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So I have a big 4 year old Pyr/Bernese/St. Bernard mix that I adopted a few weeks ago. She was previously in a large outdoor kennel 24/7 so she has bursts of energy, but her stamina isn't that great. Her long walk of the day is about 45 mins, but the last 20ish mins of that is her walking at a snails pace because she's so tired. Am I walking her for too long too soon? How do I know?

Hi all,

So my boyfriend trained our 2 dogs (lab and cockapoo) to bark at sounds outside, or when people come up to the door. I guess it was supposed to be like a protection type thing. We’ve been living in his house ever since we got both dogs. The lab is 5 and the cockapoo is 4. They bark excessively when they hear certain things outside, or if I have the windows open and they see neighbors walking down the street or the mailman coming to the door. And if one of us parks our car in the driveway and walks up to the door, they go berserk jumping on the couches and barking. The cockapoo especially loses her mind when one of us comes in the door. When we tell her no bark, she keeps going for a while.

Well now we’re temporarily moving to an apartment before I start grad school in another state, and I want to know the best course of action for trying to re-train them in an apartment setting. I do not want to be those neighbors and drive everyone nuts with dogs that bark all day and get complaints. And I do not want them to be stressed! This will be a big change for everyone, and sounds carry in the apartment hallway. My apartment is also above the pool which can get a little rowdy when the kids are playing. We usually leave the TV on low for them during the day, but that doesn’t help once they hear/see something.

When I’m home during the day, I try to correct their behavior immediately when they start. For example, they always bark whenever they hear the brakes on the UPS truck driving down our street. I tell them no bark, try to distract them with toys, and then tell them they’re good (followed by a reward). I repeat this when the mail truck is driving through our neighborhood. I also try this when people walk up to the door or walk by our house, but it’s usually unsuccessful. What’s funny is, we have them playing outside in the front yard sometimes, and they do not bark at people that walk by. But when they see people through the window, they lose it.

Since they won’t be able to see anyone in the apartment, the main behaviors I want to try and correct are barking at every little sound or person they may hear at the apartment, or when we enter the front door.

I'm not sure what to do anymore. I have read all the guides, I have engaged two different trainers, I have them walked twice daily, and I have been to the vet to rule out health issues. I have two dogs: Ludo (husky/mix, age 5) and Daisy (pit mix, age 2). We have had Ludo for a few years, Daisy we adopted 3 months ago.

About 3 weeks into owning Daisy, she and Ludo got into a fight over a toy. It wasn't terrible, we separated them and I called a trainer immediately. We had the trainer come into the house, they gave me sibling jealousy protocol, and I've been working through that with them. I also separately took them to obedience training with a different trainer. I took away all the toys in the shared area and made it so they could only play with toys in their own rooms away from one another.

Then one day we were sitting on the sofa and they were between my legs and a fight broke out. Daisy latched onto Ludo. My husband was hurt in the process of tearing them apart. I tried the wheelburrow method but could not get them apart. Ludo was injured but not terribly. I called the trainer back, we continued with the sibling jealousy protocol (keeping them on leashes while they were together). Things were fine for several weeks.

Then two nights ago, my son was cooking hot dogs and spilled some water on the floor. The dogs went to lick up the water and Daisy went after Ludo. His leg was torn up in the process.

I'm not sure how to stop this. I'm on edge 24/7. 99% of the time they are completely fine with one another. I do not want to rehome either dog. Is there anything I can do to end this drama and find peace?

I just started working with my very barky French bulldogs on not barking at the door/noise outside. We worked with a behaviorist for other issues and they have improved so so much. My question is, how long can anticipate the counter conditioning to take (I know it is life long work)? I am also practicing with one dog at a time. Can I do both together?

Any input or experiences are appreciated!

Next weekend we’re getting our 8 week old golden retriever, and our three year old cat has never been around dogs. With the layout of our house, there’s no practical way of doing the whole “let them get used to each other before seeing each other” thing. We won’t be able to hide a puppy from him.

Our cat always greets us at the door. I imagine when he sees the puppy, he’ll run upstairs and hide. The puppy will be indefinitely kept downstairs. Should I try to go and give him some wet food/treats with the puppy’s scent on me? Or just leave him be? He has an automatic feeder downstairs; which he sprints for the second he hears it. Should I leave it there in hopes it would entice him to come down and eat while the puppy’s in the room? Or go ahead and move it upstairs so he eat without having to see the puppy?

Obviously I’d never force an interaction. But what else could I do to ensure positive interactions when they do see eachother?

We got a German shepherd puppy when she was 4 months and is now 7 months! We were told she’s good with cats, but she just wants to corner our 2 cats, even when they correct her. We attend group training classes and our trainer said that German Shepherds have a high prey drive, which will hopefully lower with age.

The kitties have upstairs and the pup is downstairs, but as we get towards the cooler weather, I know my cats like to come downstairs and cuddle with me while I work. I don’t want to crate the puppy since cats could spend the entire day in one spot, but I don’t want them to be chased when they come down. Our puppy knows all of her commands until a cat is in sight.

What are some good next steps? Should we hire a trainer to come to our house? Is it a matter of time? I really want to know what I can do because I’d love to spend the holidays with all of the pets around without needing to manage boundaries for them. Thank you!!!

Side note: this is my first puppy, and we have an adult lab who the cats are comfortable with.

Every time it rains, he doesn't want to poop. I can get him to pee though. A few times it's rained outside and I've tried to get him to poop, with no luck (spent ages in the rain). And when inside after bringing him in as he didn't poop, I'll turn my back for 1 minute he's pooped. Does anyone have any advice! Feeling a bit defeated this morning as he hasn't pooped, he's had breakfast, I know he needs to poop 🥲 I can't take my eye off him