hi — i know this was irresponsible on my part , and i expect all criticism , but i recently got a puppy that needed to be rehomed off of facebook despite not having any prior experience training dogs or even owning dogs of his breed . so far , i’ve been doing well enough i think ? i take him on walks , play with him , and i’ve already started trying to crate train , but i know i could be doing more and that what i’ve been doing the past week isn’t enough .

the puppy i got was a male german shepherd & great pyrenees mix . he’s twelve weeks old now , and for the most part he’s really a very good puppy , but the behavior he’s exhibiting isn’t exactly good and i’m not sure what i should do to correct it && what i should do to train him ? he’s stubborn . so stubborn that he walks away from me when i try to teach him things like sit ( which he understands by the way , he just doesn’t always want to listen ) . on walks , he crisscrosses a lot , and both lags behind and pulls because he wants to play i think ? he has shown no aggressive towards my mothers older female dog , but he has shown fear or cats despite me being told he was around farm cats ( if farm cats and house cats behave very differently , please tell me ! and please tell me what i can to do help him be less afraid ) . even though he is clearly afraid , he gets bursts of confidence and tries to play with or sniff our cats but he is a bit rough even though its clear he means no harm ? how can i get him to be more gentle ? also how can i train him properly on walks and in general ?

one last thing — i am not sure if its something i did ? or a breed thing ? or maybe this is clear signs of separation anxiety ? but ramiel follows me everywhere i go to the point where when we took him grocery shopping with us ( he sat in our personal wagon ) he risked hurting himself and jumped out multiple times to follow me even if i was just a few steps ahead .

i love him already , so it’s important to me that he is trained well for his safety and the safety of others . please , any advice is appreciated !

wait one last thing that isn’t training related !! his previous owners had him and his litter on purina , but i’ve heard recently that it’s not healthy for cats or dogs ? so can you guys recommend some healthier alternatives or even tips on ‘ raw feeding ‘ !

Welcome to the fortnightly loose leash walking virtual workshop!

Join us as we compete with the squirrels, cats, other dogs, fresh urine scents and things that go zoooooooom!

Resources

Articles (All have videos embedded)

​

• Train Your Dog For Perfect Loose Leash Walking by Casey Lomonaco. (With links and descriptions of several great videos, which we'll link to below.)
• Loose Leash Walking Tips by Casey Lomonaco
• Silky Leash by Grisha Stewart (blog post + videos.)

Youtube (Many of these are videos which are embedded in the above articles)

​

• Silky Leash intro video with an excitable puppy
• Clicker Training Loose Leash Walking by Casey Lomonaco
• Loose Leash Walking II by Casey Lomonaco
• How to Train Your Dog Not to Pull - Loose Leash Walking by Emily "kikopup" Larlham
• Dog Training Tip- Leash Walking: Go Sniff and Marking by Emily "kikopup" Larlham
• Choose to Heel by Loridressage
• Loose Leash Walking by Stacy Hiebert Greer
• Clicker Training a Heel by Amy Norcal
• Shaping Loose Leash Walking With a High Rate of Reinforcement Part 1, Part 2 and Part 3 by Helix Fairweather and Lynn Martin. (Read the text below the videos too!)
• Loose Leash Walking by Turid Rugaas

​

See our page on leash reactivity for help managing and training dogs that bark and lunge while on leash.

​

APDT webinar

​

• Loose Leash Walking presented by Gail Fisher

Hi all! I've got a minor issue that I can't seem to iron out with my 1.5 year old Amstaff. Looking for some ideas.

Roman has been planting his feet whenever we make a turn on our walks. It's specifically during turning left or right; it's quite clear that he wants to continue straight (forever it seems). We've put a lot of work into walking, but this little behaviour has been quite persistent.

No, I can't just allow him to keep going straight. We're working on reactivity and arousal and the paths we take have been selected specifically to keep things quiet and to help him stay within his threshold. I'm wondering if this has something to do with it. Maybe he finds it boring. It's not fear or anxiety, so I'm leaning towards boring/under stimulating. I'll be finding new paths for us to walk, but constantly finding brand new places is not sustainable for his reactivity/arousal, so I'd also like to find a solution to this current issue.

My current approach has been just waiting it out. Stand still and do nothing till he follows, then mark and reward. Yesterday, we stood still for five minutes... I'm not sure how much good my approach is doing haha. I don't want to lure him with a treat, and I'm hesitant to use a cue like 'touch' to get him to follow (I don't want to reward the behaviour or poison the touch cue).

I've thought about establishing a 'right' and 'left' cue, but I don't really think it will do much when we're actually out.

Any thoughts? Ideas? Anyone experienced this before?

We recently rescued a fear aggressive young GSD. She is calm with us but new people & sounds freak her out as well as dogs on walks. We want to fix this ASAP so we hired a trainer who was recommended & she told us not to pet or cuddle with or let her even lay her head or paw on us at all. She really emphasized that last part & said that petting your dog for anything but praise is the biggest mistake owners make. Her claim to fame is that she has been training dogs for almost 30 years with thousands of success stories apparently & she is well known in the community for training anyone’s dog from aggressive rescues to house dogs that need extra obedience to dogs on TV. Our issue is our dog is very loving & cuddly & it doesn’t make sense to deny love to a fear aggressive dog that is asking for love from people she is typically scared of. She also isn’t fixed & we are hoping to do that soon to see if it helps. All of the other advise the trainer has given us makes sense/has helped (mainly the positive reinforcement stuff), but our dog is food motivated so why do we need to withhold touch as well? Does this even make sense to anyone? Side note: girlfriend has some experience with training family dogs & has pretty much kindly said they think the trainer is too dominance focused &, basically, she doesn’t want someone telling her how to treat her dog (in a non training sense) but I have some friends in vet school that said it makes sense but they don’t like it.

UPDATE: THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU! We have gotten great advice & have since “broken up” with this trainer & have signed up for an online course specifically for building our dog’s confidence through positive training & she has been doing GREAT! We had our first perfect walk yesterday, she saw triggers & didn’t react. My girlfriend even had a male coworker come over after work to meet our dog & she did GREAT!

Welcome to the fortnightly separation anxiety support group!

The mission of this post is to provide a constructive place to discuss your dog's progress and setbacks in conquering his/her separation anxiety. Feel free to post your fortnightly progress report, as well as any questions or tips you might have! We seek to provide a safe space to vent your frustrations as well, so feel free to express yourself.

We welcome both owners of dogs with separation anxiety and owners whose dogs have gotten better!

NEW TO SEPARATION ANXIETY?

New to the subject of separation anxiety? A dog with separation anxiety is one who displays stress when the one or more family members leave. Separation anxiety can vary from light stress to separation panic but at the heart of the matter is distress.

Does this sound familiar? Lucky for you, this is a pretty common problem that many dog owners struggle with. It can feel isolating and frustrating, but we are here to help!

Resources

Books

​

Don't Leave Me! Step-by-Step Help for Your Dog's Separation Anxiety by Nicole Wilde

Be Right Back!: How To Overcome Your Dog's Separation Anxiety And Regain Your Freedom by Julie Naismith

Separation Anxiety in Dogs: Next Generation Treatment Protocols and Practices by Malena DeMartini-Price

Online Articles/Blogs/Sites

Separation Anxiety (archived page from the ASPCA)

Pat Miller summary article on treating separation anxiety

Emily "kikopup" Larlham separation training tips

Videos

Using the Treat&Train to Solve Separation Anxiety

introducing an x-pen so the dog likes it (kikopup)

Podcast:

https://www.trainingwithally.com/the-podcast

Online DIY courses:

https://courses.malenademartini.com

https://www.trainingwithally.com/about-2

https://separationanxietydog.thinkific.com/courses/do-it-yourself-separation-anxiety-program

https://rescuedbytraining.com/separation-anxiety-course

​

Introduce your dog if you are new, and for those of you who have previously participated, make sure to tell us how your week has been!

So my 1yo English Cream Retriever came back last week from a very respectable 5 week behavioral training with a new E-Collar.

When I came home tonight, he put his head lovingly up against me which I thought was adorable. Then I noticed a strange and foul odor on him, not a smell that I recognized.

I started to scratch him on his throat which he likes and I discovered that his hair was all sticky and my hand was black.

It was then that I noticed that the new e-Collar that the trainer sent home with him had burnt his whole throat.

I fully intend on filling a lawsuit against www.ecollar.com

DM me if you want to see the pictures.

Besides the obvious. [Walk, play, bathroom, eat, drink]

I'm considering a complete career change to focus on training dogs especially or in time, assistance dogs. I have Fibromyalgia myself and have enjoyed self-training my own dog to help with certain tasks.

However, I'm really struggling to find information on the demand for this field and whether the course I'm eyeing is/will be recognised and trusted by dog owners and organisations alike.

Following advice from the UK National Careers Service, I'm seeking insights from organisations, dog training companies, and dog trainers/owners to understand the career prospects and financial sustainability of this path.

I'm currently considering enrolling in the Level 4 PETbc Accredited Advanced Canine Behaviour Diploma offered by the British College of Canine Studies (BCCS). UKRLP Number 10083698. https://www.britishcollegeofcaninestudies.com/product/level-4-petbc-accredited-advanced-canine-behaviour-diploma/

While the Level 4 PETbc Accredited Advanced Canine Behaviour Diploma offered by the British College of Canine Studies (BCCS) is not Ofqual regulated, it has reportedly been accepted by councils nationwide for licensing applications and carries CPD (Continual Professional Development) points. Organisations like Dogs Trust, RSPCA, and Blue Cross, among others, have had students participate in this course among other animal-care based courses via BCCS.

1. What are the dog training job availability is there?
2. How necessary is official accreditation from bodies such as Ofqual, CCEA, AQA, OCR, Pearson, WJEC Eduqas, etc., for employment validity and respect in the field?
3. Would a diploma accredited by British College of Canine Studies (BCCS) still be valid or respected in the industry? 

#Welcome to the quarterly Event List!

Here we crowdsource upcoming events in the animal training world (for the next 6 months) to add to our calendars, and help each other plan to expand our knowledge (and meet CEU requirements).

##REQUIREMENTS

Events should comply with the following standards:

• Organisation/trainer running the event meets the criteria for trainer recommendations in the posting guidelines and wiki guide
• Major conferences, workshops and events only - it should be something that is sufficiently extensive and/or unique that it might be worth travelling and paying accommodation for if you are not directly local to it. Use this as a hypothetical question if it is an online event/conference. Events run by individual trainers should be by an already industry-recognised expert and offering CEUs; think Shikashio running his Aggression in Dogs conference or a Terry Ryan Chicken Camp, not your local CPDT-KA running their first public workshop.
• Professional - information provided sufficiently in-depth to have value to a professional as well as a hobbyist. No workshops intended solely for the general public, please.
• Events should be time-limited: the purpose of these posts is to help us all not miss events that have application/attendance deadlines and happen once a year at most, particularly at variable time schedules. If it's a webinar that is available on demand or has access granted every few months like clockwork, it's not suitable for this thread - send a modmail to suggest it be included in the wiki instead.
• The event will happen in the next 6 months (or the application deadline closes within the next 6 months). If the event is further in the future, it should go in a future quarterly thread. There is a separate Automod comment below to drop the names of such future events here as advance alerts with limited detail.

Events do not need to be dog-exclusive, just something that dog trainers and keen hobbyists would enjoy! For example, we wouldn't post a cat-only conference, but we would love to see a conference by PPG or IAABC that includes both dog and cat seminars, or a conference by animal behaviour researchers that has broad cross-species applicability.

###FORMAT

Please post under the appropriate Automoderator comment below to group events by LOCATION (Online, Europe, North America or Other)

Suggested posting format:

Event Name - the name, obviously, for easy searching
Date - Please post in ISO standard format YYYY-MM-DD to eliminate any risk of confusion between USA and rest of the world date formats
Location - Online or Country-State-City
Organiser - Name of event organiser(s)
Website - link to detailed information
Special info - anything important to know in advance - e.g. early bird price close date, available scholarships, link to facebook group for event where people are organising carpools and accommodation sharing etc.

Code for copying format:

**Event Name** -  
**Date** -   
**Location** -  
**Organiser** -  
**Website** -   
**Special info** -

In November we took our dog Australian cattle dog to sit means sit as it was the only dog training company aside from petco etc. we paid $2025 for lifetime training. The training never really stuck with my dog and started ti become aggressive when using the shock. I already was hesitant about going there as I felt it was on the line of animal abuse but I didn’t know for sure so I thought I’d try it to get my dog to be good quickly.
My dog, under A year old is full of energy and didn’t always do so well in group classes. They recommended using TWO collars on my dog so he would feel it more. I told them no I don’t like that idea and I shouldnt have to keep buying more stuff to make your training work.

Well four months later and the aggression became too much (he never attacked or bit hard) and made me feel like it was because my dog felt abused so we have stopped using the collar.

Now we are trying to receive A partial refund for the lifetime membership and the collar. They also offer A pay half up front which they never told us about when we were talking about the details on the phone.

I feel like sit means sit is A get rich quick scheme that only cares about taking money and hoping you give up on the training. I should have realised the scammy hint when it was all old people in the group classes.

Also when we asked for A refund this is how the owner responded. “There is no refund option for your package or equipment. It’s yours to do what you want with 😊. “. That smiley face angers me so much.

Any advice on who to reach out to or how to tell our story and prevent this from happening to other people?

Welcome to the fortnightly loose leash walking virtual workshop!

Join us as we compete with the squirrels, cats, other dogs, fresh urine scents and things that go zoooooooom!

Resources

Articles (All have videos embedded)

​

• Train Your Dog For Perfect Loose Leash Walking by Casey Lomonaco. (With links and descriptions of several great videos, which we'll link to below.)
• Loose Leash Walking Tips by Casey Lomonaco
• Silky Leash by Grisha Stewart (blog post + videos.)

Youtube (Many of these are videos which are embedded in the above articles)

​

• Silky Leash intro video with an excitable puppy
• Clicker Training Loose Leash Walking by Casey Lomonaco
• Loose Leash Walking II by Casey Lomonaco
• How to Train Your Dog Not to Pull - Loose Leash Walking by Emily "kikopup" Larlham
• Dog Training Tip- Leash Walking: Go Sniff and Marking by Emily "kikopup" Larlham
• Choose to Heel by Loridressage
• Loose Leash Walking by Stacy Hiebert Greer
• Clicker Training a Heel by Amy Norcal
• Shaping Loose Leash Walking With a High Rate of Reinforcement Part 1, Part 2 and Part 3 by Helix Fairweather and Lynn Martin. (Read the text below the videos too!)
• Loose Leash Walking by Turid Rugaas

​

See our page on leash reactivity for help managing and training dogs that bark and lunge while on leash.

​

APDT webinar

​

• Loose Leash Walking presented by Gail Fisher

Hello,

I want to work on training my dogs more but I’m having trouble getting my dogs to be able to focus on what we’re doing. Treats go pretty heavily with training, but my biggest issue is that my dogs get so excited and worked up over the possibility of getting a treat that they can’t focus on what I’m trying to get them to work on. They’re so excited that I have a treat in my hand that they can’t even really hear me say “sit” even if it’s been 15-20 mins. They associate commands with getting a treat, and thus saying “sit” causes them to get excited and jump around instead of following the command, even though I don’t reward them for that behavior. There’s a potential to get a treat and that’s SO EXCITING that they can’t contain themselves. I know there’s other types of training out there like clicker training, but they way you associate these things as being good is through food, so it doesn’t seem like the proper option. Any thoughts or advice would be great.

Welcome to the fortnightly separation anxiety support group!

The mission of this post is to provide a constructive place to discuss your dog's progress and setbacks in conquering his/her separation anxiety. Feel free to post your fortnightly progress report, as well as any questions or tips you might have! We seek to provide a safe space to vent your frustrations as well, so feel free to express yourself.

We welcome both owners of dogs with separation anxiety and owners whose dogs have gotten better!

NEW TO SEPARATION ANXIETY?

New to the subject of separation anxiety? A dog with separation anxiety is one who displays stress when the one or more family members leave. Separation anxiety can vary from light stress to separation panic but at the heart of the matter is distress.

Does this sound familiar? Lucky for you, this is a pretty common problem that many dog owners struggle with. It can feel isolating and frustrating, but we are here to help!

Resources

Books

​

Don't Leave Me! Step-by-Step Help for Your Dog's Separation Anxiety by Nicole Wilde

Be Right Back!: How To Overcome Your Dog's Separation Anxiety And Regain Your Freedom by Julie Naismith

Separation Anxiety in Dogs: Next Generation Treatment Protocols and Practices by Malena DeMartini-Price

Online Articles/Blogs/Sites

Separation Anxiety (archived page from the ASPCA)

Pat Miller summary article on treating separation anxiety

Emily "kikopup" Larlham separation training tips

Videos

Using the Treat&Train to Solve Separation Anxiety

introducing an x-pen so the dog likes it (kikopup)

Podcast:

https://www.trainingwithally.com/the-podcast

Online DIY courses:

https://courses.malenademartini.com

https://www.trainingwithally.com/about-2

https://separationanxietydog.thinkific.com/courses/do-it-yourself-separation-anxiety-program

https://rescuedbytraining.com/separation-anxiety-course

​

Introduce your dog if you are new, and for those of you who have previously participated, make sure to tell us how your week has been!

A little bit of background: we have a 9-year-old Havanese who loves to whine. One of the best tips that we got was lick mats and they actually help quite lot, he seems a lot calmer now. The actual problem is the time before he gets the lick mat. We usually give them after the first and last walk, and whining usually starts just before getting in from outside and continues until he gets it. What can we do to break the pattern?

Hello,

My fiancé and I adopted a 1.5 year old dog a few weeks ago. She does submissive urination and excited urination(the rescue thinks she was abused). We are trying to build her confidence.

We live in a townhome. The townhome is 95% carpeted. We both work 8 hour jobs.

We have been keeping her in the crate at night and during the workday. We don’t prefer this however she is not fully potty trained and she chews on a lot of things. We would prefer to not keep her in the crate at night however, she jumps and licks us way before our day starts. We also don’t enjoy her sleeping in the bed.

Any suggestions? We really don’t like having to crate her at night but it seems this is the only full-proof way of knowing she won’t pee on the carpet at night. The only areas in our home that does not have carpet is the kitchen and bathroom.

I currently own a curious Doberman and found that she loves puzzle toys. I would like to help add to her mental stimulation by getting her more toys of this nature while being conscious of the money I’m spending on these toys (broke college student). Any suggestions?

How can I train this pupper to NOT go in his belly band--short of just not putting one on him and him peeing wherever?

so I will try to include as much info as possible--this has been an ongoing issue and I've read and tried everything I could find here on reddit, the internet and even paid for a session with a vet behaviorist without seeing any meaningful progress--I'm trying so hard but this is really wearing on me

I adopted a 2 yr old shih tzu mix (10lb) last october. from the info given he was neglected, kept in a too small plastic carrier for most of the day for most of his life. he was unaltered and not well socialized...things we are still working on, I know its a process -3 days 3 weeks 3 months etc. not my first rescue and I do think I'm pretty accepting of most behaviors while working on changing them if needed but this urinating has me stressed. I have another rescue in the home--a 3 yr old neutered poodle mix (20lbs) who has his own issues but has been a champ for the most part with the new addition.

he has been checked by my vet 2x now, no UTI or other health reason for not holding his urine. he was neutered 1st week in February. I've been using belly bands since he came home just to mitigate the need to scrub my house daily---he used to only leave a few drops in the liner and I changed it out when I saw any using in it when I walk him...usually changing 2-3 times a day. this last month it feels like he's going in the pads more, I'm having to change them most times I take him outside now so it could be 4-5+ times a day because I don't want to leave a wet pad against his skin.

I feel like he is housebroken--he always pees when I take him out, so he knows that is where he is supposed to go. he is always dry in the morning after sleeping in his kennel all night 10p-8a and I kennel his if I leave to run errands etc he's dry then too.

I work from home so during the day he is usually allowed to roam from in the living room office and kitchen along with my other dog. I've tried stepping up his outings to every hour and sometimes he's dry but other times he's not. I've tried tying him on a short lead with me to restrict his freedom between outings and sometimes he's dry and other times he's not...I am just so frustrated trying to figure out what is going on and why.

plenty of praise, no negative punishments--also I never see him EVER lift his leg or posture/squat in the house...so I can't say for sure its marking either because it seems so random.

The vet behaviorist had me start him on purina pro calming care supplement about 3 weeks ago but did advise it could take up to 6 weeks to notice any difference, started on zesty calming chews also because she said those might help bridge while waiting for the other to kick in.

where do I go from here? what else can I do to figure this out...I absolutely love him so no matter what he is stuck with me lol but I really would rather not spending the next 15-20 years changing belly bands for fun--its one thing with an elderly or sick dog who is incontinent but thats not the case here.

My fiance and I have a three year old black and tan coonhound who loves chasing. We are doing a trial adoption, for a week, with a pit bull who is more of a wrestler when it comes to play style. I want to start off by saying neither dog has been aggressive towards the other during this time beyond the black and tan doing normal corrective things. They'll even chill on the couch together.

Our concern is that figuring out how to balance these play styles. We were unaware that different breeds have different preferred playstyles before this trial adoption began.

I have to imagine dogs can be trained not to engage in certain behaviors, but also eliminating a dog's preferred method of play ... to me it seems like you're doing what's best for you not for the dog.

As trainers/dog owners is it preferential to train around compatible play styles or can two dogs with opposite play styles be happy and active together?

Hello dogs of Reddit! Our dog is pretending to need to poop or holding poop to go outside repeatedly... not sure which.

5 days ago my husband and I got a dog. Maybe you guys can help with this behavior...

We think he is not pooping so we will take him outside again it's been happening for the last 3 days.

We take him out on a walk every 2-3 hours and we're out there for 10-15 min.

On the walk, he does not poop then when we take him back in he starts tooting and whining at the door (it will escalate to scratching and barking at the door).

The first time he did this at the door and we did not take him out he pooped inside.

So we thought this meant that he had to go but now he yells at the door 10 min after his last walk and then if we take him out he does not go. :( Is anyone able to offer advice?

Hi everyone, I have a 10-month old puppy Kevin (Rough Collie/Labrador/Rottweiler, about 90 lbs) who is going through his adolescent stage right now.

So Kevin's already taken the Puppy and Intermediate training classes at our Petsmart, and did really well, he was able to focus with the other dogs around. I'd signed him up for the Advanced training class starting in a couple of weeks.

Problem is, with adolescence he's become quite fixated on other dogs. He started pulling and jumping and whining when we see other dogs on walks, but I've been working with him and I can get him to focus and keep moving, and for the most part he's gotten much more reasonable (he still cries, especially if they're walking towards us, but he doesn't pull as much).

I'm wondering if it would be better to postpone the class until he's been neutered, or could going back to structured classes in a familiar setting be beneficial to him at this point? Thanks!

I just recently got an 8 week old puppy and have been working on poddy training.

House set up: 2 story house with bedrooms upstairs. Family room has a door leading to the yard which has a dog door.

I've had many dogs in my life (currently have two besides the puppy) and every dog I've had has eventually gotten to the point where they sleep in my bed and have zero accidents anywhere in the house. If they have to use the bathroom they walk themselves downstairs, use the dog door, and come back to bed.

Ive also always been able to leave my dogs with full access to my house 24/7 and never had issues.

My question- How long should I (with proper training) expect it to take for my puppy to get to the same point as my other dogs? I'm not looking for an exact date, just an estimate. A month? 6 months?

Current status: I've had her for two weeks and have the family room gated off. She knows how to use the dog door and usually takes herself outside, does her business and then comes back in. but a few times a day she decides it is okay for her to go to the bathroom in the house.

It seems to me like she knows full well she is supposed to go in the yard but decides to go in the house just because. (Yes I treat her when she goes potty outside)

She is crated zero percent of the time and never will be. I've never crated a dog in my house and never will.

Hi Reddit!

I have an 11 year old pitbull who has never been crate trained but unfortunately her sleeping in bed with us is no longer working (she keeps jumping out of bed and then whining til we pay attention to her ALL NIGHT LONG).

We’ve tried crate training her at night in the past but she ends up just whining all night long. She has extreme anxiety that we are currently trying to manage with medication (still working on the dosing).

My question is, how do we “teach an old dog new tricks”? She’s not food motivated in the slightest so the TREAT reward system doesn’t work for us.

Any help or insight would be super helpful! thank you!

I’ve just been thinking of this, specifically in terms of potty training. I take my puppy out quite a bit so he doesn’t go inside much. But, he does go inside. I’m trying to understand why he would ever stop going inside though. He doesn’t know it’s incorrect. He just knows that’s he won’t get rewarded. Why would he ever stop going inside? He doesn’t think it’s wrong. He thinks he’s allowed to do it but just without a reward. So if he’s not hungry and wants a treat, why wouldn’t he just go inside?

New to puppies and new to positive reinforcement. Just trying to understand. And yes, I know it’s my fault for not taking him out.

I have 2 pit terriers both female, 2.5y and 7m. They love wrestling together, they both wear collars and harnesses during the day. But they love to pull on them when they’re playing so much so that I will find my oldest’s collar on the floor completely stretched out and have to like refit her and put back on her. They haven’t been able to pull off a harness, but they do stretch them out. How do I get them to stop? I’m tempted to take them off spray vinegar on them and then put them back on because I’m thinking the taste will train them out of it but I don’t know if that’s a safe option or if it would work.

I take off the harnesses at night. I leave their harnesses on during the day because I live in an apartment complex so I’m constantly having to walk them. Instead of taking it off and putting it back on, it’s easier just leave it on and it’s easier to grab them because they both have handles on their backs, in case I need to pull them off each other.

Taking the collars off is not a solution as they are both escape artists and if they get out, they need to have their collar on with their identification.

And tips to help them stop pulling at each others collars and harnesses?

My Dog is 13 and hurt her knee so vet currently doesn't want her going up/down stairs which are required to get into/out of my house. I am currently carrying her (she's not a fan) outside to relieve herself. Unfortunately my wife can't lift her due to recent surgery and i have to travel for work. I got the porch potty with training grass and put it on our back deck. I have put her urine on it and it hasn't worked. I've tried to not give her an option but after 12+ hours she was visibly uncomfortable but wouldn't use it. i'm trying feces next. the problem is she's lost her hearing too, so "go potty" commands no longer work.

any other suggestions?

​

Hey yall. I have a 6 month old puppy. He follows commands such as Here, Sit, Down, Stay, Go, and NO very well. But I CAN NOT get a bark out...ever! He spoke a few times back when he was 2-3 months out of excitement. but now he's just not interested in making a sound besides wining...quietly too. I've tried jumping around, using toys as an excitement trigger, food, shouting, but nothing. I know it's a quiet breed but he has had 0 barks for months... Any tips on getting a quiet dog to speak?

I have a 3 year old cocker spaniel that I just rescued earlier this month. She was under weight so I've been working with the vet to get her on a good diet and correct that.

I gave her some wet food per my vet's recommendation with her normal kibble one night resulting in her pooping in her crate(i crate her for bed). She cried a bit but settled back in at first so I ignored her and woke up to a mess. I opted to avoid the wet food again and get her back on dry food but she did the same thing the next night.

Now she bangs on her crate door and cries to be let out between 1 and 2 am every night. She does poop and pee when she goes out but it's rough being woken up like this. Since the crate is in my bedroom I'm really worried about waking up to a mess if I ignore her. Prior to her accidents she would sleep through the night within the first two weeks she was home. I make sure she's let out before bed and ensure she poops but she's still asking to be let out late at night.

During the day I let her out about every 2 5-3 hours with brief walks under 10 min and we go on longer walks for around 30 minutes or so after work. What can I do to get her to sleep through the night?

I have a 7 year old husky and generally on most nights when we lay down, she goes outside for the night. However, around 3:00 AM every night she bangs on the door and jumps on it to be let back in. When I let her in she zooms in and does the husky talking loudly before calming back down and laying down. Some nights she stays in until we wake and others she’s wanting to go back out in fifteen minutes before wanting right back in. Rarely she either stays in all night or stays out all night. 90% of the time though it is 3:00 AM wanting back in.

This is killing my sleep schedule as I’m trying to get at least 7 hours of sleep a night but unfortunately once I sleep for four hours if I am woken up and have to get out of bed I generally cannot go back to sleep.

My wife and I are at wits end because she basically runs our sleep on how aggressively she wants back in. You can’t ignore here because she literally leaps on the door kicking it with her feet vaulting off of it in the process. If she isn’t doing that she is just pawing it and it sounds like someone is trying to break in. Look if the Swat team showed up at my house trying to get in I wouldn’t even know the difference.

I can’t really leave her in the common area of the house because well she’s a husky and I can’t trust her at all. I also worry she would pee in the middle of the night.

What can I do to stop this? Any advice is appreciated.

Hello all,

This is a condensed version of a post I recently deleted due to length and lack of response. In January 2023, I adopted a (then 6 y.o., now 7 y 2 m) beagle/coonhound mix named Larry. In November 2023, I started dating my current boyfriend, "J," and when he spends the night, he doesn't mind the IDEA of Larry sleeping with us, but he does have sensory issues with his feet being touched. Larry often winds up sleeping near J's feet. I personally am sensory seeking and would welcome Larry sleeping right up against me. If I started setting up a blanket on my side of the bed, could I teach Larry to "place" there when J stayed overnight? Larry has cancer, so I really want to find a compromise that both makes J happy and allows me to sleep with my puppy while he's still alive. Tysm in advance!

I have a 3-year-old male husky, and I got a 18-week-old female husky puppy about a month ago.

My issue is that my younger dog doesn't let my older dog spend time with me. He's very sensitive. When he goes over to get attention from me, he won't go near my couch. He stays on the other half of the room. My puppy will approach him if he goes near the couch and kind of "intercept" him. She doesn't get mean, she just puts herself between him and I, he puts his head down and looks very sad. He wont look in my direction when this happens even when I call him, offer treats, anything.

I try to spend time with my older dog when I can. I hook the puppy up on a lead outside to go potty. I throw the ball around in the living room for him. He loves it. When the puppy is in the other room, I'll hang out for a few minutes with him if he's alone in the bedroom.

I've tried carrying him to the couch, he jumps off right away. I've tried separating her from him for a little bit with a baby gate, and she starts crying/barking which makes him upset. His tail goes between his legs, sometimes he starts trembling when he hears her bark.

At first they would cuddle on the couch together. They'd sleep in the same dog bed, or in my bed with me at night. Now he won't sleep in the bed with me, and she wants to sleep with him, so they both sleep in the hallway.
She sits on the couch with me, he sits alone in the bedroom or by the door during the day. He used to be really vocal and come over for attention every couple hours, or he'd sit next to me and nap for a bit. That's totally stopped. It almost feels like Happy Gilmore with Ben Stiller and the grandma in the nursing home. Where they both seem really happy, but there's this undertone of "you know your place" between her and him.

He's 50lbs, she's 25lbs. He's much larger than her. If anything this problem should be reversed, but like I said, he's very sensitive. I almost wish he would stand up for himself just once, and this problem might end there. But, he wont. Not where he'd hurt her, but just a speck of assertiveness or confidence would fix all of this, I think.

Anyone else delt with this or something similar? How did you work to resolve it?