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I work at an NGO dedicated to rescuing stray animals that live daily in situations of abandonment, hunger and suffering. Each life we ​​encounter brings a story marked by fear and lack of care, but also the chance for a fresh start. Our work is only possible thanks to the solidarity of people who believe in the importance of protecting those who cannot ask for help on their own. We need donations to maintain veterinary treatments, food, temporary shelter and rescue actions. Any contribution, no matter how small it may seem, represents hope and transforms the reality of an animal that is still waiting for a gesture of compassion.

I just got my first puppy and I want to make sure I’m prepared for any unexpected vet bills. He’s a small breed and really active, so I’m worried about accidents and potential health issues down the line. I also live in an area where vet costs seem to add up quickly, so I’m hoping to find something that covers both accidents and routine care without breaking the bank. I’ve looked at a couple of big-name companies online but the details are a bit confusing. Has anyone had experience with different pet insurance plans and can share which one worked best for you?

Hi all,

So we picked up a 9 week old cockerdor, now 13 weeks, she's really obedient and been very easy to train at home as she's so food driven! So far it's been alot easier than expected, only thing I'm trying to work on now is the same behaviour when we go out for a walk.. she's well socialised for her age as I'm a self employed gardener so she's been with me in the van pretty much everyday since day 3 and regularly gets let out for 20mins or so every hour or 2 in peoples gardens (secure) and sticks by me most of the time but recall has been good anyway. Problem we're having is not listening to heel when outdoors and having to tell her multiple times to sit and wait, whereas when we are at home she will listen straight away, of course if people and other dogs are near by, there's no listening unless a treat is right infront of her nose.

I knew the training we've been doing would be harder outdoors with the distractions but she just doesn't seem to pay attention at all unless there's a treat right infront of her, are there any tips to keep her focused on me and things to help with impulse control?

Our four month old puppy has started barking when in the back seat of the car. He has been in the front maybe 3 times when he was smaller. Do we just persevere?

For context we have a 3 month old cocker spaniel puppy. She has been with us since 8 weeks.

Me and my fiancee take turns in looking after her, training her, feeding her, so obviously the bond is different but she adores us equally. Me and my fiancee are strict with implementing routine since we got her. I had a puppy (shih tzu) before I had a life with my fiancee who grew old and lived for 15 years so I know what we’re working with and also we are privileged to have a puppy trainer working with us and thankful for this.

Now.. here is the issue..

Our routine when she is awake is: 5min straight potty time, 20min including tugging games, basic commands, or sniffing games (normally we do 2 tasks at this time, potty again, and 10min continuing crate training. Then we enforce naps so she is in her crate with a frozen kong or a lickmat. Obviously this time around she gets sleepy so I have to enforce naps. When I do this in her crate it will take 5-10 minutes before she settles. She will keep eye contact with me and my fiancee until she falls asleep. Sometimes she whines hard but we ignore her because we know all her needs are met. When we step outside the room she cries but the settles again after.

She happily sleeps in her crate at night. When we leave the house for 1-2 hours we have a baby camera and she is settled.

So does she have separation anxiety because she whines/cries before settling in her crate or is she just feeling FOMO and wants to spend more time with us even if shes already sleepy.

Hey there,

2nd post but we just do not know what else to try, and I guess just looking for some reassurance that it will change.

12 week old dachshund, and we got her 3 weeks ago. We have researched a lot and we believe we tried everything the internet recommended in regards to raising an independent puppy and the gains we have seen have been good I think, but not the ones to improve our quality of life.

Main issue is that she is incredibly clingy and will not leave our sight – what makes it harder is that both wife and I work from home. And we can tolerate this during the day, but at night it gets excruciating.

She wakes up on average once every 1.5h and only needs to potty once or twice during the night, all the rest is jumping on the pen and demanding attention, which unfortunately she has to get because of the many neighbors we have around. The routine is then 30 min of trying to get her back to sleep, in our arms first of course and only then back in her pen.

What we have tried: Routing, enforced naps (very hard as she will not settle alone, and can go 4 hours easily without sleep), crate on bed, crate near bed on night stand, crate opened and in a fluffy bed in a pen, every toy known to man frozen and unfrozen, and the longest she has gone without waking up is 2.5h.

And I know she is a puppy, but its incredibly disheartening to read about people having younger puppies that just sleep through the night which we are currently getting 4-5h sleep per night.

We practive every day and she is great at sit, down, stay for like 30 sec, stay whilst we leave the room for 10 sec, but anything beyond that she will not tolerate. Also worth mentioning that she is indifferent to the crate, she eats in there, knows we exercise in there and jumps in, but since we got her a fluffy bed, she will just sleep on that. In the crate she only slept if put in by us. But she will not stay by herself more than 5 min after which time she loses interest in any toy, chew, yak, antler, kong, you name it. Licky mats she gives up, and just in general gives up when anything is hard to get.

Is there anything we haven't tried apart from letting her cry her lungs out? We try that during the day for 20 min at a time and she never settled. Maybe also worth mentioning that she is not fully vaccinated so we cannot really take her out, but yesterday we did and we socialized her with a friend's dog for like 10 min. They played, a little bit rought, but surprisingly that meant she napped for 3 hours after that which is a first.

Can it just be the breed? We knew they were incredibly loving, and that is amazing, but for everyone's sanity we need some sleep.

Hi everyone, just want to share my experience. I have a golden retriever for 8 years already and she is one of the most beautiful things happened to me… Recently I got baby and I was so worried that I would need to take my dog away. What happened, is that having a dog with the baby in the same house was the best decision ever!! They are sooo generous, sweet, caring and protecting. I can’t even describe… She makes me feel better, having more energy since I don’t sleep much at night and I just can’t imagine my life without her. Just wanted to share this if you thinking of having a dog in the house with a baby❤️