Category: Top Dog

I have a puppy and she is 11 months now. I have read many resources for the training and I thought my potty training was successful. I started with crate training since I had her (2 months), take her out every hour (now I do every 2~3 hours), I say 'outside' everytime until we pass the door, I let her touch a bell on the way, she would potty right after we go out, I give her valuable treats that she would never get inside, then I let her sniff around after potty. I work from home so I set up a pretty strict schedule for her and she's also used to that.

I though I did everything perfect and she got the idea that she needed to pee outside, so I let her free during work starting from 7 months. It was all good until I got an accident that she peed right infront of me ~2 hours since the last walk. I thought maybe she just couldn't hold it that time. Then again a few weeks later, I was caught up in a meeting so I let her play freely for ~3 hours before I took her out. I noticed she peed inside again. I checked the camera, she peed 10 minutes before my meeting ended (my door was open). She was playing her toys, then suddenly dropped the toy, didn't bother to find me, didn't bother to ring that bell, peed just a few steps away, didn't look at the pee, went back to the toy, like everything is normal.

Last week I had a third incident where I was doing laundry and she just peed infront of me again, then looked at me like nothing happened. I didn't catch it on spot so I wasn't able to interrupt her. I took her to the vet and she's pretty healthy, no UTI Or anything else.

Then I realized that she NEVER understood that she needs to pee outside, it's just I take her out frequent enough so I thought my training was successful. And when she feels like doing it inside she would just do it.

I'm really frustrated on this. Vet suggested that I go back to crate training and continue what I have been doing and she would get it at some point. But she's already 11 months, how would I know when she's ready? Now she loves being at the home freely with me and she would start whining when I put her back to the crate during the day. Would she eventually understand it at all? I know I'm a bit anxious about it, I just feel a bit down. 🙁

Hello!

Just looking for some advice on the shark phase!

Our little cavapoo pup is just over 9 weeks old, so still very young, and is doing really well at crate training, sleeping through the night and potty training and other commands like 'sit' and 'fetch'.

Our only real issue is biting. We've yet to have a proper puppy cuddle because she just wants to bite us. We've tried to teach her 'off', and replace with toys but but it only works for a few seconds and then she's back on us. We've tried time outs in the pen, just holding her up for a few seconds until she's calm, but the biting behaviour always comes back and she gets pretty growly too. We've tried ignoring the bad behaviour, which isn't always easy as her little teeth can be quite sharp on the ankles!!

It's mainly on the sofa, when we're trying to encourage her to play nicely. We've given positive reinforcements when she plays how we want, but she always comes back to it.

We also take her off the sofa if she's doing it, but she's really good at finding a way up, even with barriers!

I know it's how she's exploring the world, but it''s just getting to us a bit! I just want puppy cuddles! Does anyone have any advice?

Thanks so much!

Want to start by saying that we already have a professional trainer that we are working with on this. I’m not necessarily looking for advice how to stop it just looking for common ground because I’m emotional lol.

I have a 5.5 month old female golden retriever. She’s great with training because she’s EXTREMELY food driven. We started taking her to a trainer around 4 months for basic training skills and because she started food aggression. She doesn’t do it towards me or my husband (she listens best to me but I’m a SAHM so it makes sense) but she does it to my 4 year old son and my senior dog. The trainer explained it’s basically because she looks at them as easy targets and knows she can’t get away with it with us and trusts us more (she worded it way better but I honestly don’t remember her exact wording 😂).

The trainer recommended that our son feed our puppy (with us right there of course) to get our puppy used to him around her food. We of course give her the space that she needs but my son can’t even be near her eating area without her snapping (he is not right by her and I of course keep him safe distance to respect both her boundaries etc etc).

We are still working on the trainer with all of this I’m just really emotional about it. I know she’s an animal and nothing is her fault and it’s our job to train her and this and that, I just have never had a food aggressive dog before so I feel very scared she’ll get aggressive with my son or senior dog in different ways.

Anyone also going through this?

Hi, 2.5 weeks in with my lab puppy. first time pet owner. Been focused on basics like potty, crate, sit/stay so now i am trying to do some reading on leash training and I am totally confused.

so I am supposed to teach her to walk right next to me without pulling and start by rewarding her when she isnt pulling and checks on me it seems like. but how about the sniff walks around our quiet street (it is a small crescent in a suburb so i think it is pretty safe)? the sniff walks have helped tire her out when she is overactive and she seems happy to do it. and how about potty breaks where i let her wonder near my front porch until she decides on a spot to go. dont think she should walk next to me during those times.

i feel like if im confused and try to train her, she will be confused too. so am i supposed to have 3 different types of walks? how is she gonna understand that? or i shouldnt do sniff walks at all and focus on the 2 types of going out? potty and walk next to me

Just a post for laughs and maybe also for all those other pup owners whose dog is currently the class idiot. It took me a few weeks to go from 'im failing as a dog handler' to 'actually, this is normal and fine', so just in case someone else needs to hear this.

I have a 7 months old working line border X bearded collie. As you can imagine, this one goes to eleven. His life motto is I AM SPEED. There's a super computer in there somewhere, but because he's an adolescent, it looks like a toddler driving a Maserati.

Anyways, the trainer and I have already lowered our expectations of him in class from actually learning new things to just not breaking anything while he's in there and having an inkling of calm around the other dogs (once we're home, without distractions, the new cues take him approximately 0.12 seconds to learn). He tries so hard is what's so adorable but his brain is just mush with testosterone.

Basically what I'm saying is, meet your dog where they're at, have fun, and if they rip a hole in your trousers in front of the whole puppy class (which is what actually happened last time), have a good giggle and try again tomorrow!

DISCLAIMER: she does have an appointment with the vet in the morning. (Links to her videos at the bottom)

URGENT: hallucinating dog?

If you have the time, please watch the videos all the way through.

I am seeking any input from people who have seen behavior that is similar to my dog Sophie’s. she is normally a calm, sweet-eyed, loving girl. however, she will suddenly go into these episodes of what I can only describe as panic. her eyes go black, and it’s as if she can see a world of terrifying things that nobody else can see. she will do this all night, until midmorning the next day. It terrifies me because nothing can soothe her and I am scared of what it may be doing to her heart.

The first link is a video of when it’s first starting out

The second link is the worst of it and she is currently in that state right now.

please, if you have seen this firsthand, any input is appreciated because I am at a loss as far as figuring out a cause.Sofie episode 1

Sofie episode 2

Just venting mainly, as I have been reading the posts here for the last week or so to keep me sane.

My wife has been wanting a dog for a long time, a bit over a year. and this January she stumbled upon an adoption event in a pet store near our house. Called me and the kids to come and we did. She fell in love with a 6 months old choc lab. The kids loved her too. While still researching about dogs, I told her she can apply while I am doing more research and see from there. 2 weeks later she was told she didnt get the dog because there were too many applications before ours. She was sad for weeks and I decided to look around for another rescue, but most of them have a note clearly saying they arent good with young children (ours are 3 and 5). So i looked for a lab breeder nearby and the waitlists are long, some are 2 years long.

Finally I found one 7.5 drive away and picked our 8 weeks old silver pup 2.5 weeks ago. First of all I was naive, I thought after raising 2 human babies, we can raise a puppy easily. And I thought my wife was gonna take care of her more. we both work from home. but my wife doesnt train her much, doesnt wanna do midnight potty breaks, doesnt wanna take her out so often for potty. she doesnt even want to read up or watch on puppy trainings, and when i try to teach her, she doesnt like me lecturing her.

So i have been doing the bulk of the training, and all the potty breaks. re-installed baby gates to restrict the pup in the living room. installed a camera by the crate. etc. last week she had a 5 days long conference, and i was so stressed out watching over her by myself when she is awake to make sure i see any sign of potty and take her out right away. i was so burnt out but it was 5 days of accident free.

so a few days ago i told her she needed to step it up and do more, she agreed but told me to stop micro-managing the dog. now 3 days in a row she has been having accidents again. 1-2 per day. i feel like it's not gonna get better anytime soon unless i take over, but i have a job to do as well and i didnt sign up to be the primary care taker.

on top of that the biting has been pretty bad too, im especially worried that my 3yo daughter is gonna get bitten, many close calls. but every time the puppy is aggressive, my wife just hugs the puppy and gives it kisses while telling her not to bite. told her thats like rewarding the puppy for biting.

i know its gonna get better. but i havent been happy with my decision for the past week, hopefully that comes sooner than later

Hi! I have recently discovered 'monchéri', a Japanese brand with lots of cute dog wear and accesories, and I was wondering, since I'm from Spain, if extra shipping costs will be added, as customs duties or import charges, upon the arrival in my country. I have already checked the brand's web for information, but I wanted to ask if someone from Spain or other European country has bought something from them recently, and how was the experience altogether. Thank you so much!

My dog has, over the last week, become increasingly afraid of going outside, especially at night. He was able to walk fear free for the last 2 months. He is a 2 year old black mouth cur.

He is afraid mainly in my apartment complex (no issues at night while camping in the last couple of days. He mainly doesn't want to go out at night in at my apartment complex, being especially spooked with the complex gate moving as well as other cars turning on/driving by.

I now know that forcing him to go will not help and will probably make it worse. How can I help him to overcome these fears?

Gonna put it into a frame and keep it as memory in a special place 🐶 Approx. 25 years old still in good shape 😂

https://imgur.com/a/mhG3sZo

Edit: Added link to the ball 🎾