Category: Top Dog

Hello! I have a 7 month old English Cocker Spaniel. I know the breed is known for barking at everything, but looking for ways to train her to not bark every time she hears another dog.

When we take her on walks and she sees people or other dogs she’s completely fine, she might try to walk up to the dog as we pass to say hello but it’s not like she loses her mind whenever she sees a dog. At home though, if she hears the slightest bark from a dog that’s a few blocks away, she will bark relentlessly for a good 10-20 minutes.

If we watch a movie and there’s a bark in the background, or even if we replay a video on our phone of her own bark at a very low volume, she runs around the house like crazy barking for ages. Any tips on how to stop this?

We took our 7 month-old to the groomer for the second time (her second time, we've been going to this place for years) and she has been absolutely insane ever since. Every aspect of her behavior is manic: the jumping, the licking, the scratching, the biting. I wish I was exaggerating or being dramatic, but the tears of frustration are real. We had conquered most of this stuff, but I'm convinced she is acting out more than ever before. I need advice and reassurance.

I have a mini dog than male going on 16 weeks, he's probably one of the best puppies I ever had. Really good with listening and training. All except for still cries in the crate which I'm trying to work on. So I'm noticing some changes when we're out and about. He has a lot more courage and being curious. So this has me thinking about what will it be like having a puppy not neutered. What sort of training should I be doing to avoid any kind of hormonal issues?

The reason why we're sticking to this for at least 2 years is because studies shown that having a dachshund not neutered will help spine hormonal balance. So this is why it's important to us because we have another dachshund that had surgery and we don't want to go through that again

We live in a quiet village. Pup was doing great ,he isn't a a nervous puppy in any way, normally as brave as can be.. but we were on a walk and then a car came fast around the corner and spooked him, I calmed him down and we carried on, he was still jittery but walked ok. Then the the bus stopped at the bus stop and he was a mess just shaky and unable to move . I picked him up so he could safely watch the bus and see it was ok. but nothing worked to calm him, so I carried him back home.

Next day walk went lovely he was very relaxed over the field, but the bus once again left him a mess.
This morning he was excited to go for our walk, I planned it so we would be home before the bus, but as soon as we stepped outside he wanted to come back in. It is windy and a lot of trees so maybe the noise. I tried to get him to walk but could not get him to settle enough to listen to any commands when he is like this, he was just trying to race home. I gave up and we came back inside without having a walk.

Should I just reset for a day or two and not go for a walk and then start again?

Or we could go sit on a bench on the village green every few hours and watch the world pass by, including the bus, but the bus won't be as close. slowly let him get used to being outside with the occasional car passing by and people walking their dogs.

Maybe some videos of traffic noises would help as well?

My boyfriend and I just adopted this 9 week old lab mix. We’re both obviously very new to this and im going to be the one around him most of the time because of my boyfriend’s job. Apparently, when we adopted him, they told us he has parvo and kennel cough. They only gave us meds for the kennel cough. He has his necessary vaccines except for rabies (cuz he’s too young).

The thing is, we want to start training him, potty training, basic commands and being comfortable with the cage. The thing is, we can’t do that the traditional way with treats because of his parvo. We have carpets and we’re worried about him peeing everywhere (which he has already started doing). I can’t leave him alone without being afraid that he’ll go to the bathroom in a bad place or chew on something or him crying because he’s in his cage. We want to be as gentle as possible when it comes to raising him. Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

Hi everyone,

Have a wonderful greyhound pup which is 4 months old. We got him 12 days ago.

First days he was happy to go on walks and we were really focused on potty training.

Now 2 days ago he started getting deathly afraid of walks. He doesn’t want to leave the house if his leash is on and he doesn’t want to leave the apartment building. He starts crying and wants to go back inside.

We are giving him some high value treats when outside and when he walks alongside us but I’m worried this is something that will stick if we can’t get past this quickly.

Any advice?

My 8.5 mo border collie pup had a perfect routine until YESTERDAY when she decided to chew up my wall, today she jumped on table and almost overdose on her vitamin chews..

Why is this happening when the past few months we had the exact same routine and she did so well during freeroam…

Had her since 16 weeks, she gained access to free roaming for about 1-2 months already

8-9am Morning walk / play ball frisbee etc

9-12pm crated

12-130 noon walk / pee break

130-5pm free roaming in one room

Evening long walk or dog park + ball games

12am sleep in crate overnight

I’d like to preface this post by saying we do have a professional trainer involved and he attends puppy classes. I’m just currently waiting to hear back from her and need to get this out.

We have had our 4 month old Aussie Shepherd puppy for 10 days. I researched the breed and breeder within an inch of my life. I wanted a high energy breed for walking and hiking etc.

The breeder is a professional shower and is registered with our national kennel club. His parents are vigorously health tested.

Within a few days of bringing our puppy home, I took him to the vets for a general check. He was TERRIFIED. He was shaking, I had to carry him everywhere and he growled at the vet. When on walks if there’s another dog or a person who flat out tries to bolt off, treats won’t change it, me picking him up doesn’t help. We are working with the trainer to slowly expose him to things and build up his confidence as this is not normal for a puppy his age.

This already feels overwhelming as I’m heart broken I don’t have a puppy I can do regular training with, EVERYTHING is about getting him confident.

Now, this morning he lunged and snapped at my 7 year old dogs face. I got him in time so I don’t know whether it was a warning snap or whether he actually tried to bite him but I am really upset. I was eating and I believe the puppy was resource guarding. My older dog wasn’t even close to him!

It’s now just another issue and I am really worried that I am out of my depth here and I’m going to end up with an incredibly reactive or aggressive dog.

Does anyone have any similar experience or advice?

Just to be clear. He is a very loving puppy and we adore him. Him and my dog eat separately ALWAYS. They are separated when given their kongs etc so there’s no need for the puppy to feel his food is threatened.