Category: Top Dog

October 10 we got a puppy for free from a friend of ours that they were going to take to the shelter. She is 14 weeks now and a border collie/ jack Russel mix from what my friend said. Now this girl from the beginning has been an absolute energy bomb. If she’s awake she is going nuts. Walks, exercises, toys, food puzzles etc have not been able to keep her occupied or energy down at all. She terrorizes my cats. My poor 6 year old can’t even walk by her, put on his shoes, throw on a jacket, or really just be near her without her jumping and biting at him. We have two older dogs as well, a 10 year old pit mix who absolutely loves the puppy and a 14 year old hound mix who absolutely hates the puppy.

A week after bringing her home I find out I’m pregnant. A puppy and pregnancy and then a newborn sounded like an absolute nightmare, but I took her in and now I had a responsibility to her so I have kept trying. Unfortunately the morning sickness hit me like a ton of bricks. I’ve been in bed for weeks now. Her potty training? Halted. Any training really? Halted. I still play with her when I can but it’s obviously not in a way she needs. She’s being cared for, but she’s not thriving, and it sucks. I keep telling myself it’s only temporary, but I feel terrible for her. I do wanna add that my fiance definitely helps me when he can, but he works 12 hour shifts on a weird schedule of days and nights… so unfortunately I am stuck handling everything alone a majority of the time.

Yesterday I had an appointment with my behavioral health counselor (kinda like a therapist but not really. I start actually talk therapy next Monday). She asked me how things have been going and I laid it all out for her. She told me that it may be in both the puppy’s and my interest if we find her a new home. I told her i would hate to do that because I saved her from a shelter, I wanted to be her forever home, and the guilt would eat me alive. She asked me if I would’ve known I was pregnant before getting her would I have still brought her in and I answered honestly that I wouldn’t have. I would’ve known it was too much for me to handle and wouldn’t be fair to the dog. She told me that plans change sometimes, circumstances change sometimes, and ultimately I have to put myself and my family first. She also said that her job is treating my mental health, and she could see the downward trend since bringing her home.

I’m in a group chat with my siblings and their significant others and I brought it up to them. The gist of what was said was pretty much “you do have a lot going on right now, but we can get it from both perspectives. If you decide to rehome we can ask around family and friends to try to keep her out of the shelter. Whatever you decide though, we’ll support you”. My sister in law also recommended that I don’t make any decisions yet and maybe get a second opinion from my therapist once I start seeing her…. Which I agreed with.

Ultimately I figured I’d come to Reddit too and ask the dog communities. I know in the dog world rehoming is seen as one of the worst things you can do…. Hell I’ve even thought that way my entire life myself. Never ever ever did I think there’d come a day where i rehome a pup, But I’ve reached a point where I don’t know what the most responsible decision is, but I do know I want whatever is best for my puppy and this has been eating at me constantly.

My lovely rescue puppy is 13 months old according to the adoption paperwork. He is 100% Bichon Frise according to DNA. Searching the google machine, all of his teeth should have been in many months ago. He has a little overbite (which is adorable). He is still getting a little bottom front tooth – very crowded in there – and at least 2 other less crowded teeth.

He was 11 lbs when we adopted him – in June and was said to be 7 months. He is now 19 lbs and we believe 13 months old.

Anyone else?

Hi! So I adopted a puppy about 1.5 weeks ago. He’s 4 months old and some sort of hound/shepherd mix.

He’s so smart, has a great temperament and I really believe he’s going to be an awesome dog.

My issue is he passes out wherever he is at 8pm every night, I usually take him out around 11pm to do a final potty break and then he always wakes up between 3am and 4am ready to go. I do the boring potty break and carry him outside make sure he pees and then immediately put him back in his crate but he wakes up every 45 mins until finally around 5:30 I can’t take it anymore and just let him out.

He usually takes about 4 to 5 hour long naps during the day. We do basic training for puppies like sit and find it. He does puzzle games for his breakfast and dinner. We do walks around the backyard multiple times a day. He even goes on adventures to the pet store sometimes during the day. We also play throughout the day like fetch and tug. I would think he’s getting enough mental and physical stimulation.

I feed him around 5:00pm everyday and then again when I finally get sick of being woken up which is usually 5:30am.

I don’t necessarily want him having accidents in his crate but I just don’t know how to get him to sleep through the night. Even if it could just be a few nights a week that would be great.

Any kind advice is greatly welcomed and appreciated. Thanks! 🙂

I have a lab who is 18m and 2 sons 8 and 5. The dog is primarily my husbands and he does all the feeding and walking. He is generally a lovely dog at home with family and those he knows however he is anxious in nature and takes a while with new people. The vet said that because he is so anxious they wouldnt recommend getting him neutered at this time.

He has always been interested in the smell of my youngest son, literally follows him about smelling his bottom. We have corrected this behaviour and doubled down on hygiene with my son to stop it being so appealing. However he now seeks out my sons underwear and trousers and licks and chews the crotch. He never does it when he is supervised but when he is alone (only for 2 x 45 minute slots most days) he will go throughout the washing basket and take out my youngests underwear. We do crate but starting to transition out of this at night.

Anyone have any suggestions? I can remove the items from his reach but there will be some that slip through the net in a busy house but im more worried about the behaviour and that im missing some warning sign that might escalate. He is generally a dog that prefers adults and will sit with us over the kids but is very happy in the kids presence and is gentle to them.

Hi everyone. I’ve recently become concerned that a lot of the physical interactions I’ve had with our dog (we rescued him from an out of control breeding situation in a hoarder’s house 6 months ago) have been against his wishes. I recently stumbled across a bunch of videos on Instagram from trainer pages talking about body language and I don’t want to blindly believe them. We have been working with a trainer/behaviorist and we know our boy has separation anxiety that we’ve been working on for months now.

He very frequently will be sleeping somewhere and when we approach he will just lift one leg and not really lift his head to look at us, which is confusing because the guidance I’m seeing would indicate that his single leg lift is just appeasement, but not lifting his head means he’s comfortable. His body is usually relaxed, but he often yawns when I interact with him too and I thought I was able to tell the difference between a regular yawn and a stress yawn, but some of these videos show side by side comparisons and I can’t see a difference.

I’ve attached a couple videos that feel to me like they’re showing mixed signals and I’m terrified that I’m messing things up for him or making his life stressful and bothering him when I shouldn’t. I just want him to have the best life with us and be well behaved after the terrible year and a half he had when he was born. Can you help me understand how to read him? Or have any authoritative resources that make this extremely clear?

Videos: https://imgur.com/a/ulj0DSb

F 1.5 year old Sheppard mixed breed. Got her from a shelter at around 2-3 months old. Potty training is still ongoing but does anyone know how to fully correct going inside? If she is not let out exactly when she wants or on routine she will go wherever she pleases. Today it was the bed. I’ve been doing the treats everytime she goes out and we have bells but how do I make it click in her head that going inside is an absolute no and not an option? She has higher gravity in her urine and is on supplements to help but I just want her to thrive and not be a pee monster inside

Our almost 6 month male Border Terrier is showing some stressed behaviour when he’s home with just my other half. He refuses to eat when I’m not there, including treats, and likes to just sit/lie at the door and wait for me to come back. He’s crate trained and will go into his crate for some of the time, but is reluctant to do anything my other half asks of him, including to go outside to potty. It’s like he becomes afraid of even basic things that he’s used to. It’s hard for me to understand as I don’t see most of this behaviour as it tends to happen when I’m out of the house. We’ve had him since 8 weeks old and he’s always had the same routines of me being out of the house some days, and my other half out on other days- he’s fine when he’s just with me though. Is this just his next fear period and he’s likely to grow out of it, or should we be concerned?

Hi everyone. I’m currently looking for a Giant Schnauzer. I have done research on the breed for over two years now and I’m finally ready. What breeders would you recommend and how much did you purchase your GS for? Before anyone says “price isn’t important” or anything along those lines I will say I know I won’t be spending $500 on a GS but I also don’t want to be blindsided with a 10k price tag I’d rather not make conversation and waste our time with a breeder that high. I’m looking to spend anywhere between 3k-6k for the right dog. Must be health tested! Embark, OFA, vet checked etc.