Category: Top Dog

I love my BC pup, he's 5 months now, I got him at 8 weeks. I'm raising him on my own which has been as full-on as I expected. He's a landshark, currently doesn't cuddle and on top of it all I'm about to go back to full-time work (I work outdoors, take him along and crate him for two hours at a time, then a walk or play or meal or all three). I'm just tired from raising him by myself I guess and not feeling at all like doing training sessions when he's being sharky and an annoying adolescent. He's so smart and knows sit, down, drops his toy, he can settle for half an hour at a time, we have a really good fetch routine and his recall is okay except when it really matters and while I'm listing all those things, I dunno why I'm even complaining 🙂 It just feels never ending at times. Tell me it gets easier, even if it gets harder at first!

I have a 3-month-old Toy Goldendoodle. He needs to be alone on Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday since my partner and I both have to work at the office. My office is a 20-minute walk from home, so I come back around noon to feed him, take him out, and play with him a little.

However, from the camera, I can see that it’s quite difficult for him. He’s alone from 9:00 am–12:00 pm and 1:00 pm–4:30 pm in his playpen with a lick mat or a Kong stuffed with food (peanut butter, yogurt, etc.). He also has an interactive mat to search for treats. Overall, I think he has a lot to keep him busy.

Despite this, when we’re away, he seems to ignore his favorite toys and barks a lot until he eventually falls asleep. I know this isn’t the ideal situation, but it’s the only approach we’ve found so far. I would really appreciate any advice.

My 7 month old border terrier/patterdale/menace has really sharp teeth and tears through even the strongest toys in, like, a day. I’m knackered at pets at home and so is my bank account. She pulls the thread out of rope tuggers and just likes to destroy. If anyone has any recommendations I’d love some please!

I put a down payment on a golden yesterday after a long thought process. I’ve wanted to get a dog for a long time and have put it off, but ever since my brother got his puppy I just can’t resist anymore. I felt super excited when I made the payment. But soon after, I began to feel very anxious, which is unusual for me. I could hardly sleep last night. Then it went away and I felt comfortable, and then later it came again and I was back to feeling panicked. However, in the end, I’m going to go through with it. Has anybody else felt this way before adopting?

Because I really hope it will one day 😅 My 6 month old puppy jumps, growls and bites me and the leash when we’re on our walks. Sometimes it’s because she’s very excited, sometimes it’s out of frustration because we don’t walk where she wants to go or she wants to play on the big field but we’re just walking by it.

I usually stop, turn my body sideways and say No with a stern voice. Sometimes I ask her to sit for a very short while. Then we continue, but it’s happening again 5 minutes later. She’s very gentle, just nipping at my jacket and nibbling my hands or gloves, but she’s tall and the growling is LOUD and everybody stops and stares. She’s huge by the way, and can easily reach my shoulders when she jumps.

Do they outgrow it or do I need to change my method?

Our 4mo puppy is great! We are working through training on a number of things, but the biggest challenge thus far has been getting him to be comfortable in the kennel while we are out of the house. He does totally fine overnight, but struggles a little in the kennel alone.

We monitor him with a camera while we are away. We have not been away from him for more than about 3 hours so far. We have been using a consistent routine and doing it daily. He certianly has improved over time, but still barks and seems a bit upset about 10-15% of the time he is in there.

I had the idea recently that it could be useful to install a wireless doorbell near his kennel. The thought would be that we would ring it outside when we got home. Over time, with consistent use, the hope would be that he would associate the doorbell with when he would actually be let out, rather than him barking and hoping that it would work at any given time.

Has anyone tried this or a similar approach?

i got my 8 week old toy poodle 3 days ago and my only problem is her sleeping in her crate (or not), especially at night. I will usually feed her her last meal min. 3 hours before bedtime and then she lovess to play around with us before she settles down in her play pen (in our living room) or on the sofa in our laps. The problem is that even if shes very sleep, she will whine and cry in her crate for 10-15 mins even after that im not sure if shes asleep or moving around or just changing positions while sleeping. She will whine more if she sees me so i put her in a room close to mine or the living room (naps are no problem, even though I tried to ens that she doesn’t sleep past 7 pm since our bedtime is 11-12) anyways 2-3 hours after sleeping at night she will whine again to pee and then THE WORST OF ALL is that after peeing she gets REALLY hungry so i give her a little food or else she shrieks and cries non sto, and after eating.. SHE GETS ZOOMIES AT 3-4 AM and the whole episode takes 1-1.5 hours everyni and its honestly sooo exhausting because i gotta wake up at 6:30 every day and ive been getting little to no sleep between putting her to bed and taking her out… PLEAsE HELP

I wanted a dog my whole adult life and two years ago my dream came true. We got an older replacement dog who we decided to adopt before we had met him. Things have run pretty smoothly and I love having a dog. BUT, he’s not the kind of dog I longed for. He’s like an old, grumpy man. He doesn’t like to cuddle, he’s mostly excited about food. The only time he jumps up in my lap is when I’m eating. I think he likes me and feels safe with me somehow because he’s happy to greet me when I get home, and once when he hurt himself and was upset he chose to sleep next to me (which he never does otherwise).

I didn’t imagine life with a dog to be this way and I often feel sad and disappointed about it. I expected company on the couch, someone who comforts me if I’m sad (but he’s more likely to look at me angrily and run off). At the same time I love and care about my dog, and I want him to feel I do but I don’t really know how to do it in a way that doesn’t make him uncomfortable(except feeding him…).

How can I improve the relationship with my non affectionate dog?

Edit: Those of you who think I despise or mistreat my dog can relax. I try my best not to show him or people around me how I feel about this and I think he deserves love and care and I swear I’ll keep him until he dies. But he’s a very reserved dog who doesn’t show much interest in people and definitely not in other dogs and I want to know how I can bond better with a dog like that. AND I feel a little sad at the same time because I expected to bond with my dog like I did with my childhood dogs. I really wonder how some people can be so judgemental when not knowing the whole picture.

I’m looking for perspectives on my dog’s shift in play behavior.

My mini poodle turned 1 in October. She’s been in a weekly puppy play and train class since she was ~8 weeks old (highly supervised free play plus training). Historically she’s been very socially flexible—different play styles with different dogs (chase, role reversals, mutual mouthy play). One isolated incident months ago where she snarled at a younger puppy with sharp teeth, otherwise no issues.

Lately, there’s one dog she’s known for months who she’s become relentless with in class:

-repeatedly pinning him

-very loud play growling/barking

-hard time disengaging

He is a few months older than her, similar sized, both of them are fixed.

It still looks playful but wayyy intense and the play is very asymmetric. The other dog doesn’t correct her or remove himself, he just rolls over, so the trainer has to step in and give him breaks constantly. Without intervention, she’d keep going.

Worth noting:

-this is only with this one dog

-she is not generally pushy or reactive

-with other dogs, play is either balanced or she’s the more submissive one

She also goes to dog daycare once a week for ~5 hours because she doesn’t like being home alone. At daycare she’s very stimulated but not chaotic—lots of walking around, observing, sniffing butts, tail up, alert but not stiff. She plays in short bursts occasionally, enjoys enrichment (bubble machine), and seems comfortable there. Shes always excited to go through the doors.

My questions…

Is this kind of persistence and intensity with a single dog a normal part of social maturity around 1 year old?

At what point does this become a behavior that should be actively prevented from becoming a habit vs. “dogs sorting it out with management”?

Could once-weekly daycare be contributing by increasing baseline arousal or reducing sensitivity to disengagement cues, even if she’s not playing hard there?

Or does this sound more like a specific mismatch where the other dog’s lack of boundaries is allowing her to rehearse controlling play?

I’d love to hear thoughts!

I have a Boston Terrier and a Pug. Both have very different chewing styles when it comes to toys. My pug loves to lick and chew, however he is kind of gentle when it comes to hard toys (including rubber toys). But when it comes to string or plush toys, he pulls them apart and eats the toys. I’ve since then haven’t given him any soft toys, but I’ve discovered that when my boston terrier rips up rubber toys, he eats the bits and pieces she leaves. She (my boston terrier) also eats the plush, squeakers, and the rubber toys. I want to find them better and newer toys than they have now. They both have two hard toys that they just chew on but I want to give them more. I cannot give them bones because my boston terrier becomes territorial over a bone. Any ideas and advice? Thank you!!