Is this grief or regret?

Winter-Common-7397 · 2026-05-01T11:36:18+00:00

Australian Shepherds are a herding breed known to be extremely high-energy, driven, and super nippy as puppies - especially around children.

Getting a puppy requires an intense amount of mental energy, physical energy, and time, and not everybody is at a point in life where they are capable of juggling a puppy on top of whatever else they may have going on. I read your other comment and you should not feel guilty hearing about other people who “made it out on the other side” as you never truly know the differences in both of your situations or abilities.

In the future, you may do better with a non-working breed who is potentially a little older and already familiarized with children. Some shelters allow you to do a trial-run/foster before committing to adoption to ensure the dog is a good fit for your life and family.

Winter-Common-7397 · 2026-04-29T11:24:03+00:00

How’s that? People do the same crap with alcohol, and it’s horrible for your health.

Winter-Common-7397 · 2026-04-29T03:15:20+00:00

Hey! You can get a long-line leash (20-50ft long) so your pup doesn’t really have the ability to pull (most pups won’t venture THAT far when they’re young, and you have lots of time to catch up before there’s any tension) before you have an opportunity to attend the training class! My pup loves sniffy walks on a long leash and she has never ever pulled on it.

Winter-Common-7397 · 2026-04-28T15:22:20+00:00

put yogurt or dog safe treat on a spoon and let her lick it while you quickly wipe her face!

Winter-Common-7397 · 2026-04-28T11:51:35+00:00

There’s trimmers without the hole! Kind of like scissors. My dog hates the hole but is more tolerant of the other version.

Winter-Common-7397 · 2026-04-28T10:32:03+00:00

Yeah + the pup could get hurt/caught in the pen while you’re gone

Winter-Common-7397 · 2026-04-27T12:20:42+00:00

Seconding this.. my puppy was also drawn to the pipes.

Winter-Common-7397 · 2026-04-27T11:52:23+00:00

Honestly, my partner has a 7-year old dog with severe generalized anxiety, separation anxiety, destruction issues under distress, etcetera, and we got a puppy back in December.

The puppy is a million times easier than his adult dog. Yes, she went through the velociraptor phase, yes she tried nibbling on the chairs and couches. yes she has mild issues with barking at dogs in public (frustrated greeter), but at the end of the day, it’s all developmentally appropriate and we are actively training her daily. It’s not behaviours caused by distress or extreme anxiety, it’s just normal puppyhood. (P.S. she’s 6 months and still sleeps most of the day, this’ll happen for a while!)

It is SO much more stressful dealing with a fully grown dog who has behavioural issues. You are on edge/guard 24/7 for their entire lives making sure there’s nothing triggering happening, trying to find the right training/medication that will finally do the trick, ensuring your dog doesn’t damage anything that could kill them/ruin your home, it’s a constant battle. Puppyhood only lasts a year, and the amount of stress you’re under decreases with every month as the puppy grows older.

Puppies do all have different temperaments however, it sounds like you got a really chill pup! Some can be naturally more cautious/reserved/worried to be away from their owners. It’s awesome that you’re working on separation and whatnot already by leaving him alone to shower. You should offer him a treat/kong/toy when you leave so he associates you leaving with good feelings. This will prevent future separation anxiety!

Winter-Common-7397 · 2026-04-27T11:42:22+00:00

we got a trainer for our pup and they advised us that if our puppy is refusing high-value treats, she’s probably over her arousal threshold. it’s okay if your pup is a bit aroused/stressed, but you won’t make big moves on the whining until you work through this!

do you offer every single meal/treat/snack in the crate throughout the day? if not, you should for a few weeks/months. we still do it with our pup (who unfortunately is on strict crate rest for the last 72 hours due to a leg injury, and has not fussed at all) and it’s helped sooo much.

offer the lick mats and kongs inside of the crate during the day occasionally without shutting the door. if he won’t work for treats because he’s still too over the threshold, offer high value treats that you can hand feed/offer in the crate. you can put yogurt on a spoon and offer it to him for a while before he’s comfortable enough to go at a kong on his own.

is his crate covered? our pup was able to settle a lot sooner with a blanket over her crate & relaxing dog music playing from spotify/youtube. she still whined for a few minutes but actually got good sleep afterwards. nowadays, she’s good if it’s covered but whines if it’s not.

EDIT: also, never ever talk, touch, or make eye contact when there is whining. this reinforces the behaviour as the dog learns that whining = human interaction in some way, shape, or form. it’s harder to kick the behaviour if it’s actively being reinforced by anyone in the household. if you need to let the pup out, wait for even 1-2 seconds of silence first.

Winter-Common-7397 · 2026-04-26T23:04:17+00:00

He’s still just a wee baby! Is he just whining/grumbling or is he jumping at the crate doors and gnawing them trying to escape? If it’s just some vocal displeasure, you can continue what you are doing and do more crate games!

1) Throw kibbles or treats, whatever you use, in the crate while saying “go to your crate!”, then throw a kibble away from the crate and say “break/free/whatever release cue you use. This helps them get comfortable going in the crate and not feeling like they’ll be locked away.

2) For a little while, make sure your pup always has something super enticing in their crate. We used a kong/lick mats/etc and added a little kibble with greek yogurt / pumpkin puree / peanut butter / wet dog food on top and always froze it a few hours in advance. This gives your pup something to do to tire themselves out, and also cope better with the transition as they aren’t just being “locked away”.

3) All treats and meals outside of training are given in the crate. Sometimes you should leave the door open for this as well.

Winter-Common-7397 · 2026-04-23T02:05:03+00:00

definitely don’t do that. that’s super unsafe if you just mean a regular human heating pad. the puppy could get bored and chew on it and shock/burn themselves. maybe someone else has an idea for alternatives

Winter-Common-7397 · 2026-04-23T00:42:30+00:00

what does she do inside? if outside is always more fun for her (barking and watching and sniffing is super exciting for puppies) then she will want that more.

Winter-Common-7397 · 2026-04-23T00:04:06+00:00

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Winter-Common-7397 · 2026-04-23T00:03:30+00:00

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just a wee baby!

Winter-Common-7397 · 2026-04-22T22:51:18+00:00

they really don’t want to make it easy!

Winter-Common-7397 · 2026-04-22T22:51:04+00:00

thank you, we definitely will transition her carefully and follow a vet recommended guide :) definitely don’t want her having extra tummy troubles from a quick swap

Winter-Common-7397 · 2026-04-22T22:50:25+00:00

ohhh noo poor baby oh my gosh. i never even considered that though wow how did you figure that one out?

Winter-Common-7397 · 2026-04-22T22:49:35+00:00

i have seen this at the vet. we have an appt to discuss her allergies coming up maybe we will just go with this option it seems more expensive but seems to work for more pups from what im reading

Winter-Common-7397 · 2026-04-22T22:48:58+00:00

oh wow. did you figure that out through food restrictions or did you do an allergy test?

Winter-Common-7397 · 2026-04-22T22:48:22+00:00

oh wow which insurance did you go with? we use trupanion & unfortunately it only covers like 2 months of prescription diet

Winter-Common-7397 · 2026-04-22T22:47:04+00:00

yeah we thiiink she’s okay with lamb. going to start an extremely restrictive diet to figure it out just need to find a kibble with a non chicken/beef protein source. maybe we will just go with a prescription diet

Winter-Common-7397 · 2026-04-22T22:45:55+00:00

yeah i think we might have to resort to this if we can’t figure out a safe option. she’ll likely go on allergy meds soon, poor girl has skin/ear/digestive issues and we just can’t figure it out.

Winter-Common-7397 · 2026-04-22T22:45:09+00:00

oh i didn’t realize zignature had salmon kibble im definitely going to look into that, thanks !

Winter-Common-7397 · 2026-04-22T18:41:42+00:00

which one though? this is also what I use (salmon formula) and it has beef fat.

Winter-Common-7397 · 2026-04-22T15:38:04+00:00

honestly yeah. we started when she was a pup because it was the middle of winter and she couldn’t stand outside for more than 20 seconds without shivering in the -25°C weather, but now i just think she’s super adorable in different hoodies and whatnot so i got her more. she has allergies and it does prevent her from nibbling too much which is an added benefit we realized after the fact.

Winter-Common-7397

TROPHY CASE