Category: Top Dog

I am at my wit's end right now.

My pomeranian turned 3 in September. We got him when he was 3 months old and potty training was a breeze with him. He picked it up so fast and never had an incident inside until around August 2025. He had a little incident in the upstairs bedroom with an upset tummy. We cleaned with enzyme spray but he continued to poop up there almost everyday. He also started eating it for some reason.

We started taking him out more often and giving him treats when he pooped outside but it didn't help. He hardly ever even tells us he needs to go out anymore, when he used to run to the door and/or bark. He kept choosing the same spot on the carpet upstairs, so we put a baby gate up. This helped for a few weeks, but if we even left the door open for literally seconds, he'd run up there to poop.

Then he started pooping downstairs. We have hardwood downstairs, and we still clean with enzyme spray, but he keeps doing it. We had to throw away all our rugs. We started feeding him pumpkin to hopefully get him to stop eating it at least, and that doesn't work. He poops inside when we are home, when we aren't home, it doesn't matter. He doesn't act guilty (but we never use punish for training) so I don't even know if he knows it is wrong, despite rewarding him for going outside.

This morning, he pooped AND peed inside. The pee is a new development I'm pretty sure.

We moved to this house in Jan 2025 but he had been doing great with giving cues to go outside and going outside up until August.

We try to take him out like once an hour or more. Sometimes he will spend 15-20 minutes sniffing but not go outside, only to immediately go inside.

His farts have also been extra stinky lately… but that may be the pumpkin. He had a stool test a couple months ago that was negative for everything.

I have a vet visit coming up soon but WTF? He is a great dog in every other way, but this is driving me bonkers! Does anyone have any clue on what we can try next?

Our 13 y/o rescue went over the rainbow bridge this morning. He developed seizures last month and despite interventions he continues to rapidly decline. We made the incredibly difficult decision to put him to sleep at home today and are absolutely devastated.

With that being said I'd like to have something such as a figurine or a 3d portrait of his face made as a gift for my wife. The problem is there are so many things out there and many seem like scammy or a very low end product. There is a person who makes 3d portraits by hand but she is currently overwhelmed with commissions. Does anyone have any good things to say about a company or person they used?

We will already have a small memorial with his name and pictures but I'd like something tangible for her to hold as a keepsake.

Thank you for any advice

I wanted to share a mistake I made as a first-time puppy owner that I honestly didn’t realize at the time. I adopted a puppy a few months ago and, like many people, I thought the key was to “tire her out.” Longer walks, more playtime, more stimulation. If she was being bitey, zoomy, or unfocused, my instinct was always: she needs more activity. But instead of getting calmer, she was getting more overstimulated. After some reading and talking to more experienced owners, I realized I was confusing a tired puppy with a regulated puppy. I wasn’t giving her enough structure or mental work, and I wasn’t letting her learn how to settle. I started making small changes: – shorter, calmer walks instead of long chaotic ones very basic training during the day (sit, wait, name response) food puzzles and sniffing games scheduled downtime where doing nothing was actually the goal The difference surprised me. She still has puppy energy (of course), but she’s noticeably less frantic and much better at settling on her own. I’m sharing this because I genuinely wish I had understood earlier that more activity isn’t always the answer with puppies. Did anyone else learn this lesson later than expected?

Stepping barefooted in human feces or dog feces?

I recently rescued a 5 month old saluki x greyhound.

His previous owners did not vaccinate him so we haven't been able to walk him yet. He got his first vaccination on the day we picked him up and his second is due next week.

Hes very energetic but we have been able to exercise him in our garden with chase and fetch etc.

He had a check up the other day as I noticed he has trouble getting up after sleeping. The vets believe he has hip dysplasia and we have been instructed to not let him run until he has his x-ray (in two weeks).

I'm heartbroken, my poor pup is desperate for some exercise and I feel helpless. We play gently indoors with chew toys, lick mats, frozen kongs, treats scattered around the garden but obviously this doesn't work as well as a walk or run would.

I'm just looking for some advice really.

I would appreciate no comments about backyard breeding as he is a rescue. We didn't purchase him from a breeder, he was given up.

Idk why but I feel angry with my partner after he gave our 2month old Pomeranian a cooked chicken cartilage? I’m afraid this will cause her to die. Please let me know wht to do next? Will she be safe? Will her intestines splinter from this? I’ve had dogs who’ve died after consuming chicken bones. Please help.

I have a toy australian shepherd, 16 lbs, who I've been trying to train to be comfortable with his carrier. It's for a relocation to Japan so it's really important that we can get it down. We still have about 6-8 months before relocating but I have been working for days with him and feeling very defeated.

He is not crate trained, and he is very smart and anxious so he's hard to train. He will go in to get treats and lick the lick mat, but is very anxious the whole time and if I touch him or even say anything, even "good boy", he gets nervous and wants to exit, and usually just straight up backs out. Sometimes he won't even go in to get the treats out of fear.

I've been doing this:

– Throw treat in, sometimes tell him to sit and stay, and then release, tell him "crate" and point in towards the treat.

– He goes in, grabs the treat, goes out immediately. He keeps his feet outside the carrier and leans in so he doesn't have to be all the way in.

– I repeat the process, sometimes breaking the treat apart and sprinkling it inside so he has to lick up and spend more time in there

– Sometimes I cover a lick mat with buddy butter, crushed up treats, and put it in, and sometimes he'll spend more time licking it but other times be jumpy and only go in for a few seconds before coming out.

– A few times I've gotten him all the way in with food distracting him inside, and I did manage to close the carrier even though he freaked out a bit. Then I told him to stay as I opened the carrier, made him stay inside with the carrier open for a few seconds, and released him on command with lots of treats. But there isn't really any progress.

I'm trying to work my way to be able to close him in the carrier, and get him comfortable turning around inside, and eventually laying down and relaxing in there.

At this point it's super hard to imagine him being able to sit under the seat in front of me in his carrier on a plane for 12 hours. I will definitely be giving him trazodone for the flight but I still can't see how we'll ever get there when he can barely feel comfortable going into the carrier at all.

Any advice? People with aussies? People who have flown with them or other stubborn dogs in cabin in a carrier? Any advice for relocation? Thank you.