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I bought home my 8 week old Lab pup last week. He is gorgeous and we’re just feeling our way through these initial weeks getting to know each other. I have pretty much no expectations for him, but I am worried that I’m “getting it wrong” so have a few questions:

1. He struggles to fall asleep without being on me or me comforting him. I always move him into his crate once he’s asleep, but he never starts in there. I’m concerned about separation anxiety, but equally he’s so young, I’m thinking he probably just wants warmth/heartbeat (he does have a snuggle teddy at night).

2. He sleeps in a crate with the door shut at night and only makes noise once or twice. I get up and take him to the toilet then take him straight back to bed and he settles in five minutes. During the day, bar the napping in the crate with the door open, I can’t see him ever being happy to be put in there unless he’s asleep – what should I be doing to improve this?

3. Outside he is not super keen to really do much. He constantly runs back to the door and sits there, even if I know he needs to pee/poop and I’m having to carry him to the middle of the grass, but I almost feel like he sees the outside as negative? How can I combat this? I try and make outside super fun with toys and treats, but he’s just still not a fan.

Thanks in advance from a tired, anxious pup mum who is terrified of ruining a beautiful dog!

How long was your dog adolescence? I have a Bracco Pointer and I’m at my wits end… he just came out of puppyhood (he is almost 13 months now) and was better and better until all of a sudden he started having this major regression and now we are back to basic training, he even started to pee on the carpet again and became very reactive/aggressive with both people and other dogs. I’m worried this will be his personality growing up and I’m particularly worried about the aggressive behaviour (not biting but barking and pushing). Any suggestions welcome 🙏🏼

Hello, I’m hoping some of you could share your experience of things that have helped your anxious dogs.

My Akita x Golden retriever has become progressively more anxious over the last year and a bit. It all started when she got scared of fireworks for the first time last year, and then refused to go out in the dark for a few months.

Eventually that got better as the year went on with no fireworks, but it seems she’s now very prone to anxiety or fear. Things that scare her: insects that buzz (after some wasp stings), any beeping noises, car alarms/house alarms, normal bangs in the neighbourhood like car doors or bin lids.

It’s all got a hundred times worse again with the fireworks this year, despite using sedatives (trazodone and gabapentin) as people started setting them off at 1pm when we weren’t expecting it.

She’s now scared to go out even during the day, and freezes when she hears a noise, shakes a lot and tries to pull me home.

We’ve tried : – Zylkene (helped at first with the panic reactions but not at all now) – valarian and scullcap (made her worse) – noise desensitisation using the TV every day for months running up to the fireworks

Can anyone recommend any products or medications that have helped their dogs?

I’m the owner of a Vizlsa that is very destructive only with pillows. Do you know pillow or bed made of 1000D Cordura or something similar?

Dogs fighting

I have 3 australian shepherd, 2 males 5 and 1 years old, and 1 female 4 years old. I've had both males since they were 8 weeks and the female I adopted at 9 months. Shes always gotten along with my older male dog as well as other dogs she has come into contact with. Within the last few months her and my 1 year old male have started fighting. At first it seemed like when one was jealous of the other– one was getting more attention or fighting over a toy. But in the past couple days it has become more consistent with her attacking him for no obvious reason. Today my male 1 y/o dog came back home after being gone since the day before (I sent him home with my partner to give them their space) and she almost instantly went at him. He has grown up with her and theyve been best buddies and will play fight. Until recently their fights have been a month or 2 apart. Yesterday it escalated to the point of my partner being bit by her (on accident) when trying to break up their fight. Im not sure which course of action to take. They're both good, well behaved dogs and neither have a problem with my 5 year old male. She is spayed. Neither male is neutered. Thanks for the help!

i have a german spitz, and the ONLY toys he likes are soft toys. stuffed animals, cat toys, plush toy balls, etc. the problem is, if you leave him alone with any of these toys, he will just chew and chew and chew until there's nothing left. (we usually notice first, since he is a bit slow.) otherwise, the only way we've been able to play with him is just… manually? like, running back and force with him, playing with our hands (he's always gentle with us), etc. he has 0 interest in playing fetch.

any ideas??? he doesn't even carry these stuffies around like he does with underwear and socks. he ABSOLUTELY wants them, but all he does is destroy them… as long as they're plush and soft.

Hi all,

I have had my rescue pup for 6 years now, and I love him so much. He's loving, sassy , and funny.

That being said, he just HAS to be around people. He tends to try to be the center of attention with guests too, and tends to be all over them if they're comfortable with it.

I actually splurged on a house with a yard for my dog, but he refuses to be outside alone. He has always been an indoor dog, but it would be nice if he could get energy out in the backyard that I got for him. He won't even play with me in the back yard. If I put him in the backyard, he is barking and jumping at the door within a few minutes.

When I start getting ready to leave for an outing, he starts freaking out and barking, which makes me feel so guilty.

He is on trazedone right now, but he burns through it. it's like the trazedone is completely ineffective for him.

He's a "velcro dog" and I just don't know if this stems from anxiety or just his personality?

For context: my dog was adopted and returned because his previous owners tried to make him a backyard dog, and he ended up "digging a hole" in their backyard. He is a husky mix. I could never imagine my dog ever being a backyard dog. I am his second or third owner. he is between 8-10 years old, but still acts like a young dog. People think he's around 3-4 years old!

EDIT: he also gets a good amount of exercise for his age. He had surgery so he has had to be much more subdued lately, however, he hasn't gotten more restless with this lack of activity.

Do you think that would kill any smell, even if the carpet doesn’t dry overnight? 😅😂 I’m desperate guys. I can’t smell anything, and have used an enzyme cleaner after every accident, but my sweet, adorable, gremlin of a puppy keeps returning to these spots, and I just found out that she’ll hold it for 2-3 hours at other people’s houses. She used to do the same for me until she had a couple accidents that were my fault. So she has to still be smelling it at home.

Anyways, the room is my living room (apartment size, so not huge) but I don’t really have a way of blocking it off until it dries completely. But I’ll figure it out if that’s what it needs. 😂

Hi all, I need help picking a dog carrier for my dog for flights going forward. He is about 18 lbs and rides in the cabin under the seat in front of me.

However, he can’t stand being in his carrier for flights and he just broke through his 3rd different carrier on our most recent flight. He typically does just fine in his carrier up until the plane starts moving and takes off.

I’m sure others have had this problem? Is there a carrier that wouldn’t be easy for him to break through that is still TSA/cabin approved? I’ve had no luck, and it’s frustrating when he breaks through his carrier mid-flight and then we catch heat for it. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated!

We adopted a senior pug about a week ago and she has been holding her pee/poo for 24 hrs straight each day. I take her outside every hour and will crate her in between (45 minutes in 15 out) and if she goes then she has freedom to roam around the apartment. She drinks and eats normally and is pretty active. She had a vet appt yesterday and the vet said she was concerned cause that’s not normal but didn’t want to do any follow up testing or anything. She has another appt with a different vet in a few days. But I’m truly at a loss on what to do for her, because it cannot be comfortable to hold your pee for 24 hrs.