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I have an 8 yr old Great Pyrenees who is a master of avoiding pills.

I need your wild tips! We’ve tried cheese, peanut butter, pill pockets, crushing it up and stuffing it inside cooked pieces of chicken, crushing it up in wet cat food… I’m at a lost what to do!

It’s like 8 big pills, 3x daily. So the shove it in his mouth and rub his throat to swallow isn’t going to work here lol

If we I can’t get him to take them he will have to go back for inpatient treatment and my heart (and wallet) will be sad if that happens.

Thank you!!!

I am 25 female and I live with my older parents. We have had dogs my entire life, even multiple co existing. Our pitbull passed away a year ago in October. It crushed our family so we decided to adopt a 10 week old puppy (she is a pitbull mix and her name is Sadie) We got her from a local animal shelter and she was spayed at 8 weeks old, 2 days before we took her home. I am now researching and realizing that puppies can be spayed to early. This dog is insane. I love her and we have our good moments, but she is genuinely the most hyper active insane puppy I’ve ever seen. We try everything: running out in the backyard, chew toys everywhere, snuffle boards, lick mats, you name it. She is crate trained and we have a trainer coming every 3 weeks. She knows her commands but gets insane. She gets into moods where she will jump up and bite us at any moment she can. She is in the middle of insane zoomies when she does this. No correction helps at all. Is this going to go away as she ages? We always have a leash on her and pressure train her with the leash in these situations but she does not care. She gets so crazy and nuts nothing can correct her. Our family members tell us we should re home her. My heart would break and I can’t imagine doing that to her. Please please give any recommendations or any advice you have. I want to do right by her but some days are just awful. I have been awful mentally because of her and the stress she causes. I always see people post on here and look back on their posts, and they are glad they did not give up. I am hoping that is my case.

My husband and I have greatly benefitted from this sub since getting our puppy when he was 3 months old. He is 4 months now and has officially spent a whole month with us (woohoo!) I can’t count the number of times scrolling through this sub has brought me so much hope and comfort so hopefully this too makes it to someone who needs this encouragement as well.

Context we live in an apartment and I’m currently doing my post grad studies online for a year before I return to work (one of the reasons why we thought it would be opportune to get a puppy now). My husband works a day job and does not have the option to wfh currently.

The first 2 weeks were true torture, I saw someone here describe it as being like a prisoner in their own home and I couldn’t relate more. There were times I broke down because I was so done cleaning up his pee with one hand and holding him in the other while he struggles to lunge at his puddle of pee. I could only shower when my husband came home and I could only pee after tiptoeing to the toilet when puppy fell asleep.

What worked/didn’t work for us: 1. Playpen restriction

We did crate training and playpen in the living area, it wouldn’t work and he would go berserk once any of us were out of sight. We then restricted him to just the kitchen cause that was more accessible and was fully puppy proofed. However he was barking/whining a lot once he couldn’t see me and it meant that I had to be within/around the kitchen, which made me feel even more so like a prisoner, now in my kitchen. We tried leaving him alone in the kitchen but he found out how to jail break by running towards the playpen barriers (admittedly they are not the most sturdy, they’re plastic “sheets” clipped together in a line) and throwing his entire body on it. However, we noticed (via the camera) that he was a lot more calm once he was out of the kitchen and was happily free roaming the home (room doors closed) and we thought maybe he just didn’t like being restricted so we attempted to let him just free roam the house. Of course, that meant a lot more accidents and a lot of chasing after him and cleaning up. It also meant that the kitchen restriction came in whenever I couldn’t deal with it anymore haha. This went on until about the third week when we noticed that he has stopped having any accidents! Today, he free roams the house and even when he is playing in the living room, he would run to the kitchen where his pee tray is then return when he’s done whenever he needs.

1. Crate training

I know it’s good, but… we kinda gave up on it. He sleeps well around the house throughout the day, he has certain spots where he loves — infront of the fridge, beside our coffee table, and it works! However, we do leave the crate in our bedroom at night with the playpen and he does go in to sleep so I consider that a win.

1. Desensitisation and separation anxiety

We worked really hard on this the first few weeks, and he cried and barked a lot. It gave me so much anxiety just leaving, even more so because we live in an apartment and have 5 other families on the same floor. But we stuck to it and kept going, for just an hour for a meal nearby, groceries, and gradually increased it. The longest we have been gone so far was about 3-4 hours! We gave him a chew with some toys, but he mostly just slept. He still barks once he hears the main door close, but it now lasts maybe 7 minutes at max which is a huge change from him barking for 15 minutes straight from us just being in the study. He still is quite a Velcro dog, and wants to be near us but he has also grown so much where he now can walk away from us in the living room to have a nap in the kitchen! I can now also go to the toilet freely knowing that he will just be waiting outside without barking or crying. He also plays really well on his own! I’ve learnt to give him space to learn to play on his own and it has gotten so much better now. I had the impression that he needed to be entertained every waking moment, but I realised that he actually doesn’t and if I just did my own thing, he will learn that he can just do his own thing too, which he did!

1. Walks!!!

We had to wait for all his vaccinations to be done, but once we started bringing him on his daily walks, it really helped to get him to rest in the day and eliminate his night witching! Such a game changer for us really because his witching hour was truly horrendous. Think crazy zoomies in the apartment and mad barking and biting.

We still have bad days, days where he seems to wake up from the wrong side of the crate, where he’s barking for what seems to be no reason at all or nipping at our ankles. He chews on things he shouldn’t be chewing on and the list goes on, but he’s a smart puppy and every time he wakes up from his nap all groggy and is the most cuddliest baby, I am reminded that he has already come so far and has grown so much. This is a 4 month old puppy we are talking about! He hits 5 months in about a week, and maybe we’ll check in again then!

If you’re in the puppy trenches and you’ve read the entirety of this, trust me when I say that it truly does get better. There is so much information out there on what you should do what you can do what you could try, but remember that every dog is different and do what works for you! I got really stressed thinking this way was THE way and that we should do this or that because everyone does it and it works and it’s good for the dogs! It does get really overwhelming, but do what works for you and if it doesn’t work, try something else! It took us awhile to get to where we are, and I believe you’ll get there too.

I have a mini Aussie who has now been on crate rest with a fractured leg for 3 days… and we’re both already going insane. I need advice for new activities to keep her stimulated and tire her out! All she wants to do is run around. She is on gabapentin 3 times a day already, and I’d rather not add trazodone

I know there are tons of posts out there on crate rest, but my particular problem is that this happened on her second day home, so the only command she (loosely) knows is sit and she could not care less about treats/food/chews so teaching her new ones is hard. Potty training has been difficult too, as I don’t want to take her out of her crate at every cry, but I also fear she may need to go.

She likes her puzzle mat, and will play tug for a bit, but I need some more activities to rotate to tire her mentally and I’m totally stuck.

I want her to heal well, but she is so sad and I just want her to know she’s not doing anything wrong:(

My dog will hesitate to come to the door and get his harness on. He’ll act like it’s the last thing he wants to do, but once we’re outside he doesn’t want to stop. We can walk from 1.5-3 hours and he loves every second. Anyone have any idea what this behaviour is about?
He’s 14 and in excellent physical health.

I've always had big dogs, Mastiffs. My last Mastiff died in 2024. I miss having a dog. Everyone tells me I need to get a smaller, less powerful dog this time. What do you think?

Our 7-month-old Great Dane/Pitty mix rescue has officially graduated from sleeping in his crate to sleeping in the bed with my husband, our older dog, and me! We’re three nights in and completely accident-free. I’m so proud of him! 🥹

It means a lot to me to have our dogs snuggled up with us at night, so this feels like a big milestone.

Anyone else have small victories to celebrate? Puppies, seniors, or anything in between, I’d love to hear what you’re proud of lately!

So I am considering adopting this beautiful 3 yr old, 60lb German shepherd pure bred (Zelda) from her foster family, where she lives with another GSD and a Pomeranian with no issues. She was found as a stray about 10 months back and was only 28 lbs and covered in fleas/ ticks and is heartworm positive. They are already going through that process, she should be done with treatment by EOY. I have had my dog, Sophie, an 11 yr old, very well trained, 45 lb shepherd mix for 10 years. My girl really wants someone to play with, which is my main reason for adopting another dog. Ever since we moved out of state and she lost her dog friends, I feel like she’s sometimes a bit bored. After much deliberation with the foster dad, I did a meet and greet in my back yard 2 days ago. So the pros: Zelda is very well behaved though clearly needs more training, which I am up for. I actually consider it a bit of a perk to work with her the way I’d like to. She sits, is now house trained (foster had to work on that), takes treats very gently, and seems almost docile with humans. Very calm. As a whole she’s exactly what I’d like to have as an addition to my home. She was great. Cons: Then it was time to introduce the dogs in the yard. We started with them on opposite sides of a wire fence to test out. Sophie immediately put front legs down and rear up in the play position and Zelda started barking. Okay, nbd. Dogs bark. Keeping Zelda on the leash we brought her into the yard. Sophie walked up cautiously to do the initial greet and sniff and Zelda let out a low, deep growl. No teeth, but it was clearly a warning growl, not playful. Sophie left her alone but any time she’d try to come close Zelda would growl and bark. Nothing that seemed super ready to fight, but clearly a warning to leave her alone. Which Sophie did, just started wandering the yard while Z watched. This continued for the entire hour+ visit, with Zelda staying attached to foster dad’s hip the whole time. My questions are this: Is she possibly guarding the foster dad? I would not be surprised due to her breed. Should I try to meet on more neutral ground and maybe have him away a bit? When he handed the leash to me and called my dog over for treats, Zelda was patient and sat by me, though obviously had a bit of jealousy and tension in wanting to get back to him. When he sat on the patio furniture, she jumped up and laid next to him and again deep growled every time Sophie came within 5 feet. She just was not having it. I cannot tell if Zelda for whatever reason just doesn’t like Sophie (it happens, some dogs just don’t get along) or if it has more to do with the foster dad being around. How would I get them accustomed to each other if I did adopt her? Would a muzzle (temporarily) help in the sense that Zelda at least can’t bite if she chose to? Zelda is crate trained, I can see where that would help in getting them used to each other. My biggest concern is that Sophie is historically very unforgiving to dogs that have tried to fight her, she doesn’t offer second chances, and if Zelda did try to go after Sophie she would definitely win that fight. Is there a way to fix this long term or should I mark it as not a good fit? Since this is supposed to be a friend for my girl, seems kind of against the point if they can’t get along eventually.

Hey everyone, my dog Kiwi (6F) and I recently moved to hawaii. She just turned 6 last week, and I've had her since she was just over a year old. She had quite a large neglect history before I got her (given up by 4 different owners in her first year of life, the last of which was a frequent drug user and would couch hop from place to place while leaving Kiwi in the car for double-digit hours a day.

Since I've had her, we've moved and driven all around the US. She is a great travel dog and generally very secure.. we've come a long way from her prior separation anxiety, where she would poop herself in the crate, whine, bark, etc. We did a lot of crate training and positive association (she loves cheese.. I give her at least half a slice broken up into many smaller pieces anytime she would go in there, feed her in her crate, any treats or rewards come from the crate, etc.). After a while, she seemed secure enough to not have her spend anytime I'm not home in the crate so I started phasing it out, which lasted a good 3 years probably.

Anyway, we recently moved to Hawaii a few months ago. She did great on the trip (certified her to fly in cabin, she slept the whole time and was very chill). I was prepared for some minor separation anxiety early in the transition, which proved to be true. She would shiver in the corner of the living room but eventually would chill out and sleep until I got back home. We have a good schedule going where I work about 6 hours and then get back, eat a snack and hang and then go for a nice 2 hour walk (~3-4 miles where she's off leash and allowed to explore at her leisure). We live in a nice, spacious house with a nice big yard. It isn't fenced in but she does well just hanging around our space. Her anxiety got better with each day until one day I left for about 2 hours only to come back to her outside waltzing around the neighborhood. I pulled into the driveway, which she noticed and came running back to our house. It seems she was able to pry open our jalousie windows (coastal windows), remove a couple of the glass panes, and break her way through the screen for the window. After a few iterations of trying to close, lock, and block the windows, she still manages to find a way out.

So I've been reintroducing the crate while bringing her to work with me a couple of times a week. She does great at work, just sleeps and hangs out.. she is the best dog when she's around me but I obviously cannot be around her all the time. But her anxiety in the crate has been awful. She's shoving it around, panting the whole time, barking, yelling, howling, which is all so uncharacteristic of her. It's heartbreaking and I hate seeing her so stressed. I do give her 600mg of GABA about 1-1.5 hours prior to leaving for the day, but nothing seems to quell her anxiety much. I don't know what to do. Does anyone have any suggestions? She is so anxious when she gets into the crate while I am preparing to leave, I feel like this is not the correct course of action. I'm happy to provide more information about our background and how the transition to Hawaii was. Please do feel free to ask. Thank you in advance.