Category: Top Dog

It’s coming up to a month since we picked up a bichon frise/maltese mix puppy. Things have been up and down, crate tolerance has improved and potty is relatively okay…. But I just don’t know what to do about his behaviour.

Main two issues are growling, biting and then maniac behaviour.

He growls a lot. If we’re outside but it’s time to go back in, he growls and barks and sometimes bites when I try pick him up. He growls and bites the moment we get inside and will not let anyone dry his paws or take off the harness. Sometimes he will be playing calmly and then suddenly start barking, jumping and trying to bite me and my partner. Sometimes he comes up to us to get on the sofa but bites if we try pick him up. He’s very barking and demanding if he sees us eat and wants a treat immediately and will bark if doesn’t receive one.

Tried redirection with toys and sometimes it works and sometimes he gets even more manic. Tried to do timeout but often he will persist chasing after us, biting and other than physically shove him off, there is no way of getting him to stop biting. And I don’t want to shove him off. I’ve been training him commands and he can do sit and down and sometimes touch, but whilst he will do whatever I ask of him to get the treat, he then immediately continues his behaviour. If it’s just me I try to ignore him, but my partner really struggles with the barking and what he’s been happening lately is that we lure him with a treat towards us and then pick him up and throw him in his playpen/crate. He calms down immediately there and starts to cry to be let out… which we do after a few minutes until he stops crying. Often he will just continue being manic the moment he is let out.

I don’t know if this is a normal behaviour that will improve with time and we should just carry on ignoring him and training him commands. Or is this a serious problem that requires a 1:1 trainer? We have puppy classes starting in November, but that is of course a group environment.

I love my puppy. I look forward to seeing him after a day of work and I like the morning kisses and cuddles he gives. But he is such a jerk and I really don’t like him. I cry at least weekly because of him. The relationship with my partner is strained. I don’t know if we are just shit dog parents or I picked up the wrong pup or maybe this is just normal and will eventually pass.

Hello,

I have a 12 week old puppy, hes great. Training is going really well for the most part but im having one stubborn issue. When hes excited he goes for my toes! He knows "leave it" when hes not excited, he ignores it otherwise. We train "leave it". When hes calm I train calm by praising him or with treats. We have done the run away game so he doesn't jump when hes Calm but as soon as he gets the zoomies its straight for the toes or my pants!

I've done redirection with another toy, ignoring with my back to him (doesn't work as he chases and then bites my toes), time outs, But nothing seems to stop him. We could be playing and next minute hes on the toes! I wear shoes now so I dont react ( it hurts) but still no luck so any advice is welcome!

Hi there. I apologize in advance for how absurd this may sound. Ha. We rescued a 7 year old dog that had not been fixed in May of this year. Had his neuter already scheduled to be done that same week. Things went great during surgery, healing went… okay? He had to wear the cone of shame 24/7 for almost 3 weeks because he would not stop licking the area if we tried to give him a break. But no infections. I noticed right away that his sack gave the illusion of still having balls because of how big it was. And let me tell you, this dog had the biggest balls I’ve ever seen on a little 40 lb dog. It is now exactly 5 months later, and while the sack usually looks flat now rather than semi full, I don’t think it has decreased in size whatsoever. He is a short haired dog so it is super obvious and looks absolutely hideous😭 is it hopeless to think that some day, he will not have such an enormous empty ballsack swinging in the breeze? If it isn’t hopeless, how long has it taken for your (very) mature dogs to lose their… hyper extended coin purse? Are there any “home remedies” that might help encourage the skin to shrink, like collagen? If so, please do tell, I dream of a day where I won’t cringe every time he turns around😭

I always thought dog walkers walk their clients’ dogs on leash unless in a secure and enclosed space, like a private dog field. Is normal to let them off leash? A local dog walker has been walking 8/9 dogs off leash and two run away last week. Unfortunately, one died. I don’t know how one person can possibly control that many dogs off leash.

My family has adopted a small puppy (currently 2.5kg) a month ago and she has been wearing a reflective kitten collar with a bell. I am concerned about the bell irritating her as it constantly jangles, but there are electric wheelchair users in my home who prefer the bell as it alerts her location.

Am I overly concerned? Is it justifiable to keep a bell long-term if it's potentially keeping her from being injured by a wheelchair? It's hard to train her to completely avoid the chairs, as the wheelchair users are also giving the puppy lots of affection too and is often placed in their laps. I am worried about long-term hearing issues and general irritation the bell may cause, and think

What are your thoughts?

I have been trying to crate train my 9 week old Dachshund puppy. I got him Friday and he does like his crate. He goes in and out without any problem but as soon as I put him in there for a nap or bedtime he freaks out and whines and chews at the bars. I leave him in there for school and I don’t know if he settles or not. When I come home he whines but I think it is cause he hears me come in. Any tips? I end up just letting in my bed at night cause he only settles for like 1 a hour or 2. I need some sleep for school and he sleeps just fine in my bed.

hi this might be a weird post but my puppy has been with us for 3 days since day one she never peed inside her crate and KNOWS to go outside in our backyard. we’ve even taken her out on car rides, no accidents and waits till we take her to the backyard for her to pee. i’ve only had 2 accidents inside the house because we didn’t take her out to pee ASAP when she finished eating/drinking water. shes an australian shepherd im just curious if this might only last for a few days or when will i truly know she is potty trained. i honestly dont even give her room or time to sniff around the house after she eats and take her out immediately. i have a lot of time right now to really look after her with a close eye but idk if im actually training her or no?

thanks !