Category: Top Dog

Hello, I have adopted an 8 week old maltipoo yesterday from someone that was selling her and I've noticed that she doesn't react to any noise not even the vacuum !! I've checked around and there's so many different answers, could she possibly be deaf? Or just overstimulated and confused?? The previous owner didn't mention this and I know I should've asked beforehand, but my husband made a vet appointment for this week, I don't care if she's deaf or not she will be loved the same as before. I just want to know if this is normal or has happened to anyone else with maltipoos!! Thank you.

Hey everyone,

I have a 6 month old cavoodle/cavapoo who my partner and I have been crate training to sleep inside crate overnight for the last 2 months (before that we didn't have the pup so we don't know how he was sleeping). He was doing well with the crate at night however we did need to lie infront of the crate and wait for him to fall asleep before leaving him or he would start to cry/bark (this never got better). Most nights we would have to do this multiple times as we would leave and he would wake up shortly after or hear us getting into bed and wake up & start crying/barking. Once finally settled he would sleep through the whole night rarely waking up during which was great. We keep the crate in our living room which is next to our bedroom so we can hear him.

This week all of a sudden our attempts to settle him in his crate have become very challenging. It all started when one night I did the usual routine of laying down infront of the crate and wait for him to fall asleep however everytime I left he would cry and bark and wouldn't settle so it took about 3 hours or repetition to settle him. He eventually went to sleep until he woke up at 4am barking. I thought he must need to pee/poo so took him outside to our fake grass patch however he didn't go so I lured him back into his crate. He then continued to cry/bark even when I was laying infront of his crate so I let him out a second time and he threw up before being let outside again. We then took him for a walk thinking he also needed to poo (as he refuses to poo on his fake grass patch and anywhere in our courtyard – will basically only poo somewhere random around the neighbourhood) which he did on our walk at 5am (we are not morning people and would never normally be awake that early). We were exhausted from minimal sleep and worried as he had been sick so we let him sleep at the foot of our bed from 5am for the rest of the morning. (I'm worried this is where he worked out he could get into our bed by crying/barking).

The following night we could not get him to settle in his crate. I decided maybe we try to put him in his gated off pen area to sleep which we have done once before and it went ok. He wouldn't settle in there and would cry and bark as soon as we walked away. I then tried pretending to sleep in the pen with him which eventually worked after a couple hours and he slept the whole night.

Last night I decided to try bring his crate into our bedroom so he could be close to us in the hopes he would settle easier. This didn't work as he would cry and bark the whole time seemingly even more distressed then being left in the crate in tjw livingroom (ad he could see us and not get to us?). I then tried placing him in the pen area as it had kind of worked the previous night however he would cry and bark as soon as I left the pen. We caved in and let him sleep in our bed as we were both exhausted and have jobs and things we need to function for and were feeling very triggered and defeated from the last few nights wondering how all our trainung work had just gone out the windows.

I never wanted him sleeping in our bed. My partner and I are both light sleepers and find a dog in bed to be uncomfortable and a distraction. Now we feel its our only option for peace 🥲. We just want him to be able to sleep on his own in a safe space which is either the crate or the pen.

Has anyone had a similar experience and figured out how to make it work?

Other info: – We don't have a problem leaving him at home alone. We leave him in the living room for up to 5hrs and he doesn't bark or fret just naps on the floor or couch whilst we are gone. We don't believe he has separation anxiety. – He usually gets 2 walks a day. One at the dog park where hes gets to be off leash and one in the evening on leash around the neighbourhood (so he can do his final poo for the evening). – Our daily shechules change depending on what's happening and what we need to do so sometimes hes left alone at different parts of the day or taken out at different parts of the day so no strict routine. -His crate is big and has a cover over the top. We keep the front cover open so he can see out. Inside he has a nice soft lining for the bed and a blanket along with a toy of 2. – Hes not a super attached puppy and is fine if we leave him in a separate room most of the time. Only occasionally will he get upset if we go to the bathroom or bedroom and leave him behind.

I took in a newborn pit/pyrenees puppy due to bad housing situation but im clueless on what to get him and even where to start to take care of him properly

Our rescue was fostered with other dogs before we got her, and she loved being chased by them. She's 2 years old, about 35lbs, mostly staffie, but with long legs, and she loves to run FAST. She loves saying hi to other dogs and people, but in the past six months or so, she's been really overreacting when other dogs play rough with her. I don't think these dogs are trying to hurt her, but when their teeth come out at all, she goes after them like she's defending her life. That happened today, and no one got hurt, but she really scared the other dog.

Does anyone here have experience getting their dog (and themselves) socialized to recognize play versus real aggression?

Hey all,
I could really use some outside perspective because my brain is fried and I honestly can’t tell anymore what’s normal vs what we might be messing up.

We adopted a Border Collie mix puppy about a month ago. Her age isn’t 100% clear (we were told 4–5 months), but we’re guessing she’s around 5 months now, since she still has her two upper baby teeth. She’s super smart, curious, and playful baby.

Shortly after coming home, she was diagnosed with Giardia and just finished her first 5 days of meds, so we’re still very much dealing with that.

Our vet initially advised us to sleep on the couch with her to help her feel safe while slowly building positive crate associations. Later, again on vet advice, we stopped letting her on the couch and moved her bed next to it, which actually worked pretty well. She mostly prefers sleeping on the floor anyway.

During the day, she goes in and out of the crate on her own and sometimes naps in it. At night though, it’s different. She can mostly sleep in the crate as long as we’re in the same room, but the moment we try to move back to the bedroom, things get hard. The vet suggested slowly increasing distance, but she gets really unsettled when we’re not nearby. Nights are inconsistent, and she often gets a weird energy boost late at night.

What were already doing:

Longer walks in the morning, shorter ones in the evening

Training and mental games during the day

Puzzle feeders/l icking mats

Trying to keep evenings low-key

Between the Giardia (lots of night potty breaks) and her still adjusting to a new home, I’m struggling to tell what’s normal and what we might be doing wrong.

Main questions:

• Are we pushing the crate too fast?
• How do you build a routine that actually helps a puppy rest?
• Should we pause crate-at-night expectations until she’s fully healthy?
• Or stick with structure even if it’s messy right now?
• And specifically for Border Collies: what helped you manage the herding instinct in a healthy way without overstimulating them?

Not expecting perfect sleep, just trying to set her up for success and not accidentally create anxiety.

Would really love to hear from anyone who’s dealt with crate training sensitive pups or Border Collies in general. Thank you so much!

I have not gotten a German shepherds yet but I would like a German Shepherd and I have a couple questions first of all I would like to trade my dog to respond to a whistle and then a command so first I blow the whistle and then I give the command the dog will not respond to the command unless I blow the whistle first second I would like the dog to come to me if I blow the whistle and have no command to give third I want the dog to be able to play fetch so how can I achieve these things and also how loyal are these German Shepherd dogs and how do I make them super loyal (disclaimer I am a cat person but I want a dog that can protect me and play with me and walk with me) is it possible to train the dog to do any of these things thank you

My terrier is needing surgery on his face. He has lived his whole life chasing toys, playing hard, investigating the yard/city/beach etc.

That will need to be paused for a week while his eye heals and he wears a cone.

He is a terrible patient. Terrible. Not the kind of guy to let anyone handle him if he isn’t instigating it.

He is going to lose his favorite activities of fetch and sticking his head into bushes and his toy basket to rummage. This will last at least 5 days, depending on how things go w the surgery.

I am thinking of scent games I could set up in the house to help bridge this gap and would love suggestions. He’s 15 and he has seen a lot of the country but we’ve never done play with him that wasnt chase type so I’m not sure how that would work. Majority of his play is fetch/chase and super long walks in our area but I want to be able to give him something new and fun if he can’t do an activity that will readily bust his eye back open. (And can scent games work with a cone?)

I will definitely ask the clinic of course but wanted to come in with some ideas before the appointment next week.

Just want to make his weird quarantine engaging and seem less like a punishment for him.

I have plans to go hiking in the beginning of march, and i’m considering bringing my dog. My corgi will be 14 months old by then. It’s 4 miles but it’s also quite steep, there are a lot of ledges, and it can be kind of busy. The hikes he’s been on were mild in comparison.

He is also not a fan of other dogs so Ill also have to manage that. But I think if all goes well he’d be a very happy and tired dog. Have anyone else had luck hiking with their dog in similar conditions?

My mini aussie has always had a bit of anxiety and has always been a grazer but would eat on her own when she wanted. We drove from Dallas to Virginia (for the second time) last year and since then she refuses to eat unless I hold her bowl. The longest she went before I caved was 5 days without eating. I've tried different bowls, food, etc. Even actual meat and rice she won't eat without me.

The exception is ice cream cups and occasionally she'll eat from another dogs bowl. I have no idea what's causing this or how to fix it. Any help is appreciated

Hi! I'm currently looking for a mini dachshund, any dachshund breeder recommendations?