Puppy Socialization & Behavior

“Hi, I have a 9 week old cocker spaniel which we have had for roughly a week now. In the first few days my older dog (~8 year old cockapoo) was a bit skittish around him, but has quickly adjusted to him being around and for the most part they are fine with each other. However, the puppy often likes to play which usually seems to involve pulling on the other dogs ears, tail, or other parts of fur he can grip onto. My older dog will growl and reprimand him, sort of gently biting him in a way someti”

“My almost 5 month golden retriever has been somewhat sheltered. We just go on multiple daily walks around the neighborhood. He is super super jumpy when he encountered other people and dogs. I always hold him back but worry if we don’t let him socialize, he’ll never learn to calm down. What’s the correct way to introduce people and other dogs? Dog park? And will he ever calm down when he meet other people and dogs? He’s always jumping paws first so I worry especially with little kids submi”

“I have an older 1y4mo and a 5.5 month old mini poodle. They are completely different in their character - the older one is very social, was super energetic as a puppy, picked things up like toilet and obedience training really quickly. By contrast, it has been much more of a struggle training the pup - he still doesn't understand how to ask to go outside (we use a button), hasn't figured out his reflection is him, and is generally much further behind in learning commands than the older o”

“Is taking him trick or treating in my sling a crazy idea? He will be 11.5 weeks old submitted by /u/choijenn [link] [comments]”

“I have a 2 month old shihpoo puppy. We were told she is really calm when we got her, and she was the first few days. But she’s very naughty now, and I’m happy that she is cuz I feel like she’s comfortable enough to let her real personality peek through. But I’m scared that I’m not enriching her or mentally stimulating her enough. She gets the zoomies at times. She also keeps biting my pants and fingers a lot, but that’s fine for now. I feel like she’s becoming more naught day by day, prolly cuz”

“Hi all, I just got a 10 week old Pomsky and I tried bring her down on grass for a walk (to help tire out excess energy) and teach her about doing potty outside but she seems to be more interested in eating soil and not walking. She would just stay in a spot and just put anything in her mouth. I understand that she is trying to explore and learn more about the environment but hearing from my other friends that owned puppies, they seem to naturally know that they should walk around. Is it too earl”

“My puppy (18 weeks old, shepherd mix) has started being pretty defiant, and I'm not sure if he's just not being enriched enough or if he's beginning his teen phase. Maybe both? He's started to ignore commands, especially if I don't have any treats on me (he's very food motivated). He's still extremely bitey, as he still has all of his puppy teeth, which is escalating the situation for me as well. When I cross my arms, he used to take that as a signal to stop, but now”

“Hi! I live in NYC with a 13 week old puppy. I got her at 10 weeks and have been keeping her off the ground outside out of fear for parvo, etc. Has anyone else dealt with this and if so, how do you exercise your dogs? I have been trying with fetch in my apartment, walks in the hallway, tug, etc but it’s hard to compare that to a 20 min walk outside. I love her madly and just want to make sure I’m keeping her healthy! submitted by /u/AccountantIcy9476 [link] [comments]”

“Hi all! I have a 10 week old lab puppy. I am trying to socialize her safely. Some things we’ve done so far are going to stores with her in the cart, going to a birthday party with her staying on a picnic blanket, took her to my office, introducing her to family members and having a play date with a friends dog who I know is friendly and vaccinated. I hear people saying that socialization is so important in the first few months of life. My question is, how often should I be doing this kind of soc”

“I have a 18 week old puppy and she’s amazing. She has her moments sure but they’re usually easy to handle and now I’ve learned how to get a lot of her energy out, I adore her and adore seeing her little quirks and personality develop. The only thing I feel like is going wrong is walking. On lead, shes a typical puppy. Charge ahead, sniff anything, I don’t exist and it’s made some walks miserable. Right now, I’m teaching her heel because just stopping when she pulled didn’t really work. It was li”

“I’m trying to replace our current harness before it turns into one more thing I regret buying because it looked good online. My dog pulls when she gets excited, especially around other dogs, and we’re working on the training part, just need something safer and more comfortable in the meantime. She’s a 3-year-old mixed breed, around 45 lbs, lean and fairly athletic. Also very good at wriggling out of things when she has decided a squirrel is more important than whatever I’m saying. A front clip w”

“We have a smaller toy-ish sized mixed breed (<15 lbs) who just turned 6 months old. He went through a defiant period around 5 months and has settled a lot more this week. Is the dreaded adolescent phase still around the corner? Or do smaller breeds hit it earlier? Thanks! submitted by /u/LivingSentence818 [link] [comments]”

“I went hiking with my 5mo 55lb gsd/malamute mix puppy twice. He seemed to do fine and has been walking normally. I just read that you're not supposed to hike with large breed puppies until much later. I'm seeing anywhere between 9mo to 12-18mo. Is this true? I want to keep my puppy safe and not cause harm with damaging his joints but he's also crazy energetic and will destroy the house. Any advice on safe exercise? submitted by /u/wooddragonyear [link] [comments]”

“My 8 month old french bulldog (female) is great indoors. Takes treats -- loves food. She is highly food motiivated outside as well, and walks pretty well loose leash. However, sometimes, only in certain areas of the walk (not same areas it varies) she will stop walking with me, refuse to check in, and refuses to sit when I stop or take treats. Sometimes she sniffs treats once then turns head away. I try with high value hot dog; she also turns away. Other times, she simply just zones out like I d”

“My puppy is 10 months old, he is a shelter pup so we're not sure of his breed but guess at GSD/Carolina dog mix. He weighs 45lbs and pulls very hard on his leash, which I'm afraid is hurting his throat. He will pull until his neck is bent and he's coughing. I'm looking for a harness similar in style to the Dog Friendly Co harnesses - not too much material (it's hot here), easy to put on, and prevents pulling. I've heard this company doesn't have a great reputation hen”

“My puppy is a 8 month labrador male had him since 8 weeks - loves everyone never barks, good with other dogs, just a goodyoung teen On walks if others dogs comes too close i have to put my dog in sit position, as pulling on the leash will not be helpful. I try to make my dog look at me as the other dog walks past us, however not always successful, mainly i would say we are making progress. My dog never makes a sound when in this situation. Now this lady i have walked by has this anxious black do”

“So from the day I picked up my pup at 9 weeks, the breeder attempted to put a harness on him. He was VERY upset and struggled against her. Fast forward to week 5 of having him, his collar I got him has always been a struggle to put on him. I give him lots of high reward treats, try to desensitize him to it (all he does is treat it like a toy) and try to avoid making him resist. If he resists then I stop trying so he wont become fearful. Well, it was going well for about 2 weeks but now he seems”

“Hi everyone, We’re getting a 10-week old golden doodle puppy soon. We live in a city with high parvo so have been advised to minimize ground contact. Want to purchase a sling but there are so many to choose from so would love if folks can provide links to one that worked well for them? Bonus if it is adjustable for me and my tall SO to be able to use. Thanks submitted by /u/Satin_Pajama [link] [comments]”

“My 8 month old Samoyed just started her first heat and I'm way more nervous about it than I expected. A few things I can't get a straight answer on: She licks herself constantly down there. Is that something I should be stopping, or is it fine to just let her? I also haven't put any pants or diaper on her — is that actually necessary, or is it purely about keeping my floor clean? Food — should I be adjusting anything? I asked an AI out of impatience and it said keep feeding the exact”

“Just had our first puppy class with our kind of hyper 4 month old goldendoodle. First thing the trainer did was put a pull collar (the kind that tightens around his neck when you pull the leash) on him and taught us to do that to correct bad behavior and also do it to teach basic commands. I've done puppy classes twice before and neither of them used pull collars. I kind of feel like that's just doing negative enforcement and creating a "listen to me or you get hurt" mindset. T”

submitted by /u/Open_Tooth_6638 [link] [comments]

“Hi all. So my show cocker spaniel is now 13 weeks old, we have definitely had some challenges but for the most part he is learning quickly. He’s slowly learning to be patient and has been pretty good with crate training. Walking needs some work but it’s only his first week. He’s now able to go outside but one thing I wasn’t prepared for was how much he hates his harness. I’ve tried to ease him into it but we’ve had 2 different styles now, step in and one that goes over the head. As soon as I put”

“I have a Yorkie puppy that is 10 months old. He was supposed to be 6 pounds but so far he is already 17 pounds. I've always had very small Yorkies that were well behaved. He came here on crack!!! He has been busy and curious since we got him. Because of his size, he is able to stand up on his hind legs and get things that none of my other dogs have considered bothering. He just chewed my prescription glasses for the second time. Yes, I need to remember to put them up even higher but sometime”

“i have a 4 month old lil guy thats practically shooting into space with how fast hes growing. i have a M sized harness rn that fits him well, but its not gonna fit him forever, so i wanted to get a crowd opinion on what size i should aim for when hes fully grown. i dont wanna buy another harness only for him to grow out of it really soon. so what size you guys have for you big, fully grown aussies?? hes a full-bread standard blue-merle boy, he weights 12.5 Kg rn, 4 months. again, looking somethi”

“I got a 3-month-old puppy from my local rescue shelter. This is really my first dog (minus the two my parents got when I was just a kid). I really, really want to do right by this dog and train him properly. I'm spending the majority of my free time doing research on dog training and training my new pup. One thing I've seen from dog trainers is that they use prong collars and martingale collars for training to prevent things like reactivity, pulling on the leash, jumping up, etc. I'v”

“I currently have a 4.5 month old German Spitz puppy and I also have a 1 year old Pomeranian and she’s only 2kg. Whenever I let them together he jumps on her and bites her. Not in an aggressive way just usual puppy biting playing. I can’t tell if she likes it or not because she’s so tiny. I don’t want him to play so rough but when I pick him up and say no. He just does the same thing again when I put him on the ground. When he matures will this continue? I hope I can put them together in the futu”

“So I'm getting a new puppy in about a week. He is about eight or nine weeks old. He is a frenchy poo. Frenchy dad and mom poodle mix. I haven't had a puppy since I was a child. But then I didn't take care of it. Solely myself. Me and my fiance have no kids. I work from home 7:30am-6:00pm. Monday through Thursday and I'm off on Fridays. My job is pretty flexible, so I can take him out whenever I need to. But I wanted to know if I should keep him in the kitchen with a baby gate or”

“Hi there . I had a Lurcher for 13 years and he was super . Well trained , loose leash etc but it’s been years since I had a pup . So I’ve forgotten everything !! Just have a quick question . When I lm training heel and loose leash walking , how long should I do it for and what should I do the rest of the time ? Like if we go to the beach ? Or for a walk through the village ? I can’t heel train the whole time can I ? Constantly correcting and treating and ‘yes sing’ him for half an hour . It’s co”

“Hey all. I’m betting a bichon puppy soon, and was wondering what you did with your puppy on the first day you met. From the car ride home to going to bed in a crate. What and did you train the first day/week, how did you crate/potty train, any accidents?? I’m lowkey starting to get worried i’m gonna mess this puppy up, so I just need to know what struggles yall had or did. Thank you so much! submitted by /u/Butterflycrisp [link] [comments]”

“Recommendations for puzzle toys for a 4-month old french bulldog puppy? He’s in his land shark era and (I think) teething, so I’d like to try some other types of toys for him. He currently has a snuffle ball and some textured chew toys but he’s getting bored of these quickly. We’re doing crate and pen training with 1 up 2 down (more like 1.5 up these days) so any other tips would be appreciated submitted by /u/frogqueen800 [link] [comments]”

“Hi everyone! We have a mini aussie puppy who will be 6 months in a week. We have had him since he was 8 weeks old. He has never liked strangers petting him. He would duck away anytime a stranger tried. After seeking some advice, we decided to stop letting strangers pet him. We even bought him a harness that says "in training, do not pet". However, we have still had some people stick out their hand for him to smell. About a month ago, he started growling or barking at the person after h”

“Hi all - I have an eleven week old golden retriever puppy and would love to socialize him with some other puppies! My pup is up to date on his vaccines and we live on the westside. Figured I’d post here before spending way too much on puppy classes :) submitted by /u/Expert_Ad6777 [link] [comments]”

“I have a 17 week old American Eskimo, I’ve had her since she was 11 weeks and honestly she’s the sweetest girl ever. Training has been fairly easy. She literally potty trained herself when she first arrived, I barely had to solve puppy biting because she barely did, and she’s really intelligent and picks up on things really easily. I didn’t have to train ‘leave it’, ‘go to bed’ and ‘let’s go’, she just picked it up on her own. So you can only imagine the irony that she’s being difficult with lea”

“14 week old Havanese, had him since 8 weeks old. I've taken him out into public in a purse carrier and on small walks around my apartment complex, but I haven't taken him to any parks or anything like that because parvo and rabies risk are high in my area. He likes people (honestly, he's overly friendly) but hadn't met any dogs since leaving Mom and litter until yesterday. I introduced him to my apartment's maintenance lady's 2yo Brussels Griffon, who was very small and v”

“recently got a mini dachshund puppy, and wanting advice on how i should go about socializing her. she’s 8 weeks old and has already been out a couple times (not on the ground obviously), and has done perfectly fine. however im just wondering the best way to go about it : how long would you keep her on outings for? thinking about taking her with me to do a couple errands in pet friendly stores today, but i worry about overstimulating her by keeping her out for too long (would probably be out of t”

“I just got an almost 3 month old puppy. He's, presumably, a Lab mix (with what I have no clue). He took the first round of his vaccines Friday, and the vet recommended waiting to take him on walks. Despite the fact he's very okay with the presence of other animals already (won't even bark at birds very close to him, and behaved very well around my nicest cat when we introduced them. My cat looked more curious than he did, he looked a little wary of approaching but didn't bark or”

“I have a 5.5 month golden and with advice of our vet are waiting to spay until around a year. Right now for socialization we either 1) go to an indoor dog park, it has a membership and they’re really on top of not allowing any dogs that get aggressive. Generally everyone there is well trained and it’s been great for her learning manners with strange dogs and getting used to the fact that others exist Or 2) go to a local dog park. This one is about 3 acres with half of it woods so it’s easy to be”

“I’m starting to think about the ideal way to socialize my future puppy. I as a person have a lot of social anxiety, so the thought of someone looking at me like I’m a complete weirdo, or having to take to someone is quite overwhelming. But I also want to make the most of my puppies key socialization window and set him or her up for success as much as I can, which means overcoming these thoughts. I’m thinking of potential using a stroller. My main reasoning being that I want my puppy to not feel”

“hi all! so I and my partner have welcomed an 8 week old brittany spaniel two weeks ago. he can be very sweet (mostly when asleep), and we've taught him to sit, to lie down, to be gentle (let go when biting), but otherwise we're growing desperate. he barks like crazy, he's basically a landshark - no matter how many times he'll let go, he'll bite again. the barking is the key issue: he barks out of sheer frustration at basically anything. he's hungry, he barks, he's exc”

“So I have 13ish week old mutt (pit-probable) puppy. I live in a city that’s been having a problem with off leash dog attacks. I’ve been trying to get her socialized as much as possible, and she’s fine with people but just does not understand other dogs. Too little for parks and a lot of the daycares around here, and that’s probably asking for trouble hucking her in the deep end like that. I don’t really know anyone yet here, any suggestions on low stress ways to meet other dogs? When we go for w”

“My bouvier puppy is almost 5mo now, we brought him home when he was 8 weeks old. He's been very, very bitey and easily excited this whole time. I've tried my best to make handling situations calm with treats and to practice accepting touching/brushing since the beginning but I'm worried about how slow our progress has been. Any kind of touching seems to bring his arousal level up and it's easy to tip into the mouthing/wrestling territory. I really thought it would have gotten bet”

“Hello everyone! We have a puppy, he was born on the 27th of May and next week will be 3 months old. We live in Spain so here they do two sets of vaccines. He has had his first one and now we are waiting for the second one on the 27th of August. The thing is, he was way lighter to be carried around so that he could see the world but now is quite heavy and I have went downstairs to a café by out house with him and now take him walking through a wide asphalt path, not letting him near any type of g”

“Hello, Yesterday, my partner and I picked up our 8-week-old Labrador Retriever puppy. Honestly, she’s doing incredibly well so far! We take her outside into our garden to go potty. However, I’m still looking for some advice on how to start taking her on tiny walks outside of our property, mainly for socialization. The breeder told us that we could start socializing her fairly soon (just letting her look around and have new experiences), as long as we stick to the recommended amount of walking ti”

“Hi there, I have a 7 month old cockapoo, he’s a very good boy and he is a mega people pleaser. I got him at 12 weeks after being rehomed to me. He missed a massive amount of socialisation time due to him being locked in a dirty shed for multiple weeks and then I had to wait until he had both his vaccinations. His training has gone INCREDIBLY well. No more anxiety chewing, is extremely polite on lead, walks heel, and asked permission before approaching another dog for his fav game of chase. Howev”

“Edit: Verdict is in. No dog park. Sniff walks. Kongs. Snuff mats. Training. —— He’s going absolutely stir crazy despite the trazadone and mental enrichment toys and short leash walks. He’s not licking and I can’t even see where they did surgery. Tell me your horror stories so I don’t walk him to the dog park. He’s not big on car rides yet. So that one didn’t help. Also - open to more ideas for stimulation for him if the dog park is an absolute no go. submitted by /u/cozy_booknook [li”

“My lagotto pup turned 7 months old a few days ago, and he's started to act different than usual. I think it's just a new phase, but I'd like to see if others agree. For a few days now he's really clingy and cuddly which is adorable, he will get a little grumpy when i stop petting him. He's sleeping all day which is a sudden switch because before this he was all hyper and very playful and would get vocal when he demands attention and playing, but now, as I said, he's sleep”

“We got a 3month old puppy from a rescue last week. They say she is a pointer mix and was never socialized with other puppies just in a cage in her own. She can be very sweet and gentle, or, can be very hyper and bitey. We have been running on the following schedule, but I feel bad every time we put her back in her room (puppy proofed laundry/ utility room). Note, we are in Spain hence the odd (to the rest of the world) times for food and bed. Night- bed around midnight, up at 3.30 to let her out”

“Puppy is 12 weeks old. I only use a 15ft long line with him, shorten it when I need to. But for the most part, i am training him to follow me constantly without the pressure of a 6 foot leash. He has caught on to not being allowed to pull rather quickly. This is by far my favorite training method to get a dog that reliably pays attention to whatever we are doing and wherever we are going. I keep getting ads for harnesses. I am considering getting a front-clip one for when he is tethered at home.”

“Hello everyone, I am dogsitting for my friends puppy for the week- he is 3mo old, he’s been with me for 3 days. For the most part he’s great, sleeps pretty good when he finally does settle down and is very sweet. The biting is still bad but I can tell there’s been improvement over time. However, the barking is killing me. Maybe I’m just sensitive.. I keep fish, I like the quiet, so I’m definitely not used to this. But my problem is I don’t know what he wants!! He’s been walked, fed, has water, h”

“We brought home a French Brittany 2.5 weeks ago she’s 10 weeks old and overall she is great! She is taking to potty training well, crate training, and over all learning early commands (sit, down, stay, recall). We’re starting to familiarize her with leash walking - just around the house, the yard, not going anywhere really with her until she gets all of her vaccines. What we are struggling with is trying to have her get some naps and relaxed time outside of the crate. Currently it seems that she”

“Please help I feel like I'm constantly overthinking my puppies behaviour and it is stressing me out. For context I have a 17 week old terrier mix, we have trained him since day one and exposed him to so much (safely) but he is showing really mixed signs. When we go for a walk on leash he is really into other dogs I'm trying to work on getting him to not be as reactive and bouncy when he sees other dogs but any other dog he sees he wants to say hi to. Occasionally I cross the road/avoid t”

“My husband and I adopted a 7 month old German Shepard mix from the shelter about a month ago. He is definitely getting into teen puppy mode, sassy but sweet, goofy, and growing like a weed. The problem is he will ONLY spend time with me. He follows me around like a little shadow, which is cute, and will sit outside any room I’m in. But he will not spend any time with my husband. I don’t think it’s for lack of my husband’s trying. He gives him treats, trains with him, cuddles and so on. But our p”

“Im planning to start prong collar training for my 5 and half month Rottie pup. I want to make handling him easier for my parents in the future. so i have some questions regarding its use A) Should i use it only during walking and training B) I plan to start out by using prong side up for 2 days with meals then prong side down for 2 days. then start leash recall to condition pressure = come to me. Is there any other way to condition it. c) Since we dont get the quick release version, im planning”

“Hey everyone, just wanting to get some advice for our Australian Shepherd mix puppy. She’s a lovely friendly girl but is timid when first meeting new people. We’ve tried to train her so that meetings are really neutral and when she’s calm, she gets a treat and when she goes over to say hello, she gets a treat, but she’s still really apprehensive of meeting people for the first time. On walks she loves to go over to people (and loves other dogs) but as soon as they go to give her a pat she will g”

“Hi all! First-time puppy owner here. My corgi puppy has been amazing on most fronts - she was surprisingly easy to crate and potty train, and she absolutely loves both people and dogs. We started walking her recently since she's been fully vaxxed, and she's great outside, virtually no barking, not reactive toward people or dogs (just pulls on the leash b/c she's excited to say hi). She's always been scared of her harness, though - I tried desensitizing starting when she was 9 wee”

“(sorry if my flair is wrong) we got my pup when she was 6 weeks old (yes, very early. we weren’t educated about the proper age) but now she’s a year old but doesn’t fight back/really loves my cousins dog (6years) is it possible she can see him as a father figure? or respect him more? she plays and defends herself (growl, show teeth, etc) from other dogs but not to him and always submits to him when he’s angry. not a concern just wondering since she acts so different with him then other dogs &#32”

“hi everyone!! so we've just got our first puppy, a Brittany, and though he's only been with us for a day, we're already in a bit of a pickle. basically, he screams like possessed every time he's left alone, which is frankly petrifying. closing the door of the crate produces the same effect. we live in an apartment building, so the neighbours must also be going nuts. obviously, crating him rn is impossible, and hence actual potty training too (we have managed to make him pee outsi”

“Now I’m aware that biting at clothes just comes with the package, but I’m trying to ‘nip’ it before it nips me later! I currently have a 4 month old puppy, and as the title states, I can’t wear long sleeve ANYTHING in my home without him seeing it as an invitation to bite and pounce on it. I try to redirect him with toys, but he loves my clothes so much! He especially loves my baggy clothing/hoodies. Is there anything I should do? Or will he calm down once he’s finished his teething stage.”

“Question in the title. My puppy is considered a large puppy (no idea what mix he is) submitted by /u/AppleSauceMan24 [link] [comments]”