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Hello everyone, my partner, Snoopy, and I would like to thank you in advance for your time and your answers!

We adopted Snoopy (a 4-month-old Chihuahua) a little over two weeks ago, and we are very happy to have welcomed this little ball of fur into our apartment.

We got him from a breeder who has very good reviews. From what we saw, the breeders take very good care of the dogs, who have several acres to run around and play with each other. Before we adopted him, the breeder warned us that Snoopy was a fearful and timid dog. In the videos he sent us when Snoopy was two and a half months old, we could see him trembling, but it didn't seem like a problem to us. We just thought he was a dog discovering life and that he would become more relaxed with time.

The “problems” began when he arrived at our apartment. We put him in the hallway, in a quiet little corner by the entrance, but later realized that this might not have been the best idea. For three days, he didn't leave his basket, only eating and drinking if we put the food and water in his basket, and he was shaking a lot. We started to get really worried when we saw that he was defecating and urinating in his basket. He was completely paralyzed.

At the end of those three days, we decided to move him to the living room, a brighter place where we could interact with him more, in the hope that he would become more sociable and take care of his basic needs himself. It's true that this change disturbed him quite a bit, but after a few days we noticed that he was eating on his own, relieving himself, and seemed a little less fearful.

Since then, we have seen a lot of progress:

– He meets his basic needs (drinks and eats)

– No longer trembles

– Comes to eat from our hands

– Seems very observant

– Has explored the living room a little

– Goes into his basket (for several days he preferred to stay on the floor)

– At times he relaxes (stretches, yawns, shakes himself and comes to sniff us)

Along with this positive aspect, there are some concerns:

– Since he has been in the living room, for about ten days now, he has not ventured beyond the living room; in fact, he has not even explored the entire living room yet, contenting himself with his corner and one end of the room.

– Very often when we are standing up or walking through the living room, he gets up and seems to hide while watching us.

– At times he is very calm, then starts to get agitated and paces back and forth.

– He seems to be afraid of his food bowl. He takes kibble from it, then suddenly backs away from the bowl and eats.

– Because of this supposed fear of the bowl, he eats very quickly, finishing his portion of kibble in less than 5 minutes.

– We have a living room that opens onto another room where our offices are located. When we are there, he regularly starts growling or barking, and he also comes to watch us at these times.

– Sometimes he sniffs the floor and then starts barking or growling.

– He keeps his tail between his legs all the time, except when he comes to take kibble or treats from our hands (and once he has taken them, he suddenly moves away from us and then comes back at full speed).

– He doesn't react to toys. When we try to get him to interact with them, he either ignores them or seems afraid.

Today, we need your advice so that Snoopy can thrive.

For example, we would like:

– For him to finally explore the apartment.

– To be able to approach him without him being afraid.

– To be able to pet him.

– To take him for walks, to get him out of the apartment.

– To start house training him.

– See him play with his toys.

But we are held back by his fear of everything in general, and especially of us.

This situation is quite frustrating and burdensome in the long run. Seeing this little ball of fur, fearful and withdrawn into himself and his small environment, is difficult to watch on a daily basis.

We are very open and interested in all your advice, tips, exercises, and questions.

Our little family thanks you in advance for your time and your answers <3.

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Hi so my dog is 12 weeks we've just been on our second walk, yet before this we would go out in the car and I would carry her around. so far she's good with noises and car pulls on the leash sometimes but we're working on it. she shows an interest in other dogs we've seen on a walk like pulling slightly but then looking away and moving on which is good as I dont want her to get excited about every dog but I am afraid that if she doesnt meet other dogs at all she'll become cautious.

friends and family dogs are either on the cautious side with other dogs, dont like them at all or to excitable so I cant really socialise her with them. any tips on what I could do?

I decided I wanted to try to get out today on a bit of a longer walk. My puppy is 11 weeks old and so far we have only walked between 5-10 mins at the time. Today he seemed restless so I figured he could use a bit of a longer walk so we set out for 15-20 minutes instead.

When we set out it was calm and no one was around so I felt confident that it would be fine but suddenly there was a school class with a bunch of kids, as well as two dogs that we spotted. I felt bad because I feel like I have been slacking on socializing training so I thought that this might be a good opportunity for it…But I’m now scared it backfired and that I totally overwhelmed him. When we got back 20 mins later and he was shivering and he barked a couple of times while we were out. I tried to get back home sooner but he he sat down several times (not completely unexpected since he doesn’t quite understand the concept of walking on a leash yet) and he didn’t want to be carried either.

I tried to be calm and I would tell him to sit and reward him when he looked at me but I feel horrible because I’m not sure how badly he was shook by the experience. I realize also I having difficulty reading him. He’s always got his tail tucked over his back so can’t read him based on that. and he’s not very expressive. I just don’t know, never really had a puppy like him before. my other dog’s a retriever and loves everyone and everything. I havd no experience with dealing with a puppy acting insecure or scared before. I hope I didn’t set him back too much, or that I messed up this socializing journey already.

I live in the city in a condo, and the nearest patch of grass is about a half block away. I’ve been teaching my puppy to go outside for potty time and also to use puppy pads I have inside for when it gets cold and for when I am unable to take him out.

Is this something that I can unteach him in the future when I no longer want him to use puppy pads?

Curious to hear what others living in a city have done with potty training.

Hello there, I could really use some advice.

Ever since we moved, my dog has developed separation anxiety. He used to be totally fine being alone, but now, whenever I leave even for a short time he starts barking nonstop. It’s not just a few barks, it’s full-on panic mode until I come back.

I’m trying not to react emotionally and I don’t want to punish him, but I’m honestly not sure what to do next. Has anyone dealt with this after moving to a new place? What actually helps with separation anxiety?

My dog is 4 y.o male cavalier king charles spaniel