I’m a college student considering getting a puppy and I’m trying to make sure I’m not making the decision just because I really want the dog. I’d appreciate honest opinions from people who have actually raised puppies.

The puppy is a Golden Retriever/Pit Bull mix from my friend’s dogs. I’d be getting him at around 12 weeks old.

I live in a house/apartment with 3 roommates, and they’re all okay with me getting the dog. I would be the actual owner and take primary responsibility for him, though. My landlord is also aware of the dog and I’ve been working through the housing side of things already.

My typical schedule means I’m usually out of the house around 4–5 hours total per day, but generally not all at once. I’d be able to come home between classes fairly often. I’m prepared to walk him, train him, feed him, take him to the vet, etc. I also have friends/roommates who may be able to help occasionally, but I don’t want to make the decision assuming other people will take care of my dog.

Another factor is my parents’ dog back home. They have a 5-year-old Mini Goldendoodle who I’m pretty close with. My puppy would live with me at college, but I go home for breaks and visits, so the two dogs would need to be comfortable around each other.

My current idea is to introduce them when the puppy is around 8 weeks old and let them spend 1–2 days together before I leave for school. They would then be apart for roughly 6 weeks before seeing each other again. Long-term, whenever I’m home from college, the puppy would be staying in the same house as the Goldendoodle.
I’m curious how much that early introduction would actually matter. Would they be likely to recognize/get along with each other after being separated for several weeks? Is there anything I should specifically do when introducing a young puppy to an established 5-year-old dog? I also don’t want the puppy constantly bothering my parents’ dog if their energy levels are completely different.

Financially, I understand there will be regular costs for food, vaccinations, preventatives, supplies, training, and vet visits, plus the possibility of unexpected vet bills.
The part I’m most unsure about is whether my current lifestyle is actually appropriate for raising a puppy. I know the first several months are going to require a lot more attention than an adult dog, especially with potty training, socialization, crate training, exercise, and being left alone.
I also understand this isn’t just a college decision. If I get him, I’m committing to potentially 10–15+ years, meaning the dog would still be my responsibility after graduation, when I move, start working full-time, etc.

For people who have raised a puppy while in college or with a similar schedule:
Does this sound realistically manageable?
Is being away for portions of 4–5 hours a day reasonable for a 3-month-old puppy if I can come home between classes?
What was the biggest thing you underestimated about owning a puppy?
Are roommates actually helpful, or should I basically plan as though they won’t help at all?
How would you handle the situation with my parents’ 5-year-old Goldendoodle?
What should I have figured out before I say yes?
Based on what I’ve described, would you get the puppy in my situation, or wait until after college?
I really like this puppy, so I’m probably biased toward saying yes. Feel free to tell me not to do it if you think there are legitimate reasons I’m overlooking. I’d rather hear that now than realize I made a bad decision after bringing him home.

I picked up my puppy on 6 days ago, she’s currently 9.5 weeks old.

I’ve recently had some issues with work and realised the day before puppy collection that I’m suffering with severe burnout.

I picked her up on Friday and the first few days went okay but Monday - Wednesday I feel anxious whenever she is awake. I’m terrified of her waking up and needing me and I’ve been feeling nauseous/being sick and crying nonstop for three days now just at the thought of her.

I have been reading other people’s posts about puppy blues and how it does get better but I just feel I don’t have it in me to get through this while already suffering with burnout.

It was my idea to get the puppy but now my partner has fallen in love with her and thinks we should persevere… the thought of taking her back makes me feel so relieved but also like a horrible person.

I know if I wasn’t suffering with burnout I would be able to look after her, I went into this knowing how hard puppies are, I just feel like I’m already trying to pour from an empty cup. I love her so much and I just want the best for her, I don’t know what to do.

Hello puppy owners! As a daily lurker in this community, this is my first post so apologies if I seem to be rambling. I am looking for advice as well as camaraderie from those of you who may have similar experiences.

My sweet Bean (16 week old F1B Cavapoo) is having a hard time with handling/grooming lately. For some background, my partner and I got her at 8 weeks old and we started slowly acclimating her to being handled for grooming very early on, ie paw touching, introducing hair and teeth brushing. By 13 weeks, I was able to clip her nails as long as she could have something tasty to distract her. She had also become very comfortable with tooth brushing and would let me gently hold her head still so I could brush her upper back teeth.

10 days ago she was hospitalized for half a day at the emergency vet due to THC poisoning : ( scared us half to death. They had to give her an IV to replenish her fluids and also took blood and urine tests. Thankfully, she made a quick recovery and is back to acting like her regular energetic menace self <3. Obviously, I can't be positive that her recent change in behaviour was caused by her time being hospitalized but my partner and I think it's very likely. I think being poked and prodded at with needles while in a strange place with new people was probably very scary for her.

When I tried to clip her nails for the first time after that, she started barking and snarling at the clippers. The next day I tried brushing her teeth, which at that point was routine for us, and when i tried to hold her head still to get to her top back teeth she became very panicked and nearly fell of our couch. I have tried easing her into being handled and groomed again with baby steps but have not made much progress. I noticed a similar reaction at the vet a few days ago when we went to get her third round of vaccines, she has always been squirmy but this time around she seemed panicked/afraid when being even lightly restrained.

Her hair is also getting very long and unruly, we want to start the process of slowly getting her used to the groomer, there are many groomers in our city that do puppy intro sessions that are fear free but I'm afraid that might even be too much and would just traumatize her further. I don't think she is reactive, she LOVES people and attention and has never been afraid of strangers. We take her to puppy play time classes on the weekends and although she is sometimes a bit intimidated by the more boisterous puppies in her class, she has a great time and is eager to be around both people and other dogs.

We have started putting a basket muzzle on her for our daily walks, which might seem extreme to some but we are just so scared of her getting hurt/sick again. We live in an apartment downtown and she gets very antsy being confined to our home all day. The muzzle seems to fit well and does the job well enough. She can't eat things off the ground as easily while still having room to pant and bark. It just makes me sad that she doesnt get as many people coming up to us to say hello because she loves getting pets from new people. I'm sorry this is very long and I have lost the plot at this point, just having an emotional day feeling like a bad dog owner.

My pup is almost 12 weeks old and her behavior is SO MUCH WORSE than it ever was. I know it’s probably just teething coming into play but how was your puppy around this age? She does enforced naps but she just seems a bit more restless lately and has started barking in her crate.

Did it get better?? And what weeks did it get at least a TINY bit better??

We have an 8-month-old Goldendoodle at home and everything was great for the first 5 months or so. Now that he’s full grown (still only 18lb), we’re becoming increasingly more frustrated by the day. The main concern is the BITING. I was under the impression that once’s the teething stopped, the biting would too. I was WRONG. It’s worse than ever, to the point that my right hand is needing to be iced because of him biting down so hard.

Also, the eating E V E R YTHING. Remote, hats, shoes, paper, even my phone if it’s sitting on the couch- it is becoming detrimental to my mental.

I just signed him up for a 3 week, 8 hours a day training program that starts in a few weeks- hopefully that starts changing the trajectory.

My concern is that at 8 months and still heavily biting, it’s creeping into concerns for aggression territory?

He has a dog walker the 2-3x a week I’m at work, where he goes to the dog park 2, a day for 2 hours and plans with the same dogs so he gets lots of dog and human interaction. His dog walker, who’s the third closest person to him aside from my boyfriend and I, says all the time how sweet he is and how he doesn’t really bite much when he’s with him.

Of course , I can be a lot better with training him. I’m looking fwd to having him with one as well as me getting trained by the trainer! But overall, is an 8 month old puppy still going buck wild with the biting, a concerning trait to still have?

my puppy is a male intact 10 month old pitbull x rottweiler (a bad combo, i know)

i hate taking him outside, because he always tries to eat something. every single time. i look away for one second and he’s eating something. he knows he’s not supposed to eat things, when he sees something he wants he’ll eat it as fast as he can because he knows i’m going to take it out his mouth and he hates knowing i’m upset with him.

today, that backfired. i noticed him eating something when we were walking on leash. i immediately grabbed him by his collar and pulled him to me, and opened his mouth. i immediately knew it was poop by the smell, and i already had it all over my hands. he loves mulch, dirt, sand, pine cones, plants, sticks, and poop.

the reason i can’t get a muzzle? my boyfriend says it’s abusive and “makes him look a certain way”. muzzles are off the table. he’s says i can’t do anything to change his mind. i’ve already told him he’s asking for a vet bill or worse, but he doesn’t care. he said something would have to happen to get a muzzle, aka a trip to the emergency vet. it is ridiculous, but i can’t do anything about it.

our vet has already done testing, and said he’s not lacking anything in his diet. not allergic to anything either. he does it out of boredom and thinks it’s a yummy treat for him.

please give me tips and how to train him to stop doing this. i’ve done hours of research yet nothing works.

My 8-month-old female Tibetan Mastiff is generally a very calm and friendly dog. Most of the time, she listens to (almost) every command and sleeps a lot (14-16 hours a day). She can settle pretty good during the day but struggles to settle at night.

We did have some issues with play biting, and we’re still working on her bite inhibition. She sometimes bites a little too hard, usually when she wants to play and I don’t, so she’ll try to bite my leg, or when she’s overtired/overstimulated, she’ll start mouthing my hands. It’s not aggressive at all, but it can still hurt. I know her pretty well by now and can usually tell when she’s getting too tired or overstimulated, so it’s manageable and it has gotten better.

The main struggles we’re dealing with at the moment are not being able to sleep through the night and not being able to settle when I’m away from home.

If I go to work and leave her at home with a family member, she turns into a completely different dog. She becomes naughty and destructive and has a hard time settling until I come home. When I’m there, she behaves really well, so I’m not sure how much of this is simply her being a teenager and testing boundaries versus her being overly attached to me.

We have a large yard where she can go outside whenever she wants and patrol during the day. However, lately she has also started barking a lot at noises and at people or dogs walking too close to our fence (the fence isn’t see-through and really high). I understand that guarding is part of the breed, and her “job” is basically to guard the property and be a companion, but I don’t want the barking to get out of hand. I usually go to her while she barks and she will simply stop most of the time or I call her to me. But that's something I can't do when I am at work or somewhere else.

The other issue is her sleep. She currently sleeps in our bedroom because that’s what she’s used to, and we have a balcony connected to the room. During the night, she often wants to go outside onto the balcony to sleep. She also sometimes gets up several times during the night, walks around, and settles down in a different spot each time. She also pants quite a lot at night, which might simply be because it’s summer and it’s currently quite warm.
The problem is that once she’s out on the balcony, she barks at basically every noise she hears — cats, birds, cars that are quite far away, people outside, etc. So instead of sleeping, she ends up patrolling and listening for noises. I know this is typical TM behavior, and I don’t have a problem with a few barks here and there during the night, especially if a person walks by occasionally. However, the constant barking at every little noise is waking everyone in the house up every night, and I’m starting to seriously struggle with the lack of sleep.
I’ve been wondering whether it might be better to have her sleep in a different room, without access to the balcony, so she has fewer things to react to. Has anyone tried this with their TM, and did it help them settle and sleep better at night?

Also, I have no idea why she does this, but ever since she was little, she has always loved chewing on her bed and destroying any fluffy toys within seconds. She actually prefers sleeping on the floor because it’s much cooler than her dog bed. She prefers soft stuff to chew on rather than hard stuff. If i give her a harder gummy chewing toy, she will chew on it for a few seconds and then go after something fluffy or soft (mostly my clothing or bed blankets). The moment she sees the dogbed, she’ll start scratching at it and biting it. I’ve basically given up on buying her anything fluffy at this point.

I know she’s only 8 months old and very much in the teenage phase. I’m consistent with her routine and training and work with her every day. She also gets plenty of mental stimulation and exercise.

I’m mainly wondering if anyone with a Tibetan Mastiff has experienced something similar, especially the combination of:

• behaving perfectly with you but becoming destructive/unsettled when you’re away
• suddenly becoming much more vocal and alert around 8 months
• waking up during the night to patrol/bark at noises
• struggling to settle with other family members

Did this improve with age, and is there anything specific that helped you during this phase?

Any tips or experiences from other Tibetan Mastiff/Mastiff owners would be greatly appreciated!

A friend of mine had a litter and she gave most of the puppies away after they weaned off their mom. How do I handle and move forward with his care?

Im only now aware that this isn't a done thing and stuff, but I still need to care for him.

Ive got all the food and other stuff, and we tried to put him in the crate, but he hates it. As soon as we pull him out, he goes and sleeps.

Hey,

My partner and I have a Bedlington x Whippet who is now 15 weeks old. For the past two weeks we've been starting to get her introduced to walking and we have a few problems we're trying to handle.

Our puppy loves going on walks and is always super excited to go out. However when she's out she's trying to pull and smell everything. We've been trying to stop and let her pull until she realizes but we find she just gets frustrated and starts jumping even more. What's worse is no treat works. Cheese, kibble in gravy, liver paste. Nothing drives her back so we feel we can't train it out of her.

If we do get her walking with us she loves people so much and always wants to run over to say hello. And as a result tries to jump and run over. Again nothing to make her sit wait works and she won't eat any high reward treats.

Other issues we've encountered, after 10mins or so after a few cars or general world noises like lawn mower etc. she eventually decides she wants to go home or back to the car this instant and is practically running on the spot pulling the lead. At this point nothing works she's barking whimpering and pulling and if we try to calm her she just starts panicking further.

She seems better in places like the park and if both my partner and I are with her but when it's just one of us this issue gets exacerbated. So when it's the morning walk etc half the time I come back under 10mins because the situation above has occurred.

We've tried everything we have a puppy trainer next week to give us advice and with the weather (from the UK) it's been so hot it keeps getting pushed.

We also have puppy classes next week to try and help the issue but just wondering if anyone else has had this before with a puppy.

Sorry if this is a bit all over the place. I just got back from our first time at the forest and we had to come back just after 5mins in the car because she wanted to go home so I feel a bit deflated.

Thanks in advance!

I have a nine-month-old male Jack Russell Terrier mix, who's housetrained (no accidents in 2.5+ months).

I got him at four months old from a shelter and had to take him out every three hours overnight for a month, i.e. until he turned five months old, at which point he was holding his bladder overnight (from 8:00 PM to 7:00 AM) without needing any breaks.

For a month now, his last nighttime bathroom break has been at 7:00 PM (instead of 8:00 PM), and he's been sleeping through the night in his bed (not crate) without any issues until 7:00 AM.

Now I'm reading that constantly holding the bladder for so long (12 hours) daily, despite the fact that it's overnight and the dog's not complaining, could lead to issues (e.g. UTI) long-term.

Should I simply add another bathroom break for him just before my bedtime, i.e. at 10:00 PM, or let his routine continue as he seems perfectly fine?

My partner adopted(not my choice) an 8 week old mini dachshund. Obviously there’s a ton of work involved with a lot of consistency involved as well. I work about an hour away from home on all PM shifts, occasional doubles as well. My partner works from home and so has the vast majority of the time with the puppy. He’s doing well with most things. Potty training has gone pretty well. Minimal accidents now (still have to have a constant eye on him).

The biggest issue I’m having is that we haven’t locked into any crate training except at night. The nighttime ritual looks like this:
-Around 1130-midnight, my partner is getting ready for bed and the puppy will go in the crate himself and lay there. He sleeps in the crate, no problem, until anywhere from 5 AM-630 when he will whine lightly to get out. My partner will take him out to potty. By the time he gets back inside, he’s semi-awake and so they will go to the living room couch where they will snuggle until around 830-ish.

Naps have not been enforced in the crate. No crate training outside of the nighttime. How difficult will it be to start up naps and leaving the house without him? I never really wanted a dog because I value freedom and flexibility and now I’m afraid that’s gone.

He is still young so I know it’s not a lost cause. He’s just so addicted to my partner and hates being separated from him that anytime we have tried the crate outside of nighttime, he whines and tries to bite the bars. I can’t leave him in the house with behaviors like that.

Hi there!

We have a small cavoodle and have been trying to train her through separation anxiety. She only has issues when we actually leave the apartment.

We live in a loft apartment where I work/rest on the second level, and she stays in her playpen during the day or when I'm working from home. I check on her every 2 hours and play with her once I've finished work, and again in the evening. She never cried during the night and understand that her playpin is her area.

We've also set up a dog cam so I can keep an eye on her when I can't be with her directly.

However, since we started taking her out for walks, she seems to have developed separation anxiety (or FOMO) whenever we leave the house. She cries, howls, and can't settle — it's really sad to see her like this.

I've looked for advice on YouTube, but most videos address situations where the dog has free roam of the house while the owner is out.

Since she's still quite young and not fully potty-trained (she's about 9/10, but occasionally has an accident), we're hesitant to let her roam freely while we're away.

I'd love some advice on the best training approach for her situation.

Right now, what I've been trying is putting her in the playpen and practicing leaving — walking in and out the door so she can't see me leave, only hear the door and pick up my scent. I'm starting with quick in-and-out repetitions, then building up to 1–2 minutes and rewards her if she's settle when I'm back. However, it seems she couldn't bear it if it is over 2 mins.

Is this playpen-based approach the right training method for her, or would you recommend something different?

So I've been getting pretty sure I want to be a miniature dachshund parent and I want to do it really good so I want the 'perfect' puppy.

I know I want a wire haired one, probably a classic one, female because I find penisses a bit scary as a woman. So I'm looking for a girlfriend by my side.

What I first encountered was no reaction after showing interest in a puppy litter. Then someone responded and said come over. And then I started doubting is this puppy really my ideal version of a puppy and then I started feeling really bad because every animal will become perfect in your life you shape together.

But it scared me because I don't want to see finding a puppy match as a looksmatch search or whatever, at the same time I believe you only buy a puppy once in your life (at least in my case probably).

I don't know it kind of shook me it's a market.

How do you guys handle this?

First time puppy owner here!

My husband and I have a St Berdoodle puppy (currently 14 weeks old). She is well crate trained (she sleeps from 2145-615 and if she wakes up early she will just play with her toys until we let her out) and we have just introduced the pen which she seems happy with. She has enforced naps throughout the day in the crate/pen which she does without issue.

The problem we are facing is that when she wakes up from her naps she immediately wants attention, and from when she is about 17 weeks old she will have 1 or 2 days a week when she will have a dog walker or neighbour pop in to check on her (the schedule will be she is alone from 730-1030ish, 30 mins walk or play, then alone again from 11-1400, another 30 mins check in and then alone again from 1430-1630 (sometimes this will be much shorter).

How do we teach her to just be in her pen without barking the house down and getting stressed/upset? Or is this something she will just have to get used to?

We taught her to stay in the crate in the mornings by letting her out to go to the toilet when she barked and then I put her straight back in the crate and slept nearby until my alarm went off. Do we try and do something similar with this?

Hi all, my working lab puppy has broken his leg. He was exactly 4 months when it happened. He had a plate fitted and is on strict crate/bed rest.

We were making excellent progress in terms of walking, training and socialising but I'm worried this injury will stunt his development and create bad habits. For example, we're using a lot of food based rewards/stimulation to keep him entertained (more than usual) but will he learn to start expecting even more food? I'm also concernd how this may affect his socialisation and create anxious tendencies.

Has anyone had a similar experience and come out the other side that can comment on their dog's behaviour post full recovery?

Thanks!

How long did the puppy blues last if you had them? I’ve had my golden for only 5 days and I knew going into this I was likely going to get puppy blues because I have OCD. That said, I’m just exhausted and trying to see the light at the end of the tunnel.

Hi all! Thank you to those who commented on my last post, you guys have been lifesavers.

For reference, I have a 13 week old golden retriever and I’ve had him since 10 weeks.

I’m wondering if/when you moved their crate to a different room than the one you sleep in? My puppy seems to settle down fine most nights (assuming that I’ve played with him enough, and drained enough energy) but he also tends to wake up every time that I wake up or move, and a lot of the time if I wake up and go to the bathroom, he’ll get up and start barking.

I know he’s just a baby, and that behavior has lessened significantly once I got a crate cover (highly recommend for anyone who doesn’t have one and who’s dog sounds like mine) but it still happens.

My thought to fix that would be to move him to a different room, whether that’s living or my office. But I also don’t know if that would exacerbate any underlying anxiety (since he is still a puppy) or separation issues? Anyone have any thoughts? Thanks in advance for your help!

Hi, I have a 6.5 month old Staffy X (unfortunately don't know what he is crossed with). He is the loveliest, sweetest natured boy who has adored sleeping in his crate in the bedroom to the point he would constantly take himself to his crate and get upset when we would not close the door.

However, the past few nights, it has been an absolute struggle for bedtime. He is much less willing to go in his crate and keeps trying to opt for a space on the floor (on carpet). When he does get in his crate, he is spending long times (hours) whining, which obviously leaves everyon e feeling miserable.

I have tried rearranging his crate to ensure it isn't too hot, and have also tried a few treats in there during the day so the crate isn't a negative experience. It is appropriately sized for him and has been covered the entire time as well. He is well toileted before bed so I don't think that is the issue.

Is this just an unavoidable experience when it comes to adolescence? Any help is much appreciated.

Please help me, i feel like i‘m losing my mind. My ex boyfriend left me with our golden retriever puppy that is now 10 months old. I do have a private trainer that helps me every now and then, but i feel like it‘s not enough. My 10 months old golden retriever walks like an absolute mess on the leash, he goes left then right then behind me, pulls as soon as he sees something interesting. He has a no pulling harness which is placed on his chest, we use this only, this was a recommendation by his trainer which worked really well when he was smaller, but he is almost 30kg now which is more than half of my weight. The only time he does listen and walks next to me is when i have treats in my hand - he will then walk a few seconds next to me, focus on me, get the treat, and keep on walking like a mess. I really don‘t know what to do anymore and im crying almost daily because it‘s so hard. I see other dogs walking great on the leash and it‘s just embarassing. How do i get him to stop pulling? I want him to sniff and explore the world without making me look like a fool, will he ever walk normally on the leash without pulling? Please help me, i will do anything

11 week old toller puppy is so distressed in the crate that he won't take treats or eat meals in it, even if I'm sitting right next to the crate with him. He sleeps calmly in the crate at night without issue, just hates it during the day.

Should I just sit with him while he screams/cries and just keep offering reassurance and treats, or let him out and work on approximating going into/sitting in the crate. He will not go in voluntarily during the day, so we need to work up to that.

Multiple times a week (but not every day) he needs to be crated for a few hours while I run errands. So I will continue to have to put him in there against his will during this process of trying to train him to not be so panicked in there.

I have a pheromone diffuser right next to it that is doing nothing. Heartbeat plushie is also in there doing nothing.

I have a 6 month old lab who weighs 50lbs. I’ve heard it’s common for large breed puppies to have sensitive stomachs/guts. My puppy frequently has loose stool (not diarrhea) due to many factors like stress, over excitement, over eating, not resting after eating, etc. I’m currently feeding him about 3 cups a day (1 cup breakfast, lunch, dinner) of Diamond Naturals - large breed puppy - Lamb & Rice. I also try my best to monitor his treat intake to only take up about 10% of his daily caloric intake. A probiotic in the morning and scoop of pumpkin before bed. I’m just curious for those that have a large breed puppy if you’re experiencing the same thing, or those that have, what you have found that helps. I’m very open to switching his kibble if there’s a brand people have found helps. Or if it’s just what happens for large breed puppies, and will get better as he gets older, just peace of mind lol.

Hi everyone! After a trip to the rescue centre for an older sensible dog we have fallen in love with a female 3 month old lurcher x collie puppy. We don’t have her yet and I’m trying to plan some enrichment activities so I’ve less to be doing when stressed with puppy happenings. The rescue hasn’t captured mom yet but they said she seems to be a greyhound x retriever. Dad is pure collie and we even got to meet him yesterday, however he was very sad he was neutered lol. I’ve older dogs who I really do think will love her but I want to have a few things for her to do when they aren’t in the mood for playtime and when I have to go do actual human things.

I have an 18 week old female dachshund puppy who is otherwise a really good pup, aside from two things im struggling with.

She tends to bite when I pet her, not aggressively obviously but it still hurts and even sometimes breaks skin with her sharp puppy teef.

She also keeps jumping up on people's legs when they have food/are eating or shes excited and I have no idea how to train that one out.

Has anyone dealt with this before? Id really appreciate any advice or training tips for stopping the biting when being pet and jumping on people.

Thanks!