Category: Top Dog

Preface this by saying a perfect 14-week old puppy 'fell into our lap' 9 weeks before we were planning on coming home with a puppy. Had I planned for this, I would have cleared the schedule for a few days. That said, the first night she was great- slept through the night and signaled when she needed to go out the next day. However, we had church Sunday night and were scheduled to serve. And nearby friends who would be happy to come and play with her had theater tickets.

So the very first time this puppy was alone, she was in her crate for two hours. I would have preferred to work her way up to longer crate sessions.

Now she cries with the crate. I lain down beside her until she fell asleep last night. I think she associates it with abandonment.

We Homeschool, and my husband works from home most days, so throughout the week there will only be a handful of times when she needs to go in her crate during the day (for usually 45minutes to 2hrs max).

How do I get her to like her crate again?

I have two dogs; one a mostly lab 5 year old I’ve had since he was 8 weeks old, the other a rescue Pyrenees who’s almost 2 I’ve had since about 1. My 5 year old is triggered by the phrase “Good Luck!” (Especially when done with a thumbs up) to bark. I have no idea why, my wife and I found this out randomly one night but I was wondering if anyone could help me figure out why.

Some other background – 2 year old is not triggered by this but hardly speaks in general (only if startled). He barks off command sometimes, but if asked he responds to only 4 phrases (speak, boof, woof, and bark). He responds to good luck even if it’s not directed at him. Off command it’s typically reacting to something he’s overly excited about. Hes very smart and initiative and is well behaved for the most part as well.

Any insight id love to try to crack the code to his brain lol

Wondering if there's a remote controlled ball that dogs would need to chase? All I'm finding is toys that bounce or roll a bit or the toy that fires the ball out for fetch which my dogs don't like to play

Prefacing this with I know that puppies do bite, but the part I’m struggling with is knowing if I’m doing the right thing!

We’ve tried a lot of different methods to try and curb the biting, saying no, saying ouch, saying nothing, but putting him in a time out in another room or a pen is the only thing that seems to stop it. But struggling to know the right path, particularly when he seems to be going for us over all else, even when we have toys or out in the garden.

We recently had a session with a local trainer who gave us a house line and said to try and hold him away if he gets like it, to prevent rather than correct as he’s only 12 weeks, but worried about him pulling on his neck as even while trying to hold him at an arms length, he still pulls towards us, sometimes snarling, trying to bite feet, trouser legs, and hands if we’re sat down.

Any advice would be greatly appreciated, we want to be consistent with our approach, and we will keep with the line if it’s the right path, but interested in what people who’ve had this have done!

So on Friday, I had a pretty bad scare involving my 1-year-old dog, Nyx. Xylitol poisoning. She ate an entire bottle of Excel Tropical Refreshers gum.

We found out within an hour of it happening, raced off to the vet and after that, to the emergency vet two hours away.

She stayed there until Sunday evening, when we picked her up.

Now I'm dealing with PTSD from the entire ordeal; I'm unfortunately intimately familiar with PTSD (having suffered it from single traumatic events before, while also having CPTSD regarding long-term trauma), so I know that that's what this is.

It hasn't even been 24 hours since she was released to us. She's on some medications, and is otherwise doing well. Almost her old self (one of the meds has sedative properties, so she's a lot less energetic than usual).

Now that the initial relief of her being home has settled, I find myself returning to that terrible, gut-twisting anxiety I had first with the discovery of the toxicosis, and then with her absence from our home.

I know I can't expect myself to shake it off right away, but I do need to be able to function when I go back to work tomorrow. It's as though I'm afraid to leave her, or have her leave my sight for a second.

Has anyone else gone through this? How did you work through the fear and get back to normal (or close to it)?

Hi everyone! My 7 year old black lab has most likely torn his second MCL. Does anyone have any stroller or wagon suggestions that worked well for your dog? I am trying to lessen the burden of getting him outside to potty, as it was the toughest part after his first MCL op. I’m new to the group, so please let me know if this needs to be posted elsewhere. Thank you!