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Hello! We have a 13-week old rescue puppy (small breed, ~7 pounds right now), who we adopted about a week ago. He's doing a lot of things really well so far like crate training and potty training (realizing as I type this out that we have a lot to be thankful for!). He's doing well with asking to go outside and is almost always willing to go in his crate for a nap, only occasionally with a few short minutes of whining, but not much.

All of his problems seem to be with things that require the "leave it" command. Harassing our older (~6 yo) dog even when she gives him warnings, chewing on furniture, giving a gnarly growl/bite when we try to take a toy away (this is understandable, but we want him to be less territorial, especially with another dog in the house) and the most annoying and dangerous of all, chewing and eating sticks, mulch, and anything remotely interesting outside.

We're teaching him "leave it," which he caught onto pretty quickly in training sessions, but he has a hard time translating the command to outdoors and to leaving the older dog and furniture alone. I know mastering this command is the best way to get these things to stop — but I feel crazy because I'm starting to feel like he thinks the treat is a reward for the behavior. I swear, sometimes he picks up a stick and looks at me, waiting for me to say leave it. I don't want him to pick it up at all! My question — will working on "leave it" more diligently pay off in the long run? This is one of the first commands we taught him since it became an issue so immediately. But I know it's more advanced, so I'm wondering if it's just going to take a while to fully click. Or maybe I'm not putting in the right amount of time to help him properly understand? We do usually 2 10-minute training sessions a day.

That brings up another question with training sessions. How many commands is typical to be practicing in a session? I see some dogs younger than him mastering all these commands… he is doing fairly well with about 5 right now—but I worry that I am squeezing too many into one session. If I really want him to learn leave it, should I do nothing but leave it for a session?

We adopted our other dog when she was 2 (she came perfectly trained except for one bad habit… sticks… so that's part of the problem here, too) so the targeted training sessions are new to us, and I worry that I'm either doing too much or not enough for him. Part of it is also probably me seeing these other pups on youtube and comparing them to his learning speed/my training skills…

Not exactly sure what we're trying to get from posting this… tips about commands, sticks, being respectful of other dogs, high value treat ideas, etc or just reassurance that it gets better!! We love him so much, and he's here to stay, but it is obviously tiring. And I just need to know that if we teach leave it correctly, we can get through it with minimal sticks swallowed. And just need to know that we won't screw this up. Our other rescue dog has so much trauma and anxiety from previous owners so I think we've put a lot of pressure on doing our best to make sure this pup has a better start to his life and isn't set up to be afraid and anxious

I should also mention he's not motivated much by his kibble. He has to have a high value treat to pay attention for training or to stop a behavior. He really never finishes his kibble during the day, so I have concerns about his nutrition and giving him too many treats for training. The vet was not worried about his weight, so I'm probably overreacting, I'm just not used to giving out so many treats and I want him to eat his meals

I realize I'm just making this longer by adding something else, but his behavior has been especially off today (in terms of picking up things he shouldn't and picking on his sister), and I'm wondering if that's because it's Monday, so there's an adjustment after the weekend? My husband (who works from home) and I were both home with him over the weekend, and now I'm back at work which wasn't much of a problem last week, but I'm wondering if that could be throwing him off

I should also add that he's supervised at ALL times when outside of his crate. So we're doing out best to make sure the sticks and objects are not actually swallowed but it's hard to get them out of his mouth when leave it doesnt work. He also hasnt fully damaged anything inside yet, but it's like we're trying to get him away from chewing on the couch every 1 minute. He also is doing enforced naps, and that has been great so far.

TLDR: 13-week old/10 days in our home puppy struggling to "leave it." Need reassurance that working on this command will pay off

I heard that it’s not recommended to board too early (before 6 months) since that’s crucial development and attachment stage and time.

I have a puppy that’s 3 months old. I don’t plan on boarding soon but was wondering when and how I could introduce? My husband and I travel a lot so was wondering what do you guys do? And also considering home versus facility. Did you introduce slowly?

I’m going to the vet later today for my puppy’s 16 week vaccines and I plan on discussing her spay appointment in January. What did you pay for your small (less than 10 pound) dog’s laparoscopic spay? Where are you located (just state is fine)? Thank you!

Hello. I haven’t used reddit at all so sorry if i’m doing something wrong!

We recently adopted a puppy about 2 months ago. She is a 5 lb maltese mix (looks mostly chihuahua/terrier but we arent sure).

I’ve been working on crate training her and she has been sleeping in said crate with no issues for a long time. Suddenly she started pooping in her crate. This has been happening every night, starting 4 days ago. Me and my family work together to let her outside regularly, once right before bed, once during the night, and once as soon as I wake up. She has been keeping us up extra late ever since a week or so ago and won’t sleep in her crate throughout the night without having an accident. I would dismiss this as us needing to let her out more but she has no other bathroom issues and has been sleeping perfectly all night, like I said, until recently.

I’m suspecting it may be because she sleeps in my arms a LOT and is always around people. She barely ever falls asleep in her crate during the day, and basically only takes naps when i’m holding her. She whines when alone and usually wakes up as soon as she realizes me or a member of my family isn’t holding her anymore. We have multiple people at home so there is always someone with her. I don’t know if this is a separation anxiety issue or something else.

We have made no changes to her lifestyle in the past week. She eats a regular amount, goes to the bathroom a regular amount of times, so I’m very confused. I would appreciate it if anyone knows whats going on or what I should do! I feel like a failure of a dog mom.

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[Meta] Breed Questionnaire, updated June 2016

• If this will be your first time as the primary caretaker of a dog, read this prior to answering the questions.

• Please read through all questions before answering.

• A copy/paste version of the questions is in the comments. Copy/paste that version into a new text post and answer the questions where it says "ANSWER". If done properly, your text post will be formatted and easy to read.

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Introduction

1) Will this be your first dog? If not, what experience do you have owning/training dogs? No, my family had two intact males when i was a teenager. I did train them some simple obedience and i know how to prevent alot of behavioural issues

2) Do you have a preference for rescuing a dog vs. going through a reputable breeder? I would much rather go to an ethical reputable breeder

3) Describe your ideal dog. No/very minimal shed, trainable, not very prone to stubbornness, not very prone to excess barking, some versatility

4) What breeds or types of dogs are you interested in and why? Standard poodles and jrts. I love the lack of shed from poodles, how trainable they are and the versatility. With jrt I'm not sure what got me into them but I've loved them since i was a kid

5) What sorts of things would you like to train your dog to do? Swimming and agility

6) Do you want to compete with your dog in a sport (e.g. agility, obedience, rally) or use your dog for a form of work (e.g. hunting, herding, livestock guarding)? If so, how much experience do you have with this work/sport? Yes! I don't have experience

Care Commitments

7) How long do you want to devote to training, playing with, or otherwise interacting with your dog each day? I would like to train for around an hour and I'm happy to play for upto 2 hours

8) How long can you exercise your dog each day, on average? What sorts of exercise are you planning to give your dog regularly and does that include using a dog park?
I can walk for 45 or so minutes in the morning with over an hour walk every afternoon. I could also go hiking atleast once a week. I could take them swimming. It would never be a dog park

9) How much regular brushing are you willing to do? Are you open to trimming hair, cleaning ears, or doing other grooming at home? If not, would you be willing to pay a professional to do it regularly? I'm happy to brush daily and i can go to a good groomer

Personal Preferences

10) What size dog are you looking for? Small to medium

11) How much shedding, barking, and slobber can you handle? Minimal shedding, minimal barking and ideally no slobber

12) How important is being able to let your dog off-leash in an unfenced area? I think it's great for them, it's pretty important for me

Dog Personality and Behavior

13) Do you want a snuggly dog or one that prefers some personal space? I would like to have some short chill sessions with my dog but i don't really mind if they prefer personally slave

14) Would you prefer a dog that wants to do its own thing or one that’s more eager-to-please? Eager to please

15) How would you prefer your dog to respond to someone knocking on the door or entering your yard? How would you prefer your dog to greet strangers or visitors?
I would like them to be maybe a little wary at the door but not immediately reactive (barking, lunging, whining, scratching to go out). I would like them to be neutral with people

16) Are you willing to manage a dog that is aggressive to other dogs? Yes

17) Are there any other behaviors you can’t deal with or want to avoid? Seperation anxiety and stubbornness mainly

Lifestyle

18) How often and how long will the dog be left alone? Not very often (for long periods) especially if i could take them hiking. But if we were to go out for say a birthday it would be a couple hours

19) What are the dog-related preferences of other people in the house and what will be their involvement in caring for the dog? Just low shedding and limited barking. They won't be doing anything

20) Do you have other pets or are you planning on having other pets? What breed or type of animal are they? Rodents and fish. Which doesn't matter since they will be in rooms the dog wouldn't have access to

21) Will the dog be interacting with children regularly? No

22) Do you rent or plan to rent in the future? If applicable, what breed or weight restrictions are on your current lease? Rent. They don't have any restrictions

23) What city or country do you live in and are you aware of any laws banning certain breeds? Germany. Yes

24) What is the average temperature of a typical summer and winter day where you live? Sumner 20-30c, winter it's usually about 0c

Additional Information and Questions

25) Please provide any additional information you feel may be relevant.

26) Feel free to ask any questions below