Category: Top Dog

I have an almost 10 month old puppy and thought I understood what ‘a lot of work’ meant, as far as puppies go, when I got her. I quickly learned, I did not know. I don’t know where I could’ve gone to fully understand what a whirlwind I was in for. Reading comments from others here really helped through the struggle, knowing what I was feeling was normal, the initial regret didn’t mean I wasn’t going to love my dog and be a good owner.

I was like some people when they get a dog, in a bit of a stage where ‘life was happening, hard’, wanted what everyone had when they speak about their dog. I was left sleep deprived, perma-hangry, over whelmed, regretful and sad. At first the hard outweighed the good and I thank goodness I’m tough on myself and don’t like to quit. Quitting is easy but the blessings wouldn’t come if I gave up on the puppy. This article articulates perfectly the puppy blues and the abundance of joy and fun that these animals bring.

I hope anyone who’s going through it finds this article helpful!

https://www.thetimes.com/article/the-moment-i-stopped-hating-our-puppy-nfsffhsld

We’ve been leaving our lil buddy with a PB-filled kong, which we put in the crate with the door open (he cries if we close it) in a safe room. However he always brings the toy out into the room and it makes a big mess.

Any recommendation for a toy that clips to the crate, or related suggestions?

My dogs (2 males, 1.5 years old) got neutered just over 2 weeks ago, and I expected them to be more calm, however, they are going crazy. they are barking constantly. they wake us up in the middle of the night barking as if there were an intruder in the house, which is very unlike them. Prior to being neutered, they would only bark if they needed to go potty, but now it’s constant. They also wrestle more aggressively than before. Before they were very easy going and now they are getting hard to manage. Is this normal and will it stop ? We are losing sleep over their excessive barking

My puppy is 6 months now I used to be able to take him to coffee shops taking on walks and to doggy daycare without any issues and he essentially was house trained but now all of a sudden he barks at absolutely everything and is peeing on thing the couch my bed and clothes he did just get nooded about three weeks ago but it did start happening before that any ideas on what to do I have only ever had a labrador puppy before and he never had any issues with anything all and I know it's bad but now I can't take him out anymore let's learn to some kind of training course because as soon as we get near another person or dog he just barks like crazy With the barking I have tried the quiet method where you give him treats after you tell him to be quiet once has been barking at dogs but he ended up just barking at me so I would give him treats

Hey guys. This is a bit silly, but I find myself worrying about my dog.

Shes 11, and shes my first pet of the 4 legged variety. Shes my rock, I've had her since she was 12 weeks old and throughout my hardest times.

She doesn't play anymore, not even tug of war when I try play with her, or fetch. She has cataracts already. She sleeps all day. She just wants to be with me all the time, napping. Which is fine by me, I'm disabled so I spend alot of time in bed now.

I know I only have a few years left with her and its hard to imagine my life without her. Shes been my constant companion for years. We have always shared each others presence.

I'm just worried on the day she passes, I'm going to break down and she will be scared because she sees me crying. I don't want her passing to be anything but peaceful. I want her to not notice that I'm sad, but I don't think thats possible for me.

Can I get some advice on what I can do to ensure when she goes, if its within my control, that she goes without distress?

My pup is turning one soon, and I’ve been thinking about what this first year has actually been like. She’s a blue merle collie × golden retriever mix – gorgeous, clever, funny, intense, chaotic, sweet, affectionate… and honestly exhausting at times.

I definitely expected things to be easier than they were. I imagined training sessions paying off quickly and peaceful hikes where she stuck close and calm. The reality has been overstimulation, noise, regressions, selective hearing, and endless consistency. Trainers help, but in the end you’re the one putting in the hours every single day.

I also didn’t realise how much the breeder choice would matter. I chose the puppy who caught my eye, not the calmest temperament, and a year later she still has all that wild energy. Socialising her early with a small group of stable dogs really helped though; she gets on brilliantly with others.

Adolescence has honestly been the hardest stage so far. More barking, more chewing, more struggle to settle. Some days it feels like she’s forgotten everything. I’m told it’s normal, but wow, it’s rough.

Lead walking has also been a slow burn. I didn’t start early enough and definitely regret that, breaking habits is so much harder than building good ones from the start.

The crate has genuinely saved us, especially recently. I even brought it back at 11 months, and it made a huge difference. And sleep… sleep matters so much more than I realised. Too much stimulation makes her worse, not better.

Introducing her to my cat was another long journey. They can share space now, and my cat still gets the upstairs as his safe area. It’s not Instagram-cute cuddling, but it’s peaceful, and that’s more than I thought at one stage.

Despite all the chaos, she has some amazing qualities: she’s been great with people, brilliant with most dogs, toilet trained quickly, slept through the night from tiny, and is genuinely sweet and cuddly when her brain isn’t in overdrive.

It’s been a messy, overwhelming, lovely, frustrating, very real first year, but we’re muddling through together.

If you’ve got a high-drive dog, did year one feel like this for you too? When did things start to ease off?

Hi, I have a 2 month old American staffy puppy and she has displayed some aggression which I understand can be normal but I don’t really know how to handle it. I’ve had multiple staffies growing up and have only known them to be the most beautiful, loving dogs.

My current puppy Nessie is a lot more stubborn than any other dog I’ve had, she does not want to listen, though I do recognise she is still quite young so I haven’t been that concerned.

However, I have noticed that she has been growling at us when she is disturbed during sleep or doesn’t want to get off the lounge. Last night she was all comfy inside and we have been trying to get both dogs (we also have a year old foxy, which she gets on great with) to sleep outside in their kennels.

She has no problem being outside and doesn’t wine when out there, however this routine is still quite new. She wasn’t coming when called so I went over to move her and she growled and then snapped at me.

I don’t want to be scared of her so I obviously want to stop this behaviour. I get that she is probably just being a moody puppy and her intention was not to hurt anyone but I don’t want her to keep doing it. Maybe as she gets used to being outside at night she won’t put up a fight, I just don’t want this aggression translating to other scenarios when she doesn’t feel like doing something I’ve asked. I have never experienced this with a dog before so that’s why I need advice on how to train her.

Any advice would be greatly appreciated. Thank you all.

I’m putting together a self-assessment to help owners check in on their dog's emotional well-being, and I wanted to get your take on the first question. I've read that predictability is huge for reducing anxiety in dogs, but I know real life doesn't always allow for a perfect schedule.

How consistent is your dog's daily routine (walks, meals, and bedtime)?

• A) Like clockwork — We do things at the exact same time every day.
• B) Flexible — We have a loose routine, but it shifts around based on the day.
• C) Total Surprise — We don't really have a schedule; we just go with the flow.

I’m curious—if you are a "Type B" or "Type C," do you notice your dog getting anxious when things change, or are they pretty adaptable? Would love to hear your experiences!

Question from PawSense

10 month old puppy. She was adopted from the shelter about 1 month ago. She gets fed 2x a day in her crate and she stays in for about 45min – 1hr after each meal. I’m worried about her stomach flipping.

Not anytime soon, but I do eventually want her to have meals out of her crate once she’s completely potty trained. But the whole bloat and stomach flip thing really scares me!