Category: Top Dog

I’ve only had a dog for about two months for the first time in my life. I may be overthinking this, but is it gross to walk your dog barefoot? I’ve bought all kinds of shoes for all weather types. I live in NJ right outside NYC

Does your dog turn his head when he hears an odd noise? Does your dog bury their food with your pants? This is the thread to ask why.

Please keep this thread to non-medical issues only.

Hi! I think what I need most right now is peer support and maybe personal experiences about puppy blues and/or possibly rehoming a dog. I know I’ve made many mistakes, and I hope for kind comments—I’m already extremely anxious, but I want to be brutally honest about this situation. 😞 I also want to mention that despite everything, the dog is doing well and is not suffering.

My partner and I brought home a puppy at the end of the year, and now he is already 5 months old. He is an active primitive breed (not a husky!). My husband had wanted a dog for years, and I feel like we thought about it for a long time before deciding that the timing was right. Looking back, though, we still moved too fast—that was the first mistake. We had planned many hobbies to do with the dog, and although we are generally active and outdoorsy people, I STUPIDLY thought that an active dog would make us even more active—that was the second mistake. The idea was that my husband would take primary responsibility for the dog.

As soon as the puppy arrived, I experienced very intense puppy blues that I hadn’t been prepared for. The situation was made worse by the fact that the puppy barely slept at all, and I became seriously ill myself, so I had no energy whatsoever. We got through the worst of it, and for a while things were going well. The puppy learned quickly, and I feel we did a good job with basic training from an early age, which I’m proud of, especially since this is traditionally a harder-to-motivate breed and our first dog. However, new problems began to appear: quite suddenly, just before 4 months of age, the puppy developed separation anxiety, even though being alone had initially gone very well. On top of that, he still chases our cat, and we constantly have to keep them separated. Training has not brought success in this area. The breeder had accustomed the puppies to cats, but living peacefully with our cat has not worked out.

At the same time, my work and study stress increased significantly, and I noticed that my partner’s interest in the dog began to collapse, even though it was originally supposed to be his project. This led to major relationship conflicts. Things are better now, but most of the responsibility for the dog has shifted to me. I have a history of anxiety and depression (+ ADD), and even though I thought I was on “stable ground,” I now find myself constantly anxious and exhausted.

So the situation is this: I have a growing, super-energetic young dog with separation anxiety, and I am largely responsible for him while also struggling significantly with my own mental health. Even though I’ve grown attached to the dog and am trying to provide the best possible life for him, I am completely drained and constantly anxious, and I deeply regret getting a dog. 😭 I also feel immense guilt for putting an innocent dog in this situation and clearly not thinking the breed—or having a dog in general—through carefully enough (of course, I also didn’t expect that exercising and activating the dog would mainly fall on me). In addition, with my studies (medicine) and work, I don’t have the possibility to be home constantly with a dog who has separation anxiety, nor do I really have the money to hire a sitter all the time—they are extremely expensive here. Our cat is clearly suffering as well, having to hide from the dog while we constantly divide up their territories.

I’m not exactly sure what I hope to achieve by writing this—maybe some kind of peer support about rehoming a dog or about keeping an active dog while dealing with mental health challenges. Maybe some advice on separation anxiety or helping a dog adjust to a cat. Or even just some kind words in general, because I honestly can’t remember the last time I felt this exhausted. Thank you, and I’m sorry! 🫶🏼

Whenever I took my Great Dane and Cane Corso out together in public, people were always surprised at me being a woman with two large well behaved dogs. I just never understood why it's so shocking. Has anyone else experienced this? Both of those dogs have passed on now but as I start to research for my next dog, this was just a random memory.

My puppy is only around 2 months old and I'm not sure how to entertain him anymore. The first few days were manageable, since i thought he was also getting trained and having fun but now he just wants to play with toys by himself 🙁 To be fair, I focused mainly on trying to train him and giving him for since it was easier than toys.. I'm just not sure how to get him interested in playing with me as well. I'd like to bond with him but i feel like im failing even though it's been less than a week. I'm also new to owning a dog, but my experience with dogs is occasionally babysitting them. He also starts biting mee really hard sometimes even when i try to withdraw… how do i even withdraw?

(I marked this as NSFW due to pet loss if that’s something you want to avoid)

I lost my old man exactly one month ago. He was old, but it was unexpected and our whole family is still reeling from our loss. We had this ritual where he would hop next to me on my right side and we would snuggle with his head on my knee and my head on his hips. We would stay like that until I moved too much or he would get too warm.

Last night was hard. I sorted through some of his old sweaters, which still smell like him. I was crying while puttering around my apartment and my younger dog was following me around. He’s super empathetic and can very much sense when something is wrong. When I finally went to bed he followed me. And laid on my right side, with his head on my knee and my head on his hips. We stayed like that until I fell asleep.

He has literally never laid like that. When I have tried in the past he immediately gets up and turns around, or just plain leaves. His favorite sleep spot is in the middle of the bed sprawled out between my partner and I with all 4 legs in the air. But he stayed. He knew I needed it and he stayed by me.

Dogs are the best, Spoon is the very best, and I feel so incredibly lucky.

I bought 3 mini schnauzer puppies last summer. 1 had to go back bc of being crazy. 1 died this weekend. And I have 1 left. AMA

I’m looking for following recommendations for equipment for my 20 lb 9 month old working-breed rescue!

Probably the most important thing to note is that she is a big chewer and will destroy anything within minutes. My home trainer was even impressed with how persistent my pup can be when she wants to chew….

All of these were suggested by my home trainer who is a CCPDT and IAABC!

– A short leash to tether her to the door for timeouts

– A medium/long lead line for sniffaris (looking for more of a happy medium here because my gal eats rabbit poo! I need to keep her close enough to redirect her from poo)

– Flirt pole (could make my own, but would like suggestions on rope and attachments for the prey that will withstand chewing. Going to not allow chewing on flirt pole but want a sturdy start while we learn)

– Lick mats (I’m thinking these will be used under supervision only, but still looking for maybe a sturdier lick mat just incase)

– Bonus: your fav reflective gear for walks!

Been searching for a reputable breeder of English Cockers for about a year now and I’m hitting a lot of dead ends. Breed club breeders just are not responding to me or have websites that look like they haven’t been updated in years. But I’ve seen a lot about scams on AKC marketplace, FB marketplace, etc., so it’s a bit concerning looking elsewhere. This is my first time going to a breeder so I’d really like to do it the right way.

I found a few English Cocker Good Dog breeders but the reviews of the app have me lost. It seems like a helpful community for people looking for a rare breed puppy or just looking for a starting point but I’m curious if I can get any firsthand experiences from y’all because there are a lot of good and not so good reviews out there.

Is there a way we can deter the puppy from pooping under the bed while not completely restricting access for the older dog?

Thanks!