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Can I hear any success stories of dogs who were or are a bit more on the submissive side than dominant – mostly noticeable in the fact that they’re still excited/submissive pees at 5 mo. old, otherwise the pup’s confidence is average – but still ended up being able to successfully and enjoyably do hobby obedience?

I am interested in training (beyond the obedience foundations first) things like a bark and hold, guard, growl, maybe scent work or rally. I do not want to do any bite work, and am also not looking to necessarily compete (and certainly not to any high level). Dog in question is a GSD, raised in a breeder’s home, driven more by handler attention and praise but a little on the softer side, not a high drive, bitey or dominant dog.

I am trying to evaluate this aspect of a particular dog and whether it’s the right fit for us (among other things I’m taking into consideration. My intention has been to hopefully end up with a dog who would be active family companion who is people-oriented, can live happily in a household with a smaller dog and a younger child, and is confident enough but not super high drive/high energy, but enough to dabble in hobby obedience like I mentioned above (I appreciate some scary dog privilege just in terms of people not being as likely to approach sometimes, like night walks).

I am currently fostering a dog from my local shelter and he is perfect in every way aside from not being housebroken, which we are struggling with. Finding him a home will be soooo much easier if he is potty trained so I am looking for advice!

He is about 2 years old and was neglected in his previous home – emaciated, and kept in a basement. I've had him for a little over 3 weeks and I have been taking him for frequent walks on a regular schedule and rewarding with treats every time he pees or poos – he is super food motivated, goes to the bathroom every time I take him out for a walk, which is down to 4-5 times per day, and now excitedly turns for a treat after he goes. Overall he's doing great outside, and never has an accident when we are home and watching him. However, I have been crating him when I leave the house (because I can't trust him to not have an accident while I'm gone) and he is consistently going in the crate. I have also tried leaving him out of the crate but in my bedroom with the door closed for short periods of time when I need to give my cats a break from him, and he will also have accidents when left alone in the room, even after just coming in from a walk. I cannot figure out how to break the habit of him going in the crate because I'm not there to correct it when it happens. And for context, when he gets crated I walk him immediately before putting him in there and am gone no longer than 3 hours (often less), which I know he is capable of holding it for – he holds it through the night every night for up to 8 hours. He does seem to have a bit of separation anxiety, but the shelter veterinarian declined anxiety meds and he settles in the crate shortly after going in, and there is really no way around the crate at this time bc I need to keep him separated from my cats when he is not supervised and I can't have him peeing and pooping all over my house. Any tips would be greatly appreciated!!

Hi! I recently adopted a 10week (now 12 weeks) old puppy from a shelter. He’s a mutt but we think he’s got Pitt in him and maybe golden? It’s unknown. But he’s become aggressive. Not normal puppy biting but he will fully snap at people spontaneously. He was given a treat by my step father and after eating it he attempted to pick him up to which resulted in him getting bit multiple times. Im a female and he allows me to pick him up with no issue. He absolutely hates men and will bite any man that tries to pick him up and will also nip/bite and growl at people just for being near him. He was playing with my young cousin and decided he was done playing (totally fine and normal) so he laid down. My cousin then went to pet him and he tried to bite him. We thought it was just men but he will spontaneously go after any and anyone. Any advice? Is this fear aggression, insecurity, etc?

Hi everyone!

I have a 14 week old small companion breed who is very confident and very independent. He has no issue exploring things by himself and much prefers playing by himself too. How can i shape him into actively wanting to engage with me?

Currently i am rewarding him by giving him treats every time he makes eye contact with me. I was also thinking about starting to hand feed him and give him only restricted acess to toys as these are the things i have read so far. What else can i do?