Category: Top Dog

List em lets see!!

Well, we have an 8 week old German Shepherd and I'm just wondering what your thoughts on crate training are? We've had numerous Shepherds and none of them were crate trained and were awesome dogs. He slept in his crate last night, and I believe I was up 3 or 4 times. I'm not sure whether he has to go outside or just unhappy about the crate. He also slept a lot yesterday, so I thought he might just be awake. He wanted up at 4:30 am and was ready to go. I thought he might be hungry as well, as he basically snacked all day. Any suggestions? I'm old school and wondering if it's like the dilemma of breast feeding,, people making you feel bad if you choose not to.

My chihuahua puppy is 3 months old and he won't stop nipping. He has a trainer and we do all the tricks but honestly? I think we're just fooling ourselves into thinking it makes any difference lol because he won't stop biting us.

It's clearly playful but still, it's driving me kind of mad because we can't play with him or pet him or grab him without getting nipped and bitten the whole time (and redirecting only works for like, a second lol).

I know it's normal puppy things but while in the thick of it, I keep worrying that he's a biter and won't outgrow this.

2 weeks ago we got an 11,5mo poodle that just felt at home right away, overall a really sweet boy, we also have a 2,5yo maine coone that is often afraid of anything or anyone new. The first week our animals were separated almost all of the time. When we started to introduce them to each other a week ago they behaved mostly fine, pretty much ignored each other and occasionally tried to sniff each other. Now they can be in the same room no worries, they may both lay on the floor in relaxed positions, can lay or sleep on the same bed, just not together. The only issue we had is when our dog is chilling and chewing on its bone he would growl on the cat if he was simply passing by. Sometimes the dog would chase our cat for a bit, the cat might rarely hiss, he never actually attacked the cat tho. But yesterday when he chased him again he came back with some of the cat's hair in his mouth. What can we do to prevent such behaviours on the dog's part? We would be super fine with them just ignoring each other if they can't be friends.

She is 5 months old. I took her for an hour walk and within an hour coming home she pooped in her crate. I am thinking about getting rid of her. It's not improving

I’m thinking a whats app group of 6-7 persons with puppies born around the first two weeks of November. We’ll be picking up our boy on January 4th.

Just a group where one can vent, talk about progress or ask tips and advice. Doesn’t matter if it’s your first pup or if you’ve been through this before.

Would anyone be interested?

OK so first of all, I know dogs can only see in dichromatic vision and therefore see the world in fewer colours than humans do.

However, I keep reading that blue is the best colour for dogs toys as it stands out best for them, and people recommending blue balls to throw on grass etc.

But my dog seems to really struggle with this! She can pick out a tennis ball on grass no problem, but she has a number of blue balls that she regularly loses and just cannot seem to find. I’ve watched her, many times, walk right over the top of them whilst she’s actively looking for them, and she just doesn’t seem to be able to spot them at all.

She’s a Labrador so loves playing fetch. I’m just wondering if dogs can be colour blind, so that the usual colours they see aren’t quite the same as other dogs?

I’m really struggling to find any information online because any time you search for dogs and colour blindness, all the answers are about dichromatic vision and seeing a reduced colour spectrum compared to humans.

I’m more curious than anything, but I’d also love to know if this is possible and if so, which colour toys will be best for her!

Many thanks.

Currently crate training my 8 week old lab puppy and right now he is doing well overnight, usually down at 10 with one potty break overnight then sleeping till 6ish.

During the day I leave his crate door open and he has started taking himself in there. I also do dedicate “bed” training where we use the command and practice shutting the door. My question is when do I reward him for going in there on his own? If I make a huge fuss when he gets in there, it just encourage him out again but equally I want him to know that going in there is good?

He has started grabbing a chew toy then hopping in there for a knaw on it so I’m guessing he finds it a nice, safe spot but I want to ensure he knows what he is doing is good without distracting him.