Posts

A white dog with brown patch

Ask Crystal: Dealing with Anxiety

Dear Crystal,  We rescued a pit mix 3 years ago. She will occasionally potty in the house. She has very bad separation anxiety on top of sheer terror at the sound of fireworks and/or gunfire. She will run through the house opening doors…
a small light brown puppy lays in a crate with the door open

Ask Crystal: Whining Puppy Woes

Dear Crystal,  So, I put my new puppy in the crate to nap and he whines for a while and then falls asleep. He will wake up to whining and all I think about is letting him out and go potty. Should I wait again until he stops crying to…
View of a dogs feet with torn pieces of paper spread around

Ask Crystal: To Chew or Not to Chew

Dear Crystal,  We have an almost 5-year-old female German Shepherd who has never been destructive other than with some of her chew toys. Today she destroyed my husband’s workshop. We keep her and her almost 10-year-old brother in…
medium sized light brown dog leaps up towards an outheld human hand

Ask Crystal: Grounding a Jumping Dog

Dear Crystal,  I have an Australian Shepherd who is 15 months. My vet wants me to take him to dog parks but he still jumps up and head buts people. We aren’t supposed to have him on leash in the park so I am unsure how to properly…
a puppy with it's face towards the camera is held by a women facing away from the camera

Ask Crystal: Puppy Training 101

Dear Crystal, I have a 9-week-old puppy and I've had him for a grand total of three days. Although he sometimes fusses in his crate, I do wait a bit or let him out when he is walking around but not fussing after a nap. My only problem…
a brown puppy tries to catch treats

Ask Crystal: Turning Crazy for Treats into Productive Training

Dear Crystal,  My pup is very food motivated. As soon as we start training, she gets so excited for treats that she randomly starts performing commands that I didn't ask for (sits, lays down, runs to her bed and waits, lays in her crate).…
a small light brown puppy lays in a crate with the door open

Ask Crystal: Investigating Destructive Crate Behavior

Dear Crystal,    What to do if my dog keeps pooping in her kennel? She is chewing the floor underneath her kennel and destroys the house at any chance she gets. She has big behavior issues and we have altered her kennel so she has a…
A small brown puppy sitting

Ask Crystal: Puppy Potty Training Troubleshooting

Hi Crystal, We rescued a 7-month-old puppy from a friend who couldn’t keep him and we’re having trouble crate training. The puppy loves the crate, goes in and out and doesn’t make too much noise in the crate. We bring him straight…
a high-colored dog sits on its rear paws to "high five" a woman crouched down in front of it

Ask Crystal: Protective Dog Keeps Owner to Self

Dear Crystal,  I have a miniature poodle that I have trained from 10 weeks. Circumstances meant that he spent a LOT of time with me in the first two years and he's very attached now. Mostly, this is good. Negatively, it means he can…
a dark brown chihuahua

Ask Crystal: Helping Tater’s Anxiety

Dear Crystal, Help Tater! About 4 months we adopted an eighteen-month-old pug/chihuahua. Sadly, he came from a horrible hoarding situation. His owners were allowing their personal pet pug and chihuahua to freely breed and then putting…