Category: Top Dog

Hi, I have an 11 month old female standard poodle puppy. I am a first time dog owner.

My dog is very sweet and attentive, but absolutely loses her mind when seeing other dogs. Whether it be walking, sitting, she is lunging and barking to interact with them (she wants to play, no aggression).

When on walks, we have tried walking in the opposite direction, standing at a far away distance and rewarding when she ignores them, but she continuously will pull in the opposite direction (she will literally stand on her hind legs and bark as I’m pulling her). When sitting, she will bark even after the dog is out of sight for several minutes.

The real issue probably lies with me. I have extreme anxiety, and feel intense embarrassment and humiliation in public when she is losing her mind. I have had people move away from us due to her barking, which worsens my anxiety, and after a few tears I end up leaving with her still pulling and acting up.

I’m not sure what to do to overcome this, or how to even respond or correct her when she’s barking non stop. She won’t pay attention to me if there is another dog, and is disinterested in treats as well if another dog is present. We have been to parks, outside my student union, and outside at cafes. I don’t know where else to go, or how else to grab her attention, since she doesn’t seem to be learning that quiet is a good thing.

How do I correct her? What can I do to stop feeling so embarrassed at her barking? Where else do I go? This is the biggest hurdle I have had since getting her, and I want to be able to go to public places without her acting up. Does she just need more exposure? Will she stop eventually? I have been taking anxiety medication when I go out with her, but it’s difficult as I have to drive to many places and cannot drive on my meds. Please help!

I am hoping for some ideas and suggestions for a dog I'm fostering.

He's currently in isolation in our above ground "basement", but it's a smaller space. He spends the majority of the time sleeping, as he should, and I do spend time with him. I am just worried in less than a week as he's recovering, he's going to get incredibly bored and will not be sleeping as much. Any ideas for toys or other items that will keep him engaged for when he's feeling better?

I don’t know what to think… I have a 1 yr old Alaskan Husky/Malamute/German Shepherd mix and he is by far the laziest dog I’ve ever had (other than my prior Chiweenie).

Has anyone experienced this with any combination of these breeds? He was minimally destructive as a puppy but is no longer. He zoom zooms for a little bit at the big dog park but otherwise just a wants to dog pile with the us or our little dogs (frenchie & Maltese-chihuahua mix).

I’m not complaining but am very curious to see if anyone else has experienced such a lazy dog of any of these breeds.

Hi everybody,

I know this have been shared again and again but I feel like everyone gets better and I won’t.

I lost my 12 years old dog a little more than a month ago and adopted my 11 months old mini goldendoodle right after. Was it a good or a bad idea, I don’t know.

He is a rescue and was abandoned because of his separation anxiety.

I immediately began the training with a personal trainer.

He learned to walk calmly, to stay, and we are currently trying to teach him how to sit and lay down (sorry if my English is not perfect, that’s not my first language). The trainer says he is intelligent but stubborn.

We managed to make him learn how to not sleep with us in only two nights. We intend on letting him sleep with us for a few nights a week but only in a few months, when he has learned how to stay alone. We also managed to leave him alone for half a day and he didn’t break anything nor barked for a long time.

BUT. He began to pee and poo inside… so our trained recommended us to get a pen. And he absolutely hates it. However, it helps with the potty and he now does outside. But it’s only been two days and we can’t even go in another room without him crying.

Today, I am the one who cried. It’s only been a month and it feels like 6 months of hell.

On a daily basis, I train him + potty outings 30 minutes 3 times a day, I play with him twice a day, I try to enforce naps.

I need hope. Is there hope?

TLDR: got a 11 months old rescue anxious mini golden doodle and he is draining me.

We took our 1 year old lab on a woods walk today. We avoid the woods as much as possible because the ticks are just horrible but my son was at soccer and I walked the quarter mile loop behind the school.

We came out and not even 1 minute later I saw multiple ticks crawling on her. Eventually- I discovered 9 on her and 2 on me.

Now she has one embedded in a very tricky spot.

These were all SUPER tiny. Did we happen to walk through a nest?

I’m finding myself so hesitant to do more enjoyable walks with her or go to any of the conservation areas that people love to walk because of this issue.

I don’t know how to feel happy or comfortable going to these places knowing we are getting covered

I have a 8th month old German Shepard puppy who’s gotten into the habit this month of jumping to bite at hands if we’re carrying anything. She seems to be progressing backwards

She thinks whatever we’re holding is a toy for her to play with but I’m not sure how to stop this behavior. I say no and leave the room when she does it but I’ve had no luck so far.

Would really appreciate tips on what to try // do better 🙏

My great pyr mix puppy is 1 year and 21 months old. Only a few months away from adulthood and I thought we would have figured everything out now, but everytime we take a step forward, it feels like we take 2 back.

When we found her, she was 8 weeks old and almost completely feral. Adjusting her to interacting with humans was hard, but we managed and got her to a good place. Then, she was diagnosed with IBS after a long fight. She was sick off and on for the better part of a year, i was constantly rushing her to the vet, trying different foods, and missing work to care for her. But we persisted, and finally got her on the correct medication. Unfortunately, because she is so young, she can’t be on steroids forever, so when the prescription food didnt work, the vet put her on a home-cooked diet as we tapered down the medicine. Twice a day, i’ve been making her a bowl of fish, sweet potatos, and noodles. Her stomach was finally getting better and I thought we would be able to do this. Finally, she could relax and be a normal puppy.

Nope! The past week her anxiety has randomly skyrocketed. Why? I dont know. We moved last month, but it hasnt been an issue in the weeks before. I have a large ace wrap on my arm due to an injury, but she seemed okay with it since i started having to wear it. Her eating and pooping are normal, so I dont understand. It started with her obsessively licking her foot, then she got scared and hid when someone walked in our direction on the street, and then, today, she actually growled at me for the first time when I tried to move her from lifting behind her shoulders. She doesnt have any pain in them, and she’ll jump up on me by herself, but if i do it myself she got really scared and flinches like crazy. She’s never had a problem with me touching her in any way before (except for clipping her nails). We JUST played the other day where I did this and she was having a blast, but now its a big deal.

I feel like a complete failure. I make her breakfast and dinner everyday, we play often, i do multiple training sessions, and I spend time on making enriching activities for her. I do all of her grooming myself because she’s scared of new people and i take her with me on trips because I dont want her to have the stress of being with a pet sitter. I spend almost all day with her everyday. I have basically dedicated my entire life to giving her the best one she could have, and it isnt enough. How is it that she cant feel safe around me in any situation by this point? What more can i do? Why can’t we ever be normal?

I’m calling the vet when they open to explain our current situation and look into more options, but it doesnt help me feel any better. Even if we get an answer, the appointment itself is going to be stressful and frustrating.

I’m sorry about the long rant, i’m just so tired and I feel like a terrible puppy mom. I’m not mad at her, i never could be, i’m just so frustrated with the situation.

He (almost 9 months) doesn’t whine when we leave him alone, but he will whine when we are in front of him or if we are in a nearby room while he is in his closed off playpen.

When we first got him (around 4-5 months), he would whine a few times then go to sleep. Now, it is continuous whining for a while. What should we do in this scenario?

Serbian 6 week old #rottweiler puppies in Sac.