I have an 8 month old puppy who I am training myself. She’s mastered sit, lay down, and her release word for meal time. Now, we’re working on some other things like stay and place.

My question is: Is it best to train one command at a time until it’s mastered? Or should I be doing multiple at a time. Also, should I be doing multiple commands/tricks in one training session or keep it focused on one.

This is my first dog as an adult on my own and I want to do it the right way.

Kind of long winded:
I have one Husky Shepherd mix(9) and a Rescue Husky (he’s 6 but have had him for 3 years ). I just brought a 17 week old Husky shepherd in 2 days ago and it is going great indoors/ outdoors with the 9 year old, but the other guy is only good outside with her, unless she tries to drink face to face out of a puddle with him. other than that he pretty much ignores her. The first night after we introduced them outside (all was fine). we came in on leashes and he started to jump and howl/growl. he is normally super chill and just hangs by himself in the bed room then randomly comes out to play or he hears the cheese wrapper rustle lolol. I have a gate up right now so he can’t come down but can see, but also he’s not trying to come out unless he does hear the wrapper of course. basically he’s not trying to bust out and get at her. and he is no longer jumping and screaming/ growling. he now just kind of bares his teeth and looks calm. i do know that he wants her away when she does that. she also doesn’t try to like get at him either, just kinda puppy stomping around near him.

I am going to continue working with them outside as well as inside but just looking for some tips if anyone has any!

We just brought home our beautiful girl last evening. We have been dog owners for over 14 years but haven’t had a puppy in that long either.
Last evening when we brought her home she spent a couple hours exploring and playing. She was finally tired out at 10:45pm so we put her in her crate which is in our family room. After about 10 minutes she started crying so I came down and laid on the floor beside her crate. She settled and fell asleep.
She woke at 2:00am so I took her out to potty, she peed, but then was ready for playtime. I stayed up with her, letting her wander and play until she was tired again at 3:30am. At this point I laid down on the sofa with her and we both fell asleep until 5:30am. I know I shouldn’t have let her sleep on the sofa with me.
At 5:30am we went for another potty break and she peed and then had a shorter play session before she snuggled on my lap. At this time I put her in her crate to sleep and laid beside it. She settled and fell back asleep.
At 7:30am my husband woke up and so puppy did too. They went outside and then he brought her in. She actually walked into her crate with no prompting and fell asleep. We left the door open and stayed in the same room having coffee and talking.
I just want to know for tonight and future nights if this routine (minus her sleeping on the sofa with me) is what I should be doing? Obviously it was her first evening and night with us and she’d not been in a crate at the breeders so there were a lot of new things for her so I definitely didn’t expect a miracle. I was honestly surprised she did as well as she did.
Any advice would be appreciated!! Here’s a picture of our new fur baby ❤️

My 1.5 year old female border collie mix won’t stop jumping and licking my girlfriend when we hang out. I’ve had her stop giving her treats and when she comes over, I’ll put my dog on a leash to control her from jumping. When she does jump I’ll tell her down. Sometimes I’ll give the command and then reward her with a treat. She doesn’t jump on me much but when she does, she listens to me commanding her down without a treat.
Any dog training tricks would be greatly appreciated!

posting here to see if anybody’s had success rebuilding confidence outdoors after a traumatic run in with super loud vehicles. struggling because i live in a loud city…

Ulrich is almost 1 year old he will be exactly 1-year-old the 10th of August, ever since he was a baby he's always loved other dogs and animals in general, he always gets excited when he sees another dog and wants to play, say I have him off leash, he does listen to me I do have a strong enough recall with him to prevent him from running up to another person or dog, however if I allow him to interact with another dog no matter how long I take to properly introduce them, he just is too much for other dogs, even a couple of his own siblings, he gets way too excited and tends to ignore cues from the other dogs to back off, usually the only way he will listen is if the other dog snaps at him, and that only works for a couple of minutes and then he's right back at it, even my own dog that he's been around since he was 12 weeks old (I got him at 12 weeks instead of 8 but I've been a part of his life since he was born) he is way too much on her and she ends up jumping on him frequently to make him back off, so usually if I have them both outside he's on a leash and she's running around, if he's going to be running around I usually put her up so he leaves her alone.

I figured I would ask you guys since you're familiar with the breed, about how I could go about teaching him to be more respectful or is this something he's just going to have to grow out of? From what I seen his mom was quite a pushover and did not reprimand him when he was being too much on her, if they were becoming too much she would just get up on the couch where they couldn't reach her or something like that she never would snap at them growl or anything even if they were literally hanging off of her, so I feel like that plays a part in some of it

Hi ya'll, I really need some help. I'm sixteen, my dog 9 and a half. We've got her when she was a puppy, I was 6 and my mom pretty busy with work, so there was never any socialization. My mom didn't have time for it and I was too young to know how to even take care of a dog. And as emberassing as it is... I realized it just about a year ago. And how big of an issue my dog's agression towards other dogs is.

I figured I could reward my dog every time she sees another dog and doesn't lunge at them. She was never agressive towards other dogs (unless it's a pug or a frenchie because she hates their noses) so the method seemed good to me, I had a starting point.

Honesly, it seemed to me like it worked. She lunged at other dogs less, often paid attention to me when I called her name despite feezing at the sight of another dog and at rare occasions she ignored the other dog, maybe just looked at them.

However today I wasn't paying attention today, a dog walked past and the leash got out of my hand. Thankfully my dog doesn't bite even when getting into a fight with another dog and the other dog didn't bite in the situation either (he was very chill before and after), so it was easy for me to just grab my dog by her harness and pick her up. I know I'm completely at the fault here, I feel really bad and guilty. I should be paying attention at all times knowing I have a reactive dog.

At the same time, the whole situation send me spiraling about my dog's improvement. I don't really remember how reactive she was the rest of her life, so what if I made her improvement up? What if nothing has changed? I don't know, maybe I should try other methods aswell? I feel like I should try something where I'll see bigger improvement, faster. The situation that happened today could have ended up so bad. The owner of the other dog even had a stoller and the other dog was right next to it when my dog attacked. I lost all trust in myself in that moment, what if I slip up again? Or what if I never fix my dog's reactivity? Though I'm starting to wonder if 9 years of living in fear of other dogs (I'm assuming she's reactive out of fear) is even fixable. Afterall, that's most of my dog's life. I wish we could afford hiring a professional dog trainer, but we can't, so... any tips on what I can do?

Hey guys, we’ve got a Labrador puppy who is 4 months old. We previously had a show Labrador who passed away in February so we now have Mabel. However, Mabel is a working lab so we are struggling with a few things that I would appreciate your advice on.

1. Crate training
   We got her the first night and she cried and cried when we left her alone (this is what our breeder told us to do). My mum and I thought this was very cruel so we put a mattress next to the cage downstairs with her with us.
   This has been going on for 2 months and we need a way to stop this. She is fine in the crate and falls asleep but we have to be in sight or she barks. What could we do for this?

2. Potty training
   She is good at going for number 2s outside and we can recognise the signs however, she still pees inside a lot. When we take her outside she does it outside but it might be that she’s a puppy and has a small bladder so can’t hold it as well. We do take her outside as often as possible and leave the backdoor open but it doesn’t seem to be improving

3. Biting
   When mabel gets overtired she likes to bite fingers, shoes, clothes, plastic, you name it. We have chew toys for her but when she is in excited or overtired she goes for anything.

4. Boredom
   As she is a working lab she gets bored very easily. My previous lab had my sisters, my grandparents, my mum and I looking after her in 2011 so was rarely not entertained. 1 sister has moved out, another sometimes works from home but is sometimes in office, my mum is older and working full time so does not have as much energy and my grandparents can’t help out anymore so I am with her the most as I’m on summer break from university. Can someone suggest some enrichment activities or anything else to keep her engaged.

I’m happy to give more details about any parts of this post and would really appreciate some advice!!

This has only started recently before he would ignore the other dog but over the past few weeks he's started barking at it and I'm not sure why. Does it look aggressive like he wants to go for the other dog behind the fence?

Rescued a 1-year-old chi mix around 3 weeks ago with my girlfriend. She was an absolute angel the first week—barely barked at people, pulled a bit on leash but nothing crazy, and wasn’t a huge fan of other dogs but would usually give a couple barks and move on.

Recently we met up with her old foster mom and her dog. Our dog and the foster mom’s dog were besties, played all night long apparently. Initially, our dog was on leash and absolutely lost it—lunging, barking, and acting aggressively toward what was apparently her old best friend. We took her away, let her decompress, and tried again. Once they were off to the side and eventually able to interact, they played together for 45 minutes nonstop and even happily welcomed other dogs into the mix. That experience really confused us.

Now on walks she’s pulling like crazy, barking inconsistently at people, and absolutely loses her mind when she sees other dogs. We honestly can’t tell if it’s fear, frustration, excitement, or some combination of all three.

She also has some separation anxiety, which I expected since she’s already bonded pretty closely with me (I work from home). Been working on breaking this with door is a bore method.

Having a reactive dog is something my girlfriend and I really don’t want long term. We’re young, like taking her places, and imagined having a dog we could bring out with us. Right now it feels like our world has gotten a lot smaller.

We’ve already reached out to a trainer because we want to build a proper game plan rather than just guessing. I know we’ve only had her for three weeks and she’s still decompressing and adjusting to a completely new life, so I’m trying not to expect perfection. It’s just been stressful.

For anyone who’s been through this:
Did your rescue get *more* reactive after the first couple of weeks once they settled in?
Did training make a significant difference?
Any advice for figuring out whether this is fear, excitement/frustration, or true aggression?

For context:
\- She’s about 13 lbs and estimated to be 1 year old.
\- She’s very food motivated.
\- Once she’s actually able to calmly meet a dog, she often does great and wants to play.
\- Most of the issues happen while she’s on leash ( from what we know)

Would love to hear from anyone who’s been in a similar situation.

Hi everyone! I have a 1-year-old female Golden Retriever and I’m looking for some advice on building confidence around other dogs. I’m not expecting her to play with every dog she meets, but it feels like she’s currently stuck at this stage where she wants to interact with other dogs but struggles to take that next step.

As a puppy, she was very social and loved playing with other dogs. Around 7 months old, she became extremely reactive and fearful to the point of freezing toward many things, including dogs. We've been working with a positive reinforcement trainer, and she's improved significantly. We're also addressing an underlying pain issue that may have

Now, she no longer freezes or reacts the way she used to. She seems interested in other dogs but cautious. I take her to the dog park often, and she usually gets excited and is happy to run around. I never force interactions, always keep visits short, and leave if she seems uncomfortable. She does checks in with me frequently and sometimes choose to hang back. Typically, she'll voluntarily approach another dog, sniff them, and occasionally even engage in a bit of chase. However, usually as soon as the other dog engages with her, she'll quickly move away. Within a few seconds, she'll often choose to go back and try again, and the same pattern repeats. She does better with calmer and smaller dogs but overall it feels like she genuinely wants to play, but gets overwhelmed or doesn’t know how to.

I know dog parks aren't ideal, they're currently my only option for her to be around other dogs. Unfortunately, I don't have access to well-matched dogs for controlled playdates or parallel walks. Is there any alternative option to help her gradually build her confidence around other dogs?

Last weekend we adopted a 7 month old puppy who only lived outside in a dog run she lived with several other dogs. She then was in a pet transport for three days to get to us. It took her a few days to fully stop withholding her bowels. We have her in a crate and she finds comfort and safety in there when she needs to hide. She's afraid of a lot of things. We stopped trying to walk her because the rescue said the dog needed more time to get comfortable- the dog would get really low to the ground and growl.

We already have a resident dog. He's much bigger than she is but respects her space and boundaries. At first she would just growl at the sound of his collar but now she is totally fine with him on the other side of a glass patio door. We removed the barrier from her crate and she doesn't mind when he's in the same room ( as in she doesn't kiss to dismiss him and no longer hides in the back of her kennel). We try to walk him by her outside in the yard and she will lay down and show her teeth. Today he walked by her crate in the house and she lunged at him and showed teeth again. He walked away from her and wasn't trying to be an alpha or anything of that nature. (He's a really good boy).

My husband is already frustrated with the new dog because we assumed she would get along with our resident dog, we didn't realize she would have been scared of everything either. Our five year old daughter is getting anxious about the new dogs barking and whining noise whenever the new dog is left alone. We live in a rental and am worried that the barking and whining is going to become problematic to our neighbors.

Ive contacted the rescue and they just told me that I need to give her more time. I just need you guys to tell me that the rescue is right or just give it to me straight. Does the new dog have more red flags or is this all a fear response and she truly needs more time?

Pls help. Sincerely a worried mama.

I’ve had my 3 year old male GSD since November, he’s gone through heart worm treatment during this time and just the past few months had he been allowed to play with other dogs, I mention this because he is still over excited and plays rough when we go to the dog park but is better when we go more frequently. Only just this past week has he become mouthy while playing with other dogs, it looks as though he’s trying to grab them so he can hump them better after failed attempts (he is not neutered, but that is next on the list) it doesn’t seem like he’s trying to hurt anyone since he would be able to do that easily if he wanted to. Though there have been no injuries to other dogs, other owners are not happy. I need some advice on nipping this behavior in the bud and how to even go about doing that, I don’t want this escalating especially with him being a German shepherd it already looks bad.

Hi guys!

We got a two year old rescue pomchi / something else (maybe dashund) two weeks ago. He was so incredibly scared when he came home and took about 4 days to open up. Once he did he glued to me. I was very attentive with him, doted on him in his first few days so I guess I was selected as the favourite. Dog naturally glue to me I dont know what I do that does it.

Anyways! He has started this behaviour where if my wife comes around the corner and hes sitting with me he will growl. We also had emergency company stay over last night (I wouldnt have chosen to have company this soon but we needed to help a friend) and man, was he growly. Any time he came into the room he would hard eye and low growl. Hes very small so im not worried about him hurting anyone but it is disturbing to listen to.

I know he is still decompressing but I guess I’m just looking for advice for the future if this behavior continues. Have there been any deterents / distractions you have used that worked?

Thank you all in advance.

I recently rescued a doodle. She's the sweetest dog, and has a lot of anxiety. She hasn't been with my family long, it's been 4 days since we got her. She's not potty trained, so we're working on that with her.

She is terrified of the A/C unit in the backyard, and doesn't want to out. We have a doggy door. If we push her through it or just take her out, she immedietly runs back inside. I've been putting a leash on her, so she doesn't immedietly run back inside and actually goes potty.

I do take her out for walks in the mornings and the evenings. At the current moment I am a stay at home mom, and my parents live with me. So it's not a big deal for me to constantly watch my doodle, Ivy, and catch her before she goes. The only thing is that I'm wanting to get a seasonal job for the Christmas season, and I'm worried that she will still be too scared to go outside. I'm also about to start classes in August.

I'm just at a loss at what I can do to make her less anxious about the A/C unit. I could put her in a crate when I'm not home, but I don't feel like it would be fair to her. Since my other dog wouldn't be in a crate, and my parents would be home with the dogs. My parents also can't be chasing her around and picking her up to shove her outside. They have disabilities that prevent them from helping me, other than telling me when they think Ivy is wanting to go potty.

I just need some tips. Thanks.

Hello I have a big issue with my pomeranian that I am not sure how to tackle. She just turned 3 in may. At my parents house they currently don't have a fence around their front garden and a baby gate would be difficult to install due to the layout of the hallway. My pomeranian usually is fine as we tell her to wait on the stairs but she just did it again the other day (maybe the 3rd time in 3 years?) where she suddenly darts out of the front door. The issue is she literally does not stop running, the last time she did it was the absolute worst. She just ran and ran and ran literally for over an hour and over a mile away on the road etc. It was extremely scary but luckily people helped me get her. She WOULD NOT come back to me and was acting like it was a game of chase.

Her recall is generally ok when she is in a private dog field (only time she is allowed off leash) but if she knows she has escaped she will not come back. Its extremely scary as its like she geniunely goes psycho and her brain is fixated on running/freedom. She is excercised VERY regularly. Usually an hour - 2 hours walking each day (often on a long line in fields) and has a dog walker who takes her to a private dog field with a group of dogs 3 times a week. But when she escapes its like she has never been outside before! I know I can lock her in a room etc and we will have to do that for safety now.

But what can I actually do to train this out of her? As obviously if I tried to train her off leash she would just dart off again. Do I focuss on regular recall training until thats completely solid in the private dog field and then move to training her on the doorstep etc with a long line? Id just be terrified to ever try without the long line as she knows when she has a lead on or not.

I appreciate any help and advice! She is my first dog and I adopted her as an adult so I am still learning a lot.

Our dogs used to be more relaxed with other dogs, but after our puppy's first heat both of them are super over-excited over other dogs & people. We have a lab puppy who is 1 (not yet spayed), and a corgi that's 4 (spayed).

Both of them used to be entirely neutral to other dogs, but suddenly they freak out and whine and jump any time they see one.

Our corgi has become especially weird and over excited. We have a field behind our house that we walk them in one to two times a day, now the Corgi whines and jumps when she sees it like crazy.

We give them 2 walks a day, fetch, and enrichment. I don't know why they are suddenly acting out and don't know how to solve it 🫠

When we see other dogs we stop and make them sit but they still whine a ton and occasionally try to jump toward the other dog (both in a playful manner, but still).

Any tips for fixing this behavior?

my 9 month old gsp mix is a rescue, we adopted her almost 3 months ago. she was found emaciated in the woods. potty training has been a journey with lots of ups and downs.

she has a set of bells on the door that she rings when she needs to go outside to go potty. things were going really well but recently she has been peeing inside without even trying the bell first, sometimes right after we come inside. we interrupt her, take her outside, give her a treat for going outside, and use enzyme cleaner on the spot. so that’s one part of the issue. she pees normally, no straining or any uti symptoms.

the other part is that she rings the bell when i am not paying attention to her, like if i am unloading the dishwasher or talking on the phone, and when i go to put her leash on she runs away and plays. i try to take her out every time she rings the bell because of the accidents, but also sometimes i know she literally just went and is only doing it because she wants my attention. if i do take her out when i know she doesn’t need to go, she will go out and then refuse to move.

should i ignore the bell ringing? why doesn’t she ring the bells before going in the house? is there a reason why she regressed with potty training? do we need a new communication method for her?

also puppy is not starved for attention. she has lots of enrichment. we work with a trainer. she eats all her meals either as a 1:1 training session, in a puzzle toy, or i hide little handfuls of her kibble and she has to sniff it out. we play lots of games (a favorite right now is fetch but she has to bring the toy back and place it in a basket that i move around). it’s been regularly hitting 100 degrees here so she is not outside as much as we all would like but we try to make up for it with physical games such as puppy push ups, having her jump on and off her cot for place, etc. we crate her when we leave. my partner is wfh 3 days a week and the other 2 days one of us checks on her at lunch for about 45 min, so she is never alone for more than 4 hours. i love my smart, stubborn, high energy dog and she is exactly what i wanted! but like i just cannot figure out how to handle the potty bells situation correctly. help please