Category: Top Dog

I’ve heard so many conflicting points.
mouthing is natural, it’s how pups sense their environment, if they are being gentle then it’s okay and they’ll grow out of it.

others say allowing any teeth in your skin is asking for trouble.

i don’t know how strict to be with my 8 week lab/collie. He’s gorgeous, has learned a few tricks in a few days, but he mouths my hands and my partners all the time, and hes biting at our clothes. I’ve tried holding his collar and gentle holding him still till he calms down for 5 seconds, but he isn’t always easy to initiate this movement with, and he does it so often that I’m scared scolding him all the time will make him dislike me.

i feel so stressed, like I’m going to let him down, I feel guilty for being stressed about my beautiful new boy, or annoyed with him, to the point where my stomach is getting sore all the time. It’s only been 5 days.
there are so many resources and they all say different things. I’m so torn

My 4 month old pup will aggressively bang and chew on the screen door to be let back in when she’s done being outside. I don’t want to set myself up for always having to let her in immediately when she bangs, but also if I leave it she gets more aggressive about it. I am debating a dog door (which may or may not help with toilet training) but in the interim what should I be doing? She will sit and wait once I’m actually at the door.

Hello – i am at my wits end. We have a 5 month old labradoodle and she wont sleep alone. We have a puppy proofed room with her bed in it. She was doing really well till 2 weeks back and we were so happy that she started sleeping through the night. Suddenly she has started to whine and not sleep. The other day i left her to settle down but ahe just wouldnt and went on howling and crying for two hours straight. I took her out in between for a wee. Even then she wouldnt stop.

I am at my wits end as this is disturbing my sleep. We didnt crate train her as she never liked the crate from day one and preferred her bed.

Any suggestions?

I have a 5 month Aussi Doodle and need some help with barking.

When he was younger(literally last month…), he never barked at people on walks; he would gladly greet anyone with caution.

Now, I can't get him to focus on me and not bark at people. I try hard to correct him and pull his attention, but he is fixed till i pull him away or they are far enough away.

The only thing I can think of that changed was that he started going to a Dog Daycare, but only on the days my husband travels for work(aka no one home to watch him during the day).

I want my sweet dog back, not the big puppy that scares everyone.

Hi everyone,

Me and my partner recently adopted a Bichon poodle mix, he’s been really great so far except he whines at everything and for anything.

we’ve been crate training him since day one, at night he goes in no problems anymore. But he will be fed, let out, etc and he will still whine. He could be laying down and whine it’s nonstop

I’m not sure if this is something he’ll grow out of or if there’s anything we should practice?

My husband and I got our lab puppy a month ago. We’ve both had dogs growing up, but it’s been quite a while since I’ve had a puppy and I certainly wasn’t the one doing the work when I was growing up. But we researched everything and my bestie is the biggest dog fanatic I know, so we knew what to expect. Middle of the night potty breaks. Crate training. Piranha Puppy behavior. Educating our kiddos. Essentially going back to having another toddler since the puppy would need constant supervision and attention. Part of me felt a lot of anxiety, especially at the thought of the constant sleep disruptions.

But our dude has been awesome. He’s been all of the work mentioned but he’s been worth it. He’s taken well to learning to use the bathroom outside. He runs to the back door 90% of the time and if there is an accident it’s either right in front of that door and I just didn’t get it open in time, or I was distracted and missed his cues of starting to sniff around.

He’s def in his teething and biting phase but we’re all quick to pop a chew toy in his mouth or put him in the crate for a nap when he seems way overstimulated and he comes out much calmer.

Crate training has been great. He naps in there and is finally sleeping through the night. We feed him his meals in there so he associates it with a super positive experience.

We do lots of enrichment toys and spent time during the day going over some obedience things like “sit” and “paw” and “down”. He’s a quick learner.

He’s been really exhausting and my hands are chewed up a bit but his personality is coming through more and more and I can see the amazing dog he’ll become. If you’re in the trenches, please stick with it. It DOES get better. Consistency is key, along with having grace and compassion for them and yourself.

My little piranha will just walk around, take a little chew on the furniture, couch legs, or the newest one, grabbing onto the couch seat cushion and try to shake it like a dead chicken, and I’m pretty sure she does this when she wants attention (she gets lot), is bored, and/or overstimulated.

What should I do in these situations? I’ve been redirecting her, and telling her to leave it, and I’ve thought that this behavior would stop when she gets older. After doing some reading here though, it sounds like since she’s past teething, this is a behavioral problem now, so I think I need better techniques of handling this. 😅

Thank you guys!