We just adopted a 4 1/2 month Shepard mix from our local shelter. I feel like as it gets to late afternoon I have this looming sense that I am doing something horribly wrong or damaging. I started doing 2 hour naps in the crate during the day, in between naps we go out, I let him sniff around after he does his business, and then take him to my apartment lobby and sit there with him let him listen to the noises of apartment doors and reward when he checks in with me or is calm in general, all of that is about 15-20 min each time. We do about 5 to 10 minutes of training around each meal ( breakfast lunch and dinner) and he gets a part of his meal in a puzzle toy, some had fed. We played for about 30 ish minutes in the afternoon and will do may 15/20 after dinner which is a mixture of tug, chew toys. He sleeps in the crate 1-2 hours however long a stretch we can get he gets pets when he comes out after naps and then we head out for the basics. He plays in a playpen, with chew toys, soft toys, and occasionally a snuffle. I have also been letting him out in our living room when we play on a longer leash to try some recall and "go get it" type games and will let him do that while he is engaging when he gets mouthy i usually redirect him with a toy or a chew into the playpen. He has gotten the zoomies a few times and I have wondered if he's not feeling physically or mentally stimulated... I let him sniff around for a while when I take him out, the above mentioned play / enrichment. He wasn't able to work with a snuffle mat he just sort of gave up, I scattered some kibble in a blanket that went a little better. I just feel bad when he whines in the crate and wonder if I am not spending enough time with him or he is bored / lonely. But I feel exhausted, like every waking minute I am either with the puppy or worrying about doing something wrong for the puppy and its making the process less enjoyable. I am doing this alone and will be getting him formal training ( in art because I could use the help) and probably doggy day care once I have to get back to work. I love the little guy and want him to feel loved, fulfilled and healthy. I am so worried he isn't getting enough interaction or attention from me. I know the puppy blues can be real I just don't know if I should be feeling this way only a week in... Am I doing something wrong here?! and what can I do different? also does anyone have tips to help with the puppy blues ?

On Saturday night we had a party, the biggest our 8 month old lab (Lucy) has ever experienced-- lots of delicious-smelling food, ten (loud) people in the house, and another dog who she has previously met but occasionally has minor conflict with (but they're still friends). She didn't get her evening nap and was in more or less full party mode for over 6 hours. Late in the evening, everyone had emptied out and my husband and his friend were talking but she wouldn't stop barking at them, I could tell it was pure frustration because she wanted attention and treats. I decided it was time to go upstairs for some enforced quiet time. She melted down like a toddler, just whining and barking and screaming for 45 MINUTES. It cannot be good for her to be in a state for that long. I just lay on the bed scrolling and spoke calmly to her. When she figured out she wasn't going to be leaving the room she went full tantrum mode, body-slamming the puppy gate in front of my closet where the socks are, pulling hangers off the clothes rack, running all over, biting and dragging everything that wasn't nailed down, shredding the cardboard I had up there for her with particular vehemence... It just went on and on. Playing with a toy or chewing on a treat? Hell no! Throw it on the ground and yell! Getting petted? HELL NO! Run away and yell! Eventually I turned the white noise machine up to high and/or she started to tire her herself out, slowly subsided to whining, and eventually conked out. I just haven't experienced anything like it before and I didn't know what to do. I figured she was in too much of a state to go in her crate, hence just being with her til she worked through it.

Have any of you experienced a tantrum of this length and intensity? Is there something I should do differently next time? I know that this level of agitation for this long is not healthy, at one point she retched from frustration. I'm thinking I probably should have crated her earlier in the night with the white noise machine right there, but she still would have been able to hear stuff happening and I don't know if it would have worked at all, given past experience there's a chance that she would have come out of there like a shot even more amped up when I finally let her out 😵‍💫

My puppy is only 4 months old and has started to walk on a lead, but is still figuring it all out. She doesn't mind the lead because I put it on her to go everywhere, whether that be out the back for the toilet or just to bed in her crate. Are there any added benefits to a harness besides looking adorable?

So our 1 yr. old golden lab is only forty pounds. He’s not a really big dog, but he’s got a powerful jaw. He has shredded every toy I’ve given him. When we adopted him from a shelter, we understood that he was going to be a chewer. He was a month old when we got him. So far he has destroyed 4 pairs of shoes, 2 areas of carpet, a jacket, his dog bed and every toy we bought him, ($200.) including silicone and hard plastic toys. We have deemed our little guy an”aggressive chewer”. What dog toys can we buy that he can chew on for a few months before it’s destroyed? Any help would be most appreciated. PS I was warned by the Vet not to give him rawhide (bad for his gut) or deer bones..(will break his teeth).

Context: I have a 6 month old Pomeranian who is 4 lbs currently. Potty training has been a struggle, but she has made great improvements. One of the biggest setbacks I have noticed is that she refuses to use the bathroom outside if it is heavy raining and even if she does, with her double coat, I have to fully blow dry her after. I also have worries about her being picked off by an owl or other large bird. Since they are common in my area. I do think that a pen with a cover will help a lot of my concerns and make potty training a little more structured compared to letting her roam the whole backyard to go potty. So, Ive been looking into getting a pen to put in my fenced backyard that would have a waterproof cover so that she can still use the restroom while it is raining.
Since she is so small, she doesnt need much room, but I want to make sure I am setting her up for success. Im currently looking at an option that has 8 24"W x 30"H panels. In an octagon formation, I feel like this should be enough space for her to do her business since I also let her play in the backyard at separate times from going to the bathroom. Has anyone had success with this? Does this seem like it will be enough room?

We have a lab who is about 7 months and we’re struggling getting her to walk in a very specific but necessary situation- around our own block.

• If we drive her somewhere new, she walks perfectly fine
• If we drive and someone walks her home, perfectly fine, probably because she knows she’s heading home

But something about leaving the house and walking around our block just makes her insane. She just lunges and pulls back to the house, refuses to walk, except in the direction of going back.

Obviously, we need to be able to walk her on our own block and can’t drive somewhere else just to walk her.

High value treats do not work- she will either stop immediately after eating the treat, or ignore it completely.

Has anyone has this issue?

I currently have a 4.5 month old golden who recently survived a pretty bad case of parvo and then required emergency surgery (it’s been a ride). When he got discharged from the hospital they recommended a low fat diet with wet food and said as he continues to eat we can transition him back to his old food.

We started the transition, but noticed with the dry food he would vomit after eating. He was vomiting full pieces of kibble so we assumed he wasn’t chewing so attempted to use a slow feeder and he was still vomiting.

My concern now is he lost a lot of weight from the parvo and I feel like the wet food isn’t giving him everything he needs to start gaining it back, plus it’s not puppy formulated so I feel like he is missing key nutrition. Wondering if anyone has recommendations on good sensitive tummy puppy foods and if feeding just wet food is ok?

Please help!

Hi everyone!! I’m getting a second puppy in February who will be 12 weeks (with 2 rounds of shots completed) and would love some advice :)

We currently have a Shih Tzu that’ll be 22 months when the new puppy arrives. I have experience in rescuing older dogs as a 2nd/3rd dog but I’ve never added a second puppy.

My current dog is really well behaved and has mellowed out recently, so I think he’ll be a fantastic older brother to the new puppy. However I’m just kinda concerned about a few things:

1. I understand that new puppies shouldn’t be exposed to the outside world till 16 weeks. Does this mean I should limit my older dog’s activities as well so he doesn’t bring home any diseases?

2. I know we should separate their beds and bowls. But would it be okay if they share a pee pad? I was thinking using the older dog’s smell could help the younger one learn. We live in an apartment so they do pee indoors sometimes (no shaming please, it’s worked perfectly so far).

Would love some extra advice and anecdotes from people who have had a similar experience, thanks in advance!

Hey all,

I brought home a 6mo old beagle/dachshund mix on Saturday and so far training has been a mixed bag. Mostly good, but definitely having a bit of trouble getting him out of his shell when he’s outside. At first, I thought he was just cold, but I’ve tried warm jackets and he’s still shaking while he’s walking, which I think causes him to not go pee.

The most success I have is when he really has to go in the morning or at night. Mid day he has accidents.

He’s not really treat motivated while he’s anxious and same goes for when I bring his favorite toy. Not sure what else I can do to motivate him except for just sit with him outside, calm his nerves and hope for the best. Is this the best strategy or does anyone know anything else we can try?

EDIT: I know these things take time, but I just want to make sure I’m not making huge mistakes! I took him out for 20-30min around noon, brought him back inside for lunch, took him back outside after lunch for about 20-30min. He pees inside after ~5min

EDIT2: He’s also been eating a little bit of grass which I think would most likely be because he has an upset stomach from anxiety?

Please help! We have a 5 month old golden retriever puppy who’s lunging, biting, and growling and us and our clothes. It’s scary, it hurts, and we are exhausted. It seems to get worse when he is tired or needs to poop.

Please give practical advice if you have any and any reassurance that it’s normal/gets better. We just started a new routine that includes short walks 3x per day and he gets enforced naps to make sure he is getting enough sleep. We play, we give him chews, he has puzzle balls and lick mats. Don’t know what else we can do!!!

Ignoring him = he hangs off my sleeves like it’s his job, stops for two seconds, I tell him good boy and he immediately comes at me again.

Turn around = he bites my ass and backs of my legs so hard I have bruises everywhere and holes in my pants (didn’t realise I had holes in these ones til I went out shopping). He stops, I turn around to tell him good boy and he comes at me again.

Walk away/reverse time out = literally cannot get away from him. He chases me or hangs off my clothes, I can’t get through a door to close it behind me quick enough unless I push him 3 feet away. I wait a while, come back out and he comes at me again.

Lifting knee = he doesn’t care, he’ll come back 10 times.

Saying ouch/no = makes him more excited.

Putting him on a short and holding him til calms down (trainer recommended) = he bites me while I am trying to put it on and then rolls onto his belly and starts biting the leash.

Redirecting to toy = he pays attention for 5 secs to new toy and turns round to lunge again.

Hi all!

We have a 9 month old Aussie that likes to chew on carpet. Despite us having many chew toys/teething rings, our puppy enjoys chewing on carpets. Our apartment hallway and livingroom are the carpeted areas. Was wondering if anyone has any apartment friendly solutions that they found helpful? She does run around in the apartment and does slide around on the carpet when we play with her (45lbs). We did try rugs to cover the main spots where she likes to play.

We were looking at getting clear vinyl carpet protectors from Amazon, does anyone has any experience using these?

We got a puppy on the weekend (it’s currently Monday), and I feel like I made the biggest mistake of my life.

To start off, the dog is perfect. She’s so good, and really everything I could have hoped for in a dog. She’s so sweet, smart, gentle. She’s perfect in every way.

The problem: my normally super loving, affectionate, perfect cats are petrified. They are 4 years old and the type of cats that were more like dogs than cats. The sit with you all day, greet you at the door, sleep in your bed type. They’re literally the best, and I love them so much that I’m crying as I write this.

We haven’t seen one of my cats in days, and when we do try to pet her, she hisses and swats at us. In 4 years, we have never heard her growl, hiss and she’s certainly never swatted at us. Now she wants nothing to do with us.

We promised each other that when we got the dog, the cats came first. I did so much research on the type of breed, breeder, etc. and I just don’t know if I can take the risk of my cats never being the same. I love them with my whole heart and it would break my heart if I ruined them.

All this to say, I’m considering taking the puppy back. She’s done nothing wrong and I feel like the world’s most horrible person. But I’ve seen what happens when the cats don’t adjust and I don’t know if I can risk it. I would never forgive myself. It’s been a short amount of time, but I feel like it might be better to give the puppy a chance to find a better home, even though we love her. And hopefully before she becomes to attached to us. If we wait it out, we risk it not changing and this poor puppy hanging in the balance.

I don’t know what to do. I feel like a monster. I haven’t been able to properly bond with the puppy because I see her as temporary in my head now. Maybe this is an eye opener that we aren’t dog people.

Someone please give me advice. I’m devastated.

My 6 month old will be spayed next Monday. I am very anxious for the lack of exercise she’ll be allowed to have since she is a high energy dog and typically takes a mile walk every single day.

I plan to purchase a soft donut (cone alternative), and a surgical recovery suit to keep her away from the stitches. I also expect to give her plenty of treats and lick mats to keep her as entertained as possible, but am still worried.

I would appreciate any tips the community has for me, and if you’ve had a high energy dog go through surgery, how did you do it??

Thanks in advance!

My puppy is 6 months and has only ever had two baths, both didn’t really go well but she calmed down a bit with some peanut butter on the wall and at least let me rinse her off. After the second one I’ve decided to start over with the bath tub and see if I could get her to come in willingly and I’m not sure if I’m doing it right. I put all kinds of high value treats into the tub with no water and show her where they are, she just stares at them and tries to stretch her neck to reach them but can’t get them. Eventually she starts to bark at me but does not try to get the treats herself. I will sit in the tub and feed her them when she gets close enough. We’ve done this a few times and there has been no progress on getting into the tub on her own. She is incredibly food motivated so I’m really surprised this isn’t working. Is there anything else I can do? She thankfully is a short haired breed and doesn’t really need frequent baths but I’d like to at least be able to rinse her off if she gets muddy

When does the puppy blues end? When do I stop looking at my puppy with resentment? When do I stop hating myself for adopting in the first place? When do I genuinly get to love him, say I love him and mean it?

I have been thinking of getting a dog recently, and done a lot of research on breeds and their needs, but want to talk to people with experience and their opinions! We would be first time dog owners, as my partner and I have only had dogs when we were younger. We have a 19 month old toddler, and a 3 year old cat so our toddler knows how to be gentle with animals, and give pets. We have a decent sized house, with a big fenced in yard. I am a stay at home mom and only leave the house 3 x a week for class for under 3 hours. I am starting nursing school next Fall so that will be the only time I'm gone a lot but somebody would always be here to watch my toddler & can take the dog out. We are a pretty adventurous family, in the spring / summer we love walks, hikes, the beach, camping.. and occasionally like to relax and be couch potatoes. I was thinking of a Bermese but I know they have shorter life spans and are more prone to cancer / allergies. We also are thinking of Golden Retrievers, I love Aussies as well but they may be too hyper for our toddler. I love fluffy medium / large size dogs! The fluff is a must for me. 🤣

I know people will say do not get a puppy with a toddler, and it's hell but I really want to get a dog and have my toddler and them grow up together.

We are getting ready to bring our baby girl home [8 weeks on the 8th]. I know that you shouldn't introduce a baby puppy to too many new foods - ie puppy chows for the first year with gradual shift over to adult foods. . . which is where my question comes

What are acceptable foods to put into/onto a lick mat - or into kong treat holders . . . what can I give her to distract her that will be safe and healthy but not overwhelming to her lil tummy?

She's almost seven months old now and has found her lil voice. When we're walking, if she barks at people, I can say 'It's just neighbors' and she'll stop. I think I initially pulled on her leash a bit, or picked her up while I said that- I'm honestly not sure.

But I take her to work and she barks every time someone comes through the door and I have to either pick her up and hold her or close the office door to get her to stop. 'Just neighbors' doesn't do squat inside the building. Any tips?

After about a month of working on his 'biting us instead of chewing toys' phase i'm getting a bit scared it's not just a phase. As he's growing older i really want this behaviour to stop as he's already biting other random people that approach him on the street and at home.

I've tried ignoring it, i've tried handing him an alternative toy, i've tried a time out, i've tried forced naps when i know its just a tantrum. I've tried walking it off as he has to much energy.

I'm going slightly mad, what really helped you guys when your pup just wouldn't stop ?

Hey, so I didn't do leash training early enough or effectively because I'm a screw-up. The result of this is that my 10-month old rescue white shepherd Finn (who I've had for a little under 9 months) has absolutely terrible leash habits. He has no concept of heel, he is constantly either pulling (for a <= 50 lb. dog he is remarkably strong) extremely hard towards whatever person/place/dog/cat (usually my cat, at least) that has his interest, or forcing me to drag him away from whatever random spot he has stopped to sniff/eat something he shouldn't off the ground. He is very strong, very stubborn, never heels, and the only time the leash is even slightly loose is when he has managed to tangle it around one or more of his limbs, which he excels at.

The dog is very high energy. I have become 300% less sedentary in my lifestyle since getting him, which is a good thing, but he has not become even 3% more chill, which is not great. In my experience with past dogs usually they will eventually "meet you in the middle" in terms of disposition/energy/vibes. If this is going to happen with Finn it's going to take a while.

My mother (who is, let's just say, more of a part of my life than I'd prefer as a man in his late 30s due to some unfortunate circumstances) says the dog is completely untrained. I disagree with this. He is absolutely not leash trained, but he's not feral or dangerous, he's just a puppy. He's house broken, he mostly knows to stay out of the garbage and stay away from my food unless he's left unsupervised for a significant interval. He's not at all aggressive except in the chewing of inanimate objects, he's just perpetually stuck in "play" mode, he always wants to play with everyone all the time, he usually wants to play somewhat rough, he jumps up on people and dances around them trying to initiate playtime, and he doesn't seem to be learning that not everyone wants to play all the time like he does, whether they be an elderly human, an elderly dog, my cat, or just not in the mood for his antics. I know that in the end he is pretty gentle because while he's always pouncing at and chewing on my cat, he has never done the cat any actual harm (or vice versa, but the cat's weird reticence to chastise the dog with his claws that's a whole other story). I really do think a lot of this he will grow out of when he's less of a toddler. He responds only a little bit to verbal chastisement/commands.

Over Thanksgiving, my extended family expressed their desire (i.e. pressured me) to "get the dog trained". Unfortunately, they're thinking of the trainer my cousin used on their (very sweet and well behaved) rescue pup, which was based on the use of an electroshock collar. I was very leery of this technique before I did any research, and based on the research I did, I have gone from "leery" to terrified. They seem serious about getting professional training for the dog which is something they can easily afford and I absolutely can't afford, but I want to steer clear of any technique that involves electrocution. (I don't want to say they're insisting on that particular trainer, but they do all seem very enthusiastically in favor of it.)

I have attempted twice to switch him over from a normal collar to a harness, including ones with front clip options. Unfortunately, he managed to utterly destroy both harnesses (which I couldn't really afford to begin with, money is extremely tight/straight up not there) within a matter of days or weeks. As he has managed to destroy every dog toy I have ever gotten him within a matter of hours or days, including a Kong wubba whose selling point was its extreme durability. In general, much money I couldn't afford spending to start with has been wasted on dog accessories that the dog has obliterated with his extremely aggressive chewing.

My best idea at this point is to try using a clicker and training treats, which I now realize I should have done 4-5 months ago as soon as the dog was housebroken (I mistakenly thought he might mellow out somewhat with age). But the dog is non-attentive and I worry that I will struggle to get him to heel even for a treat when he is perpetually straining at the leash. He is completely undeterred by "choking" himself with his collar/leash while straining, he almost seems to actively enjoy it. Okay, that's probably too much information. Advice/tips/help?

* I did read some of the material on another popular dog training reddit about "loose leash walking". I encountered a lot of recommendations for things I missed the window for ("train the heel position immediately", well I screwed that up) or that aren't practical for my circumstances ("practice inside first"--the place where I live is too narrow and crowded to walk my dog on leash inside.

How did you guys get your pups used to being brushed?

I bought a soft-bristled brush for my 13-week-old corgi puppy and he thinks it is a fearsome toy whenever I bring it out. He tries to bite, jump, and bark at it whenever he sees it. I've tried to give him treats when I bring it out and he doesn't react to it, but he doesn't even care about those when he sees the brush.

I've gotten to the point where I'll be playing with him with a toy and, when he's not looking, I'll grab the brush, give him a quick stroke on the back, and then quickly hide it. However, he will start searching the area for many minutes in an attempt to locate the brush afterwards. Like, he is deadset on the brush whenever it's out.

I'm probably going to buy one of those hand brush thingies tonight after work and see if he'll react any different, but I'm not sure if that'll work at all.

Any other tips or suggestions?

We recently adopted a rescued border collie puppy. Recently he has been getting more and more aggressive (or reactive). He seems to get frustrated really easily. He usually gets triggered when telling him “no” when he’s doing something wrong. He is super possessive, it’s impossible to take something from him. Also, he only does this to selected members of the family. We really love him but we can’t seem to manage his behavior and it’s only getting worse. Any tips? We’re thinking of getting a trainer/behaviorist anyway.

Hello! My husband and I are going to be bringing our new Shar Pei puppy, Truffle, home in 5 weeks! We can’t wait for her to arrive! I have some questions about what supplies I should prioritize getting for her, mostly surrounding containment. The items I’m thinking about are a wire play pen, a crate, a pop up play pen, and a puppy stroller.

We have a dog, Lexi, who is super sweet. We do plan on introducing them from day one, but I think it would be good to have a wire play pen? I’ve also seen that crate training is good for puppies. Lexi is not crate trained, and she is very well behaved, but we adopted her when she was 6 months old, so she was more mature by then. Should we crate train Truffle? What about sleeping? Lexi sleeps with us. Should Truffle sleep in a crate even though Lexi sleeps in our bed?

Also, we want to do a lot of socialization with Truffle starting from week one. Should we get a pop up play pen for trips to friends and family’s houses? Or is that not necessary?

Finally, we generally go to the park with Lexi about twice a week to play frisbee and practice disc golf. Should we have a puppy stroller for Truffle to nap while we do this? Or should we just bring a blanket and carry her if she doesn’t want to walk? I’ve heard too much exercise in the beginning of life can be damaging for young puppies.

Thank you so much in advance for any advice!!!

Just wanted to put this out there that there are happy and sweet things even in the midst of harder days.

My goldendoodle puppy is 4 months old and has started eating rocks and all sorts of stuff he shouldn't be eating. (I can't believe I was this lucky he waited so long to start doing that.) He was pee pad trained so that he had a place he knew he could go but he's started pawing aside the pads and peeing directly under them. (I know, he smells the pee, I've cleaned it up a ton with enzyme cleaners but he just likes that spot.)

I was just having a bit of a blue day having to clean up puppy messes, chase him down to grab rocks out of his mouth, and deal with his constant asks for attention while I'm sick.

But just a moment ago he was quietly napping in his crate and then was barking the tiniest barks without any other noises of movement. And it was just really cute.

It made me think of the future. Thinking of him eventually calming down as he matures, and being able to maybe nap in the same room as us while we read, is something I'm looking forward to.

It helps to remember things I'm looking forward to.

How about you?

my wife and i got a puppy a few days ago.

i have had several dogs in my life. however, i grew up with them while they were already older and trained since i was a child when they were puppies.

now, as an adult with a puppy, i’m finding myself struggling. i was aware we were getting a puppy. i was ready. we discussed we would be responsible and raise him. everything was good to go and we got everything we needed and took him to get a checkup right after we got him as we should to make sure he got the shots he needed.

but i need advice…i’m struggling with my mental health already. i think it might be anxiety because he’s a puppy and i don’t want to mess things up. i am worried that i might not be able to raise him as a puppy and it’s starting to stress me out because i’m already feeling like nothing i’m doing is working, no matter how much research i do. i know it’s been only a few days and he’s a puppy (a huge difference from an adult/senior dog that i’ve been used to) but i just don’t know what to do…i feel helpless and a bit useless and telling him “no” or “stop” only does so much.

we do play with him and he has toys, but he has so much energy. i know he’s a puppy…OF COURSE he is going to have energy, but the way he plays, he wants to play for hours and hours and hours without a break and i feel like i can’t just take a break without him still wanting to play. i don’t mean that in a bad way at all, but i genuinely don’t know how to go about that. i have tried to limit his play time, but he will beg for his toys.

i’m not saying i regret getting him…he’s a really sweet puppy and i know things will get better since he is literally a puppy. i’m not going to get rid of him. i don’t want that at all. he makes my wife and i happy. i just don’t know how to mentally get through this puppy stage without my anxiety eating me up.

any advice from puppy parents?

My partner and I have been thinking about adopting a dog for quite awhile now. Rescuing from local rescues, preferably who foster their pups was always the plan. We recently came across a local ethical golden retriever breeder that has us reflecting more. If it were just myself and my partner we would rescue without question. However, we have 3 cats and 2 kids ages 8 and 11. The kids do have a dog at their dad's house so they are familiar. My partner grew up with dogs and works from home. Overall my biggest concern is a dog that can adjust well with our cats and kids. I know regardless this is never guaranteed but I wondered if anyone has opinions?

My boyfriend got me a new cane Corso mix. She’s so adorable but I don’t know if I was quite ready for a puppy. I have been saying I wanted another dog for my dog but having her is already overwhelming. I got my first dog when she was 2 & having an already trained & older dog is a dream. The idea of a puppy was great but it’s already overwhelming. I don’t want to take her back because I would feel horrible. So please give me as much advice & positive words you can to get through this. Also any advice on leaving her alone & having to work. I feel so bad while I’m at work knowing she’s at home probably screaming her lungs out.

hey everyone! so we just got a 5 month old puppy yesterday (we’re unsure of her breed currently.) and she’s a bit scared when going outside. i took her out twice yesterday (not including when we were out walking when we got home) and she peed in the complex’s halls :( i felt so bad because i assumed it was from her being scared but i’m not sure. anyway, today i opened our balcony door and stepped out to see if she would too but she was too scared. so instead i closed the screen door and sat with her to calm her down, gave her treats for sitting there with me and even sniffing outside, then took her back to her setup. she does have her vet appointment in about a week so i can ask then as well, but should we get her calming treats then try taking her out? would this possibly be a good solution?

We have a new male cocker spaniel (8 weeks old). We are new to having dogs. When we were going to work we put that puppy in the restroom with the door open but with a blocker. The puppy was crying and barking out of control. I feared our neighbors may complain due to how loud and frequent it was so I closed the door instead. He has his food/water, bed and a toy inside. How do you go about this? I want to let him free roam the home when we’re gone but he’s also not potty trained yet and he will likely pee everywhere lol. Thank you!

Our puppy is five months old now. She takes naps twice a day in her crate that roughly last 2 hours. As soon as it’s been two hours, she’s awake, barking to get out. We try to leave her until we are ready to get her out or when she stops barking for a few minutes but it seems to be a habit she’s not breaking. Any advice on how to get the naps to last longer or curb the never ending barking to get out?