Category: Top Dog

Heya,

I have a question about my 16 week old corgi puppy, Mio. Mio is a big biter, which is something I was prepared for (my arms are numb), but one thing I find a little difficult. I'm pretty sure my dog is herding me, and I don't know how to react to it.

When we walk back home, she starts sitting down, not wanting to continue, and after going step by step for a small bit, she starts standing on my feet so I can't continue. If I still continue, she will start biting me really hard on my lower leg. This thing has been happening for the last four-ish weeks and hasn't improved at all.

Other than this she's been absolutely perfect so I'm not too worried just wanna tackle this the best way possible.

Oh and yeah she is on a one hour up (sometimes even shorter) 2 hour down schedule without too many problems.

Whats the best thing I can do without accidently reinforcing this behavior?

Already a big thanks!

Last weekend I brought my 6 month old Australian shepherd to the dog park for the first time, before then she has been going to doggy day care multiple days a week and has been doing great! She plays with every dog no matter the size and has never been snappy but that day I brought her to the dog park everything was going great then some people came in with their Belgian malinois and German shepherd then the malinois kept getting in her space and bit her pretty hard I don’t think it was out of aggression I think he was just playing too rough but after that the owner pulled him away then it happened again and she started snapping at him and hiding then we left and made sure not to make a scene about it and just walked her around to try and help her like shake it off and move on but today we took her to the dog park again and a larger dog was there and every time he approached her trying to play she would start snapping at him and hiding behind me, she did try to run around with him and play then she got scared and did it again, like she wanted to play but was also afraid and didn’t know how to react and she has never done that before and I’m afraid she’s been traumatized from the malinois. How do I help her to not be snappy anymore so she won’t act this way with dogs larger than her? (fyi she’s been to day camp once after the first time at the dog park and was perfectly fine)

Hello! My baby is currently 9 weeks and having issues having naps.

He will sleep quite consistently in the night— around 9:30-10pm, a very slight wake up around 12ish, then a bathroom at 4/5am then asleep until 7:30am.

However, during the day he will play for over an hour, once he gets nippy we try and calm him down on the couch, let him doze off w/ us, then put him in the bedroom crate (lights off, cover on). after 15ish mins of whining he’ll fall asleep. But he’ll be back awake only after 40-50mins crying to be let out!

So with all his naps from morning to bedtime only consists of around maybe 3hrs + the 8hrs at nighttime.

Any advice? I always let him go pee right after he wakes up. But should I start ignoring the crying and see if he goes back to sleep?

Thanks in advance for advice!

Dogs do not have the emotional intelligence to be malicious. Any ‘bad’ behaviour is a cause by you, the owner – probably unintentionally. Puppies know nothing, you must teach them everything. They are not ‘bad’, they simply do not know.

If you tell your dog off, this one’s for you!

TLDR: Worried about missing the socialization window because my puppy won’t tolerate being carried.

Hi everyone, I’m feeling pretty hopeless and I’d really appreciate some advice.

We brought home our 9-week-old Chihuahua a week ago, and he’s honestly been amazing in most areas:

• Fully litter trained (zero accidents)

• Crate trained since day one (sleeps 3–4 hours at a time)

• Loves his playpen and plays independently

• Self-soothes for naps

• Not reactive to hallway dogs barking, sirens, wildlife, cars, etc.

• Totally fine being handled, brushed, and touched

The breeder did mention he’s a bit shy, but he’s actually sweet and friendly meeting new people, as long as his feet are on the floor.

The issue is being lifted/carried. The second we pick him up (especially if we’re standing fully upright or walking) he freezes, whines, and won’t even take high-value treats. We’ve tried going very gradual, lots of praise, pairing with treats, using a sling, and adding a cue word (“up up”) so it’s predictable. He’s slightly better at a low height, but once we’re fully standing or moving, he’s overwhelmed. If we say the cue without a visible treat, he runs away.

We live in an apartment building, so we need to carry him to get outside until he has all of his shots. Right now we can barely make it to the lobby before he’s stressed.

I know how important the 8–16 week socialization window is, and I’m worried about either missing it or flooding him and creating a long-term fear.

Has anyone dealt with something similar? How did you build comfort with being carried without pushing too hard?

My 9 month old puppy (8 months old at time of adoption) only behaves when food/treats are around. Prior to my adopting her, she was in a foster home for 2 weeks. From 0-7.5ish months, we’re not really sure what her background is.

She is incredibly smart and already knows a handful of tricks. Also working on learning to settle and impulse control (she doesn’t eat her meals until I give command). We just started puppy class this week (you might’ve seen my frustration post).

I had an in home trainer do an initial consultation. She didn’t seem concerned with the food motivation yet as my pup is still learning my house and what she is and isn’t allowed to do. If I pull a treat out she does exactly what I want. She’s just not a self entertainer (unless I give her an edible chew)

Has anyone experienced this? Will this fade with age? Is it something I’ll have to phase out (mostly myself?

I’ve had my puppy for about 2 days now and I want to be proactive. I adopted him from a shelter and he is 10-11 weeks old (the rescue says he’s a labrador retriever/border collie mix, but I’m going to DNA test to find out more). I’ve been following a wake up-potty-food-play-light training-potty-crate nap routine the last 2 days, and I think it’s been working well and usually has him awake for 60-75 minutes. He also has a fenced in playpen in the living room with a few toys, a soft bed, and his water.

I work from home so I’m trying to develop a routine that works well for both of us. My question is what should I be doing when he’s not in that crate nap routine? For example, when it’s not close to a meal time but he is awake, he’s usually free in his playpen after I play with him/do some light training (5-10ish minutes). Is it okay that he independently play/chew toys in the playpen for a while as I cook dinner or get some work done? I feel like he will play independently for a little, but then starts to cry and jump up on the playpen gate for my attention.

Any advice appreciated!

Hi,

My male puppy is a 6-month-old mutt, mostly lab and American pit bull. we adopted him when he was about 10 weeks old but he had been in a kill shelter and separated from his mom at a very young age.

He is a sweet boy but very spirited, and super hyper. He hasn't met a toy he doesn't like. He's crate trained and we use the crate to enforce naps because ….and here's where I need the advice …. he will NOT settle outside of the crate EVER, even for 10 seconds. I can get him to sit if he thinks he's going to get a treat or something but other than that he's just running around trying to get toys to play within running them back to me.

if I try to ignore him he just continues to run around and find toys and put a big stack next to me and ram his little body into me trying to get me to engage with the toys. occasionally he will give up and just play with the toys for a minute by himself but then run back over to me and try to hit me with his paws so that he has my attention.

he is very cute and sweet and he doesn't mean any harm, but he is just always jumping around and ramming into me wanting me to play as if I am a dog or puppy and we can't get him to settle down and just lie next to us on the couch or cuddle or anything.

Even if we put down his own bed outside of the crate next to it he won't settle in it he just picks it up in his mouth and tries to run around with it like it's a huge toy. he sleeps fine in the crate but we can't get him to lie down or sleep outside of it at all or even just chill. he gets plenty of exercise and play it's just that he doesn't seem to understand how to calm his body unless he's in his crate with all of the curtains fully down and his sound machine on.

if we leave the crate door locked but not covered with a blanket, he will cry and cry and cry. but if we cover the crate, he will go to sleep.

does anyone have tips for how to get him to learn how to chill outside of the crate so that he would want to just cuddle on the couch or is he too young or that's just his disposition? thanks!