Category: Top Dog

Honesty post, I have had puppies in the past so I know this time will come to an end eventually. I love my puppy, he has been home for a week and has come out of his shell (understatement) so much in the past three days.

However, my clothes are ripping because of his needle sharp teeth, I have failed at crate training and he sleeps in my bed (even then I don’t get a whole night), toilet training was going really well now he just goes outside to pick up the leaves and tries to eat them, then when he gets onto the carpet he pees. (Although no poos inside so that’s a win).

I don’t really know why I am posting this, I think it’s just to vent. I know it will be ok eventually, and I know I will miss him being this small, but right now I can’t wait til he grows up and learns! Ahhh! ♡

Have got a terrier mixed wire fox. She absolutely loves it when i bring out the brush. We always give her head scratches and belly rubs which she loves too!

I’m wondering if they can feel cooler/lighter after brushing since we do get a huge ball of fur everytime we brush her (at least once/twice weekly).

Also how many times is it recommended you brush your dog?

I was walking with my BC through a forested area today when he suddenly yelped as though he'd been shot. (If you know collies, you know that he wouldn't yelp unless it's serious). I run over to him, he's whining and bleeding but I can't see from where, scoop him up, and get out of the forest. I get him to the vet and find he's suffered a severe puncture just between the shoulder and the rib cage (I couldn't have seen it before because it was hidden under his vest, but I knew there was something there) CT shows that he even has a fractured rib.

He's in the ICU now and stable, but please take this as a cautionary tale. Be careful out there!

https://preview.redd.it/e8k9r8hni54g1.jpg?width=3024&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=6d909d7bbdfea5a7768778002a6ec5fd16607335

Hi all, my Shih Tzu puppy is 8 weeks today, he has two littermates and both parents live in the house, but he will be separated at 12 week why my husband and I move. My roommates prefer puppy pads over outside potty training and do not crate, but we plan on crate training and NEVER using puppy pads.

That being said. We will be starting on Monday with 10-10-10 training and are wanting to crate train him, but it’s hard with littermates in the house. I know it’s best to keep him with them for development, but we will be driving a very far distance when we move and I want him to be comfortable in a crate and just chilling/using the bathroom at a designated time. (We plan on keeping his schedule on the road.)

With that being said, how can I successfully crate train him, potty training him, and also have him interacting with his siblings?

Should I just start small with the potty training and slowly put him in the crate just a few minutes at a time to build up his comfort? I’ve been doing a lot of research but nothing says anything about training a puppy that’s still with his littermates.

I have a full schedule written out. I just want to navigate this the best way for his development, while also training him how I want.

Any other tips are welcome! TIA!

We just got a cocker spaniel who is 6 months old and was not crate trained. Last owners had chucks and let him pee and poop in the house, just cleaned up after him.

I realized I am stuck starting good habits here

How do you all suggest I crate train him ah this age?

I have two little ones and my husband and I alternate work schedules (12 hours each, day and night shift)z

1) Keep him in the crate and wake up every 3 hours to let him out to pee? 2) every day, work into keeping him longer in the crates? 3) keep him in a crate and let him sleep our room? (Our kids sneak into our room at night still)

Hey y’all, wanted to hear your opinions on how my wife and I are crate training. Both first time dog owners. We just got a new Berner girl 9 weeks, breeder said she was confident, didn’t take shit from anybody and was relatively independent compared to her litter.

We’re in the process of crate training and night 1 of training was last night after a week or so of acclimating to our house. She’s slowly getting the hang of potty training and so during the day we leave the crate open, but roughly every 2 hours she’ll start whining and now is looking to go to the door which is our cue – she’ll pee/poop, we’ll give her a treat and positively reinforce while we’re outside, and when we go inside we say “crate” and put a few treats in there. She’ll go in and eat the treats but we don’t close the door, our purpose is to just positively reinforce the crate and let her explore it at her leisure. We’re slowly putting in daytime crate time when she’s super tired and napping just for her to get used to it.

At night we put her to bed at 10ish. We go out for one last pee, do the same reinforcement, and gently nudge her in the crate (she’s 2/3 the way in when she’s eating her treats). The first 3 nights she whined nonstop and all we did was put our hand in the crate if it was sustained and clearly a nuisance but yesterday and today we noticed a change where she’ll whine but we “ignore” it for a few minutes and she’ll just stop on her own. Is this an overall sign she’s taking well to crate training? Is there anything else you guys would do differently? I read online the whimpering and then suddenly stopping is a sign of her being stressed but logic tells me it’s that she’s self soothing and falling asleep (kind of like a baby who’s “crying it out”. She has her favorite toys in there, a comfy bed with a blanket her momma was covered in that came w the breeder and a worn tshirt from me and my wife so there’s familiarity. Thanks!

I normally try to ask everyone to take a minute and reflect on how their puppy has grown, but with the holiday, I am more curious about how your fur babies did on their first Thanksgiving.

We went to my mother's, and my little girl was perfect while we cooked. She played with my mom and brothers Bernies. She only got nine hours of sleep overnight, and by the time I saw she was getting anxious and overtired, it was too late. I took her to a quieter room and gave her some calming aids and tried to get her to nap, unsuccessfully. She was pacing from door to door and was curling up in a ball.

Come to find out, she dislikes smoke, and who can blame her? At home, my father smokes outside, and I'm a nonsmoker. After everyone left or went to bed, she brought me her ball, we played, and then she took a short nap before we went to bed.

I was a little nervous she might not bounce back, but today she has been fine. We are still at my mom's, but she did manage to get in two naps and 12 hours of sleep. On average, she gets 14 to 16. She threw a bit of a temper tantrum today because she was overtired, but hopefully, she can get through the rest of our holiday.

I have my very first dog, I adopted her two years ago and due to financial struggles I have finally have the money to get her spay. It was today. I did pay for it to be at a good clinic with an amazing doctor, problem is that the staff was little to not helpful for information/ tips for recovering. I read some tips from some previous posts here but I just don't know what to do if I'm being honest. She is walking and (unsurprisingly for me) trying to jump around. I bought her this little post op suit and I'm trying to get a hold of the little cones for the neck (I asked the clinic for one the day of her labs and they failed to informed they didn't have any on her size so by the time they told me every place was close so tomorrow of I go) I can't have days off so she will be on her own coming monday. So if anyone can give me some tips, information or words of encouragement at this point it will be very appreciated, I'm feeling so guilty after seeing her in pain but I know it was for the best.

My dog STRUGGLES with calm and polite interactions with other dogs when out on walks.

NOTE: these dogs run up to him, I cannot stop them 🙂

When they come up he does usually want to say hi, but since they rush up to him out of no where at the speed of light, or slowly creep up to him, it’s already not a good situation. He tries to say hi but ends up doing huge circles, barking around the other dog, he can’t just do a polite sniff and move on. I understand he’s probably a bit freaked out and doesn’t want them rushing up to him, but when I try to pull him away he lunges and barks back at them. Honestly I don’t even know what behaviors he’s displaying. If I just stand there holding the leash short hill just pull and pull and pull, no focus on me. If I add a bit of length he’s wrapping himself around my legs (almost fell over once 🥲)

What’s your thoughts on this situation? If letting him greet the dogs isn’t the best thing, then what else do I do when he’s trying to drag me towards them. It also doesn’t help that the other dogs usually stays for about few seconds and then RUSHES back across the park, causing my dog to lunge and bark as they run away. 😭😭