I’ve got a fairly large garden tons of space to explore and run around shit n piss and the likes I don’t even leash him up he’s pretty well behaved and sits around in the pergola mostly is this enough or do I still have to walk him daily roads don’t really have pavements so walking isn’t ideal
My mom got a five month old shih-tzu from what seemed to be a reputable breeder not too long ago, but they trained him to be a fully indoor animal using a litter box and puppy pads.
We've been trying all kinds of things to help him understand that he needs to use the restroom outside, including moving the pads toward the back door in slow stages, giving him treats for coming outside with us when he does, and even going on short walks with neighbors' dogs who do go potty outside.
On our walks, he seems incredibly anxious and overstimulated, often standing in one spot with his tail down and resisting the leash. It's like he has no instinctual drive to mark or smell new things or see new dogs or anything. He's incredibly stubborn outside, but such a good dog indoors.
How can I reduce his anxiety outside and help him understand that's where he needs to potty? I've thought about CBD treats but am worried anything that affects him physically might make him more anxious. Any advice at all is appreciated! (X-posted)
I’ve been reading about snake avoidance training in dogs, but almost all are for bigger dogs and venomous snakes in the wild. All of these trainings include an e-collar with huge shockwaves.
I’m getting a tiny, non venomous, non restrictor pet snake and have a tiny dog in a tiny apartment. The snake will stay in her terrarium most of the time and will never be lose in the apartment, but (god forbid) in the case that the snake does escape or I want to take her out and something goes wrong, I want to be sure that my dog will not see her as a toy.
Is there a way to train your dog to stay away from snakes without an e-collar or drastic, painful measures? I was thinking of getting a rubber snake and making an uncomfortably loud noise when my dog approaches it. I also read a comment somewhere briefly mentioning teaching your dog that the sight of a snake is a command for getting into their crate. Does anyone have experience with any of these methods or any other ideas?
She still uses the grass the majority of the time but every couple days there's a new landmine or two in the driveway for someone to run over. She's 6 years old, has always had free reign of the property including about half an acre of grass to do her business. Was leash trained in the grass as a pup and has been great up until about a month or so ago. When I confront her with the mess on the gravel, she knows it's bad, but continues to do it. The only difference is I have an area of grass that I'm trying to repair that is roped off, probably 10 ft x 30 ft. Is that enough to throw her off. I don't want to punish her for it, any advice?
We have a big (20lbs and tall) seven month old Cavalier King Charles Spaniel. We were getting somewhere with toilet training and then adolescence has hit him like a truck and he is scent marking all the time and indoors.
We have gone back to basics, outside after nearly everything. He is restricted to one room and often on his lead. Plenty of stimulation when he is awake but we can't seem to shake it.
We are spraying with an enzymatic spray every time.
Any further advice? From what I read we are doing the right thing but we are seeing little improvement.
I am completely at the end of my rope and desperately need advice.
I have a 5-year-old female dachshund mix whom I rescued 4 years ago. She is a massive "Velcro dog" and gets severely anxious without me. I work from home, but I also manage a chronic illness, which makes taking her outside frequently very physically difficult. Because of this, she is trained to use pee pads indoors.
Years ago, she peed on our bed. My husband got incredibly angry and scared her shitless. Since that exact incident, it became a massive, ongoing problem. For a while, I managed to fix it by doing trick training and rebuilding her confidence.
Well, she is at it again and it’s worse. Last night she peed on my husband's sofa. He is furious and wants to get rid of our dogs.
Here is what I’ve already done/the current situation:
Vet: She has been to the vet and physically she is completely healthy. No UTI or bladder issues.
Cleaning: I use high-quality enzymatic cleaners and keep the sofas covered. Changed the sofa a couple months ago. Block her access to sofas but sometimes we leave a door open or the cover shifts and mayday.
Her Behavior: If I cover my sofa in the living room, she just sneaks over to my husband's sofa and pees/poops there instead. I have *never* actually caught her in the act so I can’t correct her. I praise her profusely when she goes on the pads and give her high value treats. We do tricks and play everyday.
Environment: I haven't left the house in a week, we've had no visitors, and I ignore her mistakes while praising/treating her when she uses the pad. My husband has completely ignored her since that original scary incident years ago. I even got her a companion cat recently, and they play together a lot, so she isn't bored.
The hardest part is my current workload at home: I am already caring for a *second* dachshund who has IVDD and is permanently in diapers, all while dealing with my own health issues.
I cannot handle two dogs in diapers long-term (especially since she hates having anything on), and I can't catch her in the act to correct it because she only "stealth-pees" when I'm not looking.
I love her, but my marriage is strained and my health is suffering. I’m autistic and I don’t think I can live with getting rid of her. I think maybe she feels my meltdowns and gets stressed and feels the need to self-sooth by going on the sofas where my scent is strong.
How do I break this cycle when I can't catch her doing it? Any advice is appreciated.
I’m keeping her locked with me at all times while I deal with my husband’s anger. To his benefit, he’s been very patient since I rescued her.
My dog Stella is 8 months old. She’s never had a problem with guarding her kibble or toys, but loves large chews like collagen chews or beef hide and has them regularly. Will sit on the couch near us while she eats them and sometimes brings them to me and drops them on me to play with them or throw them for her. The only resource guarding shes shown is if she has something she shouldnt like a tissue or sock and we try to take it from her she growls. So we stopped doing that and now offer a treat as a trade, which usually works.
So today i’m not sure if it was a perfect storm of a weird situation or what. My fiance gave her a cow ear treat and she was eating it on the couch like she usually does. I got up from one end of the couch and went to walk by where she was sitting to go sit closer to my fiance. I thought she was done eating the treat as i didnt see it anymore but apparently it had just fallen on the floor where i was walking. I guess she took that as i was going to take her treat and growled and bit my hand and broke skin. It all happened so fast and was so unexpected but i dont think she was latched on and did not continue trying to bite me. We immediately put her in the crate so i could wash up my hand.
I am now really shaken by this as i mean she play bites still like any puppy, but nothing like this has ever happened. We plan to look into a behaviorist or trainer for guidance, but im worried this is just going to happen again. She is otherwise a very friendly playful pup. Is there anything we can do immediately while looking into a trainer?
Hi all! I’m a microbiologist but on the side I love foraging for edible mushrooms like chanterelles for example. I have seen a lot of content recently about dogs that are scent trained to find mushrooms and I think that would be a really fun activity for myself and my dog, but I have no training experience besides common sense. Another “hurdle” is that my dog is deaf af lol. I’d love it if anyone could share some tips on how to train her to do so, especially in terms of dealing with her lack of hearing. She knows when to sit and come to me in response to certain hand gestures, but other than that she is kind of a wild one. Another thing I’m worried about is if it is even safe for her to be out there in the wilderness with me when she can’t respond to commands without looking at me, so if you have any similar concerns for her safety or tips on how to mitigate any related risks that would be very much appreciated!
Thank you!
TL/DR (lots of details below about our routine, etc): My foster dog went from sleeping peacefully until I got him out at 6:50 am to baying in his crate at 6 or earlier. How do I retrain him?
My foster dog (~3 yo beagle) has been with us for about 6 weeks, with a 1 week interruption (more on that later...). For the first 2 weeks, he was amazing in the crate. Went in no trouble, stayed quiet and calm throughout, whether I was out of the house for 30 min or overnight. His usual bedtime is 9:30 pm, wake-up time 6:50.
After 2 weeks, my family went on vacation and a wonderful respite foster watched him for a week. When we got him back, she also said he had been fantastic in the crate. But the first morning back in our house, he whined and then bayed in his crate starting at 6 am. This was obviously annoying, but I figured he was settling back in. I ignored it and got him out at 6:50 as usual. Later I messaged the respite foster and sure enough, she said she let him out at 6 every day. I figured no big deal, he'll settle back into our routine soon.
That hasn't happened. Actually, it's gotten worse. He now sometimes wakes up at 5:30 am and bays off-and-on until I get up. I make sure to only get out of bed and release him after he's been quiet for at least 3 minutes. But he will bay for a minute, settle for a few minutes, then bay again FOR AN HOUR. This has been going on for 3 weeks now.
We've tried:
covering his crate
making bedtime later (now it's at 10 pm)
moving wake-up time a bit earlier, to 6:30 (this may have actually made things worse?)
scattering kibble in his crate (he ate it immediately so it was no help to us when he got restless at 5:30 lol)
None of it has helped.
He is otherwise fine in the crate. He gets a frozen kong every time he goes in so he's always excited about it. My sense is he's just eager to get the day going. He always has a ton of energy and is raring to go outside first thing in the morning (for sniffs, not for a potty break). He may also be feeding off my resident dog - when foster dog bays, my resident dog gets anxious and starts to whine.
I don't want to end the crate training, because he has heartworm treatment looming and he needs to be in the crate overnight so he doesn't get the zoomies while I'm still asleep. (Plus, the rescue I'm with strongly encourages nighttime crating, as it's a plus for potential adopters.)
I am exhausted. My husband and kids are tired and cranky. And more importantly - it's going to be really, really hard to find a forever family for a dog that wakes up baying at 5:30. I need help stopping this!
I've had my toy aussie for about 5 days now. Her breeder tells me she was previously housebroken and trained to use a dog potty box with pine pellets.
She has regressed, and will not even sniff the grass when we are outside. I have also seen no evidence of her pottying in her pellet box. She will only pee or poop in my kitchen. I've kept her tethered to me or crated and taken her out several times a day since getting her, but she will hold it for over 8 hours waiting for a chance to pee privately in the kitchen. She's eating and drinking normally. I think she is just anxious or intimidated by going potty in front of new people. She is a sensitive dog.
I have tried sopping her pee spots and marking her correct potty areas with it, but she's still not interested in going there. I don't know how to encourage her to potty outside without being able to praise her for having done so.
I also have norovirus right now so I haven't been able to get these yet, but I was planning on getting an enzymatic cleaner, a potty encouragement spray, and a longer lead so she can feel like she has more privacy. Other than these things, what could I do to make her more comfortable pottying in front of me? I have never scolded her for pottying inside before, I always clean in up quietly.
We have a 2 yo lab who is used to being in an apartment the last 2 years where we would take her on a leash 3x a day to pee/poo outside the apartment on a stretch of grass. We recently started a lease at a house with a yard however the yard is just concrete and dirt. I feel like we have tried everything that the internet has told us to do to get her to void in the yard. We bought a patch of grass through fresh patch and a 3x9 artificial turf patch that we covered with grass clippings to trick her into thinking it was grass. She has peed once on the grass patch in the last week and we heavily praised her and gave her treats. We try to take her out after breakfast, dinner etc and nothing even though I KNOW she has to go. We take her out on a leash and walk her around the yard and then when we stop at the patch she will just stare into space and eventually sit down. We walked her on a leash around the yard for 45 minutes once and she def was confused why we were doing that. As soon as we give in and take her on a walk, she immediately pees/poos on some grass area within like 10 minutes of the walk. But when she is in the house, she is basically holding in her pee/poo. I know she probably 1. Wants grass, 2. Equates leash ->walk-> bathroom so we are trying to not take her out on walks but I feel like a bad owner after 15+ hours of her holding it in. We are lost and don’t know what to do. We leased this house to give her a yard and AVOID taking her out 3x a day on a leash, but because it doesn’t have grass she just won’t do it. When we take her to my parents house who has grass she also immediately goes just fine. And no we aren’t allowed to grow grass in the backyard. Please help!
Hi My (22yr) dog (6yr old dachund/beagle/Dalmatian mix)won’t stop whining and scratching at the door when my roommate (26) comes home from work. She never had a problem when my roommate comes home from work, just when she’s making a very pungent meal. It’s everything, the pacing back and forth, the pawing at me, the pawing and very loud whining at the door. I let her out and then in the wee hours of the morning she’s pawing at my door to be put on my bed..
My roommate only decides to cook 3 course meals when it’s midnight. My dog eats the recommended amount of kibble daily with lots of treats. I take her out to the restroom 3-4 times a day, especially before bed. Is this a roommate thing or a training thing? Do I leave my dog outside of my room while I sleep? Do I ask my roommate to meal create inside of business hours?
Signed,
a very tired customer service forward employee.
Hi everyone, I would really appreciate any advice. As the title says, our male (intact) 16 month old cockapoo, Charlie, has all of a sudden started showing aggression towards 11 year old male (intact) Ozzy.
It started around the food bowl and only occasionally. So we separated them to feed them and it seemed to help. But last night he did it again - my husband was in the kitchen preparing their dinner with the door closed and Charlie was waiting, Ozzy made his way towards the door and Charlie lunged at him, snarling and snapping. It looks and sounds vicious but luckily Ozzy has never actuallu been bitten. When it happens Ozzy just freezes and has never even so much as growled back (he is super submissive to all dogs).
There have been a few incidences now when Charlie and Ozzy have been in our bedroom - last night was extreme. Ozzy went for a drink of water and Charlie lunged at him - again no actually bites but it sounds and looks vicious. My husband took Ozzy to sleep in another room to separate them.
For background this is just completely out of the blue - they have been absolutely fine, laying with each other and eating together etc. It all started seemingly out of nowhere approximately 3 weeks ago or so. Charlie has a full clean bill of health so I dont think its anything health related. Ozzy has been living with us for about 5 months after my father in law passed away and we have Charlie since he was 9 weeks old. We also have a 5 year old female terrier who Charlie doesn't behave like this with at all and a cat who again he doesn't behave like this with (both neutered females if that's relevant).
Please could anyone offer some advice? We are worried sick that it could escalate into Ozzy getting hurt and Charlie being aggressive with us and other dogs.
My dog loves my parents and gets overly excited so we have recently put a baby gate in the hallway, and it takes him a while to settle (today it was around 10-15m)
Is there a point where we should let him bark/cry while we wait for him to settle/give him treats for quiet?
I have a 12.5 year old mini schnauzer who I am hoping to take with me to some friend’s house over the summer but she has a history of peeing in homes she is not familiar with. She does not pee in my apartment (her home her whole life) and she does not pee in my mom’s house (which she visits about every other month since I got her as a puppy). But I have taken her to other people’s homes, as well as hotels, and she will pee indoors at these places. She is peeing indoors at these places when she is around me. She is never left alone at any of my friend’s homes or at the hotels! I once read dogs don’t understand that all indoor places are not to be bathrooms. And that they only understand that their home is not a bathroom and they need to be trained that all indoor places are not bathrooms. Can I train her to not pee in my friend’s house or am I totally doomed since she is so old? I have tried keeping her on a leash while indoors as well as taking her outdoors to pee more frequently but she still ends up peeing indoors. Any advice or suggestions are greatly appreciated!
I have a 7 year old aussie that has always been marked over our other dogs urine spots and VERY occasionally she will go in the house overnight. About a week ago she started going in the house overnight again sometimes in random spots sometimes much more deliberate gathering dog bones and putting them on top of the dog bed before marking everything at one time.
I tried kenneling her at night but she spends all night barking, whining, or attempting to break out of the cage. As of this morning shes already worn a small hole in the top of her nose from banging it on the cage. Finally last night I left something right outside the cage not thinking about it and she peed on the floor, the water bottle, and her cage.
She doesnt seem to care about any correction I give her and she is willing to lay in her own urine if it means getting to mark what she wants. Ill also add I dont think its medical as shes been in the cage nearly a week and last night was her first "accident"
This is now the 2nd instance but my one year old GSD has nipped someone at first I thought it was a one off and I had handled correctly but he did it again both were involving when someone came into the door and then the 1st one was they came into and he nipped at their thigh I grabbed a hold of him and let them pass by and he tried again but failed bc I was holding him and I put him the kennel and the 2nd one he came running to check it out bc I didn’t open the door and the person turned around and he nipped them on the butt and tried going back for a second time so I corrected it then put him in the kennel.
I’ve never made a Reddit post before, but I’m completely lost on what I should do from here and I desperately need help!!!
To explain- I have a Lab/Bloodhound female puppy mix. Shes almost 7 months, and about a week ago she started displaying food aggressive behaviors. I’ve heard food aggression is somewhat normal in dogs- but from what I’ve seen on YouTube videos she isn’t displaying typical food aggression behaviors.
She has always loved food and so excited for her meals. She already has a solid “Wait” and “Leave it” command and I’ve used those since she was little to try and prevent food aggression and resource guarding from starting.
She had one instance of biting me with no warning when I bent over to pick up a stick a month or two ago. (I have scars from it) After that I worked really hard with building trust so she knows that she’ll get something, or I’m going to throw it. (she love retrieving)
I’ve always traded with treats of high value so she knows I won’t try and snatch her food away for no reward.
A week and a half ago I got her first Rabies shot and she was sick throwing up. Shes been sick before and she eats much less when she’s not feeling well. So I didn’t think much of it. The day after her food bowl had ants so I whacked it outside a couple times before putting food in it. She still refused to eat while staring at me so I thought she still wasn’t feeling well and I put kibble in her crate for her to eat as she pleases and she ate it just fine. (she ended up eating everything after I let her out again an hour later) And later ate her food like normal in the evening so I thought she was fine. (She normally scarfs her food down very enthusiastically within a minute!)
Next morning rolls around and she wouldn’t eat again! She was just hard staring at me, and when I nudged her food bowl she jumped away from it. She appeared afraid of the bowl, but also me as well which really sucks. I think I scared her by banging her bowl outside. (it’s metal and she does get spooked around loud noises)
Jump to today, and she is now consistently growling and barking at me when I get close to her food bowl. She’s even tried snapping a few times. I keep a house leash on her at all times, so in those moments I tell her “Leave it” and “Crate” and she complies just fine with no issues. I knew that it was probably resource guarding, but the thing is- she’s not eating. She’s just standing over her food bowl staring at the food then staring at me like she wants me to do something. When I move far away from her food bowl she’ll follow me wherever I go and be normal again! But if I walk her back to the bowl she‘ll growl and stare at me with her hackles up.
So she won’t eat if I’m not there, because she wants to be around me- but if I’m there then she still won’t eat because she isn’t trusting me around her food.
For now, I’ve been hand feeding her chicken while she and I are around her food bowl. I’ll reward her while she’s eating as I’m around the area. And that was working for a day- but today she refused to eat entirely and just stared at my hand (that had the chicken) and when I wasn’t giving it to her after she was rotating between sitting and laying down she growled directly at me. I immediately told her “No” and “Crate” and she complied again, but honestly I was really distraught. I brought her outside to let some more energy out and when I came back inside I put her food bowl in her crate while she was in a “Wait”. She was back to her normal self as she ate in the crate, and inhaled her food with the usual enthusiasm I’m used too. I sat right by the crate and gave her lots of treats as she was eating again.
The difference in body language around her food bowl vs she’s a few steps away is night and day.
I’m posting here because I really, really need help. I absolutely love my dog to bits, but I really don’t know what to do at this point. I don’t have the funds to just hire a trainer to do the work for me- and every person I’ve watched online has a different approach to it, but the dogs they‘re working with will actually eat when the owner is a few steps away!!!
I don’t know if genetics is playing a role… The temperament of the mom is wonderful but the dad’s temperament is unknown. (random neighbor‘s dog) When I’ve talked with the family we got her from they have never had issues with their dog being aggressive. They were shocked when I showed them my arm scars from all the times she’s bitten me.
She is fearful in general and I try really hard to ease her into things, but the fear from her is so strong with eating around me. I don’t know how to help her.
I just am really stumped at how to help her overcome this. I’m trying not to freak out about it, but I’m scared. I’m willing to try anything. I don’t want to give her up, but I know if it gets worse I’ll feel scared to be around her. I want her to feel comfortable in my home and with me again. :(
Please help me understand how to help my dog!
Edit: I forgot to mention she is drinking water just fine! The water is right by her food bowl and they are the same material same bowl. She’s totally fine if I walk around her as she’s drinking. It’s just when she moves her head to eat she gets scared/aggressive!
Howdy all! I have a ~3.5 year female shorthaired Dachshund. Within the past, I dunno... 1-1.5 year she's been doing something that I think she Pavlov'd herself into somehow (or I unknowingly did?).
She spends a lot of time split between inside and outside, so it's pretty often she comes in and goes out.
Here's the issue - there's a decent amount of times I want her to come in at that moment for various reasons (weather, have to leave, etc.). She may be sleeping or chilling on her dog bed outside on the patio, BUT when she notices I'm coming downstairs or I start to open the door she'll bolt into the yard or fence and start barking at -nothing-. It's like she thinks, "Oh, he's coming! I have to make it look like I'm doing something... I have to act like I'm protecting the yard so I'm worthy of food/living here/whatever!"
Sometimes it can be cute, but a lot of the time I just want her to come over to eat, or come to bed, etc. Just tonight I opened the door 4 or so times within ~1 hour and she's either at or in motion to running towards the fence as if to 'guard' it, and she may be staring at... nothing.
Basically, how can I let my dog know that she doesn't have to do all this and can she please just come? lol. I've tried bribing with treats (occasional success rate), or acting like I'm gonna go drive (she loves to get in the truck), or whatever else.
tl;dr - I want dog to come inside, she runs away to 'protect' the house from invisible beings and barks into the nether. How do I get her to just come over & stop pseudo-protecting? lol
Thanks everyone!