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I have a 2 yr old pomeranian who loves to chew anything but aren't actually toys, like sofa, pillow, clothes and other stuff that aren't toys, I have tried to buy her chew toys but she seems to not like it, or she likes it but for few hours only then gets back on chewing other stuff, is there any toy you have tried for those who have the same situation as mine, or is this a behavior issue already?

My partner and I have put our name down for a puppy from a litter that was born around 11 days ago. Their mum ended up having a c section after one of the pups got stuck, and unfortunately died a few days later. So now there is a litter of 7 that are being bottle fed.

Now I'm not too worried because I know that there are sooo many puppies that get bottle fed for a whole variety of reasons and grow up absolutely fine, but everyone I speak to seems to have something negative to say about it and it's unfortunately getting to me and making me wonder whether we should reconsider as we'd be paying a bit more than average for this puppy.

Am I over thinking things or do I need to be worried that we're going to set ourselves up to be dealing with a lot of problems in the future? Please be kind about this because I really want to do right by these puppies but also want to gain as much information as possible so we can make the best decision.

„Pozdrav svima. Imam psa za kog sam mnogo vezan, i skoro dve godine smo provodili svaki dan zajedno. Sada moram da idem da radim u drugi grad, pa ću ga viđati možda dva puta nedeljno, a možda i ređe. Da li postoji šansa da me zaboravi?“

Hi,

We have a 9 month old Cockapoo. It’s been a challenging time, but in general we have been doing OK.

The one area we absolutely aced is the separation anxiety. As soon as we brought him home at 8 weeks, we gradually built up the time we left him and he nailed in. Longest we have left him is 5 hours without bother.

He is crate trained sleeping overnight with a pen attached.

Last week, things have taken a turn. During a session at home alone he jumped out of his pen and had free roam of the house. Fortunately nothing damaged, but he had acquired a cushion. Although he doesn’t bite anymore he is a compulsive chewer. He will destroy soft and even harder toys in only 15 minutes – therefore we are reticent at this stage to let him roam full time.

We were now forced to only have his crate which worked fine for overnight and we decided to let him have free-roam of the kitchen which we thought he would relish. He was ok for the first few days. But now we have issues highlighted below:

He wakes at 5:30am and barks/whines in his crate. He generally used to sleep/chill until 7am. We are trying the alarm clock method so that we don’t respond to barking only the alarm. Seeing small progress, but still barking in his crate.

It’s leaving him at home that is a challenge. I used the voice memos app on the ipad and regardless of whether we crate him or leave him be in the kitchen with all the toys in the world and lickmats, he will bark and whine. It’s not constant, he only barks once and then again after about 5-10 seconds. He also has 3-5 minute periods of calm.

I have to be clear that we need to get him out of this, although I WFH 90% of the time – I do have days when he will need to be alone across up to 6 hours (with a dog walker inbetween).

Is this teenage regression and will it get any better?

Thanks.

Morning all, would appreciate some advice on how I can best support my 10 week old Golden Doodle pup. I’m currently on annual leave to help support him getting settled in, which I’ve just loved, and I’m starting to think about how we’ll manage working from home once I go back to work.

I am currently still sleeping on the floor in the dining room where his crate and play pen is and have been moving my mattress further away from his crate each night and so far he hasn’t cried at all once he is popped in his crate at night, and also settles quickly once I put him back in after taking him out for the toilet in the night.

The only times he cries is when he is aware he is in the room on his own or when you step out of his playpen we have surrounding his crate – even when you stay sat at the table we have right next to the playpen. I expect he’ll experience some anxiety whenever he is aware he is alone in a room for some time yet, however, as a first step would love to work towards him being able to settle when I step out of his own to sit at the table and work at my laptop like I’ll have to do starting next week.

For extra information, he has patio access whenever he needs it for toileting (which he’s now going off to do outside himself 90% of the time), plus his crate/bed, toys, food and water all within the pen.

Sorry for the lengthy post! Would really appreciate any steps and advice for how I can support him through this transition – thanks in advance! 🙏

Hello, just want to share my experience in hope that it would cheer up those who are going through what I have gone through.

Almost three months ago, i adopted a Poochon pup and after spending three weeks with him, I fell face first into puppy blues. I was crying every night from anxiety because he would scream and bark instead of sleep. As well as that I could not even take my eyes off him for even a second because he is always chewing off things and swallowing stuff that he is not suppossed to. I felt like I was getting suffocated by the knowledge that I was responsible for a tiny life and if anything happened, it would be all my fault. It got so bad that I considered rehoming him as I was mentally breaking down.

Now, I have grown to love him so much that I could not imagine my life without him. Of course, a puppy being a baby, he is not perfect and there are still bad behaviours that happens. But, when I look back to how he was when he first came and how he is now, he has grown and improved a lot.

The constant chewing on furniture was a major stressor for me because he would chew on wood or on fabric and swallow the pieces he managed to chew off. I have to be watching him every second he is awake to make sure he is not doing things he is not suppossed to. Now, with consistent "No!" and redirection to toys, he has learned that chewing is allowed only on toys and chews. And since he has learned that toys are ok, he has even learn to play by himself when he is awake and when I am too busy to play with him.

The landsharking was a pain (literally) and still is, but is so so much reduced. In the beginning, I taught him "gentle" when he mouths at my hands. Then, I changed to not giving him attention when he bites. Now, he nibbles more often on his toys then my hands. But, still does try nibbles on my hands when he is overly excited. So, this no nibbling thing is still a work in progress for us.

When he first came to live with me, he could not settle by himself or sleep. He would play and play until he gets overly tired, get zoomies before crashing out. He was not getting the 18-20 hours of sleep he badly needs. Now, he has gotten more used to the hustle and bustle around the house (desensitized to the usual noises around the house), he can nap through most household noises.

What prompted me to make this post was that he napped on my lap for the first time EVER. I have tried putting him on my lap a couple of times and it just ends up with me putting him back down because he kept trying to bite me or the chair. But, he napped for 30mins on my lap. My heart just swelled with love.

So, to fellow pawrents, aim for an A, expect a C and get a B. What I meant by this is that we all want the best for our furbaby. We do intense research, jump into reddit and read through the posts to arm ourselves with the knowledge of what is the "right" way to raise our pups. However, reality is never what we expect it to be. Our pups are different in terms of breed as well as personality. What works for one, may not work for others. Don't feel defeated just because online says or someone says that a perfect pawrents should do this and this but you couldn't. Do what works best for you and your furbaby and focus on the bond more than the expected SOP of pup raising.

Ps, what I shared above is my own experience and my own opinion. 🙂 Hope that it may give strength to those who needs it.

Also, I haven gone through the teenage phase nightmare yet. But I am going to take it one day at a time.