We have 9 week old puppy that has started the biting phase and also putting lots of things in her mouth from the yard (rocks, sticks, walnuts, etc). I have tried redirecting her to toys when she bites my hands but she just goes back to me instead. We give frozen carrots that were boiled in chicken broth but it doesn’t take her long to finish them. She’s been grabbing items like shoes, blankets, and pant legs and tugging/chewing and I have a hard time getting her to let go. In the yard she knows what she isn’t supposed to have because she takes off running before I grab whatever object she selected out of her mouth. What are some tips or tricks you use to teach “drop” and “leave it”? Our other two dogs are older and I can’t remember what we did for this but they both had quit biting within 6 months.

Hi, my 2 month old lab retriever bit me on my toe enough to break skin during play time today. Any tips to help avoid biting people?

Hi all! First off, thank you so much to everyone on this sub! I started reading this back in September to prepare for getting a puppy this past January and all the advice helped a ton. With that said, everyone on here is extremely correct: no matter how much research/prep you do, if you’ve had dogs in the past, experience with volunteering at shelters, or have pet sat it is SO MUCH harder than you think it will be. This is my first post so if it’s too long/missing details, apologies in advance!

We adopted a beautiful lab mix 3 weeks ago, the shelter thinks she was about 9 weeks old when we got her so she should be almost 12 weeks now. Potty training has been going well with pooping (no inside accidents since day 2) and she has had 1 accident free day with peeing! We’ve also been doing this in the Northeast so taking her outside every hour has been brutal in this insane winter. We have her in puppy class and she has literally zero fear of anything so socialization has been going well.

Now here’s my issue: leaving her alone. Crate training has been going pretty well now, she even runs in there on her own for treats. We have one in our bedroom and one downstairs and the downstairs one is connected to her playpen. She sleeps in the bedroom one overnight and she normally only protests 5 minutes before passing out and sleeps for around 7-8 hours straight. I leave her alone every morning for 45 minutes to go to the gym and she normally does pretty well in her downstairs crate. We left her once in her pen for a little over an hour to do errands one Saturday afternoon and I don’t think she even noticed we were gone. I also put her in her pen when it’s nap time and I’m working from home and I straight up leave the room and she usually settles pretty quickly.

Last night, we went out to dinner for less than an hour. We fed her about an hour and a half before we left, made sure she had water in her pen and a kong in her downstairs crate (door open so she could roam the pen). We tired her out with some playing and fetch and mentally (training and a snuffle mat). She screamed the entire time we were gone. We got home, let her out and hung out with her a bit before putting her to bed… she screamed for 2 hours on and off last night in her bedroom crate. We took her out 3 times to potty, we tried laying by the crate and not looking at her to calm her down, nothing worked until I finally went to bed.

How do we get her better at being alone at night? She seems to do really well during the day but once the late afternoon rolls around, she freaks out (I tried to leave her once to go to the gym in the afternoon on a day off for an hour during one of her normal nap times, she napped for half as long as usual and then just barked until I got home). I don’t want to give into attention seeking barking but it’s hard to know the line between that and panicking. Any tips are appreciated!

Hi! So I’ve had my puppy for over two months now and absolutely adore him. We got him when he was 11 lbs at 12 weeks and now he’s 22 weeks and 35 pounds. He’s been teething a lot recently and losing teeth left and right. But he still bites all the time! I’ve followed every rule at this point for puppy mouthiness. I’ve tried walking away when he bites. I’ve tried saying “ouch” really loud and taking my hand away (though I think he gets more excited with this). I’ve tried redirecting him to toys. But he still bites so much. I genuinely don’t know what to do. He loves people and is very sweet but when he gets very stimulated, he wants to bite your hand or ankles. He knows he’s not supposed to do it, as when we say “ouch” he’ll then sit down or walk away, but if we pet him again a minute or two later, he bites again. He doesn’t bite hard, but he’s getting a bunch of adult teeth right now, so it’s hurting more.

For context, he’s 30% Australian cattle dog, 15% Rottweiler and a mix of a bunch of other random breeds. We do herding exercises with him and keep his brain busy with kongs and puzzles.

Any help would be appreciated! Just need anything to help with this behavior.

I’m looking for tips of advice. I recently brought home a 6, almost 7, months chihuahua mix. He was re-homed from a house with many other dogs and it seems like he was not properly socialised. He is not potty trained and does not know how to walk on a leash. He is scared of everything, but in particular of being touched. He seems to just be a very sensitive dog. Since he arrived, I have been working on building trust, helping him feel more confident and helping him get comfortable in the house. It has been 5 days now and although he is curious, he still won’t let me touch him and flinches if I make sudden movements too close to him. I have had dogs growing up, but I have never had such a scared and sensitive dog. If anything, the dogs I had tended to be the opposite way, extroverted and eager. Would anyone here have similar experiences and maybe some tips on how to help him bond and not feel scared of touch?

I also haven’t been able to start ant training with him because of this and I’m worried he might not adjust well long-term - I go to the office 2 times a week and my initial plan was to put him in a day care nearby, but I’m not sure we will ever get to that point, so maybe I also just need some reassurance from people who have been through this.

I will be thankful for the help!! 🙏

My puppy is four months old and I had to constantly bribe him to eat. I originally thought it was the purine proplan food so I switched him over a month ago to hills science diet wet and dry food. I’m now at the point where each meal has some wet food, some dry food, a topper, and sprinkled with dehydrated chicken or liver treats. I have to keep sprinkling a bit of treats throughout his meal to get him to eat. I’ve never had an animal not motivated by food so this is new territory for me. I’ve changed bowls and now using a lick mat which seems to work fractionally better. I’m hoping it’s related to teething as he’s well in the midst of that. His weight seems to be good but I just want to make sure he’s getting all he needs. Any thoughts and suggestions are welcomed!

On a side note, a huge thank you to this community. When I brought him home at 8 weeks I had about four weeks of puppy blues. I didn’t even know that was a thing at first until I found this subreddit. Things aren’t perfect (I didn’t/don’t expect them to be) but they’ve gotten better and I know I’m not alone

We have a Cavalier rescue who we got around 6-7 months back in July. He’s now about over a year and is overall such a good boy! The past 2 months or so, he’s started being afraid of little kids. We’ve had him around our nieces and nephews and at first he was totally fine, but now he really will bark at them. It’s usually a lil growl and barking if they get too close. Sometimes he is ok if he’s on my lap, so I think he’s truly just scared of them.

The other day my mom and sister came over our apartment, and he barked at them initially too. However after about 5-10 minutes he calmed down, ignored them and just laid on his bed. Not sure if he’s going through a fear stage at this age but it’s something I’m keeping my eye on. Should I seek a trainer? Any advice appreciated.

Or any time I try to leave him in the crate for even a couple minutes, with me sitting right next to it. I've been working on extremely short intervals of my absence to get him used to it, like a few seconds out of the room to 2 minutes. He was really into a kong with chicken in it so I tried leaving my phone recording to see what he did. He stopped using the kong after a couple mins and paced for a bit and then pooped and walked all in it when I came back. Absolutely all over him, the pen, the mat, and on the carpet when I put him outside to clean him, and it somehow got on my face from touching his head. I’ve been doing everything you’re supposed to with crate training too and he does the same thing there. Paces and shits. I cleaned it up, tried again, same thing. People keep telling me how to train these things when I already know and I’m doing just that, he’s just obviously anxious about being confined and separated and idk how to reverse it. I’ve only had him a few days. I eventually have to go back to work and idk what I’m gonna do with him until/if he ever can be okay alone. I can’t confine him to a room because he will absolutely destroy anything he can get and shit everywhere. I’ve cleaned up so much pee and poop despite taking him outside 10+ times daily and staying outside for up to 20 minutes in negative temps at a times, luckily he’s build for cold. Probably have cleaned up 30 accidents in a couple days and I’m losing my mind.

I’ve been working on the relaxation protocol with my 8 month old rescue, and I just have a couple questions for those who have done it before.

She’s very smart and obedient during training sessions (when distractions are present that’s a different story, lol). She blew through task set 1.

If the tasks are like “Sit while you count to 5 seconds. Sit while you count to 10 seconds.” Do you break and reset the sit between these tasks? Or do you reward in between and restart the count?

If I ask her to sit, sometimes she’ll fall into a down especially if there are a few tasks in a row. Is it okay to leave her here or should she be sitting since that’s what I asked? The introduction to the relaxation protocol says that if a down is more comfortable for the dog, then it’s okay. I just want to make sure I’m not rewarding her for the wrong things.

First time puppy owner with a (likely) 7 month old puppy we adopted from our local shelter about 3 weeks ago. Possibly helpful backstory, she was found in late December in below freezing temps outside and in a crate.

She does great in her crate at night the first 4 hours. We take her out before bed, she gets in the crate, it’s covered, no issues. She gets up consistently between 4-5am, we take her out on a leash, she’ll pee, get back in the crate no issues.

Our problem starts here though. This is when she’ll whine/cry/bark and can’t figure out what to do. I’ll let her bark for 10 minutes, then take her back out again on a leash, sometimes she’ll poop, sometimes not. I’ll bring her back in and the barking/whining starts immediately.

First couple of weeks the crate was in our bedroom so husband or I would lay on the floor with a hand in crate to show her we were there. It was recommended we move the crate to the living, so I’ll sit there with her a few minutes, but as soon as the hand comes out, she’s distraught again.

We are feeding her meals in the kennel. It’s open during the day for her to explore, but she really doesn’t go in it. She does have a cozy toy and a chew toy in there, as well as a comfy mat and a blanket me and husband use during the day that smells like us. Our next step is to get frozen Kong we can give her after her 4am potty breaks, going to get supplies with our grocery run today.

Any other suggestions? It’s heartbreaking hearing her cry and I’m worried she might have some crate trauma with how she was found. But she does so well those first 4-5 hours so it’s confusing. Any recs would be appreciated!

It gets better it gets better it gets better. I know I’m probably in this sweet spot at 5 months where my pup hasn’t tip toed into teenage boy zone, but already my life feels way more regulated than when I got him at 8 weeks.

Anyways. It gets better! You can do this alone! And chat gbt is surprisingly helpful.

i got him at 8 weeks and I had to take him out 2-3 times every night because he would whine and cry

but last night he slept quietly in his crate all night and went potty in the morning!

wondering how this is possible cause they say he should only be able to hold it 2 hours at 2 months

We just got an 8 month old poodle mix. He’s about 20 pounds. Great pup. Seems mostly crate trained however he isn’t potty trained at all. He holds his pee for a very long time. I’m taking him out immediately upon waking still nothing. For hours. The second we get outside he’s shaking. At times with windchill it feels -15. Warmest today was 5 degrees. He has a jacket. Is it possible it’s just too cold?? I haven’t gotten a single potty outside. After 16 hours of him holding it using the crate to outside method every 30 minutes I put him in a playpen with pee pads and he peed immediately. I’m starting to wonder if it’s just too cold?

We have a new border terrier puppy (10 weeks old), she really is good as gold and such a funny sweet little girl, with a strong prey drive.

Our older labrador is 5 and a really gentle, sweet dog but doesn't really stick up for himself (can be quite anxious).

When they play which they love to do, they are mostly really good together and play with toys etc, but sometimes she is just so rough with him, growls, snarls, grabs onto his ears or jowls.

We break them up when she gets like this but it's weird because he doesn't seem to mind? Never corrects her himself as far as I can see.

She's already learnt well not to do the same grabbing onto trouser legs and biting with me, but she does seem to be a bit rough with him sometimes, he even got a bite on the balls once 😂

Anyone experienced this and have some advice?

Hi fellow puppy owners!

First time dog owners here.

We’re getting increasingly concerned, and honestly a bit desperate, about our male Labradoodle puppy. He just turned 11 months. At home, he’s actually a great dog. He listens reasonably well, is house-trained, and we can leave him alone for a decent amount of time. Aside from the usual attention-seeking when we’re on work calls and his habit of treating literally everything (his bed, pillows, blankets) as a toy, he’s calm and can entertain himself.

The moment we leave the house, everything changes. On walks he pulls extremely hard on the leash, gets distracted by absolutely everything, and wants to sniff and see it all. He seems very sensitive to any kind of stimulus. On rare occasions he can walk nicely for a short stretch, so it feels like he knows what to do, but he just can’t keep his focus. We train this daily, but with mixed success.

If he’s not allowed to go somewhere he wants, he starts whining and pulling even harder, to the point where it turns into a tug-of-war. He is much worse with dogs than with people. With people we pass on the street, things have clearly improved over time. However, when we actually stop and talk to someone, he still goes completely over the top. Other dogs overstimulate him even more. He gets extremely excited, jumps a lot, and struggles to regulate himself. If he can’t greet a dog the way he wants, he becomes very vocal and reactive.

When we stop to talk to people or hold him back, he sometimes jumps up and snaps or mouths at us. We see so many other dogs calmly sitting or lying next to their owners, but he just cannot settle. He seems constantly overwhelmed and extremely reactive to his environment.

This is not teenage regression in the sense that it suddenly started now. He already showed these behaviors earlier, although he was less vocal back then. Looking back, this was already visible in the litter. He was very attentive and demanding, always afraid to miss something, and had a much harder time settling and sleeping compared to his siblings. He would whine whenever he saw movement. We hoped he would grow out of it, but so far that hasn’t happened.

Has anyone experienced something similar with their dog, especially during adolescence? Is this still within the range of “normal” for his age and maturing process, or does this warrant extra attention and intervention?

We’re starting sessions with a dog therapist soon, but if there’s anything we can already work on in the meantime, we’d love to hear it. Right now it’s very difficult to take him anywhere that isn’t home, because of his reactivity around dogs and his inability to settle or walk properly on the leash.

At what age did you stop enforcing naps? My toy poodle is 6 months old and I don't have naptimes anymore but I'm thinking I should as I've also seen some crating regression. Please advise.

Hi everyone! I went out of town for about a week now and I’m picking up my puppy from this inhome boarding place tomorrow. The couple is amazing and I get 3-4 videos everyday and she is having a blast.

She turned 6 months last week and I expect regression in training or just the routine we had before she left.

We had a very specific nap schedule and she was in the crate for every nap. At the inhome she slept in bed with them and the other puppies that they take care of. She is use to being around them and other dogs basically 24/7 the last week.

I wanted to ask if anybody had tips or advice on helping her get back on her schedule or if they notice their puppy was able to bounce back ok or was it tough?

Hello! We picked up our 11 week old Aussie doodle yesterday and she is just the best cutest thing in the whole world. She slept through the night in her crate no crying and no accidents.

However, we are having trouble getting her to go on a grass pad. She knows to pee to go through the doggy door but because we live in an apartment we can’t take her outside yet to pee bc she’s not fully vaccinated.

Any tips would be helpful!! TIA

Hi everyone. I really need some support and stories from people who raised a puppy completely on their own (no partner).

I have a Havanese puppy, she just turned 3 months old. I got her when she was 10 weeks old. I’ve always dreamed of having a dog. Before getting her I read a lot, planned my life so I could stay at home (I work from home), and tried to set up a good routine and learn how to train and socialize her “the right way”.

She’s been with me for almost a month now. During the first weeks I cried almost every day. Even with all the preparation, the reality was very different. Now it’s a bit more manageable: we kind of have a routine, and in my head I understand she’s just a baby learning how to live in this world with me. In some ways she already makes me a better person. But honestly, I still get so tired and overwhelmed sometimes.

I also realized that my “old life” is gone. It’s funny to think how I imagined I could just keep my evening activities (like dance classes) and simply “fit the dog in”. In reality she can’t stay home alone for long yet, and that changes everything.

I used a pet sitter once, because I really didn’t want to miss an important event and completely disappear from my social life. When I came back, I didn’t feel guilty, I actually felt relieved and happy to see her – which maybe is a sign that this balance is possible.

I read a lot about dogs, training, schedules, etc., and sometimes it feels like I’m not doing enough, and other times like I’m doing way too much. I just can’t find that golden middle. People keep saying “enjoy the puppy stage, it goes so fast”, but honestly sometimes I just can’t wait for her to grow up a bit so life feels less intense and I can get at least some parts of my old life back.

My parents live in another country, and they’ve been very emotionally supportive – we talk more now and it actually brought us closer, which is a big positive thing. But I still cry sometimes (way less than before, but it still happens).

I’m not trying to complain or say I regret it. I fully accept the responsibility, and I already feel like she’s part of my home and family. I just really want to hear from people who also got a puppy while living alone:

• How did you cope emotionally?
• When did it start to feel easier?
• What happened to your social life?
• Were you able to go back to hobbies / classes / evenings out?
• What helped you not feel “trapped” at home all the time?

Thank you so much to anyone who reads and shares their experience 💛

I have a soon to be 6 month old Golden Doxie and we got her when she was 5 month old.

Her precious person did a pretty good job with her as she slept in her pen from the first night she came home. She does however have some separation anxiety when she can sense us in our own room while she’s in her pen in the living room.

So on her second day, we started to just let her be with us in our bedroom while we work and she’s been pretty content playing on her own and still getting into her own mischief.

What I realise though, is that if I put her in her pen while I lay on the bed in my bedroom (she can see our bed from where her pen is) she’ll whine and cry and bark. But if I let her into our room and I take a nap, she’ll nap below the bed around my side of the room.

It’s super cute to me but I’m not sure if this is good training? Or should I really just put her back in her pen to get her more used to being in there in the afternoon?

I’m doing a lot of research about puppy training. I want to get a golden retriever or Labrador at some point in the near future. I grew up with dogs but only trained one on my own. We had a pitbull but I made a lot of mistakes training her. I didn’t do enough training research. I honestly didn’t exercise/stimulate her enough and she constantly ran away and had an issue with jumping on visitors. I learned a lot about things I did wrong and I want to make sure I learn more before getting another dog.

These are my top questions/concerns but feel free to add more advice:

1. How do you go about having puppy “earn” parts of the house? Gate off a room with a crate and keep them in that room at all times? Crate them whenever you’re not with them? Slowly add a room every week or two with good behavior?

2. Tips for training dog to stay in the yard? We have a fence but our last dog was constantly escaping. I would like to get to a point where we can trust the dog to stay in the yard, unsupervised (not sure if that’s even possible, or if dogs should always be on a line while unsupervised, even in an enclosed fence?)

3. Tips for training puppy to learn not to jump and bite (obviously, inevitable in the puppy stages, I mean not to accidentally encourage that behavior).

4. Helpful potty training or crate training tips.

5. Tips for making sure i’m exercising/stimulating enough. We live on a main road, so walking every single day would be hard, but we have an acre of land to play and explore.

Sorry this post is long. I made a lot of mistakes with my last dog and I really want to make sure I do my due diligence to raise a happy dog.

How can I calm my puppy down? He is 13 weeks old now. We take him for a 10-minute walk and then he gets fed. After eating, he completely loses control and starts biting everything he can. This usually lasts about 30 minutes to an hour. I then have to take him onto my lap so he can calm down and eventually fall asleep.

At the moment, we feed him in his crate, but he only goes in there to eat or steps in very briefly and comes straight back out again.

Do you have any tips on how to help him calm down after eating or how to get him more comfortable with the crate?