Category: Top Dog

So I recently just got a puppy. I got a Bernese mountain dog at 8 weeks old just about a month ago. Suddenly, my boyfriend decided about 2 weeks after that he wanted to get a Newfoundland who is the same age basically. 2 puppies is already frustrating. We knew it would be. But here is my issue.

My dog, the Bernie is an angel in comparison. He is crate trained and pretty responsive to potty training. He knows some tricks and many basic commands.

His dog, the Newfie is the absolute worst. He knows 0 commands, won’t leash, crate or potty train in the slightest. I think the crate training is my biggest issue. He will never and I mean never ever be quiet, not even for 2 seconds in the crate. We feed meals in the crate, we try the kong toys, the crate isn’t too big or too small. We provide potty breaks and we don’t leave him alone too much. I’ve been doing the same exact thing with him as my Bernese in all aspects of training and he will just not take at all to any of it.

I’ve raised puppies before so I knew the challenges. The dog I had before these 2 I’ve raised from a bottle and is trained well. I like to think I know what I’m doing training wise but I just can’t seem to get this one under control.

Anyway, like the title says, I hate the Newfie. I actually despise him. I don’t even like him or think he’s cute anymore. I’m tired of giving him a bath every day and hearing his whining. It’s driving me insane and making me resent him. I 1000% regret getting him. I know the puppy blues are a thing but I don’t think I’ve ever hated my life more.

Idk if I’m looking for advice, validation in my frustrations or just to vent. Regardless, I feel awful about it. I don’t want to hate a puppy, I know it’s not his fault and he can’t help it but neither can I.

We’re bringing home a puppy soon and I’m trying to pick insurance now before anything becomes “pre-existing.” I’ve been looking at Fetch and Lemonade and I feel like every review is either “amazing, saved me” or “nightmare, denied everything.” Hard to tell what’s real.

My last dog was a dachshund and the expensive part wasn’t just emergencies. It was the constant stuff: ear infections, skin issues, meds, rechecks, then dental later turned into cleanings/extractions/anesthesia. Also the back problems where it always felt like you were one flare away from an ER bill.

If you’ve used Fetch or Lemonade, what was the claims process actually like? Like did they pay without drama or did you have to fight. And if there’s another company you trust more, I’m open. Mostly I just want something that actually helps when the puppy inevitably eats something stupid at 2am.

We have a small backyard which is mostly covered in tiles in the middle, but has regular soil along the borders for plants and bushes, with decorative bark on top. Our pup has only ever been allowed in a small part of the backyard to go potty. We sometimes went beyond the fence to play, but he could never be left unsupervised because of his mischief.

Now that he is 9 months old and spring is coming, I would love for him to be able to go and play on his own in the backyard. How do I go about this?

I know dogs need to be dogs and I don't mind the digging, but he has been throwing up twice since we gave him supervised access a couple of days ago. Every time he ends up eating pieces of bark or digging for old roots/branches/debris and eating those when we aren't quick enough to remove it from his mouth. I am planning to remove the bark, but I was wondering how/if we can ever get to the point where he doesn't eat hazardous stuff without me having to strip the whole garden?

Hi everyone. I think I’m dealing with pretty serious puppy blues right now and I could really use some reassurance or advice from people who’ve been through this. I just get so frustrated and I’m so scared im going to express this by yelling too much/loud or something. I’d never ever hurt her, don’t get me wrong, but the frustration is just too much right now.

We’ve had our puppy for 2,5 weeks now. She’s about 10.5 weeks old and a mix (Aussie, Bernese, Golden). Some things are actually going really well, she sleeps through the night in her crate downstairs with no whining or accidents and we can already leave her alone in the crate for a bit, which I know is amazing for her age. We had a dog before her, but I wasn’t there while raising her since I was just a small child.

But during the day I’m honestly starting to feel overwhelmed and a bit defeated.

The biggest issues right now:

Biting.

She bites constantly. Hands, clothes, arms, everything. I try redirecting with toys, but sometimes she just goes right back to biting me. What’s confusing is that she isn’t overtired, she literally sleeps most of the day with short breaks in between, and those breaks often turn into bite attacks.

Potty routine confusion.

We have a spot in our backyard where she can go potty. She knows this, and (with exception of a few times) does this perfectly. She sits by the door when she wants to go out, but when I take her outside she often just wanders around, eats grass, lies down, or refuses to come back inside. Sometimes she won’t poop with me at all, but then my parents take her out right after and she immediately goes. I’ve tried making potty trips boring, tried taking her on the leash in the yard, but I keep ending up in this loop where she asks to go outside but doesn’t actually do anything.

Not listening at all suddenly.

She seemed to understand things like “come” earlier, but right now she often ignores it completely. Same with “no,” or asking her to lie down or disengage from something. I know she’s still really young, but it feels like she suddenly forgot everything.

Feeling like I’m the only one she does this to.

This might be the hardest part mentally. It feels like she behaves better with my parents and saves all the biting, ignoring, and chaos for me. I’m the one doing most of the training and time with her, so maybe that’s why, but it’s still discouraging.

I know puppies are supposed to be hard, and I expected that. But I didn’t expect to feel this frustrated or discouraged this early.

Has anyone else gone through something similar around the 2–3 week mark? Did it get better? Any advice on surviving this phase would honestly help a lot.

She eats out of her bowl; but 90% of the time she’ll eat if I put the kibble on the floor and she kind of plays with it, she jumps around to “attack” it then grabs it and eats it. She won’t eat it from a puzzle I have , and she’s not interested in lick mats either . I have a ball that you can put the food in and she’s not too interested in that either

My 6 month of doxie puppy has been eating her kibbles (Hills science) previously and was fine.

Recently she decided that she doesn’t like her kibbles, just after I bought a 10kg bag.

Is it time for me to start incorporating toppers or some cooked food in there?

What are something that you add into your puppy’s food?

Hi, I'm back again with another question. I'm wondering if I should put a blanket or bed in an 8-week-old puppy's crate at night. I've heard it's sometimes better to keep the crate bare at first in case of potty accidents, and that a blanket might encourage them to go in the crate—is there any truth to this? I don't want the puppy to feel uncomfortable, especially on the first night.

Hey guys! I recently got a puppy last year and I had such a hard time tracking vet visits (going all the time), vaccines, his daycare, dog walkers, and more. So I built an app to help myself and figured I’d launch it to help others!!! If you have any feedback let me know I’d love to incorporate solutions that others have experienced!!

https://apps.apple.com/us/app/doggydays/id6759389397

My girl is 7mo and has always done great in the car! I took her every where with me at first and she would lay down and sleep the whole car ride. The past few times I've taken her in the car with me she won't lay down, pants and she will whine for a few seconds. I had a bed in the backseat for her but she is starting to outgrow that so I removed it thinking she was just uncomfortable and have a blanket in the backseat for her. I don't know what suddenly changed, the only thing I can think of is she is more curious now and can see out the window sitting up and is more stimulated? Did anyone else's pups suddenly start getting stressed in the car during the teenage stage and did they grow out of it?

I tell her it's okay and give her reassurance but it's hard to do anything else for her while I am driving.