Category: Top Dog

Hey folks, getting a golden retriever puppy soon and am looking at buying a playpen. Do you have any recommendations on which one? I’ve heard 36 inch, but would love advice!

Hi all! This is my first time with a puppy and we are crate training. He’s been able to put himself to sleep in the crate when I am near and back to sleep after potty breaks in the night. He will play independently in pen when I am near but if I even move a little he worries and starts to whine. I want to make sure I don’t give him separation anxiety as I work from home and will likely be with him a lot. He’s only 8 weeks right now and I know he’s still adjusting. I’m just insure how much of my day needs to be training and how much I can focus on my work. When to ignore the whining and when to comfort him. Thanks! I’m sure I will be posting again as I embark on this puppy journey

EDIT: I’ve been home with him for a week, advice on how to make hour long absences okay for him when he’s this little? Just for regular errands/gym

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My dog doesn't rip up or destroy toys, he likes to cuddle with them. He doesn't like small toys, he prefers the bigger ones, even uses them as a pillow. So i've been getting him larger plush toys from petsmart and petco but they don't have many of the huge ones. I'm looking for the largest size plush toys, so if you know of where to get XXL plush toys please let me know. They can be any shape, just have to be plush and huge.

Hi everyone, I’m looking for help with my 2-year-old dog, JD. He’s always been a brilliant dog and very bonded to me, but over the past few months he’s become increasingly anxious at home.

He’s constantly on alert, whale eyes, pacing, scanning the room, and rarely settling to relax. There’s been some routine change recently, and ever since then he just seems unable to switch his brain off.

I really want to help him feel safe and calm again. I’d love advice on:

How to rebuild a relaxed, secure bond

Decompression exercises or calming routines

Training that helps reduce hyper-vigilance

Whether working with a behaviourist would be beneficial

What has helped your anxious dog feel safe again

JD is a wonderful dog, and I’m committed to helping him get back to a happier, more settled state. Any guidance or experience would mean a lot. Thank you!

>no legal issues here – JD has never been harmed or mistreated. Im only looking for advice on behaviour and trying tips<

8yo doodle girl. I'm quite sure she used to know the difference between these two commands/places as she's very smart but as I'm trying to get her to distinguish now, it seems like she's only going by the tone of voice I'm using to say each one (that's how she was trained, not on purpose, by the person who taught her).

So at this point, if I say either phrase neutrally, she just thinks "okay he wants me in one of these places, I'm just gonna run there immediately" without distinguishing one from the other. Even if I try using the specific tone of voice, sometimes she gets it (maybe by accident) and other times she just goes to either one.

She DOES get it immediately when I point towards either place and say the command, but then she's really just following my gesture and not my voice, so I'd like to be able to just say it and have her go to the right spot. I've tried using a clicker and high value treats + hand gestures simultaneously with the voice command to show her exactly what means what. When she matches the phrase to the place, she gets the click and treat, when she doesn't, she doesn't get the treat etc. Still doesn't seem to be sticking.

Maybe relevant background, maybe not: the person who taught her most of these commands was her former companion and my ex, who passed away recently. She (my dog) but also I went through a ton of trauma in the aftermath that I don't really want to get into but suffice to say is she survived and I am thankful.

I'm not sure if the confusion is coming from something to do with her dad passing away or the aftermath of it.

Anyway, any step by step suggestions on how to train her how to distinguish between these two beyond what I've already tried?

Thanks

Hi folks. I just got done trying to get my dog to do her business after whining to go out about 45 minutes ago. She peed, started to do her poop dance, then changed her mind. I tried getting her excited to go as someone suggested on another thread (basically just doing an excited voice, moving around a bit). We were out in the cold and wind for most of that 45 minutes and were unsuccessful. I know she needs to poop but she just won't. I'll give as many details as might be relevant.

She's done this since she was a puppy. At our old apartment, dogs were allowed to go in the grass so we'd walk her around and she'd always pick this one bush to use. I asked my vet about that and she said sometimes dogs are all anxious around bathroom habits and it's okay. Fair enough. But often we would take her out and she wouldn't do anything. Since we've moved, it's a different place but same game. This apartment has a dog run. No other dog in the complex takes as long as she does to do their business.

I know she does have to go because she runs along the fence, does a dance, and poops in the corner. The problem is that she'll get all queued up, do her dance, and then stop. Sometimes it's to stare into space, sometimes she comes running back to me there's no rhyme or reason.

Walking does help and she will often poop after a walk. Idk how she knows that she's not supposed to go in the grass here but we didn't even have to train her on that. We'll walk her around the neighborhood, come back, and she goes. It's just not practical for me to walk her every time she needs to go out. Sometimes I am working from home and need to get back to work, sometimes, like now, it's the middle of the night and it's just not safe to be walking her dog. When she does do her business, she gets a treat.

I don't expect her to poop and pee every time she goes out, I know that's both unreasonable and probably an indication of a problem. I'm only concerned about when she shows signs that she needs to, it's been several hours since she last pooped, and she chickens out. I also don't expect an exact routine. I'm not using the restroom at the same time every day so why would I expect her to? When she does go consistently, she'll usually go out around 4 times a day. Twice to pee, twice to do both, but we'll take her out more or less based on her indications. We do let her cue us that she needs to go out and typically she'll whine when we get up, mid day, mid afternoon, before bed, and sometimes at night. If we take her out when she doesn't ask, I don't get upset at her if she doesn't do anything, though my husband kind of does. He doesn't punish her, just rants about it.

Just to reiterate my concern: what can I do when she indicates she needs to poop but stops and refuses to go?

9 week old Hungarian vizsla will sleep when we do some quiet crate training with little to no protest – door closed

It sleeps through the whole night in there too with the door closed however throughout the day when the door is left open he will not go inside his crate. We put high reward treats in but he will find them and quickly run out.

Toys he will carry out of the crate and straight onto the couch. Never actually settling in there unless forced to with the crate door closed.

Is this normal or is there anything I should be doing to help this.

He’s an absolute nightmare when he is tired and will actively ignore everyone and bite everyone regardless of distractions, treats or toys.

Thanks