Category: Top Dog

We are about to get our new lab in 2 days. I have not owned a dog since I was a kid, decades ago. My wife cared for a family dog until it passed a few years ago.

I’ve read a lot of great advice in this forum so far. I have a bit of confusion about where to place a crate and spatial restrictions for the puppy, and also time issues.

(1) I read a number of suggestions about the crate in our bedroom. Our house is not large and I doubt it would fit in our bedroom. I was planning to keep the puppy in the main room – which serves as a living room / dining room, and there’s also an entry area and galley kitchen (again, not big!). All of that space is connected without doors. We have close friends who have a dog, and their crate is also in the family room space, despite their house being 2x as big.

Is this reasonable? But then will it get lonely sleeping alone? I liked some suggestions of sleeping on the floor next to the crate for the 1st week. I currently have an issue – I had surgery myself recently and cannot even sleep in my own bed, I have to sleep in a reclining chair in my main room. Will this be good enough? Should I move the crate next to the chair? Could it be later moved back to the place I planned, which is not I next to the chair? Or will that be confusing to move the crate around?

(2) general spaces – should the puppy be allowed in the bathroom? We have a good sized yard and own our house. I have not yet put in an enclosed fence. We have the leash (the harness kind, puppy size), should we just use the leash each time for the bathroom breaks until the fence is finished? Or can anyone recommend a temporary enclosure? How much room does a young puppy need to run around – like literally, square foot recommendation? I could just buy some plastic garden fencing in a roll and wrap it around trees? (I would not leave it unattended in such an enclosure)

(3) timing issues – good toys for keeping her occupied? I saw a nice suggestion for taking a week off to be with the puppy. While fine for those who can, that is not feasible with many modern jobs. Like, my wife can only take time off if she finds her own coverage, certainly a week would be basically impossible. I work from home so will be default with the puppy – but I can’t just ignore my job. I certainly can have flexibility, with breaks to play while the puppy is awake, can even work outside, but it would be good to get toy suggestions that might help. We do not have other pets.

What are other people doing who are working age? Interestingly, my wife’s boss seems open to allowing the puppy at work – odd as this may seem – the boss brings their own dog. Obviously this couldn’t happen until after full vaccination.

I’m going to getting a new puppy very soon and this will be my first dog ever. I’m very excited!

I see a lot of posts about potty training and having puppy potty train outside. I want to potty train my new puppy outside but in a safe environment. My apartment has a small back area that is fenced which is next to grass area with a sidewalk where people walk their dogs but not too close, pretty good distance. It is also next to the Main Street where I live. Pic of back area: https://imgur.com/a/xvp5FUd

If I were to put a pad in the back area and have the puppy go potty there every time, do you guys think the puppy will associate the area as “outside” or "going potty outside"? I’m thinking it will but wanted to confirm my logic. It will also benefit with socialization with getting use to the sounds of people, car driving by and etc.

Please let me know your opinions/tips on this!

I need to travel with my Aussie (55-60 lbs) from new Orleans to salt lake city. In trying to figure out which airlines will accept dogs his size at all but I’m looking at only alaskan airlines so far. Are there really no other airlines that take medium dogs? He’s not a service dog at all so i cannot take him in cabin. Does anyone have any recommendations that aren’t $5k ?

My dog ​​is very happy spinning his tail in circles, curious about the reason for this.

I adopted a dog from Costa Rica and am trying to get him to the US. He’s a little dog but could be nearing the requirements of being too big to be under the seat. I am hoping he can fit under the seat in a carrier but need to know what airline is the best and most likely to allow a dog. Everything I’ve read has been hit or miss no matter the airline and I’m nervous to commit to one and her turned away. Any help would be greatly appreciated.

I’m trying to put my 12 week old Norwich terrier on a feeding schedule in hopes that this will help with potty training. I just got him from his breeders so I think there’s definitely an adjustment going on. Right now, when I put food in front of him (3x a day, 1/4 cup of kibble each time), he’ll sometimes just take a sniff and ignore it. He will then go back to it sporadically over a long period of time, at which point he will finally finish the serving. Then it starts all over again! At one point do I declare this mealtime “over” and empty the bowl, then serve his next meal a few hours later? At this current rate there’s basically food in his bowl 24/7 and I can never predict his potty times. Thanks!