Category: Top Dog

So we got our puppy at 9 weeks. We started crate training and he really doesn’t mind the crate itself. He eats meals in there, walks in and out of it to grab his toys while we’re home, etc. That being said when I go to leave in the mornings he hides and puts up a fight when I try to put him in his crate. I give him lick mats, kongs, treats, all his favorite toys. I also throw whatever shirt I wore to bed in there so he has my scent. As soon as I lock the crate he goes bananas. Whining, barking, scratching at the ground, flips his water, flips his bed, bites the metal of the crate. He does this for 30 mins to an hour and then he will eat some of his treats if he can find them in the destruction and falls asleep. I come home for 25 mins on my lunch break to take him out and then this process starts all over again. Other than the crate he does great. No accidents in the house in a couple weeks, sleeps through the night, learnings commands. And is just a sweet boy.
I’ve shown the vet videos and she thinks it’s separation anxiety and referred me to a trainer who does in home visits. $100 for a one hour session. I’m willing to try a few sessions if it will really make a difference. I just don’t know what else to do. Is the trainer my best option? I am at my wits end. It’s not good for him, me, or our neighbors.

I know he’s not literally but holy shit it feels like he is. He’s a smart guy and he knows when he’s misbehaving and he seems to thrive on my reaction, I’m basically alone raising him and I know I shouldn’t give him the reaction but it’s getting to be too much. He has chew toys, cognitive toys, he gets walks and tons of attention but it doesn’t matter he just wants to bark and growl at me and eat everything he shouldn’t (I’ve now been to the emergency vet because he decided be no longer knows the command drop it and ate a chestnut) All the training he’s had seems to have flown out the window and any new training seems fruitless. I think he might be overtired but whenever I try to put him in his crate for a nap he barks and cries like he’s being tortured I don’t know what to do. Does anyone have any advice?

Alrighty! We got our mini poodle last week at 10 weeks old. I've cried like every other day from being overwhelmed and sleep deprived (HEAVY ON THIS) but the last few days have been MUCH better. He's actually almost potty trained. He sleeps through the night in his crate next to our bed (and I mean literally 9 hours!!!!!!). He knows how to sit and I *think* knows his name. He has MAX 1 accident a day (usually the human's fault) but he's had a few accident free days this week. HOWEVER: i have to pick him up to go potty because it's on our roof and he's too little to go up the stairs (HE HATES IT and has recently started to get super antsy/bity). Second, I tried carrying him in a sling and he also hates it. He also hates his leash lmao so I stopped introducing him to his leash and only put his collar on for the day so he can get used to that and I think that the sling just makes him feel unstable so I bought a new tote bag that has a hard bottom where his feet can actually rest. Will try it out this week probably. The only thing that's getting to me is that he CANNOT SIT STILL LOL he's only fall asleep on the couch with us twice in the whole week. When will he be able to chill out and nap with us?

I have a four month old Great Dane that came litter trained. I just switched her over to going potty outside before she got too big to fit in her litter tray. This was about two weeks ago. She’s been doing fairly well but still has accidents and only signals to go outside maybe 50% of the time. She does pretty well with going potty outside but has had more poop accidents inside. I understand she is only four months old and accidents are bound to happen but I feel like she should be at least a tiny bit more potty trained. There are also times where I miss her signals to go potty/poop so she will go on the floor and I clean it up silently. She is my first puppy as an adult raising her by myself. (Puppies are way less fun when you’re doing all the work I’ve learned) Any advice on what I can do to make her signal more? Right now she whines a lot when she has to go potty, but she also whines a lot because she’s a big baby, so sometimes it’s hard for me to differentiate her having to go outside, or if she’s just being a baby/bored.

It has never taken me so long to uncrate a puppy! She’s 14 months old, never pees in the house, and never poops in the house during the day. The only exception to this rule is if we let her sleep outside her crate at night, she will poop once in the exact same spot every night. Never does so when she’s crated. All my other puppies were allowed to sleep outside their crates with no messes by 10 months. Why is she doing this? Any tips? I can’t really chastise her for the poop since I find it after I wake up, not when she’s in action. Not sure how to address this but don’t want her in the crate forever. She eats around 7pm and goes outside several times before bed. She is let out again at 6:15 every morning, the routine is pretty exact. Never has been free fed (she eats twice a day quickly and happily) and usually water is up by 9pm (again, peeing is not the problem). We have an older dog in the house too who never has any accidents. Help!