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It's been a month since I've got my Westie puppy. He's 13 weeks old and I'll say, it's been a lifetime change of experience of doubt, questioning, frustration and tears…

BUT IT DOES GET BETTER

After a month of having my pup, I can see the changes happening. He's almost potty trained by this point, runs to his puppy pad to do business if he's across the room and rarely has accidents. He's doing better now in some understanding of what he can/can't from the tone of my voice and treats. Yes, he's a still little bite monster but that's normal and now I can tell when he's overtired and needs to be put down in a nap. During the night, he sleeps without whining.

What still is a problem is leaving him alone in his pen. Previously, I couldn't leave the room without him throwing a fit. Now, if I do take too long, he'll make small whines. When it comes to leaving him by himself at the apartment for an hour or few, that's when the fits start. Barking, whining and of course destroying his puppy pad… it's frustrating but I also feel bad for him too.

Overall, it takes alot of patience and devotion of raising a puppy. It did a blow to my mental state for the first week but I'm feeling better and so is my puppy! He is very energetic, goofy and a huge mamas boy.

Hi!

My 8 month old english cocker spaniel puppy barks every time I leave the house. I put him in the crate in which he sleeps all night without any problems (we sleep upstairs so he is alone downstairs). He also likes to spend time in crate and is totally fine there when somebody is home.

As soon as I leave though he starts barking (have been doing so for 4 months since we got him). Right now I leave him with a treat (as soon as he finishes it, starts the barking).

We have tried everything – starting with leaving only for 2 minutes and building it up but I have to go away from home for longer sometimes and then ofcourse he is barking. Tried to leave the radio on etc. but nothing seems to work. I'm really sad and stressed to leave him but I can't take him with me all the time.

I have also tried to leave him outside the crate. He doesn't go crazy or break anything, just the barking.

I read that maybe I shouldn't give him a treat before leaving?

Can anyone help?

We brought home a 20-week-old dachshund puppy a few days ago to join our 9-year-old rat terrier, and honestly we’re feeling way more overwhelmed than we expected. There’s been barking, growling, and snapping when they get too close, so we’re keeping them mostly separated with crates, gates, and rotations. That said, there are moments when they can actually be in the same room quietly, which gives us some hope, but everything still feels really fragile and tense.

On top of that, the puppy is having a hard time with confinement. He barks, cries, digs, and sometimes panics in his kennel or pen before eventually settling, and it’s been emotionally exhausting to listen to. We also have to juggle feeding and potty breaks separately since our older dog eats everything at once and the puppy grazes, which makes even basic routines feel complicated.

I’m realizing a lot of what I’m feeling is puppy blues, but it’s still really intense. I feel anxious, guilty, and honestly sometimes I feel regret and like I made a bad decision, which feels awful to even admit. We love both dogs and just want to do right by them, but right now it feels like we’re constantly trying to keep things from going wrong.

We’re looking for reassurance, advice, and success stories from people who’ve introduced a puppy to an older dog and gone through this stressful phase. Does this actually get better, and what helped you make it work?

I recently got my dog a little freezable penguin toy with a hole in his belly for frozen treats. So far all I’ve done with it is peanut butter, which he goes crazy for, and some of his wet food which didn’t freeze very well. If anyone here uses a similar toy I would love to know what types of stuff you put in it.

Hi everyone. Hoping to find some advice from the community on help with a puppy that is having some major separation anxiety. We got a little whipped a few months back (shes 10m old now) and up until recently she has done really well when we both leave for work. We would leave her in the hallway with our greyhound and she was doing great. No accidents, no damage or anything like that.

But since we went back to work after the xmas break she has ripped up the carpet and underlay and chewed the skirting board. We have since got her a crate and gave her lots of chew toys, her bed and some cardboard to rip up but she is chewing the crate and bending the bars and leaving so much drool. We have gone to the vets and got a calming defuser (adaptil) and some medication to help calm her while she gets used to it but that doesnt seem to be helping at all.

We take her for morning walks before we head off to work to try and tire her out but doesn't seem to help.

Anyone here had experience with something like this that could offer some help?

Hello, I have been using Nexgard plus on my dogs for about 2 years now and have very diligent with giving this medication every 30 days. Well, I took my dog to the vet for her annual vaccinations and heartworm test (she is 6 years old and I have had her since a puppy). The test came back positive for anaplasmosis. The vet prescribed doxycycline. I questioned how this was possible since my dogs are on tick prevention. The vet stated she was exposed at some point to anaplasmosis but really didn’t elaborate or suggest anything other than saying the test that was positive show my dog has antibodies… I don’t understand why I am spending so much on a preventative but my dog still was exposed to a tick borne illness. Before I switched to Nexgard plus I was using seresto collar and heartgard plus. I was considering switching back since the collar kills tick before they bite. Has anyone else experienced this when using Nexgard plus? I am worried if it can’t prevent anaplasmosis what are the chances my dog will get Lyme disease? Does anyone have recommendations on a better flea/tick/heartworm prevention preferably one that kills ticks on contact?

TL;DR. Newly adopted male dog is starting to push back against my female dog, who has been guarding me from him for two weeks. I’m worried about it getting out of hand.

I have had my female chi-peke for about 6 years, she’s about 9 years old. I also have a 4.5 year old Chi mix male that I adopted 3.5 years ago. The female has always been possessive of me and often runs the male off if she is with me first. If he is already with me, she’s usually fine. I run interference as much as possible as he is timid and nervous and I don’t want her to be mean to him or monopolize my attention.

Two weeks ago I adopted a 3 year old male poodle mix. He has attached himself to me, follows me from room to room, and always wants to be near me. I have stopped the female from bullying him, and let him be with me, while still giving her a lot of attention. He is very sweet and he hasn’t stood his ground with her until today.

He is sleeping next to me on the couch, and she hopped up next to him to be near me. I heard a low growl, and thought it could be him, but since he had never done that before, I assumed it was the female. She tried jumping up again and he snapped at her. Granted, he was already there and sleeping, and I understand why he would not want her jumping up near him, but she didn’t make contact.

I’m concerned that these behaviors may escalate, and I’ll have a scuffle on my hands. I want him to be able to spend time with me, but I also don’t want her to be pushed out. It wouldn’t be fair to her.

What should I do? I have a fair amount of experience with dogs, but this is a new one for me. If necessary I will get in a professional trainer to work through this. I’m wondering if getting a third dog was a mistake. Any advice appreciated.

Got a targeted ad for SwirlasRoll 3.0, which went on a 2 page essay on facebook about why it was such a great product. Claims over 31000+ happy customers, but I can't find any reviews or other info whatsoever. Has anyone tried it? Or know if its a scam?

I’m looking for the best price for my doxie mix who has Cushings. I currently am paying 89.99 for a box of 30 10mg capsules every 2 weeks from my vet.