Category: Top Dog

I’ve never had a puppy that has been so afraid of other dogs – all my past little boogers have been super confident She lives with my malamute and is ok with him, but if we’re out on a walk and come close to another dog she freaks out and runs and trembles and cries. Ideas on how I can make it a more comfortable and non-scary so she doesn’t grow up reactive? She’s about 11 or 12 weeks now

My 13 year old teacup Chihuahua has just begun getting briefly lost in the house and frequently bumping in to walls and furniture. Should I get her a kennel or playpen to keep her from getting lost or hurt when I’m at work?

Hi everyone, since my dog ​​is a total scaredy-cat on New Year's Eve and I've already tried a lot of things, here's a tip that really puts my mind at ease.

Attach Smart Tags or Air Tags to his collar and be sure you'll find him again.

My fear is that I won't find him for days. And with the Smart Tags, that fear is gone.

Of course, I also use a harness and an extra leash. But you never know who might leave the door open.

Do you know what I mean? Do you have any experience with this?

He's getting meds for NYE, because he's generally anxious, even more so than usual, he's getting them since yesterday evening. He usually is very proper, not even thinking of stealing food if someone is on the same floor as him. Just now I turned my back, was five steps away and remembered that under this medication he knows no bounds, came back immediately, and there he was, licking the fat out of the (cold) pan we fried burger patties in. Didn't bother him that I was standing beside him, and I just let him do it, because you know what, if it makes my old boy happy to be so carefree once in his life, it makes me happy too.

Hi everyone,
I really need advice because this situation is draining me mentally.

About 2 years ago, someone abandoned a female Indie dog in our area. She had a collar and was around 1.5 years old. The building owner felt bad and decided to “adopt” her.
In the beginning they treated her very well — good food, AC, everything.

But after a few months she started having a pooping habit inside the building, and because of that, the owner actually planned to leave her at a shelter. I couldn’t let that happen because I know the condition of shelters in India, so I stepped in and worked on her routine myself.
After many weeks, she finally learned to poop outside and everything was fine for a while.

But from the last one month, she has suddenly started excessive barking at noises, strangers, random sounds, anything.
And now the building people are again getting irritated and saying things like:
“Isko road pe fek do,”
“Bahut bhaukti hai,”
and some even suggest hitting her to make her quiet.

Because of her barking, I literally end up arguing or fighting with someone in the building every few days.
I work full-time, but I still manage her walks, food, safety even though she isn't officially my dog. But I’m the only one who cares, so she has become my responsibility emotionally.

I’m scared that one day when I’m not home, someone might harm her or dump her somewhere again.

She is now around 3.5 years old, spayed, very sweet, but clearly anxious.

I need guidance from people who understand Indies or anxious adult dogs:

👉 Why is she suddenly barking so much?
👉 How can I reduce this behaviour?
👉 Any good trainer/behaviourist in Delhi you can recommend?
👉 How do I handle building pressure when everyone is against her?

I really don’t want her to be abandoned again. Please help I’m losing all options.

Thank you.

I’ll be honest: I absolutely hate the night of December 31st. While everyone else is out celebrating, I’m usually stuck inside watching my pup shake uncontrollably and try to hide behind the toilet. It’s honestly heartbreaking to see them that terrified.

I’m currently putting together a guide based on my own trial-and-error over the years (creating a "Safe Room" has been our biggest win), but I really want to hear from other owners. How are you planning to handle the noise tomorrow night?

Does anyone have a "secret weapon" or a specific routine that actually works?

Hi all, I am looking for some general advice. We currently have a 5yo female lab/boxer mix who we've had since she was a puppy. We recently started this 2-week "adoption trial" for a rescued 9mo female old bully mix who was found as a stray. We're four days into this trial, so I know that it hasn't been enough time to really get these dogs settled into life together.

The 5yo dog has never really shown much interest in other dogs. She tolerates them very well, but has always been more of a people kind of dog. The younger dog is the opposite. She is extremely fearful of humans based on her previous experience as a stray, but loves other dogs.

Nothing bad has happened yet, but I'm noticing some behaviors and I'm not sure if these are something that we should be concerned about or if it's normal. For instance, the older dog has always had free reign of the house and enjoys sleeping on the furniture. The younger dog will often come up on the furniture and sit next to the older one. More often than not, the older one will immediately get up and move to a different room. To me, it feels as if the older dog is uncomfortable with the younger dog, and is doing her best to keep her distance most of the time. There are times where the younger dog wants to play and gets in the face of the older dog, but the older dog has never taken her up on the offer to play and will growl if she gets too pushy (I know this is normal).

My fear is that their different personalities are going to clash and cause issues in the future. I have a baby gate up to give the older dog some space from the younger one when we're not home, but I have read conflicting advice on whether or not separating them is good vs. it will eventually make the dogs aggressive towards each other because they are separated. It's also hard to have these dogs do activities together; the older dog loves to catch a Frisbee with us in a field for 30 minutes each day. The younger dog is so fearful that it's difficult to even get her to go on a walk to get some exercise in. We live in a large apartment but don't have a yard, so it's crucial that the dogs get some form of exercise.

I'm not sure what to do. They have such different personalities and while they haven't had a "bad" interaction yet, I worry that we are setting them up for failure. We built our lifestyle around the 5yo (going to the park every day to burn off energy, going down to visit our families once a week, etc.), so it's incredibly difficult to get the dogs to bond since the younger one needs a different lifestyle entirely.

Is there anything that sounds like a red flag or should we just let it ride? Is there something we should be doing differently? Is there a chance that the older dog is just tolerating this for now and this will cause issues in the future?

Hi everyone – I'm getting my first ever puppy in about a week, and met two girls yesterday from the same litter and have a few days to decide. I fell in love with both and immediately reserved one. The unchosen puppy will go to the owner, so she is giving me the choice but I have limited time – she isn't a breeder so she can't recommend for me, she just had the puppies on her farm, and the puppies are mixed breed/an adoption. The owner carried them out together and I held one, my partner held the other. I held Puppy 1 first and immediately melted.

Puppy 1 is gold with some hints of white and a slightly smoother coat. I immediately felt more drawn to her because I loved her coloring, and she was easy to engage with, very comfortable, wriggled in my arms a bit, nestled up in my neck and kissed it several times. Both puppies are TINY and will be a small adult size. I held her 3-4 times, switching between puppies, and she became a bit more playful each time, kissing a lot, biting my fingers sometimes. Near the end she seemed so relaxed and confident that it felt kind of like our connection wasn't special – she's the kind of dog who can get along with anyone, which I also don't mind. I DO travel a LOT so my puppy will be traveling in-cabin with me and traveling all over the world with me, so I am looking for an adventurous, open minded but soulful companion.

Puppy 2 was the opposite. She was tri-colored, tiny, and had a slightly puffier coat. However, she was visibly shyer than Puppy 1. I was initially confused because she wouldn't look in my eyes too much, would nestle into my chest like a little ball, and was shivering. It WAS cold out and the owner made us carry them above-ground because we saw them away from their crate and she didn't want them touching ground other dogs had touched, so maybe she was scared of the height. She shivered on and off the whole time, but would occasionally look up at me with her eyes and give a little kiss. For some reason, I saw Puppy 2 as more vulnerable and soulful than Puppy 1, but also unsure if she connected with ME because she was so shy the whole time.

Looking back at videos my partner took, Puppy 1 looks fun and confident and you can tell I find her very cute, Puppy 2 would nestle into my chest and then look up at me with really vulnerable eyes and go for a little kiss, and i saw her trying to make that connection, which was really sweet.

I'm genuinely torn and only have a day or two to decide, to be conscious to the owner as she also is waiting for me to decide. I don't have a preference either way and sway back and forth. I love the look of Puppy 1 (they're both EQUAL beauty though), but worry her energy level will lead to a crazy, stubborn or high-energy dog. I know Puppy 2 would eventually end up opening up with time, which the owner also said. I asked the owner for videos of the puppies playing and having fun in their environment so I can have a better idea – if Puppy 2 is still timid even while playing in its own environment, that would be revealing. I am disappointed I didn't get to play with them on the ground when we visited – and I can't visit again because they are in another town. Honestly, how do I decide? It seems almost impossible. I'm worried I'll choose the wrong puppy and regret it and miss the other one. If anyone has any advice or similar experiences I'm all ears!

There's a dog which was adopted by my neighbours. In the beginning they took care of him and all that. But now they just keep her in the, they never take her to go for a walk or take her outside for anything. She whines all day and if she does it too loud they shout at her sometimes best her. I feel sad for her. She's crying and whining all day. Idk why people adopt a dog and when they realise it takes basic care they just leave them or torture them like her.

My dog has always had an issue of running away when It’s time for a walk, like it’s a game of chase, play bowing and wagging her tail. She started to avoid it even more because of her snowpants, and so I didn’t walk her for almost a week. Recently I’ve been working on waiting at the door for her and letting her come to me instead of chasing her, and it’s been working, as long as she didn’t wear the pants. About a week or two.

Yesterday was nice weather after 2 days of her requiring the pants, and she didn’t come to the door. She clearly very wanted to go out, but kept backing away and looked uncomfortable (I assume because she thought she would be wearing the pants) and I didn’t know if grabbing her and forcing her go to the door was a good idea, so I didn’t. I gave her some treats for getting close and then started doing something else because I needed to. I wasn’t able to bring her out that day (I’ve been beating myself up over it, don’t worry).

Today is -12°C before the windchill, so she will definitely need the pants. I have a feeling she will not want to go because of that, but I can’t avoid it. She doesn’t like the pants, but I can’t bring her out without them when it’s that cold.

What should I do? I feel like every choice is wrong. No pants=frostbite, pants=very unpleasant and forcing her to wear them, no walk=dog that’s had significantly less walks than she’s used to so she becomes visibly sad. And she doesn’t really like to play so I can’t replace walks with that.

I don’t know what to do, but I feel like a crappy owner who’s failing their dog.