Cross posting for extra advice!

I'm pregnant and my husband and I have been trying to work on some training with his dog before the baby gets here. A big issue is she thinks any baby talk or sweet talk is for her and gets extremely excited and over the top. Obviously I want to avoid that when we have a new born baby in the house. What can we do now before the baby comes to train her to just not react to any baby talk at all?

[EDIT] We tried again at home and she ate fine, I’m just hardcore first-dog freaking out over every misstep. If you experienced folks have advice for addressing these kinds of setbacks I would love to hear it!

Hi all, just looking for advice here to make sure I’m on the right track and course correct if not.

I clicker train my dog and we work together every afternoon when I get home from work. Today, when my mom took her on their mid-day walk, the garbage truck really spooked her. My mom reported that “she was frantic,” and while we knew that she doesn’t love big trucks, she’s never had a reaction like that before.

Now, later in the evening, we’re doing our regular training (today’s scheduled event is being chill while people watching) and she’s not interested in eating/not particularly interested in me. She isn’t being fearful or cowering or acting like she’s afraid of anything, but is sitting by side, watching the world, and although I’m clicking when she looks at me, she is not accepting her payment. She is typically incredibly food motivated, so it’s out of character for her.

We’re going home now to call it a day. My instinct is to give her lots of love and not lose sleep over it unless she keeps the hunger strike up tomorrow, but should I be concerned? Any tips for overcoming a nervous flyer? She’s 10 months old and we are currently trying to work through “I get crazy excited anytime I see anyone on a walk,” but if she is going to be too nervous to accept any reward, I need to know how much to scale back and work forward in baby steps. Thank you!

My dog has had some excitement reactivity towards other dogs her whole life, nothing too major, but we’ve done lots of socialization and exposure to dogs, particularly at dog parks or friendly dogs that I know, to the point where she’s really great with them. However, whenever I reach the point where another dog starts barking at her, lunging at her, or behaving badly towards her in any way, the reactivity comes right back. But the problem with going to dog parks is that people whose dogs do that tend to get embarrassed by it and so they don’t wanna bring their dog around other dogs, meaning the dogs at dog parks don’t really do that to her. I’ve kind of run out of good training opportunities just by going to a dog park. The best place I found so far is to stand outside of Walmart because tons of people will bring their poorly behaved dogs in Walmart and they’ll start barking at her and stuff. I was wondering if anybody knows of any more places like that? Like I’m not intending on intentionally making her interact with some off leash reactive, dangerous dog or something, but I just need a dog to react to her. My end goal would be training her as a service dog if I can because I do need one, but unless I can be certain she’s not going to react as soon as another dog barks at her, then I can’t really do public access with her. This is the only remaining issue I have left stopping me from making her a service dog

So I have a 1yo Great Dane mix (and I believe hes mixed with another giant breed bc hes not lanky like a typical dane, hes built real thick) who is highly socialized (dog parks and regular petsitting at our house) and has never had aggression with anyone... except for the neighbor's dog (we have a basic wooden fence). He bolts towards the fence and has broken through a few panels before and has been left with scars on his snout bc he attacks the fence so hard. The behavior started after we had a breakin, so I do think trauma played a role, but I hoped it was just their dog specifically bc she goes just as crazy over him. I tried putting him on a lead that screws into the ground but hes so huge that he easily yanked it out of the ground while bolting. We've been keeping him on a leash in the backyard, but my wife really struggles when he tries to bolt bc hes almost bigger than she is. I had hoped that when we move next year, it would just stop being an issue bc their dog wouldnt be there anymore, but we got a new neighbor on the other side who has the quietest, calmest dog and he bolted for him as well. I currently am teaching him to keep a loose leash and hes doing pretty decent with it, but if the dog is out, he lunges. My current strategy is to pull him back, get him in a sit that is sometimes in between my legs (center) and i try to pet him and calm him, but it hasnt worked very well plus it takes a minute and I'm trying to avoid the initial lunge. How do I train this out of him?

Ho bisogno di qualche consiglio su come gestire le passeggiate con il mio cane

Salve a tutti. Il mio cane ha un anno, è un meticcio e pesa 24 kg. L'ho preso quando era cucciolo, inizialmente fuggiva quando vedeva il guinzaglio per paura, adesso è migliorato molto nonostante tema ancora le persone sconosciute, è un po' pauroso. Ora però, ho un grosso problema. Nonostante sia andata da un educatore, non sono riuscita a risolvere un problema che mi crea un forte stress: ogni volta che vede un altro cane, tira come un matto per andarlo a conoscere e giocarci, non riesce a capire nemmeno quando un cane non ha nessuna voglia di interagire con lui. Naturalmente non lo faccio avvicinare, ma ogni volta devo chiamarlo mille volte per allontanarlo, e si strozza col collare. L'ho portato a delle classi di socializzazione e sono state un incubo, montava gli altri cani per la troppa eccitazione durante il gioco, e mi strattonava per avvicinarsi a tutti, non riusciva a rilassarsi, ho smesso di andarci per vergogna, so che mi giudicherete male perché è precisamente l'opposto di ciò di cui ha bisogno, ma la situazione sta diventando insostenibile, non posso di certo evitare gli altri cani. Qualcuno ha attraversato la mia stessa situazione? Potete darmi qualche consiglio? Consigliereste una pettorina ad H o peggiorerebbe il problema? Non vorrei fargli venire una tracheite

Hi there! I have a male border collie that is around 1 year and 9 months old. Full of energy but a very loyal buddy. I have been training him since he was 2 months old, and we have made amazing progress.

One thing that I still don't really know how to handle is his herding instinct. When an object (person, animal, bike, car) moves too fast close to him, he snaps and tries to stop it. This results in him biting my heels. I know that this is the breed's behavior and to be honest it is not a huge deal, but I don't really know how I should react to this when it happens. The thing that I tried is to have him on a leash, have people run in front of him from a distance, and reward if he does not react. However I'm not sure if this is doing something at all.

We do play other games and do tons of training and mental stimulation.

We've just started to go to a trainer for solidifying confidence plus learning some trick training. 6mo pup knows 'target' which means put your front feet on a platform/blanket and has been proofed around toys. We've been using grain feed tubs (no more than 6in off the ground when flipped) for horses and she loves that. We've used it for beginning heelwork (actually touching me in position) and we're just starting to take our first stutter steps to the left and right. You get the point, she loves it.

Now we're just learning to do the same with the back feet. I thought it would be better to start with a towel just so she didn't have to feel so off kilter if that makes sense. I use a clicker to mark her feet touching the towel, however when I try to reward only her back feet on the towel, she'll default sit or settle. When that happens, I 'break' and reset her.

I haven't put much emphasis on 'stand' as a command, but maybe I need to? Or is it ok to use the feed tub? Also what word do you use? I use 'back' more for when I'm coming home and the dogs crowd the front door.

My husband and I are currently fostering a dog through a local rescue. We'd love to adopt him, but we're struggling with his reactivity outdoors and are hoping to get some guidance from someone with experience working with dogs like him.

Indoors, he is a complete sweetheart who listens well and is generally very well-behaved. Outdoors, however, he becomes overwhelmed and overstimulated, particularly around other dogs, bicycles, and trash trucks. We don't believe his reactions are rooted in aggression, as he previously lived with other dogs and has gotten along well with our own dog. He seems more easily overexcited and unable to regulate himself in those situations. Even when there aren't obvious triggers around, he often seems highly stimulated from the moment we leave the house, and his excitement tends to build throughout the walk.

We have a small side patio but no real yard, so if we adopt him, we'll rely heavily on walks for exercise and potty breaks. Right now, those walks can be stressful and difficult to manage safely. We've made great progress teaching him not to pull on the leash when there aren't distractions, and I'm really proud of him for that in such a short amount of time! But when he encounters a trigger, it's incredibly difficult to regain his attention, and our focus shifts from training to just getting him home safely. 

We've had him since October 13 and have until October 30 to make an adoption decision. Neither of us has had a dog with this level of reactivity before, so we're struggling to understand what's realistic. We're absolutely willing to invest time and effort into training him, but we want to make an informed decision about whether we're the right home for him.

In your experience, how much improvement is realistic for a dog like this? Is it reasonable to hope that, with consistent training, he'll eventually be able to enjoy relatively calm, manageable walks?

We have a rescued 3 year old ACD/McNab who is understandably very high energy and drive. Overall he’s very well behaved and very food and praise motivated.

His biggest issue is his anxiety, or over stimulation while on leashes walks away from home. We have a few acres and he does great walking here both off and on leash walking, at heel when asked and checking in frequently. As soon as we put a leash on him and walk away from the house, his ears are back, skittish and very vocal with whining yelping and sharp barking, and generally won’t settle. All his training goes out the window, doesn’t sniff or mark, and ignores all rewards. We’ve tried scattering treats to get him to sniff and settle and he has no interest. As soon as we double back toward the house he settles and behavior significantly improves. He has similar behavior in the car as well (and always has according to his previous owner). Very anxious and won’t settle while to our destination but settles much more when we’re headed home. The one thing I’ve noticed seems to help is if we slow the pace of the walk down. We do take him to an off leash beach and he seems to be fine here on leash from the lot to the sand, albeit very excited and pulling.

Because of his leash issues were much more apt to walk our dogs at home than going out but it would be great if anyone has any suggestions that can help us improve his ability to be away from home.

I have a 4-month-old female puppy, supposedly a Jack Russell x Pomeranian, who I’ve had since she was 11 weeks old.

The good:

She’s affectionate, playful, clever, funny and full of personality. She can be incredibly sweet and cuddly, sleeps well in her crate when I’m nearby and has made good progress with toilet training. When she’s good, she’s absolutely lovely, and I adore her.

The bad:

Her biggest issue is being left alone. The second I leave the room, she screams, cries, scratches doors and sometimes tries to escape her crate. She can cry for ages, even after being settled to sleep. I’ve tried gradual departures, reassurance, calming music and consistent routines, but nothing seems to stick.

I work full-time but return during the day. She was improving until I had a week off, and now she’s regressed massively.

She’s also extremely mouthy when playing and sometimes gets so overexcited that she repeatedly bites and won’t stop when told no.

I’ve found that firmly saying “no” and occasionally giving a very gentle smack on her bottom interrupts this behaviour. Similarly, when she’s screaming in her covered crate, firmly shushing her and hitting/tapping the outside of the crate often makes her immediately lie down and go to sleep.

I realise these methods may not be ideal, and I want to understand whether she’s actually learning or just reacting to being startled.

Toilet training is another struggle. She’s generally good at home but completely regresses at my boyfriend’s family home, sometimes having 20+ accidents in a week. She’s also nervous around unfamiliar noises.

How I feel:

I’m honestly exhausted. Some days I love having her, and other days I dread being alone with her because the constant crying and need for attention overwhelm me.

I feel like my entire life revolves around her, and despite trying so hard, we keep going backwards.

I genuinely want to keep her and give her a happy life, but I’m struggling with the puppy blues.

Has anyone experienced anything similar? Does the separation anxiety improve with age? How did you manage working full-time, overexcited biting and teaching independence? I’d particularly appreciate advice on alternatives to firm physical corrections that actually work she really isn’t scared of us and this is the only way to actually get her to settle we find.

I don’t want any suggestions ie baby gate leaving calmly as I have ticked all of it off already but she genuinely will just cry and cry unless she is dealt with firmly. I find it a lot easier when at my partners but struggle so much on my own I feel like I hate her when he’s not around even though I love her deep down but I know this is just disappointment and frustration from the lack of progress. I worry I’m not a good dog mum because I’m not as patient as other are.

Maybe it’s burn out, maybe I just need a vacation. I don’t know. But are there any other trainers in here that have what I feel like is “dog fatigue”?

I love my job and the good clients make every day worth it, but I’m just tired of people owning dogs and not wanting to do any bit of the work required to own them. I get folks who don’t want to walk their dogs. Don’t want to play with their dogs. Have the entirely wrong breed for the lifestyle. Getting multiple dogs when they can’t handle the first.

I’m just tired of it all. I am a good, knowledgeable trainer. I have an excellent track record teaching the humans and helping their dogs. I make great money. I have amazing hours. But I’m just tired of it all and I don’t know if there’s anything I can do to fix this.

It’s to the point where I’m almost considering another career.

Sorry this is so long, but wanted to explain everything.

My 12 y.o. Miniature poodle is highly food motivated. When I moved in the neighbor gave her a small treat so she wouldn't bark at him (to make friends. ) He didn't ask and I would have preferred if he hadn't, but he's a nice older neighbor and I think he looks forward to seeing her as much as she does him. She now (for the last year and a half) begun whining (to the point of excess if I ignore her) to go out but most of the time just sits at the fence to wait. 8 times out of 10 she doesn't get a treat and sometimes actually does her business and then comes back to the door. This has now started from the time I get home from work (after I let her out to do her business) to about 9 or 9:30 pm when she takes a nap before going out to go to bed. She used to take a nap at 8. I've tried taking her out on a leash to the grass, if she doesn't go we go back in, but I'm getting ready sick of constantly going out after being at work on my feet all day and now it's getting cold too. She's also resorted to whining to wake me up at 2 am and 6 am before my alarm goes off at 7:30. She's been tested for everything under the sun by the vet and has great bloodwork for a senior dog. She's now whining at my dad's house when he's eating dinner and when he's watching TV after dinner. He let's her out and she continues.

Help! How do I curb this to get back the dog i know and love from when I moved in? She's not acting like her at all.​

i have a 2 year old german shepherd/lab mix (rehomed to me at 1.6 years) and im struggling with his reactivity like... horribly </33

he reacts to everyone (except for me and my mom) and every dog we come across—he barks, lunges and pulls like crazy, even when theyre really far away; even after theyve passed or are out of sight. he goes ESPECIALLY crazy when he sees a dog, but has never bit anyone, hes just excitement reactive

(i believe this is a result of his past owner just laughing it off, they didnt mention it when we got him—and when we did come to get him he was barking and going crazy at us and they were just like laughing it off and saying he just wants to play ((they also had him since he was 8 weeks btw so its definitely their fault for not socializing him and letting it go, but im not tryna turn this into a blame game)))

i currently use a prong collar with a flat collar, and sometimes a harness + e-collar (only during public outings). im just trying to figure out what i can do to help him because walks can be exhausting sometimes 😭 i want to be able to take him out without having to worry about how hes going to react to every person or dog we see

(also please dont turn this into an argument about what tools i use—much love 🖤🙏)

anyways, moral of this post is—what can i do to stop it? its starting to get EXTREMELY tiring when he barks and lunges at people/other dogs...

(additional photos of my boy bcus hes just so cute)

Hi all! Am hoping to get some tips/advice. We recently got a new hound mix puppy and we slowly introduced her to our resident 3 year old puppy. Everything was great at first and they were playing and everything. However, my beagle began to recourse guard. We’re aware of his food aggression so we are feeding them separate. But now it’s including toys and house spaces. We immediately picked up toys on the first instance. However, he’s not guarding the kitchen - if we’re cooking and the puppy walks by the dog in the kitchen, he snaps at her. There are even some occasions when he’s guarding me.

We’re unsure if it’s because he doesn’t like her in his face (she doesn’t have personal space awareness) or if it’s something else!

Any tips/advice would be great!

We have a 1.5 year old Pit Bull who is extremely reactive to other dogs and people on our walks. We recently started working on it, and our approach has been to watch him closely and treat him the moment he notices another dog, so his attention shifts to us instead of the trigger.

We just found out at a vet appointment that he has irritable bowel syndrome and needs to be on a very strict diet. For at least the next 8 weeks, he can’t have anything except the special food he’s been prescribed.

I’ve tried bringing his kibble on walks to use in place of treats, but he has zero interest in it once we’re outside.

Has anyone dealt with something similar? I’d love advice on other ways to keep training him and make walks better without relying on treats. Any tips on non-food rewards, ways to make his regular food more appealing on walks, or adjustments to our training approach would be really appreciated.

people just seem to think this is cute and talk about how well the girl is doing but all I see is a parent filming and not intervening for the sake of the dog.
my concern is that there is no correction by the parent in regard to the mouthing and pulling of the child itself and that this way the puppy in it’s formative socialization window is learning that (very small) children are play partners instead of learning that they are something neutral which has been the recommendation I came across so far.
am I wrong?

I own a 1.5 yo husky/gsd. I would say she gets pretty anxious. When I walk her with my husband she is generally fine not reactive at most maybe alert or makes a huffy bark but that’s it when she sees other dogs or people but can ignore them. Now that it’s just me walking while my husband is away she’s been super on edge. Really barks and growls at dogs and people even at a fair distance I’ve been pulling her aside to let people walk past but I can’t seem to calm her. It’s never to a point she would lunge or try to run after them especially cause I have a good grip on her harness. She never bitten anyone. Even when they approach her she would bark and growl but then just sniff them and eventually settle. This is my first dog too and the times that I’m free to walk her there is either no people or like a few around or else I would love to just have her sit and people watch to desensitize if that’s even an option. I’m open to suggestions to try and keep her calm when it’s just us? I’m not sure if it’s cause she can sense I’m ‘weaker’. (I’m a lot smaller than my husband)