Category: Top Dog

My dog (1.4year old Pomeranian) has been doing very good with potty training so far. We have a regular schedule of walks and he will consistently go outside on those walks. However he is prone to going inside if he isn’t within my sight, like for example, he will wander upstairs and relieve himself while I’m trying to work, often soon after a walk. I work from home and I’m able to give him a lot of attention but I do need to focus on work sometimes. I noticed I will find an accident after seeing him pacing and panting, which I could consider a potty cue, however, everything seems to stress him out so he is often panting and pacing for various reasons ( for example I am on the couch and he is not lol/ I’m eating food and he is not/ someone is outside) .

How should I go about redoing his potty training and how can I better get him to signal to me he needs to go? And do you have any recommendations for helping him feel more relaxed??

We went through Small dogs of RI website and they were fantastic! We picked up the dog three saturdays ago and he immediately became part of the family. My Wife is his Person and I am a close second with my Daughter at college in third. I am retired and my wife goes to work at 6 am, she feeds him and takes him out to poop while i am still in bed. With a treat he automatically goes in his crate and she leaves. he may whine a bit but usually not long. I get up at 7 and let him out of crate. So through out the course of the day he is constantly looking and waiting for her. He seems restless but sometimes sleeps. We are currently at the end of a deep freeze and 20" of snow remain on the ground. I have made some paths in the back yard obviously to go to the bathroom. I am totally not used to having a baby again and it hampers anything i want to do. I need to go out and snowblow more paths but im afraid to leave him in the house alone. I guess it will get better when the weather warms up but that will be awhile. I was a bit reluctant to get another dog because of the attention they need and now i am finding out, maybe im just housebound, but im waiting for wife to get home to take over so i can get a few things done outside now that its 35 degrees and not -10.

Just recently went through a separation so me and my 13 year old dog had to relocate to an apartment. At our old house he always stayed home and really never left and there was no problems leaving him at home, he didn’t care at all.

Now in our new apartment since it’s just us two and I already work 9 hours a day I’ve been taking him with me everywhere I go other than work. For the first week I didn’t leave him at home during the day, I’d take him to my ex to stay during the day and pick him up after work. Now he’s with me full time and he’s struggling when I leave in the AM. I’m wondering if me taking him along with me is doing more harm than good but I don’t want him alone all day and night obviously. Today I left him with treats and a chew that he likes. I also gave him some calming treats. He was laying down fine when I got home yesterday but leaving this morning he was bothered.

Any suggestions on making this easier on both of us? I’m really stressing out over this, there’s people living below us so I can’t be having him barking excessively.

Edit for added details.

I also have been taking him on morning and evening walks, something I really haven’t done much of before because we had a fenced yard. He’s actually doing shockingly good on the walks, he’s not pulling at all and most of the time there’s slack in his leash, something he’s never been great at.

Hey there community!

I have a senior schnauzer shell be 13 YO this April and she’s in good health go on walks twice a day, eats well, and have never had any issues besides growths in her chest, recently took her to the vet and she was like I have seen dogs in perfect health going downhill really quick and so that really stocked up on me and I want to know if you have had a schnauzer how long did your baby live? I know that there is not an actual answer to predict this but I just want to be prepared or understand what signs I should be aware of. TIA.

We adopted a dog towards the beginning of January. She is very well-behaved, cute, and sweet and we are lucky to not have had any issues so far! However, it still kind of feels like we are keeping someone else's dog. I logically know it will take time for us all to really settle in, but I feel like a monster for not being completely in love with her yet. We lost our dog that we had for 13 years in 2025, and I'm trying not to unfairly compare that bond with the new pup.

This is probably just some adoption blues and the answer is more time, but if anyone out there has some encouragement, tips, or stories about building a bond with a new dog over time I think it could help assuage some of this guilt!

Hi all. Pretty basic question but for people who work full time, does your dog do better with daycare about twice a week or with a daily dog walker? I’m currently doing daycare twice a week and honestly I don’t know if it’s for her. I’m wondering if she’d be calmer and happier with a daily mid day walk.

My 9 month old pup was neutered 2 weeks ago (earlier than I wanted, but my partner insisted, and he's "fully grown" at 40lbs at this point anyway). He was cryptorchid, so it was a pretty intensive surgery involving three incisions. He's recovered nicely and is active again, off the Trazodone we were using and no longer wearing his cone. Most behavior is exactly the same, as expected.

However…he is so vocal now. Specifically whining. He's hardly ever barked and that hasn't changed, but he now whines whenever he wants something, to be let out of his pen, to let us know he's awake in the morning, etc. Loud, frequent, long whining.

Is this likely a result of the neuter or just him settling back into "normal life" after recovering from surgery? Has anyone else had a dog get suddenly very noisy after a spay/neuter?

our dog max, a rat terrier and almost 9 has been having confusing behavior. he's been refusing to get to the living room or dining room or kitchen through the entryway…it's been 2-3 days now, and if we pick him up he's fine, we checked nail problems, we even tried showing him nothing's wrong, what's wrong 😭

The prices are pretty good for slatmills on Temu. I’m trying to see if anyone has ever bought one from there and if it’s worth it.