Category: Top Dog

My puppy used to sleep through the night in his crate no problem. As soon as he turned 1 last month, he started waking me up every night between 2 and 6am. If I try to wait to see if he'll go back to sleep, he just escalates and I can't not take him out if he has to potty. Has anyone else here dealt with this? Did your pup eventually let you sleep again?

I have a 8 month old chihuahua pitbull mix. Potty training has been going pretty well. I live on the 4th floor of an apartment and the beginning of potty training was rough. She doesn’t like going potty in the dirt/mulch and the only grass area in my complex is super muddy and is not the easiest to get to. I got a roll of sod and made a potty patch on my deck, it was a game changer. I started off leaving the door open when I was out there with here and then eventually trained her to use bells. She was doing really good, she just had this habit that I didn’t think was that big of an issue until now. She doesn’t like to pee and poop all in one go… she will go pee, insist on coming inside and then a few minutes later ring the bells to go back out to finish up.

Now here is the issue… the potty patch needed to be replaced (it was a little overdue and she didn’t want to go potty on it anymore ) so I threw it out and just planned on walking her downstairs until I can get a new one. She stays with my mom while I’m at work and that’s what she does with my mom so I didn’t think it would be an issue. I take her outside first thing in the morning, when she’s first let out of the crate, or whatever she shows us she needs to go but most of the time she will only pee when I take her out. Then when we get back up stairs she’ll either ring the bells just a few minutes later or just poop inside. I’ve tried waiting 20-40 minutes outside with her because I know she has to poop and she doesn’t care. She still will want to go back upstairs just to ring the bells to come back down not even 5 minutes later. How do I help her break this habit?

Hello everyone!

We recently got a 9 week old American bulldog from the SPCA. She is awesome and adorable but I find myself at a lack of understanding when I speak to some people.

I am reaching out to folks in this subreddit to better understand the differences of how folks act with dogs, specifically people who treat their dogs as human kids and not animals. I grew up in a family where dogs are very much regarded as animals. My grandparents had outdoor dogs who were only allowed in the kitchen and then the backyard where they had a house. My uncle has working dogs on his farm who also live outside and our sometimes allowed in their basement. All these dogs have appeared extremely happy and have been very well trained. This was my experience with dogs growing up.

So I was recently at a bbq with my newborn baby and there was a pregnant woman with a dog in a baby stroller. The dog had a fan and other fancy gadgets in the stroller. I’ve never seen this as was honestly confused… why does the dog need a stroller, are its legs broken? But its legs weren’t broken…

Another example was my friend came to visit with his dog. At this time we hadn’t got our pup yet but have three cats and a three month newborn. We asked him to leash his dog in the house and keep him in a play pen if he wasn’t able to watch him (the dog was 6 months old) and to not allow him on the couch. He was OFFENDED. I was confused as to me these seem like normal terms? Especially with a newborn baby and an animal. This person also has fake therapy papers for their dog and tries to take them everywhere (into restaurants) and than will flaunt the fake papers. To me it feels entitled but maybe I’m missing something because he calls himself the dogs mother… again confused since the dog is an animal.

Anyways looking to actually better understand people who seem to treat their dogs like human, so if someone can shed some insight. I have never owned a dog myself and love my puppy but very much regard her as a dog. Is that wrong?

We are currently going back and forth between looking at shelters and a couple reputable breeders, but we know we definitely want a puppy. It's been about a year since we lost our boy and we've been slowly changing the search from "if it feels right" to "we are really ready for a pup."

I'm curious how long it took others to find the right fit once they started looking be it shelter, rescue, or reputable breeder. 🙂

As someone who struggles with anxiety normally, getting my second puppy (Samoyed girl, 10 weeks old) has spiralled me into deep puppy blues. Especially being just before Christmas, I feel like we have made the worst decision ever and it really is pushing me into a downward spiral.

I find myself missing the days before this when it was just us and our first pup, a three year old Lab. I thought it might help me to do reddit posts capturing my progress with this and venting, hopefully in a way that's relatable to others.

Between me and my partner, he copes really well with change and disruption so this doesnt seem to phase him. I feel like the complete odd one out who's crying all the time over a beautiful puppy.

The crate training is the worst part. I'm a light sleeper anyway and to have my night disrupted so heavily is taking a massive toll on my mental health. I dread night time.

I guess I'm just looking for some reassuring words from strangers, or some likeminded people I can struggle along with. Sometimes it feels like we're the only ones in the world that feel this way, even when I know that's not true.

I have an 11 month old high energy pup and if he isn't occupied by a chew, he thinks he can play, mouth and dive on me whenever im on the couch.

I've tried getting up and walking away and every time I come back he acts the same, saying a stern "no", crying out in pain and ignoring him. No matter what I do he just gets more and more overaroused and more bitey/ mouthy. Its like it makes the behaviour worse. It hurts, his teeth are bigger and he tends to play grown whenever he goes for my hands.

I'm honestly sick of not being able to relax on the couch when he's around because it's constant. He just doesn't relax when im around. I feel like I cant have people round because he'll be the same with them.

If im sat at the dining table he's fine and doesn't do this. He will do things like digging up the rug or something else to get my attention. But he doesn't try to play with me. How can I get him to chill when I'm sat on the sofa?

My 5 month old puppy (rough collie) has significant car anxiety. He had this issue before I got him at 12 wks. He drools continuously from time he gets in car until the time he exits it. He also typically vomits if it’s a trip in excess of 30 minutes. Note the vomit also appears to be on account of anxiety, not the motion. It’s crazy how much fluid he releases; not as much of an issue in winter climate I live in but will be much more of a concern in summer.

I’ve done a lot of things people recommend, namely treating, short trips with fun outcomes, etc. but nothing seems to work.

When he was younger I had him in crate for trips but I have recently transitioned him to a harness.

What I am doing with him now is I take him to car with me in harness tethered to seat daily and we just sit there for 15-20 mins while I praise & comfort him. No drive.

Because of dynamics my life he has to travel with me somewhat regularly & some of these trips are multiple hours. The vet has prescribed me a sedative which I intend to use for longer trips until he overcomes this fear but really do not want to rely on them.

He’s such a great pup otherwise and has successfully overcome other phobias he had, namely stairs, since I got him.

Anyone ever deal with severe car anxiety & how did you overcome it? Thanks!

I’ve been reading a ton of books and posts here and feel prepared for my puppy, but now that I’m putting it into action I’m worried I’ll start bad habits. Does this sound like a good start for a 4 month old hound mix?

– 7A wake up for the day, straight outside

– Keep going from crate to outside every 20 min if she doesn’t go right away

– once she goes, inside for an hour of play (fetch, tug of war, run around like a crazy gremlin)

– 8 or 9A (depending how long potty and play took) Eat breakfast. straight outside after again

– Back in her crate for a chew and naptime

– 10/11A wake up, outside, more play inside

– 12P lunch / find it game / training

– 1P outside for potty then crate for naptime

– 2/3P wake up, outside for potty, inside for more chaotic play (fetch, tug of war, chasing toys)

– 4P crate for more napping

– 5P (or when she wakes) dinner, outside right after

– by now she’s usually pretty tired, so I’ll give her another chew in her crate if she’s not into her toys, or we’ll run around a little more

– 8P outside if she’s awake. If she’s asleep I let her sleep

– 12A potty break if she’s awake

– 4A potty break, especially if she slept through 8 and 12.

– 7A wake up for the day

I guess my main questions are is this too much time on chaotic toy playing, and too much time in her crate? She’s very good at settling herself and seems to like it in there. Am I setting myself up for complicated mornings by going right to crazy running around before breakfast? I’m also worried about running her around the house too much if she’s too young. Her puppy energy has her going non stop for about 45 minutes each time.

She hasn’t figured out how to alert me that she needs to go to the bathroom yet (we started bell training this morning, so that will take a minute), so if I think she has to go and won’t, I keep doing crate/outside till she goes. Otherwise she just stops mid play to pee/poop.

And today she’s refused to go potty at all since our 4A trip outside. Is it a huge deal if we get off schedule?

Thanks for any advice, I want to set her (and myself) up for success.

Our puppy has interacted with other dogs, attended puppy classes to socialize, but has never stayed in a house with another dog until now.

We are home for the holidays and my brother has a 1 year old female puppy (who is fixed). My dog is OBSESSED. Constantly whining, trying to get to hump her, barking and not listening at all.

He won’t settle. He won’t eat. He won’t listen for treats or commands. They finally played amicably for a few times, but he takes it to the next level and gets too excited and just wants to hump. And when he can’t, or we remove him from the room to try to teach him no, he whines nonstop.

We’ve created space. Removed him to his place. Trying to reward the quiet moments but he truly won’t settle even after hours of crying.

Really at a loss with what to do to have him just coexist with her and other dogs without getting this wildly feral excited. Any tips?