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To everyone going through the puppy blues: it does get better! My husband and I got our sweet girl Olive on December 30th. We lost our 15 year old Biewer Terrier in September 2024. We saw Olive and fell in love. Were we actually ready to bring a puppy home? Not. At. All. I hadn’t done all the research I wanted to do. I didn’t puppy proof the house. I didn’t have any supplies for her. I scrambled to get everything we needed the day we brought her home. The first night was so rough. I was in a bad flare up with my chronic illness. I cried every day for two weeks. I was in pain and felt like I couldn’t take care of myself and Olive. My husband helped as much as he could but he was gone for over 12 hours a day. I took an extra week off work and started getting into a new routine. I work from home full time and the first two weeks back to work were so rough. But we got through it!

We’ve had Olive for a month and a half now and I can’t imagine my life without her! She brings so much joy to our lives. The house isn’t empty and silent anymore. It’s filled with the sound of her little paws hitting the hardwood, her playful barks, and so so much laughter. She’s not Whiskey. No dog will ever replace him. But I’m positive he sent her our way to mend our broken hearts. I started looking at the positive things she brings to my life instead of only focussing on the hard parts. Is it still hard? Good lord yes. But it’s so worth it.

Hi everyone, I’m looking for a bit of advice.

I have a 16-week-old Labrador puppy who is doing really well with training, meeting guests, and playing with other dogs. He doesn’t seek contact with strangers, which I don’t force him to do, but after a few minutes he usually relaxes.

He has been like this since he was very young. He is generally a sensitive little guy who needs to observe things before he feels comfortable interacting.

However, he seems very scared on walks. He gets nervous when he hears dogs barking, even if he can’t see them, and he sometimes barks at people we pass as well.

Has anyone had a puppy like this who grew up to be confident and well-adjusted? I would really love to hear your experiences.

Has anyone purchased this ? I really like Kim's way of training ~ she seems to be pooping up all over my feeds ~ the course is a little pricey ~ so would love to hear any feedback

We took our 14 week old lab mix puppy for a short walk yesterday (we’ve been trapped inside for WEEKS) with our toddler and it went pretty well! We decided to try again today, but use the stroller for our toddler and it was a DISASTER.

The puppy was freaking out and climbed into the bottom basket which was okay for a while, but then he started whining and when I went to get him out, he turned into a complete gremlin. I finally got him out and the rest of the walk was chaos. He was crying so loud to get back to the stroller and we let our toddler walk and the puppy ride for a minute, just for him to freak out and want out.

He’d take a couple steps and then completely lose his mind to get back in. We tried walking him in front of the stroller and we almost ended up dragging him because he would NOT walk forward. When he walked behind, he was yanking whoever was walking him to get back to it.

I am SO confused why he is so triggered by the stroller. I’m wondering if he just can’t handle not being next to our toddler on walks, but they’re not even “connected at the hip” so I am at a loss. Any help would be appreciated.

Anyone have any experience with these? They could potentially save me some money, but I worry about the extra work involved in cleaning them. I have a washer in my apartment, but not a dryer, and I don't know how long these would take to air-dry.

I'm also worried my dog my use these and decide that area rugs are a suitable place to pee, because they look/feel similar. Did anyone run into issues with this?

Yes, I know that training my dog to only pee outside would be best, but I live somewhere that gets VERY cold for half the year, plus I have a disability that can sometimes make me housebound for a whole day, so I need my dog to be able to use pee pads. It's something I need a lot right now, and will probably need to at least have on hand for my dog's entire life.

After losing our soul dog last spring, we finally decided we were ready to adopt again. Right around the new year, we brought home a 30 lb, 8-12 month old mutt from a rescue that transports dogs up from high-kill shelters in the South. (For context, our late dog was adopted in the same manner and we obviously had a wonderful experience with her.)

Things have not been so smooth this time around. The rescue (or maybe just her foster?) was not upfront about some big behavioral issues. The worst is her mouthiness. She has literally dangled off of my arm by her teeth on more than one occasion. We have a young child and there is absolutely no way I would feel comfortable allowing them in the same room together without her on a tight leash. Despite the rescue's insistence, she is also not housebroken. If we turn our backs on her even for a moment, she will tear up the carpet, pee, or both.

We are really trying our best with her. We don't have a fenced in yard, so we do as much playtime and exercise inside and on leash as possible. We crate her, we take her out every 1-2 hrs, we have a daily dog walker, and we also have a +R trainer come 2-4x a week. She is improving immensely, but she still needs so much work. Normally I'd feel up for the challenge, but as it turns out…

… I'm pregnant. Without going into my medical history, suffice to say: We did not expect this.

Due to issues I experienced with my first child, I'm being managed as a high risk pregnancy. That means extra appointments at the specialized hospital an hour away from work. I feel so sick, so busy, and so, so tired.

I just don't know what to do. Returning her would be a logistical impossibility. We don't know anyone who would be interested in taking her, and we don't have family or friends who can pitch in. Can I trust the training to work on a time crunch? Or am I just prolonging a nightmare by keeping her?

Hi, I have an 80-pound German Shepherd who needs help getting onto the bed and the ottoman. Does anyone have any recommendations for ramps I can buy?

My husband and I have two dogs. They are both adopted from a shelter in Puerto Peñasco in Mexico (adoption was in US). Our first dog we got in November 2020 and he will be six in April, our second dog we got in March 2022 and he just turned five in December. Both 35-39 lbs.

My husband and I recently moved to a new state for a job opportunities and for the first time since we’ve had these dogs, they are going to be home alone for 7 to 9 hours a day. We’ve both WFH since getting our first dog. We would occasionally have plans and be out for 7-8 hours but that was once in a while and not continuous.

My husband runs the dogs 4 miles, three days a week. Two days before work and one day on the weekend to help with their energy. I start this new job next week and am so nervous about leaving them alone every day. Our older dog is VERY energetic.

They are crate trained at night, but during the day they have access to their food, water, toys, blankets, and free roam of the house with the exception of a few rooms. And they won’t have access to the outside for potty. We will entertain the idea of Rover if we see destructive behaviors, separation anxiety, accidents in the house or general depression.

Please be nice! I am just looking for advice, reassurance, and any and all tips to making this as seamless as possible for all of us.

ETA!! My husband and I have staggered schedules. He would leave for work at 8:30 and I’d be home by 3:30-3:45. Maybe at latest 4:00pm (teacher schedule.)

If you used them you will need to reregister with another service.

https://katv.com/news/nation-world/cincinnati-animal-care-shelter-warns-microchips-may-fail-after-major-company-goes-out-of-business-microchip-dog-dogs-pet-pets-animals-registered-online-records-database-lost-missing-save-this-life-shelters-hamilton-county

I need strong poop bags in bulk if anyone has discovered such a thing, I’d appreciate your direction