Category: Top Dog

I think they grow due to change in behaviour as they grow.. What do you think???

I see lots of spirited posts about how if you have a puppy you more or less need to hope you have no job or work from home because leaving pup alone as a baby is bad for them, etc.

We’ve had our beagle for two and a half weeks. She’s settled in nicely; loves her crate and has the run of the puppy proofed living room blocked off with the crate when we’re gone. Husband WFM the full two weeks but now has to go on site two days a week. I’m a teacher that works 40 minutes away. So this week for those two days, my dad comes for an hour at 10 and a sitter from rover comes for an hour at 1. I get home at 3:30. How detrimental do you believe that schedule is?

Hi all,

Does anyone have tips/insight on how to adjust a puppy's schedule to the clock change, or how long it might take?

I have a 4 month old who I'd fallen into a good routine with: bathroom break followed by bedtime between 12:00 and 1:00 am, and then she'd generally sleep solid in her crate until 7:00-7:45 am every morning.

Since the clocks changed, she has had problems adapting, despite the fact that the timing of her meals, bathroom breaks, etc., have shifted to accommodate the clock change. We're still taking a bathroom break at 12:00 – 1:00 am, but she's now only sleeping 5-6 hours, and waking me up at pretty much 6:00 am sharp every day for a bathroom break, and refusing to go back to bed. I can only assume it's because her body is telling her 6:00 am is really 7:00 am.

The lack of sleep is not ideal – anyone been through this, and have tips on how long I need to ride this out, or how I can get her to adjust to the time change?

My dog for some reason despises my room, and shes never been in it as far as im aware. I've tried cleaning incase it was some faint smell, but still hates it. She loves me so it isnt the fact its where I sleep or something. My cat can stay in there for hours at a time happily and sleeps on my bed though, so im confused. Could it be because theres lots of stuff in there or maybe a noise from my PC? Any advice helps.

Edit: She can also happily sit and sleep right outside, even with my door wide open.

I want to get the perspective of other dog owners. I am in a new situation where I am the sole owner of my pup after splitting with my ex. In the past, we made arrangements where if someone is travelling, either the other person is with the dog or a family member stays at our place. Now that both of those options are not available for me, I am starting to look into what else I can do when I need to travel.

I feel like I'm not comfortable with dropping off my dog at someone else's place for a week as she feels most comfortable at home, so I started looking into other options. Is there such a thing as having a person live in my place for a week, hang out with my dog, while I am away? I saw overnight services, of course there are dog walker, but in my mind I feel like I want someone there with my pup 24/7 while I'm away. I also feel like I'd like that person to focus on my dog and not on multiple dogs. Is this a little bit crazy? It feels crazy typing it out and I really wanted a sanity check from other dog owners.

I live in NYC for what it's worth.

My dog (9y/o) has this dog house that i bought for his birthday as his 'own room' since i live in one bedroom apartment. Its inside my apartment and has three parts to it. One part has his bed in a dark den, one part is a place with pee pads for him to pee, one is for food and drink.

The only time i lock him in is at night because he marks sometimes. Otherwise its open.

The thing is, he loves his house to the point where unless hes going for walks, going to the toliet, or playing with his toys, hes in his house. He likes to spend maybe an hour in one of his other day beds in the morning, usually the one next to my desk while I do morning meetings, and has an hour cuddle session on the couch – but nope otherwise he just chills in his house. Sometimes its a total or 15-17 hours a day (including his night time stint).

Honestly i feel awfully guilty about it, even though he loves it i feel like he should be chilling around the apartment or on the balcony more. I walk past the house sometimes and see him looking out of his window in his little dark room and I get so sad. Does anyone else's dog just like dark cosy spots and should I encouraging him to spend more time outside of it?

Thanks in advance.

Answer: Yes! German Shepherds are extremely intelligent and quick learners. They can understand up to 250–300 words and commands, making them excellent for work as police dogs, service dogs, or loyal family companions.

We have recently adopted a 14 week old shih tzu yorkie mix, and we have not had a dog in over 20+ years. She is so damn cute, but of course full of energy. We are trying to train her and she is soo smart. She knows if she sits she will get attention and treats. She is also doing good in her crate at night and not making a mess. Teething has also started, and she is fixed.

We do have some toys for her, a kong, a few tug toys, and 1 squeaky toy that she absolutely loves.

I do have a few questions. 1. The trainer we saw yesterday said not to use peanut butter all the time as it is full of fat and she doesn’t need that. So she said to use wet food and freeze it with the kong to help with her teething. I tried that and she doesn’t seem as interested in that. Any other ideas I can try?

1. The trainer also mentioned a toy that would help her use her energy, but we can not remember what the name was. It is a long stick with a toy on the end of it that she can chase.

2. Any other ideas, tips for new(ish) puppy owners.

Hoping to get some advice. My dog, 18 months spaniel cross, view all foxes as her arch enemies… It used to be that if she was in the garden and she heard / saw a fox she’d go nuts, I’d send her back inside and she would calm down. Now however she reacts to them even if she’s indoors. To the point she’ll be sleeping at the bottom of my bed and suddenly race across the house to our back door and bark like she’s the most vicious beast at a fox playing in our back garden at like 4am… if I use a stern command or move her away from the door she stops but I’d rather not be woken like that in the first place and neither does my neighbours I assume🫣 I’m starting to think the fox comes to wind her up! Anyone experienced a similar thing or have suggestions on how to deal with this would be much appreciated as it’s happened every night this week 😩