Category: Top Dog

My girl had her first round from the breeder, and then my vet gave her 3 rounds themselves. Her last vaccines were 5 days ago, and the vet tech does appointments when it’s just shots.

I asked the vet tech when I could safely take my puppy out to stores and parks (not dog parks, just walking paths) without worrying about her catching something, and she said 24-48 hours and she’ll be fine to do normal dog things.

I’ve always heard 10-14 days before this but not sure if that’s just me being on the internet too much lmao. I’d really like to socialize her more because she’s getting too heavy to carry and she’s 4 months old now.

How long did you wait?

My puppy is 8 weeks and we just got him the other day. It’s -30C where I live and our puppy does not like to go in the cold. I put a sweater on him but he stands there and shivers. I tried shovelling out a patch of grass but it’s still cold and he lifts his feet.

We have puppy pads by the door right now but I want to stop using them ASAP. He’s only gone to pee once outside. What do you recommend?

Hi all! My fiancé and I just adopted a 10 week old puppy named Dante (from devil may cry) and I’m trying to build a good general schedule for him especially while we’re trying to potty and crate train. I’ve tried looking at multiple resources on the Internet, but I’m getting conflicting results so I want to talk to some people who have direct and real world experience. While I do want him to be a snuggly dog, I also wanna make sure he has the comfort and independence to be left alone in his crate at least until he is potty trained enough to be left alone in the house. We are currently taking him to go potty every hour on the hour starting at 6 o’clock when we wake up for work. Is this a good schedule?

Wake up 6:00 am

Breakfast at 8:00

Crate nap 10:00-12:00

Walk 12:00-12:15

Lunch 1:00

Crate nap 2:00-4:00

Walk 4:00-4:15

Dinner 6:00

Bed time 9:00

Edit: two quick things cause I’ve gotten multiple comments about it. He’s waking up about every two hours at night to go potty and we are taking him out when he starts whining and he is sleeping a lot. Those crate naps are intentionally where I leave him alone just to sleep in his crate without me being there but even right now he’s asleep in my lap so I’m not only letting him sleep during those two times lol

he playfully jumps, bites and scratches A LOT, and it has been hurting and making cuts, last time I came hete for advice i was recommended ignoring him rather than trying to contain him by the collar. However, it doesn't seem to be working, and he is hurting me a lot, what can I do here? I feel lost

Hi hi! Seeing if anyone has any advice about this, my 4mo old pup seems to be mirroring my neighbors dog, who barks a lot when she’s outside.

This is super hard to correct, my pup basically runs outside, barks around while running, runs to the neighbors fence and barks excessively to see if the neighbors dog is outside. Every time. Half the time my neighbors dog isn’t even outside.

I live in on a lake where sound travels far, I find it being part of a responsible dog owner to try to curb excessive outdoor barking to keep the community peaceful.

She doesn’t do this anywhere else, and inside, she isn’t much of a barker. Maybe she’ll bark if she really needs to pee and we didn’t hear her ring her bell, or, if we are eating something she really really can’t handle like steak.

Any tips appreciated!! Thank you!

My 12 week old mini Bernedoodle Cooper seems to really hate or fear the car. He's always whined while in the car, but it's turning into real distress anytime I try to take him anywhere (short outings to vet or socialization –20 minutes at most, usually more like 5-10). He whimpers and fights to get out if I hold him in the back seat with someone else driving; and I of course also need to be able to drive him by myself. He outgrew his initial enclosed travel carrier and his current crate is a larger wire one that isn't super practical for the car. I've tried making a nest on the front passenger floorboard with him leashed where he could see me, and he wouldn't settle at all.

I don't think he is carsick; he hasn't vomited or had any accidents at all during or after any drive and there's no drooling. It seems like a fear-based whimper/crying even when car isn't on or moving, and he really wriggles and fights to escape the car itself. He's not a fearful pup normally, just in the car and on outings to unfamiliar places. Today I spent 5-10 minutes just sitting in the back seat next to him, while he was in a harness and new booster seat. I fed him the highest value treat we use but he got so distressed I didn't even start the car. I'm not sure what to do!

Any ideas for getting him better accustomed to the car; or any suggestions for a better set up in the car? Since he responds roughly the same no matter the configuration I'm guessing it's the car itself and not the harness/leash/seat/bed/crate. I have more free time the next 2 weeks and am planning to continue w 5 minutes/day in the car without going anywhere, with high value treats, and work up from there in tiny increments. Or should I try a different approach? Any tips welcome.

Hi all, my partner and I have a 10 week of springer spaniel puppy who we've had since 8 weeks. We have been wanting to get a dog for years but waited until it was a good time and a coincidence meant this puppy really felt like he was meant for us.

I'm just looking for some reassurance because, since getting him, I've really been struggling. It took about a week to get him used to the crate but he now sleeps through the night or has one toilet break, and he does nap in there too (enforced).

The issue is, regardless of the naps it seems he is quite consistently overstimulated and does sometimes struggle to go down for an enforced nap leading to a vicious cycle. We know he needs 18-20 hours, at the minute it seems he's getting about 16 because he just doesn't always settle. It makes me worry we're not doing enough. We do enrichment feeds, lick mats, play time and short bursts of training throughout the day.

As it stands I'm anxious every day and wake up with a feeling of dread that does dissipate as the day goes on, but tends to come back when something goes wrong.

I appreciate I can be quite negative and also have high expectations, which definitely doesn't help. I want to love and enjoy this puppy but I'm really struggling. My partner is a lot more patient and a lot less worried which helps, but also makes me feel awful.

I know the puppy blues are a thing and I feel like I've read posts over and over about how they do go away, but I'm just really feeling as though I'm in the thick of it right now.

I'm very fortunate to be renting a house that is fairly well insulated/soundproof to the outside, and my neighbors aren't super close. But my god, my golden puppy's demand/tantrum barking has been getting to me, and I cannot imagine living in an apartment with her nonsense. Like right now, I'm in my office and she's in her crate and she's upset because I'm not coming downstairs to let her out of her crate, despite the fact that she's awake and wants out.

I'm just wondering how y'all living in apartments are dealing with it, considering all the shared walls, less than understanding neighbors, landlord, etc.

I am currently deep in the research phase before buying a puppy, and part of that has been looking into different trainers and training philosophies. There is one well-known Hispanic trainer whose name I will avoid mentioning, as I believe he is not allowed to be named on this subreddit. From what I have seen so far, his training system appears effective on the surface. The structure, confidence building, and results in videos are compelling. However, I have also noticed that many people are highly critical of his methods, and that has made me pause. I am trying to understand whether I am missing something important or overlooking potential issues due to limited knowledge or selective exposure. I am not here to defend or attack anyone. I am genuinely trying to learn. For those who are more experienced or knowledgeable:

Any insight, nuance, or recommended reading would be appreciated. My goal is to make an informed decision and set myself up to be a responsible owner. Thanks in advance.