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Ok so I've been allowing my pup to take naps in my bed. She gets better quality of sleep when she does. The problem is if i move she will wake up and follow me where I go. She's a 7 month old Chihuahua x Poodle mix and my question is will she ever just sleep even if I move? Is she still to young for that or do I need to train her to? And if so how?

A family member of mine just got a puppy from a backyard breeder. This family member is planning on coming over to my house this weekend (w/o the puppy) and my question is, if the dog isn’t vaccinated and is potentially sick, can my family member bring any of these diseases into my home? I don’t want either of my dogs to get sick.

I hope this question doesn’t come off as odd. I’ve been trying to Google this question and can’t seem to find a concrete answer.

Has anyone ever owned either of these breeds ?

I love the description of both but trying to figure out which would be best.

I live in a northern remote wilderness town. I want a companion for hiking/cross country skiing.

Good with cats/people/dogs.

I’m not sure which would be easier to train, they seem similar in that regard.

Sorry for the ** in title but reddit keeps auto deleting my post and I can't figure out why.

I've been avoiding this for a while now, I focused more on other things but sooner or later I'll have to work on our nemesis.

Our issue is that everything he gets inside his mouth gets chewed. I've made some throwable sticks with a broom I cut and christ they look like swiss cheese. I partially saw some improvements when we did a bunch of water rescue exercises and a 6kg dumbbell was used, that one wasn't fun to chew so he did it way less.

So my question would be: should I start using very heavy dumbbels(compared to competition ones) or is it better to use a more slippery handle, keping the same weight, to 'force' him out of the chewing habit?

Couple workshops I went to had me reward him as soon as he bit the handle, anticipating his getting excited for the piece of wood he could shred, then I could slowly go for a proper retrieve but knowing my dog I doubt that would work, as I've seen the couple times we tried it he'd try eating the treat with the handle still inside his mouth, so he'd still be chewing and I'd rather not reinforce that even more.

Others told me to kinda tug it away from him, rewarding the moment he clamps down real hard but as soon as I stop pulling he starts chewing,

Any tips?

Hello! I rescued an 8 pound poodle/terrier mix. She originally came from Texas to Nebraska.

I am having the worst time potty training her. I take her out 4x a day. 7:30 to 8:00 am, 3:15-4:00 pm, 7:00pm, and then 9:00 to 11:00 pm. She pees in her kennel at night and a lot of times during the day when I’m at work. I’ve tried limiting her water in-take in the morning and night but it doesn’t seem to do much. I’ve tried rewarding with treats when going potty outside as well. I’ve done training treats to delicious expensive ones.

I have to bathe her daily and I’m sick of it. I have to clean her kennel daily, I use Zep Urine spray to remove the urine with enzyme remover. I’ve put her in my spare bathroom a few times because I have no energy to clean her kennel daily. But she makes a huge mess in the bathroom. I’ve tried no bedding in her kennel and it works sometimes but then she’s found out she can pee and drink it so that cycle has started. She also stomps around in her pee and it gets all over the floor and wall where he kennel is. She has separation anxiety and grabs her kennel with her mouth to shake it. She’s got no hair, scars, and a broken tooth from it. Her other 3 canine teeth aren’t going to last much longer either. I’ve also tried calming treats and prescription meds that didn’t work.

I’m at my wits end and I’ve been very close to rehoming her. Also, this has been going on for 3+ years. I don’t have funds to go to some pet trainer.

My last resort is to add in an additional potty break around 2:00 and to stick a potty pad in her kennel for the night. I’m also worried she’ll eat the potty pad because she scoots her kennel around when she shakes it and if she gets close to fabric she will do all she can to pull it into her kennel.

Please help, I’m desperate.

She has zero cues to go outside.

My dog (a Boston) loves her frisbee. I realized I could probably teach her how to catch it. She is already through most of the steps I've read about online — she will play tug with it, chase it, etc. We are doing short tosses right now and she is great… she understands what we are doing and goes for it!

The issue… she can't catch it in her mouth! It just kind of hits her in the face. I don't know if this is an issue with her short snout or maybe she just needs more practice? Any advice would be appreciated!

I want to start off with a disclaimer that I am not an expert by any means, but I studied animal behavior in college and worked at a vet clinic for several years. I also recognize that the situation below require A LOT of patience, I just want to help my parents and their new dog.

My parents recently decided to foster, with the goal of eventually adopting, a Scottish Terrier. They have owned the breed before, but it has been over 15 years. This poor guy is a bit of a mystery. From what we know, he was brought into a shelter as a stray and has gone through two other homes in about a month. Both previous owners said he was too shut down and could not relax in their homes, so he was returned. I believe he was in one home for 3 weeks and the other for 2. Because of that, we knew he would be very shut down and require a lot of patience, which my parents are aware of and fully on board with.

Here is where things get confusing. When he first arrived, he was actually quite inquisitive. He greeted everyone and seemed curious about his surroundings. Going outside was very exciting (we are not sure if he had access to a yard before), and he even knew how to play fetch. However, he was unwilling to follow us back inside, and if we approached him, he would run away. This was just the start:

A few behaviors just do not make sense to us:

• He loves going outside and is like a completely different dog. However, he will not go out on his own even if the door is open. He will come inside on his own only if we are not visible in the doorway.
• He actively seeks interaction with new people and dogs but does not seek interaction with the people in the house
• He cries and whines when left alone but cowers/hides if he is brought into the same room as us.
• He will occasionally follow us around the house but hides once we stop in a room.
• He will sit with us and relax/fall sleep but only if we put him on the couch next to us

The two oddest interactions so far:

• He was sitting on the downstairs couch while I was working upstairs. I could hear him whining, so I went downstairs and tried to encourage him to follow me. He wouldn’t, so I went back upstairs, but I could still hear him whining. I went down again, picked him up off the couch, and he immediately followed me upstairs to sit next to me, going past his kennel in the process.
• My parents took him to a friend’s house that has two dogs around his size (against my advice). I wasn’t there, but they said his personality did a complete 180. He was playing and loving on everyone in the house, both the people and the dogs. They were there for about two hours, and he ran and played the whole time. However, as soon as they came home, he became nervous again and went straight to his kennel.

Some behaviors do make sense given his history and new environment. His appetite is limited, loud sounds startle him, and his kennel is clearly his safe space.

He is also not food motivated at all. We have tried all kinds of treats, including high-value ones like chicken and small pieces of steak, but he will not eat them even if we leave them near him and walk away.

On the positive side, he has never shown any aggression, even when he is clearly fearful.

He has only been with my parents for about a week, so we know this will likely be a long process of helping him feel safe and comfortable. My parents committed to a 90-day foster, so they are ready to give him time and consistency. It just seems like he wants to interact but does not know how.

Is this just a patience game, or is there something we can do to help him feel more secure? We don't want to push him too much too fast but worry that ignoring him will not help him improve. It really feels like he wants to be loved but is just too scared.

(He does have a vet appointment in two weeks so will also be discussing options with them)

My 1.5 year old dog has started barking randomly, for long periods of time throughout the day. But she doesn't bark throughout the day, or even when i leave for work. However, around 2pm, lets say, she'll start to bark if I am at work that day. I thought it was because she knows her dog walker comes around this time, and she's eager to get outside and she might be a little bored. However, she just went on a 1.5 hour walk with her dog walker (who is literally great and she gets great exercise with him) but she started barking for 20-30 minutes after he left (was checking the cams in the house). So now I am confused…i guess it could be a trigger from the apartment hallway, but she never does that when I am home?? does this sound like separation anxiety or something else?

okay, this is complicated and not our only behavioral issue with our adopted, neutered schizo Bichon Frisi. We’ve had him nearly a year and we believe he is nearly two years old. Simply, we love him and he loves us. he’s rarely alone for more than 3 hours. He is not potty trained, though he’s pretty good if he’s on a schedule. Weather and our schedules can make that hard, but, honestly, sometimes he comes in from outside and the little nutter goes pee right away. We believe he knows not to because he’s impossible to catch in the act. If we walk into room right after he’s gone pee (or poop), dude runs out! This all stinks and not the issue today.

He occasionally pisses on the bed we all, including him, sleep on. No other dog. He seems to choose to piss where our heads go—sometimes my wife and sometimes me (if it was a sport, it’s 2 to 1 in my favor). You’re thinking, “don’t let him in your bed, dummy.” Well, he seems to pee on it during the day when we forget to close the door. Today, we were all home and doing stuff when he did it, and he’s gotten plenty of attention. But also, my wife thinks because he doesn’t pee in the bed when we’re sleeping that means it’s not the issue. I believe if he didn’t think it was his bed, he wouldn’t be a focus. All three of us which to sleep together. Either way, he is getting uninvited to sleep with us; we’ll see if my wife sticks to it. 😬😬😬He does have a kennel he likes. I guess what I am asking is what is the best guess for why he is peeing on our bed? From that, we might be able to further address the issue.

Vet says he’s physically fine and its behavioral.

(For reference, it has happened three times. The first time, after living with us half a year, we chocked up to a one-off. Second time, months later, we went dammit, what is up? Third time, a week later, we know it’s like a super obvious behavioral issue we haven’t addressed.)