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Just as the topic says… Isaac's first birthday is Thanksgiving Day. Makes it tough to do some of his favorite things but will take out him the next day.

Pup cup.
Lunch out.
Doggie cookies from the local pet store.
New toys to tear up.

Anything else I am missing?

I’ve had my little guy home for a week and while things are going well – he’s house trained and has very few to no accidents, is crate trained, and sleeps through the night; I’m having some big emotions today. I feel like my entire life revolves around him. I feel exhausted and sad. I took the first week off work and I’m worried about how I’ll get any work done. When he’s awake, he requires my full attention and when he sleeps all I want to do is sleep. I work from home. Any advice from others who wfh on how to manage work and puppy?

/:

Hi r/dogs. One of the most difficult parts of loving a pet is watching them grow old. Slowing down, hearing issues, various ailments, less energy, even the first grey hairs, are all sad reminders.

Anyone else experience sadness and anticipatory grief regarding their aging pet?

Hello!!

My sweet GSD turns 10 soon and recently she has been acting out.

She has a designated poop place in the garden which she has been using perfectly fine for the last 10 years.

However, recently she has been pooping in different parts of the garden and just today she pooped in the house in front of us.

She has also never been allowed upstairs and this has never been an issue but a couple days ago she just waltzed right upstairs.

Is this a case of her just becoming a stubborn old lady or is it something more serious?

If you've successfully raised a puppy to adulthood before, I'd like to ask a few questions:

1. How hard were they to potty train?

2. How long did it take?

3. Why do you think that was? (Success/Failures)

I hope this isn't too silly of a post, just curious to see what others experiences have been.

So as the title suggests we have learned through a ton of trial and error that our little 10 week old puppy is fantastic with being left on her own…. If she can roam around the entire apartment and not be confined to her crate/playpen. The second we lock her in either she starts to scream. We have only fed her in her crate, and have plenty of toys in her playpen but she really needs to be able to move around to any part of the apartment to feel comfortable without us.

We have wood floors, and very cheap furniture, so accidents around the apartment are fine, but I was looking for other advice on how best to puppy proof our apartment, and other things that we need to think about if we aren't keeping her in her crate when we are not home.

Thanks for any help!

Most people plan for months or years to get their first puppy. Most people do their research. Here’s a hot take, puppies are a struggle by default. Unless someone is asking for advice on a specific issue, they don’t need endless “actually dogs (insert unsolicited information/advice here)”.

I got my first (only mine) puppy about a month ago. Since then, everywhere I go if someone has dogs they are “well actually”ing me. I understand they are trying to help, but it’s so taxing. I did years of research before getting into this and still everyone had me convinced that if I didn’t do everything perfectly I’d ruin him. Also, he is a standard poodle from a breeder. I made the decision, I know they’re smart, he’s not “manipulating” me when he’s doing puppy shit. To that petsmart dog trainer: yes cropped tails are AKC standard, and yes I know it’s not good for the puppies. No, he doesn’t have a double coat. No, he is not a herding breed. Just because you have years of dog training experience doesn’t mean you know everything about my dog. He’s not a doodle, I know he still has dander, and I know you think I’m bad for going to a breeder.

I swear when you get a dog everyone comes out of the woodwork to tell you what you’re doing wrong, ffs it’s worse than a Facebook mom group.

We have a 12 week old mutt and have had him for about a month.

I am a student, but I don’t have many classes. My wife is a nurse. As a result, there’s about 1.5-2.5 hours, in no more than 90 minutes consecutively, every day where he’s going to be alone while I am at class.

His first two weeks were tough, but he has been very good lately In his crate. He would whine for a minute when we left, but would settle down. If we were at home, we did a “90 minutes on, 90 minutes off” system of enforcing naps where he would whine for a second before settling. He still did poorly in his playpen (literally throwing himself against the bars) but loved his crate, taking treats and toys into it.

However, since about last Thursday, he has regressed hard. Usually, I can do homework in the 90 minutes he’s asleep and then playing and give him attention during the other 90 minutes. However, since Thursday, he acts like he is being tortured when he goes in the crate. Today, he barked for 20 minutes straight. Not “whines and then a few minutes pass and he whines again” I’m talking 20 minutes of just straight barking.

I’m about to start finals, and I cannot go back to the time when, if I was home, it was a wash on homework because he needs constant attention or absolutely loses it.

I’m genuinely at my wits end.