Category: Top Dog

My dog has a problem with mail delivery. I don’t blame him, as he grew up with a mail slot and that’s got to be a little traumatic.

But my last two addresses I’ve had to physically move my mailbox. He chews at the mail slot when mail comes through, and chews at the window sill closest to the mail delivery if there isn’t a slot.

I don’t want him to chew up the new place (he bites nothing else), and I figure now, before he forms habits there, is the time to start training it.

I work from home half days, which means I can’t monitor him all the time. Do I hire someone, and make sure he’s either with me, the trainer, or not home until he can be consistently good about the mail?

He doesn’t have a Place command, but he can be briefly distracted from the mail slot with a treat so far.

We have a 5 year old Golden. He’s a great dog. We worked hard on his training and generally have no problems. He really really loves fetch and balls. He has no resource guarding issues with us at all. He’ll give us his ball/toys/chews/etc with no issues.

With other dogs, he is very much a freak about his balls and toys. He has a dog friend we watch sometimes and if the dog picks up an (abandoned) toy, ours will follow him whining and occasionally barking until the other dog drops the toy. Then ours will swoop in to claim it and run away. Other than that they got along great. A dog ran up to him in our yard once when he had a ball and they got into a bitey face scuffle over it. I think it would have turned into a real fight if I hadn’t intervened.

We are bringing home a new golden puppy in a few months. Our current is very gentle with puppies and other dogs but we worry about the added context of toys and balls. How can we best avoid this type of behavior with the new family addition? We really don’t want him barking any time the puppy tries to play with a toy or ball.

Hello!

I recently saved a 10-year-old shelter dog (now named Pooka) who was kept outside and neglected his whole life. It's a long story, but the dog's owners suffered from health problems and were very neglectful. Pooka spent his whole life outside unmonitored, and he was even hit by a car twice! He never had designated food and only ate scraps the family threw outside from a bucket. As a result of his hard life, he is mostly blind and totally deaf. He also has some permanent damage done to his back legs which causes him to stumble sometimes. When the shelter found him, he was shivering in the rain and bloody from being hit by a car. His owner had died unexpectedly and Pooka had wandered off after not being fed for a few days. When I adopted him (he spent a month in a small cage in an open shelter subject to rain), he was unused to being pet, and would try to bite if startled (there was no meanness, he's just very scared).

I've had him for a month and a half, and he's made a lot of progress but Pooka is scared of everything (given his history, I understand why!) I've trained him to be pet, and to seek affection. He is mostly trusting with me (a woman) and my partner (a man), with whom he's much more hesitant. I'm worried because Pooka, seemingly with no stimuli, will start trembling and pacing. I've taken him for walks in the city, which he seems to enjoy, but he's also terrified at the same time. It's clear he needs more socialization and training, but I'm at a loss. Because of his disabilities, I don't know how to make training more efficient and socialize him better. I would appreciate any help or tips anyone may have!

A picture of Pooka, who really is trying to be a happy boy!

For context this isn’t my dog, but the person who lives with me’s dog (though he may as well be mine). He’s a blue nosed pit bull, probably around 7ish. He’s a generally somewhat anxious dog who doesn’t like being touched, and his owner really didn’t train him before he moved in a few years back. I’m home the grand majority of the due to a plethora of medical conditions so I can’t go to school in person. One of these conditions is Tourette Syndrome, which I suffer from moderately. This includes sudden loud noises and movements and whatnot.

The dog has been conditioned to this for years and hasn’t started responding to it till recently. I had a particularly bad episode which I’m pretty sure he picked up on because he walked over and willingly put pressure on me and let me pet him, which is unusual for him. I thought it was sweet at the time, but since then he now starts whining and barking every time I tic. Not only is this stressing him out, but it also flares me up which kinda created a feedback loop of him being stressed by my tics and my tics getting worse. I’m not sure if he thinks I’m in pain or if I’m being aggressive or something since my tics include yipping, screaming, and grimacing/bearing my teeth. Does anybody have any tips for this? It’s become an issue for both of us and his owner really doesn’t take proper care of him so I’m willing to step in if I can.

We have a 2 year old chihuahua that is pretty well behaved. We recently got a 4 month old chihuahua puppy to be his friend since he loves other dogs. They are getting pretty along well and playing together which was the intention, however when the puppy shows interest in joining us on the couch or bed, the older dog barks and growls at him to scare him away.

He also will steal the puppy’s treats and toys even when given his own.

We’ve tried to correct him by telling him no or placing him on his bed, but he still does it. We don’t want the puppy to be afraid of joining us or have to put him in his crate to enjoy a treat. What can we do?

we’ve had our rescue for about six months now. he’s 3 years old and has been going to training and doing well. one thing we’re stumped on though is that we’ve been working on crate training at home. he goes in his crate for meals, when we’re away, to sleep at night if nobody is around, and gets treats in there so he’s comfortable. he never goes in by his own will- that is unless he’s going in there strictly to pee and then walk right back out. he’s not vocal about needing to go potty, and so far his only “sign” that he needs to go is him getting up and walking around in no particular way. anyone else had this? any tips?

Hey everyone,

Looking for some insight into a recent change in one of my dogs’ behavior.

I have two dogs, and lately one of them has been doing something odd on walks.

Everything is totally fine at first, but the moment she finishes her business, she immediately starts pulling hard to go back home. Non-stop. Very determined. Zero interest in continuing the walk.

This is new and happens pretty much every time now.

One possible factor is the holiday season. In my area, kids throw fireworks, firecrackers, and other loud noise stuff all over the place, pretty randomly throughout the day and evening. Even when nothing loud happens during the walk itself, I’m wondering if the overall environment (or past noises) might be stressing her out and making her want to go back to her safe zone ASAP.

What makes it more confusing: my other dog is usually the scaredy-cat, and she’s completely unbothered. If anything, she just looks confused about why her sister is pulling so hard to go home. (She’s also… not the brightest one, so that might be part of it.)

The dog that’s pulling doesn’t show obvious fear signs — no shaking, freezing, or panic — she just suddenly decides that going home is the priority.

Has anyone dealt with something similar? Does this sound like anxiety, learned behavior, or just a random dog phase?

Any advice is welcome.

Thanks!

7 year old pointer mix (up for debate, she's some kind of sighthound/hunting dog) that we adopted at age 3 months. She was found under a shed with her siblings at around 2 weeks old and was fostered with her siblings and other fosters with the same organization in a private home.

We have never used any form of punishment, only positive reinforcement with treats and praise. No one has ever, to my knowledge, hit her or physically abused her in any way.

Even though we have been incredibly gentle with her, she is extremely timid. She's afraid of the rain hitting the window. She flinches when we pet her. My brother raised his voice around her once and years later she is still terrified of him. Once when we were hiking with her a man tried to pet her and she flinched, so he started lecturing us on not hitting our dog 🙁

I feel awful when I startle her with my voice or by touching her. She sleeps in our bed (sometimes— we leave the door open and she often comes in and gets on the bed in the morning before her walk) greets us when we get home, and presses her body against us when we pet her. She is so loved and attended to.

Does anyone know why she acts like this? Is there anything we can do to make her feel more safe?