are too much for him, all we can do without him getting overstimulated is take him in the garden, and play inside for short periods.

It's the evenings when he gets frantic. Pacing, whining, biting, accidents in the house. I've tried to keep things chill consistently, low lights in the room, not moving much. I'm neglecting my own needs trying to get him to relax – which is counterintuitive because obviously after just getting home from work and not even having a drink, im easily stressed, which he picks up on (today was my first day back at work since getting him)

Enforced naps have been the only way we can get him to chill out in the evenings, he can't nap or relax outside his crate when he gets worked up. He is absolutely fine in the crate any other time of day- but when he's overtired, closing that crate door is the end of the world for about 2 minutes until he falls asleep. I sit with him until he falls asleep, so he doesn't think he's being punished or abandoned or something. I'm honestly so terrified of doing anything wrong and think I'm going to traumatise him. I feel horrible putting him in the crate when he's having a meltdown, but its the only way he will relax. Like you know when toddlers start crying and throwing themselves on the floor when they're tired, then when they're put to bed they'll absolutely pass out? That's what he's like.

How do I deal with the evenings? There must be something I'm doing wrong if our evening routine always escalates into him having the equivalent of a toddler meltdown. I know that me getting stressed when I'm on my own with him is only making it worse, and I need to sort that out. It's hard to keep calm when I'm exhausted. Im trying. I spent my day at work today worrying about him, even though my perfectly capable partner was with him, and got him to settle in and out of the crate absolutely fine.

As much as I absolutely adore him, I am really struggling to adapt to this. I struggle with change as it is, and we have always had a very quiet, routine based house. Now we have to adapt to an entirely new routine, and I think I'm struggling as much as our puppy is. I feel guilty and I'm so scared I'm doing this all wrong, even though when he's not having a meltdown he is absolutely glued to my side. I don't want him to hate me because I'm the one dealing with him in the evenings, and I'm messing it up.

Hey everyone, I’d love some advice from people with experience raising multiple dogs.

My partner and I currently have a 6-month-old husky mix puppy. Through a coincidence of life, we’ve come across another dog — a 7-month-old cattle dog mix who survived parvo and is now looking for a forever family.

We’re seriously considering adopting him, but we want to make sure we’re thinking this through responsibly.

For those who’ve been in a similar situation:

Is adopting a second puppy around this age a good idea?

What are the pros and cons of having two puppies so close in age?

Are there any behavioral or health considerations we should be aware of, especially given the parvo history? Any advice or things you wish you’d known before adopting a second dog?

Thanks in advance!

Hi, I just rescued a puppy and she’s my first dog as an adult. When I was a child we had Rottweilers and then smaller breeds. She’s an 8 week old white German Shepherd.

I feel like I’ve forgotten all the puppy tips / training and google isn’t always helpful. She’s honestly pretty chill and just sleeps. I have a 4yo and they get along really well. My daughter is involved and listens to my instructions on behavior and how to treat the puppy. The puppy is going to be a mobility support service dog and I’m not sure if there’s anything I can start now. I have chronic pain and need help on the bad days to retrieve items and smaller tasks so I can save my energy for larger needs.

Set up: were potty training which is 50/50 but expected. She has free range of common areas and only the bedrooms when she’s attended- scrubbing carpets is more work than the vinyl. She’s pretty good about only chewing her toys and I give her stimulation toys . She sleeps in a crate at night and whines so much, waking us up once to twice throughout the night then again at 6/7am to get attention and belly rubs. It’s adorable but I’m a little sleep deprived. The crate is about 4ft wide but I compressed it to 2ft because I quickly learned that I don’t want her associating it with a potty space. She has no problem being in the crate unless she wants attention. She runs errands with us and hasn’t been home alone yet – im not sure how that will go. Any tips are appreciated.

I’m looking for advice on training my Maltese Shih Tzu mix with pottying. I got him at 4mo and he’s 10 mo now. While he’s come a long way, he still has about 1-2 accidents a week. Typically in the same spot, since we moved to a new house 1.5 months ago. I know the new house could’ve affected his progress too, but I find the tail end of potty training frustrating. He will do so well for days then a puddle with no warning. I am working on bell training now, but any advice for how to get him to that fully housebroken stage would be great!