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I got my 4-month old west highland terrier crossed with toy poodle puppy when he was 12 weeks old. This is my first puppy. He had recently been vaccinated. He was a joy at first until he settled in and since then it just feels like problem after problem. I have had him for over 4 weeks now, crate training is going nowhere, he still won't sleep for longer than 30 minutes in there (I have tried kongs, frozen carrots, chews, a multitude of things to settle him that only work briefly), I have tried in-the-night toilet trips and often he just doesn't need to go, he's just crying to get out. Any movement I make wakes him, he cries, and I have practiced briefly leaving the room, coming back in, etc. and there has been no progress. The only training he has retained is "stay".

I live on a main road with both the front and back garden area that projects the noise. He hates it. Always in a rush to get back in when toiletting, and on the odd occasion he settles outside enough to play, he wants to eat everything (but I understand that is likely just teething). I will say, he has surprisingly done really well with the toilet training outside, but I am wondering if he just toilets so quick outside so he can rush back in?

We started walks about 2-3 weeks ago and he hates them. I try for only 5 minutes and he is always trying to pull me back, any sound or person/dog near sends him into a screaming frenzy. He will jump, pull, fall over and hurt himself etc. I try to remain calm so that the lead isn't tense, but I must admit it is getting me down. He also seems to be resource guarding now, and no matter how much I try to train "drop it" or "trade for a treat" it isn't working.

I guess I just don't know what to do really. I live with my grandparents, he is very familiar with them and gets pets and they know what training I am trying with him etc so they try to follow that as much as they can, but he still growls and barks at them, and only seems to be comfortable if he is with me and only me. I have been in alcohol recovery for a while too, but this is really beginning to push me to relapse which is scaring me. I knew it would be a hard process, but I at least took solace in knowing I could probably get out of the house with him. Now I feel like a prisoner in my own home, too scared to leave him and leave that burden on my grandparents. 🙁

I am adopting a 2 month old male dachshund mix who weighs about 4lbs. I am set to pick him up on Saturday and I am trying to have his necessities by then. Any good kibble and treat recommendations?

I just got a puppy a couple weeks ago and him and my older Boston terrier get along great! They eat and sleep together or near each other no problem but my only problem is that when the puppy trys to play with my Boston terrier my Boston seems to react as of my puppy is being serious. What I mean by this is that my terriers mood immediately changes to very defensive and try to bark or be aggressive with my puppy who is just wanting to play, how could I solve this?

Hi –

Question on the whole “ethical breeder” situation. Found a breeder that does full genetic testing of parents, can visit both the parents, and they don’t do litters until they have enough people on their waitlist.

However, they allow puppies to go home between 6-12 weeks, which is “dependent on the puppy”.

I know that 20 years ago 6 weeks was normal, however now that is flagged as the sign of an unethical breeder very strongly, particularly on Reddit.

All of the previous dogs I got at 6 weeks (those being 20+ years ago) were definitely easier and more wel behaved than any 8-12 week pup I’ve gotten since this was a “known issue”. This led me to trying to do research on it…

However, when digging into a variety of studies I’ve been able to find, now I’m even more confused. Most of the published research I’ve been able to find (scientific journals, not articles) haven’t really shown this. There is one that showed 8 weeks had a statistically significant improvement in one of the six behavioral criteria they assessed, but it was still very minimal. That study, as well as multiple others, essentially said that 12 weeks is the important cutoff and there was little to no difference between 6 and 11.

So now my question. Can someone please link me to actual materials that show the results demonstrating the need for 8 weeks? Because otherwise this breeder meets all my criteria.

Hi all! Wanted to get some thoughts on the paw balms/oils you use for your pups and specifically what the applicator is?

I want to know which type of applicator you like most, eg most convenient, effective, easy to control amount, etc.

Thank you!

Does your dog turn his head when he hears an odd noise? Does your dog bury their food with your pants? This is the thread to ask why.

Please keep this thread to non-medical issues only.

I’ve only had a dog for about two months for the first time in my life. I may be overthinking this, but is it gross to walk your dog barefoot? I’ve bought all kinds of shoes for all weather types. I live in NJ right outside NYC

(I marked this as NSFW due to pet loss if that’s something you want to avoid)

I lost my old man exactly one month ago. He was old, but it was unexpected and our whole family is still reeling from our loss. We had this ritual where he would hop next to me on my right side and we would snuggle with his head on my knee and my head on his hips. We would stay like that until I moved too much or he would get too warm.

Last night was hard. I sorted through some of his old sweaters, which still smell like him. I was crying while puttering around my apartment and my younger dog was following me around. He’s super empathetic and can very much sense when something is wrong. When I finally went to bed he followed me. And laid on my right side, with his head on my knee and my head on his hips. We stayed like that until I fell asleep.

He has literally never laid like that. When I have tried in the past he immediately gets up and turns around, or just plain leaves. His favorite sleep spot is in the middle of the bed sprawled out between my partner and I with all 4 legs in the air. But he stayed. He knew I needed it and he stayed by me.

Dogs are the best, Spoon is the very best, and I feel so incredibly lucky.

My puppy is only around 2 months old and I'm not sure how to entertain him anymore. The first few days were manageable, since i thought he was also getting trained and having fun but now he just wants to play with toys by himself 🙁 To be fair, I focused mainly on trying to train him and giving him for since it was easier than toys.. I'm just not sure how to get him interested in playing with me as well. I'd like to bond with him but i feel like im failing even though it's been less than a week. I'm also new to owning a dog, but my experience with dogs is occasionally babysitting them. He also starts biting mee really hard sometimes even when i try to withdraw… how do i even withdraw?

Whenever I took my Great Dane and Cane Corso out together in public, people were always surprised at me being a woman with two large well behaved dogs. I just never understood why it's so shocking. Has anyone else experienced this? Both of those dogs have passed on now but as I start to research for my next dog, this was just a random memory.