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Hi all! My 9-month-old pup has struggled with separation anxiety ever since we got him at 3 months. We've made good progress, and he can now stay calm in his crate for about an hour while I’m away. I’m hoping to return to the office soon for around four hours at a time, but I feel bad leaving him crated for that long, and I’m not sure he’d remain relaxed for that duration either.

The main issue is that he panics as soon as he sees me leaving. When I work from home, he often settles in another room on his own, so it’s not that he can’t handle being out of my sight. During the successful sessions we’ve had, his crate was covered and I used white noise so he wouldn’t hear the front door opening (that’s also how he sleeps at night), but that feels more like avoiding the root problem.

Does anyone have advice on how to transition him to safely free-roaming while I’m away?

Got a cocker spaniel pup coming soon, and looking for a decent indoor/outdoor puppy pen. All the ones on pets at home or Amazon seem cheap and flimsy. Thanks!

Hi,

I'm looking for tips or success stories of bringing a new puppy into a home with an established dog. Especially homes with a large breed and a small breed, and especially if they're both male.

We brought home a new 8 week old large breed puppy last week and already have a 3 year old small breed dog. They are both male.

The puppy is not respecting the adult dogs boundaries (jumping on him, nipping him etc as puppies do) and the adult dog became very upset and distressed about this. I think its scary for him because the puppy is already larger than him.

We do step in and don't allow the puppy to pester the adult dog, but now even if the puppy even comes close, the adult dog gets anxious and sometimes barks as he has developed negative associations of the puppy.

We tried to follow all the proper techniques and advice for their introduction but things haven't gone how we had hoped. I feel worried about how we can fix their relationship.

We're going to see a behaviorist soon but also wanted to hear of anyone else's success stories, so I can feel a bit more positive about the situation.

We have a very small house with no garden, so there isn't much personal space for the dogs. However, they're crate trained and we bought a gate to separate the downstairs (downstairs is just a single room).

Thanks

Hi again lol. I've had my Wheaten puppy a little over a week now and I'm losing my mind. It's like something changed over the weekend. He's starting to not like his crate and go absolutely crazy every time I put him in for a nap, when just a couple days ago he would be completely fine and only whine for a minute. He's screaming as I type this. He's been up since 7am with no nap and has these insane zoomies and is biting everything. I don't know what to do. Ever since yesterday he's been insanely bitey. He used to just bite when he was tired but now it is literally 24/7 HARD bites. He's grabbing onto my clothes more and not letting go and my hands / feet. I try to redirect and it doesn't work, I yelp and that does nothing, I say ouch really loud and try to praise him when he stops but he never does, and I remove myself completely and try to come back and it does nothing. I feel horrible and like I haven't been playing much with him and like I'm not building a good relationship with him, but I don't know how I could do that when he's constantly biting. He even lunges at my face and tries to bite my nose. I literally had a mental breakdown on the floor earlier because I just wanted to play with him but he kept on biting. Is this normal ?? I feel like it is but at the same time I worry that I'm doing something wrong and that this may turn into a bigger issue when he's older. 🙁 He's 3 months today for reference.

Hi everyone! I have a golden retriever puppy who will be 10 weeks old on Saturday, and this Sunday will be her first time being home alone. I work from home, so I’m with her pretty much constantly.

Our current setup: – She has a playpen where I can monitor and sit with her while I’m working. If I’m outside the playpen and she can see me, she goes a little crazy trying to get out/can’t settle though. Side note: any advice on this would great (we currently ignore her if she’s barking/jumping and give her a treat if she’s playing/lying down be herself but that usually makes her get up.)

• She also has a crate within the playpen. We follow a routine of ~2 hours nap in the crate, then about ~1/1.5 hours in the playpen with me. She actually loves her crate — she goes in on her own when she’s tired and sleeps great in it (we don’t keep any toys in it so it’s really just for sleep.)

Here’s my issue: My husband and I will be gone for about 3 hours this Sunday (Thanksgiving dinner around 5 p.m.- which also happens to be her “witching hour”). Since it’s her first time being alone, I’m unsure if I should leave her in the crate or give her access to the playpen.

Potty-wise: – She can sleep in her crate all night (8 p.m. to 5 a.m.) with no accidents or even a peep.

• But during the day, when she’s awake and in the playpen, she usually needs to go out every 30 minutes to an hour. So if I leave her in the playpen, there’s a good chance she’ll pee. I also have never left her alone in the playpen for more than maybe 10 minutes.

• If I leave her in the crate, I’m worried it might make her dislike the crate afterward or be too long for her at this age.

I have about a week to prepare, and long-term she might need to be alone for a couple of hours once a week for work errands.

What would you recommend for a puppy this young? Crate for the 2–3 hours? Playpen and accept the possible accident/escape attempts? Any advice or prep tips would be amazing. Thank you!

Hi everyone. I am set to pick up a foster dog tomorrow that desperately needed it or her life was in danger. She is around a year old and looks like a lab (maybe mixed with something?) she is a big girl. I already have 2 other dogs. Any advice with bringing a foster dog into the mix? How do I not get attached? I want her to go to a loving home. I know if I keep her I wouldn’t be able to continue fostering in the future if I just end up adopting all of them lol. Any advice is greatly appreciated.

Hi everyone,

We’re trying to decide between a Gunner G1 Intermediate and a RuffLand Large for our lab. Some context:

• Puppy is 5 months old, currently 35 lb, expected to be 65–70 lb full grown.
• We drive a 2020 Volvo XC40, so cargo space is limited. We’ll definitely need to fold the rear seats down to fit the crate.
• We're concerned about height clearance through the hatch and overall fit in the car.

Specific questions:

1. Has anyone successfully fitted a Gunner Intermediate in an XC40? Any tips on loading/unloading, angling, or clearance issues?
2. Anyone tried a RuffLand Large in this vehicle? How does it compare in ease of use and fit?
3. General thoughts: durability, dog comfort, and how well your dog adapts to either crate?
4. Bonus: photos of either crate in an XC40 are hugely appreciated!

We’d love real-world advice — we want something safe, durable, and reasonably easy to handle in a compact SUV.

Thanks in advance!

Hi everyone! I'm planning on adopting a dog in the future, so I want to be more informed about general care, even though I had a dog before and I took care of him the best I could (I humbly consider it turned out great), I want to be certain about the way I care about the next one, and better myself with some experts' divulgation.

I'm currently reading "The other end of the leash" (Patricia McConnell), and next I'm gonna be reading "On talking terms with dogs" (Turid Rugaas) (I also have The Culture Clash by Jean Donaldson as a potencial future lecture, will it complete in any way the information given in the books I cited?). I think those books may be enough to have some knowledge on general behaviour, now I was looking for some reliable content about other aspects such as toys, food or equipment (leashes, food bowls…), as I say in the title. Any recommendation is appreciated! Also, if the books I cited have some negative aspects, or lack some important knowledge I would like to know!

Thanks in advance! Have a nice day!