Category: Top Dog

My fiance and I just recently got an 8 week old puppy. She is cute, sweet, gentle, playful, happy and healthy. She is everything we could’ve wanted in our puppy, but we still find ourselves second guessing our decision.

Some background to our situation; we had our 5 year old dog pass away this summer very unexpectedly. As you can imagine, it was insanely heartbreaking and the grief was immense. Throughout the last couple of months we did the best we could in acclimating ourselves to a dog-free lifestyle, but ultimately knew we would eventually want another dog.

Fast forward to this week, we finally picked up our 8 week old puppy. We followed her birth from inception and were involved as we could with the litter, even going to meet them when they were 5 weeks old. Not once did we find ourselves second guessing our decision, until we brought her home.

Now it seems like both of us are RE-sad about our dogs death this summer and all of the feelings that had once subsided in the last few months came rushing back. We both thought getting another puppy was the right thing to do, but now both of us are dealing with intense sadness and mental strain.

We both want to keep the new puppy but these feelings are making us feel so guilty and sad. We miss our boy and we did not think we would be as sad as we were getting the new puppy. Do these feelings go away? Will it get easier mentally? We would really like to just hear anyone’s experience with this even if it’s not the exact same situation as ours.

Hi there!

We recently lost our twelve year old Aussie who has been with our family for twelve years, and are now beginning to look into adopting a new dog. Our Aussie was never crated, but because we have a toddler I'm leaning towards crate training with a new dog as a comfortable way to separate the dog and the toddler when needed, along with all of the other benefits crate training provides.

My concern is that we have a very small ranch house, and we will likely adopt a medium or large dog, and I'm limited as to where the crate can go. The living room where we spend most of our time is not an option. I can possibly squeeze one into our bedroom, but it would be… not ideal for space reasons. Meanwhile, I have plenty of room in our office, but that is a room that we frequent the least often. Is there any issue with putting the crate in a room that isn't highly occupied? I've seen a lot of people say that they keep theirs in their living area (so doggo is around the family when crated) or in their bedroom (for sleeping at night), but I can't judge whether there's any reason I can't just take the path of least resistance and put the crate in our office.

I would love to just train a solid "place" or "mat" command, but it's my toddler that I'm concerned about rather than the dog, so I'd really like a place doggo can escape from her entirely if needed.

I have a 3 year old female Labrador retriever. Last year, she was stolen out of my yard for a month. I got her back and she is now aggressive towards other dogs (except the ones in our home). We are in an apartment complex now, and having trouble keeping her away from other dogs in the complex. I have tried walking her at all times of the day, and we always see at least one other dog. She is always leashed of course, but she lunges and barks at the other dogs. It’s so upsetting and definitely an inconvenience for other renters. We simply can’t avoid other dogs. We are stuck in this lease for at least another 10 months but this situation is stressful for everyone especially her. She definitely feels threatened no matter how far away the other dog is. If she even catches a whiff of another dog without seeing them she begins to growl. She is the sweetest girl, and I want to help her. I just overall don’t know how to fix this. I tried rewarding calm behavior, but can’t ever get to that point because she is never calm. She sense another dog before I do. I don’t know what happened to her while she was gone, but clearly it was something bad considering her new behavior. I used to take her everywhere and she could be around any dog no problem. Has anyone dealt with this and been able to find a solution? Any trainers have different suggestions?

I'm looking to get a necklace with the face or paw print of my sweet boy who just passed away. I'm specifically looking for a gold necklace that can be worn frequently without tarnishing. Does anyone have any website recommendations? I'd appreciate it 🥹❤️

I really would love to have my dog get this procedure, as she has lost about 30 lbs. (she was 60, needed to be 30) I took her in and we started her weight loss journey. Now, she has a considerable amount of loose skin and I cannot imagine that is comfortable for her and probably heavy and gets in the way. A part of me would also just love to see what she really looks like under all her skin. It is A LOT of extra skin. How easy is this? Is it common for it to end up being too tight afterwards like some people experience and cause discomfort? Do vets do this often? – like, is this something a good vet would rather do than not?

Hey everyone, as the title says, I’m looking for recommendations for the safest car crate options for a larger dog (German Wirehaired Pointer) that will fit securely in the back of a vehicle.

I’ve always heard Gunner Kennels are among the safest, and I’d love to go that route, but I’ve run into two issues:

1. They don’t seem to be easily available in Europe, and
2. Based on sizing, the model my dog would need likely won’t fit in a Tesla Model Y.

So I’m hoping folks here can recommend crash-tested (or safety-focused) crates that are available in Europe and compatible with the Model Y cargo area.

If you’ve got a similar-sized dog and a Model Y, I’d especially appreciate:

• What crate you’re using (brand + size)
• How it fits (Orientation, etc.)

Thanks in advance!

My dog and I have this ritual every morning he crawls into bed with me. He’ll stand at the foot of bed on his hind legs, I’ll tell him he can come up, he stands there and whines, I then have to get out of bed and then he will jump up there. Is there any reason for a little quirk like this?

Does your dog turn his head when he hears an odd noise? Does your dog bury their food with your pants? This is the thread to ask why.

Please keep this thread to non-medical issues only.

My fiance and I just recently got an 8 week old puppy. She is cute, sweet, gentle, playful, happy and healthy. She is everything we could’ve wanted in our puppy, but we still find ourselves second guessing our decision.

Some background to our situation; we had our 5 year old dog pass away this summer very unexpectedly. As you can imagine, it was insanely heartbreaking and the grief was immense. Throughout the last couple of months we did the best we could in acclimating ourselves to a dog-free lifestyle, but ultimately knew we would eventually want another dog.

Fast forward to this week, we finally picked up our 8 week old puppy. We followed her birth from inception and were involved as we could with the litter, even going to meet them when they were 5 weeks old. Not once did we find ourselves second guessing our decision, until we brought her home.

Now it seems like both of us are RE-sad about our dogs death this summer and all of the feelings that had once subsided in the last few months came rushing back. We both thought getting another puppy was the right thing to do, but now both of us are dealing with intense sadness and mental strain.

We both want to keep the new puppy but these feelings are making us feel so guilty and sad. We miss our boy and we did not think we would be as sad as we were getting the new puppy. Do these feelings go away? Will it get easier mentally? We would really like to just hear anyone’s experience with this even if it’s not the exact same situation as ours.

I know this is can be a situation-based question so here's the details.

My dog is a herding breed, he just turned 3 and is completely full of energy. I love dogs with all my heart, and I love him, but I never wanted a working breed (he was a gift). He has way more energy than me, which, is usually fine because I have a yard and a field in walking distance for fetch.

He just got back with me after spending a month with my family and their 2 dogs, and he REALLY got along with their herding dog (heeler-beagle). He seems bored now that he's back with me, and maybe he'll readjust, but I hate seeing him like this.

Will adding another herding breed make things more stressful for me? He doesn't really play well with any other dog because of their different play styles.

I'm currently working full-time, but I'll be cutting back in a few days because I'm starting college. My classes are online, so I'll be at home with him, but not able to give my full attention. Before recently I was barely part-time and out of school, so I had plenty of time during the day.