Category: Top Dog

I’m really struggling. I’m not sure if i’m coming here for advice or support but i’m really struggling. I love my baby. He’s an 11 month old golden and I’d never trade him for the world. He has not stopped struggling with biting since I brought him home. I’ve done every tip, advice, enrichment, schedule change, trainer, etc that you could name, and he’s not stopping. I’ve had him checked by docs to see if there are medical issues underlying… nothing. I think what he is doing is arousal biting because it seems like once he starts, he can’t stop and it’s like a switch that flips. Often times when he doesn’t get what he wants too. It seems like maybe he’s just trying to play really rough, and i’ve had trainers tell me it’s not aggression it’s just inappropriate boundaries he’s crossing. He’s 81lbs already but he jumps and bites like a puppy.

Im torn up. Physically and mentally. I’ve got scars everywhere, my arms are so discolored it’s not even funny, and i’ve gotten to the point where I can’t trust his next move and i’m filled with anxiety. Yet to him, it seems like either a game or he’s taking his frustrations out on me just to turn around and want to play and give kisses. Sometimes I get stuck outside with him in his attack mode and i’m stuck outside for hours… i’m not kidding.. just fighting his biting and trying to get to a tree or pole to tie his leash to. I don’t know how to teach him, help him understand, or help myself at this point and i’m really stressed.

I guess I don’t know what i’m looking for but maybe just to know someone else has been here would be nice. I feel crazy. I feel crazy for hating this stage and I feel like my love for dogs has changed because this is so hard. I can’t handle any negative comments, so please refrain from commenting if that’s the goal. I just need kindness & gentleness because i’m really hurting and I want to love him 100% but this is the hardest thing i’ve ever done in my life. I made a commitment to him and I will forever stand by it even if it means I’m miserable, but it’s true, I am so miserable. And I hate myself for saying it.

Can’t believe I’m saying this, but I think the teenage phase is worse than the puppy phase. Our golden puppy is 9 months and she is rebelling SO much, it’s as if she’s another dog all of a sudden. She doesn’t listen, all training has went out the window except potty training at least has stuck. She’s been really bad with leash biting, and only does it to me not my husband. Does anyone have advice on that? As soon as we walk across the street without a sidewalk she weirdly will start biting the leash, jumping on me, biting my hands, you name it and I can’t seem to calm her down. I’m just so frustrated and it’s hard to keep up with all of her manic behavior. Thanks:)

So as the title suggests, I may have to leave my dog alone for that amount of time on the weekdays. I work 6:30AM and latest I get home is around 5PM and on rare occassions, 6PM.

I currently live with my ex in an amicable roommate situation, so we always give him the proper attention and care when we’re home. They work 2x a week in the office and the rest of the weekdays, they’re home to spend time with the dog. I’m moving out and plan on living alone with the dog.

On the days my ex works in the office, I take him on a 15-30 min walk every morning so he does his business, come back home after work, walk him for about an hour, and then take him on a night walk.

My issue is leaving him alone during most of the day when I eventually do live alone with him. He’s not a destructive dog, though he does bark a lot. He has toys about everywhere and has never went to the bathroom indoors. For context, he’s a Great Pyrenees.

I’ve read other subreddits and most have many mixed suggestions so I’m wondering if I’ll get the same. Ideally, I’d want to do it without hiring a sitter or taking him to a day care but those options are in the cards.

we adopted a 12 week old puppy 48 hours ago, and im struggling to put my foot down with training and his crying as well as just figuring out what he wants. when im inside on the couch, he’ll whine and cry until he receives assistance up on the couch with me (hes too small to jump up atm), if he’s on the couch and no one else is, he also cries until he gives up and jumps off to join whatever person is around. he follows me around everywhere i go and will cry outside the door of the room i am in if it is shut and he cannot go inside. at night, ive been trying to put him to bed in a crate as i am a student who also works and it is very important to me that he has a crate and a safe space from my other dog to keep him safe while im away but he will cry and gnaw at the crate even if it is covered. he has a heartbeat soft toy which he ignores, and he will not settle or sleep unless he is cuddled into someone. while this is adorable, it obviously cannot be this way forever. i know crate training takes time but i cannot figure out his needs with the constant crying and i don’t want him to develop anxious attachment. hes fed consistently and at the same times each day in a similar fashion to how he was fed before we adopted him, hes taken out to do his business after a nap, after food, in the morning when we first get up and after a play session, but he will still cry at random and i just can’t figure him out.

I need help. I got a 10 week old St. Bernard/Great Dane mix 2 weeks ago and have been trying to potty train her. It’s hard because I’m gone most of the day so she’s using puppy pads. She wasn’t started on potty training when I got her. She’s used to pee pads so I started using those but they are counter intuitive. I’ve been trying to keep her in a crate and waiting until she whines and let her outside the second she’s quiet. She’ll pee in her crate though and only whine after because she’s uncomfortable sitting in her pee. She walks in her piss and shit when she’s in our mud room during the day. She obviously smells like piss and I try to bathe her everyday but that’s not good for her skin. She also drinks a lot of water but she does play a lot with my other dog and she’s also a puppy. I can let her out 3 times in an hour a half and we might still have an accident. I’m supposed to be working from home permanently starting next week so I’m hoping more consistency will help improve the potty training. Any suggestions?

I've got a 14 week old pomapoo who was doing great with potty training. He started going to the front door and alerting us at around 11 weeks to let us know he needed to potty. However, the past week, he's been having accidents in the playpen and peeing on the carpet and no longer is alerting us at the front door that he needs to go. I've been a lot more vigilant now constantly taking him out after naps, after mealtime, after playtime, but I also noticed with me doing this – he's still having accidents and not alerting in the same way. If he's in the playpen and constantly whining, I know he needs to go, so I take him, but if we're playing outside of it, he'll just go go go go and then stop and pee rather than hold it and go to the front door like he was doing before. Previously, when he had accidents, it would be right at the front door and we of course understood we just had to make it with the quickness, but now? It's basically any spot on the carpet in the home. And yes, it gets immediately cleaned up with an enzymatic cleaner.

I don't understand why this is happening when he's been so good about it and when I'm now trying to be a lot more on top of it. I work two jobs, one from home and one away, but I'm leaving the work from home job (for several reasons, but one of them being that I can't actually easily be on top of being with him for at least 6hrs). It's honestly frustrating and disheartening. It somehow makes me feel like a total failure and I just don't get it. He just had a vet appointment and everything came back normal so it's not a UTI.

Any advice? 🫠

This is so silly but my dog and I are both going to be bats this Halloween and since it’s our first Halloween together, I really want to get a good photo of us in costume. My issue is that she’s medium sized and I’m tall, so if we’re both standing her head is at my knees- not great for photos! Do you all have any tips on how to pose to show off our matching costumes?

My recent ex and I broke up after 5.5 years. He had gotten a puppy at the beginning of our relationship who is now 5.5 years old. Since he came home as a puppy, I have looked after him every single day as my ex worked every day long hours. I was basically the dogs primary caretaker since he was born. I was his favourite human, he loved me more than my ex.

When we broke up about a week and a half ago, I moved out — my ex obviously kept the dog because he paid for him and paid for all his vet stuff, etc.

I saw the dog today as I was collecting some things from his place and he was SOOOO happy to see me, but looked extremely depressed when I was trying to leave.

Do dogs miss their fave human, will he or when will he get over it, and will he forget about me and move on with his doggy life?