Hi everyone! I’m looking for some advice on a crate-training issue with my puppy, Remy (a 6 month old Vizsla). I’m trying to understand why this is happening and find a solution that works for him and our household.

Monday through Friday, Remy starts barking in his crate at approximately 6:30 a.m. On weekends, he generally stays quiet until we get up. After paying attention to the pattern, I realized that the school bus passing our house at 6:30 seems to be what wakes him up. On days when school is out and the bus doesn’t come, he doesn’t have this problem.

Once he starts barking, he continues until we get up and let the dogs out. Interestingly, as soon as he hears our bedroom door open, he stops barking. His crate is already mostly covered, and unfortunately, there isn’t another practical place in our home to put it.

I’m not looking to punish him for barking, especially since he stops as soon as he knows we’re awake. I also don’t want to accidentally reinforce the behavior, so I’m trying to figure out the best way to approach it.

Ideally, I’d like to help him learn to remain calm when he hears the bus without having to change our normal wake-up time or move his crate. I understand that puppies take time to train, and I’m happy to put in the work. I’m just struggling to figure out which approach makes the most sense for this particular situation.

Has anyone dealt with something similar? Would sound masking, desensitization to the noise, or another training approach be worth trying?

I’m genuinely looking for constructive advice. Thank you!

*I hope the title explains what I’m asking*

she’s 8 months old. we’ve been doing great, i take her out every 3 hours and she asks to go outside. it’s been weeks, maybe months without an accident. i know she can hold it for up to 8 hours, she does it when she’s in the crate and during the night. but today she asked to go outside, and i didn’t immediately get up as i was finishing up some work and within 5 minutes she peed on the floor. i know it’s my fault for not getting up immediately, but she should also be able to hold it for a while even when she feels the urge. i’m worried we will never get her fully potty trained, i’ve been following all the advice and tips and she just won’t hold it for more than a few hours

hi! i rescued a very young puppy with no momma or littermates (5 weeks) and id like to get her as socialized as i possibly can! that being said, ive never done this before!

how do i get her used to sounds?

also, could i start to vaguely crate train her? how so? i have her in a pen- i want to teach her it’s okay to be bored and play on her own in her crate

lastly, biting! i know she’s too young so i know she’s missing out on the biting inhibition piece. any tips on how to train her as if she were with her mates?

We currently put our 6 month old puppy in a playpen in the kitchen when we leave. She does great in it but there are a few things. When we got her at 3 months, she was doing well just being blocked off in the kitchen (our kitchen is quite small). But as of a few weeks ago she began chewing on the chair legs/windowsill/baseboards. And she actually escaped one day into the living room (where our 6-year old dog is).

Since then we have made some adjustments. I bought her a few toys that resemble the feeling of wood (because I figured she was liking the wood texture of things so that could satisfy that urge for her) and we have given her less access to the kitchen. She is now enclosed in the playpen in middle of the kitchen so she can’t reach anything. We leave her bed, a few toys & her water and she does really well! She sleeps, stays relaxed, and plays with her toys.

The thing is we would like to eventually give her full access to the house. We had tested it out a few times and gated them in the living room & every time she would try to chew on the couch and wouldn’t settle.

But then when she snuck into the living room that one day she did really well and was able to settle fine. Also, when I work from home in my office I leave her in the kitchen in the mornings & let her and our other dog in the living room together and she does fine then too. So today when I came to let them out at my lunch I tested it again and at first she was fine. But then she became so excited and started zooming around the couch and started pulling the stuffing out of one our cushions that was already kinda broke. And she could NOT settle. I came home early and put her in the kitchen and now she’s sleeping.

All that to say, does anyone have suggestions on how I can slowly give her more access to the house? Or how I can eventually leave her with my other dog? She seems to be overexcited when she’s left with our other dog but idk how to fix that. Any suggestions or insight would be helpful!

8 week old blue nose pitbull male. I feel like I barely give him water but he’s constantly peeing. Any idea why

Brought home an 8 week old golden retriever puppy on the 16th of October. Since then he's been good with toilet training with expected accidents the first couple of days and is up to usual puppy antics. He knows sit, touch, go to bed and leave it and is halfway there with lie down.

Crate training is where the problem lies. Since getting him I've taught him "go to bed" and will lock him in for increasing periods of time and leave the room and he's doing okay with that, the occasional whine but when released is happy to get treats etc.

Through the day I've enforced crated naps however after the other day where we had to leave him alone for 45mins in his crate to go food shopping he's regressed. When we came back his paws were drenched from sweating and his chin from drooling which I know is a massive sign of stress, I felt absolutely awful when I got home.

He used to go in the crate himself during the day and night and put himself to bed but now will only fall asleep on the couch or floor and has to be moved to his crate. He's obviously lost trust.

He also has a bad habit of contact calling through the night. If he wakes up and barks I'll take him out, he'll wake up once for a pee or poo around 1-3AM however wakes up and doesn't need a wee sometimes. I've started learning the difference between an "I need outside" cry and a "I want your attention/contact" cry. When we first got him I'd take him out the crate and let him fall asleep next to me which is where I think the problem lies, he's gotten used to being let out to fall asleep. I've stopped doing that the past week or so and instead open the crate door and block it with my knees so he has to fall asleep in the crate. He'll grumble and whine but finally settle down. He won't quieten down if I sit next to him and keep the crate locked.

My problem is I can't keep sitting next to him each time he wakes up to whine and he doesn't need the toilet. If he settles in the crate and I move before hes asleep he starts crying for me to sit back next to him. I've been sleeping on the couch since we got him. It's the same when I leave the room during the day even if he's out of the crate - he'll sit at the living room door and cry for 5-10 minutes before settling down - the issue is sometimes he doesn't and will cry until I return to the living room.

I know he's only 10 nearly 11 weeks now but was wondering if anyone has any tips for reducing this behaviour or how I should move forward rebuilding that trust?

TIA for any help or advice, puppy pics for tax!!

Hi, I have new puppy and I am trying to figure things out, shes 8 weeks old, bordercolie. It’s our 2nd day together, she is in playpan. And sometimes accidents happen. I would like to put these puppy pads under her but I’m scared she would eat one, do you think these are safe?

I have a 5 month old puppy I'm really struggling to potty train and no matter what method I've tried she still ends up just having accidents in the house.

If I let her out in the yard she just wanders around and gets too distracted. I've tried taking her out on a leash and walking her around, I've tried taking her out on leash and standing still. I take her out every hour and try to stay outside for 10-15 minutes, if she doesn't do anything then we come back inside and I take her out every 2-5 minutes but 8/10 times she will just pee inside. Every time she does go outside I make sure to praise her like crazy and give her a high value reward but she doesn't seem to be getting it.

Any advice would be greatly appreciated😭🙏🏻

Potty timing? Meals? Naps? Training? Something else?

I am curious what the hardest part actually is for new puppy owners.

La mia cucciola di barboncino toy ha 3 mesi e non ha mai dato problemi durante i pasti. Le cose sono cambiate da quando le ho dato, su consiglio del veterinario, un pezzetto di carota congelata per alleviare il fastidio ai denti, oppure un bastoncino da masticare.
In queste situazioni, se mi avvicino, scappa a nascondersi. Inoltre, quando si mette nella sua cuccia e provo ad accarezzarla come faccio solitamente mentre mangia le crocchette, mi ringhia e si gira di scatto, quasi cercando di mordermi. Ho provato anche a tenerla in braccio mentre masticava il bastoncino (e in quel caso tollera la mia presenza), ma se muovevo la mano inizia a ringhiare.
È un comportamento che voglio correggere subito perché non mi piace affatto: come posso gestire e risolvere questa situazione?
Grazie!

I have a very energetic puppy, and I am a runner and cyclist. Like all of us, I have limited time in the day, and it has been the biggest bummer to have to give up running since my puppy needs walks (which honestly seem to do no good in terms of getting his energy out). I am so ready for him to be big enough to run because I miss running and cycling as much as I used to. I love him; I just get now why I'm more of an "adult dog" person. So many things he cannot do yet! Anyways, he's 4 1/2 months, so I need some options of how to give both him and myself exercise simultaneously. I have tried "playing soccer" with him, but he just gives up an does his own thing when he realizes the ball is too big. Please don't suggest tug of war or fetch....I'm looking for something that will be good for us both and can last more than just 10 minutes. Walking is just not gonna cut it, and I'm stumped what to do until I can run again and take him along.

Apologies here.. that flair isn't quite right so I hope it's OK to ask this question.

For background I've owned male puppies before. I've owned female dogs before. But I haven't raised a female dog from a pup.

Can someone give me some signs your female pup is about to start her first heat?

And if 'extra sweet' is one of the signs, can I opt to have that permanently installed in my 9mo pup? (kidding)

So to preface: I have a 7 month old lab who has been crate trained and slept 99% of the nights in her crate since she was 8 weeks old. She is EXTREMELY attached to my fiancé and will follow him everywhere. Anytime any one of us leaves, she cries for a few minutes but I think that’s normal. We joke and say she has FOMO. Anyways, if it was up to her, she’d never sleep in her crate, she prefers to nap on our bed but she sleeps during the night in her crate again.

Two months ago, I lost my job and was home all day every day and as she got older, I figured it was okay for her to come nap with me. My fiancé would take her potty, put her back in her crate with her breakfast and a bone, and then when I’d wake up, I’d get her out. Then after a few weeks, he wanted to see how it would be if he left her out in the living room to see if she was ready to do that while I slept for a few more hours. She’d eventually cry at my door and I’d let her in the room and she’d nap with me.

She’s never willingly gone to the crate herself, we’ve always told her to get in and she’s always kinda been a little hesitant but now, it’s a full fledged refusal. I mean, my fiancé has to pick her up and bring her to the crate otherwise she won’t get near it. We’ve never associated her crate with being punished, it’s only ever been for sleep or for when we need to leave the house so idk what to do about it. Advice??

TLDR: puppy refuses to go to her crate after being crate trained for 7 months. what do??

My family and I brought home a 16 week female terrier mix pup a week ago today and we’re having the opposite “problems” people typically have with pups.

She is very skittish and scared of everything. Every noise, stairs (this is a big one as we have 2 steps off our front porch and about 6 steps going out to our garage and most times she refuses to walk up/down the steps), shadows, flags blowing in the breeze, etc.
She is/was a rescue pup and the shelter didn’t provide much info, other than her and her littermates came from New Mexico (we’re in Colorado). It seems like she wasn’t around many humans at all or exposed to anything really.

It’s been 1 week and she’s slowly getting used to her new home but definitely prefers her crate. Sunday night she came out of her kennel on her own to eat and drink. Big win!
Starting Monday after coming inside from walks I will close her kennel door for about 5-10 mins so she can explore the house but she doesn’t venture too far around the house. After a couple of minutes she will lay or sit by her kennel. But doesn’t do the typical puppy following you everywhere.
There are instances when we’re all on the couch she will hop up and join us. I guess as I’m typing this, there has been improvement..given it’s only been a week.
She gets super excited in the mornings when we approach her kennel but won’t come out on her own. Her tail is wagging like crazy, she inches to the opening of her crate but won’t fully come out if she’s called. We’ve been having to carry her out of her crate to go outside to go potty. But I fear this is creating a bad habit? I’ve never raised a pup before. My husband says it’s all normal and she just needs more time to adjust and gain confidence.

She’s doing better outside and has enjoyed our short walks. But during walks she will sometimes just forfeit walking altogether. We can’t tell if she’s spooked by something or not. But this lack to walk becomes quite frustrating as you can imagine. We’ve tried getting down on her level, waiting it out, carrying her a few steps, etc. Any ideas?

I tried to do some training but it’s quite difficult as she’s not motivated by food/treats. We’ve tried cheese, blue berries, hot dog, chicken and puppy training treats. I’ve watched tons of training videos to practice a simple “sit” but she’s so uninterested. Am I trying to do too much too fast?

We’re very lucky that we don’t have the land shark problems, crying in her kennel, or getting into everything. But I would almost prefer that because that’s all I’ve ever known puppies to do.
Any advice? Does she just need more time to adjust?
Appreciate any help y’all can give!

Hi everyone.
I rescued a 5 month old lab/schnauzer mix and she is amazing. I’ve had her for 3 weeks and I have already trained her to go to the door and ring the bell when she wants to go outside.

The problem is most of the time I take her out to go pee/poop, even when I know she has to go, she will immediately start sniffing around and start eating stuff off of the ground. We have bunnies in the area so I’m sure most of what she’s eating is bunny poop or other small animal poop. She won’t stop the whole time and won’t go to the bathroom. She will the go to the bathroom once I give up and bring her back inside.

What tips do you have to try to get this to stop? I’ve thought about a anti food scavenger muzzle but I know she will hate that.

TYIA

Hello! My partner and I have recently adopted a puppy, he is 16 weeks old. We're working on some casual leash training. I've been reading to not use a collar since it can put too much pressure on their trachea. We purchased a Y-shaped padded harness. He's pretty good at walking, but refuses to come back inside, we've lightly tug on the leash to guide him back inside the home but I feel like it's still putting a lot of pressure on the front of his neck.

What are your recs on harnesses, what did you use for your puppy? Front clip? Back clip? I've been reading so much conflicting advice.

He is ~23 lbs, and we're thinking he's some type of border collie/black lab/retriever mix.

My husband and I have a 11 week old lab mix puppy named Todd. We are working on crate training him to help with potty training. Our first few days went awesome, he would whine a little in the crate but stop and sleep after a few minutes. The last 2 nights he whines and cries so much he makes himself sick. His stools and behavior outside the crate are normal so we dont think it’s related to a health issue. We have tried leaving the radio on, putting our shirts in the crate, and we get up in the middle of the night to take him out so he isn’t in there all night. He voluntarily goes jn the crate and likes it. I feel so bad for my baby since he keeps throwing up so any tips are helpful, or if anyone has a similar story since i feel like a horrendous dog mom right now.

This is Chico, my 7-month-old Husky/Lab mix.
He really is such a good boy; he listens pretty decently!
The one thing I can’t stand right now is his barking… I get huskies are very vocal. I LOVE when he talks, or even if we are playing, he can bark. What is driving me crazy is after he is done eating dinner he will just come up to us and bark the whole time we are eating or sitting on the couch; he will just bark. When I’m trying to do my homework, he will just BARK!!!! I have looked up to walk away and not look at him, go to a different room, and shut the door until he is quiet… nothing works. He thinks everything is a game. I try to take him to the dog park as much as possible; we even go two times a day, and I swear we are there for 3 hours at a time. I try to take him on walks. I give him a Kong with treats; he even gets a bully stick if I just need a break from the barking. I have dog puzzles. I’m at my breaking point, and I need help ASAP. I live in an apartment, and I just want to sit with my back door open, but I can’t because it’s not fair for my neighbors to hear his obnoxious high-pitched bark 24/7. We are hopefully getting a house within the next month so he will have a yard to run, but I bet $50 he will still sit out there and bark. Please, can someone help me?

I have a 14-week-old Cavalier King Charles Spaniel, and I’m struggling to get her to settle when she’s awake. I know they are a Velcro breed and that is totally okay but I need her to learn that when she’s awake I cannot always be her source of entertainment.

We follow a schedule of roughly 2-hour naps and 45–90 minutes awake. She’s generally fine in her crate, but when she’s up, she constantly wants my attention, jumps on me, and whines instead of playing on her own.

I work from home and take breaks during her awake time to play, train, and spend time with her. I primarily feed her all three meals, and while my partner and I both take her out, she usually goes with me.

The confusing part is that she’s extremely calm around my partner but much more demanding around me. He works outside the home, so I’m with her much more throughout the day.

She’s been sick recently, so we’ve temporarily paused separation training as well.

Has anyone experienced this? How did you teach your puppy to play independently and settle while you’re home? Looking for practical advice! Thank you.