Category: Top Dog

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.

Hey guys! Just wanted to share a little (minor) success I’ve been feeling lately!!

I have a 9 month old American Cocker Spaniel pup, and she’s the sweetest little energy ball. Her on walks, though, is a huge huge pain cuz of the non stop pulling, ignoring commands and constantly putting anything she can find into her mouth and refusing to drop it.

For MONTHS I’ve been trying to get her to loose leash walk. Stopping every time she pulls. Reward her for eye contact, etc. But for the longest time, nothing felt like it was working and I feel like crying a least once a day when we’re out for our walks.

Until a reditor on this sub told me about “playing” on our walk. It made me realize that I was taking the walks WAY too seriously and in reality, the walks are for HER and it’s HER dedicated time of the day.

I started to just let her loose (long leash) and sniff around. Practice recalling + reward every now and then. Keep my route mostly the same -> same park, just deviating in directions and taking different turns sometimes. Inserting short sessions of easy commands… then some heel walking training at the park as we go.

After 2 months of doing this, she now recalls (MOST of the time), willingly come by me for heel walks after a sniff session, and looks back at me when she starts feeling tension in the leash.

Now… she is no where near perfect at walking and it’s still a game of bribing her to drop the trash she picked up every day… But the fact that she acknowledges my existence during walks is a huge improvement to me 😭

I’m so proud of her, and I finally have hope that we can continue to improve and enjoy out walks together even more.

I just wanted to share this story in case anyone is feeling as hopeless as I was for months. Don’t give up!!

He has severe dip dysplasia and we cannot take him on long walks or have him run/ jump or anything too physical at all. He literally whimpers at nights and can’t sleep if he ever has a day with increased physical activity. However, he has become an angry teenager and it shows. Constant zoomies, attention seeking behaviour, mouthy with us, chewing up furniture his bed, refusing naps etc. I usually don’t mind these and give corrections but his zoomies/jumping and all are leading to him injuring his hind legs even more. He slips and falls and whimpers but then runs away. I am worried the thigh muscles will worsen. What can i do? How do I manage his teenage year? He was so in pain last month that he was not even eating or even moving a lot. He stared doing a bit better since December start but I am so scared. How do I reduce his physical activities?

I’ve had my puppy for 3 weeks now. She’s 13 weeks.

For a week now, any time she’s out her crate, she has the zoomies. Like out of control zoomies.

Even after she takes a nap and after she eats.

Is this normal? It’s kind of annoying 😭😭

I get she’s a baby which is why I normally let her do her thing but sometimes she does a lot.

After debating for a year on whether or not to get a second dog, my husband and I decided to adopt a 4-5 month old puppy from our local rescue to give our daughters (8 & 13) for Christmas. She was listed as a lab mix, and we're 90% certain she also is Black Mouth Cur. She is intelligent, and a massive cuddle bug. I am her favorite person and she loves to sleep on me. My 8 year old is her least favorite person. Today, I ran to the store and left my 13 year old in charge of the puppy. This usually goes exceptionally well.

Today though, my 8 year old went to move the puppy away from her bedroom door as she was blocking the door she wanted to close. She got down to adjust the way the pup was laying, and puppy lunged and bit her face. Puppy was promptly put into a time out in her kennel.

Puppy also likes to bite noses, ears, and facial hair. How do I stop this? Yes, she'll get our hands while playing, but she's usually going for a toy.

Before this incident, she had gone for a walk and had been played with. So was she over tired/overstimulated? Or is this a behavioral thing I need to learn to correct? We're going to try recreate the situation, safely, so I can see how the situation was unsafe the first time.

Any advice about how to stop puppies from biting or nipping. Thanks.

I love my kids really Buth somethimes… 🙄🤨 Got 3 chihuahua s
12 – 3 and 1

The problem is the 3 and 1y old Chi s

They bark at everthing Bag – a leave- humane… Buth worst to other dogs Smal – large
And i cant make them to let them setle down .. like rest – kalming down They wil attac if they get a change out of fear Keeping my lease close to me at all times Trying egnore it and just walk on I dont say anything [ thats what someone once told me] buth it dont help They keep barking and challenge other dogs I need some help😪

For anyone hosting parties, what do you plan to do with your dogs? Are they participating? How do you manage behavior problems like jumping on people or relentlessly begging?

We have 3 with 3 different personalities so we’re debating who goes in a crate for the night and who needs to keep a leash on. maybe we will have a dedicated dog room.