Category: Top Dog

I have been doing a lot of research in preparation for a pup I am getting in 2 weeks (yay!) But the internet (this sub in particular) is honestly scaring me with how people portray puppyhood and its challenges.

A little background on me, I am 31, currently have cats and a parrot along with have had dogs in the past. Our last pup passed 2.5yrs ago at 15 years old and I am finally feeling ready to add another dog to our life. This will be my first experience raising a puppy though I have worked in vet hospitals and daycare in the past where I took care of pups.

I have watched a ton of videos and read up on puppy training, crating, potty training, biting, etc. I feel like I am prepared and knowledgeable but am terrified because of everyone crying that they've lost their life and their struggle with puppy blues.

Complaints are valid, babies are hard, but is it truly that horrible? So many do it and, not to be a complete ahole, but a bunch of normal morons raise puppies as well as those with knowledge and they turn out decent. I question if we have just changed, socially, to expect too much from our pets, and ourselves in our care for them.

Idk, I'm rambling but I am just so confused on why people seem to act like this is the worst thing ever. I raised and fostered a kitten from day 2 of life to 9 weeks and it was hard work but it was so rewarding and I would 100% do it again. I know puppies are, in general, more rambunctious, mouthy, and needy because of bathroom needs but it just doesn't seem like raising a baby is seen as rewarding but more of a hassle.

I would say my biggest concern is just how long it will be before I can leave the baby home alone. I work hybrid, and will be taking him to daycare on days I'm not home, but the fact that I may not be able to be gone for 4 hours for the next 6 months or more is a bit daunting.

Tell me, is it actually all doom and gloom?

We’ve had our 4 month old for 3 weeks.

She’s getting much better at going when we take her out, and signals when she has to poop.

Altho I took her out tonight and she just wanted to play and didn’t poop. Took her inside she immediately messy pooped everywhere and stepped in it.

She still pees a lot in the house even after taking her out.

We follow the “after every nap, meal, play” rule but she doesn’t get it.

We also celebrate and give her a treat when she goes outside.

Have a 9mo puggle that came from the shelter. No breeder, no long storied history with this dog. Adopted her this month.

We are trying to get her to understand the crate is a calm place. It has all her chewy toys in it and actual chews. It's comfy inside. Etc etc.

She will bark and whine, then stop and lie down if ignored. Her eyes stay open for a while or snap open at random little things, but eventually she closes her eyes and sometimes does her big sigh of sleep.

I only crate her when I know she has had exercise / mental stimulation needs met. I also check if she needs water always, because this cute little fool just doesn't go for it unless I'm near it or something.

I am worried I am putting her in the crate for too long. Sometimes I wait for her to quiet down, then let her out for a break. I have her in there quite a bit because I don't trust her yet. But that doesn't mean she's unsupervised – she is Always supervised.

How long is too long? I don't recall if we have ever had her in there longer than 2 hours at one time (sounds like a way long time) before going out or playing tug, except of course for sleepytime.

I appreciate feedback. I don't want to turn this into a negative scar for her. We already messed it up the first couple nights and have had to work back up from there.

My area has crazy illegal fireworks all night long on New Years and also 4th of July. For the first couple of years on each holiday I gave my pup (now 3) a dose of vet prescribed trazodone on each holiday to chill her out so that she wouldn’t freak out.

In the time outside of the holiday fireworks I have been playing the firework desensitization dog training videos on YouTube and slowly increasing the volume over time. We just brought home a new pup 5 days ago and I’m starting this with him too.

Well a last night some of my neighbors started preemptively lighting off a few fireworks. I’m so pleased to say that although she noticed the fireworks, my older dog remained calm and just chilled on the couch! I will probably still give her and our new pup trazadone this year, since he is still so brand new to us and stressed. I’m not a crazy good dog trainer or anything, this is only my second dog. I would say that confidence and being low stress is what we primarily focus on. I just thought that was a really good training win!

We have a 7 mo old frenchie. She has been crate trained and sleeps next to her sister (also in a crate) in the living room since we got her at 16 weeks. The past week she has started barking at night a bit after we put her up. The first night I thought it was bc she had to potty. She did but every time after that was a false alarm. I think she’s either bored (the one night I was in the kitchen all evening and she followed me the whole time she slept through the night) and/or separation anxiety. When we move her crate into our bedroom, she settles. I’m worried we’re reinforcing bad habits… how do I transition her back to the living room? … frenchies snore A LOT. I have tried to let her bark it out. One time she barked 15 mins then settled… most times she barks on n off for awhile… or stops and suddenly does it in the middle of the night when we’re asleep. Nothing in the environment or routine has changed.

We have a 5 month old who we will be roomsharing with for another month at least, if not longer. I know general wisdom is to have the puppy sleep in the same room as you but not sure that still applies when we have a human baby in the room with us already. Is the living room a decent compromise?

My pup is about 5months old.

He’s been really good lately with his potty training. Hasn’t gone in the house in a while. We go out less frequently than when he first came home a month ago.

During the night I will take him out once as well. He either stays in his crate or in my bed. Tonight, I’ve left the crate open and not put him in my bed. So, unsure what to expect.

I will still get up in the middle of the night to take him outside, but I think he could actually go a full 8h without an issue. But I certainly don’t want to test that with him in his crate.

So, here’s a test. Will he pee if he is not in his crate? Has he made the whole house his den yet? . I’ll let you know how it goes in the morning

So like the title says, I have not had a baby puppy in about 8 or 9 years. I just got a 12 week old puppy (blue lacy x bully mix, unaltered) from my local municipal shelter in a foster to adopt program. I thought I knew what I was doing, but I overestimated myself. With that being said, here are a couple things I need a little bit of guidance with:

-Is a Snuggle Puppy toy worth it? My puppy cries and howls at night or when I put him in his x-pen. I saw them a while back and they just popped into my head. Are they worth it?

-My current dog (1 year old chihuahua mix, unaltered) keeps sniffing and licking the puppy's rear and trying to mount the puppy. How do I curb this? Anytime I separate them, they both start crying and whining.

-Teething toys. Any recommendations? Boone (the puppy) chews like crazy already. I know he's going into his teething phase soon, but other than a frozen Kong with like. Kibble/yogurt/peanut butter/etc, what else can I do?

-Leash training! How do I get him used to a leash? He's not very food motivated so far like my other dog. He'll follow Shrimp (older dog) when I take them to the dog park my apartment has, but otherwise just sets back or sits down.

-Socialization. How do I properly socialize him? The two dogs I have now are the first dogs I've had on my own. All dogs I've had in the past were outside only and never left our property. I want to take my boys out and about, but I want a rounded/socialized dog. I know he's gonna grow up to be a powerful dog and I don't want to have anything to worry about down the line.

I have an 8 month shih tzu. Ever since getting a puppy, I feel I use her puppyhood as an excuse for everything in my life. For example: cant take a certain job because of the hours or need for flexibility, cant move because I want the puppy to have a stable environment while shes growing during this phase so I dont add more stress on my plate, cant travel because itd need to be a puppy appropriate trip. Id do and am doing everything for her but its effecting my own happiness and causing me to be a complete hermit where I dont even want to leave the house anymore because of guilt. Shes able to be alone for a good amount of time when needed. I used to love to travel and take mini getaways and trips. Id love to do that again but itd need to be a dog friendly place. But at what point am I using puppyhood as an excuse too much? Am I the only one?