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We have an adopted dog that is more or less 5-6 months old (it is not known exactly, but almost all of his baby teeth have already fallen out). Lately there have started to be changes in his behavior, she has become much more vocal and has started barking at friends who come over or people he sees coming through the door at night (he didn't do any of this before). We live on the ground floor of a building, so we heard a lot of noises but until now she didn't react to them. She challenges us much more, and unless she is very hungry or there are treats in sight, she has a hard time obeying. Yesterday she started kicking the trough with the food, and until she threw it all on the ground and made me see it 😂, he didn't eat it. SHe also gets up in the middle of the night to play, which he never did. She has also become more demanding of attention and can no longer stand alone for as long while we work in another room.

We are first-time parents, we have lived a lot with adult dogs but we had never raised a puppy. Is what I see the beginning of adolescence? Can be heat? I just want to know if this change in behavior is more or less normal and I should just be patient, or if I should be worried. She eats and goes to the bathroom normally, has energy, doesn't seem to feel sick. Thank you very much in advance.

Hi everyone! I guess I’m having a little trouble with my 12 week old puppy and need advice. I’ve seen plenty of schedules on here but no one quite in the same situation as I am. Any advice is welcome.

I have a 12 week old Nova Scotia Duck Tolling Retriever. We are trying to do enforced nap times with the schedule pretty much being up for 1 hour – 1 1/2 hours. Then nap. Rinse and repeat. My significant other works from home, so someone is always around.

Where we are having trouble is she really only sleeps for 30-45 minutes then is up crying and yelping. We try and only let her out when she is relatively calm but we have gotten no luck with getting her not to want out of the crate. Other things to mention, she doesn’t mind her crate at night. She sleeps almost the entire night and doesn’t cry at night when we aren’t around. From camera footage it looks like she wakes up in the middle of the night and drinks water and plays with her favorite bone that squeaks and torments the cat, back to bed. If we stay in the room while she’s in the crate she also freaks out. If she hears anything or anyone during the day she’s awake and just wants to be next to that person. Including the cat.

How do I help her with being better on her own in the crate? I hate to have her yell it out for an entire hour trying to get her to settle. Although, it would really be nice to go out to the grocery store without knowing she’s yelping and crying while we are away. Is the problem the current schedule? Is she too attached to me and my SO that she thinks we’re abandoning her?

I have been playing crate games with her for around 2 weeks and she eats all her meals in her crate.

Thanks!

I like to power walk but my Pug cannot keep up. I want to be able to bring her along sometimes. Can you recommend a pet stroller that is high quality and has all-terrain capability like a real stroller for kids? Willing to make an investment as she is one of my kids.

Okay so I have two large dogs. They're Labrador retrievers. My younger one is still very much a puppy and wants to play all the time. Our local dog park has two sections, one for larger dogs and one for smaller dogs to keep them separate. Of course the smaller dog park is much smaller.

It has now happened a couple of times where I take my dogs to the dog park and someone is in the large park with their little dog. They have not offered to move to the smaller Park and I have taken my large dogs into the smaller Park.

My dogs would never hurt their dog on purpose but they are so much smaller and they would still want to play with them so I'm concerned and keep them separate.

Should I just go into the larger dog park anyway and then they would feel the need to leave? If another person came with a small dog my dogs are in the small Park. It just seems off.

Any thoughts on how I handle this politely?

is she trying to reach me with her tongue when im petting her? what is this nonsense? is she just being a dummy? i know its not stress because when she does it shes fully relaxed

Hi everyone! My husband and I are looking to adopt or find a breeder in the Southern California area for a Golden. We're new to this process and don't know where to start. Our first dog was from a Humane Society. Second was from a "hobbyist" breeder that we stumbled upon outside a PetSmart.

Anyway, our yellow Lab needs a buddy and we're wanting to add a Golden to our family. We live in the Palm Springs area but frequent all over Southern California. If you know of a person or place, or recommendation of how to start/ find a process, it would be much appreciated. Thank you all!

I see so many posts with conflicting advice so wondered what people have done that works.

Getting a lab pup in a week and whilst it’s not my first dog, I am very keen to ensure I do everything right first time round as I definitely didn’t with my previous dog!

trigger warning: anxiety, OCD, depression, intrusive thinking

hi. we recently adopted a corgi that is 5 months old. she has been really good & taken to potty training & training in general. she likes her pen & relaxes in there but hated the crate at night. after 2 bad nights, i gave up & let her sleep in the bed with us & she only really had 1 accident the first night. none since. she is super jerky & a bit of a spaz because we have 2 cats. we started to shut the door at night to shut them out because she reacts immediately to their movement if they get in bed. she chases & herds them & we’ve been trying to work on her impulse control. I’ve taught her place, sit, stay, & leave it (with a treat being thrown on the ground). she still chases the cats at times but it was really overwhelming at first & I was truly eyes glued on her 25/8 at first. We’ve had her for 2 months now almost. I work from home as the sole caregiver which I should have thought about before because I suffer from severe anxiety & all of the above listed… This has brought it out of me like no other. when I picture my life ahead, I see a life of yelling at her to stop chasing the cats, chaos & me never getting sleep or relaxing. I have had more mental breakdowns & panic attacks than I can count worrying about this & how my life will look moving forward if this chaos continues. I’ve thought about rehoming her because I don’t think I can heal myself from these deep rooted issues with her around. she is good & smart & cute & I do love her but my mental health is really struggling to a point where I can barely get out of bed rn. I am going to be spending thousands in therapy bills to fix myself bc I don’t have great insurance. I’ve been in therapy for the whole 2 months & started as soon as we got her because I was so in the trenches. I cry uncontrollably when I’m left alone with her when my fiance leaves for work. my face is hollow. I feel ill. i’m starting to get chest pain. I gave up/am giving up all of my hobbies. I have been doing a good job taking care of her & meeting her needs & sacrificing but I just never see her listening to me or either of us with the cats. I don’t want to have to correct her every second of every day with the cats for the rest of her life. I dread it… I know I sound horrible & everyone says she’s just a puppy but I’m so concerned she will never learn so I continuously hover & correct her. my fiance says to just let her be a puppy & Im trying but I have a history of control issues, anxiety & OCD so it’s much easier said than done. I truly don’t know what to do. i am sleep deprived, a basket case that doesn’t leave the house out of fear she won’t sleep when i get home, & a literal sad sack of shit rn 😔

I have a European working line Doberman and a failed sled dog Alaskan Husky. I’m switching over to a 9-5 and would like ideas on how to structure our new morning routine without having to wake up at an ungodly hour.

Current routine is breakfast – wait an hour to digest – exercise for 2h. Obviously that’s unsustainable if I have to leave home early, though the waiting an hour before and after eating to exercise is non-negotiable considering both are bloat-prone breeds.

Hit me with your current morning routines!