Our 5mo Goldendoodle won’t stay in her crate more than 2ish hours without barking. We work from home and need to have her on a schedule and ideally want her to be in her crate 9-12 and 2-5pm. Usually she goes into her crate just fine (we give her her favorite treat) and she falls asleep quickly. Then after about 2ish hours she starts barking and after 10 min we will take her out to pee, where she usually doesn’t even pee. If we don’t have meetings and can keep her out, we will. Otherwise, we put her back in and she continuously barks and doesn’t settle. When we eventually let her out, she’s out of breath and worked up.

It seems more like demand barking versus major anxiety and fear. She is a confident and feisty dog who very much wants what she wants. She generally barks if she doesn’t have access to what she wants (usually she wants us). I wouldn’t even say my husband and I are pushovers or give in that easily but she is very very persistent!

We already have made the crate cozy, with a blanket covering it, and use a sound machine. We give her treats and Kongs in there outside of her nap times.

Should we just let her out to pee, then put her back in and let her bark it out? Or do we need to adjust our schedule so she is only crated for 2hrs? Any advice would be greatly appreciated!!

I have a 7.5kg Cavapoo. I've had a Cavalier before who died in 2021.

He's overwhelming me so much at the moment and my girlfriend has gone away back to her home country as her mum suddenly died and I'm struggling with him on my own whilst I'm working a tough job remotely.

He barks at me a lot, play bites me but it hurts, grabs my socks etc and he's impossible to catch, repeatedely goes down the side of the bed , almost OCD like smacks the plastic boxes there over and over again (no where else to put them) and also humps my leg a lot despite having him neutured at one year.

The play biting did stop for a long time and in the last 2 or 3 months its started again. I feel like I have a toddler thats super quick and strong teeth.

Is he like this because of his age? We train him, give him everything he needs but hes non stop at the moment. I love him and I couldn't imagine getting rid of him but at the same time I feel just completely overwhelmed.

We’ve had our 10 week old mini Goldendoodle for about 10 days. He’s doing well in his crate overnight, but only with me on the couch next to him and sometimes my fingers through the door. However, during the day is another story. My husband works from home so puppy is rarely left alone for too long, but obviously sometimes we both need to be out of the house. I finally got a camera today, and he barked/cried/ pawed at the mat in his crate for almost the entire 25 minutes it took me to go to and from my daughter’s dance class. I feel like he’s not getting nearly enough sleep when we’re all home because we can’t enforce naps in his crate because he loses his mind. And our house is very small and very busy so when he’s napping on the floor/couch he’s constantly getting woken up because he’s in the one room we have downstairs (small open plan living room/kitchen). I just don’t know what to do, how can we get him to be one of those dogs that actually LIKES their crate?? I need to be able to live my life and go to the grocery store without worrying that I’m damaging him letting him scream in his crate 😭😭😭

I’ve tried soaking it in with water till soft and he still won’t eat it.
Is it ok to switch him over to canned food till he stops teething or will that cause pickiness and issues over time ?
I’m stressed out because he was eating hard food just fine a couple weeks ago until now.
I even tried adding tasty toppers to his food but nope I’m at the end of the rope with feeding him 😫🫩 he’s perfectly healthy no known health issues too so I don’t know what his issue is.

Has anyone had luck with an attractant spray for wee wee pads to encourage the dog to use them? I’m getting desperate 😅😅. My puppy is a 12 week old cockpoo who just loves to poo on my kitchen floor!

hiii! I got a 4 month old golden retriever puppy last Saturday. I got him from a vet and they gave some of the kibble he eats, and meat tubes for him to slowly start changing his diet if I decided to. I did change the kibble yesterday, Wednesday, to a similar brand since i ran out of the kibble the vet gave me. He had no problem eating it for breakfast and dinner yesterday, and today he’s refusing to eat. He drinks water and his behaviour seems great, just the eating.

Additional facts: We got him from Mexico City, and I live in a city about 2 hours away. He was anxious in the car ride, but no vomit, no throw up.

He chews on grass, but not excessively.

Ive been create training him, and that’s also caused him discomfort.

His waste was a little watery, just a little, for 2 days, but then solid again. He’s potties twice a day.

I am also looking to make a vet appointment, for tomorrow or Saturday if it gets worse. Last he ate was 7:00pm yesterday. I’m posting this just to see if this has happened to other people, and if it is normal, I’ll of course consult a professional. Thanks!!

We got our puppy almost 2 month ago, he was 8 weeks, and I still think it was a mistake.

To give some background, we have 4 cats at home and I'm a cat person. When my sister got her puppy, I toyed with the idea of having one. I talked with my bf about it, we did a lot of research about the breed (spitz), how to educate them and how to make everything go smoothly with the cats. I talked with a lot of people (friends, colleagues, etc.) about what it's like to have a dog because I wanted to be sure I was making a decision with all the cards in hands.

Then we contacted the breeder where my sister got her puppy, because she had a male avalaible and we wanted to know more about him and meet him. We met him, he was really cute and calm. The breeder told us he was the calmest of all the puppies. My bf was sold almost immediately. I liked him, found him cute, but I was still unsure about being a dog person - i have anxiety, overthinking is what i do. Once again, i had a LOT of conversations with people to help clear out what was stressing me out. A few days later we say yes to the breeder and a week later we brought our puppy home.

And ever since it has taken a toll on my mental health :

My anxiety is through the roof because I feel i have to constantly check on him so he doesn't make a mess or pee somewhere. I thought i could handle potty training, turns out it's not the case. I feel like the whole house is smelling like pee and i want to clean everything all the time. The puppy sometimes disguts me because all i can think is him walking in his pee and walking everywhere and thus bringing pee everywhere in the house.

The first few days were horrible. I was overwhelmed and frustrated. He was making the worst parts of me come out : i was screaming, hitting things out of anger. I just wanted him to disappear. But i also felt guilty and sad that i was feeling this way. I was not loving him and i didn't understand why - i still don't to be honest. Those days were really hard on me, i was thinking about having car accidents or violent things in that vein. That way i wouldn't be home and wouldn't see him.

If i had been alone, i wouldn't have kept him that long, i would have brought him back to the breeder. But my bf loves him so we decided to keep trying, at least 3 months (you know for the rule of 3), hoping it will help. We still have 1 month and 1 week to go, and it's still not good. Some days are a bit better but I still don't love him and feel like he's one of the chores. And i still feel bad. Like depression bad (which is pretty bad since seasonal depression hasn't kicked in yet).

And my relationship has taken a hit too. We keep arguing again and again. We even came to the conclusion we should break up, he would take the dog, i'd take the cats. So yeah, there's that too.

I strongly think we will rehome our puppy. We have a friend who would be happy to take him. It would be a good solution for me and my mental health, but also for the puppy who deserves a better home that i can offer him.

I read a lot about the puppy blues on here but nothing as strong as i think i feel. I don't know if my anxiety and depressive tendancies have made for a perfect background to have the worst puppy blues ever. But, yeah, i wanted to say it, even if it's to the void and no one answers it.

P.S. the puppy's needs are still being met. He has a lot of toys, play time, occupational toys, training. We go to local cafés with him, he sees a lot of others dogs. He has a big garden to play and we take him on long (at least for him) walks.

I had dogs growing up in my family home. (Lab/Pyrenees & Beagle) I know how much work they are, but was never the sole caretaker. I am 24 and work fully remote.

I have since moved out on my own (4 years now) and gotten two cats who I love dearly. I have been contemplating a dog for the past year, but never really acting on it until recently. I am now fully remote and feel like I have TOO much time on my hands. I need a more active companion. (My cats are very lovable but LAZY 🤣) I have done research on breeds and have decided on a Shih Tzu or smaller terriers. I found a rescue 3 month old Shih Tzu locally and really want to adopt her.

I feel like I am ready for all the hard work. Walks multiple times a day, playing, socializing. I am well aware of costs (one of our dogs had diabetes so lots of vet visits and insulin) & I know puppies are even more work. I plan to crate train & have a fenced yard. Luckily, this puppy is fostered with other dogs and cats and is house trained and well socialized.

When I told my family I was going to put an application in for this dog, they told me it wasn’t a good idea. I told them how much I have researched, planned and prepared. No matter what, they would poke holes and bring up what if scenarios. It has really messed with my head and now I’m reconsidering it all.

So, how do you know you are ready for a puppy?

Hi everyone!

I just got my Embark results back for my beautiful 5-month old female “terrier mix”. She’s 41.6% Australian Cattle Dog 21.9% Chihuahua, 10.9% American Pit Bull Terrier, 10.5% Supermutt, 9.3% German Shepard, and 5.9% Shih Tzu. My whole life, I’ve grown up with Labs and Golden Retrievers, so I want to be sure I’m setting her up for success. Given these results, is there anything I should be doing to meet her breed needs, tips for raising her based on her top two breeds, or any specifics I should know/expect?

I’d love to hear your guys’ thoughts!

Hi guys,

I've picked up an 8 week old boxer this week, it's my first puppy and I'm having a great time learning with him.

So far when he starts dozing off in his pen I've been putting him in his crate, and he's dozed right off pretty much every time. During the night I wake up every 2-3 hours to let him out to toilet either by alarm or if he stirs. I make sure if he's whining I wait for a few seconds calm before taking him out, but at 8 weeks I know it's a genuine need for toilet so I won't ignore it. At night I can put him straight back in and he will settle straight away and sleep. His pen is in our living area and his crate is in the hallway by the stairs so we can hear him during the night.

Yesterday, seeing as he seems to be comfortable in there, I thought I'd test him out for a time when he's not falling asleep. He cried and got agitated, I left him for a few minutes to see if he would soothe himself but he didn't and at this age and stage I didn't want to push it any further so I waited for a quiet few seconds and took him out.

Today my dad was sick and needed some meds so I had no choice but to put him in his crate to go and get them. Again it wasn't a sleepy period for him and I watched him on the camera freaking out for the best part of an hour. When I got home again I waited for a quiet period and let him out. I tried not to make a fuss but inside I was dying so I really wanted to cuddle him up and soothe him but didn't know if this would set us back.

Does anyone have similar experience where they are ok sleeping in their crate but not resting?

Am I expecting too much too soon? Am I being too soft or have I been too hard?

Me and my wife have worked our holiday leave this year in order that for his first 3 months one of us is home nearly all the time to give him the best chance but it's inevitable occurrences like today will happen and he will need to be left for short periods of time so any advice would be great.

Hi everyone! My wife and I recently adopted a puppy and we have been struggling with potty training. He’s a 4 month old mixed breed from a shelter and seems rather pee shy. What I mean is that he seems rather comfortable peeing indoors specifically but struggles to pee when we bring him out to the streets. He does sniff a lot at where other dogs have gone but still refuses to go.

We live in a high rise apartment in New York and it takes us ~5ish mins to get down to the street level from our apartment. So it seems like even though we are stop him mid pee in our apartment, by the time we reach street level, his ‘pee urgency’ is gone (?)

We have just started crate training and we bring him down ~2 hours but he refuses to pee on the streets and sometimes ends up peeing in his crate after our walk.

I know it has only been about a week since we adopted him and understand that he needs time to adjust to the new environment but would love to hear some recommendations to help with potty training to gain some of our sanity back 🫠

Thank you!!

So I pet sit for this lady everyday from 6am to 4pm ( not the problem ), and it's only one 13week old puppy. He was kinda crazy when I started watching him when he was 10weeks old, obviously we ( me n his owner ) know n understand he's just a teething puppy but it's getting kinda bad. He'll chew a box, rocks, leaves, the TV remote, he recently started nibbling my arm and pulling my sleeves and it hurts. He sleeps In a large kennel when he waits for his momma or me ( he's got room to stretch dw) he'll bark and whine once we leave he's getting better tho. What is something we can do to help? Obviously I don't want his momma to have to end up rehoming him because he's her baby but I don't know if it's gonna get worse or what, Google said he's testing boundaries right now

Good morning from Florida!

We have a pug/Labrador retriever mix named Mako (though he doesn't know that lol). He is about 5 months old, and we haven't had him long, about a week or so. We have been doing some basic training, but house training has been especially hard. He has accidents here and there but I work Mon-Thurs. 10 hour shifts and my husband works Mon-Fri. We both come back home at 5/6PM ish, so we both feel we don't have a lot of time to spend actually teaching him how to let us know, he has to go potty/poop.

So, we figured we'd look into dog trainers in our area. However, I feel like a lot of the reviews being just 5 stars with no real criticism is suspicious. We want Mako just gently house broken, and to learn his name. Any recommendations for trainers in our area or surrounding would be great.

Thanks a bunch!

Hello! My husband and I are getting a puppy soon and trying to decide between a Cavapoo or a Shihpoo. I grew up with a Shih Tzu that I adored but she was very stubborn when it came to training haha. I loved how lazy and cuddly she was though. I was hoping maybe the poodle mix would make them easier to train. I know cavapoos are smarter but a little crazier. Anyone have any insight on their experiences with either breed/recommendations?

Thanks in advance!

I’m on a list for a litter. I was second in line so I thought I had a great chance for the puppy I wanted. However my choice was picked by the person with the first choice. I took another puppy but now I can’t stop feeling like I’m settling. At the same time I’m feeling guilty for focusing on color. That’s really the only difference. Should I give up on my dream of puppy I envisioned, or wait?

Y’all how much of the day do your dogs sleep?

My 11 month old beagle/australian shepherd mix is crated while my husband and I work. Usually around 8 hours (I know I know “that’s too looooonggggg” spare me). He also sleeps through the night, that’s usually another 8 hours.

He’s a very active guy when he is out of his crate. We play hard and he gets 30 minutes to an hour of play time with other dogs at the dog park almost every day. We also take him on 20-30 minute walks at least twice a day. Additionally we do a lot of mental stimulating things for him. Lick mats, training, things like that.

I guess I just worry that he sleeps too dang much. How much are puppies who are nearing 1 year supposed to sleep? Am I doing enough for him?

My 8 week puppy cries in the middle of the night or when he wakes up early in the morning. I usually ignore him for about 15 minutes. But when he whines more than 15 minutes, I go to him see if there's anything he needs and if he's still whining, I ignore him but I'm still beside him and ignore (I basically just sit across him and not look at him and wait until he stops). Once he calms down I give him treats. Is this a good way not to reinforce whining behavior?

Note: Puppy is 8 weeks old, a pitbull and had him for 3 days. I've had dogs before but they were around a year or more already. They're also street dogs that's known to be intelligent so I never had problems with them. This is my first time owning a puppy this young and this breed.

We adopted our approximately 5-month-old Labradoodle, after fostering her for over 60 days. I was on the fence about adopting her the entire time, and since she came into our home, I’ve been increasingly depressed, overwhelmed, and unsure whether having a dog is right for me. I have a 10-year-old daughter and a 4-year-old son, along with other animals, and most of the daily puppy care falls on me. The puppy is mouthy, jumps on my son, and tries to bite his arms and legs. The most concerning issue is that she has suddenly lunged and snapped toward people’s faces with virtually no warning. While my son was calmly petting her head, she sprang up incredibly fast and left scratches on his face from her teeth. She has also snapped toward my husband’s face while he was gently petting her, and she sometimes does the same thing to me when I pet her head. Her tail wasn’t wagging, and I didn’t notice any obvious warning signs. I’m worried this could be fear, discomfort with head handling, pain, a behavioral issue, or something else, and I want honest advice rather than having it dismissed as normal puppy behavior. My daughter has also been resentful and annoyed with the dog, despite my telling her to not be so hard on her. I’m worried this has damaged my dog’s trust in people or could make her reactions worse, and I’m afraid someone could get seriously bitten. I’m trying to keep them separated, but managing the puppy alongside two children and our other animals is overwhelming. I originally wanted a companion for myself or a pet the kids could grow up with, but the reality has been very different.
I need honest, practical advice: What could cause these sudden face-directed snaps? They happen out of nowhere and there is no warning or body language.
Is this a behavior that can realistically be managed safely in a home with a 4-year-old, especially given my daughter’s behavior toward her?

We have a 9.5 month old great pyrenees/heeler mix who is really becoming a great dog. His biggst issue has been separation anxiety but he's already making great progress. Now that we've addressed that with him, I'm hoping to find out how to get him sleeping longer. He sleeps through the night with no issues, usually 11-6, but even if my husband (night owl) takes him out before bed around midnight he still is crying to be let out at 6. He doesn't rush to go to the bathroom (i usually will change and make my coffee before we go outside) so while I agree he needs to go, it's clearly not an emergency. How do we balance getting him to be comfortable in the crate until WE decide it's time to get up with respecting his needs?

hi, i've been looking for tearable or rip-apart velcro dog toys for weeks but struggling to find anything sold in the uk! i have come across tearribles but it seems like this is only sold in the us. my dog loves to rip apart toys and take the stuffing out so i'm looking for a toy that will satisfy this! thank you

I just got my golden retriever few days back. Put him on Royal Canine Maxi Starter. According to the chart, he is supposed to eat 157g per day. He is only eating half of the recommended amount.

Weve brought in a trainer for our 8 month old cockapoo because the last couple months her reactivity with people and dogs has gotten much worse.

The trainers theory is that shes super frustrated and bored of the same routine (i hold my hands up to having a strict routine with the same enrichment and walks) BUT her suggestion is to let her off lead a lot more to work off that frustration, so i did that today, and ended up having to sprint after my pup
because she got way too far away chasing birds and completely ignored my recall. Now the TRAINER says in those moments to turn round and walk the other way (?) and try my best not to recall so much to give her this “Freedom” BUT ive read online stop off lead immediately and use a long line because shes learning to ignore me.

I find this mixed advice everywhere so incredibly frustrating and stressful, as i just want the best for the wee pup but dont know whats right to do and whats wrong.

The trainer has told us to do a lot more freework which has been good for her, but on this topic for reactivity on walks ive just no idea what to do

Hi everyone!

I got a German shepherd/CSV mix 3 weeks ago and he is now 10 weeks old. I have a puppy pen setup for him in the kitchen. No crate, and I will not get a crate unless it's absolutely the last thing that will work.

He's been really happy in the pen until this morning. Now he just screams like a banshee once I leave the room and he starts it even before I'm out of sight. Before this we had worked up to being alone for up to an hour, and just the dogs (puppy and 5 yo dog) by themselves for 2 hours without issues. I don't know what has happened other than my wife left for work at 6:30 like she does every day and since then the puppy just screams. I can't even go to the toilet without him sitting behind the door screaming.

He's had his naps, food and training + playtime as usual and doesn't seem tired or agitated. We keep the same routines every day. Wife works a day job and I work in the evenings, so the dogs aren't alone more than a couple of hours.

I'm not sure if this is normal or not, I've not had a puppy for 14 years and my old dog (RIP) was really, really easy to train as she didn't mind anything at all.

My 15-week-old Golden Retriever, Reia, pees perfectly in her tray inside her playpen overnight. But during the day, she’ll pee anywhere except the tray! Even if we keep her in the playpen, she’ll hold it and pee on the floor as soon as we let her out. 🥲
The very few times we’ve caught her peeing in the pee tray, we have rewarded her and celebrated her loudly. But it hasn’t seemed to make much of a difference. We’ve also tried a few different locations but none of them seem to help.

She’s not fully vaccinated yet, so outdoor potty training isn’t an option for now.

Has anyone experienced this? How do I get her to use her tray consistently during the day too?

When my Shiloh Shepard pup was 3-4 months he started jumping and biting when we were outside. Mostly when he didn’t feel like doing something. From time to time it has gotten better, but then back to worse. He’s now 11 months and I’m full of bruises.

Sometimes I feel like he does it because he wants to play. Sometimes it’s more ”random”. Like he alerts he needs to go out to pee, we go out to pee and then when he is done he turns around and starts jumping and biting and growling and won’t stop until I have managed to get him inside again.

The biggest lead as to why he does this (so far) is that he doesn’t see me as his leader and that he’s trying to take control of everything. We have been to training courses and met with trainers and it just doesn’t stop.

He is amazing and cuddly and loves to give kisses and get scratches and play so it’s not an aggressive behavior.

When we play with a toy and we ”fight play”with it a single raised hand and the word stop makes him drop the toy and sit. We’ve been trying for two months now to make him connect that to his biting as well, but when he gets bitey and jumpy nothing gets through.

We’re working continuously with behavioral training, teaching to go on lead and such but for the last four weeks whenever we go out to train he starts jumping and biting. I’ve tried to play with him some first to get of excess energy and I’ve tried not to play with him as to not wind him up.

We’ve tried connecting the stop to praise as well as treats, but as soon as he starts to bite and jump on me it’s like he locks in.

I’m so tired. I love this dog and I just wants it to work. And I’m getting tired of people saying that maybe we’re not right for each other. I just want my dog to work with me so that we can have the a calm life together with play and walks and love and not constantly having to worry about new bruises or that he’s gonna jump on me and we’re gonna fall and hurt something.

Anyone have any suggestions?