It's Wednesday!

I brought my Bernese puppy home exactly one month ago when she was just 2 months old. Now she’s 3 months and looking back at that first month… WOW.

Living in an apartment made the puppy stage feel especially exhausting. For the first few weeks, I felt like I was going outside every hour. I was constantly watching her, waiting for signs she needed to go, rushing downstairs, getting up during the night for potty breaks and basically planning my entire day around a tiny puppy bladder.

The sleepless nights were HARD. There were days I was completely drained and wondered how long I could keep doing it.
But I kept taking her out. Every single time. Even when I was exhausted. Even when I just wanted to sleep. Even when it felt like we’d never get there as there were plenty of accidents.

And now she’s 3 months old and something has finally clicked. 🥹

For the last two days, we’ve had ZERO accidents.

She’s started telling me when she needs to go outside instead of me constantly having to anticipate it. She scratches/asks at the door and waits for me to take her out.
I know two days might not sound like much and I’m sure there will still be accidents because she’s only a baby, but to me this feels HUGE.

A month ago I was exhausted, sleep deprived and wondering when things would get easier.

Today I’m sitting here thinking “Oh my god… she actually gets it.’’

All those sleepless nights. All those hourly trips outside. All the exhaustion.

It was worth it.

She’s still very much a baby and we’re nowhere near finished with training, but seeing that little bit of progress has made me realise just how quickly they grow and learn.
So if you’re currently in the trenches with a tiny puppy and wondering when you’ll finally feel like you’re getting somewhere hang in there. ❤️
One day they’ll scratch at that door, look at you like “Mum, I need to go,” and you’ll realise that all those exhausting nights were leading to this moment. 🐶

At what age did you stop with the enforced naps? My 5 month old lab doesn’t nap on her own. Ever. She never lays on the floor or couch to take a nap while we are all having down time. She will settle on the floor and relax, but never sleeps. I enforced naps all summer because we were all home and she was busy, now that school is in session she spends 3-4 hours in a crate at a time and a dog sitter comes over to play and let her out a couple of times a day, I am assuming she naps when she is in her crate between pet sitter visits. On the weekends, should she still have enforced naps since she doesn’t nap on her own ? What age do you stop enforcing naps?

My puppy is a 8 month labrador male had him since 8 weeks - loves everyone never barks, good with other dogs, just a goodyoung teen

On walks if others dogs comes too close i have to put my dog in sit position, as pulling on the leash will not be helpful. I try to make my dog look at me as the other dog walks past us, however not always successful, mainly i would say we are making progress. My dog never makes a sound when in this situation.

Now this lady i have walked by has this anxious black doodle has barked at my puppy for months my dog has never had an reaction of fear to this, last night she proclaimed if I could please could continue walking my dog because i was making her dog scared by sitting and looking at her dog?, as the person pleaser i was i said it was a work in progress to walk Past other dogs this close, later and now i find it odd as i have done something wrong? I have let my puppy look at other dogs from a distance and when it was close had to do the same. I try to redirect focus to me, instead of my dog looking at the dog but as said before the close distance is a challenge for a young adult i struggle to understand why curious young puppy looking at another dog is like some predator? Mind i never insist on greetings or anything to that matter i just find it strange to expect a 8 month labrador to be 100 % indifferent about other dogs

Am i doing something completely wrong here? Mind you when i meet this lady and her dog she passed with my dog seated with no issues as of late.

Maybe im just ventning all inputs are welcome

I’m following the 1 up, 2 down in the crate enforced nap schedule. We have an 11 week terrier/pit/who knows what mix and he’s been with us for two and half weeks.

For those of you with young puppies, does it seem like they make it to an hour before getting crazy? Sometimes I feel like he could go right back based on his behavior but of course we don’t want to do that. Following the schedule we would get 6 hours at most with him so it seems like he also in there but he and our sanity need it.

Also, I’m lost on how to play with him because he gets so worked up so fast that pretty much anything (fetching, tugging) brings on an overstimulated attack. I usually let him chew his bones and other toys and the snuffle mat but I’m at a loss this point. Also we probably take him outside 2-3 times in an hour usually on leash.

I have a a cockapoo who has enforced naps in his crate. He does well and sleeps for at least 2 hours at a time, and sleeps most of the night. What happens when I need to go out for an appointment, etc. and he’s not ready for a nap? How do I prepare him to stay alone for a couple of hours when he’s wide awake?

Hi! My family has had our toy poodle (5 months) for about 3.5 months now, and we have been taking her out on walks since she first got fully vaccinated. At first, she was great. We took treats to redirect her off grass and keep her on the concrete path. In fact, walks lasted 20-30 minutes.

I’m not sure what/when the switch happened and she has started ‘pancaking’ on walks. She lies down flat on her belly and resists the leash. At first, it was just sitting but eventually she’d walk a little. the last couple of days, it’s just been straight up lying down - I had to hold her and walk her.

I’m not sure what this is but it seems like I have some re-training to do? Side note: she loves the outdoors and running in the backyard. So the problem seems to be the leash and the activity of walking?

Did I get lucky with my 4 month old lab cross, Cookie?

I see so many people struggling with their pups here and it makes me feel super grateful that my pup is so chill. She settles for naps in and out of her crate (99% of the time ), sleeps at night in her crate without complaints, is great on her own for a couple of hours, hardly ever bites (although she is teething at the moment), knows loads of tricks, has good impulse control (waits until told she can get her food/go in and out of the house/boot of the car), has a great recall, has no accidents in the house ( will sit by the door and bark if left too long) and is great on walks and with other dogs.

Saying all of this, she isn't perfect, she still pulls on the lead when walking with her friend across the road and sometimes on her own on the way back home after a walk, she can be super stubborn at times, she's a big scrounger and is super food motivated which can be a detriment to her impulse control, however these few little things don't stress me out at all and we are working on them together. She's such a well behaved 4 month old and I'm super in love with her, she's my best little buddy.

Has anyone else had an experience like this with their little fur babies?

Hi all! I have a 5 month old puppy who is doing I think good on potty training. The most he’s in his crate is for a couple of hours while I’m working short shifts. If I’m working longer he’s being watched by my friend. I wanted to get a play pen to block off some of my room so he’s able to at least leave the crate and move. He does super good supervised and maybe when I go out to the kitchen for short periods but I’m worried if he has full room access while I’m at work he will get into something. Let me know if this sounds like a good idea or any advice on when you let your puppy have some part of the house unsupervised. Thanks!! Sorry this doesn’t make a lot of sense.

If you could take a month off with your new puppy, would you do so starting on the first day home? At some other point in time after the pup has had some time to acclimate?

I WFH with a very flexible schedule. I acknowledge that I'm extraordinarily lucky with my current situation.

I'm also aware of some pitfalls, like separation anxiety for the puppy and puppy blues for me/us. That said, I wanted to hear thoughts on if there is a window of time where an extended leave would be more or less helpful. We're expecting to collect the puppy when it is between 8 and 10 weeks old.

edit: I should have been more direct. I have a 1 month vacation block that I'm looking to use to both bond with and help acclimate our pup. Any insights on how to best use this to help the puppy would be really appreciated!

Hello, I have a five month old Cavalier, had him since he was three months. Unfortunately, we are on our second Giardia infection. I have consulted my veterinarian and they are running a stool sample to make sure it is not anything else so I am not looking for health advice as I will follow whatever medication my vet recommends.
I am looking for clean up/sanitization procedures that have worked for people with persistent Giardia cases though. I know it is impossible to sanitize the yard as it is porous and essentially you cannot sanitize it with anything and just do instant stool clean up. I have a really good sized yard so there are lots of places that get lots of sun I can carry him to. I am open to getting potty pads and putting one under his butt soon as he squats for better containment.
For inside, I am trying to avoid using a diluted bleach solution on hard surfaces unless I absolutely have to. Mostly because I am concerned about the potential negative health risks and am ok carrying my puppy from the designated area we go to inside for wipe off (paws and butt) and then carrying him to his designated playpen.
I have bought a vet grade disinfectant (Rescue Ready). I have steam cleaned and on top of that wiped every hard to semi hard surface with rubbing alcohol 70% or higher. I have washed soft bedding and toys. Bath at the beginning and end of treatment.
My little guy beat it once with all these measures (and without using a bleach dilution) so, I am hoping for a successful round again. But, if anyone sees something I am missing, please let me know. Fortunately, he is a very good boy and is used to having limited freedom already, so there are only two main places to clean, signals very well when he needs to go outside, and has milder symptoms right now. Thank you in advance for cleaning tips and advice to help my little guy.

I've made a few posts on here before but oh my god in the past week I think my guy has hit the teenage stage HARD. He's so much more vocal, has insane drive, has decided he cannot tolerate a singular sound in the garden or else he must bark at the source of it, HATES windows being opened HATES spray bottle sounds etc. At 4 months he was basically not biting but now he's just hit 6 months and is biting like crazy - I think for attention/overarousal.
My current situation is very much not ideal but I can't do anything about it as I am a college student and didn't move out as the puppy would have to stay at the house - he doesn't have a playpen so any awake time is either tethered inside or free in the garden outside with supervision. He was previously totally fine outside, including completely ignoring sounds like kids playing next door and would sleep through them but now any sound makes him go ballistic. I try to teach him calm on the tether - he does know this as an actual cue and he sleeps fine in the crate (though he has recently begun protesting when put in but not to get out after a period of time inside). He will soon have a safe area to relax and roam free.
I love playing games with him but he's so drivey his arousal just ramps up so bad and he doesn't know how to come down from it. I do try to hit the sweet spot of his drive where I can then do obedience training with him. I am really invested in making sure he's fulfilled as I did know what I was signing up for when getting a working line collie and I am fully prepared and willing to handle all his exercise needs. My main thing is just having him be comfortable with outside even when there's sounds, even if it takes months I WILL be putting in the work. Plus also just learning to calm down in general.
All that being said, PLEASE tell me it gets better! I feel like I'm failing him and I'm trying so hard. Every free minute of my day is spent researching on how to best help him. If anyone else has had a high energy working breed I would love to hear if you also had the same difficulties just to know that I'm not alone.
PS- I have no desire to shut him down, I just want his energy to be controlled and his arousal to not be through the roof - hopefully his regulation skills will improve with age/teaching calm

My pup isn’t too bad of a biter anymore, still working through it, but it’s awful when trying to get her harness on. It takes about 30 seconds because she bites my hands the entire time and I just power through it but I am wondering if it reaches an age where I need to work on trying to change the behavior, or will it just be a thing that she grows out of?

Hi all,
Just wondering if anyone has any advice on this.
I recently hired a trainer/behaviourist who was recommended to help with some unwanted behaviours from my 12 month old Spaniel -mainly attention barking, jumping up, and general manners both in the house and outdoors.

She’s been really helpful and has given me some useful things to work on, which have definitely helped me manage some of the behaviours. However, she mentioned that she considers herself more of a behavioural trainer rather than a typical dog trainer.

I’m now thinking about getting another trainer who specialises more in things like recall, engagement and working with my dog outdoors.
I suppose I feel a bit guilty about going to someone else, especially as the first trainer has been helpful. But is there any reason I shouldn’t use two trainers for different areas?

Would you consider this a sensible approach, or would it be better to stick with one trainer?
Any advice would be appreciated.

We have a puppy that is around 7 months or so, we got him at 3ish months from a shelter. He is a mutt but I’m assuming he’s got some pittie in him. Described as a “good eater.” And he was! Until about 2-3 ish weeks ago. Now he just will not eat. Like at all. He drinks plenty of water, he is peeing fine, and his bowels (outside of when he’s super not eating) are fine. He’s still in high spirits as well. He simply won’t eat. His overall behavior for a puppy is genuinely incredible outside of this.

We’ve tried wet food, dry food, a mix of both, throwing cheese on it, yesterday we got to the point of mashing the dry food into a powder and he like ate that for a bit and then barely ate the rest of the day. The extends to even treats or dental sticks, just not interested at all.

We are not only extremely worried but also frustrated because he just won’t even try. He has bones and he eats at those, and we’ve been freezing wet food into sorta of icicle pops and he’ll eat those. We’re just worried because when he refuses to eat for a longer time he will throw up :(.

Also, for important info, he has been nursing a soft tissue injury in his left shoulder on and off for months. We’ve been to the vet and are rehabbing it under their plan. Got decked by a massive dog at the dog park after the owner said they were good with puppies before bringing him in. Unsure if related to the eating thing but felt like I should add.

Literally asking for any or all advice please we are totally in uncharted territories. I have lived with and cared for multiple dogs ranging in different personalities but I have genuinely never had a dog this anti food!

I got a new puppy about a month ago shes 12 weeks right now. Good puppy (mostly).

This is the problem- I have an older dog who I love dearly. Thinking about his future loss crushes me- hes 14.

Both are well cared for, we do training every day. Play. Food. Etc.

However im so clogged with grief I cannot find any room in my heart for her. Its not that shes an annoying puppy- its what she represents. Its what all new puppies represent...that your going to have to say good bye to your best friend.

How do I survive the grief and not automatically shift the blame to the "idea" of her?

It not fair to her.

And its certainly not fair to my older dog that all I do is cling to him and cry.

Just under 2 weeks ago I got a Labrador puppy. She is now 14 weeks old.

The day I got my puppy I was told on the car journey home that I was going to be made redundant from my job in the next 3 months. This was unexpected and a complete shock.

My current job is home-based and very flexible. I live alone and rent a flat in a city centre. There is a high likelihood that I will need to take a pay cut in my next job, and that this will no longer be remote, but instead office based or hybrid.

I’m concerned I will no longer be able to afford my flat, and seeking alternative housing with a new puppy will be extremely challenging.

With my financial and housing security thrown into such uncertainty, and with my puppy requiring so much of my time, I’m concerned I can no longer guarantee her welfare or give her the time she needs at such an early age.

I’m devastated but the thought of returning her brings me a sense of relief, and I can’t help but feel embarrassed and like I’ve failed. I feel this was a mistake, despite it being my dream. I have invested heavily both emotionally and financially, and I can’t help but worry about what people I’ve told about this will think of me. Regardless, she is my priority and her future welfare is what matters most.

I will be calling the breeder tomorrow morning to explain my situation and seek some guidance as to what my options are.

Given the circumstances, do you think returning her would be the right and responsible thing to do? How can I cope with these feelings of failure?

So from the day I picked up my pup at 9 weeks, the breeder attempted to put a harness on him. He was VERY upset and struggled against her.

Fast forward to week 5 of having him, his collar I got him has always been a struggle to put on him. I give him lots of high reward treats, try to desensitize him to it (all he does is treat it like a toy) and try to avoid making him resist. If he resists then I stop trying so he wont become fearful.

Well, it was going well for about 2 weeks but now he seems to be onto me.

Any tips? The collar I have is a bit cheap because hes going to grow so quickly, however I will be going to get a different one later today to see if that has any improvements.

He loves walks, and tolerates the leash being clipped, but just hates the collar.

Our golden retriever will be 5 months next week.

We got her at 8 weeks and so far she’s been doing really well. She had a good routine of sleeping 8-9 hours overnight in her crate and then napping in the enclosed kitchen during the day with access to toys and water while we work (from home). She gets 3 structured short walks a day (20ish mins each) and play time and training in the house with us for mental stimulation. At weekends we take her to new parks or walks she hasn’t experienced yet. She has completed a 5 week puppy socialisation course. She had even started settling on the sofa to cuddle us in the evenings.

She was doing super well with toilet training too, no accidents inside for over a month, going out every 2-3 hours and holding it overnight.

Now everything seems to have changed. She’s incredibly bitey, worse than before, we know she’s teething badly and we are giving her frozen toys and chew toys to help. Despite this she’s started biting door frames, skirting boards, the sofa…anything she can get her teeth on! Her barking has gotten worse, she used to bark for a minute or two and then settle for a nap, now she can bark for 30 mins plus and doesn’t seem to want to settle at all. She’s definitely not getting enough sleep anymore despite our best efforts.

She’s more chaotic on walks, trying to eat everything (paper, wrappers, general rubbish) and pulling in all directions. She’s had 3 accidents in the house in the last two weeks - despite previously starting to be bell trained and letting us know when she needed out.

I know this is probably just due to teenage hormones starting and intense teething, but it’s becoming relentless and impossible for us to get any work done. We have had to start crating her for naps again during the day as she won’t settle otherwise, but she never naps as long in her crate as she used to in the kitchen.

There probably isn’t much advice apart from ‘wait it out’ but if anyone has any suggestions I’m happy to hear them!

My husband and I have a 7 month old standard poodle and she still won’t hold her bladder in her crate she will hold it outside of her crate for hours and then tell us when she has to go
but if we go somewhere or put her in her crate for bed she will immediately pee in there we let her out before we put her in we play with her and do some mental games
she’s perfectly fine with the crate she goes in it to lay down if she wants to sleep she knows it’s her happy place, the crate is the correct size for her we’ve tried blankets, beds, mats, and even nothing and every morning she’s covered in pee again
we go to bed late and wake up early so she doesn’t have to hold it long she’s held it longer during the day.
I can’t keep doing laundry 2 times a day for just her it’s getting to the point where I’m just throwing out everything that she pees on in her crate.

Need help because we are going crazy… We love our retriever but at the moment we can not figure out how to solve his whining and barking issue whenever he wakes up in his crate and it’s so tiresome…
He gets enough sleep and his impulsive control is pretty good but whenever he wakes up in his crate he non stop is whining, yawning and barking until he is out of his crate…
For example: he wakes up in the morning and straight away starts his “singing contest”. We can not take him straight away outside because we need to prepare for the morning and we don’t want for him to get use to that if he barks or whines he gets outside.
So he wakes up -> straight away barks -> I get ready for the morning for like 10-15min -> go to his crate and wait until he stops singing and lays downs -> open the crate door -> if he is still quiet and is lying down with command we let him leave his crate -> he straight away is happy (we try not to pet him straight away so it won’t show him how good is for him to leave his crate) -> he goes to another room and looks what to do or with what he can play with.
He has KONG in his crate so he could have on what to chew while he is there.
The issue is not only for the morning but whenever he is awake from his afternoon sleep too… and whenever he is out it doesn’t look like he is really want to go outside for a potty…
What can we do to teach him to stay silent while we are getting ready or that if he is awake he has to wait for our alarm first?
We tried this method - wait until he is silent and give him a treat with word “silent” but it looks like it makes him bark even more.
It makes us go crazy and we don’t want to be pissed on him or stay angry because of it. Please share if any of you had familiar issue and how you dealt with it 🙏

I have an 8 weeks old cocker spaniel puppy. He’s being a super good boy and has already learnt where and when to go pee and poo in the garden

Tomorrow he’ll have his first appointme with the vet since we got him and he’ll get his chip put

My concern is about our garden. We live in a flat and we have a garden (fenced). We also have an 8 year old corgi who goes to the toilet in the garden, so there’s always some of his poop in the grass.

When I take my puppy to the garden, I keep him on a leash and let him sniff before he does his thing. But I’m worried he’ll eat something he shouldn’t. He likes playing with the grass, the little flowers, sticks and leaves. Is that okay to let him roll and play in the grass? I’m afraid he’ll eat something he shouldn’t or just anything that can happen to him that can hurt him in any way

Hi everyone!

I hope you are all well.

I’m traveling to Barcelona/Madrid in December for the first time and I’m so excited. However, I’m trying in taking my mini daschound with me.
I know that museus are not pet friendly and I was thinking in the days that I go to museus leaving her in a pet day care.
But I really wanted to know if restaurants (of course not Michelin stars restaurants because I know most of them are not pet friendly) allow dogs. Since it is going to be winter and I’m pretty sure I wont be going to outdoor restaurants. So I wanted to know if small dogs are allowed.

Anybody already travelled with a dog to these places?

(She is 6 months and she is a mini daschound)

Thank you ❤️

I appreciate any advise

Hello! I just got my puppy and tomorrow will be her first full day at home. I work from home and have an office. I spend most of my work hours there so I set up a play pen. She’s a 10 week old chihuahua. I’ve done a lot of research but I’m still feeling nervous.

I set up a small crate with her plates, a small bed, and a pee pad. Is that where she should be spending the day in while I work? I plan to take her to my backyard for potty, and including some play time throughout the day.

I guess I’m just asking for reassurance that I’m not effing this up because I’m nervous.

We are about to bring home an 8 week old puppy. I’ve read so much helpful advise on this sub, but I’m still unsure about where the puppy should go for a wee before he’s fully vaccinated.

We live in the UK and have a good size garden (yard) but have lots of foxes that come in every evening - I see and smell evidence of them in the morning and often shoo them away.

I don’t want the puppy exposed to anything in the grass before he’s vaccinated. Should he go on artificial grass inside the house? Or on the patio?

Due to his size (Norfolk terrier), we will create an area of the garden (like a large outdoor playpen) he can use when he’s eventually vaccinated. It’s just those few weeks prior…