Category: Top Dog

Hello All, I am honestly at such a loss right now and genuinely need some ideas. We got a new puppy from our local shelter a little over 2 weeks ago, and we are having an absolutely horrendous time with the crate. We tried working on it with him very slowly at first by using treats to try to get him more comfortable being in the crate. Our first attempt at having him in the crate for some time he screamed non-stop, there was no point of relaxation. I have tried restricting him to one room, but we also have quite the escape artist on our hands. Once he escapes, he will destroy everything in his path. I do not have a way in our apartment to restrict him without a gate, many of which he has proved he can clear. I recognize that this could very well be a form of crate anxiety. Unfortunately, due to our living situation, the crying is a very big issue. I am truly at a loss of ideas as I feel that we have exhausted everything I can think of thus far.

We are looking into dog daycare options for while we are at work, but am wondering if there is anything other ideas or things that have worked for others in similar situations that maybe I am not thinking of? Any suggestions are greatly appreciated.

It started snowing the day I got my puppy, and it’s been snowy ever since and rather cold.

I have a little whippet mix… she HATES the cold. Every time I take her out she starts to shake like a leaf. She’ll wear little jackets, but she still shakes. If I put her down, she’ll just stand on my feet to get out of the snow.

Thankfully she was litter box trained by her breeder, so she has another option. But I’m not sure how she’s going to get trained to go potty outside when she HATES it. Any advice??

Does your dog turn his head when he hears an odd noise? Does your dog bury their food with your pants? This is the thread to ask why.

Please keep this thread to non-medical issues only.

I have a 5 year old poodle mix who has never been particularly fond of toys apart from holding them. She will chase a couple times and carry them outside, but after 1-3 minutes (if not two throws) of throwing or tugging she completely loses interest and tries to roughhouse. Roughhousing seems to be the only type of play she wants to do, and I cannot keep up with that. She gets overexcited and starts biting way too hard and doesn’t listen, so I stop play any time she starts it. The issue is she also doesn’t play with any of her toys. She has stuffies, balls, a rope, a frisbee (which is the ONLY toy she actually kind of likes but I can’t find it right now). I feel like I’m failing her by not being able to play with her. She just doesn’t look interested, looks at me like I’m dumb when I try to grab toys, and then gets sad when I don’t allow her to jump and bite me. She wants to play but just… doesn’t. I have been working on this by ending play every time she does it, but we have just barely played at all now. She won’t stop doing it and hates her toys and I don’t know what to do. I feel like a horrible owner because she wants to play, I just can’t be bitten and jumped at every day.

What do you guys think of Buddy Armor products? I’ve gotten mixed reviews about them and their products

my dog had gotten uterus removal surgery back in 2025 february because of pyometra. 10 months later, my dog who generally got into heat during December/January has started humping her bed again even though she is not bleeding. please explain if this is normal.

I’m really considering getting a dog soon, but I don’t nt know if I should buy from a breeder or adopting from a shelter. I’d love to hear your experiences and advice. What helped you decide?

We brought our 12 week old Sheepadoodle on a post dinner walk around the block last night. It was going great. He had just started to enjoy his walks this week and was confident and sniffing around. Then on a fairly quiet street, we encountered a man walking his dog, who was a good bit away. His dog got excited, started barking really loud and was uncontrollable. Our puppy was startled and started sprinting. The man brought his dog out onto the street, away from the sidewalk. We passed each other with parked cars in between. We tried to offer high value treats to our pup but he wasn't interested at all, even a good few minutes after the incident. He was fine once we were back home, he was playing for a bit and then went to bed.

This morning when I brought him out for a potty break, he wanted nothing to do with being outside and wanted to head back in. I brought him across the street but his eyes were glued to a man walking towards us. A few hours later I brought him out again and he seemed pretty anxious, afraid and wanted to immediately head back inside the apartment building.

I'm worried and wondering if this would have a lasting impact on him? How do we help him gain his confidence back? Thinking of going back to keeping walks short and just sitting outside the apartment building and let him observe.

So this isn’t my first doggy but this is my first Aussie. His name is Cosmos. He’s about three months old and has been honestly quieter than most puppies and pretty decent at house training so far. I’ve been socializing him a ton and he’s already great in the car now. I took him to my boyfriends and he did great. He hardly had any accidents and didn’t cry when we put him in the crate for naps and night time. We stayed there for a week, but now that I’m back home he’s crying being put in the crate and when I leave for only a couple seconds he’s screaming. I know he’s probably confused but how can I alleviate his anxiety. We are also moving again in about two weeks. (I know it’s not good timing but I was also surprised with this bundle of fluff). Any advice is greatly appreciated. EDIT: he’s also peeing everywhere 🙁 I have another small dog (mini golden doodle) and I think it must be a territorial thing? I take him out every 30-min -hour and always after eating, and he’ll still pee inside. I use an enzyme cleaner to get rid of marking smells but I’m trying to figure out how to get him to stop. Also he’s difficult with letting other people take him out, he will only really go with me. I feel like he was doing so well and now I’m failing 🫩

I have a 4 month old puppy. Whenever I sit on the floor with her, she always crawls right into my lap and lays down for cuddles and pets. But I notice that she’ll give me the “whale eye” sometimes. I originally thought this was just her staring at me and being too lazy to move her head to look straight at me, but I was reading online that when dogs look to the side without moving their head like that, it’s always a sign of distress/anxiety. Could that be the case here? Or is she just a lazy girl