Category: Top Dog

I’m a first-time puppy owner and I’m still trying to understand what my puppy is telling me. Sometimes she leans on me, makes a small whine, or walks around in circles. I can’t always tell if she wants attention, feels unsure, is a bit overwhelmed, or is just being playful. I don’t want to ignore her if she really needs comfort. But I also don’t want to teach her that whining is the way to get everything. For people who have raised puppies before, how do you tell the difference between “I want cuddles” and “I’m feeling anxious”? Are there simple body language signs that beginners can look for? I’m still learning, so any advice would help.

Feel completely overwhelmed and a failure with my 11.5 week old cocker spaniel puppy. She just got her second round of shots at the 11 week mark last Thursday and from then on she has been just unsettled, more bitey, reactive, sleeps worse and has started growling and going at at me when I want to put her leash/harness or pick her up (which I need to do to go outside as I live on the first floor of an apartment block) It doesn’t happen each time and I’m trying to do it as gently as possible and now with treats but even that today did not work. She was growling and tried to bite when I was picking her up. And it’s evident she doesn’t want to be picked up but I literally don’t have a choice for toilet training 🙁 broke down today crying as i haven’t changed anything to my behaviour. I have a personal positive reinforcement dog trainer since the day I got her and she attends a seperate puppy class to socialise with other pups. She is just so independent these last few days and it’s difficult to connect to her for me. She generally hasn’t been a cuddly dog and I haven’t forced that on her either as I’ve read that’s not behaviour they really understand and to do it on their terms. I’m more scared at this point in approaching her with a harness or to pick her up and I’m worried my worst fear is coming to life and that she is turning aggressive, and it’s something I’m doing wrong or have done wrong, when all I’ve done is try to give her the best start. I’ve done more than most of your dog owners out there and I feel like now a massive failure. However I do want to add in those good moments – it’s SO good and I definitely love her to bits. I’m just so sleep deprived (she wakes up on the clock at 5:40am) overwhelmed by her troublesome behaviour and all on my own in this!

We’ve switched our pup to lamb and oatmeal based on suspected skin and tummy issues from chicken. I didn’t buy the bag; hubs did. It says lamb and oatmeal on the front so no one thought to make sure. I went to buy a new bag and sure enough, chicken meal is the SECOND ingredient! This should totally be mentioned on the front of the bag! No wonder he’s still so itchy…UGH!!!!

I'm struggling to get enough exercise and energy draining into my 5 month puppy during the really cold days (-20c type weather). We play tug, search games, his training, use enrichment and some indoor running games so far, but it doesn't seem to tucker him out. Any other game suggestions?

I’ve only ever given my seven month old puppy one other bone before. The brand is Good Lovin’ Dog Chews and it was one of those bones stuffed with peanut butter flavored filling.

Today I bought him a hickory smoked bone from the same brand and as soon as he started chewing on it out of the package it split in two (long ways, so the halves look like half circles). He is not an aggressive or strong chewer, we have soft toys he’s played with and chewed on for months that don’t look chewed.

At first I let him chew one half but then it looked like he was chewing on a small piece. I’m not sure if the bone further split or if he’d taken off a strip of the “skin” flavoring. I took it away but because the bone isn’t a perfect shape so I’m still not sure if a smaller chunk came off or not.

Obviously small pieces are choking hazards and bad, but is this normal for bones to split this way? Seems like…no?

Hey everyone, I posted here some time ago about my britanny spaniel mix, she was giving us a hardtime in that moment, some time has passed, she is a lovely doggie and now she's behaving a lot better!

During this year I notice our Lana is a very very social dog, with humans but specially with other dogs, she always has a blast when she meet her dog friends in the park, when she see a dog far away is almost like "walk ruined" 🤣 because she tries always to go and play with them, in a positive way, not like anxiety or something.

I searched everywhere apps for schedule or join playdates and everything in the market looks like a human tinder or a facebook clone, etc, so as a mobile developer I decided to create an app for my Lana, I talked with a lot of people in my area and they loved the idea, so after a lot of work is here!

Dogsi: https://dogsi.app/en/

No human interaction needed, a couple of clicks and you've a playdate created, or one click to join. Nothing else, no human interaction needed, friend request, etc, this project is just for our dogs, we have already enough human interaction apps, this is 100% for our dogs!

We already using it in my community and the people is very happy! at the end the solution to my "problem" aparently was something a lot of owners needed!

Sorry if it looks like spam, I'm just a dog owner sharing a tool that is actually working and we believe will help a lot of dogs and people! 😀

got a new dog. transporting her in my car was a nightmare because she hated being in the softside crate and absolutely cried for the whole 9 hour drive.

i think because of that, she absolutely hates the thing and never wants to be in it. I can't take her outside at all in the stroller because she wants to just tear it up and get out.

help. im losin my mind here tryin to take her outside before her vaccines are done.

Hi all,

We’ve trained our 13 week old puppy to pee on a patch of grass on our balcony. Now, he’s vaccinated, we want him to pee outside. We take him out after meals and naps, become very boring and stand in the same bit of grass we want him to pee on. Unfortunately he’s not relieved himself there yet. Any advice on how to let him know it’s okay to go outside?

Any suggestions?

Thanks!

Hi there im not sure if this is what to call it but man I feel like (not to discredit post partum) but genuinely I am experiencing symptoms similar to it I had a family member ask me if I was keeping something from them because of these symptoms and I love my puppy but I feel so dissociated and I truly havent felt like myself since I got him, I dont know if its because im in shock or something because I didnt think truly this would happen, that I would actually get him and hes here? Is this a thing? What exactly is puppy blues

I cried when we got him, but less than I thought I would I feel like I maybe am dissociating and then since then I have been overly emotional those symptoms, especially crying and then going I dont know why im crying, my partner has said it feels like a lot of my regular mental health things I deal with have kinda gotten worse, like im more sensitive and "hormonal" almost (since the random crying) and honestly as far as puppies go hes been amazing, ive had my hardships dont get me wrong, he is a puppy, but oh my gosh he is not that bad so I dont know what is causing me to feel this way

is this going to go away?

It makes me feel really bad because its affecting my partner and I dont want it to affect my pup or his relationship with me.

PS pup is well taken care for I robotically still go through the motions, my partner says that he thinks the puppy is doing incredible with me – but I still would like to not feel like a robot 🙂

Hey guys, just wanted to hop on here and share some practices and what actually worked for my puppy. My partner and I are FT in office, and I would say our puppy has grown up to be a very well trained dog through consistency and patience.

Especially since it’s the holiday season. Hopefully these tips will help you and your puppy!

CRATE TRAINING – Luckily, crate training worked wonders. From the moment we picked him up, every single moment we’d see that he’s starting to doze off: straight to the crate. – This helped him get familiarized with his crate from the minute he stepped foot in our household – Crate training also helped potty control – STAY DISCIPLINED: Luckily, the only times he would cry throughout the night was if he needed to potty. If he’s crying for attention, take them out to potty, then straight back to the crate. This teaches them that if they hoot and holler, they’ll just go outside in the cold for 10-15 minutes and straight back in with no play.

TRAINING THROUGHOUT THE DAY – Everyday, we sprinkled 10-15 minutes of training. We also utilized training with meals – Started off with the BASICS: Sit, Down, Stay, Place. We honed these in as much as possible before moving onto any other “tricks” – Also work on threshold training, impulse control, and recall: This will build a strong foundation for your pup once they get out in the real world – Marker words are a must: YES or even use a clicker – TRAIN TRAIN TRAIN: Be consistent. As they grow up, they’ll start to lose some of that training, it is important to reinforce good habits.

NO PUPPY PADS – I was adamant that puppy pads were not an option for potty training. Enforces bad habits and makes it even harder for them to grow out of peeing inside. – We resorted to a grass patch on the balcony, and as soon as he had his shots, straight to the grass he went. – REWARD FOR POTTYING OUTSIDE PLEASE

YOU DO NOT NEED TO SAY HI TO EVERYONE OR EVERY DOG – Controlled meets with familiar dogs – Yes, socializing is important, but make sure it’s in an environment that they’re comfortable with. They do not need to meet every single person or dog – You do not know how anyone else’s dog is trained nor their temperament. You want a calm and relaxed dog that does not care about other dogs – We worked on this by going to parks or restaurants. Having them in a “place” and let them observe and get used to everyday sounds, smells, etc.