Category: Top Dog

We adopted a puppy last week and he sleeps great at night in the crate. But it’s during the day that is the issue. He cried and paws at the crate door endlessly.

We have tried a kong with PB. We have tried sitting beside it until he settles (which is never) and we have tried puppy relaxation music… and nothing is doing the trick. The longest we have managed to leave him in was 15 minutes. But he literally howled the entire time.

We take him to pee before putting him in the crate and we have had play sessions. And that doesnt make any difference either.

All the training videos on Youtube make it look so easy and the dogs are so calm. Has anyone any tips or advice please?

She’s an american black lab and i got her at 8 weeks old, she was the typical puppy. Constant biting/mouthing, endless energy, ripping up things in the house etc etc. She was SO difficult, i was suffering from the puppy blues and everyday i debated if i should give her away. I have scars on my entire body from her biting me, tons of things were ruined in the house, she didn’t settle at all unless she was in her crate and honestly she was like HELL ON EARTH.

She’s turning 8 months old in a few days and she’s completely changed. Around a month ago, i woke her up on the morning to take her out and she was weirdly calm. I made up her food, she sat and waited for it (usually she would jump up for it) and then played with her toys for a bit and suddenly went to sleep right next to me. This was the FIRST time she had went to sleep outside of her crate since the day i got her, i was in absolute disbelief, and she was sound asleep for a good hour and a half. I enjoyed the moment and cuddled with her and prepared myself for another horrible day once she woke up, but when she did… she just laid there playing with another toy.

She is currently asleep on my bed. I’ve looked up this sudden behaviour and made sure that she’s not lethargic, she still gets excited for EVERYTHING but maintains it so much more better. She now signals to me when she needs to go potty, cuddles me everyday, naps outside of her crate everyday, way more calmer and overall a lovely girl. I never have to fight with her everyday now, i do still need to correct her constantly with the “leave it” command and she listens so well.

I really don’t know how or why she changed overnight, she puts herself down for a nap so she is rarely ever in her crate unless it’s time to sleep on a night or if i need to go out. She is now allowed in my room without me worrying that she might break something or pee on the carpet (accidents occasionally happen but it’s not an issue, she’s still learning.). I really don’t know what happened to her overnight but i now wake up every morning excited to see her, happy to spend the whole day with her but how on earth did this happen!?

We have trained everyday since the day i got her, settle training took 5 months every morning to finally click. Toilet training is 90% successful. She never bites anymore and i can even put my hands in her mouth and she will be the one to turn away from me. Has anyone else ever gotten this with their lab? I was expecting her to only be like this in a few years time, never mind at nearly 8 MONTHS OLD.

We got a bull terrier puppy from a breeder in early September. It was a dream of mine. I always wanted a bull terrier and waited my whole life to be on my own so I can get one. I grew up in a family that did not like dogs.

We adopted the puppy at 9 weeks old. He was perfect as soon as we brought him home. Would sleep all day, play while he was awake

We took him to puppy school, where he was paired up with other not fully vaccinated puppies to learn together and work on socializing. We have a big fenced in yard in an area near a dog park and he got to spend a lot of time in the yard meeting people and other dogs. He learned how to sit within a few minutes, he slept in his crate and learned to wait for his food. But then the biting started.

I never had a dog so I thought it was all normal puppy behavior. I tried to read all I could about it, so I started yelping, redirecting with a toy, disengaging, nothing worked. Every once in a while we would get a bite that was worse than the rest, seemingly unprompted.

The first couple bites there was no warning, just a snap and a bloody finger or lip. Each time we would get it, walk away and express our sadness to him. We never punished him, or yelled or got mean. We tried the best we could at positive reinforcement.

By the next month he started getting very angry and aggressive when his crate would lock. He would go in and out of his crate on his own all day. Took all his naps in his crate. Would wait in his crate for dinner. Every time he went in we gave him treats, a chew, toys. If we locked it, he would lose it. As soon as we let him out he would charge us. We stopped closing it all together and figured as long as he’s sleeping in it it’s fine. (The crate was located in the kitchen and we had a puppy gate keeping him in the kitchen. It’s the only area of the house with hardwood). A few times he would get angry if we walked into the kitchen, but it was rare. That would only happen once every week or two, but closing the crate was every single time.

He soon started biting a lot harder for different things. He loved being held, but he would try to bite if you were walking back to the kitchen. If he was cranky and you’re in the kitchen, he might bite if you open the fridge. He would bite at your hand if you opened the dryer. If you asked him to do a trick 3 times he would growl and snap at you.

When I tell people he would bite, everybody would say that’s what all puppies do, but he would attack us. I got bit on my jaw, my hand 2 times. My girlfriend got bit on the lip, he hand and arms and legs multiple times since she spent the most time with him. Majority of the bites I blamed on teething and him being a puppy, but some of them felt like he was trying to hurt us.

His episodes kept escalating till he would be trying to attack us for up to 2 minutes. He would stand on his hind legs, wrap his front legs around us and bite at our hips. He would pull and growl and snarl and keeping pulling and biting. Things like this would happen once every week or two. We felt like we were managing it during the down time until it would happen again.

2 days before Christmas while I was in the shower I heard the sound of him snarling again so I ran downstairs. My girlfriend was on the floor in the dining room putting a crate away and He broke through the gate to attack her. By the time I got downstairs her hand was in his mouth and he would not let go. I did the best I could to remain calm and tried to talk to him to get him to let go. We were both pleading with him. I took my towel off to throw in on his to distract him but while I did that, he bit a chunk of skin off my arm about the size of a half dollar. He went back and got her hand again and kept biting. I ended up ripping off his stocking from the wall and finding a bag of treats so I could throw them to the other side of the room. It worked, we were able to get away, but as soon as he finished he charged the gate again and tried to get through. When we went to our room he curled up into a ball and went right to sleep. He would always fall right asleep after one of his episodes, no matter the time of day.

We called the breeder immediately and she ended up taking him back, on Christmas Day. I cried for 3 days straight. I’ve never been more heartbroken in my life. When the breeder got to the house he was in a good mood. She asked if she could crate him to see his reaction and exactly what I thought would happen, happened. He went nuts. We kept him in there while we talked for about 10 minutes. He settled and laid down. As soon as she went to open the crate he freaked out again and charged her the second he could. He had to physically subdue him.

Everybody is telling me that I made the right decision but I can’t help but feel like I gave up too early, or there is something I could have done to fix him. I don’t want to believe he’s a bad dog at all. I love him with my whole heart, forever. He’s my first dog and I can’t believe it ended like this, so quickly. Everybody is telling me that that is not how a “normal” dog acts.

Does it sound like there was anything I could have done?

Does it sound like it could possibly be my fault?

Could a behaviorist help fix him?

If they could, would it even be a good and relaxing life for all of us if everybody is constantly scared of triggering an episode?

I can’t stop thinking about it and want to believe it’s not his fault, it’s just the way his brain is wired

That is also the story of the worst Christmas of my life.

Hi again, here for more meal/diet ideas! This time I’m looking for ways to elevate my Pomeranian pup’s main meals as he’s only had kibble and water for breakfast lunch and dinner 😅 I’m trying to round out his meals better

We've had a really hard time with our golden retriever puppy and biting. She is 6.5 months old and finished teething weeks ago. She will still bite us when amped up and wants to play, or is over tired. Its been like this since we got her at 9 weeks old. She will literally follow us and bite our ankles as we leave for a reverse time out.

Today we took a recordable dog training button and recorded the sound of a dog whimpering in pain. When she started puppy biting we pressed the button. She instantly stopped. We've used it a handful of times this afternoon. It hasn't been instant every time, but weve had the best evening with her that I can remember. I havent had to do any reverse time outs or removing her for calm down time at all. Hopefully it stays like this! 🤞

I’m getting a dachshund next week and curious what you all think I should do when I leave the apartment for 1.5 – 2 hours in the morning.

I need to leave for work from 6:30am – 8:30am Monday through Friday. I plan on taking the dog out for a bathroom break at 6:30am, but after that, should I put him back in the crate or a playpen when I leave? I plan on feeding him breakfast around 8:30am when I’m back as well.