I have a 5 month cavapoo who for the first 4 and a half months has been an angel with his crate bedtime routine. He unfortunately had a potty accident in his crate and since then he has been barking/crying when putting him to bed. He does usually settle overnight however he can be crying for up to 30 mins before he settles. Has this ever happened to anybody before? The only thing I can think is he can still smell the potty or associates it with doing the toilet. We haven’t changed his routine too drastically and we are able to leave him in the house for a couple of hours at a time on his own, so I don’t think it is a separation anxiety issue. Any help would be appreciated!

We have a mini schnauzer who is about to turn one. I am at my wits end with her and have been sat sobbing today. She is terrorising me. I cannot get more than five minutes of solid work done with her. She is just relentless and I don’t know what to do. She is so destructive, she is biting me and trying to hump and just will not listen.

She is walked for an hour a day by me, I feed her, play with her, take her to training, she has licky mats puzzle toys etc. I don’t know what to do with her. She doesn’t do this to my boyfriend nearly as much me.

Please help!!

Hey everyone! We’ve been on a list for a lab puppy from a very reputable breeder for ~6 months and just found out she’s been born! She'll be ready to be picked up at 8 weeks old at the end of January. The timing would be perfect except we have a 5-day family trip in mid-March for a major milestone birthday that we can’t miss. She’d only be ~15 weeks then, and we’re not comfortable leaving her that young with anyone for that many nights.

We spoke to our breeder and he gave us two options:

Option 1: Have the breeder hold her and pick her up at 15 weeks

Our breeder offered to keep her the extra 6–7 weeks (for a fee) and work on crate training and early socialization. After mid-March our schedule is wide open, so the timing would be great and we could pick her up immediately after getting back from our trip. She'd be 15 weeks at this point.

Pros: A little older, partly trained, well-socialized, easier timing
Cons: Extra cost + we miss the tiny 8-week puppy stage

Option 2: Wait for the next litter

We also have the option to defer to the next litter, which would likely be due for pickup in late April. This would mean we get the puppy at 8 weeks, but May is busy for us (two full-day events + one overnight), which might be tough with a 10-week-old puppy to find care that we trust.

Pros: Get the classic 8-week experience, no extra boarding/training cost
Cons: Our May plans would be stressful with such a young pup, would have to find overnight/full day care we trust and she wouldn't be fully vaccinated so boarding wouldn't be an option. If we did the first option, she'd be 6 months old at that point and much easier to find care for a day or evening.

Looking for advice:

• Any drawbacks to bringing home a pup at 15–16 weeks? Will we be sad we missed out on the first few weeks?
• Anyone had a breeder keep a puppy longer—good/bad experiences?
• Would you pick the 8-week start or the easier timing?

Thanks!!

I was wondering when did boundaries start to stick with your puppy? We have some clear boundaries that never change. For example, don’t stand against the counter / table, dont eat the plants, dont chase the cats (very hard one😂). He knows he cant do it, and I learned him the behaviour I rather see (four feet on the ground, checking in with me when he wants to fixate on the cats). I also always try to reward the times when he does the good behaviour, like ignoring the cats, having four feet on the ground.

He knows he can’t do it, but he still keeps trying and only stops when I start to get up to stand in between him and the thing he wants to do. Sometimes he does stop with the 3th ‘no’. Sometimes with the first one. Sometimes not and I have to stand between him and for example, the table, until he makes a better choice (walk away, disengage). But every day, he tries the same things again😂. Im already happy that he knows what ‘no’ means. But is there a point where they stop trying? 😅

He is a 15 week old puppy.

I have a 5 year old poodle who usually gets 2 walks a day, about 1.5 hours/6km minimum. It’s becoming colder here and so hour long walks are more difficult to do and will continue to become more difficult due to the snow. I feel like my dog also still has a lot of energy after walks, and doesn’t want to go home even after a 30-45 minutes one. She looks actually sad, energetic, and like I haven’t brought her out at all. I’ve been trying to play with her but she always ends up biting me and still has energy after (separate thing I’m trying to work on). Could I be setting myself up for failure by walking her so much?

Hi! I am a SAHM with a 9 month old baby. I also have an 8 year old mini schnauzer. We live in the country- no fenced yard but a huge lot. We never leash our schnauzer but he’s trained well. (I’ve worked with dogs professionally and know how to train).

Anyway! I’ve always wanted a second dog and I’m wondering when I should adopt one.

I really love the idea of my baby growing up with a puppy and my current dog would likely benefit from a playmate.

Someone near us has an oops litter- registered lab and a 30 lb Texas heeler. One of their female pups is really chill. Just wants cuddles and pets while the other play nearby.

For the record, I’ve always said I would never own a herding breed but maybe this one would work as it’s mixed and seems like a relaxed temperament.

So- am I crazy to think adopting a puppy would work right now with a 9 month old? Of course we would do crate training… but I’m a little nervous.

At the same time- my schnauzer, while he would take some time to adjust, will eventually play with the new pup a lot. I’ve fostered pups and dogs before and my schnauzer always ends up playing with them. I don’t live on a very walkable road and so I don’t take my dog on leashed walks very often anymore- but we have a lot of places near me where we can be off leash.

I’m honestly excited at the thought of adding a pup but also nervous about making the wrong decision. But if not now, then when? I hear toddlerhood with puppies is even harder! And my dog is getting older and likely will be less accepting of a young pup as he ages.

Thoughts?

Ok, so I have an 8-week-old Australian shepherd puppy. I think she understands by now to potty outside. However, I live in a third story apartment with no elevator and it is getting colder and colder. It already snowed yesterday. So, I kinda need to indoor-potty-train her. I have a turf pad and regular potty pads. But she REFUSES to go on them. I’ve been trying everything. I sprayed potty attractant spray. I’m doing that thing where she’s either in her crate or on a leash with me. I’m taking her to the turf/pad after she wakes up/eats/drinks/plays and before she goes to sleep. But she will go LITERALLY anywhere else but where I want her to. And she has a pad in her crate that she uses at night, but she won’t in the day. She’s a really great puppy otherwise, but I need to figure this out before I train other things. Also, does anyone know how to get a potty pad to stay still, especially in a crate. Any advice would be great, thanks!!

hello! i’m a third year university student trying to collect data for my dissertation. it should take around 15 minutes. please ensure you are 18+ and live in the uk. if you could fill out my form it would be much appreciated!

https://forms.cloud.microsoft/Pages/ResponsePage.aspx?id=UPs_KAujjEiQ9M2uT3rm0Ql9uJ_-XBRJjUeGqeXsFWRUNFpORTY3SU5aWE9KUlc2N0RXSE1JTzFEVC4u