I don’t even know where, or how to start. I noticed that my dog was licking his ass a little too much but I figured it was just some leftover poop that was itching or causing discomfort so I would just run a dog wipe over it and he would stop. Today, he started doing it right next to me which allowed me to realise that he was not licking his butt. But rather pooping and eating it straight out of his ass. Like a kid and free soft serve machine. I don’t even???!! I was too stunned. I’ve had dogs, I’ve volunteered in shelters for years, I’ve never seen a dog eat the churro straight out of the machine. I was stunned. What do I do? How do I even prevent this? I can stop him and reward with treats when he stops, but I can’t watch him 24/7. I work from home, but I have a lot of calls with clients, so that prevents me from being able to give him full attention. So I get him like underwear or something??!!!! Help????

Help!

My partner and I recently decided to get a puppy! We went through a lab specific rescue, as a lab felt like a safe bet in terms of both lifestyle match and trainability for first time dog owners.

We have thoroughly enjoyed (most) of our time with our new 4 month old Ellie, whom we've had for 4 weeks, she is so loving, fun, and seems to be somewhat trainable. She is also pretty stubborn at times.

Here's the FUN part. We just got her DNA back; 40% Great Pyranees, 30% Shiba Inu, 13% Malamut, 10% American Pit Bull, 8% German Shepherd... 0% Lab.

We are now slightly panicking over how to best serve our dog, whom we love dearly, but who seems destined to have an extremely different personality than we were planning.

What should we expect of such a mix? Will she never be an off-leash dog, as per what a brief Google search will tell me? Do we need to worry about her running away?

Help us face this new reality and prepare the best we can! Thanks reddit!

The dog...https://imgur.com/a/0j5WnKV

Edit: wow this post has been a rollercoaster. Apparently it is somewhat controversial to ask for help on how to best support a dog whose genetic make up means that their behavior may be very different from what we had thought.

To those saying "keep her" that was never in question we love her to death and we're simply looking for advice on how to create the best life for both the pup and us.

Thanks for all the advice it will be taken on-board with a small pinch of salt!

I knew having a puppy would be a lot of work, but I honestly didn’t realize just how exhausting the puppy stage could be.

It feels like you have to watch them constantly — potty training, biting everything, making sure they’re not eating something they shouldn’t, waking up early, training… and somehow they still have unlimited energy when you’re completely drained 😂

I love the little guy, but some days it really does feel like a full-time job.

For those who’ve made it through the puppy stage, when did you start feeling like things got noticeably easier?

My one year old dog bit me yesterday so bad I needed three stitches in my hand.

I was with him all day yesterday and he was fine, we had no issues and then suddenly last night while I was making dinner I went over to him to say hi and he bared his teeth at me and his hair started to stand up, so I gave him some space and called my girlfriend to come see what was happening. She came out of our bedroom and he went and hid between her legs like he was scared of me.

I’ve never hurt him or done anything that should cause this. My girlfriend even says I’m the most patient with him.

Anyways, after hiding between my girlfriends legs he started to come back over to me so I thought everything was fine and I bent down to pet him and he bit my hand, I had to go to the ER and required three stitches.

He’s been reactive with strangers in the past, but never with me. It’s almost like he’s acting like he doesn’t know me all of a sudden.

I’m beside myself, my girlfriend wants to rehome him now and I’m just so hurt and upset that my best friend is acting like he doesn’t recognize me.

Update: thank you all for your input and kind words, it’s been cathartic to just talk about it with other people. I’ve tried to respond to as many people as I can but I’m sorry if I missed you. We are taking him to the vet tomorrow to see if there is anything medically wrong and we are trying to get an appointment with a trainer we have worked with in the past that knows him.

He’s still being standoffish towards me so I am giving him space. If I have to go in the room his kennel is in I avoid direct eye contact, toss him a treat, and move slowly. He was baring his teeth at my girlfriend when she went near his kennel but she just took him outside with no issues. We have some trazedone and gabapentin prescribed to him we are going to try to see if we can relax him a little bit.

I will update this thread tomorrow after his vet appointment (3:20 PST) of anyone is curious.

Update #2:

This last hour has been an insane emotional roller coaster. I’m going to copy and paste the text I sent my sister because it’s a lot and I’m too drained to type it again.

He made it sound like behavioral euthanasia is the best option. And he said he does not say that lightly and knows how much we love (dog) and how much work we’ve put in. He’s been our vet since we got him.

He said we can try Prozac and training but that we will never be able to trust him 100% and that it’s still possible he would be aggressive in a way that is unpredictable. He also said that Prozac can take a long time to be effective and that he would likely get worse before he gets better. He said even with training and medication it wouldn’t be wise to have (dog) around little kids or strangers.

He said there was nothing wrong with him physically from an examine and said that they will test his blood and feces. He said that they’re highly unlikely to find anything in a dog his age and that we can pursue further medical testing like an MRI but warned us that those start at $6,000 on the low end.

He said it would be extremely difficult to rehome a dog with this bite history and that while there are a couple shelters that specialize in it that he knows from experience are overflowing right now.

He also said the staff there have been passing around an extremely reactive foster dog because they cannot find a permanent home for him.

(Girlfriend) seems to already pretty much have her mind set on behavioral euthanasia. She said she doesn’t know how we can keep a dog that we are both scared of that we can’t trust to not attack us again. She also made the argument that it’s more humane than giving him to a shelter where he will be scared and alone and likely put down anyways.

I’m not sold because I don’t think it’s fair for him to die because he doesn’t know what he did was wrong and he’s so sweet 99% of the time.

As I was typing this to said to my sister the vet called us and said that his thyroid is low for a dog his age. He said it should be at 2.4 and that it’s currently at .9. He said this is extremely rare for a dog his age. He wants to do a thyroid panel to confirm, and if it is hypothyroidism it’s a medication everyday and it MAY be the cause of the aggression. On the other hand, he said if it’s not his thyroid, then something is causing it which would most likely be a brain tumor.

Literally while my girlfriend was telling me this my dog came over to me (he’s been fine with me since we started giving him trazedone and gabapentin) and he laid down next to me. I was completely still and he got this weird look in his eyes and snapped at my left hand. Luckily I saw it coming because of the look in his eyes and avoided it, but there was no warning growl, no snarl, no bared teeth at all and he came up to me and I didn’t move.

I know this is a lot and I apologize, but a lot of you seemed really invested so o wanted to give as much of an update as possible.

Another update: hey all, I don’t have much of an update for those of you asking. Someone told us the thyroid panel would take two days so we called and spoke to the vet again and he said that was incorrect,bits much more in-depth and had to be sent to a lab, so we won’t have the results until the 29th so it’s pretty much a waiting game until then.

I’ve been getting a lot of questions about my dog’s breed and I couldn’t remember them exactly so I answered off of memory, but I had my girlfriend go into ancestry and get the results so I could post them here. I’ll add them in the comments since I don’t think I can (or know how) to add them to the post.

Thanks.

His puppy breath had started to stink and I thought that it was part of him growing up. Then it stunk worse each day so I decided to check his teeth to look for rotten baby teeth. I saw grey swollen gums and since we have a vet appointment coming up,I decided to let them figure it out. I checked again then I realized that the grey-bluish color came from a knot of fibrous cloth that got tangled around a tooth. After wrestling with my bitey puppy I finally got it out. The gums below were swollen and red. Then one day later his fresh puppy breath returned. So from here on I’ll have to check on his teeth as often as I could. What a relief for myself and the puppy both.

I thought he was barking or making a mess when I'm gone. Checked the camera today and for 6 hours straight he just carried one shoe at a time from the door to his bed, made a little pile, and slept on it. Now I feel so guilty for leaving.

This is hard. Today has been hard. I have a 5 months old border collie. I've wanted one for years. I've known several BCs and they always were the most calm, cuddly, well behaved dogs. I have time and money to spend on training. I've been to classes and private lessons. She's from ethical breeders, from show parents so not the crazy work drive the working line has. I'm trusting the breeder 100%, I don't believe the issue is genetic.

She's been really good between 2 and 4 months or so. Potty trained quickly, sleeping in crate since the first night. She was wild but we managed with enforced naps, training, play time. She got better, then she started teething and I don't know if it is the start of adolescence or a fear period but she went from brave tiny pup who didn't care about noises to a dog who's over the threshold all the damn time (I think her teething is done now BTW).

She started barking at the outside fence because she saw a cat there once. Every time we go out. Even without any cats in sight.

She's barking at the garage because there's a marten couple living in there. Partner is refusing to move them out.

We can't walk anywhere because the moment we step outside of the house towards the countryside all she cares about is digging up rodent holes. She doesn't just dig. She tears the grass and ground with her teeth. The walk doesn't happen because she won't leave the hole alone.

Sometimes she gets triggered at home and just panic barks at the ceiling. She's probably hearing the sound of roof expanding in the heat, but it's too quiet for us to hear so we can't give treats when it happens and she doesn't react.

It's like any training we did so far went down the toilet. I've turned my life around for her but she completely ignores me all the time now. She's barking inside and in our garden and ignoring me when we go on walk.

They say that border collie would do anything for their owners. Not ours, not at this point.

And it was mostly fine before she hit 4 months. Now it's every day getting worse. I had to cancel 4 day vacation because I can't really give her to pet sitter - she's biting the leash and pulling. So the only thing to look forward to is gone.

Sorry for the rant, I guess I just want to hear some positive stories where your puppy turned around at 6-7 months and you couldn't be happier.

I'm really really sad right now. She's my dream dog and I don't want to give her up. I just don't know how to continue because every interaction ends in frustration for both of us.

I'm marking this here so one day in 2, 3... (5?) years I can look back and eat my words, and say you were all right - "It gets better."

• One day, our dog will just sleep by choice.
• One day, we can go out to dinner freely without worrying about interrupting his meal time and poop schedule.
• One day, we will be able to keep our windows open and not have constant barking.
• One day, we will be able to say that a couple walks and short playtimes per day are enough,
• One day, we will be able to put pillows back on our couch.
• One day, he will enjoy car rides.

For right now, we have an 11-month old who has turned his ears off, doesn't nap, refuses all frozen food enrichment/anything that requires work, whines as soon as we are out of sight, and wants to destroy anything and everything made of fabric.

My puppy is 6 months old and we’ve never left him alone, if we go out of town we leave him with a sitter. I work a hybrid schedule and on my office days he’s with the sitter which can be very costly. He obviously hates being left alone, if I take the trash out he’s barking and hollering. Wondering if he’s too set in his ways to start leaving him alone now? And is 6 months too young to leave him alone. And I mean only for a couple hours like to run an errand or two.TIA

Our boy Prince is half border collie half Australian shepherd. My boyfriend and I knew before we got him that he would need lots of exercise and stimulation. We give him that, but it is never enough. He will not go to bed by himself unless he is put in his cage first.

He had recently learned to bark and once he starts, he will not stop. If you are not paying attention to him for even 3 seconds he is doing this piercing bark right in your ear. We have tried putting him in the crate, walking away, ignoring him and he does not care. He will sit there and bark and bark and bark even if we just came back inside from play.

He also has chewed through three of his harnesses to which he now has to go to the bathroom outside and we just have to hope and pray he doesn’t book it. He never bites, just runs up to people at the edge of the yard and barks and barks and barks. Even if he’s outside for five minutes just to use the bathroom, the second he hears another dog bark even if it’s miles away, he’s running. It’s terrifying because we don’t want him to get hurt or bite someone at some point.

He is also an excessive chewer. He eats every single thing. He primarily stays in my room since he is my dog. And the reason I’m writing this is because I just woke up because he got his hands on a bottle of ibuprofen! I feel like a horrible dog owner because I really do not want him hurt. He’s almost my height (5ft) when standing on his rear paws so he’s pretty tall. He reaches everything and I’ve run out of space to keep stuff up. I had bought a new dresser and in less than 24hrs he destroyed multiple drawers out of it. He has so many toys but just loves to eat any plastic/crinkly stuff, and wood. The entire room is always clean and somehow someway he manages to find something to eat.

He has gotten better at potty training but he does not know how to tell us he needs to go. If we see him circle, we bring him out, but the peeing is ridiculous. He pees EVERYWHERE. My whole room constantly smells like pee because he just won’t stop and misses his pee pad more than half the time. I don’t know how to get him to tell me he needs to go. He knows when he’s outside that he was usually out there to play or go potty, but he doesn’t have any way to tell us he needs to go.

I’m honestly just at a loss. He’s constantly biting and destroying everything all over the house and never stops barking. The only peace I get is the 20 minutes he falls asleep for the night. I don’t want my puppy to live a life in a cage but that’s the only way he semi behaves. I just don’t really know what to do with him and I feel like I’m failing him. I really love him so much but it just feels like everyday is a chore with him. It feels like it never gets better he only regresses. If he’s not bothering my bf and I, he’s bothering my older dog, if he’s not bothering my older dog, he’s bothering someone else in the house. He just never stops. We never get a break and I’m exhausted!

Admit it, we all have one.

Here's mine: My dog will surreptitiously lick the back of people's legs as we navigate the sidewalk. Just a single quick mlem as we pass by. People are like "what was that?" and then see the puppy trotting past, pretending like she didn't just lick them.

I know it's unacceptable, rude, potentially dangerous, etc. I don't encourage it and I try to prevent it. But I find these stolen kisses soooooo cute and funny.

How is everything going for you? My 6 month mini poodle was sleeping in her crate like a little angel until heatwaves and overnight vet visits disturbed her routine and I gave up and now she sleeps on my bed.

She's tiny so her being in bed is not a problem per se. There are two things on my mind:

1) She's tiny and I'm worried that me or my husband will kick her or squash her. (2.6kg / 5.7 lbs)

2) I'm worried about times when she needs to stay with friends. Tbh all my friends allow her in bed but what if she needs to stay in a kennel at some point. Am I doing a disservice to her?

Last night we said: ok, she needs to sleep in her bed (in our bedroom). She would settle a bit and then bark. We live in a flat so barking at night will make my neighbours complain.

Did you also give up crate training? How old is your puppy now and how are you finding that they sleep in bed with you?

EDIT: thank you so much for everyone's comments. Last night she slept all night in her bed without barking/whining. I guess staying consistent really works but that was 3 full nights of not sleeping anything.

It’s been almost 2 weeks since we got our 9 (now 10/11 week old) golden retriever puppy and he is mostly in his crate (for sleep/enforced naps) or playpen for independent play. We do let him out to our balcony when he needs to potty or some playtime or exercise, then once we know his physical needs have been met, we give him a small chance to free roam our apartment and explore. However, it is inevitably cut short because he ends up chewing everything. I’m curious, when did you allow your puppies to free roam your house/condo/apartment?

Adopted a lab mix. Gf and I went to a puppy Pilates session and I was absolutely in love with all the puppies there. We caved in and adopted a 1 month old black lab mix.

I'm not gonna lie, there isn't a single day since where I don't question that decision. We dropped a ton of money in a trainer, toys for her. It doesn't matter what we do. We can spend the entire day playing with her, tiring her up. If she's not on her crate, and we take our eyes off her for one second, she starts destroying our shoes, eating food off the counter, biting the cat. It feels like we can't rest for a single second.

The fault is entirely mine, I thought it would be way easier. The people on the rescue house told me it would be easier, that the puppy wouldn't need any training, no special needs. I don't know if they were straight up lying, if they didn't know the dog would turn out to be so rebellious, or if I'm just a bad owner. Either way, I should have researched a bit before adopting.

We're not rehoming her. I think the amount of times I've cried, the nights I didn't sleep, the fights I had with my gf because we were exhausted from her behaviour, will be repaid in time. But now I sincerely feel like giving up, and that she would be way better off with someone who has the experience and/or patience to properly raise her. But I also hope that I can grow from this experience, and that the dog is not as affected as I am from it.

EDIT: there are still so many people commenting (thank you!), so I'm adding a few more details:

- he still has 3 siblings left because the breeder is keeping those 3, he's not alone

- it's not a newfound behaviour, he's always been like this apparently. You can see he's the odd one out on litter photos as early as 6 weeks old, you can't really put your finger around it, but he has a different vibe. The puppies are nearly identical yet you can ALWAYS tell which one he is because of this.

- yall, turns out he was reserved for someone at 4 weeks old, but the breeder thought he was so weird (literally guys!) they offered another puppy to the buyer. Then someone else wanted to adopt him, and this person also changed their mind last minute because of his different vibe, that's how we came into the picture.

I'm starting to feel sorry for this puppy, we might adopt him because thinking about it, we don't really mind if he's different as long as he can get attached to us. (Although it is true that we don't really want a dog who has to be put on Prozac. let's hope that will not be the case)

END OF EDIT

We wanted an energetic, attentive pup we could do agility training with in the future (the breed is used for agility). However this puppy does not show any puppy behaviour apart from chewing things he shouldn't chew. We saw him, and honestly he's super cute so we couldn't say no, but as the day we bring him home gets closer I'm starting to get worried.

He is also not very human centered, he came to greet us but that was it, and the breeder said this puppy is the only one who would not play with them (the breeder) at all and would only play with his littermates. They said they really couldn't tell if this puppy was right for us and the decision was entirely up to us, they think this puppy is a bit "weird" too.

Puppy is not sick, puppy is naturally weird.

Does this indicate what he will be like as an adult? Are we making a mistake if we want a confident, energetic, cuddly dog?

Hello!

My mother is looking for a second dog and has expressed interest in finding a mini golden doodle. I'm looking for kind, nonjudgmental advice on how to either a) steer her away from this choice, or b) find an ethical breeder, if that exists. Before weighing in, please read the context below:

I was surprised to hear this from her, as she has mostly been pro shelter adoption. She has had a largely good experience with her current dog, a 4-year-old mixed breed she got from a shelter as a puppy. My mom is a dedicated and, in my opinion, skilled dog trainer. Her current dog is very well behaved, but she hasn't been able to push through some lingering issues such as unpredictability with small children. I think because of this she is scared of going shelter again.

She landed on a mini golden doodle due to temperament--the supposed hypoallergenic thing is not a factor for her, though I imagine she likes low-shedding for housekeeping reasons. She likes that poodles are smart and retrievers are generally eager to please. I'm not sure why she wants a mini, but my guess is that they are less strong/weigh less and so a little easier to control in training etc. She is well aware that there are scammy breeders and unethical breeders, and is prepared to invest time and money finding an ethical breeder. I don't think it's occurred to her that the breed itself may not be an ethical choice regardless. I also feel a little nervous about her (and my) ability to navigate those waters--wanting to make a good choice is not the same thing as having the research skills and discernment required for finding the good choice.

If you want to make other recommendations for breeds, I would say she's looking for the following. She also understands that no breed has a guaranteed temperament.

• not too strong (both physically and willed)
• good with kids and dogs
• low-shedding is a plus but not a dealbreaker
• eager to please. She is passionate about dog training and can handle some degree of challenge, but would prefer a breed that is on the easier end to train.

Thank you all for your help!

Looking for support from people who have been through something similar. Please be kind, we love our dog tremendously and are not making any decisions right now.
We have a young lab with significant anxiety/fear-based reactivity who was recently evaluated by a veterinary behaviorist. She has started daily anxiety medication that will take several weeks to work, plus gabapentin in the meantime, and we're following a pretty intensive management/training plan.
But we're exhausted.
A major issue is that she has an incredibly difficult time settling. She can wake up and immediately go from 0-100, demand barking to go outside or for us to play. We can spend 30 minutes outside, come back in and finally get her settled, and then something as small as one of us walking out of a room or a noise at the door can start the entire cycle again. Once she's activated, she often will not resettle.
Today it became so excessive that we actually went to the vet because the only other time she behaved this way was during a UTI. They collected urine for testing and started antibiotics, so we're hoping physical discomfort may be making this particular episode worse.
But my partner and I have had the rehoming conversation more than once. We love her, but managing her has increasingly affected our lives, and sometimes it feels like we cannot keep up. I was taking a class and have just dropped it because I don't know how to manage leaving the house for 3 hours, and my partner has to go to work.
We're going to give her new treatment plan time to work, but we're also trying to be honest about our limits.
For those who have lived with a dog with significant anxiety/reactivity: How did you know what was sustainable? Did treatment eventually make life substantially more manageable? And if you ultimately rehomed, how did you know it was time?
I don't need anyone to tell me "never rehome" or "just rehome her." I think I need to hear from people who understand that you can deeply love a dog and still find living with their behavioral needs incredibly hard.

I ask because I’m curious at what age did your puppy graduate from their crate/confined space to free roam around the house - especially whenever you leave them alone.

More importantly, what did you do to get there? What behaviors did they exhibit before you took the leap of faith? What do you do to train them to get ready for that? Very curious so any insight helps!

I brought home my 17 week old Mini Bernedoodle, Alfie, on Friday night. He sleeps in his crate overnight, relatively calmly, beside my bed.

I have practiced short stints in the pen that he's supposed to be in when I'm gone - rewarding small moments of quiet, leaving and then coming back, etc over the last 2.5 days of having him here.

Today (Monday) I am WFH. I did his 5:30-7am morning routine - a walk with sniffs and pee and poo, breakfast, playing with his toys, training for a bit, and left him with a kong toy and said a quiet goodbye.

I went to my bedroom to work (2 rooms away) from 7-8 am. He barked almost the whole time. Pawing at the doors of the pen, whining, barking. Occasionally would go into the open crate inside the pen and lie down, but would soon get up and whine.

I cannot work from home beyond today - I went back inside the room he's in at 8 and am sitting in here to show him I comeback, but I am ignoring him. He's still whining lots. I have 2 dog walker visits booked tomorrow. I leave at 7:45 and the first one is at 10:30 for 30 mins and the second is at 1:30 for 30 mins. I have asked them to take him out for a 15 min walk/potty/sniff, practice some training (we've been working on sit), and leave him with a quiet goodbye and a Kong with his fav - pumpkin.

Hes as far away from other people in the triplex I live in as possible, but I worry about some of the noise. I have to leave him tomorrow. I love the little guy and when I'm with him, he's an angel. Loves to play, cuddle, is quiet, and sweet. He's not overly food driven or too much of a shark (yet). 2/3 nights so far, he's slept in his crate very well and quietly after just a couple minutes of whining settled by my hand going down to touch him.

Any advice? I know dogs used to stay at home all the time pre-covid and WFH, so I'm sure he will survive, but I want him to be happy of course. Is there just an adjustment period I have to tough out?

* Please don't say that my only option is not to leave him. I would literally have to rehome him.

Has anyone successfully raised litter mate pups?
I made a very (silly) impulsive decision and brought home two male golden retriever puppies.
I’m feeling very overwhelmed and spend all my time reading so much conflicting information.
I have a dog trainer coming next week to give me advice.
The boys are crated in separate rooms, eat separately, socialising separately where possible and when they are clear to go for walks will be walked separately.
One of the pups is tiny, clearly the runt and was not thriving with the breeder, hence rash decision to also bring him home. He will not leave his brother alone, constant fighting/wrestling. I cannot go about my day as I’m having to supervise the fighting.
Both dogs are exhausted which exasperates the situation, they will not settle in the house together during the day.
I’m not sure if this is going to pass and I’m utterly drained.

Paloma is a beautiful, sweet, loving, tiny Aussie. She turned a year old recently. She’s well-behaved in the sense of knowing how to wait for her food and walking well on a leash and knowing basic commands. Shes very curious and she shows happiness by running around in circles. I love her to death and I feel happy every time I get to pet her.

The only issue is that when she’s at home, she barks. At everyone. Every person she senses that she doesn’t know. Everyone who passes by the patio she barks at. I’ve tried everything I could find. I can’t distract her, rewards don’t matter to her when it comes to this, making a different sound doesn’t work, not even putting a second barrier works. She doesn’t bark on walks, doesn’t bark in public. Just at home.

She’s gone to training before, but we go again. I explain everything to the trainer. The trainer just goes “she’s never going to stop barking, then. Dogs like that will never stop barking.” The trainer didn’t even try with my dog. He just said it won’t happen, and that makes no sense to me because as far as I understood every dog is trainable. If not even a trainer is willing to try, then do I just… give up? Do I just accept that she barks when she senses things? Do I accept that this is just a flaw in my dog? The trainer didn’t even want to try, didn’t even suggest anything.

It doesn’t stop me from loving her at all. Shes a wonderful dog. She’s my friend. I don’t want other people to be scared of a dog that’s so sweet. I don’t want her to be scared of people she doesn’t know coming close to her territory. I want her to feel confident enough to not need to bark. But someone who trains dogs for a fucking living just said it won’t happen and I don’t know what to do.

I noticed my dog started copying parts of my daily routine. Now they wait for certain times of day like they understand the schedule.

Did your dog pick up any habits from you without you trying to teach them?

My puppy is now 6 months old. Overall, she's pretty good, but I got a trainer to work with jumping on people and on counters. I love my trainer, but one thing she said makes me question. My trainer says that dogs shouldn't be on furniture or on beds because if they are, they will think they're your peer. She said to think of an alpha dog who's high on a rock above the other dogs in his pack, and the "under-dogs" don't dare go up on the rock.

My puppy (Vizsla/coonhound mix) learned not to pee in the house VERY quickly, and literally, since the day I adopted her at two and a half months old, she never peed her bed or in her crate. However, she cried some nights, hating to be alone. So at 3 months old, she slept in my bed, and we both were happy. We spoon, where the top of my puppy's head is under my chin, and her back is against my chest and stomach as we both sleep on our side. It's very comforting to us both.

So does my puppy think of me more like a sister than her Mom? What do you guys think? Am I spoiling her?

My Terrier Mix (F | Spayed | 10mo) wasn't the terror I thought she would be when she finally hit that "teenager phase" but now at 10 months old, she is a hellion. Potty training had been going SO GOOD the last few weeks and then this weekend it was like all hell broke loose.

She figured out how to get on my computer table, broke into a crafting cabinet, and can reach so much more now. I obviously know it is somehow my fault (probs tied to a severe lack of enrichment due to my busy schedule honestly)

Anyways, I am frustrated so I figured we could share all the things our puppies have destroyed during their worst phases.

▪︎ Two phone charging cords

▪︎ One of my best sandals (today)

▪︎ Controller charging cord

▪︎ Vaccuum cord (today)

▪︎ Lots of socks and underwear

For some context, I just got a 2 month bichon puppy, and today is the 2nd day he's been home. I don't have a crate yet (getting it soon), so he stays in his bed in a pen which also has a pee pad inside. Please help me with the questions below if you have any experience or solution!!! Note; i do not have a leash yet

1. He cries so much in the playpen - the breeder told us just to leave him in his pen during the entire night, which we did, but he always whines and screams so much (he already knows that he needs to pee on the pad). We've ignored him, fed his meals in the pen, and also gave him treats every time he was quiet, but he's still whining like crazy and biting the pen. Is this normal and does he have social anxiety, do we continue to ignore the whining?
2. Refuses to go potty - Like I said, the breeder trained him to potty on the pad, which he does but since we got him, he has only peed once yesterday and nothing throughout the night. We want him to go potty outside so we carry him to the backyard, but he just sniffs and most importantly EATS and bites everything (I know this is puppy behaviour) but he literally refuses to pee after 25mins of outside. So far we had 1 accident.
3. Does not understand treats? - When I give him a treat, he literally just spits it out. When I give him kibble (which breeder tells us to wet it), he eats it but I don't think he understands its a treat lol.
4. How to fix biting? - Ive heard when he bites you just stick a toy in his mouth, is this right??

Thanks in advance. I really hope I do the best for my puppy and any advice is taken!!