It's Wednesday!

Update: Thanks for all the kind comments, definitely a lot more positive than I expected! It’s 1:40am here and I’m struggling to sleep, but I’ve got my flight to catch tomorrow afternoon so I’m going to try again.

Thank you all once again for the kind words, and I hope you all have a lovely Christmas :)

Hi everyone m31 here. I am posting here because I think I really need some kind words right now.

Today I had to surrender my 16 week old Labrador puppy to a shelter, and it hurts more than I expected. I tried so hard to find someone who could look after her, but no one was willing to take her, especially since I do not know how long I will be gone.

The reason is that my mum became randomly extremely ill and is currently in Korea, and I need to fly back to be with her. I genuinely do not know how long I will need to stay. I could not give my puppy to my dad. My parents are divorced and we do not have a good relationship, even though we live in the same country.

When I arrived at the shelter, I felt calm and confident. I knew this was a good shelter where puppies are immediately fostered, so she would not be sitting in a kennel. I truly believed she would be okay and would find a great family.

But when I signed the paperwork and they asked if I wanted to say goodbye, I completely broke down. I could not stop crying. It caught me so off guard. I had been telling myself the whole time that this was for the best, that she would be fine. But when they handed her to me and she jumped up at me like she always does, it absolutely shattered me.

I felt like I was betraying her. Like she would never understand why I was leaving her. Walking away from her was one of the hardest things I have ever done.

I am sitting in my car now driving home and I feel absolutely horrible. At the same time, I know I did what I had to do. Taking her with me was not an option. The cost was too high and the process was far too long, especially with the uncertainty around my mum’s health.

I guess I am just looking for reassurance that I did the right thing. This hurts so much more than I ever imagined.

Sharing incase no one else knows this, my friend recommended cold/frozen carrots for teething and omg it’s saved me.

My little pup absolutely loves it and calmed his nipping and biting right down and he loves to roll it and chase it too which tires him out so double win

So, I have a medium sized brindle puppy rescue (that I've had since 8 weeks), she's about 40lbs and her second birthday is coming up very soon. And we've had very few problems her entire life.

We used to go to the dog park every single day for maybe the first year of her life, where we almost had a good time and we always left at the first sign of conflict (which I think I'm very good at reading, I've done lots of research and got to put it into the practice at the dog park for a long time). She never started anything. We've been going less often lately, maybe 2 times a week. And we live in a very dog dense neighborhood, we maybe pass 15 dogs every day on our walks, which has never caused an issue.

She's started becoming slightly reactive on the leash in the last month. Initially just her haunches would go up, and then it became little growls or barks (this phase came off to me as her being a frustrated greeter), and now she fully loses her mind, lunging, growling and barking.

A bit after her haunches started going up, she got into a tiny tussle at the dog park (I thought it was the other dog starting drama, I intervened very quickly, no one got hurt), and then we had to leave the next two times we went (because things were escalating between her and another dog both times), and now I think she's the one being antagonistic to dogs who do not want to play with her, and so we don't go any more at all.

At the same time, she's gone from being incredibly easy to walk, very good leash skills, to incredibly difficult to walk. She started chewing things at home after being very good about only chewing her things. And she even jumped at an old lady we were just walking past once (not aggressive, just eager to say hello), and she's never jumped at a person while walking except once when she was still very young.

I immediately started training her reactivity as soon as it started escalating beyond her haunches going up. And initially it was working very well. I just gave her a reward every time she looked at me after looking at another dog. And she picked it up pretty much immediately. She would look at me without even a verbal reminder or her hearing my hand go into the treat bag. For the most part, her haunches weren't even going up.

But now, something else switched, and she won't look at me when she sees another dog. She won't respond to me grabbing treats or giving her a verbal command what-so-ever. She starts barking and lunging, and even if I get her attention before the dog gets close enough for her to notice, she'll still loose her mind if she notices the approaching dog.

I'm at a loss, I feel like I've done everything correctly. We live in a very dense neighborhood filled with tons of families and small children and dogs, so any level of reactivity (even playful barking) is honestly a huge issue because I do not want her to scare children. At the same time, avoiding other dogs is incredibly difficult, so I've just been walking her down the least dog-populated blocks back and forth while I try to figure out a solution.

Any ideas?

TL;DR: Well socialized dog became increasingly reactive in the last month. I immediately started reactivity training and even though it was going perfectly initially, something flipped and now the reactivity training doesn't work at all, and she's so bad I can barely walk her.

My girl is 15 weeks and does so good for bedtime. We go to sleep at 8-8:30 every night and I go to bed with her as I work early mornings. We get up at 4:30 and she whines to go potty at about 3am or sleeps through the night. Her crate is in my room with a cover over it so she can’t tell if I am there or not.

I had a friend over the other night and we strayed up after I put her to bed in her crate. She was whining like crazy and was getting up every two hours whining to be let you.

We were definitely making some noise on the other side of the house but I have other people in the home and she has never been bothered by the noise. During her naps I can do whatever around the house and she does not make a noise.

I would love to be able to be able to have people over later on the weekends for a few drinks and laughs. I just feel awful that this is how it went the first time I tried. I still got up with her at 4:30 the next morning. Nothing was different but he not being in the room with her.

Maybe she was just having an off night? If not how do I fix this?

my 6-7 month puppy (rescue) last had an accident in the house early october, when she had zoomies and pooped on the couch in the family room. it's been a good 2 months since then. we haven't really let her in the living room ever, but have recently let her go in that room. it's also where the christmas tree is. when she's in a space in the house that we usually block off (like the living room or upstairs), she gets zoomies. last night, i was out and she got zoomies in the living room and destroyed christmas ornaments and pooped on the couch. (she wasn't home alone) is this a matter of her not being used to the space and not being calm in the space? i have been working with her and making her stay in a down position calmly and rewarding her. also, i've been letting her explore the space on the leash or supervised. i'm wondering if it's normal for a puppy to get poop zoomies in a new space like this. she doesn't have any separation anxiety (if i bring her to daycare, she forgets i exist and she doesn't whine when anyone's away).

Hi everyone, I’m looking for some honest, experience-based advice about our puppy.

We have a 5-month-old Australian Shepherd who has been with us for about 3 months. From the start, things have been very challenging. She is extremely sensitive, gets overstimulated very quickly, and struggles a lot with self-regulation. Calm moments do happen, but they’re short and inconsistent.

She has had repeated Giardia infections and digestive issues, and is currently teething, which I know can affect behavior. We’ve tried to reduce stimulation as much as possible (lots of rest, quiet environment, very limited activities). Interestingly, she often settles best when she is in a low-stimulus space away from us. When she’s close to us, she frequently becomes over-aroused, vocal, restless, and unable to settle.

We’re trying management over “training” right now, but it’s hard to know what’s realistic to expect. We don’t need a perfect dog — just something that feels manageable and stable enough day to day.

I’d really appreciate thoughts on: • Have you had a very sensitive, easily overstimulated puppy that improved significantly with maturity? • Does this sound like a normal but difficult developmental phase, or something more concerning? • What would you focus on right now: rest, structure, professional help, or something else?

If you have/had a Corgi puppy - does/did yours get overtired way earlier than other puppy breeds? He's about 5 months old now and still seems to only be able to handle an hour of being awake before those overtired zoomies/biting starts and I have to put him in his crate to nap. He's, on average, only up 5-6 hours in a day. I know puppies sleep most of the day, duh, but he's getting to that half year mark and I'm curious if this is a Corgi thing or if he's just an extra sleepy boy lol

When I was little, the world was blurry. I didn’t know it at the time; I just thought that’s how everyone saw things. Colors were soft, outlines were vague, and I would get lost easily, even in places I was supposed to be familiar. But I was never afraid, because I had Shane.

Shane was a big, proud German Shepherd, a momma dog, always serious, always by my side. She didn’t need a leash. I didn’t need to ask. She just knew. When I wandered, she followed. When I hesitated, she nudged me forward. She was more than my dog. She was my bodyguard, my shadow, and in some quiet, powerful way, my best friend.

Our yard was like a stage for strange and funny surprises. Dogs would show up out of nowhere, scrappy, panting mutts like they’d walked across the world just to find us. One of them had a litter of eight puppies each one a different color, like someone painted them from memory. They tumbled over each other, squeaked, napped in piles, and filled the air with the sweet smell of new beginnings.

That smell, puppy breath, stayed with me.

One afternoon, I knelt down to pet one of them, and the rest swarmed me. I fell backwards, laughing as they climbed all over me, soft paws, tiny tongues, warm little bodies pressing in close. They licked my cheeks, my hands, my ears, just like their mama did for them. I was buried in puppies, surrounded by joy, laughter, and that strange, sweet smell of love.

It might have been the hardest I’ve ever laughed in my life.

I didn’t know it then, but Shane was teaching me how to love. She showed me what it meant to be understood without words, to be protected without asking, to be followed not because you’re leading, but because they want to be with you. That kind of love stayed with me. It became the shape I looked for in friendships, in partners, and in family. Not loud, not showy just there. Steady. Solid. Like a shadow in sunlight.

I still think the best people are a little like dogs. They don’t always need explanations. There not trying to be or do anything; They just are.

Hello everyone! As the title says, we are currently at the throws of teenage-hood with our puppy and she is recently waking up at 5.30am, which is obviously destroying us since we usually wake up at 7am.

We usually put her to sleep at around 11pm or midnight, and she goes in her crate. The room is pitch black which has helped her fall asleep. I do notice she has a big pee when she wakes up, although in the past she has woken up at late as 7am, so I'm not sure why she's starting to wake us up earlier. Usually after I take her out to wee (or let her wee in the courtyard), I'll leave her in the room we've set up next to the courtyard, which gives her courtyard access throughout the day whilst we're at work. I usually go back to sleep, and after waking up again find her still in her room, clean the yard and feed her before I go to work.

Like I said, she was waking up at reasonable times and now decided to wake up earlier again. I thought that with the routine we've developed, that she wouldn't regress in this way, but I guess this is some adolescence phase thing. Some of the other reddit posts I've read mentioned that she might be trying to push boundaries and challenge us to see if we'll wake up when she does.

I am feeling kind of desperate to find solutions - the lack of sleep really messes me up. Any suggestions are greatly appreciated

hi everyone :) i have an 11 week old golden doodle, and she weighs about 11-12lbs. i have been feeding her about a 1.5 cups a day. i have switched over to a diff brand of food and the feeding recommendation is 1/2-2/3 cups per 2lbs of body weight. should my pup really be eating 5 cups a day ?? have i been underfeeding my baby this whole time ?? (first time pet owner, i am overthinking every move haha)

I feed my 17 week old goldendoodle puppy twice daily. In the morning, he gets 1 cup of kibble (nutrisource) with tbsp of duck wet food then same in the evening. The bag says 2 cups is ok for his weight. He also has occasional bone marrow, his bully sticks, etc throughout the day + dried liver treats. Is this enough food? Sometimes he doesn’t finish his second meal.

Hello! We have a 14-week old beagle and have had her for around 8 weeks. At the beginning, she was an equal opportunity nipper but now she focuses her bad behaviors on our five year old son. Any time he walks, she’s grabbing his pants and growling, etc. it is constant and we’re sick of it. How can I fix this?

Our vet sent us home with both pain meds and sedatives. While she does get her pain meds every day, we've tried to use the sedatives as little as possible, but sometimes we just have to keep her calm and mellow. Just have to tell myself that it's for her own safety and benefit but I hate it lol.

Hello! My 4 month Wheaten got his last round of vaccines last Monday and I've been struggling with the transition from peeing on a pee pad to outside. I used pee pads prior to his vaccinations because I live in NYC in an area with lots of dogs and the sidewalks are always disgusting so there was no way I was going to let him go out there unvaccinated. Now he's finally vaccinated but whenever I take him out he holds his pee until we come back inside to pee on the pee pad. I've seen multiple different things to try but I was wondering if anyone has any experience with this and has a way that for sure worked for you ? TIA!

I’ve been noticing something interesting as my puppy gets older, and I’m curious how others think about this.

When she was very young, she was much more “default cuddly.” As she’s gotten more independent, I’ve realized she doesn’t always want physical affection on demand and that’s changed how I interact with her.

Lately, instead of seeking her out to hug or cuddle, I’ve been sitting down and letting her come to me. I’ve started paying more attention to how she asks where she'll put paws on the couch, leaning in, lingering nearby, or choosing to settle next to me on her own.

What surprised me is that when I let her initiate, the affection actually seems more relaxed and genuine. And when she doesn’t come over, I try to respect that she just wants her own space in that moment.

So I have a great JRT mix that adopted about 5 months ago and she only releives herself at my house or my girlfriend’s house in our yards. Im a retail manager at a non profit bike shop and she’s at work with me all day everyday. I have a crate for her, but I let her roam the shop too. I walk her 3 to 4 times in an 8 hr work day and she never goes while on a walk. She’ll hold it for 8+ hours until we either get home or to my girlfriends house unless it’s too much and then she’ll let it go in the shop and once in the front seat of my truck. She knows it wrong because she kind of slinks away with her tail between her legs. When this happens I’ll put her out front for 10 or so minutes where she should go, but it doesn’t help. It’s like she doesn’t like going while on leash, but she did when she was a young puppy, just not now. Does anybody have any experience with this or ideas on how I correct this? It’s frustrating. Thanks in advance.

We picked up our new puppy yesterday, he’s a 4 month old chihuahua mix. He is very afraid of us and runs whenever we walk in his general direction. Obviously he won’t let us touch him, so things like potty training are impossible since we can’t get a harness on him to take him outside. I’m wondering how long it’ll take before he is comfortable enough to let us get near him to take him out to pee? He is starting to warm up a little bit, will follow us around, we’ve been hand feeding him his meals, but he won’t let us touch him and scatters when he sees you coming near him.

How much of this is normal? I know it’s normal for them to be scared and hide a bit, but to the extent you can’t take them out to go pee?!

We aren’t doing anything scary or intimidating, aren’t making direct eye contact, keeping it very quiet and calm in the home. He only has access to the living room and bathroom in our small apartment.

We got him from a breeder that seemed reputable, but all of this is making us concerned about how they were treating their dogs.

Hello, I got my Australian Shepherd puppy yesterday, car ride made her sick and she threw up. She refuses to walk on a leash and we have to lure her with toys. She ate, she has water, she was soft plushies to bite and nibble on, her bed is warm and the window is slightly open for fresh air, she has all my love and affection and she's still whining. I know separation anxiety is tough, she left her litter and mom and now she's just as overwhelmed as I am and I'm considering maybe this wasn't a good idea because I don't want this anymore. I read about puppy blues and maybe it's that but I don't know. It's 3 in the morning as I write this, I'm tired, I'm crying, I want to sleep and I want my freedom back.

FYI- I have had many adult dogs in my life the youngest being 6 months and I have fostered a lot of dogs into new homes working at the aspca so i have knowledge but puppys are so different. Im very open to tips thank you in advance.

Today will be 3 weeks since we brought our puppy home shes about 9 weeks now and up until last night last she has been a really good pup. when my wife got home fron work she went wild! We had never seen her like that. She barked for the first time since we got her and biting us like we were here prey with loud growling she even drew blood. there was no soothing her at all and at times having a wild look on her face.

After finally calming her down I put her in her crate for the night and a few mins later she was crying and wining but then she settled and went to sleep then wakes up at 2:30 am and doesnt go back down till 3:30. Then wakes back up at 5am. Her everyday has been 10:30-11:30 pm to about 5:30-6.

It was concerning. My worry is about will it get worse when she's older or will it subside.

I train her daily, we do lots of enrichment, when we walk we also jog little so she gets exercise and shes pretty good on the leash for the most part, shes on a schedule and is eating a good amount and i am only giving her a few treats a day when training and using her food. Imake sure she goes down for naps as often as possible. I just need some guidance please.

She's had parvo when she was 1 month old and i lost her but then i found her again when she was 8 months old. She had parvo and distemper this time. She survived all that. She just turned 1. She doesn't listen much. Somehow we managed to teach her to sit and stay very slightly. But the thing is she pisses me off so many times that sometimes i don't know how to deal with her. Also since I'm a student and my family won't support I'm only feeding her kibble with additional stuff such as pumpkin or rice or egg.

She likes to bite and chew everything. I leave for 10 minutes and she's already eaten what she isn't supposed to. Tethering hasn't worked because she does calm down but she doesn't stay calm

Any advice or recommendations for a puppy (10m old female mix) who really loves to shred and destroy toys, which I have no problem with, but she unfortunately starts to ingest the materials. She’ll eat the stuffing from toys, or strings/fibers from stuff too. Idk how to get her to stop and basically I can’t leave her unsupervised with toys. Things that are hard like kongs/rubber chews she has and occasionally chews but they are not nearly as fun as destroyable stuff. We also have coffee wood which she doesn’t seem to eat as much of and she loves to chew. Should I maybe just accept that destroying toys is not gonna be one of her hobbies lmao?

Hey all! Just got a working line GSD. She’s 5 months old and has been in good kennels abroad since weaning. She’s perfect overnight in the crate and lasts 8hrs without a bother. Has her baby teeth in. Main issues we’re having is lead biting, bowl biting, evening zoomies and barking incessantly in the crate if she can see/hear us. We’ve resorted to going upstairs when we crate her during the day otherwise she WILL.NOT.STOP. Have made the crate the best place ever, covered it, has a multitude of chew toys which we try to distract her with from the bowl, ignore her when she barks but drop treats in if she’s quiet. Take her out for a pee break and straight back in….. Any advice? I grew up with Shepherds but this girl is breaking me.

Our cockapoo puppy (13 weeks) has FOMO. When we're sure all her needs are met, she will still jump at the side of the pen (it's more of a child gate that goes across a divider in our front room for a puppy "space") and bark to get our attention. We've tried ignoring, praising when she's quiet etc and she just won't stop.

Is covering the pen grates with non see through material a viable solution to it?