Category: Top Dog

My puppy is finally fully vaccinated and can now go outside in the yard to pee/poop. He used to go out back to use the bathroom but after a couple of scares in our backyard, I started keeping him indoors at all times. He also picked up a crazy water drinking habit during this time and started peeing every 15-20 min and destroying the carpets upstairs. (He’s fine) My family and the vet essentially came to the conclusion to keep him in a belly band for the a couple of weeks to save our sanity and the floors.

Well, this has been great but now that he can go outside I’d really love to ditch the diapers. However, I have to leave him at home for a couple of hours at a time between 9-3ish while I’m working and I’m terrified he’s going to destroy the carpets again because he pees so so often!!! We have sectioned off the main living room upstairs with a camera where he stays while alone and this area is carpeted. He definitely pees a lot while I’m gone because his diaper is full when I get back home but I can’t physically see him peeing on the camera. I don’t want to crate him when I leave because he pees in his crate anyways and he will settle by himself outside of the crate so I’d like it to stay that way. Is there any solution here? My family has made it clear they want to keep the diapers on when he’s unsupervised but doesn’t this just confuse him and avoids him ever having to actually hold it? They mentioned using pee pads upstairs but I’m opposed to doing that because I really want to teach him to go outdoors.

I’m on holiday break from work in two weeks, should I keep diapers on until then when he can be monitored 24/7 and I can take him out every 30 minutes? I’m just not sure how to approach potty training from here and how to properly go back to square one when I can’t commit to being with him 24/7 like I was at the beginning. He is a 17 week old toy poodle for reference.

For context I work at a vet clinic, and there is a boarding area in a back we no longer use.

My puppy is 10 weeks old at the moment. She is welcome to come to work with me, as long as she’s not super disrupting. Im able to bring her out for a break about once an hour. I decked her kennel out like it was a playpen at home, lots of toys, chewies, food in puzzle toys, etc.

The first shift, she whined for a bit at first, but quickly settled down. This second time, she could not seem to settle and was whining and barking the whole shift. I’m worried I won’t be allowed to keep bringing her if she keeps it up.

Any tips for helping her calm down, kenneling, etc? I still need to go to go to work, and the alternative is her being in a playpen at home which is obviously less than optimal. She also has been climbing out of her playpen, so I’m nervous about leaving her alone for too long now.

Hey everyone!
Looking for some reassurance or experiences from other puppy owners.

I’ve had my puppy for almost two weeks now. She’s an 11-week-old mini schnauzer, and during the day she settles really easily in her crate. She naps every hour or so in the living room and usually falls asleep pretty quickly without making any noise.

At night she sleeps through the whole night, which is great. The only thing I’ve noticed is that when I first put her in the crate at bedtime, she does some quiet little whimpers for about 15–20 minutes. Nothing loud or distressed. She just looks around a bit, shifts positions, makes a few soft noises, and then eventually falls asleep. Once I go to bed, she’s totally quiet.

I use the same crate for day and night, just move it from the living room to my bedroom.

Is this normal “settling in” behavior?
Did your puppies also whimper a little at night even though they nap easily during the day?

Would love to hear your experiences! I just don't want her to be upset with me lol.

Hi! I’m flying JFK → Panama → Montevideo roundtrip with my Cavapoo (she’s ~12 lbs) on Copa. I’ve never flown internationally or domestically with my dog before and would love some advice.

• My layover is in Panama and only about 1.5 hours. How do people handle dogs not having indoor relief areas during layovers? During security, do I need to take her out of the carrier, or stay with her the whole time? -for my carrier, I’m undecided between Sherpa Medium and Large. The Large would give her more room, but it’s slightly bigger than Copa’s under-seat dimensions. I’m not sure how strict they are. Any advice or experiences? -Any tips or anything that made international flights with a dog smoother on Copa?

Thanks in advance for any advice!

I noticed that my dog only growls during tug of war when I ruffle his fur with the other hand. He is usually not very vocal during play so I’m not sure if the vocalization is just because it makes him more excited, maybe like how a stick is used in bite sports, or if he’s giving me a warning. He doesn’t back off or anything and doesn’t mind being touched in any other situation, even when he’s chewing on something.

Our 12 week old puppy is still peeing and pooping in the house and I’m at a loss of what to do. This is our third puppy and has been by far the most difficult to potty train. He is incredibly food driven and we reward him every time he goes outside and watch him constantly inside and will catch him/scold him if he starts going inside. He knows he’s supposed to go to the back door to go outside. But it’s like some times he just doesn’t care or is too lazy and just goes inside? And if he does go to the back door he will not hold his pee or poop at all. If we don’t open it within 2 or 3 minutes he will just go to the bathroom right there even if he has peed like 10 minute prior. Sometimes I think he’s just bored and wants to go out and play but if we don’t let him immediately he goes inside in retaliation.

Also – he drinks SOOOOO much water. Today he finished two large bowls of water within 5 hours. Our other dogs never drank this much – they will drink MAYBE a whole bowl a day. My husband thinks we might need to take him to the vet to see if something is wrong? But it’s both pee and poop so I don’t think it’s a urinary issue.

What are we doing wrong?? Please help! I don’t know what else to do

Edit: he doesn’t pee or poop in his crate. We crate him all night ( ~9 hours) so I know he CAN hold it – he just chooses not to.

Hello! I wanted to post this if it helps anyone who is in my same position (please delete this mods if it’s not allowed).

I’m Cat and 4 years ago I posted here as I rehomed my chihuahua puppy due mainly to mental health issues.

It’s been 4 years and now I have a 5 month poodle toy puppy named Evie. At first I had so much guilt and thought I could never have a dog, and that I failed by rehoming my chihuahua.

Well he’s doing amazing in his home (he has other chihuahua siblings, and is very well behaved!) and after a lot of work, I’m doing really great!

I felt shame that I wanted to try having a puppy again, and even after I had decided I struggled telling anyone because I was embarrassed. I even also had puppy blues when I got Evie as a tragedy hit around the same time.

I just wanted to encourage anyone who is having puppy blues to be compassionate and kind to yourself. I also wanted to thank this sub and the people who supported me in my last post- thank you very much!

Hi! My 3 year old shepsky accidentally ripped my finger nail off when we were playing (wasn’t his fault at all, it got stuck on his collar). I tried to not make a lot of noise but I also had to get both of us inside the house asap so I can put a bandage on. At first I thought he was playing but then he started following me inside.

Since then he’s been watching me from afar, and not getting close to me. I’m in a lot of pain so I don’t know if they can sense that, but he’s been distant all day. I tried to show him affection but he only licked my hurt finger (it has gauze on it dw). I’m worried he’d scared of me now or is mad or I don’t even know. What should I do? Is there something I can do so he knows I’m not mad?

Ik this might be silly but I feel so bad, it wasn’t his fault.