Category: Top Dog

We got our Husky around mid 2024 and he's now a bit more than one and a half years old. Since we got him I've tried again and again to teach him the basics but they just won't stick, sometimes he semi-follows them when I'm holding a treat but without one all his focus immediately disappears. This behavior becomes a hundred times worse in a stimulating environment, such as the outside world when on walks, or whenever strangers either visit us, or walk by us on walks.

Whenever strangers come to visit he will bark non-stop and completely ignore any and all name calling or other commands, further he constantly tries jumping on them, this happens with random passers-by as well, without the barking. If he encounters another dog on the street, he will go completely rigid refusing to move and ignores me completely, either that or he tries running over to that dog, putting him at risk of getting hit by cars/bicycles.

Another thing that I can't get him to do no matter what I try is having him walk next to me/loose leash. He prefers walking ahead and pulling at the rope. I've tried the "stop upon tension" and "random u-turns" approach but those haven't helped one bit in weeks of trying. I can't even reward him if he does follow my instructions on walks because he refuses to take any snacks or quickly tries and snatching them by rushing toward me and biting my fingers.

Also whenever he thinks he's going on a walk he starts jumping on me/the other members of my family and bites at our clothes/gloves/shoes. He has already ripped two jackets of mine, and constantly steals my gloves when I put them in my pockets running around the garden with them, wasting my time and patience.

Today was especially bad on our walk he kept running on the street, in circles around me, or kept tension on his leash the entire time. After half an hour of trying I just gave up and we went back home.

I'm genuinely at a loss here. I know Huskies aren't the easiest dogs to train by a long shot, and I'll admit I haven't always been too consistent with my methods. but it's hard trying it alone since my family refuses to try and gives him treats haphazardly. I'm trying my best though, balancing my time between uni, him, excercise and work.

I appologize for any type-Os I made/fluidity in my text, English isn't my first language and I'm writing this at 4 in the morning, too tired to review.

Any and all advice would be greatly appreciated.

Adopting a bigger dog (shepherd/retriever) and not sure what crate to get. I was looking at the collapsible ones from impact and rock creek and not sure which is best or if I should be looking elsewhere. Will mostly be for indoors/sleeping but I will load it in the back of my truck for longer trips on occasion. High anxiety isn’t a concern so don’t need one of those and I hate the wire ones so want to invest in a nice one.

Any suggestions or experience is appreciated!

My dog has been extra clingy for a bit now. I can’t figure out what he wants sometimes. He’s also licking my right hand a lot, never my left hand. A few days ago I woke up with a stiff neck (pain on right side), the pain goes up to the base of my skull/behind ears, and has been radiating down my right arm in certain positions. I find it odd that he’s been favoring the same side that is now where my pain is. Anyone have their dog do something like this and you ended up with health issue?

Basically me and my partner are both stressed and extremely tired ,also worried that we are not the right fit for the dog we adopted.

we have a 1 year old collie and hes really loving and fun, we got him at 8 weeks from a shelter. ive been finding it really hard recently like theres just no let up or rest. we where not aware at all that he was a working breed we where getting which is obviously on us, and rehoming is the last option we want to do as we love him to bits but we are struggling with alot of issues on top of both working full time and 2 kids.

1. for context usually one of us is working from home and i have my kids from ex half the time. the times the kids are with us, im already up at 6am to get organised for school etc , the days im in office, im not finished and home and done with homework until 6 at best, before dinner can be started and a walk considered so my partner usually wakes early those days to walk him. if im home and SO is in office, i walk him during work hours twice , obviously this isnt ideal long term and im lucky work is quiet at the minute, but other wise im still up early and home late with kids.
2. the weeks i dont have the kids used to be when we recovered a bit of lost sleep but its now when both of use take turns getting up early to walk him in the morning and one of us after work.
3. the walks are torture, always lunging to people or other dogs in excitement, prams as well or scooters/bikes are a trigger, seems to ignore cars and vehicles. pees on people when theres visitors.
4. we've put alot of effort in with training and feel so defeated that only some things have stuck, i do herding games with him that ive seen online , food puzzles , frozen kong treats, and he still seems unfulfilled with 2 walks a day and being run around the garden we have which is quite big too even for him he gets a really good run around there.
5. he seems to just not have an off switch, if i try to work in the kitchen with him to give him a bit of company he keeps barking at me to let him out to garden, i dont anymore as he justs eats stones and digs massive holes and then drags it all in when im not with him. half the time crap is coming in too, then i need to get out disinfectants and try and wash him/the floor.
6. im brushing him multiple times a week and hoovering but hairs are still ending up in our food, there isnt anywhere else in the house we can keep him than kitchen.
7. he isnt getting along with our older cat either, the cat is wary of the dog, but seems interested in him. always trying to see what hes upto or watch him in the crate. but our dog keeps trying to herd or chase the cat. we've tried a lot of different ideas to try get them along but our dog just wont take and its been so long now. as a result we have a very closed off house and constantly closing doors.
8. we cant relax with dog in living room since he just wont rest unless hes in the crate, but also the cat is in that room. it feels like its a cycle of just get him tired so we can rest but in reality we have piles of other stuff to be doing too.
9. he barks just to get out of the house so often, even in the middle of the night, we are conscious of bothering neighbours, and him needing to pee or poop, but so often he just goes and immediately digs for rocks in the garden. we find it hard to tell the difference between barks for toilet break and just from boredom/wanting to get out.
10. i'd love to say we make it work but if im walking him in work hours half the time it isnt really working, i think we're barely keeping it together but still nearly always giving him am and pm walks.
11. theres some issue with his eyes also that vet recommended we get cover for, we did but are worried this could be a barrier rehoming him. dont want to hide it but disclosing it could hinder anyone adopting him.
12. we dont have time for each other anymore either,and definitely both feel like we need rest /cant keep this up, i find myself walking him because i know its what he needs despite dying for a few minutes rest myself and im sure my partner is the same. i dont even have time to go gym by myself or do any of my own destressing / unwinding hobbies.
13. we feel like at this stage what was once lovely and happy experience is just alot of stress, we're putting so much money and time in and feel that we cant keep up and he still doesnt seem fully happy or fullfilled himself. im getting to the stage where i dread having to deal with him or see him as a chore and im not happy with the person i am thinking this way.

i guess we are just looking for ideas for help as we both dont want to give him up? would some behavioral courses help with dog trainers? we are planning for a child also and worried even with behaviour training that we just wont be able to manage him and a newborn, but no guarantees that will go anywhere either with our ages, so we dont want to go down that route if not needed.

i know some of what to expect in the comments but i am looking for advice from people who where in a spot like us, and made it through it with their dog?

we have a 9 week old standard poodle and no matter what we do, he keeps biting us. its actually starting to hurt.

he doesnt accept toys nor food to redirect his bites else where.

what can we do?

I’m a master’s student working on a project about how people and dogs share urban spaces, and I’d appreciate hearing different perspectives on this issue. In your experience, what factors contribute to this behavior? For example: access to bins or bags, inconvenience, lack of awareness, or social norms. I’m looking to understand the reasons, not place blame. Thanks for sharing your thoughts.

I don't know how else to explain it. Basically, my short hair chihuahua, who is, in fact, the sweetest thing, gets so incredibly excited whenever I come home that she jumps up on the back of my couch to get as close to me as she can, and stands up to put her paws on my chest like she's hugging me, and she shows her teeth like she's smiling. I don't have a takeaway here, I just felt like sharing, because I don't see a lot of people online talking about dogs baring their teeth in non-threatening ways, and I wanted to put this post out in case someone wanted to know that it isn't always a thing they do for aggression.

So within the last day or so, I noticed this bump on my dog’s nose. It is hard when I touch it. He doesn’t yipe or cry when I touch it. I’m just a little worried. I’m wondering if anyone could help.

Hi dog owners, I’m looking for some advice and support.

My Great Dane became reactive a few years ago after we were attacked on the street by an out-of-control large breed dog. Since then, I’ve been working really hard on counter-conditioning him around other dogs, and he has made progress. The issue is, I am stunting his progress.

I don’t walk him as much as I should because I’m genuinely scared. There are a lot of dogs in my area that regularly get out of their yards, and there’s also a group of kids (around 10–14 years old) who walk a Rottweiler and a Shar Pei on flexi leashes. Every time I see them, the dogs are completely out of control; I’m talking about the dogs dragging the kids across four lanes of traffic levels of chaos.

I’m terrified of running into them and having the worst happen. If all I had to manage was my own dog’s reaction, I’d be okay. What scares me is irresponsible owners and dogs I can’t control.

I carry citronella deterrent spray, but it doesn’t feel like enough. Unfortunately, I can’t just drive to a quieter location since I don’t drive. I'm currently training him to be comfortable on the train so we can eventually walk in other areas, but we’re not there yet.

Has anyone dealt with this kind of fear? Any advice or coping strategies would be really appreciated. Thank you.