Category: Top Dog

Our property is 5 acres. Fencing is impractical. We practice our leash skills, but dogs deserve unstructured outside time. My husband also wants to do actual hunting retriever training, which requires a dog to be able to run without escaping. I would like to install a long cable trolley . With a long enough lead connecting to the cable, puppy can have lateral movement. We can do longer retriever throws with bumpers and 'chuck its', she can also run more than my pelvic floor will allow me to do.
I know the basics- harness, not collar attachment. Access to shade and water, don't leave the dog alone all day etc.

Looking at all the options, what features make for a good trolley/zip line?

First – thank you to everyone on this sub! The resources on this sub have been so helpful over the last few weeks. We have a 12 week old whoodle (wheaten terrier doodle). He’s been with us for 3 weeks. During this time he has been (mostly) responsive to training. However, every time he sees my kids ( 11 and 8) he rushes to chase them and bite at them. I assume he thinks this is fun but it is definitely not. The kids are good at trying to stay calm, turn their back, and not engage, but it’s almost impossible to get him off them, and he becomes more excited and intense in biting and growling (which I do not think is aggressive, but play or frustration that we are moving the toy away). When we say drop he refuses, unless there is a treat which he quickly grabs, and then lunges back. I’m worried about this becoming a practiced behavior. I also worry about repeatedly saying drop without a treat (it’s an instinct) means he will ignore the word. I also worry that he only drops for treat. I also know he’s young so we have time to address this behavior. Any advice would be welcome about how to have more positive interactions with the kids!!

Did your adolescent dog “mellow out” specifically regarding mood and growling?

Currently have a 15 month old dog. He’s our first dog so I don’t have anything to compare him with.

He is sometimes in a grumpy mood or growls when you touch his face in particular, such as teeth, eyes etc.

We made sure to touch his paws, face, ears etc a lot as a puppy. I would regularly brush his teeth with no issues. However, ever since becoming a teenager he growls at us when he either doesn’t want to do what we ask him to do or brushing his teeth etc.

He’s been to vet and has no physical issues. The second he growls we stop and I respect that he is communication he isn’t happy but I am wondering where we went wrong as we did touch his face and trained with him since being a puppy. Are adolescent dogs prone to mood swings? Do they tend to mellow out as adults?

I want to continue working on brushing his teeth, touching his face etc cos I think it’s important the vet can check on those things safely and I feel it’s my responsibility to make sure the vet can do those checks without him air snapping/growling.

We recently got a Leonberger puppy and it‘s overwhelming. He is very cute, surprisingly responsive and trained alright given his age. That being said, we struggle adjusting with our busy work schedules. I don’t know what came to our mind. I am afraid to admit that I thought I was ready but I clearly was not. It’s scary.

To add to it, we even more recently learned that my wife is pregnant…

I am having serious doubts about our capacity to raise a puppy well, welcome a new born in good conditions and… keep our demanding jobs.

My heart is broken as I think about returning the puppy to the dresser. They mentioned that they‘d be ok to rehome the pup if need be when we first chatted. I am at loss here. What do you reckon ?

If either of us are home independently, she has no problem chilling on the couch, chilling on the floor, chewing a toy, or taking a nap outside her crate. If both myself and my husband are home, she can't seem to settle herself and decides its Wrestle Time, all the time. It's the worst when we're both on the couch, she gets so unruly and unregulated we have to tether her.

We have practiced capturing calm in this scenario since she was a young puppy, both tethered and untethered, but it just seems to turn off once she is off her tether at this age.

Hi! I have an 8 mo male yellow lab. We started transitioning away from our structured kennel routine. He would eat in the kennel, take enforced naps in the kennel, sleep overnight in his kennel, and kennel while we’re away. He does well sleeping in our bedroom on the floor overnight and we’ve had no issues with getting into something he’s not supposed to. He naps well after exercise on his bed or on the couch and we can move freely throughout the house while he does. However, we still kennel him while we’re away because I don’t trust him out alone yet.

At daycare, he gets kenneled a few times throughout the day, mostly for a nap or two and the daycare staff say he does really well in the kennel there. He’s relaxed, quiet, etc.

However, for us at home, it’s totally different. I think he’s realized that he only goes in there when we leave, as he has a full blown meltdown. We’ve tried playing something for him so it sounds like I’m home, etc. and it helps for an only a short while. I have a camera on him and he’s smart. As soon as he hears us in the house, he’ll quiet up and wait nicely for us to open the kennel for him. However, while we’re gone it’s panting, howling, barking, etc.

He doesn’t have any trouble going into his kennel when I have his food bowl or a Kong full of tasty treats. But if I don’t have any of that, he refuses to go in. Even for good treats.

Is there anything I can do to make the kennel situation better when we’re gone?

Licking definitely calms my girl down, so I’m looking for things she will actually continuously lick.

So far the Pupsicle is good, as long as she likes what I’ve put in it (usually plain bone broth mixed with the Woof calming supplement). But everything else she bites/chews or just leaves it alone.

She ditches her KONG if it’s not pouring treats out (I used to work at KONG, I know I gotta do the different stuffing levels to work up to staying interested but we’re not there yet).

Lick mats are good if they’re not frozen (I usually do baby/toddler food pouches) but if they’re frozen she pulls up the suction cups and just chews the whole thing, or abandons them and our other dog gets it when he’s done with his. Not frozen they last maybe 5 minutes before she’s licked them clean. Maybe I need like a 6’ x 6’ lick mat 🥴

I get ads for tons and tons of products… are there any specifically for licking that do the trick for you? Thanks for any input you can offer!!

Hi. I'm looking at getting a small breed puppy. I live in a desert environment and there is no grass around, only rocks and cement basically. Is it ok/humane/healthy to use those disposable live grass pads in trays indoors? I would still provide the dog with at least daily walks and we do have a dog park in my community that has grass but it's not convenient for frequent use. We also have a large coyote population so letting the dog out in my yard (which is mostly rocks anyway) isn't really an option. I know people who live in apartments in cities use them but I just want to make sure this is a reasonable solution. If so, is it ok to only keep it indoors or should I put it outside? And is it ok to use these indefinitely beyond the training stage? It does regularly get to 115 in the summer here so there's that. Thanks for your help.

We have a 19 week old female shepherd pit mix and we just brought home a puppy for her specifically because she is so much happier around other dogs. The new puppy is a 9 week old male golden retriever. They LOVE eachother but he is too small right now to actually play with our 40 pound older pup. We have supervised “playtime” where he’s not in his playpen and my husband and I are with them and we give them each treats to get them used to eachother. WELLLLLL…. We gave them each a treat and we have to give them the exact same one or they want eachothers. My husband was trying to desensitize our younger pup by touching his ears and such while he has a special treat and he’s still getting used to it. He growls and will try to nip. Our older pup is not okay with that. She is the sweetest thing and will never growl or purposefully bite out of defense. She lets him jump all over her and she stays calm but the second he growls at me or my husband or tries to nip either of us she goes on alert. She gets upset and starts barking at him but never actually touches him. Part of me feels like she is just trying to teach him but I worry she’s going to become overly protective of us?