Category: Top Dog

Hello everyone,

Sorry if this post is all over the place, my mind is exhausted by this bundle of joy.

Looking for any advice on how to take care of my toy poodle puppy. I guess my first concern (partly my fault) is that the breeder sold him illegally as well as the rest of his litter. Ontario law requires a minimum of 8 weeks with mom and litter but I got him yesterday when he was 7 weeks and 6 days. On the ad they listed the birthdate as October 25 but vaccine records and health check at the hospital say he was born on the 30th. Another big concern is that he was the last puppy from his litter to be sold. I’m gonna try to book a vet appointment asap and get their advice on how I should handle this but any advice from y’all is appreciated too.

Secondly, I suck at telling when they need to go pee. I’ve been taking him outside after every activity, as well as when he shows signs of maybe needing to. He’s been successful outside a few times but he had 2 pee accidents yesterday. Both times I had no reaction and cleaned up after I put him in his crate. However this morning, I took him outside and he just sat down and looked at me. I waited a few minutes and took him back inside. I gave him some food and water and took him back outside. He had a poop but after 45 seconds outside he seemed like he was done. After a few minutes in a small area of my room, he started peeing. It was too late to stop him so after he was done, I picked him up and put him back in his crate so I could clean the mess (he wanted to sniff and possibly drink the pee). He started whining in the crate which I now know means that maybe he isn’t done. He got out and started pooping on the floor. I had no reaction and let him do his thing. After this I gave him to my mom and cleaned everything up with Nature’s Miracle.

I feel really bad for the guy, and while I regret not doing my due diligence on the breeders, I can’t help but feel like he’s in a better place now. They weren’t even feeding him puppy food, they gave me “Small Breed Salmon and Lentils Formula” from Kirkland.

Any advice on how I can make this transition for him as smooth as possible? He doesn’t seem to be that motivated to eat treats or play and is easily distracted by sounds. I’m spending most of my time with him and he’s become quite comfy with his crate. He’s a very shy and timid dog from what I can tell.

I let my puppy stand on public grass for 2min for a wee during a trip in the car..

How worried should i be about parvo? initally i only remembered not to let him meet.other dogs and forgot for a second because he was whining to pee…

im.really anxious and upset with myself 🙁

Hello! I adopted a “4 month” “lab mix” puppy from a well regarded animal shelter almost two weeks ago. I think lab, pit, and maybe some collie. Puppy had been returned at 10-12 weeks, after being adopted at 8 weeks, citing owner’s own inabilities and not the dog.

He’s actually been getting along quite well for a 4 (we think more 5) month puppy that has lived mostly within the shelter atmosphere. Crates overnight without whining or accidents. Never pooped in the house yet, and less than a handful of pees that are mostly human error or overstimulation. Will eat whatever his mouth finds, but hasn’t tried chewing on shoes or furniture. Knows sit command and “home” for going to crate. Won’t jump on couch unless invited. Still need to work on pulling leash and others, but for two weeks I’m happy.

He was already neutered when I adopted him. In soaking up all I can on this forum, I’ve noticed people waiting. Sometimes 6, 9, or 12 months before doing the procedure.

Is it possible this causes issues later on, from having been done too young? Just interested in hearing from others! This community is amazing, and honestly one of the most supportive I’ve seen on Reddit! Ive previously adopted a 7 year old dog, but this is my first puppy as an adult.

hi everyone, today is christmas and i am planning on visiting family. i want to take my pup with me since i dont know how long we’ll be out and i dont want to leave her home alone for too long. she goes crazy seeing other people (loves to jump on them but currently working on that) and pulls on her leash if i try to walk with her. for today, should i tie her up to a post and just kind of let her exist among us even if she barks and pulls on her leash? ty all in advance 🙂

I ended up gently cooking him some food, it's his new diet now, he loves it

Hi everyone, I’m writing this because I’m mentally exhausted and need outside perspective from people who’ve been through puppy blues.

Background I’m a 40-year-old father from India, married, and have an 8-year-old daughter. For various life reasons (health issues in family, miscarriages, COVID period, job transfers), we couldn’t have a second child. My daughter has openly expressed loneliness and asked for a sibling or a pet. That stayed with me.

After months of research and convincing myself I was ready, I adopted a toy/mini poodle puppy. He’s around 3 months old now, vaccinated on schedule, generally healthy. I genuinely believed I could handle it — after all, so many families have dogs.

Then the reality hit me. The last month has been far harder than I imagined. My entire day revolves around the puppy. No personal time, no rest on weekends. Constant supervision, chasing, redirecting. Travel requires heavy planning or sacrifices. I’ve skipped gym, office focus is impacted. I’ve fallen sick twice since getting him (neck pain, dizziness from constantly looking down, then allergy/cold).

Behavior-wise, he’s a normal puppy — biting, chewing, peeing mistakes, nipping, scratching. I know this is developmentally normal, but emotionally I’m struggling to cope with it day after day.

Family & social pressure- Recently we traveled to my hometown. Relatives openly disapproved of keeping a dog — especially in India, where rabies cases and stray dogs are a real issue. That discussion triggered a lot of anxiety in me.

To make things worse, my puppy accidentally scratched/bit my daughter (not deep, but skin broke).

Now I feel: Fear (rabies, safety, future responsibility). Guilt (towards my daughter and the puppy). Anger at myself for misjudging my capacity. Shame for even thinking of rehoming.

The hardest part My daughter is deeply attached. Even mentioning rehoming makes her cry. She talks to him, plays with him, and emotionally benefits from his presence when things are calm at home.

At the same time, I am the primary caregiver, and I feel burned out. My wife helps whenever she could, and I’m carrying most of the mental and physical load.

I feel torn between two painful options: 1. Continue, hoping things improve in the next few months 2. Rehome/return him to the breeder, but risk emotionally hurting my child and living with regret

What I’m asking Did anyone here rehome and later feel it was the right decision? Did anyone push through similar feelings and feel grateful later? How do you decide if this is puppy blues or a genuine mismatch? How do you weigh your mental health vs your child’s attachment? Am I being irresponsible… or realistic?

I’m not looking for judgment — just honest experiences. Right now, I feel like I’m failing no matter what choice I make.

Thank you for reading.

Alright, a bit of a long intro here but it's all applicable to the question at hand so bear with me.

Saw our new addition to the family at a petsmart a few weeks ago. 7 m/o male mixed pup. Brought him home that day, and as we were getting him out of the truck, he slips his (shitty) 2-point harness and dips. Spent about 5-6 days running around, until finally someone was able to snag him up for us and we bring him home almost a week later and FINALLY, actually get him inside.

More background info on the dog – he appeared to be extremely anxious at the petsmart (understandable), and we were told he was incredibly shy around people, but loved other dogs. I've had dogs in my house for so many years that, we figured with the help of our other pup, we could show him he has nothing to be afraid of.

Fast forward, we're now 2 weeks into working with this dog. He has shown IMMENSE improvement. He will come up to myself and my wife on his own *sometimes*, for the most part he's potty trained (doesn't explicitly notify us yet but goes outside when let out), and he's now learned his new name. Additionally, he and our other pup are the BEST of friends. We have also just recently started to walk him on a leash and SECURE harness.

So, on to why I'm here. This poor pup is so severely anxious, that it makes ME anxious. Some times are definitely better than others, but for the most part.. he walks around with his tail tucked and the drop of a pin scares this little fella to death. We can't be anywhere near him when he's eating, else he runs in fear that he's doing something wrong? Not sure about this one. It's the opposite of food aggression as I spent the first few days hand feeding him to make sure that wasn't an issue. He will also take treats from our hand. Other things to note is that sometimes when called he will come to us, or other times he will spend 5-10 minutes running away from us. No, we don't chase him. But in order to get him to go outside to potty, or do whatever it is we need him to do, we have to position ourselves at a comfy distance away to kind of coax him in the desired direction. Leash and harness training has to start in the backyard as he is terrified of both and will typically dribble when he sees either. Once on the walk he seems fine though.

I'm looking for any advice y'all might have. Previous experiences, current, tips, tricks. Also wondering if anyone has tried anxiety meds with a younger pup as well. I had to give my older dog prozac and we saw a lot of success with that. Normally I wouldn't consider going straight to meds. However with how anxious and scared he is, it's hard to get through to him to work on training and other things.

My wife know that this is going to take time and a lot of patience. We have both. Hopefully from this we'll find out some extra things that'll help us along the way.

I'm needing crate recommendations for my starting to train my 9 week old pitbull puppy. I know he will be big and strong because he is full pit, so NO WIRE CRATES!!

My two dogs chase play and the younger one (3 yrs) nips the neck of the older one (5 yrs) leaving small cuts that scab over and scar.

The younger one never play bites people but will nip in excitement. We’ve struggled with her impulsivity nips her whole life. I don’t know how to address the nipping when playing as they’re running around chasing each other.

As an immediate solution, is there a neck protector that might work for this?

Which pet insurance is best for you? Are there any that may cover your dog's current treatment? Did your dog get injured during the waiting period and want to know if you're covered?

Here's the place to ask.

Do know we cannot help you here with medical concerns, and lying or not disclosing things to the insurance company is illegal so we don't allow that either.