Category: Top Dog

Puppy terrier just hit 7 months and boy oh boy is he testing my patience. We’re in obedience training, keep him active, and introduce puzzle toys but nothing seems to calm pup down outside of his crate or playpen.

I hate to keep him in his crate for so long while I work but I find if he’s not in his crate he’s looking for any reason to get my attention.

He used to not have this issue! Our biggest friend was the bully stick or cheese block but he’s had some digestive issues lately so we’re toning back on chews (sad for me.)

Is this just adolescence kicking in? Anyone else go through this? I find myself extremely envious of those who don’t rely on a crate during the day with their puppy after 5 months!

Hi all,

This subreddit has always been so helpful when training my cockapoo so thought I'd ask here for advice. He's a really well behaved little guy but since I had a baby he's developed some bad habits.

If his dad leaves the house he doesn't really settle or relax. He sits on the sofa looking out of the window. He barks at some (but not all) passersby on the street and barks if someone knocks on the door. If I close the blinds he still stares at the window and barks at sounds in the street. As soon as his dad returns he relaxes, often spending the rest of the evening cuddling up to me.

I use the command "down" and he gets off the sofa (and can't see the window) but soon gets back up and continues. I think when his dad leaves he feels like he's the "alpha dog" and must protect the family. If I cage him he's happy because he's not got to protect us. I think I need to train him to know I'm the boss, I'm protecting us and he can relax.

Can anyone advise what can we do to help this behaviour? Thanks

I live about a 9 hour drive from my family. I haven't spent Christmas with them since 2019 because of family dynamics, covid, moving away etc. My husband and I are going to visit and stay by my mom's for a few days. Our puppy is actually ready right now for pick up at 8 weeks. I had been waiting around to find a particular puppy and I finally did so the timing was spontaneous. If we wait until after the trip, we won't get him until 9 weeks. I guess this doesn't make a big difference, but I really want to get him now! I know they grow so fast and I don't want to miss a moment. At the same time, my mom is super excited for us to visit and I'd feel bad to cancel. She's widowed and lives alone with her cat and doesn't get many visitors and I know she's lonely. I'm wondering if it would be feasible to bring the puppy for 3 nights if we chose to get him now? He'd have a few days at our house and then we'd leave for my mom's house.

So my 4ish month old boxersheppard mutt has taken to going for hands and sometimes faces when we are playing or if she is really tired or bored. We always disengage and playtime ends, but then she throws a fit.

Our trainer showed us a gentle hold that we are supposed to do when she is having a temper tantrum where we release her once she demonstrates some self calming. Long term goal is to work in her reactivity.

She is struggling with it and I do not enjoy this training. She is really smart and has taken to everything else really fast, but just won’t calm down when she is in this state. I feel bad because she really got me with her new K9s and I snapped at her. I’m also trying to avoid crating for punishment so that it remain a positive place – that has also been an uphill battle.

Overall she is a really sweet girl and this is her only trouble spot. I know we need to just stay calm and repetitive but I’m hoping someone has some tips to mitigate the hand and face biting for a new dog dad.

Hi there!

My partner and I are planning on taking our 5 month old lab on a 2 day drive to visit family. She’s a smart girl and is generally well trained for her age but has normal puppy feelings and is overly excitable. I’m just after any tips for taking her in the car for longer period of time, and meeting new people/ dogs and spending extended times with them. We will obviously be making heaps of stops and aren’t in a rush. Any tips appreciated.

Hey does anyone know of a really good quality dog seat for a car?

My partner and I adopted our first dog 2 months ago. The shelter thinks she's a German Shepard mix around 1 1/2 years old. She adores us, follows us around everywhere in the apartment. She's very sweet to us.

We had her for a few weeks until she had to go back to get spayed. She had met my niece and nephew before that and was super sweet around them.

She got spayed a 3 days before Halloween and we were having my partners family come over on Halloween, they had not met her yet. We know now that this was a MASSIVE mistake. She got aggressive for the first time and tried to bite my partners niece….

I have been an anxious mess ever since! I'm always worried to bring her near anyone out of fear she will try to bite.

Thankfully, we started slowly bringing her around people, including my niece and nephew again,outside our apartment and she hasn't shown any aggression since. We think the combination of her recent spay and having people in her space was what upset her. She even went to the groomer with no issues.

I still find myself terrified though…. never knowing what will set her off! This is my first dog and its so hard to learn these things. We have an appointment to take her to daycare in a few weeks and I'm very nervous.

Does anyone have tips on how to get more comfortable with her being around people and other dogs?

I'm working with a nonprofit that turns donated clothes into dog toys for shelters, and we’re looking for people who might want to volunteer and start a chapter in their area.

If you’re into sustainability, animal welfare, or just like organizing community events, this could be a fun way to get involved in ur local area. Chapters run toy-making events, clothing drives, and donate toys to local shelters.

I've had such a fun experience volunteering with this org, and they are currently looking for more volunteers so I thought I'd share! Please comment or DM me if u are or know anyone whos interested! I’m happy to share more info 🙂

I’m going out of town and have to board my dog at a local kennel for 6 days. I am so sad about it – I’m worried that he’s going to think we’re leaving him. We are paying extra each day for him to do daycare with the other dogs. I initially decided on a kennel because I was afraid of him getting out if I had a person watch him or come by/stay at the house. I figured his safety and not escaping are the priorities…he’s the type of dog that has no sense of danger (streets, cars, etc). Now I’m wondering if I should have found an in-home boarding place where they aren’t in kennels so much. I guess I’m looking for reinforcement and hearing from others that their dog was perfectly fine boarding for a few days. I feel so bad that I’m dreading the going out of town because I don’t want to leave him, and that’s no way to start off a trip.

Edited to add that he did a day of daycare at the same facility this week to get him accustomed to it. I also went with one that seems to be highly recommended in the community.

We've had a rescue dog for 9 weeks, she's a 5yo Shih Tzu and came from a hoarding/breeding situation along with 120 others.

She's really bonded with me and so goes to be when I go to bed – she sleeps on our bed. If my husband is downstairs gaming any time he goes from one room to another she'll bark, when he comes upstairs she'll bark.

Same with my stepson who is here every other weekend. The first weekend he was here she was fine but since then she growls at him a lot and again any noise he makes she barks. Last night we couldn't sleep because she sat outside his room barking almost constantly.

Does anyone have any advice?

On the 6th Jan, I've got a dog behaviourist coming to help me try to break the separation anxiety, I can't walk more than two steps before she follows me!

But over Xmas my stepson will be here for a week and I'm worried we'll struggle to sleep!