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We got a German shepherd puppy when she was 4 months and is now 7 months! We were told she’s good with cats, but she just wants to corner our 2 cats, even when they correct her. We attend group training classes and our trainer said that German Shepherds have a high prey drive, which will hopefully lower with age.

The kitties have upstairs and the pup is downstairs, but as we get towards the cooler weather, I know my cats like to come downstairs and cuddle with me while I work. I don’t want to crate the puppy since cats could spend the entire day in one spot, but I don’t want them to be chased when they come down. Our puppy knows all of her commands until a cat is in sight.

What are some good next steps? Should we hire a trainer to come to our house? Is it a matter of time? I really want to know what I can do because I’d love to spend the holidays with all of the pets around without needing to manage boundaries for them. Thank you!!!

Side note: this is my first puppy, and we have an adult lab who the cats are comfortable with.

Every time it rains, he doesn't want to poop. I can get him to pee though. A few times it's rained outside and I've tried to get him to poop, with no luck (spent ages in the rain). And when inside after bringing him in as he didn't poop, I'll turn my back for 1 minute he's pooped. Does anyone have any advice! Feeling a bit defeated this morning as he hasn't pooped, he's had breakfast, I know he needs to poop 🥲 I can't take my eye off him

I had a movie on in the background as I decorate for Halloween. So I wasn't thinking about it, but a man in the movie shot a dog, and my dogs were watching. The one dog jumped off the sofa and in front of the TV barked and then made a whimpering sound. She looks sad but I said it's okay. It's only TV. I changed the movie. They seem to be their normal selves. But has anyone had any experience with this? Is there anything I should be thinking about or doing?

So I just recently got an apartment and it comes with carpet in all the rooms and living room except the kitchen. We have two dogs, a 3 year old chihuahua mix and a 9 year old chihuahua. She usually pees a lot and it’s happened before where she’ll pee on our bathroom carpets if we leave the door open. They are both really good at peeing on pee pads when we are not home, but it has happened where they pee in the middle of the living room on rare occasions but we currently have hardwood floors so it’s an easy cleanup. We always take them out on like 15-30 minute walks before we leave for work, and after work we take them out twice before the day ends but we do work 8-9 hours a day. Any recommendations to prevent peeing on the carpet as much as we can? Of course accidents happen, but has anyone tried anything that helps or has prevented your pets from peeing on the carpet before? For as long as I’ve had them we have always had hardwood floor. Thank you!

I've had dogs my entire life besides the last 5 years. I'm considering getting a doggo. Would be great for me and my 2 year old son. But my concern is I leave the apartment at 4am and don't get home until 445pm. I do have a sliding door upstairs that I could put a doggy door in. That was he can go potty on the patio on some artificial turf. It's covered but won't completely stop the rain.

I work 4 10s and 3 days off. Terrible idea or no?

My dog is a little reactive on walk. She barks at other dogs when walking past and she won’t take any treats or listen to redirection. I’ve tried hotdogs, cheese, treats, a clicker but I still can’t get her to calm down. She was a rescue and was found in a bad environment in Texas and is fine with some dogs off leash but doesn’t like when they jump on her. I wanna try and help but I’m struggling to find ways that will work.

I've read the separation anxiety guide, but it hasn't helped because the dog isn't bonded to me. So I can't do anything in the guide.

This dog is fully bonded to him. He's never home, feeds her human food, never trains her, and never takes her out for walks. I want to take over being her owner and actually start training her and walking with her and fixing her separation anxiety, but she won't bond with me.

She's fearfully reactive, and scatters at every little noise, every little sound. Every time my roommate comes home, she runs to him and he pets her for maybe 5min before ignoring her again.

How would I go about starting to bond with her? I'm home more than him, and I have more resources than him to train her.

Thanks in advance.

hi all! i have a 43lb terrier mix who i bring with me on car rides often. we usually don’t go far but i want to make sure she’s safe and bring me some peace of mind so i have been looking into high impact kennels for the car. the two that have stood out to me are Gunner and Impact. i’ve also heard about Ruff Land but haven’t looked into it much. right now im heavily considering Gunner but would love to hear your thoughts!

Whenever we leave the house we have our 2 dogs confined to the living room with gates because they tend to get into things. Both dogs do great in there, never have accidents or anything. But our 7 year old dog occasionally gets out by either chewing on the gate or knocking it down or jumping over it (we've gone through several gates trying to find the right one lol). Whenever she has a succesful escape she pees. She'll be fine for hours in the living room but even if we're gone an hour and she gets out, there's pee. Any idea why or how to stop it?

Hey, we recently got a staffy/beagle/lab cross, i believe he’s 11-12 weeks old now. he’s our first dog.

he’s a very excited and sweet lil pup, but we haven’t really had much luck with discouraging biting yet. i know it’s gonna take a LONG time, but recently i’ve noticed that when we play, he gets REALLY aggro until i have to put him in time out or pick him up (he’s calm when being carried, it’s like a killswitch for his gremlin mode). and then sometimes when he comes out of time out, he goes straight back to the aggro play

it’ll start with playing (tug of war with a rope toy, throwing a toy for him to chase after, etc.), and then he goes aggro. suddenly he’s latched around my clothes or hands or feet, biting down quite hard. i’m sure it’s playful, but it’s so hard to get him to let go because of his grip, and he has no interest in any toys i try to replace my clothes or limbs with. (and it freaking hurts!!!)

is the aggro thing normal? i’m assuming he’s getting overexcited, but sometimes we can just be lazily playing and he still turns on me. my other assumption is that hand tastes better than toy, and hand fights back, but that can’t be sustainable. i’m not sure how much longer my hands can last as his chew toy.

when he gets a real good grip round my toe, what do i do? he won’t let go, and boy his teeth are sharp. i’m always scared that the next time he goes for my foot and i don’t see it coming, i’m going to instinctively react and accidentally kick him. plus if he’s literally dangling off my sock it’s kind of hard to step away without also stepping on him, i don’t know how to make him let go and then not go back for more

any advice, please 🙏 im desperate. i know he’s still a baby and that this is probably normal, but how do i at least start discouraging the super rough play?