Category: Top Dog

We’ve had our golden retriever boy, Milo, for 3 months and he will turn 1 in December! The first 2 months with him were harder than I ever expected. Troubles training, reactivity, and the loss of freedom all played a part in the stress and anxiety of having a new dog. But now that everyone has settled in, we’re all doing great.

Which leads me to my next issue – how do we leave him for more than just a couple days? My husband and I have had to travel out of state a couple times since adopting Milo for things like weddings and the occasional family event and we opted to board him for 2-3 nights each time. We use the same facility he goes to daycare for 2-3 times per week so he knows the staff and many of the other dogs. He’s done fine and hasn’t had any issues. However, in February next year we’re planning a 12 day trip abroad.

Every time I’ve thought about this trip I can’t help but feel overwhelmed with anxiety about leaving Milo for that long. I’ve done lots of reading in this forum and the horror stories about people boarding their pets only make my anxiety worse. Rover isn’t much better.

So how do you do it? How do you go on vacation and leave behind your pup? What can we do so we’re all a bit more comfortable?

Hello guys, I need some advice on how to crate training my puppy so he finds it a safe place. We have a 15week old rottweiler and I have noticed that he doesn’t rest properly and avoids his crate (I didn’t force him to be there but rather make it his choice to be in there).. Whenever I am in bathroom, working from home or leaving him for shop runs, he sleeps somewhere near with always being in alert mode. When I get up, go somewhere he follows me. I have given him kong to his crate, however, when he is done with it, he just leaves the crate and goes to nap somewhere close to me. Also, when I leave him for shop runs, I leave a Kong in his crate, as soon as I leave he goes on to lay near the door (and sleep?, my camera doesn’t cover his exact laying spot)…

I need some advice on how to manage this

Does anyone have tips on potty training a puppy in an apartment building? I have a 12 week old lab mix. She’s been doing pretty decent with not going in the apartment. She maybe will pee on the carpet once or twice a day, usually when she’s super excited playing. I think she knows that the apartment is not for peeing/pooping (only pooped in here once on her first night). However I can’t seem to get her to understand that the hallway/elevator/lobby are also “home” and not considered an appropriate place to pee. I’ve been carrying her out of the apartment til we get outside to make sure she won’t have accidents, but at the rate she’s growing that won’t be possible in a month or two. I give her treats and praise when she goes outside, but if I try to get her to walk down the hall, to the elevator, and out the lobby, there’s a good chance she’ll think it’s an OK time to pop a squat. How have others been able to train their dog to understand this?

So my 7 month old puppy in service dog training OVER all is very well behaved. She knows all her obedience commands when she wants to listen, especially when we go to public areas I make sure she’s calm since a lot of distractions. Main questions is her learning heel to the point where I don’t need treats to guide her to my left side and also she won’t wander off sniffing something while in heel. And also when to introduce her to restaurants / food areas so she can get used to NOT thinking everything is her food. Another is her pooping off schedule and all a sudden there is poop in a public store / area only service dogs are allowed.

She knows the word heel and will do it if there are treats involved. She knows which side to go on, but sometimes she likes to go ahead of me (this is a huge no no). How do I get her to know she must stay on my left side when I say “heel”?

When should I introduce her towards restaurants so she can stay in a down position and see me eat and others eat and be calm? Finally how to deal with poop in public places?

Hello, my wife and I adopted a jindo mix breed from a shelter. He's 2 years old and in good health according to vet. He's been with us for 2 and a half weeks. He made some great progress in terms of walking outside and doing his business outside. He's very calm never barks and sleeps a ton. Especially the couch is his favorite place. As soon as we open the door to the living room he runs straight to his corner on it. My fear is he doesn't engage with us at all. He takes no treats and doesn't play with any of his toys. In the garden off leash he just stands around and does nothing beside following us but at a distance. He doesn't come to us for cuddles and I'm not sure but he doesn't seem to like getting pet much (but he also doesn't run away during it or such)

Does it just take time for him to get used still? To us and everything else? I'm worried he might never be much of love giving dog like some other races.

I am in high school and plan on getting a puppy this summer but i’ll have to go back to school and stay at school 7 hours a day. My dad works so no one will be at home I really want a dog but it would have to be a small dog that’s not a chihuahua I do plan on crate training the dog and putting ramps on everything to avoid the puppy jumping and climbing so it won’t have any back problems. I also plan on putting a camera in my room and my dad works 20 minutes away from the house and my neighbor has a key to the house, she is a trusted older lady I’ve known all my life so she won’t be a problem. I really want this breed specifically but I don’t want it to suffer with no one to care for it all day. I would still have to figure out how to give the dog the right portion of food while I’m away but I’m sure it wouldn’t be a problem. If leaving this breed alone for that long is a problem even with proper training, what dogs are recommended for my situation?

I have a four month old mixed-breed puppy (her vet said maybe hound dog and cattle dog). I love her so much – she's active and silly and gets along with all the people/dogs she's met so far.

The one thing I've really struggled with is helping her sit down and chill when nothing is going on. She gets good exercise (2-3 walks a day, playtime every day, and doggie daycare 1-3 times a week). Recently, she's started taking an hour or two long nap in her crate when I close the door and leave her alone which is an awesome improvement. Also, sometimes I can get her to sit and chill on a blanket near my desk for 15ish minutes if I throw a piece of kibble down there every few seconds (but she loses interest as soon as the food is gone, haha).

I was wondering if anyone has more tips for helping her to chill more. She's definitely tired – and hopefully not overly so since she's a pretty active breed – but has no off button!

Looking to get a new harness for my corgi. I’m deciding between the Ruffwear Front Range and the Flagline. They both seems great. Does anyone have experience with which fits the body shape better for everyday walks and occasional light hiking?

Much appreciated!