Category: Top Dog

I got my golden retriever puppy a few days ago, and I was excited for him and did tons of research before. My family has always had dogs of all ages literally since I was born. I always had responsibilities with them and loved every single one of the many throughout the years.

I had first thought about getting my own dog during college, but delayed for many reasons including making sure it was something I actually wanted and to make sure I had more time away from classes to give them attention. I did research on breeders, training, toys, tools; I tried to make sure I was as well prepared as physically and mentally possible before I committed to this. I found a reputable breeder, got prepared with all my toys and other helpful items, and then committed to getting him two months ago. Overall it had been a three year process of preparing for him.

He has since come home with me for the past three where im the only one. I feel absolutely horrible because everything he is doing is normal puppy stuff. He hasn't done anything wrong. He is very good and just needs lots of attention and enrichment.

I can't shake the feeling that ive made an absolutely massive mistake with him. He is doing well but I can't get myself to think anything but that im failing and failing him. I am hammering myself every day because how can I feel this way after doing so much preparing? I've done more looking into puppy blues and most everything is saying that this will pass, but it could take anywhere between days and months.

Coincidentally what wasn't part of my preparation with him is im starting a new job in a different city next week. I had a support system in my current location I could lean on to help take care of him when overwhelmed but that is going away. Im going to have to spend more time at work since im learning the new position. I had other things come up too that require my attention in the new city. This on the near horizon absolutely kills me too because it is a wrench in all the preparation I made for him.

I feel ashamed to even be thinking about removing or returning him, especially after only having him a couple days. And especially because he has basically been a saint. Im at a loss for what to do.

Any help or advice would be appreciated. I feel so lost. I've cried nonstop since last night and ive made myself sick over this.

I am flying with my dog for the first time. He is an 19 lbs chihuahua beagle mix. The airline dog carrier requirements are 17" L x 8" W x 13". My dog can turn around and lay down but it is a soft carrier so he is pushing against the sides to do so. He has JUST enough room to lay down, no extra space at all. I think he gets scared in tight spaces as he seemed a little uneasy. I have never had a dog previously or flown with a dog so I am just not sure if this is too small.

I'm currently deciding on my next breed, and the Pembroke Welsh Corgi is among the smaller options I'm looking at.

My family's Old English Sheepdog passed away a couple of months ago, so I do have some background with pastoral breeds, but this will be the first dog of my own.

I'm especially curious about how trainable Corgis are. From what I understand, they share the pastoral tendency to be both sensitive and wilful. I'm really interested in training, and though I don't need a dog that's exceptionally biddable, I do want one that actually has fun with it. I'm keen to explore dog sports (as long as the dog enjoys them) such as rally and scent-work. But ultimately, my dog will be a companion, not a competition dog.

Speaking of sensitivity, how sensitive do Corgis tend to be? Our last dog was quite reactive to certain sounds and stimuli, so it's not something I'm unfamiliar with. I've heard Corgis can be very vocal. What strategies do you use to let them be expressive while keeping it from becoming excessive?

Finally, I wanted to ask about energy levels. Despite their short legs, I'm assuming they're quite active because of their herding background. How much daily exercise is generally needed, and what outlets do you use to channel their energy?

Looking to get my dog a tractive tracker- he is 65lbs, 9 months and still growing. I’m debating the Dog 6 vs dog XL. Aside from the size and battery life, which one is recommended?

My dog hasn’t been very excited about dry food, so we switched him to FreshPet from Costco. He loved it at first, but now he’s losing interest. Do dogs get bored with their food?

Costco only seems to carry one FreshPet recipe, otherwise I’d try rotating in the same brand. Would rotating between FreshPet and something like Farmer’s Dog likely upset his stomach?

My main issue is that I have a second dog and if the pickier one doesn’t eat quickly, the other will scarf down his brother’s meals…so I’d like for them to eat there food right when I put it down.

Hi everyone, New here. I just wanted some advice on what I can do.

Recently adopted a cavoodle puppy. I have been having a lot and lot of anxiety and stress over it. I have had the questions “was this a good choice?…” “should I have done this?” “What if he gets separation anxiety…” “why can’t I get breathe….?”

I’ve just been going about my day as I usually would, we have done a few small minutes of crate training, he’s been doing okay with the toileting (has been going outside) but has had a few accident inside (which I know is normal) I’m worried as he’s not been eating, I have been trying to encourage him too (it’s his second day for us)
First sleep went okay and I am worried that tonight won’t be the same

Any advice

So today, I slipped on the stairs and fell pretty hard. My dog was right behind me and got scared when I yelped. I'm fine, just bruised, but ever since then he's been avoiding me. He keeps peeking at me from the doorway and won't sit next to me like he usually does.

I tried to pet him, but he just sniffed my arm and backed up again. I'm worried that he thinks it is his fault or that I am mad at him. It wasn't his fault at all.

Is this just guilt/confusion? Is there something I can do so he knows everything is okay?

My pup (10m old female mix) is a social butterfly, she loves playing with dogs and is always at the center of the puppy play session at dog school. We’ve only had her 2.5 months so there was no real training before us, and she was living at her foster with other dogs that she regularly got to play with. However this also translates to her lunging and pulling on walks when she sees another dog because she wants to say hi so badly. Her leash walking is otherwise not too bad, but as soon as a dog comes she throws herself forward. How do you guys deal with this? Is it just part of being a normal teenage dog? Will she just grow out of it at some point since as of now it’s not anxiety or aggression reactivity…just frustrated and excited. So far what we’ve been doing: We don’t let her say hi on walks the majority of the time, only if someone’s dog just comes up to us before we can politely ask for space. We tried having her sit and just observe the dog walking by (often she will just watch if we ask her to sit, however in the long run it has still not helped her be neutral). We try just continue walking but often she’ll pull and lunge. We try leave it, which works sometimes but if she’s too excited it doesn’t work, and I don’t want to reinforce ignoring that command.

Any tips you guys have are helpful!

First time poster here! I have recently adopted a puppy, she's gonna be around 4 months and 21 days old when we pick her up. And I wanted to ask if anyone has any tips and tricks for raising a puppy. Some extra info, she has survived parvo so extra tips n tricks or things I should keep in mind are always welcome!