I’m not sure if this is a stupid question but I’m

wondering if there’s a risk of a vaccinated adult dog contaminating the surfaces of my apartment if the adult happened to come in contact with a virus just before the period of dog sitting, especially something like parvo that I know can be hard to kill. The dog sitting period is the last week of April and the puppy (mini dachshund, born 11 March) will arrive mid to end May. I would hate to put my friend I’m sitting for in a difficult position by canceling but also if there’s even the smallest chance a virus could spread I obviously care much more about my puppy’s well being. Is this an insane worry or would I be reasonable to cancel? The quick dog turn-around time wasn’t intended, there was a misunderstanding with the breeder about the type of dog I wanted and it turns out there was a little bun ready for me sooner than I expected.

Is it also just as risky to dogsit in another person’s apartment, if I offer that option instead? What about just physical contact with other dogs in the weeks leading up to bringing the puppy home? Feeling quite nervous about this whole vulnerable period before the vaccines take effect :/ In any case, happy to provide any other details if I’m missing something.

Hi everyone! I could really use some advice/reassurance 😅

I have a 9-week-old Labrador puppy and I’m currently in nursing school, so my schedule is a bit intense. My boyfriend also works a lot, so we’re doing our best to balance everything.

Right now, her routine looks like this:

She’s in a large crate/kennel from around 6am to noon

I come home and give her a potty break + about 15 minutes of play/exercise

Then she’s back in until around 5pm

After that we spend time with her, play, train a bit, etc.

She also sleeps in her crate at night

I make sure she gets attention, food, and playtime when I’m home, but I still feel guilty about the longer stretches during the day. I’m definitely a bit of a helicopter parent and just want to make sure I’m not messing anything up long-term.

She seems okay so far (no major issues, just normal puppy behavior), but I wanted to ask:

Is this schedule harmful for a puppy this young?

Should I be doing more during the day (like a walker or sitter)?

Any tips to keep her more mentally stimulated while she’s alone?

Please be kind 🙏 I’m really trying my best to give her a good life while also surviving nursing school.

Thank you so much!

Alright, back with my 5 month old puppy crate problems. I’ve had my pup for 2 weeks now and she has to go into her crate for 2-4 hours each day as I go onsite for work.

She HATES her crate and consistently pees. Now, unfortunately she has learned to escape. we do have an 11-year-old dog who roams the house. So I do wonder if this causes her to be absolutely pissed or if she’s just an anxious mess.

Either way, I don’t feel comfortable letting her roam yet. She’s pushing 45 pounds at 5 months old. I bought the biggest crate they had at the store, using the divider but it’s huge for her.

Unfortunately, tomorrow is an extremely long day for both my husband and I at work. Typically when I put her in her crate I come home 2 to 3 hours later and she’s out of it.

Tomorrow we have a six hour workday and I need to make sure she doesn’t get out that early. I’m also over her getting out in general and don’t want her to hurt herself in the process.

Do I

1. Buying an enclosed type of crate, definitely smaller than what she has now. She would really only be allowed to lay down and not stand.

2. By what she has but a small smaller version of it so I don’t have to use the divider (I swear the divider is how she’s getting out)

We have hardwood floors and when I come home, her crate is clear across the room and she’s no longer in it.

Thoughts?! Help?!

This is Lomi. We have had her for a month, she is 12 weeks old, and she a perfect little mutt (:

I was taken aback at how shy she was going into puppy class and puppy playtime, I was worried this would be a very long process and she’d be hard to socialize. Today, we went to a puppy play time and she finally blossomed and wanted to play!! She played with a dog like 3 times bigger than her and killed it, and even was chosen to help a small dachshund learn to play. She immediately switched from rough house to sweet and gentle and I’m just so proud.

Anywho, puppy’s are hard but the effort you put into them it so worth it and rewarding! Stick with it and celebrate the wins! I highly recommend vetted puppy classes/play time so they can get their energy out and socialize before they’re all vaccinated. She is exhausted now and sleeping like a dream!! I finally can clean something now lol.

I have an 11 week old lab puppy that we’ve had for just about 3 weeks now. He’s getting pretty good with crate training; he eats all his meals in there and usually settles pretty easy when I put him in there for a nap or for bedtime.

However, he still hasn’t been fully alone in the house yet. Fortunately at least one person has been at home with him at any given time so far. I’m a little worried about what to do for when he starts crying/whining in the crate when he inevitably has his first time alone in the crate. I’ve left him in there for a nap before and gone and done some other stuff in a different part of the house, but when he wakes up he will start crying because he’s not sure where I am. Any recommendations on how to keep him from doing that, or is that just how it goes? I’m just worried that when he does end up having to be crated and by himself at home, he’ll start to get scared of being in the crate

My 1 year old pitbull rescue is still potty training and needs to be on an indoor tether to limit his roaming range. Unfortunately he is a biiiig chewer and has chewed through three leads I’ve used. He mostly chews because he is bored I think. Even with access to toys and such, he has to chew his lead.

Anyone know of heavy duty, chew-proof leashes or indoor leads??

Any suggestions on how to nip this? I don’t want my pup having medical issues due to eating sticks.

Our backyard always has sticks – yes, we rake and pick them up! BUT we have a huge tree in our backyard so they’re constantly falling, and there’s also a birds nest in there, so birds are always bringing more sticks to the yard!! This week has been the worst for the stick eating (not just chewing lol). He usually loves playing ball and with his toys outside, but this week he just drops them and goes for the sticks or dirt instead.

This week I’ve started using a long leash in the yard so we can take the stick from him and replace with a toy (if not on a leash, once he has a stick, he runs with it thinking it’s a game).

He is losing his baby teeth currently! But there are no shortage of toys in the yard for him.

TIA🤎

Hi all! As the title says I started giving my 7 month old Irish setter puppy collagen chews as a form of enrichment as she is a very high energy puppy that doesn’t settle well yet without something to do. We have given pizzle sticks as they take her a long time to get through, some pig ears (but she’s not really a fan), and recently collagen chews. She’s had about 2 collagen chews in the past two weeks.

I have seen in other subreddits that some people give collagen chews daily or even multiple times per day as long as they don’t upset their stomach.

Wondering what the general consensus is for giving chews as a form of enrichment?

I have a 1-year-old Shih Tzu mix, and I’m honestly struggling to understand how to help him.

He’s been high energy / highly aroused since very young, and it feels less like normal puppy energy and more like he’s constantly “on edge.”

The positives

• Fully crate trained since ~4 months
• Sleeps well overnight (12–8) + consistent naps in crate
• We ignore barking in crate (needs always met), and it works ~95% of the time
• Very playful, social, and loves interacting with people and dogs
• Has been to daycare and seems to do well there (though I’m not present to observe fully)
• Made huge progress with grooming (wasn’t touchable at first – still work to do, but much better)
• Healthy weight / body condition
• Super expressive and honestly a very fun/funny dog

General Behaviour

• Rarely relaxes outside his crate – always sniffing, exploring, biting fabrics/carpets
• Extremely curious but never settles on his own
• Feels like his brain is always “on” (almost ADHD-like)

Resource guarding

• Started around 3 months old
• Mostly with food, chews, and stolen items (tissues, etc.)
• I now always trade (high-value treat like sausage) – never take things directly anymore after getting bitten once around 10 months
• He knows “out,” but:
  • Often vocal/growly during toy play (we’ve assumed it’s just expression?)
  • Takes ~1–5 seconds to release ~90% of the time

New Behaviour:

• Instead of eating chews, he paces, hides, and guards them
• Gets hyper-aware if anyone moves – runs back to the chew
• More manageable when on leash during chew time

Reactivity / Outside Behvaiour

• The second we step outside, his arousal spikes massively
• Lunges + cries at:
  • Dogs (very intense)
  • Cats (extreme)
  • Some people (less intense)
• Inside:
  • Barks at noises, TV, outside sounds – hard to interrupt

Leash walking / scavenging

• Wants to sniff/eat EVERYTHING (food, trash, cigarettes)
• “Leave it” works:
  • ~90% indoors / low arousal
  • ~20% outdoors
• Pulls a lot – I’ve started turning away when he pulls
• Tried a muzzle (flat face makes it hard) – he paws it off

Seperation Issues

• Barks/paces when I leave him (even just leaving the room)
• Has almost never been left alone (family household)
• Only truly calm when contained (crate)

Balcony / scavenging issue

• Uses balcony for potty (no easy outdoor access)
• Instead of going calmly:
  • Chases leaves
  • Eats debris
  • Bites plants
• Any reaction from me seems to make it more exciting

What I’ve tried

• Positive reinforcement consistently
• Trading instead of taking (resource guarding)
• Food-based redirection
• Puzzle feeders / structured feeding
• Basic commands (leave it, out, etc.)

The problem:

It feels like I need to manage and redirect every second of the day, which is exhausting.

Main questions

1. Does this sound like chronic over-arousal / anxiety, or just temperament?
2. Should I be focusing more on teaching calm/relaxation, and how do you actually do that?
3. For resource guarding:
   • Is lifelong management (trading) realistic, or should I be doing more?
4. For reactivity:
   • Is exposure helping him, or making him worse?
5. How would you structure training so I’m not trying to fix everything at once?

I’m fully committed to working on this – I just feel like I’m missing the “big picture” and spinning my wheels.

P.S. Tools were used to help write this/gather my messy notes, you don't want to read those. Feel free to go through my history and see my complaints throughout my journey lol.