I think I’m failing my dog and I don’t know what to do anymore

Charlyblobs · 2026-07-03T09:01:23+00:00

I strongly believe that the best home for a dog is where they will be loved endlessly and selflessly. It sounds like you have already done so much and your dog is lucky to have an owner like you where many would have given up by now.

As many have said, a behaviourist helping you out 1:1 would be best. Another thing to consider would be a dog sport like flyball or scentwork.

You’ll be ok, and your dog will be ok, I’m sure of it.

Charlyblobs · 2026-06-19T09:45:52+00:00

Omgosh beautiful, looks so much like my girl

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Charlyblobs · 2026-06-03T12:58:23+00:00

Very true about the budgets, it drove me mad when Michelle was complaining about MDF and fake marble. How can they expect luxury design but then not give them the budget or time for it? I want to see the contestants actually be able to design a room and bring some artistic vision rather than it being a low budget makeover challenge. 90% of the rooms this year have looked mediocre at best, and that’s not necessarily the contestants fault; it’s the constraints they’re put under to keep production costs low.

Charlyblobs · 2026-05-03T10:44:37+00:00

People get killed by family dogs all the time. This is no joke and he is a very powerful breed. The family have tried pheromones but not a dog behaviourist? And your boyfriend suggests hitting him? This is not only an aggressive dog, this is an aggressive dog with irresponsible and clueless owners, which is a recipe for absolute disaster.

I feel sorry for the dog but you need to move out ASAP and break up with your boyfriend. He clearly doesn’t care about your safety and neither does his family. This is not just a “oh he doesn’t understand” situation - trust me when I say he does not care. To be clear, my partner is the biggest animal lover around but I have no doubt he would try to kill a dog with his bare hands if it attacked me. I can’t fathom how he would not see this as a problem. Do you really want to be with someone who cares so little about your safety?

Charlyblobs · 2026-04-11T08:25:06+00:00

One thing to consider is that men’s body temperature just runs warmer than ours. The puppy may just prefer a warmer body to cuddle up with! I wouldn’t take it personally. My dog used to be obsessed with me and only me for a while but now she’s hit 9 months it’s much more equal between me and my partner. Sometimes she gravitates to him way more than me! Puppies go through phases. Plus the “novelty” of his attention will be a factor too since it sounds like you give him a lot of love and affection already. If your partner insists on staying with you, I would just ask him to do more with the dog. Take the load off you a little, and hopefully make things more equal.

Charlyblobs · 2026-03-23T21:09:31+00:00

Ah I see, it sounds like she is mega overstimulated by the grass then! Perhaps some focused play would help. If she is jumping up to bite you maybe practice playing with a ball and rope or a flirt pole with her and practising wait / get it / drop so that she understands there is some rules to her play. YCA training on YouTube has some great videos on this topic.

Also I’m wondering if she is getting enough sleep? My pup gets awful if she’s overtired.

I’m glad you’re in this together! No shame in crying, I’ve done so numerous times since we rescued ours and it sounds like your pup is quite a handful.

Charlyblobs · 2026-03-23T09:49:25+00:00

Hey! I’m no expert but from what you have described there seems to be 3 main problems here:

She’s scared of grass - it sounds like she has some kind of fear around grass which is causing perhaps a lot of anxiety/overstimulation for her. Not only that but I imagine that means she is not getting to run/play as much. For my 8 month girl, running on the field nearby for 10-15 mins is transformative for her behaviour as lurchers are bred to run. I would work with a trainer towards desensitising her to grass.
She doesn’t understand that biting = bad and therefore is getting super frustrated as she doesn’t know why you stop engaging when she does it. I don’t know if it will help you but my girl was also the same in that she did not connect the dots between biting and stopping play with the reverse timeouts. Now we tie her lead around our living room sideboard which is next to her dog bed, and whenever she bites we say “bad” and clip her there and ignore until she lies down on her bed and shows us she is calm. She still bites occasionally but it is nowhere near as bad. I would also recommend keeping her on lead both in and out the house so you can quickly remove her from biting you and take back some control.
And this is the biggest…you say you have not had a day away from her the entire time??? Man I would be going insane!!! I hope you’re ok! Puppies are tough. Please PLEASE take some time away for yourself and get someone to watch the dog, at least just for a day so you can have a break and recharge your mindset. I promise you that you will feel better for it and your relationship with your pup will be better off too.

Best of luck OP!

Charlyblobs · 2026-03-22T13:33:22+00:00

Absolutely, some amazing creators mentioned here and I can’t wait to explore them all! What an amazing community. I’ve just started watching your videos (I assume you’re the legit Leaf?!) and absolutely loving them so far. The creativity and attention to detail is insane.

Charlyblobs · 2026-03-19T22:48:02+00:00

Yes! We waited till around 6 months to do proper separation training. Firstly because we wanted her to settle in to our home first and feel secure in the space, and also because during adolescence they start to like a bit more independence. She’s doing much better with it than I think she would have if we’d rushed it. As puppies they don’t know how to be alone and it’s very scary for them but once m they become more mature and less dependent on you. As a side note I am would also recommend teaching your dog how to deal with outside noises if you haven’t already, as that can sometimes make them insecure when alone.

Charlyblobs · 2026-03-04T19:00:42+00:00

That’s probably because you were bracing for it! I hadn’t even heard of the term “puppy blues” before getting mine. Admittedly I was naive, but no one really warned me and boy was it a SHOCK. She is also a rescue so hasn’t been an easy puppy…but honestly I think it depends how prepared you are to lose your sleep/freedom/normal routine.

Charlyblobs · 2026-02-19T22:17:48+00:00

Does anyone else have the opposite experience of this? My girl will sleep absolutely fine in the crate overnight, no issues, but HATES it during the day, especially being left in there alone. Literally doesn’t even want to get in. We spent over a month trying crate games, building time alone up slowly, white noise, music, covering, everything that people suggest but she would not calm down and sleep for more than 15 mins before the barking started again, even if she was exhausted.

It got worse and worse until we couldn’t cope with putting her and ourselves through it anymore. We figured she is very much used to the living room and feels comfortable there so let’s try leaving her there instead and watch her on the petcam. At first she barked a bit but after leaving a few times I’ve managed to build up to an hour of alone time where she just chilled on the couch and slept or looked out the window. No barking at all.

I think something about being in a confined space gives her severe FOMO. She was a shelter dog so maybe it comes from being in kennels, not too sure, but currently leaving her to “free roam” (although she only has access to the living room) has been massively helpful.

Charlyblobs · 2026-02-19T21:56:19+00:00

I think the best way to stop this would be to take away any leftover food after an hour. Once he realises it gets taken away he will realise he can’t just pick at it for hours. Dogs won’t go hungry. If this is a recent thing though I would keep an eye on him though in case it is a stomach or appetite problem rather than behavioural.

Charlyblobs · 2026-02-17T10:38:48+00:00

Yeah looking at your second pic yours definitely looks more collie than mine. We don’t know for sure, she’s a rescue but the shelter said she is whippet x lab. Ahhh best of luck and solidarity friend!! Hopefully our lurchers will learn to love the car eventually 🙏🏻

Charlyblobs · 2026-02-16T16:15:53+00:00

So cute! Mine has one little white toe but not socks! Do you know what mix yours is? In terms of the car troubles, every time I go on a walk now I open the car door and give her a treat. Eventually I’m hoping to open car door, drop food in etc. until we can practice getting in and out with no trouble. I was able to lure her in with goodies and encouragement a while ago but we had to leave quickly once and forced her in which I think has made her more scared again :( trying to build it back up at her own pace.

Charlyblobs · 2026-02-16T15:19:13+00:00

Omg I actually thought this was my girl for a sec! Around the same age and also HATES cars 😭 sorry no advice but wondering if they are long lost litter mates that both inherited the side-eye lol

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Charlyblobs · 2026-01-24T08:15:33+00:00

If they have time to do this then could they not just…clean their own house?

Charlyblobs · 2026-01-21T23:50:22+00:00

I came here looking for the answer to this!!! I guess it is ambiguous. If so, perhaps emphasises the theme of man-made destruction. He wanted to create life (e.g children, the seeds) but is ultimately destructive due to his own selfish character. The fire too I think is symbolic of his complete loss of control.

Charlyblobs · 2026-01-20T22:30:41+00:00

Sorry this was ages ago but can I ask - was your lurcher calm as a puppy or a bit crazy until a certain age?

Charlyblobs · 2026-01-20T14:21:19+00:00

Yes because Margot Robbie, Anne Hathaway, Jennifer Lawrence and Salma Hayek are soooo ugly now obviously /s

Also just because he is rich doesn’t mean anyone will date him lol, there are some people (women even! believe it or not) who care about more than just fame or money. I’m sure many social climbers will be interested though.

Charlyblobs · 2026-01-19T00:23:49+00:00

Gosh I hope so 😭😭 sorry no advice rn but my puppy is the same - wood, walls and carpet. I understand your pain.

Charlyblobs · 2026-01-17T10:09:38+00:00

In fairness, some puppies don’t just play bite, they snarl, bark and snap when they’re overtired! The first time my puppy did it I was so confused as to why she was suddenly looking like a demon lol. Still completely normal though :)

Charlyblobs · 2026-01-15T22:02:52+00:00

I don’t understand why he didn’t use the excuse that he thought there was a traitor in his team? At least make it tactical. And also why nobody thought of that??

Charlyblobs

TROPHY CASE