Category: Top Dog

My 8 week old corgi gets up at 540-6 to pee, that’s also the same time I get up to get ready for work. After he pees, I take him to the play pen area with toys and water and go take a shower. He whines a little but not much, is that alright to do? I can’t lock him back up in his cage, because I don’t want him getting antsy since my wife is still asleep. He sleeps in his crate from 9~ish to 5:40 when my alarm goes off. He didn’t pee when I let him out this morning, so I put him back in the cage for a little. I took him to pee 10 minutes later, he went, and now he’s in his play pen for a little. Is that okay? When he whines when we’re out of sight, I wait till he’s quiet then appear with a treat as well.

Hi everyone, Sorry in advance if my English isn’t perfect, it’s not my first language.

I’m feeling pretty overwhelmed and I’d really appreciate some outside perspective.

We have a 5-month-old puppy. We’ve had him since 9 weeks, and we’ve been crate training from the start, including enforced naps. Until recently, things were going really well.

He sleeps perfectly overnight in the crate (from around 9:30–10:30 pm until 8–9 am, no potty breaks), and he’s totally comfortable with it at night. That part hasn’t changed at all. Well sometimes he doesn't want to go in, but at night he is more easy to move in and sleep.

The issue is daytime naps. Over the last couple of weeks, he’s started to refuse the crate during the day. He doesn’t want to go in, and sometimes he barks or cries for 30–40 minutes and won’t settle unless we let him out. Before this, he would nap in the crate with no problem.

Lately, he’s been: napping outside the crate (in our studio while we work or in a puppy room, separate from the crate)

sometimes settling fine on his own in the kitchen with us or the studio

sometimes clearly overtired but still refusing the crate

We also have 3 senior cats, so management is important, and that’s why the crate has been such a big part of our routine.

I’m worried that by letting him out when he barks, we’ve accidentally taught him that barking = freedom, but I also don’t want to turn the crate into something he hates.

Another thing: he knows how to relax in our studio, but in the living room he gets very overstimulated (especially when we’re on the couch watching TV) and struggles to settle calmly.

Our goal long-term is to keep the crate positive and eventually move it into our bedroom at night once the cats are more comfortable.

So I guess I’m asking: Is this kind of daytime crate refusal normal at this age?

Should we reduce enforced naps and allow more naps outside the crate?

How do people balance crate use with cats in the house? And how do you teach “calm behaviour” in specific rooms like the living room?

I really care about doing this right, but emotionally it’s been hard and I’m scared of making mistakes.

If the breed is important he is a mixed breed between mountain Berness and golden retriever

Any advice or similar experiences would mean a lot. Thanks ❤️

when i try correcting her for biting she gets even more aggressive, i tried blowing on her face lightly, ignoring but nothing works what else can i do to correct this behavior?

My dog is now 1.5 years old and was spayed a week ago. She’s had a vet checkup since and there are no issues. She’s up and about, moving again as normal, playing, out on walks, all seems well. However- we’ve noticed a big change in her behaviour since getting spayed- she is very vocally whiny and “crying” a lot. This is when she is fed, has peed, has been walked, has no obvious needs to be met. She’s still taking some painkillers every day.

Can anyone explain this? I’m finding it very distressing, as she would usually only whine when something was wrong. She just seems very needy all of a sudden, all the time.

Will this calm down?

I think I know the right answer here but looking for reassurance.

13 week old puppy has started really losing it – howling, barking etc after just an hour of sleep in the crate. She can definitely hold it, doesn’t need to eat – I think she just wants out. I should just ignore this right and let her work it out and calm herself down? She goes in fine and falls asleep ok, this is just waking up barking well short of the 2 hour nap goal.

I just got my 12 week old Samoyed puppy and he is absolutely terrified of the crate. The breeder said he slept in the crate at night with a sibling but was never a fan of it. He was in a crate for 3-4 days in transport on his way up here. I've been feeding all meals in there with the door open, leaving treat dispensing toys in there for when we have to leave him in there, and trying to reward with treats if he was quiet for a few seconds. He pays no mind to the treats and just keeps crying the whole time even if I'm sitting there with him. He will also eat his meals but come out after a few bites to make sure the door isn't shut. If I shut the door he stops eating and cries. He's not just crying either, he's pawing and biting at the gate. Any and all advice welcome! I have to leave for work today and I'm dreading it 😭

I've been working on tethering too, he also just cries the whole time if he's nearby but can't reach me. It's worse if he can't see me

For context, I have a female Boxer beagle mix that just turned around a year old. Of course, she is very high energy and I’d expect nothing less considering the breeds she is mixed with. Overall she is a wonderful dog and is very well behaved besides the occasional mishap of ripping up a roll of toilet paper or card board we accidentally leave out. My main issue with her though is how she interacts with my cats. I’ve had her since she was 3-4 months old, unsure of the exact age as she was found starved on the streets and extremely malnourished. From the day I’ve brought her home I already had multiple cats in the house and she was able to interact with them. I’m unsure if it’s because of her high energy levels, but she is constantly playing very rough with the cats. It’s definitely not aggressive or prey driven, as I’ve dealt with that behavior before, but she does like to jump on the cats and put her mouth around their heads. My cats are not afraid of her, and usually just let it happen, but I worry one day she is going to accidentally injure one of them. I’ve tried redirecting with treats, toys, and verbal commands but I have had no success. I try to take her out of the house multiple times a week to interact with other dogs and go on long walks to burn some energy but nothing seems to be working. Thankfully despite all of this, the worst thing my cats have experienced so far from her rough and tumble play is a slobbered coat. What should be my next steps? I’m tired of feeling anxious every time she interacts with them.