So I have this 14 month old mini aussiedoodle. He is such a smart boy. He only had a few accidents during potty training (which were our fault). He completed his puppy, intermediate, and advanced training classes by the time he was 8 months. Knows 40 commands. We are currently working on rear foot targeting and so far he can side step onto the mat.

I truly want him to live the best life he can. He goes to the puppy sitter 3 days a week while we are at work. He eats homemade food with high quality supplements and treats with minimal ingredients. All our money goes to him. He even has a water fountain.

Despite his separation anxiety, it has taken a long time for him to accept affection from me. We got him at 8 weeks and very specifically began creating positive associations to things from day one. He had very little trauma in his life as far as we know. When we first got him he wouldn’t let us touch him but now he is tolerant and sometimes even asks for pets. But it sometimes takes him no time at all to let other people pet him though. Right from the beginning he wanted up on our neighbor’s lap. And he always gives the sitter kisses. But it took my boyfriend and I months before we could reach toward him without bleeding.

It has been very obvious to us from the beginning that he was a smart boy. His days are packed with training and mental stimulation. But I still feel like I’m failing him. He is my first dog but I swear I have really been putting in the work. He has improved a ton in the last year but he still seems to struggle with listening especially when it counts. Despite happy voices, endless treats, and slowly introducing distractions we have been progressing slowly proofing things. He is my little velcro dog but I feel like he doesn’t trust me as a leader or a partner. It’s super discouraging hearing that other puppies are doing things 6-10 months earlier than our pup (things that we busted our butts for). He picks concepts up pretty quickly so I feel like it is my fault he can’t be off leash on the trails or isn’t the top of his class.

I also have anxiety. Like panic attacks and social anxiety. And he is a VERY sensitive boy with his own anxiety. I try to keep calm for him but I know it still affects him. I have kind of taught him what to do when I get upset (I rewarded him a few times and he now thinks it’s his job to distract me) but I still feel like this is such a burden on him.

Maybe I am making a big deal about nothing and my puppy is actually living his life to the fullest. We really are so proud of how far he has come since we first got him. My boyfriend says I am his favourite person, but I still can’t help but wonder if someone else would progress him further and faster. Does anyone else feel like this?

Have news about your puppy? Updates or Questions that don't need their own post? Wags that just can't wait? Or anything you wish to discuss about your pup and pup raising experience? Ask or post them here!

Please upvote this post for visibility if you enjoy the thread!

We have a 5 month puppy. In the first couple of weeks we had him, he had a few potty accidents, mostly on the doggy bed. So we decided to keep soft stuff (beds, sofa, mats) away for a while until he was properly potty trained. He's never had any accidents in his crate (where we did keep a mat so he can sleep comfortably) and hadn't had any accidents inside the house for months. As soon as he gets outside on grass, he knows it's time for potty.

So that brings me to the past 2 week: we re-introduced a mat for training purposes. Unfotunately he's peed on there twice now. I did clean it with a special product in the laundry mashine after the first one. And yesterday he peed on a fleece blanket we often have lying around that he had actually been fine with for over a month. I'm so surprised because potty training was going so great and he had peed outside less than 30 minutes before.

I read online that dogs do like to pee on 'soft stuff'. But how do I train him not to? Without the soft stuff, he knows to go outside. We praise him every time he goes potty outside. We take him outside very often. We watch him for signs but with peeing there don't seem to be any. We don't punish him when he has an accident inside. We've never used pee pads but the breeder did until he was 8 weeks old.

Advice would be very welcome!

I adopted a puppy with 2 and half months, he's now almost 4 months and recently I took him for a walk. He goes but he's scared of everything. people, dogs , bikes etc.

i have 3 cats at home and he isnt scared of them... but when he gos out its a different story.

any advice to help him ?

I actually made a post last night about how our pup is showing more aggressive behaviour meeting dogs on walks. I was worried her hyper arousal issues where gonna make her antisocial but all that got blew out the window at the beach today!

We brought her to a dog beach near us and give her the long leash as we walked around! She was great, good heel walking and when approached by other dogs she bowed and played and was really well behaved!

Even when a dog was telling her they didn’t want to play, she just walked away and gave herself a shake!

I know it’s the first time but I’m very hopeful this will make a lasting impression on her training!

In all, I just wanted to put it out there for anyone struggling with hyper arousal, give the long leash a go! It may not work for your puppy but it seems to be working for mine!

We got a rescue puppy at 5 months old. We’ve had him for 2 months, he’s now 7 months old. He’s a large breed St. Bernard mix. So, we’ve given him some time to settle in and get used to our routine.

Every night, he goes to bed with us between 9-11pm and wakes up every single morning at 4-4:30 m for the day. Doesn’t matter how much I exercise him, whether it’s 2-3 hours or 40 minutes. Doesn’t matter if we use a crate or not, and he’s ok in a crate. We use one every day when we leave and tried at night. Doesn’t matter the puzzle toys or chewies we give him, he has every type of toy, puzzle chew stuffed animal bully ring etc. imaginable. We let him out on average 3 times from 4-4:30 am and he still whines and cries and rips everything up he can find. We’ve let him sleep as he wants during the day and we’ve tried depriving him of some naps. We don’t let him nap in the evening. We’ve tried everything everyone has said to do. He will not sleep later and he’s f**king annoying and obnoxious at 4 am and awake for the entire day. Been to the vet about it and he’s apparently perfectly healthy.

I’m at my wits end. He’s the perfect dog aside, been easy to train for literally everything else, but there’s no replacement for lost sleep, no remedy aside from more sleep. And yes I know we chose to get him, but I’ve had dogs all my life and never had this issue. What can we do?

Hi! I have a NZ beardie cross, he's 6 months and last time he was weighed about a month ago he was 27kg. The vet advised to try and keep him intact until 12 months because of bone development, which initially I was all for. However, being such a big boy already and intact, he has been attacked a lot whilst on walks. The other day was the worst, we were at a dog park practicing recall and 3 large dogs ran up to him. He ran with his tail between legs, they caught him and rolled him multiple times, being very aggressive. Owner tried to call them off but they didn't listen and my pup was shaken. This hasn't been a standalone event. I am all for dogs teaching dogs and am the first to say when my puppy is in the wrong and deserved to be put in his place by an older dog but this is different.

I'm torn between fixing him earlier than planned or waiting until the 12 month mark. Are there any real downsides? He is on Black Hawk large breed puppy food which is meant to help development. I'm feeling that the risk of him being attacked may be outweighing the risk of fixing him earlier than anticipated. Is it bad to fix him early?

I have a 5 month old and lately I've been feeling bad that he's cooped up all the time because he doesn't know how to relax after he eats or take a nap without being tethered.

Every attempt I make sure he's nice and tired before doing a training session. I first tried tethering and he wouldn't lay down for more then a few seconds. I rewarded but it wasn't clicking. Then I tried letting him free roam in a cut off area and he he kept laying down, but got up once again every few seconds to try to find something to do or come bother me. I've also tried tethering WITH a kong and he still didn't sit down.

I do: •15 minutes of flirt pole •5 minutes of tug •lick mat

What can I do to tire him out ALL the way? Do I need to do more or less? He doesn't have a bed yet for place, but I'm working on it.

Hello everyone, I'm seeking advice regarding my 9-month-old Labrador's behavior during walks, particularly his reaction to other dogs and cats. We adopted him two months ago from a family, and since then, he has displayed a tendency to bark and charge at any dogs or cats he encounters. Upon observation, I've noticed that when he approached a cat during a walk, he did not pursue it despite barking and charging initially. Instead, he walked by as if ignoring the cat, suggesting a possible fear response. This suspicion is further supported by his background (family previously locked him in a yard in a pretty remote location in the country that i live in with limited social interaction with other animals). Additionally, he barked at another dog during a walk, but the other owner was a dog trainer and affirmed that he was actually scared. Once the other dog's owner brought their dog closer, they began to play, maybe indicating a potential fear-based reaction rather than aggression. I'm eager to address this behavior and help my labrador feel more comfortable and confident during walks. Any advice on how to gradually desensitize him to other animals and build his confidence would be greatly appreciated.

My puppy (22 weeks) stops eating her food will only eat again if i lift it and put it back down or if I tell her to “leave it” and give the “okay” afterwards. Any way around this?

I’ve been doing the taking it away once 15 minutes has lapsed and she hasn’t touched it but just concerned she won’t get the nutrients she needs as a growing pup 🥺

Hi all, I'm reaching out for advice regarding my 9-month-old labrador who refuses to eat his food. Until about a month ago, his appetite was robust, but now he outright refuses to eat his kibble. Instead of devouring his food as before, he merely stares at it. In an attempt to address this issue, I switched his kibble brand from Royal Canin Labrador mix to smaller puppy kibble. Initially, this change seemed promising as he ate it, but his interest waned after just a day. I also tried mixing wet food with the kibble, which initially sparked his appetite, but again, he got bored after a day. The situation is further complicated by the fact that he will only eat if hand-fed, and even then, it's not guaranteed that he will eat. How should I proceed? Should I continue experimenting with different foods, or could this be indicative of a more serious health concern? Any insights or suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

I don't know what I'm looking for, but my puppy is driving me bananas. He's bringing out the worst of me. I want to love him (7 month old golden retriever), but we've had him for 2 months and I'm still not attached.

I should also add, we have a 6 month old baby and my mom died the day we got him (which was a month after my heart dog suddenly died).

This puppy's energy and destruction is beyond belief. He also has no boundaries or spatial awareness, so we can't have him in the same room as the baby. He eats EVERYTHING in 2 seconds and is so mouthy. Thank god we have insurance on him.

We're in puppy classes, and we have a private trainer starting next week. We do training class once a week and day care 1-2 days a week (varies from regular boarding to literally summer camp for dogs- barn hunting, dock diving, etc.). I'm at my wits end.

When will he calm down? How can we calm him down? I swear he's going to give me a stroke.

My 7 month old German shepherd mix seems to be developing some separation anxiety. He used to be completely crate trained. But now takes 15 minutes to settle down when we leave, with some destructive behavior starting to happen.

I’ve never had to handle this before. I know I should start training “settle” and leaving for small increments, but should I do anything else? Is it bad to allow him to sleep with us at night?

I have a new 9 week old Springer Spaniel x Poodle and have been recommended Goat Horns to help with puppy biting. My pup loves it and it’s a great distraction when she’s too worked up and biting the kids. Anyone have an experience with them as I’m reading mixed advice online if they are safe for a puppies baby teeth.

I have a 3 months old Lurcher puppy (whippet/bedlington). We have had her for a month, and she is lovely.

She loves her crate. So she uses her crate during the day to hang out (with the door open), and she tends to takes naps there or in the coach when we are sitting there. At night, we put her to sleep in the crate with the door close around 11 pm, and she will let us know when she needs to go potty around 1.30 and 4 am. Then we put her back in the crated, wait until she is sleep (the crate is in the living room/main space of the flat, and our bed is right next to it). She use to woke up around 6.45-7 am, play a little, eat at 8am, and then nap for a few hours. That was fine.

The problem, is that lately, when she wakes up at 4 am, it’s imposible to get her to sleep in her crate by herself again. We will put her to sleep as always, we will wait until she is sleep, but the moment we leave the room (or 5 min later) she wakes up again and start complaining very loudly. We tried to wait until go to check on her again, but she just get louder. So, this ends in several cycles of trying to put her to bed, she wakes, etc ..for hours. The only way I’ve found that works is to get to the couch with her and a blanket, and sleep the next hours there together (then she usually can go until 8-9 am).

My partner is a light sleeper, and although I can sleep through almost everything, this is really taking a toll on us. Do you have any recomendations?? We wanted to avoid to put her in our room or bed, because is a little flat and we don’t have much space. Also, because she was doing great before with this systems.

I’d really love your advice on how she can sleep by herself for longer (and we too).

Hi everyone! First time poster, long time lurker, and I need some advice.

I just recently rescued my second puppy. We crate trained our first dog two years ago, and it was a nightmare. Now we have a new pup and he's doing great with crate training!.... sort of.

He's a 3 month old Great Pyrenees pup. He very eagerly goes in to his crate and he sleeps peacefully all through the night until around sunrise. He'll just start whining and crying intensely until someone lets him out or lays down on the floor next to the crate.

Since this is our second dog, we learned not to reward bad behavior by giving him attention and reward him when he does something well! The problem is I'm not really sure how to handle this situation. He's sleeping in his crate for a solid 6ish hours, and then totally goes ballistic. This morning, I gave up and just got out of bed early to let him run around the yard. He didn't seem to be in rush to go potty either.

I'm thinking about putting a cover over his crate. His foster home was on a farm, so maybe he's just used to waking up when the livestock are rousing at sunrise? Would make sense considering the breed.

Any advice would be appreciated!

Just got my 9 week old shih tzu puppy and I'm being very careful with her since I just lost my 11 year old dog. She got her first and second dose of vaccine for anti-parasitic and first dose of vaccine. She has been walking, running and jumping a lot around our house and a part of our house doesn't have tiles on it - meaning it's concrete/cement floor. (English isn't my first language so please bear with me) I'm really worried if she will get parvo from walking onto that.

My mom has also been mopping the floor frequently, if that helps.. thank you so much

TLDR: puppy had $2,000 surgery 2 weeks ago to remove a sock. May need another surgery to remove another intestinal blockage (likely a sock or towel). Could cost up to $8000 this time at the emergency vet. Where do I draw the line between affording it vs putting her down? I think I can manage paying the $8,000 but how do I balance that putting me in a big financial hole vs the mental stress of knowing she will inevitably continue to eat things and this could happen again?

We’ve always been dog house. All black labs.

I’ve never hesitated to spend thousands of dollars to keep my dogs alive. In the most 5 years I am close to $10,000 out of pocket.

The 10 yr old lab we put down last year survived for 3 years with diabetes before it became uncontrollable. Thousands of dollars spent on medicine, insulin, and vets visits.

The 12 yr old lab we put down in 2021 suffered from laryngeal paralysis the last few years of his life. One $4000 emergency vet bill and several thousand more in other vet visits and medicine.

We got a new puppy in December. She was born on Halloween 2023.

She’s a great dog, but she eats EVERYTHING.

2 weeks ago she had to have surgery to remove an intestinal blockage which ended up being one of my sons socks. That was over $2000 after all was said and done.

She is basically fully recovered from that.

This morning she vomited up her breakfast. After that my wife noticed that she had vomited in her crate overnight and found ANOTHER sock.

We’ve been EXTREMELY strict with the kids about not leaving things where she can get them and making sure everything is always cleaned up.

But somehow she got another.

We thought that would be it, so we gave her a light second breakfast, and several hours later a light lunch.

About 2 hours after that she puked ALL of it up.

My worst nightmare. I took her to the emergency vet tonight, and it seems like there is another blockage in her intestine.

They recommended to leave her there overnight with fluids to see if she can pass it.

It sounds like it’s not likely she does pass it and will likely need surgery.

They want up to $8000 for the surgery.

This will put me in a big hole but I can climb out of it in due time.

How do I balance the financial hole and the stress of knowing she will continue to eat EVERYTHING and this could happen again vs putting a 6 month old puppy down that is otherwise healthy?

I don’t need any judgement, we already feel like awful pet parents.

I don’t know what I’m looking for here. I guess some similar stories or encouragement. I’m feeling awful and extremely stressed about this.

We have a 8 month old mini bernedoodle and he the best little guy, most of the time. We've just started venturing away from home with him (got him at 5m old and previous owners didn't vaccinate so he was delayed).

He listens okayish in the house and usually comes when he's called, he knows sit, stand, down, shake, and high 5, bed, waits for the eat command to eat his meals, will listen to drop it if we give him a treat to replace the thing he had, and is pretty good at touch. The problem is, this all goes out the window when we go outside!!!!!

I took him for his 7pm walk today and he was a monster, he was tugging his leash, biting, jumping, humping, pulling, rolling around like an alligator when I tried to take the leash from him, wouldn't sit at all or listen to his name whatsoever. I sat down and ignored him for a while until he called down but the instant I stood up he went at it again!

How do I deal with this? How do I make him stop pretty much mauling me and listen outside? I'm lucky he's just a little guy but damn do his bites hurt :(

Question for large/giant breed puppy parents

Have you ever gone to bed and woke up the next morning and feel like your puppy has changed drastically?

So I’ve always had large breeds. That being said my biggest was about 85lbs. This pup, currently 5 months old, is predicted to be over 100lbs, up to 120lbs full grown.

So I get they grow fast. But I went to bed last night and today I swear this dog has suddenly gotten at least 2 inches taller (I have an adult dog and the pup is suddenly almost as tall as her and before she was a good 2 inches shorter), lost all her puppy fat and looks like a clumsy baby deer. Overnight!

She’s on large breed puppy food to control growth, so far she’s been pretty consistent on 3-4lbs of growth per week. I won’t have another weigh in until the end of the month (she’s been getting vaccinated mid month and weighed end of month for preventatives so pretty much every 2 weeks since I got her at 3.5 months old).

Is this even possible? Or am I going crazy?🤪 😜

My vet and two trainers have recommended I use the adaptil on the go collar for my gsd puppy, who is shy/scared around other dogs or people.

I just googled the product, and it shows the collar needs to be on 24/7. However, I’ve read several times that wearing a collar in the kennel or while two dogs are playing can be dangerous. Collar can get stuck in the kennel and choke out the dog, or one dog can get stuck in the other dog’s collar and freak out, and shake until the other dog gets hurt/dies.

However I believe these occasions are rare. Do you think the potential benefits of the collar outweigh the risks? Does anyone have experience with this collar, and did you keep it on 24/7?

Thank you

I got 2 puppies about a month ago (12 weeks and 6 weeks old). I didn’t know about littermate syndrome at the time. I’m not even sure that’s what’s happening here. However, these are the issues/warning signs that we’re facing right now.

1. Delaney (now 10 weeks old) has become extremely aggressive with Gaia (the slightly older puppy). If they aren’t fed in their kennels, she will growl and attack her to get to her food.

2. She has peed/pooped in her kennel every day and refuses to walk without the other dog. I mean she will sit and claw at the door and I have to pick her up and move her for her to go into the yard, but even then she won’t pee unless they’re together. She refuses to poop at all in the yard, and if Gaia does, she will come up and bother her until she pinches it off. This has led to quite a few accidents in the house, which is very disheartening because Gaia was nearly fully potty trained when we brought her home.

3. She has started guarding her toys and her food to an extreme level, and has been very bitey (though I am attributing the last factor to teething).

I don’t know if it’s too early to tell, and I need advice. I got these dogs right after we lost our last dog (a rescue that had been abused in his previous home). We had to put him down after he attacked both my fiancée and I several times, and the vet told us it was likely a combination of trauma and some undiagnosed neurological issue.

I don’t want to have to go through having a reactive dog again. Would she be better off somewhere else? I love her to death but she seems miserable here, like she’s constantly on edge because of the other puppy. Gaia never initiates fights or barks, but I’m afraid that, if this continues, she will grow up to be reactive as well.

Then proceeded to try to chomp every stray stick and leaf on the ground before actually pooping but he did!

Usually I'm so diligent in taking him out, he's never had the opportunity to actually have to tell me. I knew he was getting close to the time to have to go but he got up, ran to the door, ran back to me, then jumped on the door to tell me "Mom! I gotta take a dump!!"

Potty training milestone ✅ I'm so proud 🥲 6 months and he's signaling and haven't had an accident in nearly 8 weeks. 😭

Gtg now. He just nabbed my shoe and ran by me and jumped into my bed with it. Oh to be a puppy. 🫠

My puppy typically sleeps in his crate (by choice I’ve tried to get him to sleep in bed with me 😭) with the door closed so during the night he will bark once when he wants me to take him out. The last couple days he wants to sleep in his bed on the floor instead of his cage but I’m afraid he will get up and go potty without me knowing because he doesn’t have a way to let me know. He is far along in potty training with an accident once every couple of days. How do I know when he’s ready for me to let him have free rein?

I know I’m in the minority, but has anyone else gotten more sleep and felt more rested since getting a puppy? Prior to getting my girl, I would stay up late (revenge bedtime), averaging 5ish hours of sleep a night. Now, I try to follow my pup’s schedule, so I go to bed much earlier. I’m very fortunate because she usually sleeps through the night (at 10 weeks!).

I was preparing to be even more of a walking zombie than I usually am, so this has been a pleasant surprise.

My little man is turning 5 months old in a week or so and I need to know before I proceed with training.

Ever since I got him I built positive associations with cars, people, and other dogs. He had siblings and was previously socialized by his breeder. I continued socialization but due to vaccine problems he never met too many dogs, just saw videos and such of them and was given treats during.

A few days ago I think he started a fear period—he's suddenly terrified of cars and likes to stop and stare at cars. I was fine going back to desensitization but then he barked at my neighbors dog. I have 2 neighbors and we all sort of share a backyard. The neighbor next to me has a malinois, and my dog always wagged his tail when he saw that dog, and even laid down if the dog hadn't noticed him yet. But my other neighbor across from me, he barked at their dog, as I just said. It was a single bark, no growling, and he went behind me afterwards. He had just waken up from a nap, if that matters any.

Is it a socialization problem? Was he just too excited? Or do I need to step in or he's gonna become reactive?

Our 6.5 mo old male un- neutered small poodle mix puppy doesnt have accidents in our apartment anymore. We take him for walks and he has access to pee pads in a pee pad holder on our balcony. Recently at puppy class (indoors) he will constantly pee tiny amounts during class on the floor and on the cloth mat they give us for training. So embarrassing! Is this him marking? He doesnt do this in our apartment. Does he confuse the mat at class as a pee pad? Im afraid to take him to places that are inside because I dont want him peeing everywhere. Should I switch balcony pee pads to real grass sod so he doesnt confuse mats and pee pads? Or is this just him marking and when he gets neutered it will get better? Please no nasty judgements about making our balcony an outdoor potty area, we live on the 3rd floor in a city area

Hi puppy experts!

I was hoping for some advice on a decision we are making for our (potential) new puppy.

We have the choice of 2 breeders. Breeder A is a well recommended (but not listed) breeder for Cocker Spaniels where I live. This breeder will not have altered for at least 3 months. Breeder B is engaged in the community but not a well known breeder. However the stud for this litter is the stud for another well known breeder, and the bitch also comes from breeding lines. Breeder B has a litter now, around 3-4 weeks old ( won’t pick up until 10 weeks ). Both Breeders have health tested dogs and I’m confident that neither are backyard breeders after doing lots of research on red flags in thjs sub.

We have been talking to Breeder B about a puppy who by all means is our perfect puppy. Personality is a great fit and bonus is that the colour is exactly what we were looking for. We are close to committing, but want to make sure we are making the right decision by not going with Breeder A. Although it may be more of a wait, they are more ‘accredited’ than Breeder B so could come with more confidence around health etc. I am so excited to get our puppy and we have been on lists for ~6 months now, so I want to make sure I’m not clouded by excitement when making this decision.

What are some questions I should be asking to make sure I’m making the right decision?

And is there any benefit in waiting for a litter from someone who is well known? Or is the grass greener on the other breeder side?

I got a boxer x rednose pitbull/ staffy around 4 days ago (8 weeks old).. the first night was tough but I seen it coming, so far he's already learnt how to sit and lay down.

But as with many people's experiences with puppy's, he becomes hysterical when I walk out the room.. I go back to work tomorrow for 8 hours, I have family here that will look after him.

I'm terrified though, yesterday we did a test to see how he would react when I'm gone, I went for a drive (about 40 minutes) he was in his playpen outside and my mum and brother where looking after him. When I came back I could hear the cries from the front door, it was absolutely heartbreaking.

I've set his playpen up to be very comfortable and rewarding, 2 different toys, food, water, a bed, treats hidden around.. but he had no intrest at all.

I'm worried I made a mistake thinking I could get him comfortable being alone way too early and now I'm scared it might cause a traumatic experience for him tomorrow.. I can't take any time off work at the moment so I'm just really unsure of what to do.

Does anyone else get super overwhelmed when they think about all the training they are/will have to do? I’ve only had Leo for a week, and I get so paranoid that I’m failing him at training. We are working on his name right now, really basic stuff. Potty training has been smooth so far, but I think that’s more him than me. He’s not had an accident inside, and he’s 9 weeks. So I’m super proud of him for that. He whines at first in his crate, but has been settling himself down pretty quickly. It’s more of the commands that has me overwhelmed. I don’t feel like I should work on more than one command at a time, so he doesn’t get confused. And of course I’m getting tons of targeted ads right now, most of them saying things like ‘you must train your dog ASAP, or else AB and C will happen (at least that is what it feels like). A small win I celebrated today, not training related…he slept for a 4 hour block last night!!!! Not sure if I’m looking for advice or just someone to tell me this is a normal feeling, but thanks for letting me vent!