Category: Top Dog

My puppy is about a yr old schnauzer/chihuahua/cocker mix. On our last vet visit, about a month ago, they suggested we do more for his dental care. One of the things she mentioned is the water additives. We tried it and he was not having it! I gave up and washed his bowls. He still refused to drink. I have tried getting new bowls and he just barked at them. I bought 2 more bowls and put them out without water and he was fine. Poured in water and he barks at them. We poured water from a bottle and he will drink it as it's poured but not from the dish. So several times a day I do this. I don't want him having issues from being dehydrated. He will drink from the same bowl at my boyfriend's house. I just got him a water fountain and he's fearful of it but may come around eventually. I'm at my wits end. Has anyone else had this? Any suggestions?

We have a lot of rabbits around and I swear their poops are EVERYWHERE. I’m so tired of it because my puppy knows she shouldn’t eat it and it makes her want it more. She will do “drive by” chomps and they’re so hard to see in the grass.

Any tips on how to keep them from pooping in the yard? Liquid fence?? Anything other than that?

God this is hard. We literally just got our 10 week old female German shepherd puppy yesterday and I’m already struggling. We have a 13 month old son, a 15 year old female dog and a 3 year old female cat. My husband has a terrible work schedule (luckily dayshift right now but will be going to nights soon). Neither of us have had a puppy, both our childhood dogs we got when we were 9 (mine being the 15 year old now). I have a lot of things I take my son to, like little gym classes or play dates etc so now I feel like I have no freedom to go anywhere when I was JUST starting to get some again. Ugh. Just wanted to vent.

I wanted to post this to give some hope to people struggling with their new puppies.

Addison is a husky, lab and terrier mix, and we got her at 4 months. I never imagined getting a puppy would be this hard, though I shouldn't have been surprised given the breeds in her!

Biting, counter surfing, jumping on furniture, destructive chewing, playing keep-away instead of fetch, resource guarding, leash pulling, demand barking, the need to be entertained 24/7, the refusal to come in from the yard… I truly believed we weren't going to get past any of it and it honestly caused so much anguish.

It took so much patience, and time, and there was so much regression. And all the while I really felt like we hadn't bonded, which made it so hard.

Eight months later, she is not perfect but she is So. Much. Better. And we have more of a bond now but we are still building that.

Keep researching, keep reading reddit threads, keep trying. And believe if you can solve one behaviour you can solve all of it in time.

I just wanted to go into a bit of detail about loose leash walking. This was so much work and so much patience. We practiced in the house, then in the yard, driveway, expanded to one house north and south, then two and three. We spent weeks in each stage. Honestly I can't believe I stuck with it but one day I realized it had clicked, and suddenly we were going on much longer walks. I could dictate speed and could just walk down the sidewalk properly instead of wrangling her. And the benefits are two-fold – she has learned to walk properly but she's also practicing focusing every time we walk. She is so obedient after walks, when she used to be batshit crazy when we got home. There is no way a walk would tire her out physically – she is a little athlete – so the mental exertion is what we get out of it instead.

I read posts like this when we were still in the puppy blues. They were trying to be encouraging but I just wasn't buying that it would work for me. Please keep at it if you're having the puppy blues! I believe in you!

I have a Rottweiler puppy who is about 10 weeks old and I’ve had him for 2 weeks. I am in the middle of a heart wrenching debate with myself on if I should keep my puppy or not. I live alone and all of my family is out of state. I work full time, 10 hours a day with a 30-40 minute commute four days a week and WFH on Fridays. The first week I got him I took off of work. This week I was able to work remotely but this upcoming week I have to be back in office. My mom flew up to help with him but I know it’s a short term fix. I don’t feel he is even close to being ready to be at the house all day, even with a dog walker coming by during the day once or twice. I love this puppy dearly already and we’ve already started to bond fairly strong.

However

This week I worked from home was the most stressful week of my life and that is not an exaggeration. The demands of my job while also tending to my puppy was a level of stress I’ve never experienced before and resulted in me having a meltdown at the end of the week. It has me rethinking if my situation is even possible, both for and for him. This week, my work performance was poor and the training, consistency and care lacked as well. I really really don’t want to rehome my puppy but I’m starting to think of this is the best move for both myself and my puppy. My heart is in shambles right now and I’m lost as to what to do because I really thought I was going to be able to make this work

I knew when I adopted the puppy tht things wouldn't be easy. It was four days ago, and I wanted to adopt him more for the dog itself: to give him a good home and a loving family, but it's been a rollercoaster.

I managed to put together a good place for him to stay that he can't get out of, and potty training is going smoothly, but I still have so many things and I'm worried I'm not doing things right. Earlier, he wouldn't stop trying to go after our barn cat. He loves to chew at anything I try to use, like puppy pads or a towel when I'm trying to give him a dry place. He constantly tips his water dish over when he's in his resting area, usually when whining and trying to get out, and it's been hard to keep his bed dry because of it. He's constantly trying to bite random things outside like rocks, dirt, dead plants, and even his own poop. When I let him in the house, he still goes after things like wires and such even when you keep pullng him away. When trying to bite-train him, I've been "pinching the grape" a lot as they call it, but he still keeps trying to teeth on my hand. Not serious bites, more like play-bites, but still.

I looked up tips on YouTube, but I'm having a hard time processing things, and even when I try stuff, it doesn't seem to work. I also often wonder if I pull him away from danger too hard at times or tug on his leash too hard or overfeed and water him. He just fills me with so much anxiety right now, and he's just a puppy. He's not our first puppy, but it's been a while since I've had one, and I'm worried I might not be good enough for him. If any people could offer some advice or enchouragement, let me know, because I could use some right now.