Category: Top Dog

I have a three-year-old intact male sheepadoodle. I got him when he was three months old as a rescue. He’s always been anxious, but generally happy and friendly. I’ve worked with him on walking since the day I got him, and things improved for a while but within the last couple months I’m having a ton of trouble with him on our walks. He is a relentlessly frantic sniffer and marker. He will drag me down to get to a smell, and double down on sniffing it once he gets to it. We have snow on the ground now and I can see what he’s sniffing – evidence of other dogs: pee, footprints, feces. I’ve tried having more structured walks and having time for him to sniff, but nothing really seems to work. And it doesn’t matter how long we’re out, he never ever gets tired. In fact, he seems to only get more frantic as the walk goes on. He knows heel and will do it, but only for a few seconds before he gets distracted by a smell. It’s like he has dog ADHD or OCD. He is terrified of a harness, I’ve spent hundreds and hundreds of dollars on different kinds and did all kinds of desensitization training with them but he runs away every time I have one in my hand, so I just walk him on a flat collar and end up pulling him.

I should note that he’s not a good dog greeter either, he is a very anxious greeter. He will whine and pull HARD to greet another dog on a leash, and off-leash he will run up to any dog. Both instances look like he wants to get at them to play. But once he greets them he has a pretty stiff, flagging tail and doesn’t really know what to do. With friendly dogs, he’ll play; with overly rambunctious dogs I can tell he gets nervous and doesn’t know how to not engage with them so he matches their energy; with dogs who want to fight him, he won’t really back down and has gotten into scuffles. He rarely, if ever, just ignores a dog.

I’ve had him evaluated with a behaviorist and they determined that he’s not aggressive but he’s very anxious due to genetics and he might just be an on-leash dog forever. I’m feeling very frustrated because I can’t give him enough exercise on a leash (I would love to keep taking him to our local trail system where people walk dogs off leash but as mentioned above he always seems to have some kind of issue there) and walking him on a leash is so unpleasant, for both of us. Any advice much appreciated.

I have a 10-month-old female Golden Retriever who is very food motivated. A few months ago, she started showing signs of resource guarding with bones or other really high-value treats. We worked on this by doing the trade game and giving her space when she has those items. We also have an older German Shepherd, and we keep them separated when feeding or when highvalue treats are involved to avoid any conflict.

This has been working really well. We hadn’t had any incidents with the puppy for a while. She’s still wild when food is involved, but the growling/snapping/teeth-bearing we were seeing before had stopped.

Today I was getting their breakfast bowls ready. The puppy was being her usual overly excited self (which we’re actively working on before feedings). Our older dog was standing behind me in the kitchen. When I turned around with the bowls, the puppy went after the older dog. Luckily, I don’t think the older dog really knew what was happening and didn’t react.

I immediately put the food down and calmly but quickly grabbed the puppy and guided her into her crate. She’s crate trained and understands that it’s a safe space and that going in there means it’s time to calm down.

When things like this happen, what’s the best way to handle it? The trade game doesn’t really apply here. I feel like I de-escalated as best as I could — I didn’t yell, just said “hey, no,” and moved her into the crate right away (luckily it was right next to where it happened).

I wasn’t necessarily scared she was going to bite me in the moment, but I do understand that you’re not supposed to get between two dogs because the risk of injury is high.

Also to note we feed them in their separate rooms. I do make the puppy sit and wait while I go in the other room to place the older dogs food. Until I give her the release word she doesn't touch the food. Not sure if that is the best approach but the wait is something she is really good at and it helps me have a little more control when placing the bowls.

TLDR;

My 10-month-old puppy has food aggression and went after my older dog today. What’s the best way to handle it in the moment, and how can I work on preventing or fixing this long-term?

He is a 6 month old golden. Start off my saying he is not constipated, he does poop probably 3-4 times a day. He will just not poop when I know he has to specifically at night. I usually take him out for a 15 minute walk around 9:30 for his last time outside for the day. he used to always poop on this walk. Lately he never will. I take him inside, then around 10 he will start winning to go out again. I’ll take him out again. He never has to pee. I’ll walk him around the neighborhood again, still won’t poop. 10:30 he will start whining again to go out. Sometimes I have to take him out 3 or 4 time before he finally poops. It’s driving me insane and making me stay up way later than I want to. I know he has to poop but he just won’t do it. Has anyone experienced this. How do I get him to stop doing this. I am partially just venting because it’s driving me nuts

Apologies if this is a little long, but I am very much at a loss as this isn't true crate regression so looking for any help! TDLR: I own a corgi who is 3 years old and he refuses to sleep in a crate only at the home he was raised in. Anywhere else is fine and he sleeps great in the crate.

He is well trained minus an issue where he often wants to put things in his mouth, but we are in training for that, which is why he sleeps in a crate still at 3. Prior to looking online, I have talked to his vet and confirmed no health issues, he has zero anxiety about being away from me so he does not care if we are separated (he does daycare 2x a week), and nothing in the routine we have had for 2+ years since he became an adult has changed. We have a trainer, but I am not able to see him for another two weeks due to him being out of town and I am at my wits end.

As of these last few weeks, he will not sleep in his crate only at my apartment (which he was raised in) even after following the command to get in/settling like he will sleep. If he is at my parent's house (which is the same exact crate model and bed even), he sleeps without issue. At only my apartment, he goes into full screaming panic attack mode after quietly being in there initially for maybe 20 minutes. We are currently penned into the kitchen as I cannot trust him in any other rooms (anything corgi eye level is fair game including my blankets so sleeping next to me is a no). I have tried calming techniques/positive treating, I have tried cleaning the crate and putting it directly next to me, but nothing is working. If I let him sleep in a crate in any other physical location (another house, hotel, etc.)? Zero protest, not even a bark or whimper, fully sleeps for 10+ hours. We went to my parent's house this week for a visit and nothing for three nights in a row. Just complete silence after crate command.

He takes 3 long walks a day, plays a lot, drinks water before bed, and even takes himself to his crate at bed time without me giving his night command most nights. I don't know what else to do or why it is only this crate at my apartment only. He has not been allowed on the couch or bed so I can't say that he's broken habits (he actually does not know how to jump up!). Am I going to have to retrain from the beginning even if he's following all commands properly/sleeping in crate at other locations? If he didn't have his 'this is mine in my mouth' issue, I would let him lay wherever, but that is not an option yet as I am worried about choking or suffocation. I'd love any and all ideas as I am worried retraining won't work as he is doing commands, sleeping, etc. everywhere but his actual home crate.

Crate training is hard! Anyone have tips?

I’ve scoured the internet and utilized ChatGPT as well as listened to a book called Be Right Back, but I dont know how to get him to calm in that first 30 min so he doesnt get destructive. I think I’ve pinpointed his issue to transitional anxiety, and not full blown separation anxiety because he does eventually settle after 20-30 min, sometimes less.

He is on 50mg of Trazadone which we give him 45 min before we leave him in the crate. As soon as he’s alone he whines and howls and then gets destructive. The crate mat was destroyed today so no more crate mat for now. I’m still leaving blankets in there because I’d rather him rip on a blanket than chew on the bars of the kennel.

He shows no interest in food while in the crate (unless we are home). Things like frozen kong toys, bully bones, or lick mats don’t interest him (not yet).

I may need to actually try following the FRIDA method and slowly build up his time that way he can start calm instead of having to self regulate over a 15-40min time period. I have an automatic feeder that has a camera on it with two way communication but sometimes my voice helps settle and other times he’s so locked into destruction that he doesn’t listen or calm when he hears me.

DOG OWNERS HELP! We do NOT use the crate as punishment. It is only for him to choose to relax in or for when we must go to work. I think the best day we have had so far was Wednesday. He self regulated in 15 min and stayed calm for a total crate time of 3.5 hrs.

He’s not afraid of the crate. He’s afraid of us leaving.

Our apartment was broken into about a month ago, and since then our two dogs have been very reactive to any noise in the hallway outside our apartment. It doesn’t help that our neighbor and their friends are very loud and slam the doors and yell in the hallway often.

Whenever they hear the door downstairs slam or people coming in and out, they bark like crazy. The puppy will listen when you tell him no, but the older dog won’t stop no matter how many times you try to correct him. Even when it’s one of us returning home, they bark like crazy at the sound outside the door. It’s very annoying to us and it’s starting to bother the downstairs neighbors as well since the dogs bark every time they come in and out, which is often since they are smokers and partiers and have people over often.

I’m trying to teach a quiet command, but the older dog isn’t food motivated and won’t take treats unless he’s in the mood.

The older dog belongs to my boyfriend and I’ve tried talking to him about the fact that his dog won’t listen but he doesn’t seem interested in solving the issue by training and thinks just yelling at the dog to stop is enough.

Any suggestions would be very helpful.

I’ve adopted a dog about four months ago — a lab mix (with a pinch of a border collie) from a shelter. From what I can tell he’s around 1.5 years old, so right in the middle of adolescence. His name is Eddie.

Before adopting him I prepared a lot: this isn’t my first dog, I’ve completed multiple dog training courses, and I’ve been volunteering at dog shelters for about two years. So while I’m not claiming to know everything, I wouldn’t say I’m inexperienced either. That said, I feel completely stuck with Eddie.

Eddie is extremely emotional. He loves other dogs — not in a fearful or defensive way, and not because he’s insecure. He’s friendly, confident, non-aggressive, doesn’t growl or bite, has no resource guarding or jealousy issues. He genuinely just wants to play with every single dog we pass.

The problem is that once he gets excited on a walk, I cannot bring him back down. Sniffing doesn’t calm him, food doesn’t help, simple commands don’t work, toys don’t work. It’s like a switch flips in his brain. He pulls with all 30 kg of his body weight to get where he wants to go, and he’s incredibly strong.

I’ve been doing loose leash training on every walk since the beginning. Every time he pulls, I stop. I don’t move until he releases the pressure on the leash. He actually understands this part very well — he stops pulling quickly. But the moment I start walking again, he immediately surges forward, hits the end of the leash, feels the pressure, stops… and then repeats the same thing. Over and over. It’s like he doesn’t know how to walk calmly at all.

Another issue is fixation. He will fixate on something — a dog across the street, a dog behind a fence, or sometimes something random like a leaf falling from a tree. When that happens, he freezes. If the fixation is mild, I can reward him the moment he disengages with praise, food, or toys. But if it’s strong, he will lie down and completely refuse to move forward. I never pull him immediately — I wait, I try different ways to get his attention, I give him time — but after a couple of minutes, I sometimes have no choice but to pull him up and out of the situation.

He is a very smart dog. He knows commands, understands what I’m asking, and at home he’s able to regulate himself much better. We do sniffing activities, structured training, calm play, regular playdates with dogs he already knows, and we have a very stable daily routine.

Despite all this, walks are becoming unbearable. I know shelter dogs can be different and that trust can take time — but I’m not expecting perfection or blind obedience. I just need him to trust me enough to walk with me safely. I need to be able to take him on longer walks (which I know he needs) without having to turn back after 30 minutes because my arm is about to fall off or because I’m constantly pulling him out of unsafe situations like busy roads.

I feel like traditional dog training advice just isn’t working for us, and I’m running out of ideas.

If you’ve experienced something similar — especially with a lab mix, a very social dog, or a shelter dog with high emotional reactivity — I would reallllyyy appreciate any insight, strategies, or perspective.

Thanks

My dog is generally very good when taking food, knows gentle despite being super food motivated. But when outside and trying to teach heel he gets so overexcited that he starts nipping when he takes treats from me. I don't feel I can mark and then give the command gentle and then give a treat, especially when still trying to walk along. But I'm fed up of my fingers hurting everytime we train heel. Any suggestions on how to reduce the nipping or train heel without treats for a food motivated dog?