Category: Top Dog

help

I have a 1 year old golden retriever, husky mix. Things have been challenging the last few months as we've navigated adolescence but we have reached a point where I'm unsure of how to proceed and my frustration grows increasingly by the day. We have a fence in yard and I let her out throughout the day (I work from home). I would say about 70% of the time she just refuses to come inside. We can be outside playing, she'll let me touch her and get close, but the moment she senses that I'm trying to lure her inside or I start walking towards the door she will instantly go on alert and refuse to come. Then she won't let me hear her. Treats do not work, neither do toys. I even have tried bacon as a lure- she does not care. I don't chase her because I don't want her to think it's a game.

I've tried attaching a 10 foot leash that drags behind her and makes her easier to catch, but this presents a safety hazard and I'm not comfortable relying on it 100% of the time. It's also something that she WILL pick up on and start avoiding all together. For awhile I had a baby doll that I could lure her with (she loves babies) but then she realized it wasn't real and now looks at me like I'm a fool for even trying it.

She legitimately will not come. She is extremely smart, and is very good at picking up patterns so part of me wonders if she is doing this because she knows what comes next is 1) her paws get wiped, and 2) she has to be inside.

For about 9 months she had excellent recall, so good in fact that I could take her to a park and let her off leash to explore a bit. One day though she saw a deer and took off, so it's been awhile since we've had that off leash time. Is that what's leading her to becoming frustrated and refuse to come in?? I wanted to work on her recall before we went fully off leash again but….were moving in the wrong direction. I'm truly at a loss here. I have been late to meetings and events because of this and it is starting to affect my bond with my dog. I don't want to be angry at her but when I'm late to a wedding because my dog won't come inside, we have a serious problem. Help!

I have a 4 month old Cavalier King Charles Spaniel. Her first month home she was potty trained to use the bell on the door and everything was great she did wonderful. We went away for a weekend with her, and ever since then potty training has flew out the window. I can usually catch her before she poops in the house as she shows signs. But with pee it’s impossible she just squats wherever whenever. She is crate trained and has no issues with that. When she is up and out of her crate I take her out quite often as suggested. But no matter what I have tried she cannot get it in her cute little brain that she needs to go outside. Any advice??

Hi all!

My dog is a 9 year old Husky/Collie mix, he has lots of energy, eats well and sleeps well. However, when he meets other dogs, they all are interested in licking his penis.

Any idea why this is?

Thank you in advance!

I have a six-year-old mini-cockapoo who regularly starves himself. I've tried multiple feeding methods, protein types, textures, and even mixing treats into his food, but nothing entices him. I've taken him to the vet about this multiple times, and they tell me that he's in good health for his age, other than being a bit skinny. Does anybody have advice on how to get him to eat on a consistent basis? This has been a problem ever since I adopted him at one-year-old, and it contributes to him constantly being anxious and angry. I want my boy to be happy but don't know what to do.

I have a 6 month old male yellow lab who has been waking at 4:00-4:30 every morning for the last two weeks. For context, I’m typically up at 5:00 for work every morning. He will get up with me, go out and go potty, and then chew on a bully stick or another chew while I get ready for work. We then go back downstairs, and he relaxes on his bed in the corner or on the kitchen mat until about 5:40-6:00 AM when I put his food down in his kennel and go to work. He will then sleep until about 6:45 or 7:00 when my fiancé gets up. He hangs out with him and then goes into the kennel for the day at 7:45 or 8:00 AM. My fiancé says he’s pretty tired in the morning and doesn’t have a ton of energy. He will sleep all day in the kennel. He gets a frozen Kong in the morning and then one again when he goes back in at noon-1:00 after our dog sitter stops by to let him out, feed him, and play with him. This 4:00 AM wake up call happens even if he gets enough stimulation in the evening or throughout the day. I’ve tried letting him cry it out, but that was 45 minutes of barking and crying. I’ve tried letting him out and putting him back in, which only seems to work for about 15 minutes before he’s crying/barking again. I’ve also tried feeding him twice in the evening (half of his food around 6 and the other half around 8). Should I continue to just let him air his grievances? Any other tricks I should try?

Hey everyone, my 8 (almost 9) month old toy poodle has lost most of her puppy teeth, but for some reason, her four baby canines haven't fallen out yet. The adult teeth are right there next to the baby ones and they look almost fully grown. I talked to my vet, and she said they can extract them during the spaying surgery. The thing is, my pup still hasn't had her first period, and the vet said it’d take a few months after that before the surgery. She’s not worried though and told me to just play tug of war, give her chewing sticks, and wait it out. But honestly, it's been over a month since the adult teeth showed up, and no matter what we do, those baby teeth are still hanging on tight, not even wobbling. Has anyone been through this? Did anything help? Should I get a second opinion from another vet?