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We adopted our puppy in April. We were told he was 4 months old but vet said he was more like 7 months. So he's just over a year old now. It sounds like he came from a borderline hoarding situation. I think he had no or very little exposure to the outdoors before we got him. He was partially potty pad trained.

It took over a week for him to willingly step outside and much longer for him to enjoy going for walks. He is still nervous outside, especially if it's wet out, windy or there's loud vehicles. He knows how to use potty bells to pee and very rarely has pee accidents. He still poops inside several times a week though.

He has separation/confinement anxiety so crates and pens aren't an option. Leash all the time also isn't an option. My husband works from home and does his best to take him out between meetings. However, he frequently refuses to go out by running away or snapping at my husband. Then he will poop inside. We always clean up with natures miracle.

I think the big issue is he isn't fully comfortable outside. I just tried to introduce a litter box to at least make clean up easier but he hasn't figured it out yet.

We've followed all the basic potty training (frequent trips outside, big party when he goes, proper cleaning inside, baby gates to restrict access) so I'm not really looking for advice on that front. But would love stories from other people with dogs afraid of the outdoors. Would also like to hear from people that have successfully litter box trained as an alternative.

My 8month old puppy still nibbles in our hands.

She’s got all of her adult teeth so it was something I expected to have stopped by now

She does it especially to greet us, grabs onto our arms, hands and if you try to turn away to not reward the attention, she’ll grab your clothes.

Yes, she gets enough exercise and naps

What can I do to stop this?

Long post for clarity [TL;DR: Puppy in fear period growled at a new vet]: 7-month-old rescue puppy (50% Australian Shepherd, 40% Doberman, 10% various breeds) started a fear period about a week ago. We've had him since 8 weeks old. He's sometimes anxious at his normal vet, but never aggressive and accepts pets and treats and lets them examine him. We’ve never had an issue, ever. Today we went to his neuter consult at a different vet, as the cost is covered through his rescue org at this location. It's a longer drive from our house and he gets car sick. He didn't throw up since we held food, but he was definitely drooling, etc.

He was excited about other dogs in the lobby and there was some whining, but no barking. He was a good boy for the scale and accepted pets from the front staff. When we got to the room he was happy and accepted pets from the vet tech. She started to try to take his temperature in his ear, but I told her he has a Home Again microchip that reads his temp. She stated she was new and didn't think they had the equipment to read the chip's temp and proceeded to keep trying his ear. He lets us touch his ears at home all the time and we've trained for that, but he’s never had his temp taken in his ear before. She gave up trying to take his temp and he let her examine him calmly.

She left the room and then came back with the chip reader and said “Oh they do have it so we can take his temperature this way.” He backed up into the corner near the bench I was sitting on and was clearly scared and she put it on his back and it beeped loudly and he jumped. She left.

Then the doctor came in and he backed up into the same corner. I could tell he was uncomfortable. She offered her hand to sniff, etc. But I could tell he was scared. For the first time ever, he growled at someone. He has never done this before. I told the vet immediately I have never seen him act like this before, but he is in a fear period and is suddenly even scared of his own shadow right now. He meets neighbors on walks, etc. and is a normal excited puppy who quickly calms down and either sits or goes into the lay down position. She went and got treats which he accepted, but we had to put him on the table to be examined and he was still scared of her. We finished our appointment, and she mentioned he might benefit from professional training to redirect his bad behaviors. He’s already had professional training and we graduated and are maintaining everything he’s learned and have had zero issues before. She left the room and when the vet tech returned he was happy and wanted pets from her and she said “I heard someone was VERY naughty!” I paid for the consult and she said, “You know we can give him anti-anxiety meds for vet appointments. He honestly wasn’t “that bad,” but if you want we can.

I found the entire experience upsetting. We went from daily compliments on how well behaved and trained he is for a 7-month-old puppy to “he has bad behavior and needs professional help and meds for the vet.” I don’t know where to go from here and we’ve never been told this with other dogs we’ve owned, however, this *is* the first puppy we’ve raised so I’m posting to ask if this sounds like overstimulation from going to a new vet during his fear period? Is this adolescence starting? Is this a serious new concern? Was he feeling car sick and overstimulated at the new location?

We have family members and neighbors with puppies and I know it’s wrong to compare your dog to others but they are going through way worse with their puppies and we’re always so thankful and proud of how well he is doing!

I am upset and don’t know what to do now.

My puppy had been very active in training since we first got her and has been in classes since she’s had all of her shots. She’s 10 months old now, and is still a terror. I’m working with her more and more, but it feels like nothing is helping. She jumps at every dog that she passes, pulls on the leash, has horrible recall, jumps on people, and today she nipped at me while I was trying to untangle her leash while in a walk.

When we train, we do a few short sessions with beef treats and she will sometimes work with me. Once we get into a distracting environment, I have a hard time getting her attention. And during the times that I do, once I give her the treat she just continues being naughty. I’ve used toys, sticks, treats, everything I can think of. And I’ve used beef and chicken!

It’s been months of this behavior at this point. I feel like a failure as a pet parent. I work with her all the time, but I just can’t do it. I know she’s a teenager, but some of these behaviors are just dangerous. I live in an apartment so every time we go outside it has been on a leash.

Do I keep working with her or just hire a trainer? I need encouragement and advice!

We got our first puppy in September 2024 at four months. I had never had a dog before but my husband grew up with dogs. Having a puppy was hard. Cleaning up the indoor potties, figuring out potty training, figuring out walks, learning how to go back to work normally. I remember being so irritated that all he wanted to do was chase the leaves outside because I was always on a schedule. I was annoyed when he didn’t poop when I wanted him to because I didn’t want to have to clean up an accident later. And then it started to get better and then we lost him at 8 months this past February. (Freak loss during his neuter.)

After he was gone I remember missing the early morning walks and the late night potty runs and the walks that never ended because he didn’t want to stop chasing the leaves or he didn’t want to stop digging. When we decided to get a new puppy (same breed, different color) this summer I was scared again. Starting over with a puppy, this time 2 months old, was bringing back all the difficulty. But now this boy is 6 months old and he’s perfect and everything was easier and I’m so happy.

He loves to chase the squirrels too much but it doesn’t irritate me because I know he’s happy. He likes to stay outside forever but it’s ok because it’s his favorite thing to do. I cherish it all so much. I’m sad that he doesn’t like to dig or chase the leaves because they’re all so different but he has his own quirks. Sometimes he doesn’t poop when I expect him to but it’s ok because who cares if I have to clean up an accident, it’s not the end of the world.

This is just to say that yes, puppies are hard, but cherish all the things that they are. You never know how things will change. They are so special and by loving them, you make their whole world ❤️❤️

Jel zna itko di ima kupit dugodlakog patuljastog jazavcara u hrvatskoj?

My 13-week-old female GSD is fine going up the four steps into the kitchen from the den, but she is clueless about how to go down. She wants to charge down, and if not on a tight house leash, she will try to jump the last two steps, resulting in a crash. After seeing her do this once, I am afraid to let her try it without walking by her side, with the leash taut. This keeps her from leaping and flying, but it doesn't stop her from tumbling down the last step. I have found nothing useful which actually addresses this. Any ideas will be appreciated.