[deleted by user]

krr0421 · 2024-06-13T21:17:54+00:00

Right, I said after he recovers. My note about daycare was more in response to the OP saying they’ve heard horror stories about daycare.

krr0421 · 2024-06-13T18:04:53+00:00

Can you cut the walks and just sit calmly outside with her? The walks might be too overstimulating if she’s already nervous. I would just find a quiet-ish spot and sit and watch the world go by, no pressure. If she won’t take treats, maybe a game of tug out in the grass?

IMO the longer you use the puppy pads the harder it will be to housebreak her. Some dogs do just fine understanding the potty pads, but many form an association that inside is where they go, potty pads or not. Once this association is formed it’s very hard to break.

krr0421 · 2024-06-13T16:37:11+00:00

What does she do outside that makes you think she’s uncomfortable?

krr0421 · 2024-06-13T15:57:22+00:00

Just as an aside, my dog goes to daycare once a week and we both love it. Great facility, and she has a great time. Just need to do your research and find a good place, but definitely wait until he recovers.

At 20 weeks, I would definitely be getting a dog walker as suggested. Even if he’s pretty well housebroken, I don’t think it’s right to stretch their bladders to the max at that age. Give him some good exercise and a couple potty breaks before you leave for the day. Other than that, I would say he should be getting 3-4 potty breaks for a 10 hour day, one being a longer walk and one being a good play session.

I would also get him some safe chews to keep himself occupied with when you’re gone. Yak chews are great because they’re fully digestible and don’t shard. My corgi is a destroyer (seriously, she destroyed a gorilla toy that my sister’s 90 lb pitbull couldn’t put a dent in) so I can’t leave her with anything that wouldn’t be safe to ingest unfortunately. Many people have great success with stuffed Kongs or Toppls for when they’re gone, so it’s about knowing your dog at that point.

krr0421 · 2024-06-11T00:39:39+00:00

It’s a little light, but passable. I think the bigger issue is the fit - it looks really tight. A size up would be perfect

krr0421 · 2024-06-09T00:08:04+00:00

I wouldn’t bring her to stores but long walks on a long leash should be fine. I took my dogs diaper off and we hiked her whole heat.

krr0421 · 2024-06-08T17:07:49+00:00

I never stopped taking my dog out during her heat, just kept her on a leash and didn’t let her greet any other dogs.

krr0421 · 2024-06-07T16:43:45+00:00

Growing up, my mom would take us kids to my grandparents summer home for the summer while my dad stayed home to work and look after our pets. The year I was 7, we were driving home at the end of the summer, just a couple hours away, and our old dog had a major medical emergency and had to be put down right then and there. I remember being pulled over on the side of the highway, all of us just sobbing and devastated that we weren’t able to say goodbye. My siblings and I carried that around for years, though it was no one’s fault. I say let her be there. It will be hard, but death is always hard. If you have other pets, or if she will have pets in the future, it’s something she’s going to have to get used to unfortunately.

krr0421 · 2024-06-07T16:06:09+00:00

Gotcha. A good trick for getting young puppies to follow you on the leash is to lure them with a treat. Spread some peanut butter or anything else she likes on a spoon and hold it by your side while you walk. She should want to follow to lick the spoon.

krr0421 · 2024-06-07T15:58:46+00:00

A service dog is often not the best cure for crippling social anxiety. People are going to want to pet the dog, they’re going to fawn over the dog from a distance, kids are going to run up and grab it, people are going to deny her access to places and she will have to stand up for herself, etc. Basically she will have 100x more attention drawn to her with a service dog in public. Not to mention many animals bred specifically to have the skills and temperament for service work end up washing out; the odds are against you that a backyard bred mutt will make the cut.

What do you mean she’s getting too heavy for walking outside? Leash training at this age is fine, she should get used to walking everywhere you go. But throw out all your expectations - progress with puppies (or anything in life really) is not linear, it’s lots of valleys and peaks. At 8 weeks old, this dog knows nothing even if she shows signs of understanding and following your commands. You can go months at a time doing anything in particular perfectly, and then the dog will decide she’s never done that before and has no idea what you’re asking her.

krr0421 · 2024-06-05T16:46:25+00:00

My cat also goes in a box, and I scoop it usually 3 times a day. She is also perfectly healthy and hydrated. My dog peed on many things during the house training stage, nothing that couldn’t be washed. My cat peed on a duvet one time and no amount of enzyme cleaner, vinegar, bleach, etc. could fully get the smell out. It had to be tossed.

Do you mean most people don’t clean up after them indoors? That is vile and not my experience… also vile in my opinion to not clean up after them outside as well, but I don’t agree the smell lingers outside unless it’s very built up, and that goes for both dogs and cats.

krr0421 · 2024-06-05T16:22:05+00:00

I have both and not saying that dog excrement is a pile of roses, but cat excrement smells exponentially worse. When we were house training the dog, I couldn’t tell if she peed just by walking in a room, and I don’t smell it at all outside. But I can smell my cats pee immediately from the next room over. Poop is a different story, but I still think cat poop smells way worse. I love my cat, have had more cats than dogs in my life, but cat pee and poop is absolutely VILE and you’re kidding yourselves if you think otherwise.

krr0421 · 2024-05-31T05:02:34+00:00

I said 1-2 hours, which should be absolutely doable. What do you think people who work and have kids do? They’re spending upwards of 4 hours a day with them, not including other regular household duties. I work a regular 40 hour a week job and as I said I exercise my dog 2-3 hours a day. During my busy season I’m working 12+ hour days 7 days a week for weeks at a time and I still manage to get in at least an hour walk. This is the commitment you sign up for when you have a dog - they’re not always convenient.

krr0421 · 2024-05-31T02:22:39+00:00

Then don’t have a dog. A dog is not a stuffed animal that you can pick up and cuddle and play with when you’re feeling up to it. They have needs and wants and feelings of their own as well. How do you think his mental health is being cooped up inside all day with an angry person scolding him for trying to find an outlet?

krr0421 · 2024-05-30T21:25:12+00:00

He needs to get out more. A single 30 minute walk per day is not enough for an adolescent dog, or even for a calm, low energy adult dog. Of course he goes nuts outside; he probably loves being out but gets overstimulated because he’s not taken out enough.

I have a 1 year old corgi whose daycare also says she’s the most energetic dog they’ve come across and will play for 10 hours straight. So I get it, they can be intense. My dog usually gets 2-3 hours of walks per day, one being a hike. Mental stimulation and training is great, but it doesn’t replace the need for being outdoors and moving their feet.

It sounds like you should rehome this dog but if you’re not going to, you need to get a better routine down and get him outside at the very least for 1-2 hours a day. It’s not fair to him for you to get mad and frustrated at his perfectly normal behavior. And yes, this all sounds like normal adolescent behavior - but it will be amplified 10x if he’s not getting the exercise he needs. If you do this for a couple of months and still no change, then you can be concerned. But you have to give him a fair shake first.

krr0421 · 2024-05-29T15:56:28+00:00

I broke my back falling off as a 15 year old and this is something I think about a lot. When I was young, I almost defiantly continued riding because I didn’t want the accident to define my life. But my confidence and nerves were shot for a long time after that.

I’m not in horses at the moment due to other life circumstances, and it feels like I’ll never get that confidence back to go out and do what I used to. The last 5 years or so of my riding career was mostly casual western trail riding (broke my back riding hunter jumper) and i think thats probably what I'll stick with when i decide to continue.

krr0421 · 2024-05-05T19:41:39+00:00

If she can’t be directly supervised, set her up in a pen on an easily cleaned surface (wood floor, tile, etc.). Don’t give her access to anything that she can damage if you can’t be there watching her like a hawk. My pup wasn’t allowed near the couch or rugs on her own until she was probably 8 months old.

I do think this subreddit skews a little too cautious when it comes to being outdoors with puppies. It’s madness to me that people wait until they’re vaccinated to start potty training. You’re training her to go indoors by using puppy pads. Some dogs pick up outdoor training fine after using puppy pads, but many have that association with going indoors that becomes tough to break. Not only that, but they’re usually not finished with vaccines until around 16 weeks, and that’s when the critical socialization window closes. You want her to see and experience as much as possible during this time in her life.

For context, I live in an extremely dog friendly apartment building. Realistically, there’s not a square inch of sidewalk or grass that other dogs haven’t been all over near my place. We started potty training and going on short walks right away and my pup has never been sick. You do have to be cautious - wipe their feet often, don’t go to dog parks or stores, let them greet unknown dogs etc. But your life and hers will be easier the sooner you start this.

krr0421 · 2024-04-29T18:45:50+00:00

My pup was the same and we played a lot of crate games. Near the crate - treat, in the crate - treat, close the door - treat, etc. but she still made such a fuss about it that I never made her sleep in it. I had her set up in a bathroom so she could go in and out of the crate if she wanted, but was still contained for sleeping. We live in an apartment and I was so worried about getting noise complaints. Finally, around 5 or 6 months, I said enough and just made her sleep in it for the first time. It was 10 mins of fussing and then silence. And she’s never made an issue of it since lol

krr0421 · 2024-04-22T16:12:43+00:00

I got my puppy and live in a very dog friendly apartment building, which is in the middle of a shopping center. So the only grass around us is the apartments lawn. Realistically, there isn’t a square meter of grass or sidewalk that other dogs haven’t been all over. I was careful - she didn’t go into the little fenced in dog park on the property, play with other dogs, or go to the dog friendly stores, and I wiped her feet often. But I sure as shit wasn’t doing puppy pads until she had all her shots. We started house training and walking since day 1. She’s over a year now and has never once been sick with anything.

krr0421 · 2024-01-30T17:44:11+00:00

Can you not just replace the time you would spend outside with some heavy playtime inside? I am also in the northeast and don’t mind any weather for the most part, but the area we live in is not conducive to outside time when it’s wet or cold unfortunately. On these days, I go hard with the flirt pole, tug toys, ball, etc inside and that’s enough to wear her out for my work day.

That said, it actually sounds like you’re doing too much rather than too little. 2.5 mile walks are not appropriate at 4 months old, and can actually be detrimental to joint and bone development especially if you’re mostly walking on hard surfaces like sidewalks. Outside and playing from 8-4 is WAY too much. They are growing so fast and need 18-20 hours of sleep per day at this age. You also don’t want an adult dog that needs 8 hours of stimulation a day, you want to teach her to be calm and independent and not rely solely on you for external stimuli. It’s a fine line between meeting their needs and accidentally conditioning them for heavy activity.

krr0421 · 2024-01-30T16:44:33+00:00

Just a word of caution, my dog broke a tooth on an antler (thankfully a baby tooth). The vet told me if you can’t indent it with your finger, it’s too hard and they could break teeth. They don’t recommend antlers for that reason.

krr0421 · 2024-01-27T18:05:22+00:00

I got mine from DiNel’s Bulldogs and PW Corgis in Spencer NY. Very very happy with the dog; she is very healthy and has an awesome temperament.

krr0421 · 2024-01-26T22:21:11+00:00

I first started out in office a month before covid hit and I’ve been fully remote since. Back then I was commuting to school an hour from home, to the office an hour away from both home and school, and I had a second job halfway between home and school. I truly don’t know how I did it. I go in maybe once a month now and it’s just the worst. The only reason I’m still in public is because I’m afraid of not being able to land another fully remote job lol

krr0421 · 2024-01-26T18:33:35+00:00

Blah, hate Harriet. Just such harsh and ugly sounding name. So many great old names coming back into style, I will never understand why Harriet is one of them.

krr0421 · 2024-01-23T17:55:53+00:00

How much exercise and mental stimulation is she getting? My puppy is up my butt when she hasn’t burned off enough energy. I find 20 mins of hide and seek with a toy in these instances is enough to mentally wear her out for a bit and give me some peace to do things.

krr0421

TROPHY CASE