Category: Top Dog

Hey all!

I have a 7 month old pug puppy and currently live in a townhouse that has a dog door to the backyard, so we’ve been working on using that. For the most part, she’s gotten pretty good about bringing herself outside to potty, or at least can be redirected to go outside if she looks like she’s about to potty on the floor. in the next 5-6 months, I will probably be moving to an apartment, and I was wondering if anyone else has made this transition before and how it affected their dogs potty training progress? And does anyone have any recommendations as to how to help make the transition as seamless as possible? I figured it would probably be best to start working on it before the move so that it’s not such a drastic and sudden change for my pup with the hopes of mitigating as many accidents as possible. All tips/hints/works of wisdom are welcome! Thanks!!

TLDR: she takes pills, goes out often and will soon have a doggy door, itll be easier to clean her soon, she gets beds but they stink and we’ve tried reusable pads but they dont clean well, she takes off diapers and im nervous to buy reusable ones online due to return policies

shes a medium/large dog and was spayed too early at 4 months old (not our fault) which led to her having spay incontinence, so her pee just comes out whenever shes relaxed. she takes a pill every day to help, but after a while of taking any specific pill it stops working as well and we switch to another kind which of course helps until it doesnt.

we take her on walks and let her outside often, but it still is a hindrance. thankfully, she will have a doggy door soon in a month so she will be able to let herself out, and she’s already figured out how to use the door when we took her to see the house the other day. we will also be able to hose her off and wash her in the backyard, so it’ll be much easier to clean her and much more often

her bed always ends up stinking like pee and it makes the whole room uninhabitable sometimes, so we have to get her a new bed every month because we have no way to clean the beds where we live currently (not really sure how to clean a large dog bed in general though) and we’ve tried using big waterproof reusable doggy pads to keep the pee off her bed but it ends up getting scrunched up and we have to put it back constantly, and when we wash them the smell doesnt come out completely and they feel greasy and gross still

we have diapers for her, but she usually ends up taking them off herself or acts crazy with the zoomies until they fall off or we take them off, and its not sustainable to buy diapers constantly, and we havent seen any reusable diapers her size in store and i havent gotten around to looking online + i worry about return policies if i had to ship used dog diapers back if the didn’t fit or she could get them off

what else can we do? what is there to try and do to make this more tolerable to live with? anyone recommend a brand of reusable diapers that dont come off easily and can be returned if they dont fit her right?

I have just started fostering this very sweet 3 year old border collie mix named Ari for two weeks. This is our fourth day together. When I met her at the local humane shelter she was extremely freezy, and timid. No one is quite sure of her history prior to being surrendered so who knows what her previous life was like.

She’s been sticking to my bedroom the hallway leading into it as her “home base” she does venture out but if I move she gets very very alert and ticks her tail I between her legs, pins her ears back, widens her eyes, the whole 9 yards.

I’ve gotten advice to ignore her or not try hard to comfort her to not make my movements seems like a big deal, and I also try and stay as predictable as I can living a normal day to day. It just kind of breaks my heart seeing her be so affected.

Even on walks, her personality comes out a bit, she trots along side me and is getting a little better about passing cars, but when we turn around and walk back to the apartment, she drags, turns back the other way, or freezes with her tail tucked between her legs and I just feel awful.

I’m trying to look at the positive in all of this, she has come laid down next to me and napped while I work, has sniffed me a couple of times. But I get trapped in my own head when she hasn’t come out of my room for hours on end, thinking I did something wrong.

If anyone can help give me tips on how to help me and her out as we go through this together.

TLDR: I’m fostering a very timid dog and I’m getting stuck in my own head about it and would like tips and tricks to help us move forward together.

Edit: I’ve set up her food and water in the hallway out of sight from me in the living room but she’s not eating or drinking a lot, I think in the past 3 days she’s had 1 1/2 bowls of food (shelter feeds the dogs twice a day) and has only drank when I was sleeping night one and after walks in hot days. She will eat hot dog pieces and treats though just takes a while to get to them

Hi there! Fairly new owner of a sweet 9 month beagle x coonhound mix. We've had her for almost 5 months and with spring-time, I noticed that she absolutely hates loud cars/motor bikes; especially ones with modded exhausts or engines (tbh, not sure what it really is or why some like this feature?).

All winter, I've been excited to go on longer walks with her but it's quickly come to a point where I'm nervous about taking her outside and if she'll have an unexpected scare. It's been very disruptive and difficult even when we're at home and someone rides by on their loud bike or car.
My husband and I have already started giving her high-praise treats when these sounds happen, but she unfortunately gets way too distracted, stiffens up and paces around the house.

As a concerned owner, I'm curious if anyone has gone through something similar and can warrant any advice?! Feel free to even direct me to any other posts or blogs.
Here's a short list of other practices we've been trying to implement:

• Designating a safe space for her to settle – she struggles with this.
• Starting walks further away from our house/driving to dog parks instead.
• Attempting to walk near the main roads and giving positive reinforcement.
• Constantly playing calming music to drown out any outside noises when home.

Us and our doggo, Riley, appreciate the read!

I have been researching dog doors, and all the dog doors I see go from flat ground to flat ground, not flat ground to steps, which is my situation. Basically, the dogs will go out to my screened porch and there are a few steps on the way down.

Do any of you have dog doors where your dog has to go up or down steps to go through the door?

Hi, looking for advice.

I have an almost one year old male beagle. He has BEEN having the problem of eating his own poop (inside only. He goes poop fine outside and doesn't try to eat it).

We've tried what feels like everything. And I know the solution is to just quickly pick it up but we can't keep an eye on him 24/7.

Another thing thats new is anal gland expression, never knew this was a thing since our 3 year old beagle has never had that issue. Anyway, we went to the vet to get them expressed maybe a month ago. A couple nights ago as we're about to sleep, we smell the smell again. So we got up and expressed them ourselves.

Does anyone know if the lack of natural expression may be linked to his eating of his poop? Maybe the poop "tastes" better without the smelly fluid? idk?

Any tips for potty training a one year old pup or stopping this? We're having a hard time… This pup is such a cutie but he's so dumb.

Any help or advice would be so appreciated.

Need some good recs for my very active husky mix for tie out sessions. TIA

It's been raining almost every day and my poor dog is stressed out. I have some toys for him like a ball, a squeaky plushie, and a tug toy (his favorite) but it doesn't seem to be enough. It's a small mini pinscher and we live in an apartment. Any ideas of what toys can keep him busy for when we can't go out?

Edit: going out in the rain is not an option, the vet forbid him from going out in the rain since he always catches a cold. He also dislikes getting wet.

Hi everyone, I really need some advice.

I live in the Middle east and with the situation getting worse, I’m starting to feel unsafe staying.

The biggest concern for me is my dogs. We have 5 small breed dogs:

• One is 13+ (a rescue, so not sure of exact age)

• One is 10

• Two are 7–8 (one of them is blind)

• One is 3

Three are Shih Tzus and two are Maltese. All documents and vaccinations are up to date.

Leaving them behind is not an option.

I’m considering taking them with me to India, but I’m really worried about whether the travel will be too stressful or risky, especially for my older dogs and my blind one. I’m also unsure how difficult it might be to bring them back later if things improve.

I feel stuck between wanting to keep them safe with me and worrying that the journey itself might harm them.

Has anyone gone through relocating with multiple older or special-needs dogs? Any advice or experiences would really help.

TLDR: Situation feels unsafe, need to leave country with 5 small dogs