Category: Top Dog

Hi all! I have a 4 month old English lab/boxer mix. She’s awesome and LOVES other dogs and people, but her play style with dogs can be a little much. Everyone chalks it up to puppy behavior, but I worry as she gets bigger she’s really going to piss another dog off. She’s super nippy (which may just be a symptom of teething) and likes to jump onto other dogs. Older dogs have corrected her before, but she’ll back off for only a second and then start doing the same thing again. I try to only let her play with other dogs who also like that kind of roughhousing, but I also want to be able to safely take her to a dog park without her irritating another dog and it potentially getting ugly. Anyone have any tips for this? Is this something she’ll grow out of as she matures?

She eats our hands, our socks, our cabinets, the glass on the sliding glass door. At least she's cute for a 20 pound shark with a bottomless appetite. And I know this is just the beginning because she's only 11 weeks and isn't at peak teething.

Just commiserating due to being tired.

We’ve had or cats 6 years and added a puppy 6 months ago. Everything was fine at first as he was tiny however now he’s a bit bigger than them. He’s constantly barking at them whenever they come out to join us. It’s gotten so bad the girl cat is always hiding or running. The boy cat is coming out but will jump away. I’m feeling very frustrated and helpless. I need for them to get along.

FYI it did get worse once he was neutered, especially for the girl cat as she never accepted or seemed to recognize him after. I need peace I my house again. And for my cats to feel comfortable again. Rehousing dog is not an option he’s family, but something needs to give. How’d you get your dogs to not pray drive ? Cats were here first so not anything new to him.

I have a 7 week old male staffy x kelpie (8 weeks on Monday). I also have a 8 year old staffy female who is very timid and pretty much sleeps allllll day. My puppy however has earned the nickname piranha because he’s constantly trying to bite everything and will nip at your feet ect. I’ve read here that they get worse when they don’t get enough sleep and I’ve definitely learnt that when it gets bad I need to enforce a nap which he usually goes straight down when I do. Anyway the reason I’m posting is because when he plays with my adult dog he is constantly nipping at her face which she’s pretty good at dodging it but sometimes he does make contact for a couple of seconds and then lets go. As someone who has had their fingers in that mouth I know it hurts but she is so timid that she won’t even react so I don’t know if it’s hurting her. I got a video of it to show but just realised I can’t post media here. I doubt she will ever correct him because she just takes what she gets and looks unbothered all the time. Is this something I should stop him from doing or is it just playing? Part of me thinks if it’s hurting her or if he goes too far she will make it known but I also know how calm of a dog she is.

Our guy turns 7 months next week, and things have gotten a LOT better, but we still have challenges.

Pros:

• MUCH less excitable/quick to get wired and gremlin-y since he was fixed three weeks ago
• Still very cuddly and loving
• Getting better on walks, but still very curious about everything (in mostly good ways)
• still loves meeting people and being with us and following us around

Cons:

• RESOURCE-protective: we're working on trying to get him to leave things for us to get so he doesn't growl or snap at us (we've had a fair bit of growling, a couple of snaps and unfortunately one bite)
• loves to try and get looks on the counter to see what he's missing
• will run away if he gets something he thinks we'll want to take (and we usually will want to get it away from him because it's not good for him)

Also working on crate training since my new job has him being at home alone for a few hours between when I leave and when my wife gets home. How's it going? Eh.

Hello everyone! I just got my first puppy, Winston. He is a golden retriever and staffy mix and he is currently 5 months! Everything is going well so far except for some minor 'aggressions'. I've had him for 3 and half months now and just have some questions and would like some perspectives as this is my first pup.

He is a sweet guy however he resources guards his food bowl and bully sticks. He's fine if we're right next to him but the moment he's touched, he freezes and growls a bit. I've taught him trade, and that's been going good. We only trade if we need to fix bowl or bully stick is too small.

We don't plan on petting him everytime he eats or chews on his bully sticks, just discovered this resource guaridng when we pet him once. I'm just wondering if there's anything I should be doing aside from trading as I heard that the puppy years they need to be trained properly so they don't grow up to be brats.

Aside from trading, we've also been hand feeding him for three weeks now and he wags his tail and is very obedient and patient while being hand fed. Should we continue this?

Should we also stop giving bully sticks for now?

Don't wanna mess up my first dog so all perspectives welcome. We also plan on getting a trainer soon!

Hi there, I will be welcoming our first puppy tomorrow(Toy Poodle).

Would anyone here share information on what all should we do before or during the first week of having our pup with us and what all should we totally avoid doing during the first week?

does anyone else’s dog take their bone to your bed and covers it with your blankets? she likes to hide it right next to my legs lol. she’s done it with my pant legs before too (while my pants were on! 💀)

Hey! Does anyone know where I can buy Ruffland Kennels in person around the St. Louis area? I would love to get one for my German Shepherd for the car, and would prefer to buy it in person. Thanks for any help!!

Me and my partner like to joke how our cats have come to us through the weirdest, most unexpected, but most perfect channels aka the mysterious Cat Distribution System. We've been talking about getting a dog to add to our love nest yet find we want different breeds (me: chihuahua, him: pittie or rottie). I've never owned a dog before but have "received" plenty of cats in my life, so I wanted to know if a Dog Distribution System exists like it does for cats?