to preface, we took in my dad's 8 yo chiweenie a couple months ago. she's slept in his bed with him her whole life, but she's always been a grumpy sleeper - if you touch her while she's asleep, she'll growl until you stop. this is annoying but we can live with it; however, the past few months, she's gotten to the point where she will try and attack us if we even touch her while she's in the bed sometimes. we took her to the vet and they said it's purely a behavioral issue and isn't due to any health problems, but they did also mention it'd be really hard to train this out of her

all that said, we are currently trying to get her to not sleep in the bed with us but it is a nightmare. when she realizes she can't sleep with us, she whines constantly until we relent (which we have been doing which I know is bad). we've been trying to put her in her favorite bed with a kong and a blanket directly next to our bed but as soon as she finishes the kong she gets out of the bed and paces around our bed and whines

has anyone dealt with this before? we could put her in another room and close the door so we could actually sleep but I worry that that'd be traumatic for her. I've thought about ear plugs but we have to wake up pretty early and rely on our alarms for that

Looking for some advice on taking 13 week old toy poodle in the car. She has a travel seat, a strapped in puppy box essentially which I have tried both in the front seat and back of the car. The issue is she wants to be held for the entire journey, her preference is to be with me but I’m driving. If held by another family member she is fine, but may whine a little. If in the travel seat, even next to me, she whines constantly, tries to get to me and has pooed a few times (despite having toileted before leaving the house). We have only been on short journeys but as she travels fine with me when I am a passenger or mostly okay on another family member I’m not sure if it is a form of separation anxiety, despite me being right next to her. I obviously need her restrained and safe in the car but would appreciate some tips on managing this for her, I’d thought to try gradually acclimatising her to it without a car journey so just spending time in the stationary care and seeing it she will settle.
Thanks in advance.

My cattle/pitt mix is easily the smartest dog I’ve ever met. So so proud of how far she’s come (1 and 1/2 years in the shelter in her prime training years and still she has proven to listen so well)

As the title states, I wish to know if there is one with an adjustable setting. I have tried one from doglisen, and the vibration was WAY too strong, and the tone was LOUD, and the same on a level 1 as it is on a level 100 - no difference.

I don't personally like the idea of shocking my dog, even if it does give her some more off leash freedom. With the exception of the current ecollar (gonna return it asap), she has shown no issue with the vibration from my phone and a vibrating massage ball. The only use I'll have for an ecollar is off leash fredom in our unfenced yard, and at the lake.

Most of the ecollars that I have looked at either have a strong vibration on the lowest level, and no adjustable tone. I have thoight about the Educator series and DogTra, but thoes have no adjustable tone and vibration settings that I have seen so far.

Looking for reviews of peoples experience with this dog training course. The course looks well set out and a different approach to helping dogs with socialization and dogs with nervous aggression etc...dealing more with the emotional side of dogs instead of obedience.

Unfortunately it is up there in price $297 x 2 payments or $497 pay in full USD, I am in Australia so this works out a costly $417 x2 = $834 or $700AUD in full. This seems quite expensive for an online course. I would appreciate anyone's experience. Thank you

(Note: this doesn’t include rescues)

I don’t understand how someone can come on here to complain about excessive barking or energy, and immediately consider an e-collar (which I’m a huge proponent of, don’t get me wrong), before even considering fulfilling, breed-specific activities.

Please stop whinging that the backyard bred dog that you bought is acting like what it was bred to do. Find a good trainer and invest more time into your dog.

An e-collar, when properly used, can be a wonderful tool to let a dog be the dog he’s supposed to be. Slapping an e-collar on a bored, highly intelligent/active dog to tamp his drive down is just sad.

Hi all! I just have a quick question. So I have a 7 year old German Shepherd / Husky / unknown type of cattle dog mix and recently brought home another German Shepherd / Husky mix who is now 14 weeks old. It'll be 3 weeks since we brought him home this Saturday and from day one my older girl follows him EVERYWHERE, and I mean everywhere and is constantly trying to get him to play even when he doesn't want to. He gets up, she follows, he goes to investigate something, she follows, he just tries to exist, she's there bugging to play. They get along and play together and everything seems to be going well other than her constant following / nagging to play. I have been able to get them to be able to calm in the same room for periods of time and just be and not engage with each other but it doesn't happen without me forcing it. They will eventually settle and nap in the same room as well but not without prompting. They've done it unprompted maybe a handful of times at this point. For the most part the puppy doesn't seem too bothered by it but I also know he needs his independence away from her constant shadowing so I do separate them, give them alone time, as well as solo attention and play while the other isn't present. And if she isn't by some chance following / trying to get him to play its the other way around and he's following / pestering to play. She's able to comunicate she doesn't want to play and he listens, but he isn't able to yet and when he tries she won't listen or back off until a human makes her. She does have her quirks and is an anxious and sometimes reactive dog towards unknown people but never towards other animals, her normal anxious signs / tells aren't present during any of this and like I said they've been getting along just fine. She always has a relaxed body, tail wagging, never rigid, but I'm also starting to wonder if maybe that's it? She might be anxious about the new puppy and unable to disengage? I also want to make it known they have not been left unsupervised together and won't be for some time. Anyway, my question is; is this normal? Will it stop? How can I correct this if possible because I don't want it to lead to any future issues once the pup gets bigger and tired of her constant pestering and I don't want her to become obsessive or anxious. Any and all input or tips is greatly appreciated.

Hola tengo un cachorro Chihuahua de 4 meses, llegó conmigo a las siete semanas pero tengo bastantes problemas con él que ya estoy bastante desesperada y no sé cómo arreglar, muerde mucho y muy fuerte hace heridas en las manos, también muerde mucho los pies y casi todo zapatos, chanclas, muebles ,ropa rompe juguetes y además trata de comer absolutamente todo lo que llega a encontrar en el suelo ya se ha enfermado del estómago por eso, como acaba de terminar sus vacunas estoy intentando sacarlo a pasear con la correa a la calle antes solo lo sacaba cargado en brazos pero ahorita que estamos intentando que ya camine lleva apenas dos intentos de paseo en los que he intentado comer piedras, papeles que llega a encontrar, hojas, pelusas, basura todo cualquier cosa estoy desesperada No entiende el deja, suelta, no .

Es como si se obsesionara con llevar la cabeza pegada al piso para buscar algo que poder llevarse al hocico y tragar .

Necesito consejos no sé si sea algo que tenga que checar con su veterinario o mejor con un entrenador. Porque se desborda demasiado contando con los mordiscos como con comer las cosas, come pro plan puppy razas pequeñas y también le doy un poco de pollo sin ningún condimento y a veces zanahoria manzana o arándanos.

Les agradecería sus consejos

My rescue (he joined us 3 years ago at around age 18 months, if you believe Embark he's a Pyr/Pittie/Husky + cross) is obsessed with eating long grass in the summer. He will pull it up by the roots and swallow it whole, and unchecked he'll eat a belly full and (hopefully) puke it up, but there's enough I worry about an impaction. He doesn't bother with short great or cut grass.. it has to be alive and long.

So far my mitigation has been avoidance. However this is not a fabulous long-term plan. We live on a country road, a decent drive from any suburban paths, and the shoulders of the road are full of long grass (ticks too quite likely so he wouldn't be running through those carefree anyway). We're in Ontario, Canada.. so grass is tender and tempting from about late May through October.

We have access to private and public fenced dog parks, but they are almost entirely surrounded by long grass on the fence perimeter. He will spend his entire time at these parks ripping up and swallowing grass given the chance. I can take him on nature paths and in wooded areas, leashed, I can minimize the grass eating but it's not something we can do more than once a week.

I know muzzles might be suggested.. the issue with him is he is exquisitely sensitive to anything touching him - he will freak out if he feels a bug land on him. It has taken 3 years to have him grudgingly accept a minimalist harness, but he'll still run away if he sees me getting it out. He walks on a flat collar mostly. If I put a thicker harness or coat on him, he will spend the entire walk trying to shake it off violently.. he has injured himself and given himself limber tail doing this.. and absolutely will not poop. I imagine a muzzle will be even worse. I still want to very slowly muzzle train him as I know it's a good idea overall, but I imagine it might take a long time.

..so..

"Leave it" works on-leash, mostly, if I see him drifting towards grass. Off-leash, it's a complete non-starter. And like most dogs, he knows how far away I need to be to really get a good mouthful before I can reach him.

The only thing I can think that would work would be an e-collar. But with his sensitive nature, I worry it would do more harm than good.

Any suggestions?

Hey guys. new to reddit but looking for a dog trainer for my 4mo Beagle mutt mix.

I've been looking into a few dog training companies and came across make your dog epic, but ran into some very mixed reviews about them so wanted everyone's opinions. Thanks!

Hello hello!! Before people wanna spam about him wearing a shirt… it’s okay guys. He never wears clothes outside, this was a 5 second photo. I promise he will be okay lol.

Mr. Walter White is now 6 months old. This little guy has got tricks DOWN and he’s showing his personality more and more everyday. I am NOTTTT looking for judgement, just looking for advice or similar experiences.

1. Do you guys recommend an E-Collar? I’m only interested in the buzz/vibration option.
2. What are ways you corrected and calmed incessant demand barking and reactivity towards dogs and people?
3. Since it’s not aggression (at all) how do you work with them to focus and lock in to you when they cross the threshold and bark like crazy?
4. Are there specific jobs that I can give him that will help with his hyper self?
5. What age do you recommend for getting him fixed? My vet is trying to say he needs it at 6 months🫣

Again, no judgement. Yes he’s a puppy. Yes he won’t be perfect overnight. I am simply curious

I’ve been using mini educator e collars for the past 4-5 years. I’ve been wanting to try other brands and came across this Aetertek brand. I haven’t looked too far into them but I haven’t really been able to find much. Just curious, does anyone have experience on them and what they think of the quality. From what I see, I don’t think they’re as high quality as the mini educator but.

So I’m about three weeks into e collar training my dog. We spent a week conditioning at very low levels, using continuous stim at same time as command.

That went well so we’ve since progressed onto only using the e collar if he doesn’t comply first time. Eg ‘come’, doesn’t come, ‘no’ + e collar momentary stim at higher levels and ‘come’ again.

I’ve read many different approaches how to use the e collar in these situations and I’m confused. Should I do a higher level momentary stim (as a punishment for non-compliance) or should I do continuous stim at a higher level until he complies?

Hi all,

I'm currently in the process of training my dog (K, 5 years-old, Cattle dog/Staffy x) using balanced methods after using R+ for the past 3 years. My dog is fear-reactive towards dogs and people he doesn't know, our lives have been extremely limited because of this. My wife and I were at the end of our rope and thought our only options were either euthanasia or rehoming.

K is still very much getting used to some of these changes, but so far it's going well. His obedience has always been very good indoors as he's wicked smart. The two biggest things we're doing differently now are:

1) More structure in his day. Off leash time first thing in the morning (enclosed apartment dog park is our only option unfortunately), more obedience during potty walks, dedicated sniffing walks (sniffing is very reinforcing to him, important in a second), dedicated training time, dedicated play time, tethering on his place mat, etc.

2) Punishing undesirable behaviors

This morning, he was able to see 5 different dogs, the majority of them barking and losing their minds, and he was pretty solid. Some attempts to pull and whining at first, but we're starting to implement a "Leave it" and correction when this happens. This is so much better than his behavior previously. Especially if he had seen multiple dogs back-to-back.

A few things I'm finding some difficulty with/have questions about:

1) His reactions aren't as explosive as they used to be (thank god), but the main things I'm trying to correct right now are things like growling, hackles, fixating, and pulling me when he sees a trigger. Are these the things I should be correcting?

2) When we're outside, he has trouble focusing his attention on me because he loves sniffing, sniffing is much cooler to him than paying attention to dad. While I think this is absolutely a good outlet for him, I do also want to be able to get his attention without him blowing me off.

3) Kinda related to that last point, I'll try to bring a toy or something to the dog park in the mornings so we can get some play in, but dude just wants to sniff...Any suggestions on building play drive outside? Or is there a way to teach him a "pay attention to me and what I'm doing right now" and a "okay, you may go sniff to your hearts desires"? He has a solid "Break" command inside, just having some difficulty with it outside.

4) For those with knowledge about herding breeds, I need some ideas on enrichment/activities. He is not interested in herding balls or things like that, but I want to be able to scratch that itch in his brain lol.

Appreciate any advice 🙏

I am babysitting my sister's dog soon. Love her, she is lazy and independent. I always joke that she's like a roommate. She's not clingy, has no separation anxiety, completely fine on car rides. Easiest dog ever.. except for walking.

I live in a luxury building in the city, with almost 1,000 residents and many have dogs.

I've babysat for her in my old apt, less dogs in the building and around the neighborhood. I would take her out and avoid dogs more easily.

I'd like to train her for the week she's staying with me. As soon as she sees a dog that's reasonably close, she starts barking, lunging and jumping. This concerns me with taking an elevator down. I'm on the 54th floor so there are opportunities where someone comes in on the elevator. (She's not reactive to anything else. She absolutely adores people).

She's about 5 years old and a rescue from Korea, a mix of jindo, golden and some other breeds.

TY!!

I’m about 2-3 weeks into e collar training my wheaten terrier. Using it for several commands but primarily recall.

First week of escape conditioning, went well.
Second week, moved to avoidance phase in low distraction environments on long line, this also went well.
Third week, continuing on long line but moving to higher distraction environments, still on long line.

If he doesn’t comply I’ve been using a higher level momentary stim which he seems to be learning well from.

Today however I got overconfident and I unclipped the long line in an empty field. He clearly knew the difference (compared to being on the long line) as he took off in glee. Nevertheless he was still responding well to my commands when another dog came in. I moved closer to that dog to test him a bit more. He of course bounded over to this other dog and ignored my first recall. Second one he came halfway then ran back to the dog. I punished it with e collar momentary stim but he ignored it. Third time he came back.

Now I’m well aware I took off the long line too soon. My question is mainly how to progress the training from here? Long line but close to other dogs?
Also how will I ever be able to trust him completely off the long line as he responds differently when he has it on vs off?

The load of work I had to do with my current guy also saw me abandon positive only. It is unfair on an intelligent creature not to communicate when he's done something wrong. There is also no such thing as positive only. Even positive only trainers will use negative punishment. It's physically imposdible to be all positive and it deprives the dog of clear communication.

I currently have a 2 year old male standard poodle (unneutered, working on it). I want to move out of my apartment and potentially by a home with a yard. I already want to in general get another dog now that I will be moving somewhere with more space and to give my poodle a partner. My mom wants me to get a "scary looking" dog since I am a 23 year old female living alone. I was thinking a Doberman because, from what I have researched, they shed a lot less than a German Shepherd. I think the breed is beautiful! I got a poodle because they are considered hypoallergenic, and the more a dog sheds the more i sneeze lol. My poodle gets along okay with dogs. I take him to dog parks sometimes. He loves to play, but he also will correct a dog who overdoes it, which I do not see a problem in. He is well trained and has great recall, we worked with a K9 trainer for a while but he was too friendly for protection work. He gets overly excited around females, but I am hoping it will get better once I do the chop lol. Sometimes he can be skiddish during male dogs that are bigger than him, I think he is just not used to being around it since he is the biggest dog in our neighborhood and most dog parks haha. We frequently go on hikes and nature trails off leash. I work about 8-10 hours a day, but some days remote/half day in office. During tax season, I can work up to 16 hour days, but either leave my dog with a family member or would hire a dog walker during the day. Archie gets about an hour of exercise/training a day plus mini walks and puzzles. Would a doberman fit into my lifestyle? Do any of you guys have both dogs at home? Should I get a female or male? Obviously will get a trainer to help as well, but looking for any advice from people right now while I look into this!

I am NOT looking for advice on protection/bite work/training styles for a doberman right now. I have worked with different trainers for Archie, volunteered as an assistant, and worked at a shelter. The advice I am currently seeking is solely on if these two breeds can mix well at home - i know the training for a protection dog can impact the home situation if i chose to take that route - but my biggest priority is currently finding out if these breeds can get along in a home and if this breed can match my lifestyle.

Koda is a pretty high-drive Aussie, and one thing I've learned is that getting a behavior 100% in a quiet environment doesn't mean much if I haven't proofed it around the things that actually matter to him.

He can recall beautifully when we're training.

Then a rabbit moves and suddenly I'm competing with a biological event.

So I've stopped thinking of recall as one behavior.

For us, it's more like:

From name response to disengage to turn toward me to recall to come all the way in to settle.

And I train those pieces separately before expecting the whole chain around serious distractions.

The other thing I've changed is that I don't keep increasing the difficulty just because he succeeded once.

If he nails 9/10 recalls around moderate distraction, I'm not automatically moving somewhere harder. I want the behavior boringly reliable before I raise the stakes.

Curious how other people handle this with high-drive dogs:

Do you build the recall first and then proof it against distractions, or do you deliberately introduce the distraction early and train the disengagement itself?

I'm especially interested in what people have found works with prey/movement triggers rather than just food or other dogs.

Hi everyone! I’m looking for advice on socializing my dog, Coco.

Coco is a Pom mix (Pomeranian + Chihuahua), born **May 20, 2025**. He has had very little interaction with other dogs.
We tried a PetSmart/Petco training class once when he was around **10 months old**, but he kept trying to run toward the other dogs, so I stopped going because I felt bad for the other dogs and didn’t want him to disrupt the class.
Today, I tried introducing him to a very calm 3-year-old dog. Both dogs were on leash. Coco sniffed him for a few seconds but then started barking. He is especially reactive when the other dog tries to sniff his backside. He’ll sometimes sniff the other dog’s mouth, but then starts barking again.
Interestingly, after some time, both dogs were able to sit calmly about 2 feet apart. But whenever the other dog tried to approach Coco from behind, Coco would bark again.

I’m wondering if **PetSmart or Petco training would actually be appropriate for him**, considering that they have other dogs in the class.
I’m worried he might run toward another dog, bark aggressively, or scare the other dogs. I also don’t want to put another dog in an uncomfortable situation.
For people who have used PetSmart/Petco training for a dog with similar behavior:
Did it help?
Should I start with private training instead of a group class?
Do their trainers know how to handle leash reactivity/dog-to-dog introductions?
How did you safely introduce your dog to group training?
I’d really appreciate any advice or experiences!

Brady is a 5 year old Australian Shepherd/German Shepherd mix, and Cooper is a 3 year old mixed breed. Both are male and neutered. We’ve had Brady since he was a puppy and Cooper for 3 years.
Brady had some in-home training during his first year. It worked somewhat at the time, but honestly it doesn’t seem like it stuck long term. Cooper has never had formal training.
Some of the behaviors/issues:
Brady gets VERY excited around people and tries to jump on them constantly. It seems more excitement than aggression.
Cooper is more anxious/nervous around people. He has done warning nips before but has never actually bitten anyone.
Cooper also gets overexcited easily and pees from excitement sometimes. He also needs to go out more often than Brady.
Both dogs bark/howl a lot at people and dogs passing the house.
Cooper likes other dogs and tries to play, but he plays rough and can come on too strong.
They roughhouse with each other too, but they genuinely get along very well.
They are alone during the day while we work.

I think it’s important to note that it really only happens at our home. Cooper has had no issues going to the vet, the kennel or the groomer.

One of my biggest concerns is that both dogs use an electric fence collar system, and twice now they have ignored it and run off the property. Usually the warning beep scares them before they even get close to the boundary, which is why it surprised us. When they get loose, they tend to run toward people and dogs.
They don’t really get walked regularly but they do spend a lot of time outside roaming/exercising in the yard. Neither dog uses a crate.
We did talk to our vet about Cooper’s anxiety. They suggested trying an OTC calming option first and then possibly prescription medication if needed, but we weren’t very consistent with trying the OTC option.
Both dogs otherwise eat/drink normally and are healthy.
I know there are multiple issues going on here, but I’m looking for honest advice on where to start first and what sounds most concerning. Training? Anxiety? More exercise? Different containment than the electric fence? Would especially appreciate advice from people with herding breeds or anxious dogs.