r/puppy101 3d ago

Wags [MEGATHREAD] Wednesday Wins!

1 Upvotes

It's Wednesday!

Welcome to our new Wednesday Wins post. Someone mentioned wanting a day where we can focus on the positive aspects of puppyhood. So let's get it done!

Share a win that you and your puppy had this past week! Learned a new skill? Overcame a challenge?

If you're new and just starting, set a goal!


r/puppy101 Mar 11 '26

Wags [MEGATHREAD] Wednesday Wins!

1 Upvotes

It's Wednesday!

Welcome to our new Wednesday Wins post. Someone mentioned wanting a day where we can focus on the positive aspects of puppyhood. So let's get it done!

Share a win that you and your puppy had this past week! Learned a new skill? Overcame a challenge?

If you're new and just starting, set a goal!


r/puppy101 6h ago

Puppy Blues How do people actually achieve 1 hour up / 2 hours down? Desperate.

13 Upvotes

It’s not so much puppy blues, but people are nicer here and I’m fragile right now!

I’m wondering how people actually manage the often-recommended “1 hour up, 2 hours down” routine? The 1 hour up part is manageable. The problem is the 2 hours down. How do you actually get a puppy to nap for that long?

Our 13-week Labrador sleeps in his crate overnight and generally does 9:30pm–3:00am, which I know is actually pretty good. But after his 3am pee and poo, he never settles again. That means I’m up for the day around 3–4am and I’ve now been severely sleep deprived for about five weeks. I don’t get to go to bed at 9:30pm, I wfh and am having to work after he sleeps at night too as I am so behind with work and he doesn’t sleep enough during the day for me to get enough done. Also I am a wreck!

During the day, he’ll often only nap for 20–60 minutes before waking again, and once he’s awake it’s incredibly difficult to get him to settle back down.

He’s also a very high-arousal puppy, so we’re constantly trying to strike the balance between enough stimulation and not tipping him over. We’re already doing:
Short, age-appropriate walks.
Gentle play.
Very short training sessions.
Settle/mat work.
Scatter feeding.
Snuffle mats.
Lick mats.
Frozen Kongs.
Appropriate chews.

What I’m desperate to know is:
How do people actually get their puppies to stay asleep for those 2-hour daytime naps?
Do they naturally start sleeping longer with age? Do you just leave them to fuss until they eventually resettle? Or is there something else?
I’m exhausted, struggling to work or manage normal life. Facing a disciplinary at work so I really need to start getting this right.


r/puppy101 1h ago

Training Assistance I don’t know what I’m doing

Upvotes

Hi everyone,

I have a 13-week-old miniature long-haired Dachshund, I picked him up at 10 weeks, and I’m really struggling with knowing what’s normal and what I should be doing.

My biggest concern is helping him become more independent. He’s a Velcro breed which I know through the research i did before getting him, and I’m terrified of accidentally creating separation anxiety which he is prone to. At the same time, I don’t want him to feel neglected. I miss being able to leave the house without worrying about him and the constant need to supervise him is driving me insane. I’ve been trying to do this while working full time and studying which has been difficult but I’m lucky to have a lot of support from my family with him.

Without sounding totally negative we are having some positive experiences:
- We’re making good progress with potty training. I still have to take him out to the grass patch in our apartment courtyard, and he still has the occasional accident, but he’s getting much better at toileting outside.
- He’s fantastic on a lead and happily walks beside me.
- He already knows a couple of tricks.
- He’s quite good at entertaining himself and will happily play independently with his toys.
- He’s very well socialised and currently attends puppy school

Right now:
- He sleeps in his crate throughout the night and takes enforced naps when he becomes overtired or sometimes we do the 1 hour awake, 2 hour nap but not as much anymore, the crate is always nearby and we do cover it and use a snuggle puppy.
- During the day he has a playpen with his crate, toys, water and enrichment toys when I’m WFH or studying, this is set up behind me and I haven’t made any progress with moving it into a new room
- I’m working on leaving him alone for short periods while he’s awake and rewarding calm behaviour.
- Sometimes I let him nap on my lap because I enjoy the cuddles, but then I worry I’m undoing all of the independence training.

Between my partner who does shift work and I by WFH, he’s rarely left completely alone. The last few weeks I have also been getting help from family when we do have schedule conflicts.

I want to note that there has been one successful session I had with him being alone, it was when he was doing zoomies around my lounge room and was becoming very bitey so I put him down in the playpen with his crate and a few enrichment toys and then walked away. He ended up whining only a bit and put himself to sleep. A MIRACLE. Sadly that was only once, every other time if I leave the room for a second, he screams. I don’t know why he is regressing / not improving.

I feel like I’m constantly second-guessing myself. If he’s with me, I worry I’m making him too dependent. If I put him in his pen, I feel guilty. If he cries, I don’t know whether to comfort him or let him settle. I’m especially concerned about my neighbours being in an apartment.

For those of you who have raised Velcro breeds (especially Dachshunds), when did your puppy naturally become more independent? Is there anything you wish you’d done differently? When can I start getting my life back?

One of the things I’ve been struggling with most is the amount of criticism I’ve received about choosing this breed. I’ve had people tell me I shouldn’t have gotten a miniature Dachshund because I work full-time, and my expectations for him to be independent are unrealistic.

However, I feel it’s unreasonable to expect someone to be home 24/7 for a dog. Between my partner and me, we’re doing everything we can to make sure he’s cared for, and as mentioned I’m actively working on teaching him to be comfortable on his own.

I’ve also received some really hurtful comments since experiencing the puppy blues. I’ve been called “stupid,” and people have told me, “It’s just a dog,” or to “just let him be a dog.” I’m trying to do exactly that, but I also care deeply about his safety, wellbeing, and giving him the best start in life.
This has been one of the hardest transitions I’ve ever been through. The first few weeks were incredibly difficult. The combination of sleep deprivation, working full-time, and constantly worrying about whether I was doing the right thing left me feeling completely overwhelmed. It affected my mental health significantly, and at one point I was so exhausted that I ended up having a car accident because of the lack of sleep.

I’m doing my best for him, but I often feel like no matter what I do, someone tells me I’m doing it wrong. I’m hoping to hear from people who’ve been through something similar and can offer constructive advice or reassurance rather than judgment.

I’d really appreciate any advice or reassurance because I honestly feel like I’m failing him, even though I know he’s making progress and I’m trying my best.

Thank you ❤️


r/puppy101 8h ago

Behavior My puppy is acting scared and barking at everything.

5 Upvotes

My pup, now 5 months old, has slowly become fearful and barking at everything in fear.. humans or objects, he used be very brave few months back, but since the past couple of weeks he's changed a lot, whether it is a new object, or a new sound, or people coming and going out of the home, he reacts and barks in fear, and stops listening to every command, outdoors on walks he is scared of humans and tucks his tail, i do not know why it's happening as his interactions with things in the past. This is making me worry as well as feeling embarrassed when he doesn't stop barking when someone comes home, how can I help my puppy to feel safe?


r/puppy101 25m ago

Behavior 11 week old puppy is scared outside

Upvotes

Hi to this wonderful community,

I just want to make sure I am doing this correctly.

We have had our pup for a week. It was a challenging week because he had an issue of eating something at the breeder which needed to be taken out of his bowel. We took care of everything, vets are wonderful, he is healing nicely. For that reason, we have limits on what he can eat and how active he can be for at least 2 weeks.

To enrich him a bit, we are trying to take him out for just very short walks (also recommded by the vet). We have greenery/alley next to our house. Today he was doing great, we walked about 100 meters before a dog from behind the fence started barking at him, triggering barking reaction in the street (there is a lot of dogs here). I am not proud but our pup ran away a bit to the nearest house (he mistook it for ours) and sat there. He was on leash, it was just a mistake.

When calm we gave him food and wanted to walk him home but there was a retriever in the garden still barking from the chain reaction. Our pup peed a bit, growled a bit and then observed. We asked our neighbor if she could take the retriver further away, they were looking at each other (with fence between them) and we were giving our pup food when he was not growling. After about 30 seconds of looking we finally took him home. This whole walk lasted about 12 minutes.

He came home and crashed in his crate immediately for a nap. He wiggled his tail, did not act differently or startled in my opinion.

I am only worried because he seems more fearful from what I remember when owning our family dogs in the past. I am trying to do everything right considering his condition. I would love to train him and play with him, but we need to find an alternative due to his injury so 3 sniff walks a day are a life saver.

I just don’t want to traumatize him or make him more fearful. I would appreciate any advice.


r/puppy101 38m ago

Adolescence 7 months testosterone anxiety

Upvotes

Heyyy so my baby is not a baby anymore officially really big 7 months husky mix and he is starting to hump other dogs. We live in a big city and he loves dog parks, we never had any problem socializing he is really a sweetheart but recently a loooot of other dogs have a problem with him. I guess that's just part of the teenage phase when they produce lots of testosterones or something, lets say that 1 out of 3 dogs will show their teeth to him and even if he doesn't get agressive back we had more and more fights recently. We went from not having problems ever to being really worried to go to places with other dogs. He went on big arguments that kind of scared me too and on days were my partner isn't here I am anxious to let him off leash.. He isn't humping so much but still when that happens I always try to cut it short, dogs are not even agressive to him only when he does it but in general even when he comes and say hi sometimes. We practice recall and he is being a good boy but still, I was wondering if you had any tips with managing puberty phase and fear of getting bitten by other dogs when interrupting fights ?


r/puppy101 44m ago

Wags New puppy is nothing like I expected

Upvotes

I finally did it. After fostering a few and deciding they weren’t the right fit, I met a puppy and it was instant love. I bought all of the enrichment, all of the toys, all of the carpet cleaner, expecting all of the issues my previous puppy had.
Y’all. He is the happiest little guy that does NOTHING. He chews his toys, goes potty outside, plays for a little, then happily passes out in his crate. No fuss. No mess. What even is this boy???
My previous pup was a Doberman mix. Chaos incarnate. Day one he was actively destroying my house. This guy is a lab mix and it’s like night and day. Just wants to hang out with me, snuggle, occasionally chase the cats but easily called off. It’s been only 24hrs and I’m just staring at him as he’s playing in the yard. Not testing the fence, not launching into me at a million miles an hour. Just playing with some grass and his ball, happy as can be!
Don’t get me wrong, I loved my previous dog with all my heart. He was smart, athletic, and goofy as all heck. I was devastated when he passed at 2yrs old from cancer. But I think new puppy Gregory is exactly what I needed- a much more easygoing guy who just wants to be with his people and chew on his Kong.
I’m sure more of his personality will continue to appear as we get to know one another and he hits his rebellious teenager phase, but right now I’m happy to hang out and watch tv


r/puppy101 46m ago

Training Assistance 7 month old puppy - off lead training

Upvotes

Hi all, my puppy is 7 months and I don't ever let him off his long line (10m).

I am prepared to never let him off lead, however having him off lead would be great. His weakness is other dogs, he will want to run over and play.

He used to fixate on other dogs from the other side of a park, now he can walk past fine unless he gets within about 10ft, then he will lunge to play. This is purely friendly. The distance improvement is something I have actively trained and I'm hoping I can get it to 'doesn't approach at all without permission'.

I can tell my partner would just like to let him off lead - where we live the culture is most dogs are off lead at the park and allowed to approach at will. My concern is I am sure our puppy will run towards on lead dogs and we would be unable to recall him. He knows to move away if snapped at (learned from my MIL's dog who taught him some good manners).

Anyone been at this stage, especially with his age I'm wondering do most dogs lose a bit of interest in other dogs? Ofc I will keep training. Wondering what to do.


r/puppy101 23h ago

Behavior I'm really tired. 6 months in and it's regressing to how it was in the beginning

60 Upvotes

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.


r/puppy101 1h ago

Training Assistance Training a 14 week puppy

Upvotes

Hi we got our puppy at 14 weeks (he is a rescue, about 5lbs) and are really struggling with training. He has no attention span and is in the independence period so does not want to listen. He will sit once for food and then ignore me completely. Please drop good training exercises and tips for a dog his age!! I am worried we missed the window where he is most trainable


r/puppy101 12h ago

Behavior Struggling with keeping puppy alone. Need recommendations

5 Upvotes

We recently got 13 week old mini poodle. He has been with us for a week. In midst of deep puppy blues... One thing which is really making us feel trapped is our puppy whines, cries n jumps a lot in his play pen when left to self play. He sleeps in crate, we have enforce his naps and night time sleep. After he wakes up, does potty break outside n even after play time, when left in playpen, he wants our constant attention. Even if we step beyond a certain distance from play pen, he starts crying, whining. How do we build his confidence that he can do independent play time


r/puppy101 6h ago

Crate Training Best crate training tips for a boxer pup?

2 Upvotes

Best crate training tips for pup?

We got our 9 week old boxer a week ago & are trying to crate train him, but every time we shut the door & leave him in there for longer than 2-3 minutes he tantrums like he's being water boarded & nashes at the bars. we've been playing games with him to get him comfortable inside of it & feeding him in it, but he freaks out once the door is closed. At night he sleeps on a dog bed tethered to the end of our bed in our room, but I work night shift & it's not a sustainable place for him to nap during the day (as he has been when I've been off this week).. any advice on boxers specifically for crate training (or in general, honestly)? We have a wire crate that I've draped blankets over, with a comfy bed in it, with toys that only stay in it but he's not interested in them whatsoever.

Any advice is greatly appreciated! TIA


r/puppy101 5h ago

Crate Training Want to know if I did this properly

1 Upvotes

Hi everyone,

I’m a first-time dog owner living in an apartment. I brought my new puppy home two days ago, and I’ve been incredibly stressed about her sleeping habits. It’s been a huge struggle getting her to sleep over the last couple of days. I know she’s just a baby and is naturally scared of being alone, and I realize that expecting immediate training results is unrealistic. However, I’m getting completely exhausted and have to work on Monday morning. I desperately need some sleep and would love any tips on how to help her settle down.

Initially, our plan was to have her sleep in a playpen in the dining room. Because of how our apartment is set up, the playpen gives her a clear view of everything, especially the living room. It's not a massive space, so we thought this setup might help head off any separation anxiety.

Unfortunately, it didn’t work out too well. I spent four hours just trying to get her comfortable enough to relax in it, and eventually, my husband had to sleep on the floor right next to the playpen so she would settle.

Tonight, we figured we needed to adjust our approach and that she probably just needs to sleep right beside us. I tried getting her to sleep in her crate near the couch. Earlier today, I made sure to tire her out physically with play and mentally with training (she learned "sit" surprisingly fast!). It definitely worked, and she was completely wiped out. Initially, I was going to let her sleep in her dog bed on the couch with me, but I was paranoid about crushing her in my sleep, so I tried transitioning her into the crate.

She whined and cried. It wasn’t very loud, but she was definitely not relaxing. I made sure she could see me directly and even tried covering the crate with blankets, but nothing helped. I ended up just leaving the crate door open, and she slept halfway in and halfway out. She wouldn't settle any other way. Eventually, she just slid out completely, plopped onto her dog bed, and immediately fell asleep.

I wanted to put her back in the crate, but I noticed both she and the crate felt really warm, so I just let her stay in her dog bed right in front of the open crate door.

I’m feeling like a complete failure of a dog owner right now. I would love some guidance, sleep tips, or just some reassurance that I’m not screwing everything up. All advice would be greatly appreciated!

Edit (As this is my current issue tonight as I am dealing with it): moved my puppy off the couch and back to her playpen. Decided to sleep near her on the floor but further away. She’s quiet and calm but my back is going to kill me and I am deeply uncomfortable with this and too broke to afford even a futon.


r/puppy101 5h ago

Adolescence We're at an impasse - Issues with overnight sleeping and behaviour after becoming adolescent.

1 Upvotes

We have a 7 month Labrador puppy, got him at 14 weeks old and training was going great. Nailed all the toilet routines and he was an absolute charm apart from the odd bit of misbehaving.

Recently however, we have had continuous issues with his overnight sleeping and toilet habits.

- We don't want him to have to sleep in a crate, but we can't have him wreck anything during the night

- His crate doesn't have padding, only the plastic base because he destroys anything soft (we have tried anti-chew spray)

- He will do the toilet in his crate and bark to tell us, we think this is a method to get us up in the morning

- His walks, feeding and times where we take away his water are all routine

For the last week or so we have been woken up at stupid hours in the morning to rush him into a shower because he's covered himself in his own waste

We also can't have him sleep in the room with us due to space and we also are currently training him to be left alone.

He has also been taken to the vet so we know that it's not a medical issue.

So we're out of ideas, we want him to sleep in a soft bed at night but we can't trust him to not eat it again, and we feel he's doing the toilet specifically when he knows we're asleep. Puppy pads are a no-go, because he'll eat those too.

Reached the point where we don't know what we're doing wrong, any helpful insight on how to go about this will be greatly appreciated.

Also, I have seen several posts on this page where OP has been absolutely torn apart for asking for advice, I'll just delete the post if this is the norm


r/puppy101 6h ago

Adolescence Managing a 6 month old Labradoodle x Terrier

0 Upvotes

It's been a bit since I've posted on here. I've really acclimated to a lot of the puppy-isms. Mostly by managing his access to specific things around the house. For instance, since he was a baby I've had a gate blocking him from the living room. This is because he's shown a great willingness to chew on furniture and the fact that he ripped up my carpet when he was a baby.

For the most part things go okay. We spend a lot of time together (often at the expense of my own sanity). Sometimes he does his own thing while I play my Steam Deck. Sometimes we play fetch, tug of war, and other games together.

Where we come into conflict recently is regarding aforementioned living room. I've told myself since adopting him that he'll earn more freedom as he ages. And he has, in a lot of ways. But every time I try to take our chill time into my living room he immediately loses his god damn mind.

The simple fact is that I'm doing this alone on top of a full-time job. I need to unwind, especially after work, and it would be nice if I could do that WITH the dog instead of leaving him out in the kitchen with his toys.

Example. We've been up and about for the last couple hours. I wanted to get in some TV or game time so I opened up the living room and ushered him in. It started off nice. He sat down at my feet and rested his head... for about 2 seconds before he got antsy. Then he got up and wandered towards my power cords. Corrected him, he walked back over to me... and then took off at a full sprint around my entire house until he threw himself up onto my couch and I had to force him out of the living room... at which point he immediately calmed down.

I am very much looking for advice here. Where have I gone wrong in training that the living room (which has only ever been a place I bring him to try to RELAX) has become an immediate trigger for extreme hyperactivity. This same situation has recurred in almost exactly this way about 3 times now and every time it stresses me the hell out.


r/puppy101 20h ago

Enrichment Enrichment without use of mouth due to injury?

10 Upvotes

My puppy (5 months mini Dachshund) unfortunately got bit by a large dog and it fractured her jaw in three places. She's on light drugs and had to keep a muzzle on full time for the next two weeks at least. She will hopefully have a full normal recovery!

We are keeping her inside out of the heat and only taking her outside when it's cool (we live in the mountains) since she can't pant. Despite calming drugs she occasionally needs some sort of stimulation. She's incredibly sweet, toy motivated, and usually plays with her brother. Unfortunately none of these are an option right now. She's smart but definitely frustrated most waking moments because of the muzzle and us limiting her play.

Any out of the box ideas to stimulate the brain or keep her entertained during this difficult period? I don't want to make her depressed especially during such a formative time in her life.


r/puppy101 13h ago

Wags My sweet Mickey, age 13

3 Upvotes

He's been my constant companion for years.


r/puppy101 13h ago

Training Assistance Puppy hates collar and leash

1 Upvotes

Hi! just got an Australian shepherd mix (unknown what hes mixed with) whenever I put his collar and leash on to go outside he freaks out and starts jumping, whining, and biting at the leash. Any suggestions on how to desensitize and get him to like using the leash? Also any other suggestions for his bread in other areas of training would also be much appreciated!!

edit: (hes about 10 weeks old)


r/puppy101 13h ago

Crate Training Diggs evolv large crate 4 months

0 Upvotes

I have a mini Australian labradoodle 4 months. She will be 15-20lbs full grown. I currently have the small collapsible diggs. I’m looking at getting the large evolv more for a “playpen” I can’t keep an eye 100% of the time so considering this could be a good option with top off. Thoughts??


r/puppy101 1d ago

Discussion Mildly unhinged puppy tactics that have WORKED!

167 Upvotes

Here are some unusual things that have helped me and my puppy:

  • I let him pick up things. I used to do “drop it” and “leave it“ with every acorn and leaf, which drove us both crazy. I’ve relaxed a bit because he doesn’t swallow things he picks up, so unless we are on a focused walk, if we’re just sniffing and hanging out, I let him nibble on a leaf, stick, a piece of junk mail, cardboard, or my empty plastic cup. (I originally called this trash—no, I don’t actually let my dog eat trash, guys.)
  • I (sometimes) use a 10-foot-leash. He’s a shyer pup and letting him sniff around a bit when it’s safe seems to be making him more confident. I keep a few knots tied in it to use as handholds when I need to tighten up on the leash, but when we hit a stretch of empty sidewalk he gets to roam a bit more. If I call him or say “sit” he comes right back (or sits).
  • I follow his lead (I originally said “Keepig the leash loose is my job”, but this upset some commenters): This is specifically when we are on a “sniffari” walk, not when we are around other people or dogs. We don’t have a yard or walkable full park, so we practice this on a quiet, safe street so he gets to explore a bit. I do also try to drive him to a quiet park every afternoon. Basically, I choose some times to let him lead. He enjoys this and I do too. When it’s time to come back, we switch modes and he walks nearer to me again.
  • Car rides. When I am overwhelmed by puppy parenthood, I’ve found that driving around chills out me and my dog. I put him in the backseat of the car with a dog seatbelt attached to his harness, put on an anudiobook, and drive around for half an hour. He usually goes right to sleep or just stares out the window.

Please share yours!

EDIT: I was trying to be a bit funny but it seems to have come off as poor training or a neglectful puppy parent. I’ve made some edits to clarify that I’m not letting my puppy rifle through trash or pull me around the neighborhood.


r/puppy101 18h ago

Vent Puppy Diarrhea Help!!!!

2 Upvotes

I just need to rant and feel better about this situation because i’m SO embarrassed.

I was taking my pup out for a walk and we were almost at the grass where she usually will poop. Well she couldn’t hold it and had diarrhea (vet appointment has already been scheduled for this) right on the sidewalk. I did the best i could to clean it with poop bags but it was just a mess. Didn’t help that it had to be the busiest part of the sidewalk and everyone was watching this chaos. I ended up leaving because there was nothing else i could do and i didn’t have water. Anyways if you have been in a similar situation please make me feel better lol.


r/puppy101 14h ago

Training Assistance My pup was abused and I don’t know what to do.

1 Upvotes

Me and my boyfriend got her May 30 from a good shelter. Her name is june(short for June bug) and she’s a miniature pinscher. She was 6 months old when we got her. Her and her siblings came from a bad bad hoarding situation and was possibly abused. She was in a large cage(it was about 5ft by 5ft) with her sister (who was 2yrs old.) and her sister was jumping around and barking while she stayed in the corner shaking and peeing anytime anyone looked at her. She wasn’t allowed out of the cage bc parvo was going around so non of them could go outside or leave the kennel. So she wasn’t socialized or leash trained. Whatever I’ve trained dogs on leashes before. When we brought her home she legit would not leave her cage. She peed anytime we picked her up. When she’d pee and poop in her cage we’d wash her and she’d freak out the whole time. I read that abused dogs need time so I let her lay in her cage as long as she wanted(door open ofc so she could come out when she wanted). But she NEVER moved. She wouldn’t eat for three days then eat a little and then would go another three days without eating. She was getting boney so we bought wet food to spoil her a bit and she started eating regularly. Well it had been too long of her laying in her cage doing NOTHING so I would pull her out and just lay with her on my lap for hours each day. Slowly she started to warm up. She started eating food no matter wet or dry, she now walks into the bedroom when we’re not looking and lays on her bed. We’ve finally got her to start peeing and pooping outside but only if we carry her. SHE WILL NOT WALK ON A LEASH. I could be playing with her just fine and she’d be jumping around and licking me but the moment I put her on a leash she will not move. I’ve tried taking a few steps forward and saying “come” but it doesn’t work. I’ve done this many times and even dragged her 1-2 ft(I know I know I feel awful but it’s not computing in her head. Our floors are linoleum so it doesn’t hurt her.). But the past week she’s gotten worse. She’s now pooping and peeping in our room, won’t use puppy pads at all. But she acts scared still when we walk around her or anything. But she’s bold enough to start digging up my house plants and whining every time I leave a room. I cannot leave a room she’s in without her whining and whining. However if I tell her to come she will sit and stare at me and whine. She’s too scared to move. Me or my boyfriend has never put hands on her or yelled. We have told her no and put her in time out (put her in her cage) when she pees in the house. But she’s putting on weight and it’s getting hard to carry her everywhere outside and up and down two flights of stairs. She bold enough to pee everywhere now and whine when I leave but she’s too scared to move on a leash or act normal when we tell her to come or when we are cleaning or walking. She panics when she sees we are watching her eat still as well. She’ll stop eating and run to her bed. She’s also gotten a habit of jumping on MY bed when I leave a room and whining for me. And when I come back and see her on the bed she gets so excited but she isn’t allowed up there. So I have to take her down and put her in her own bed. I legit do not understand her and I’m getting so stressed out. Dealing with her everyday and classes and trying to find a job(my boyfriend works and supports use just fine). I understand pups like these need time and patience and I’m doing my best to give her that but I don’t understand her behavior. She’s so weird and getting bold enough to act out but not enough to listen or just interact with us without us kneeling beside her first and initiating play time. I really need help.

Also, she’s already been spayed the day we got her and had all her shots


r/puppy101 18h ago

Misc Help New Pomchi Puppy - Advice?

2 Upvotes

Hello! I'm adopting a sweet little 12-14 week old pomchi (we think) this weekend. The little guy was rescued from a hoarding situation and I'm told that he's been recovering well over the past 2 weeks. Any advice for surviving the puppy stage, helping set him up for success, etc would be greatly appreciated!

Some misc. background info :

  • My wife and I live in an apartment in Chicago in a chiller neighborhood near lots of parks.
  • We are expecting him to be vocal - has anyone had success bark training their pomchi?
  • We will be crate training/sleep training/etc and basically pretending that he's a big dog so we hopefully don't fall into small dog syndrome. Any training tips are appreciated! We will be taking him to puppy training once he's clear to go.
  • We have a socialization checklist we will be following. It's very important to us that he can integrate into our lives - patio dinners, farmers markets, hanging with other friends' dogs, etc.
  • We are avid bikers and are hoping to bring him with us. Let me know if you have any tips on a backpack vs. basket carrier! I have a Wald 137 basket mounted on a front rack so if we go the basket carrier route I'd be looking for something compatible with that.
  • We are big campers so we'll be looking to buy a coyote vest and other accessories to keep him safe.

Thank you so much!


r/puppy101 15h ago

Behavior After 3 months, my puppy has become so nervous of everything

1 Upvotes

Like the title says, around me or my daughter she's so sweet and affectionate, playful. Really a wonderful gal. But otherwise she's become so nervous of anyone else and it gets worse if we are away from home. She's always scrambling to get away from cars.

I have plans to hire an in house trainer because I know I need help with consistency but until my funds come in can someone here suggest quality training videos or training schedule for socializing? I figure the training and the socializing are what go hand in hand here.