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We are trying to figure out crate training our miniature poodle puppy. He's 18 weeks old now as the breeder didn't want to sell him over Christmas, and she wanted to leave him longer with his mum as he was the only puppy in the litter.

We've been working through positive associations with the crate. He's not heavily food motivated, he barely eats enough of his kibble as it is. The only treat that he likes properly is chicken. Over the last 5 days I've managed to get him happy and comfortable to go in on his own. I did have to take the cover off though as his favourite thing to do is chew on anything fabric. He's not interested in a Kong at all, and even the toys he likes outside of the crate he doesn't have an interest in inside the crate.

We did try to leave him in his crate to see how he found things, he didn't take it well. He was jumping around biting the crate, whining, barking, howling and eventually made himself vomit. We don't want to reward his whining, so we know we can't put him back in there again as otherwise he will notice the pattern.

We reckon he does have some level of separation anxiety too, as he goes mental if left alone more than a few minutes generally (though yesterday he managed 10 minutes just fine, sadly regressed today). Ultimately I think the issue is he doesn't know how to settle on his own. In our house he's only ever slept on us.

Has anyone got any tips on how to get the puppy to stay in the crate willingly for longer than 30s, and how do I help them settle? Is it just more slow progress or is there something I should be doing? He currently is sleeping very lightly, so lifting him up when he's asleep and putting him in the crate isn't an option, I've tried.

I have been fostering a rescue for the past two weeks and have unfortunately grown very attached to him. I say unfortunately because he gets really aggressive towards other dogs and the community I'm in has a lot of other dogs. I cannot keep him if I he goes berserk every time he sees another one. He's 4, is a great pyrenees, and has not been neutered.

Hi everyone,

I’m preparing to set off on a long journey walking across Europe. I’m planning to do it with my dog over the course of 3–4 years, visiting every EU country, camping with a tent, etc.

I’ve started to plan the route in more detail, and after my starting country the first one will be Romania. I’ve seen several times that people warn you to be careful with the shepherd dogs there. Many say you should watch out for them, avoid them from a distance, and so on.

I don’t have any issues with my own dog, but I would really appreciate any advice or tips on how to handle the situation in Romania, especially regarding the shepherd dogs.

Need some advice! My spouse and I will be moving across the US with our two dogs. While they are small (18lbs and 12lbs) they seem to measure slightly taller than what is allowed in cabin on most flights (they are about 13/14 in tall and most requirements I’ve seen cap out at 11in) so now we are faced with the decision of checking them into cargo or plane hopping/driving.

We found a flight service where you can fly with them on your lap if they are small but it only goes a few states at a time. So we would have a 2/3 hour flight one day, 2 hour flight the next day and then a 9 hour drive to destination (probably broken up into 2 chunks)

Or we could check them into cargo but there are no non-stop flights so they would be in cargo for 9+ hours with no bathroom breaks presumably.

Neither of them has flown before or experienced anything like this. Is it better to have them with us in cabin/driving but over more days? Or get the traveling out of the way in 1 uncomfortable day?

My wife had a dog when she was a kid in Peru that ran away when she was younger. She was really attached to the dog and was heartbroken when it disappeared. Over the years she would occasionally post online trying to see if anyone had ever seen the dog.

Fast forward about 10 years later, someone actually recognized the dog from one of her posts. It turns out the dog had been a stray for years and was eventually rescued by someone who regularly takes in dogs. The dog has been living with that person and is currently in a safe and loving home for 11 months.

The dog is now almost 15 years old.

The rescuer seems like a very kind person and said they wouldn’t be opposed to returning the dog to my wife if she wanted. The issue is that the dog is still in Peru and it would cost roughly $2,500 to handle the transport and paperwork to bring the dog to the US.

My wife really wants to bring the dog here because she feels like it’s fate that the dog was found after all these years.

For context, we actually already have another dog that my wife’s family got after the original dog ran away. That dog eventually ended up not being taken care of well by family members in the US, so we took the dog in and now she lives with us.

So we’re definitely dog people and we already take responsibility for one dog.

My hesitation is more about the practical side:

• The dog is almost 15 years old
• International travel can be stressful for senior dogs
• The dog already has a stable home with someone who rescues animals
• It would cost about $2,500 to bring her here

Part of me feels like the best thing for the dog might actually be to stay where it’s already settled, but I also understand why this means so much emotionally to my wife.

If you were in this situation, would you bring the dog back, or leave it where it’s already settled?

I have a GSD puppy, shes 5 and a half months old. In the morning we go on a mile half walk, shes usually still hyper for a bit after.

I leave the back door open for her so she can come in and out freely, had a bunch of toys, balls, squeak toys, chewing toys, wrinkle toys etc. But whenever I look at the camera shes usualy just laying down either on the couch or staring outside.

She drinks alot, barely eats I guess? Idk shes never been able to keep a 3x a day feeding routine. Found she ate the most when I leave the food out and she normally does eat it all or leaves like a quarter of a cup left.

When I go downstairs she usually runs to me then just follows me around. I'll play fetch with her and she gets energetic.

Later in the afternoon she often gets hyper, just runs around for a hour with her toys in her mouth lmao

But yeah, during the day she just lays down in various places unless im there, then she'll follow me

Hey,

I’m currently completing my final-year Psychology dissertation, and I’m looking for participants for my study on pet ownership.

The survey explores how attached people feel to their pets and whether different types of pets are associated with positive well-being outcomes. *It only takes 5 minutes to complete and can be done on your phone!*

You can take part if you:
• are 18 or older
• ⁠live in the UK
• ⁠have at least one pet that lives with you (all kinds of pets are welcome!!!)

Every response is very appreciated and helps me in completing my degree!

All responses are anonymous and completely voluntary.

You can take part here: https://aruspsych.eu.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_eyvuB4s80ZhCZP8

Thank you so much!! 🙂

Hola! Estoy pensando en comprar un cachorro de golden reteiever inglés en un criador llamado HT golden and labrador retriever. Está ubicado en Guils de Cerdanya. Sabéis si es seguro?

To start, I read the wiki and it was unclear on my question. I just got an adult Shih Tzu mix. I need to house train him. I installed a dog door and he's learned how to use it. I currently work 13 hour shifts and cannot reliably come home during my shifts. No one else lives in the house and the closest person I know lives 30 minutes away. I currently have a very large 30×48 kennel for him and I butt it up against the dog door, so he has access to the entire yard plus that little area inside the house.

The wiki says to watch him like a hawk and crate him whenever I can't watch him, but that's simply not possible for me, as I can't crate him 13+ hours straight. So when he goes potty while I'm at work, he receives no feedback. Im off work 3-4 days a week. Will I be able to house train him by supervising him just part of the week? The goal is to eventually be able to let him have the entire house and yard while I'm at work.

My area has a significant chance of bad weather and tornadoes in the next few days. It’s uncommon for my area. I’m torn about the best way to keep my dogs safe if I were to end up in a tornado warning.

Obviously I will bring them into my safe room with me (bathroom). But I’m not sure whether it’s better to bring a kennel in to the bathroom for them, or keep them on leash only.

On the one hand, I feel they’d be possibly more protected from debris in a kennel that I put a mattress over. But then they couldn’t escape on their own.

On the other hand, if not kenneled, they may be more vulnerable to falling debris and my anxious dog would not just sit next to me under a mattress. She’d be pacing all over the room. And possibly they could get out and get lost if the worst were to happen and the home was hit.

The likelihood of all this is low I know, but I want to do the best thing for them.

If you live in tornado prone areas, what do you do with your dogs?