Category: Top Dog

I genuinely cried. I cannot express how tired I have been for the last 4 weeks, we got him at 10 weeks.

Most nights have been twice a night where he’s cried and woken up. Each time I just stuck to the same thing, no noise, no lights no/minimal talking just to say for him to do wee wee.

And after 4 weeks on consistency he finally did it 😭.

He did get up at 6am but still it’s a good start, he did settle again in his crate for an hour until the desired wake up time I’m training him for.

Not sure if it’s the consistent schedule that helped or him starting scent training properly yesterday that helped.

Or is could be both, either way I’m over the moon

We have a 14 week old lab pup and he is a great little guy – typical lab pup – but we love him.

But… he’s at that typical stage of nose down, ears closed, loves to chase the cat (who doesn’t help as he thinks it’s all fun) and eating anything he shouldn’t. I feel like I’m constantly shouting his name and he’s just ignoring every thing. I try and keep commands and recall to an absolute minimum but I just feel like I’m failing him and turning him into an awful dog that doesn’t listen.

We have our first gundog pup training assessment next week and I’m dreading it. I just know they’ll raise the eyebrows and be like “oh one of these owners”.

I don’t know what I’m asking for here but I feel like you guys will get it.

It will be 2 weeks tomorrow since I got my puppy. I got her at 10 weeks old, she just turned 12 weeks (3 months) yesterday!

I already have a 3 year old dog of the same breed and wanted to get her a companion, and almost everyone I’m close to has 2 dogs and always talked about how it’s the best thing and if anything, easier.

I am one of the biggest dog people, I absolutely adore them! So I’m really struggling with how mentally this situation has made me feel, I didn’t consider for a second that this would at times be so triggering to my anxiety. I did realize yesterday that I’m putting way too much pressure/expectations on myself to have her learn everything and be a pro at everything ASAP so going to try to tame that, but most days I just feel a pit of anxiety in my stomach and just get through by crying or telling myself in a few months-year I won’t feel this way and I’ll be happy again. But I can’t go on feeling this way and I want to truly enjoy puppy hood not just survive.

Any tips would be so helpful. She is such a good puppy!

I got a puppy Oct 2025. He injured himself and had a trip to the vet to get stitched up, but things went sideways during the surgery and the vet informed me afterwards that he has a rare blood disorder 💔💔💔 I am completely heartbroken and devastated, as I love him so much and have been so happy with him in my life, but researching the condition made me realise he either won’t survive for long, or it’s going to be an expensive and difficult road ahead. I am not a rich person and already had to borrow money from my parents to cover the injury emergency and I know I simply won’t be able to make ends meet if/when things happen later. I am weighing up my options and trying to decide what to do – I have another appt at the vet for follow up tests next week (also had to borrow money to pay for that). I am wondering if anyone has ever made the decision to return a beloved puppy to the breeder for health reasons and how that all went? Please be gentle, I just feel completely crushed and can’t stop crying as it is 😞

hi! so we have a 12 week old golden retriever puppy who is overall doing really well. he sleeps well in the crate and aside from some mini temper tantums when going in, usually settles very quickly. sometimes if he didn’t settle my partner (and later on me as well) would go and sit next to the crate rather than at the table or the sofa which is slightly further away from the crate (though still in line of sight). usually then he settles quicker, we assumed it was some sort of fomo.

recently though he’s been going ballistic if we don’t do it anymore. if we sit at the table or the sofa he barks and whines and borderline howls. then if we sit next to him he sits quietly for a bit before going to sleep.

it’s important to me that he can eventually hang out in the crate on his own and find it relaxing/fun. especially for when we need to run errands etc. he seemed to be slowly growing that way until this recent development. and im unsure how to handle it.

he always sleeps in the crate, we give him treats/kongs/etc. and it’s only been recent he’s been so intense about it.

any ideas and/or tips?

a stray (more of a community dog tbh) in my area has given birth to 4 pups. all of them are scheduled to be adopted at 8 weeks old. which will be around the first week of february. Till the day comes, is there anything I can do to bond with the puppy? i visit them twice a day to feed them, and play a little. any other things i should do? i use the name im gonna give him when I pet him, is that a good idea?

Hi everyone,

I just rescued an 8-month-old shepherd who’s been through a lot my neighbor tried to harm him, and he even has stab marks on his neck. He’s underweight, nips a lot, and loves to chew. I really want to give him a safe and loving home.

I have PTSD, and caring for my ESA dog has taught me a lot about patience and gentle training. I also found RealESALetter really helpful for guidance and information about emotional support animals. The vet says he can be challenging, but with patience, consistency, and the right chew toys, I believe he can thrive.

Does anyone have advice on calming him, training an older puppy, or good chew toys? I want to make sure he feels happy and safe.

I may be just really drunk but I was wondering how do I let my dog know I love her. I’m worried she doesn’t know so

My Bichon has severe skin irritation due to like condensation humidity something and I was advised to shave her so I did and I noticed that she got a lot better. However I recently found out that bichons are a double coat and I know you're not supposed to shave double coats in general. Her fur is growing back and I'm debating if I should shave it again since her irritation is flaring up again.

We have a puppy who is about 7 months old and she keeps having accidents in the house. We think part of it is that one of our other dogs is blocking the doggy door to get outside. We don’t know why this is happening as she knows it is wrong and runs outside whenever we catch her and we have never had this happen with any other dogs before.

She also constantly tears up the couch to where it has multiple holes in it all the way to the wood, we are hoping that once we are able to get a new couch that will help with part of it as that is were most of the accidents occur. We have never had this problem before and don’t know what to do.