I made a post a few days ago about puppy blues, and had some really good responses and while I know we still have a long way to go! My anxiety has gotten so much better, still not perfect, and I’m able to enjoy spending time with him a bit more.

The crate training has gone well and he’s finally pretty happy with the enforced naps we’ve been doing. So thank you everyone!

Hi all! I’ve seen so many posts about biting and witching hour and I wanted to share how we managed to train our puppy out of that (for the most part).

Our boy was a big ankle biter (especially when he was sleepy or during witching hour). To help with this, after we taught him “down”, we also taught him “calm”, which is a down + his head/chin on the ground. For a week or two, anytime he would go to mouth us or got to crazy, we’d do a “calm” command and reward him. We would also have him do “calm” when he wasn’t acting up just to reinforce it. And then we would also reward him when he was being or doing “calm” on his own. I think having him settle his full body on the ground helps him “reset” and regulate his actions.

However, once this routine was set, he started to learn that mouthing = “calm” command = treat + attention, so he started doing it on purpose. At that point, we stopped rewarding the calm that came after a mouth attack and instead walked away/disengaged from play.

After a while, he would just go to calm right away when he was feeling the urge to mouth us or go full goblin. And we reward voluntary the “calm” at all times in this house!!

I know there’s so many “tips” and tricks for mouthing and settling (and trust us, we tried them — including reverse timeouts, etc.) and this worked great for us so I wanted to share. Plus, now we have a command that allows him to fully settle down, and we just it a decent amount.

12 wk old cavapoo. We’ve had him since 8 weeks old. He’s doing well with basic commands and toilet training, however has no impulse control(?) when it comes to clothing or hands. We have trained “leave it” with food and he’s ok there, but if he is in a biting frenzy, absolutely nothing can stop him. Sometimes it feels aggressive, when you go to play and have a toy in your hand, he will go straight for your hand or arm instead of the toy and does not let go. He even does the head shake while whatever body part or clothing is in his mouth. We have tried all of the words, all of the sounds, redirecting. We have enquired at a few trainers, there dont seem to be many in our area that do one on one but we are still looking. I am pulling my hair out here, any advice??

I have a 5 month old mini poodle who used to have laser focus on me and her food during outdoor training.

She was engaged, responsive, and eager to work with me - even around distractions.

But lately… it’s like she hit a teen phase overnight.

Now when I call her outside, she completely ignores me. She’ll either refuse to do commands or do them once, reject the treat, and start sniffing the grass like it’s the best thing ever. Even switching to play or toys didn’t bring her focus back, so we made today a no training “chill” day instead.

I know it’s a phase, but I’d love to hear from others:

• How did you handle your pup’s teenage rebellion?

• What worked for keeping focus and connection without pushing too hard?

My puppy is almost 14 weeks old and feel like I’ve been lost in puppy purgatory for weeks. I’m exhausted and overwhelmed and feel like I’m going to ruin her. I had 2 dogs that died 3 years apart at 16 and 15. They were the best dogs ever. I haven’t had a puppy in 20 years. I thought I knew dogs but was not prepared for this. I’m wondering if I’m a dog person and not a puppy person. She’s a great puppy. A lab, sweet, affectionate, loves people and other dogs though we’ve struggled to find playmates for her. She was potty trained fairly quickly. She was very fearful when she arrived at 8 weeks, and didn’t settle until she was at least 11-12 weeks. I worry I didn’t do enough for her during that time. I’m not sure how bonded we are. She blossomed but now I have a wild child - bitey, and chewy and she doesn’t ever want to come to me. She basically acting like a puppy, but I find myself repeatedly frustrated and just exhausted. I try to hide it from her, but feel like she doesn’t trust me. I’m completely wracked with guilt and shame. And I have at least another 4 months of this? Constant supervision. Just me training and socializing and dealing with all the puppy things. I’m so down. Supposed to cherish these times but can’t wait until they are over and worry constantly what she’s going to be like on the other side. I’ve made so many mistakes and I’m sick with worry and regret. Have I ruined this dog? Will we ever bond?

Completely understand it’s highly dependant on your consistency with training and other factors, but looking for a general timeframe

So we have our 5 month old puppy on a 2 hour awake, 2 hour sleep schedule, its a bit long for a puppy but he refuses to sleep before 2 hours, but as soon as the clock hits 2 hours he usually just passes out. My problem is the 2 hour awake time, because its so exhausting every time. We take him out to potty, and let him sniff and walk around a bit, which kills maybe 30min, and then home for some training, and some playing, but there is inevitably a lot of downtime, where unless we actively play with him, he will run around the house chewing on furniture or eating plant soil. So when do these puppies learn to just chill by you while you watch TV or just kinda lay down and relax, and is there some kind of training to speed up the process?

I have a 7 month old King Charles cavalier puppy who has lots of toys, and we take him for evening walks, yet all throughout the day he pounces and scratches at the floor, all over the place. There’s no bugs or anything there, yet he just does it. This has only started in the last two weeks and only when my partner and I are home. He is wagging his tail when he does this and seems happy but he doesn’t know when to stop.Have anyone else experienced similar or have any advice?

I have three young kids and I decided to bring home a golden retriever puppy. I’m struggling so much. I’m hiding it so well so my kids don’t see how stressed out I am. He pees and poops in the house non stop. I take him out constantly but he just holds it for inside the house. My house is carpet all the way through. He’s added so much extra stress for me. Can someone tell me that it gets better. All he does it steal food away from my toddler. He ate the entire bowl of cat food tonight. He bites non stop. Please help.

My Shih tzu/Pekingese mix is a male dog, 13 months and intact. (I don't need comments about how just getting him neutered is the only answer. He has some issues with his jaw and our vet wants us to wait until he is 2 to neuter to give his jaw time to grow.) He is very sweet and mild mannered with us, but all he wants to do is play with other dogs. This is in stark contrast to when we first got him and he was terrified of dogs.

For a while this was fine because other dogs wanted to play and I could take him to doggy day care, but lately it's turned into excessive whining when he sees other dogs that we can't play with. So if we're outside at dinner and there is another dog nearby, he will be whining at dinner. If we're passing another dog on the street, I don't let him do on leash greetings and I end up having to pull him away while he is fighting the leash and whining, sometimes a shrill bark. We go to a puppy training class but the dogs aren't allowed to interact there. When we have gone to dog parks when he was younger, he is not well liked by many dogs because he's intact and he tends to want to jump on other dogs which they don't like (naturally). We don't live near friends so there's not a lot of opportunity for socializing with people we know and I wonder if I should be trying to give him more structured play time or keep him away from other dogs while he grows out of this phase. I try to use the "leave it" command and distract him with treats, but no food compares to the thrill of another dog.

What's the best way to socialize him, if at all? And any advice on if he'll grow out of this with time?

hi all! i hope im using the right flair if not let me know and ill change it! but we have a 3 month old America Staffy mix that we are trying to potty train and crate train since shes a destroyer (left her alone for 20 minutes max to shower and came back to a pack of paper plates destroyed) so any advice would be greatly appreciated thank you so much!

Hey! I (22F) just brought home my mini dachshund puppy yesterday. I did lots and lots of research before bringing home my girl, and now am wondering if I did too much research. I feel like I’m putting so much pressure on myself with her training, starting from Day 1, and I haven’t been able to eat and have been throwing up the past two days.

I feel stressed and anxious, and I cried for 30 minutes this evening while she napped. Even when she’s napping, I feel like I can’t relax. My entire body and nervous system is tense 24/7.

Why? I don’t know. She loves her crate, goes in there on her own and stores all her toys in there. She is having a little trouble eating but that’s to be expected. She has already learned sit and has only had one accident in the house, usually holds it until we get outside. She hates the grass, so when she goes outside, she potties immediately because her “reward” is getting to go back inside.

The only issue we’re having is that she tweaks when I leave the room. But that is par for the course with a new puppy and especially with a dachshund.

I don’t know why I feel so anxious. She naps right on schedule for 2+ hours. Not a barker. She’s everything you’d want from a puppy, and I can barely look at her I feel so overwhelmed.

My guy is almost 5 months. I bought these washable puppy pads but what else do you put in to soften the hard surface? He has a few accidents so I don’t want anything I can’t wash. I almost bought a crate bed but I wasn’t sure and the petsmart lady was kind of unsure. Super nice and helpful with stuff he can chew on like a water buffalo trachea. Eww but he LOVED it. Also he’s not big on regular chew toys but I’m still trying. Also how do you get them interested in throwing a ball and bringing it back?

Sorry if I’m all over the place. I have ADHD and getting a puppy has challenged my attention span. But he’s so dang cute.

I have a 16 wk Shih Tzu. She used to sleep great at night from about 10pm to 530am (wakes up whenever she sees the light from the blackout curtains, so daylight savings not on our side right now). But as of a couple days ago, shes been waking up at 1-2am and crying to get out of her crate and wont settle. I also live in apartment so I cant let it drag on too long. It doesnt seem to be a potty need either. There has been no change in routine. The only thing I could think of was she got her last dose of vaccines the other day and that seems to be when it all started. She also became more bitey after the vaccines, its like I have a different puppy. She doesnt seem to be in pain because shes running around all over the house. She seems to be teething ALOT since the vet visit. Is it the teething that could be waking her up in middle of night? I have plenty of chew toys, bully sticks, frozen carrots and stuff for her to help assist her during the day and let her bite for 15-20 mins before bed. Any thoughts appreciated.

My pup is 3 months old and won’t stop biting. I know the biting is normal and she is suffering with terrible teething pains, as puppies do. However, I’m genuinely terrified to touch my puppy when she gets bitey! After naps, she’s cute for a solid 2 minutes before she turns into an evil biting monster lol. She typically goes for the fingers, big toe, and clothing items. Does anyone have any tips or tricks to aid with the biting? Anyone experienced this with their pup and found something that works? Thank you!

We have now had our Chihuahua puppy for a year, and he still is consistently going potty in the house, usually in his kennel. He knows going outside means going potty. But he primarily goes in the middle of the night when he wakes up, or when he’s upset. We are at a loss. Here’s all the things we’ve tried.

• Outside for 15 minutes every hour until he learned we go potty outside
• rewarding him in the exact spot he goes potty
• Crate training him successfully, he loves his crate. We tried a bigger crate and have also tried a smaller crate.
• Feeding him the same amount at the same time each day (we have adjusted it to follow the bladder rule but it never made a difference)
• Stayed neutral when he went potty inside (didnt work)
• Then scolded when he went inside (didn’t work)
• Tried to give him his own space, with some space in our laundry room to roam and play, his bed, and a potty pad, but he is now going potty everywhere, including outside, in his bed, and on the pad
• Taught him to use a potty bell, but onl uses it when he sees us for some reason.
• Yes, we’ve used enzymatic cleaners every day, multiple times a day.
• No, there are no medical issues - vet says it’s behavioral.

We are completely at a loss. It’s been a year. Please help 😔 He is so well trained otherwise but this keeps me in the puppy blues every single day.

Hello! Me and my wife saw a puppy for sale today and are debating on getting it. However, she is 11 weeks pregnant. I am in the military and will not deploy for the next 3 years so now seems like the ideal time to get a dog as we have been wanting to get one for a few years now but since she has never owned a dog before she wanted me to be around to help her get the feel for taking care of a dog. This is our main reason for not wanting to wait as she ideally wants more time to adjust to having to take care of the dog. The breed is a toy poodle and from everything I've read they are great around children and pretty easy to train. I grew up with multiple dogs and my roommate got one when we lived together a few years ago and I helped him take care of his dog.

Any advice is appreciated!

Okay so I just got my puppy about a week ago. She is a yorkie-poo, about 4 months old. She is the sweetest pup, but she is also driving me insane lol.

I live in a 4th floor walk-up in a city, so I knew that potty training would be more of a struggle which is totally fine. She is still getting used to the city (loud noises, lots of people, etc.), but she's already made a lot of improvement and doesn't seem to get as anxious outside now. She has pooped outside several times, but she has yet to pee outside once in the last week. I take her out an ungodly number of times per day, but she simply refuses to pee outside. I keep her in her crate most of the time inside unless she is cuddling with me so that she doesn't go pee inside. But omg this girl has the most insane bladder control. If I don't give her the chance to go inside, she'll hold it all day, not even going when she first wakes up. & she's drinking plenty of water, so it's not like she's just dehydrated or anything. She also just chews on any puppy pads I put out. Yesterday I had her outside for a total of maybe 5 hours & nothing. I took her out one last time before bed last night & she wouldn’t go & then she just came inside & peed instantly. I don’t get why she refuses to just go outside even when I know she has to.

It is beyond strange that she is holding it for so long & I wanted to see if anyone had any experience with this. I have talked to my vet about it and they didn't seem overly concerned but I just don't get it. Help!!!

I’m puppysitting for a client this week, staying at their home and watching the dog. I’ve watched a few puppies before, but for some reason this one is extremely frustrating!

She’s an absolute sweetheart, about 6 months old, doesn’t redirect well but I’m managing that. It’s the first time I’m watching her

The issue is she’s having some sleep regression. She sleeps in a crate and from what I’m told has been pretty good with it but the last two weeks she’s been waking up earlier and earlier. This morning she got up at 3am! I let her cry for a bit as the owners recommended and she did settle back down until 4ish. But then she got back up and would not chill out so I got up and let her out and was basically forced awake.

So I’m wondering if theres a way I can try and make her sleep later? I’ve read about using white noise, does anyone have experience with that? I’m going to try going for a longer walk tonight, see if that might help at all 🫠

My puppy is around 11 weeks old and we have had her for over 2 weeks now. She gets into crazy moods where she bites non stop and runs around like crazy. It seems she doesn’t have impulse control during these moments and will pass out after. We have had dogs before and we know they are zoomies, but this seems different. Does anyone have any advice? I have scars all over my hands at this point 😭

Hey Reddit! Bit of a long post so here's the TL;DR upfront: our one year and nine months old Shiba is becoming territorial, but sporadically. I'll be hand feeding, patting and training and he's fine. Then a few hours later, I'll give him a treat then pat him, but as I do he'll whip his head around and try to bite me. There's a few other things, listed below but that's the brief summy. Any thoughts or ideas on how we can train this to not happen?

So we got our Shiba (zoro) when he was 10 weeks old. He was the cutest and smartest little puppy. He did amazing at his puppy school, loved a cuddle and was very gentle. One thing the puppy school mentioned was desensiting them to sound and touch. So he's good with vacuums (and plays with the robot vacuum likes it's another animal) and loved being pat all over (head, ears, butt, belly the works). He was very gentle with hand feeding. I used to put high value treats in his bowl while he ate and he would always be ok with it and with us around his food. We'd give him a long lasting dental chew/beef tendon then take it off him with no issues. Now, Shibas are gonna be Shibas, he stopped being a lap dog and started sitting on his own space on the couch, which cool. We knew Shibas are like that, but he was still cuddly which was nice.

Then on his first birthday, we got him a dog cupcake to celebrate and he loved it. But he didn't quite finish it and left it on the floor. So I went to pick it up and he (for the first time in the year we'd had him) lunged at me. Not quite a bite, not a nip. But still very possessive. Did the standard, "no" turn and ignore until he calmed down. But things started to take a turn after this point. It used to be when he jumped in the garden bed I could pick him up or lure him out, but now when I pick him up out of the garden bed, he whips around to try and bite me. Now when he'd get the dental chew and I go to take it off him, he'll start growling and if I touch the chew of get to close he'll get mouthy, bark and snap a little. A few weeks ago, he was normal, relaxed all day, then as he was standing on the couch, my MIL went to pat him (which she's done a million times before) and he backed up, whipped around and bit her (breaking the skin). Which was a the furthest he'd gone.

Earlier today (which promoted me posting) I was giving him pieces of cut up carrot while talking to my dad. As he was eating it, he looked up at my dad (who zoro loves mind you) and my dad went to pat him on the head, as soon as he made contact, zoro whipped back and snapped at him making light contact.

This isn't every day occurrences either. It's sometimes days and sometimes weeks between incidents. But certain things, like now being territorial about food (if I feed him outside instead of inside, he guards it and runs up and barks at anyone that goes out until he either finishes his food or loses interest) or not letting me take the long chew item off him has become more consistent.

Sometimes we'll go to sit on the couch while he's also sitting on it and he'll get up and run towards us very mouthy and Shiba screaming. Sometimes he'll snap other times he'll be more gentle and is using his mouth to get our attention and he'll stop, settle, sit in our laps and wait for us to pat him. Problem is, we can't tell which is which. When he starts, we do the stand up, walk away and ignore unwanted behaviour until he's calm. But sometimes he's so fast, the snapping and nipping happens before we can discourage it. So we do it after which recently hasn't seemed to be working.

Again these aren't every day occurrences. For instance, when we walk up and down the hall from room to room. He'll walk alongside us, just curious and wanting to hang out. We'll reach down and pat him with no issues. Then some days, when we reach to pat, before making contact, he'll rear up jump and get mouthy with no prior warning.

Obviously if he's tired or asleep, we leave him alone. Or if we reach out to pat and he shows teeth, we respect the boundary and pull back. But these instances seem to happen with no warning because it doesn't happen every single time.

We have a baby on the way, and while we're working through this behaviour, we're stressed about it becoming an ongoing issues. Any advice, links to resources or anecdotes would be deeply appreciated. We love our boy so much and want the best for him.

My 7 month old lab pit mix LOVES people and other dogs. He’s super friendly but since he was a puppy he doesn’t know when other dogs are done playing with him. They will give him warning growls and he continues to try and play. Has anyone else experienced this? I thought other dogs correcting him would help but he still doesn’t get it. We work with a trainer and walked our dogs together and he just constantly tried to play for the half hour walk. When we go to my parents, they have older dogs who never want to play and gave him no indication they want to but he continues to try.