Blog

Hi guys! I just want to vent a little so I don't freak out.

My boyfriend and I adopted a rescued puppy of about 5-6 months two weeks ago. Long story short, she was found in very bad conditions. Then, a family adopted her and returned her after a week because they had small children and things didn't work out. After that, she spent another week in a foster home and then finally came to live with us. I know she has some trauma.

She's very sweet, potty trained, loves people and dogs, loves to cuddle, almost doesn't bark, BUT….

She bites—hard—every time she's excited and wants to play. Our legs and arms are covered in bruises. We can't play with toys with her because at some point she will turn her attention to bite us.

We tried everything: redirecting her bite to chew toys (she has lots of them), reversed time-outs, crying like a hurt dog, barking at her, separating her in a crate. Some of it works for a while, and then she will do it again. The only thing we can't do right now is take her on walks, because she isn't fully vaccinated yet.

She's already having classes, and I know it will get better, but I just want to read successful stories of people who made it work with older puppies.

Hi everyone, I’d love to hear your thoughts on this.

We have a 5-month-old English Setter (almost 6), and here’s his current routine:

7:00 am – walk outside 8:30 am – first meal 10:30 am – walk outside 12:30 pm – second meal, and a walk about 15 minutes later 2:30 pm – walk outside 4:30 pm – walk outside 7:30 pm – last meal, and a walk about 15 minutes later 9:30 pm – last walk of the day

However, we’re having a lot of accidents. When we wake up, he has peed and pooped everywhere — a lot of it! (Inside his playpen)

He’s allowed to roam only in the living room. He also has a playpen where he naps when he can’t settle on his own, and at night he sleeps there with his bed, water, and a pee pad for nighttime accidents. But the accidents are happening every day, and we’re not sure exactly when — maybe around 5 or 6 in the morning. He also sometimes pees in random spots around the house, as if he thinks it’s okay.

Basically, there’s usually one accident during the day and one every night when we let him out of the pen.

P.S. We always reward him with treats and praise when he goes potty outside. Please help us figure out if we’re doing something wrong. Thank you so much

My partner and I just adopted a 6 month old puppy. She presents as playful and likes people, but she can be timid and nervous about things and seems mistrusting at times despite her simultaneous curiosity. We are hoping to help her lean into the curiosity and become a more confident and brave dog while also meeting her where she is.

The kicker? We have a 5 year old dog who is also a rescue (we got him as a 1 year old and he'd been a stray all his life before then). He definitely has trauma we know nothing about and for a long time was afraid of everything. We would describe him as a fearful dog, as he is afraid of MOST PEOPLE. He has some favorites that he trusts automatically (who knows why), but for the most part he runs in fear or barks at strangers (never aggressive). He dissociates when he's afraid and does not respond to me or my partner. In 4 years he's done WONDERS. So smart, very lovely, sentient and emotional, and more trusting than previously. And he LOVES other dogs, and typically if another dog trusts a person, he trusts them, too. He is a completely different dog at the dog park (runs up to everyone, jumps on them, tail wagging, happy!)

We got our new puppy with the hopes her lack of fear of people would help our current dog (an emotional support dog for our current dog, if you will). However, he seems to be accidentally rubbing his fearfulness onto her, and she is becoming less trusting of people rather than more trusting (again, despite her apparent desire to approach and be around people). Is there anything we can do for the puppy to help her step into her own and feel confident and brave in social situations?

Here is my situation, I have a 4 month old puppy boy and my gf and I are staying at my sister's for a month babysitting her 1.5 year old dog.

And I'm at my wits end with managing and disciplining them both. Especially the puppy. He is constantly play fighting with the older dog (who herself is kind of moppy, because my sister left). I walk them, but the puppy keeps jumping and pulling all the time.

And when I take them out to do their business, they are constantly in each other's spaces that they can't really finish up, so they have accidents inside.

I'm overwhelmed with the whining, and barking, and the ins-and-out of the house all of the time because I don't know if they'll have another accident or not.

Should I just separate them most of the time, or will it fix itself with time?

Thanks