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My puppy is four months old and I had to constantly bribe him to eat. I originally thought it was the purine proplan food so I switched him over a month ago to hills science diet wet and dry food. I’m now at the point where each meal has some wet food, some dry food, a topper, and sprinkled with dehydrated chicken or liver treats. I have to keep sprinkling a bit of treats throughout his meal to get him to eat. I’ve never had an animal not motivated by food so this is new territory for me. I’ve changed bowls and now using a lick mat which seems to work fractionally better. I’m hoping it’s related to teething as he’s well in the midst of that. His weight seems to be good but I just want to make sure he’s getting all he needs. Any thoughts and suggestions are welcomed!

On a side note, a huge thank you to this community. When I brought him home at 8 weeks I had about four weeks of puppy blues. I didn’t even know that was a thing at first until I found this subreddit. Things aren’t perfect (I didn’t/don’t expect them to be) but they’ve gotten better and I know I’m not alone

Hi everyone! I went out of town for about a week now and I’m picking up my puppy from this inhome boarding place tomorrow. The couple is amazing and I get 3-4 videos everyday and she is having a blast.

She turned 6 months last week and I expect regression in training or just the routine we had before she left.

We had a very specific nap schedule and she was in the crate for every nap. At the inhome she slept in bed with them and the other puppies that they take care of. She is use to being around them and other dogs basically 24/7 the last week.

I wanted to ask if anybody had tips or advice on helping her get back on her schedule or if they notice their puppy was able to bounce back ok or was it tough?

Hi fellow puppy owners!

First time dog owners here.

We’re getting increasingly concerned, and honestly a bit desperate, about our male Labradoodle puppy. He just turned 11 months. At home, he’s actually a great dog. He listens reasonably well, is house-trained, and we can leave him alone for a decent amount of time. Aside from the usual attention-seeking when we’re on work calls and his habit of treating literally everything (his bed, pillows, blankets) as a toy, he’s calm and can entertain himself.

The moment we leave the house, everything changes. On walks he pulls extremely hard on the leash, gets distracted by absolutely everything, and wants to sniff and see it all. He seems very sensitive to any kind of stimulus. On rare occasions he can walk nicely for a short stretch, so it feels like he knows what to do, but he just can’t keep his focus. We train this daily, but with mixed success.

If he’s not allowed to go somewhere he wants, he starts whining and pulling even harder, to the point where it turns into a tug-of-war. He is much worse with dogs than with people. With people we pass on the street, things have clearly improved over time. However, when we actually stop and talk to someone, he still goes completely over the top. Other dogs overstimulate him even more. He gets extremely excited, jumps a lot, and struggles to regulate himself. If he can’t greet a dog the way he wants, he becomes very vocal and reactive.

When we stop to talk to people or hold him back, he sometimes jumps up and snaps or mouths at us. We see so many other dogs calmly sitting or lying next to their owners, but he just cannot settle. He seems constantly overwhelmed and extremely reactive to his environment.

This is not teenage regression in the sense that it suddenly started now. He already showed these behaviors earlier, although he was less vocal back then. Looking back, this was already visible in the litter. He was very attentive and demanding, always afraid to miss something, and had a much harder time settling and sleeping compared to his siblings. He would whine whenever he saw movement. We hoped he would grow out of it, but so far that hasn’t happened.

Has anyone experienced something similar with their dog, especially during adolescence? Is this still within the range of “normal” for his age and maturing process, or does this warrant extra attention and intervention?

We’re starting sessions with a dog therapist soon, but if there’s anything we can already work on in the meantime, we’d love to hear it. Right now it’s very difficult to take him anywhere that isn’t home, because of his reactivity around dogs and his inability to settle or walk properly on the leash.

I’m looking for tips of advice. I recently brought home a 6, almost 7, months chihuahua mix. He was re-homed from a house with many other dogs and it seems like he was not properly socialised. He is not potty trained and does not know how to walk on a leash. He is scared of everything, but in particular of being touched. He seems to just be a very sensitive dog. Since he arrived, I have been working on building trust, helping him feel more confident and helping him get comfortable in the house. It has been 5 days now and although he is curious, he still won’t let me touch him and flinches if I make sudden movements too close to him. I have had dogs growing up, but I have never had such a scared and sensitive dog. If anything, the dogs I had tended to be the opposite way, extroverted and eager. Would anyone here have similar experiences and maybe some tips on how to help him bond and not feel scared of touch?

I also haven’t been able to start ant training with him because of this and I’m worried he might not adjust well long-term – I go to the office 2 times a week and my initial plan was to put him in a day care nearby, but I’m not sure we will ever get to that point, so maybe I also just need some reassurance from people who have been through this.

I will be thankful for the help!! 🙏

We have a new border terrier puppy (10 weeks old), she really is good as gold and such a funny sweet little girl, with a strong prey drive.

Our older labrador is 5 and a really gentle, sweet dog but doesn't really stick up for himself (can be quite anxious).

When they play which they love to do, they are mostly really good together and play with toys etc, but sometimes she is just so rough with him, growls, snarls, grabs onto his ears or jowls.

We break them up when she gets like this but it's weird because he doesn't seem to mind? Never corrects her himself as far as I can see.

She's already learnt well not to do the same grabbing onto trouser legs and biting with me, but she does seem to be a bit rough with him sometimes, he even got a bite on the balls once 😂

Anyone experienced this and have some advice?

We just got an 8 month old poodle mix. He’s about 20 pounds. Great pup. Seems mostly crate trained however he isn’t potty trained at all. He holds his pee for a very long time. I’m taking him out immediately upon waking still nothing. For hours. The second we get outside he’s shaking. At times with windchill it feels -15. Warmest today was 5 degrees. He has a jacket. Is it possible it’s just too cold?? I haven’t gotten a single potty outside. After 16 hours of him holding it using the crate to outside method every 30 minutes I put him in a playpen with pee pads and he peed immediately. I’m starting to wonder if it’s just too cold?

I’ve been working on the relaxation protocol with my 8 month old rescue, and I just have a couple questions for those who have done it before.

She’s very smart and obedient during training sessions (when distractions are present that’s a different story, lol). She blew through task set 1.

If the tasks are like “Sit while you count to 5 seconds. Sit while you count to 10 seconds.” Do you break and reset the sit between these tasks? Or do you reward in between and restart the count?

If I ask her to sit, sometimes she’ll fall into a down especially if there are a few tasks in a row. Is it okay to leave her here or should she be sitting since that’s what I asked? The introduction to the relaxation protocol says that if a down is more comfortable for the dog, then it’s okay. I just want to make sure I’m not rewarding her for the wrong things.

Hi! So I’ve had my puppy for over two months now and absolutely adore him. We got him when he was 11 lbs at 12 weeks and now he’s 22 weeks and 35 pounds. He’s been teething a lot recently and losing teeth left and right. But he still bites all the time! I’ve followed every rule at this point for puppy mouthiness. I’ve tried walking away when he bites. I’ve tried saying “ouch” really loud and taking my hand away (though I think he gets more excited with this). I’ve tried redirecting him to toys. But he still bites so much. I genuinely don’t know what to do. He loves people and is very sweet but when he gets very stimulated, he wants to bite your hand or ankles. He knows he’s not supposed to do it, as when we say “ouch” he’ll then sit down or walk away, but if we pet him again a minute or two later, he bites again. He doesn’t bite hard, but he’s getting a bunch of adult teeth right now, so it’s hurting more.

For context, he’s 30% Australian cattle dog, 15% Rottweiler and a mix of a bunch of other random breeds. We do herding exercises with him and keep his brain busy with kongs and puzzles.

Any help would be appreciated! Just need anything to help with this behavior.

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