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  • Owning a puppy is reparenting yourself (if you don’t plan to have kids)

    This is what one of my friends told me and holy shit was she right. Not to get too sobby on here, but I've had my 8 month GSD/Husky mix for 3 weeks. She's still learning, she doesn't like to sleep at night because of some blatter control we are working though, she jumps on people, she's pulls if she sees anything move. There have been times, especially very late at night/early morning, when I have an internal knee jerk reaction IN MY HEAD (never manifested into action) of being mean to get her to act how I think she should because that's how my parents trained me. And it feels so good to know that even in those very stressful moments I have it in me to take a deep breath, relax, and say "I'm not that kind of parent. Pup doesn't need to be scared to respect my boundaries" and find a more positive way to get her to do what I need her to do. She gets better by the day, and with this mindset I realized she might actually be sick and that's why she's struggling to sleep and not just being a turd (again, a knee jerk reaction from how I was raised). Don't get me wrong, this process is so hard and I am not getting enough sleep and probably spending too much money on her and time problem solving, but seeing this change in my thinking is helping me in ways unconnected to dog training. Today, I realized I am too tired to do everything she needs, and rather than be frustrated and resentful (knee jerk) I bit the bullet and took her to an overnight board just for the day so I can get some sleep and recover and she can get all the stimulus and play she needs. To clarify, I did call my vet before this and she wasn't concerned, but I am bringing her in tomorrow to get checked up anyway. Love to everyone struggling with puppy's rn. It's a PROCESS.

    submitted by /u/UnfairExperience9306
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  • 5mo puppy won’t nap and viscously bites when overtired

    I'm desperate.. My 5mo lab puppy will not settle for a nap no matter what we try. Leash, covered crate, free roam, white noise, music, teaching "settle". None of it matters and now he's at the height of teething so he's extra grumpy.

    When he gets over tired he barks the second I'm out of reach, but when I get close to him all he wants to do is bite me. Redirecting to toys doesn't work. Reverse time out just leads to never-ending barking.

    I live in an apartment so I can't just let him bark it out.

    Please help!!

    submitted by /u/Birdie121
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  • Finally stopped the separation anxiety screaming (Small Win!) 😭➡️😴

    My 5-month-old Golden used to scream the house down the second I touched my keys. I couldn't even take the trash out without a meltdown. I felt like a prisoner in my own home.

    I stopped listening to the "just let them cry it out" advice (it made it worse) and started focusing on "Departure Cue Desensitization" (making the keys/shoes boring) and the Ghost Exit method.

    It took 2 weeks of consistent work, but today I left for 30 minutes and checked the camera... he was SLEEPING. Not pacing, not crying. Sleeping.

    If you are going through this hell right now—hang in there. It does get better. Don't give up on your pup! ❤️

    submitted by /u/Ambitious_Cobbler593
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  • Bark Sound Proofing Recs?

    My husband and I have 2 puppies and we live in a condo. Sometimes our little guy barks pretty loud as he’s still around 12 weeks old and we are working on it. The room that they sleep in is downstairs and I worry that our neighbors may be hearing him bark as the room backs up to another condo. All of our rooms back up to either a wall of windows and makes his barking even louder or are against a neighbors wall. I was thinking about getting sound proofing panels for that room to minimize the echo and hopefully decrease what they hear but I wanted to see if anyone had any advice!

    submitted by /u/Affectionate-Cell855
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  • 2 month old dachshund potty training in a apartment

    my 2 month old dachshund is having a hard time potty training, i’m on the 4th floor of my apartment and are forced to have some turf on my patio surrounded by a cage. i’m trying to get him to only go on the turf outside but nothing is working, he constantly pees and poops inside no matter what.

    submitted by /u/evenan1
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  • My puppy lunged at a child

    My 6 month aussie/heeler mix is really weird.

    He barks and lunges at other dogs, growls, barks and yaps (but has never bitten). Also reactive on the leash. I'm watching Cesar Milan videos and have really helped. He is usually very reactive on the leash but after the video he ignored some dog passing by.

    When unleashed at the dog park, he lunges at other dogs until they leave (very territorial). But one time he socialized fine with two elderly dogs.

    Yesterday however, he was unleashed at the beach and played fetch just fine. He ignored everyone passing by including children.

    But today we unleashed him at the local park and lunged at a kid who ran away all scared. He only lunged until the boy ran away as of saying "get out of here"

    Why only children?? He loves adults.

    submitted by /u/Pale_Field4584
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  • Puppy second vaccine

    I have a 9-10 week old golden retriever. I live in an apartment complex that has a garden that also serves as dog park, as far as I know there aren't any unvaccinated dogs in my building and no stray dogs have access to those areas, and I'd like to potty train him in the grass, he's with training pads inside the apartment at the moment. We also tend to go out a lot to pet-friendly shopping malls and places.

    I was advised to not let my puppy touch the ground until he's fully vaccinated but I've also seen other people say that they can go to certain areas with two vaccines, so I'm not sure what can I do. I want him to go out and socialise and I tend to carry him in my arms but he's growing quite fast and I don't know for how any longer will I be able to continue carrying him.

    If anyone has any advice or suggestions it would be greatly appreciated 🙏🏻

    submitted by /u/baekguz
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  • female puppy humping

    hi all, new to this forum just wanted to seek some answers to some behaviour i’ve noticed with my puppy recently. every now and then she grabs my arm really really tightly and then stands on her back legs and just humps the air back and forth, really quickly. she’ll do this for a minute or a 2 at a time. anyone know why? thanks and best. ps: she’s 6 month old female dachshund.

    submitted by /u/No_Spend_1027
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  • Are dogs color blind?

    I have always thought my dog sees only black and white.l sometimes wonder what he sees when he is watching television

    submitted by /u/cute_marx_2509
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  • Megathread: Why Does My Dog Do That?

    Does your dog turn his head when he hears an odd noise? Does your dog bury their food with your pants? This is the thread to ask why.

    Please keep this thread to non-medical issues only.

    submitted by /u/AutoModerator
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