Category: Top Dog

In terms of sight or colour , Do they see colors exactly like humans??

Hi everyone, I have an 8-year-old Australian Shepherd. He has a history of poor socialization before I got him. Currently, I am dealing with two main issues and, as a student, I cannot afford a professional behaviorist right now, so I am looking for the best books, videos, or guides to handle this myself safely. The issues: Resource Guarding: He becomes defensive when eating. Leash Reactivity: He is very reactive towards other dogs and pulls hard on the leash. Handling sensitivity: Due to mistakes I made in the past regarding corrections, he has become defensive/fearful when I try to handle him or touch his feet. I want to rebuild our bond using Positive Reinforcement (R+) methods, as I realize my previous approach damaged his trust. I am looking for specific advice on how to start Muzzle Training (for safety) and exercises to reduce his defensive behavior. Thank you.

Hi, I have a poodle x caviler. I’m struggling to figure out ways to fulfill him. He loves running, chasing, playing, chasing, and chasing again. I’m constantly seeing videos of people doing breed fulfillment and the dog is tired after 30 mins, oh how I wish that could be me. I currently just do training, play, casual walks and free time on a long line, and while this does satisfy a lot of his needs and will knock him out for a few hours, I think he needs more. Especially in the evening, as that’s when the monster in him comes out lol. I have a flirt pole, which he likes, but after 10 minutes he gets tired physically, rather than mentally. He LOVES and I mean LOVES balls. I’m pretty sure he would jump off a cliff for one if it came to it. He’s obsessed. I obviously don’t want him to have an unhealthy obsession, which I think he’s leant towards. Iv been wanting to do more retrieving style play with it. And he’s good with that, until we come to do it in a more distracting sniffing place, like throwing it in longe grass. Hell just forget about the ball and start sniffing. So in those situations the ball is nothing to him! Is this a training issue? Do I need to work on focus around interesting areas, and then start with very short distance retrieves? Would retrieving even fulfill him? If not, what other things can I do? Again he is OBSESSED with chasing, so some appropriate outlets gor that would be great.

Honestly I’m just jealous of people with these incredible high energy breeds being taken out for 30 mins to do some activity and then they can rest for the whole day. Meanwhile my little mutt isn’t satisfied 😭

He is good tho, he’ll rest the whole day if needed, with minimal problems, but I can’t tell if he has a shorter walk, he does really want more.

So for a little background context, my Pomeranian who is about 3 years old, broke two front legs roughly 1 1/2-2 years ago. They’ve healed since then, but he loves to jump up and down, on and off of furniture! He has a set of stairs in our living room but he loves sleeping on my bed and cuddling with me, which I’ve refrained from doing unless I’m awake because I don’t want him to hurt himself again if I fall asleep and he somehow falls off my bed. I plan to get another set of stairs so he can safely go up and down from my bed, but when I’m sleeping I don’t want to accidentally nudge him off, onto the hardwood floors.

So for my main question, does anyone have any recommendations as to what would work best to surround the stairs incase he does fall off and it’s not on the stairs?? (My bed is roughly 16-17 inches tall) Memory foam, exercise mats, etc. ?? Or would it just be safer to not get the stairs at all and not let him on my bed to sleep at night to completely prevent anymore injuries.

Any feedback or suggestions would be greatly appreciated, thank you all so much!!

Searching for replacement chew toy for my dog – he absolutely loves the rubber Tennis Tumble from Wild One but they aren't restocking until Fall 2026. He goes through about 2 of them a year and I would always get him a new one for Christmas as well, but since it's out of stock for so long I need to find a new brand. Anyone have any recs? I would like one that is slightly more durable but I think he prefers the softer rubber. He was a fan of Kongs as a puppy but not since becoming an adult and had no interest in the Playology brand of dog toys. Maybe he likes the shape of the tennis tumble too? Any help would be greatly appreciated!

in the middle of potty training my four month old puppy. we are doing well, but I'm having some trouble getting him to understand only to potty outside. I'm pretty good about taking him out, but every once in awhile when I'm not watching him with eagle eyes he'll just squat down and go.

he understands when I bring him to work or in the car not to potty inside but can't make the connection in my own house. he even sleeps through the night without asking for potty breaks (I'm so lucky lol).

I struggle with getting him to accept treats after pottying because he loves being outside so much and will ignore even higher value treats or praise. any advice to help him only potty outside and stop seeing inside as a place to go?

eta: he is crate trained, and does not potty in his crate

TLDR; Got a new 8 month old jindo mix rescue. Ia fearful of crate and vehicles and does not nap in the​ day. ​Averages 8-9hrs sleep a night but also wakes up easily. Gets too stimulated and bites very hard to arms and legs leaving painful bruises. Tried seemingly everything already to fix.

I got a 8month old jindo mix (around 35lb dog) over a week​ ago from abroad. The​ first day was fine, but within a few days the problems started to arise. I figured some issues would occur (3-3-3 rule) but things are out of control. ​

Day 1 was fine. He was calm likely due to being stressed. No behavioural issues appeared. By the​ 2nd night ​when he was put in the​ crate for bed, he bit up the​ inside and kept​ banging the crate door. So we took him out shortly after and he hasn't been in it since. He sleeps outside of it nearby on a bed, with his leash tied to a table so he does not roam. He is less likely to sleep when he can roam. He barks every night before bed… but settles once I return briefly and then leave again. ​

For starters, due to his recent long travel to his new home in the crate,​ he is afraid of it. His tail goes down and he runs away when we tried to bring him in (with a leash). I've been putting toys and treats in there but he'll just enter his head far enough in to get the treat, and never fully inside. He is still scared of it.

He has been getting either one long walk + outdoor play or 2​ walks a day (20-30min each). He has a kong, lick mat, and strong toys he chews through pretty quick. He is eating fine now but ate half the recommended amount for the week.​ But by day 4 his biting issue started appearing and worsening. Randomly during walks he will jump and bite my gloves, my pockets, pants, arm sleeves, chest (jacket) and grabs the skin underneath. I have bruises all over my body despite wearing multiple layers. ​He also does this when he knows​ the walk is about to end (approaching home), when I don't stop to let him meet a dog, or i go in the opposite direction ​he wants. He started biting during fetch. Randomly he will jump and bite me. Even when im in the yard not playing fetch he will jump and nip. Indoors while he chews and plays with toys he will come up to me and bite. And he does it again if i try stopping him from scratching the couch and ​carpet.

I have been trying to get him to nap more in the day but he wakes to every noise (lots of neighbourhood dogs)​, and gets up if i leave. I want him crate trained again so i can do enforced naps but he's so fearful. I makw him go to his bed during the day for naps but again he will not sleep​. When we got him the foster said there were no issues but I don't know anymore. ​

I have been consistent with reverse timeouts, redirection with toys, tried yelp noises, taught him "off" which only works sometimes and only if he is calm indoors. Ive brought a tug rope on walks which he will use after i redirect (but only briefly before biting me again). I pause the walk until he stops biting​. I've tried doing treat scattering on the​ floor when he comes up to bite. He figured out now if he bites he can sit right after and will expect a treat… but even after getting treats he will repeat the biting process. None of the tips/videos online seem to work and I don't know what to do. He won't sleep and I think that may be the issue.​ His bites are unbearable and ​I am at my wits end..what do i do?

It is 2 am as I'm writing this at my wits end. Ever since I brought home my puppy, almost 4 months ago now, I have been gradually working towards him sleeping alone downstairs in his crate.

The first week, I had his crate close to the couch, where he could see me and I could touch the crate to calm him. The weeks after, I gradually moved his crate back, teaching him to be comfortable with more distance. This went well and after some tries, he finally slept through the night alone after a month. For about 3 weeks he slept alone in his crate from about 11pm to 6am and sometimes even some more after potty break.

Then he started to get some regression around the time he started teething. Waking up to potty earlier and earlier and no more settling down after. So I started spending half nights on the couch again. But over the next weeks, he went downhill even more, and my presence on the couch was not enough to settle down anymore, he needed to be closer again. I cried many nights over my failures, then sucked it up and started sleep training from scratch. But instead of moving the crate, I moved myself this time using our one person sofa bed.

I started very close to the crate again and once he was sleeping through the night, I created more distance. I repeated this process several times and every step came with several bouts of crying, which decreased over nights, until he slept through the night again. Tonight is the first night he can't see me anymore. He has slept for 1 hour and now has been whining / barking for 2+ hours. I tried to calm him from a distance, from close by, have gotten angry and have now been trying to ignore him for 1 hour. The only thing that will calm him, is open the door, which I refuse. I just don't see how he'll ever sleep alone again. So now I'm considering letting him cry it out for a few nights as I really don't see what else I can do anymore. He is 6 mo now and I really need the sleep to deal with puppy adolescence during the day. I am borderline burnt out because of the 4 month-long sleep deprivation.

Some extra info: his crate is covered with a blanket, he has bedding in there that he likes, he walks in and out of his crate during the day without issues, we never leave him alone in a crate during the day, only in his pen, to avoid negative experiences, I leave a tiny bit of water inside over night, he gets sufficient mental and physical stimulation, so he is knocked out 60/30min before bed, and his health has recently been checked by a vet.

I work from home and am about to take home my 8 week old puppy. I’m really nervous that being home all the time will make her spoiled for attention and an anxious nightmare when I have to leave. What are somethings I can integrate into my daily life to help her get some distance without interrupting my work schedule too much?