Posts

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…
A medium sized white and brown dog stands in front of a background with pink hearts

Ask Crystal: Looking for Love – Adding a New Pet

Hi! I want to get another dog because one of my dogs I had to put down and my other dog is 11 years old and a female. The only other dogs she knows are neighbor dogs, but I am afraid of what she would do. Help, how can I know?  Sincerely,   Looking…
a small brown dog lays under a blacket

Ask Crystal: Early Rising Dog Starts the Day on the Wrong Side of the Bed

Dear Crystal, My dog sleeps in her crate at night. She’s quiet through the night, but barks every morning at 6am. I take her outside to potty right before bed. She’s started this early morning barking in the last few weeks. At first,…
a fluffy white and black dog urinates behind a tree

Ask Crystal: Potty Training From Scratch

Dear Crystal, Hi, we took in a 12-week old pet store male Labrador. He was given to us from a friend that couldn’t keep him any longer. I’ve had trouble getting him potty trained. Funny thing is, I take him out to the spot and he…

Ask Crystal: How to Make the Crate Great!

Dear Crystal,  I have a 6-month-old puppy. He will be calm and collected in the crate as long as he sees me or my partner. If he doesn’t see any of us, he will begin to bark nonstop. He also is very destructive with anything we…
Looking through a wet window on a dog laying on a couch

Ask Crystal: Rainy Day Poo Blues

Dear Crystal, When we got our 10-week-old puppy almost 2 weeks ago it started raining. At our house, anyway, it rained till last Saturday. I would take my pup out almost every hour, but he simply would sit between my feet and not “do…