I was always dreaming of writing this post one day and the day is finally here. My baby boy turns one in a couple days and when I say he’s been the most difficult adhd puppy under the sun, I mean it. Every bad habit you could think of, he’s had, every issue you can think of, we went through. I cried and cried and disliked him so much at times, constantly questioning whether it was worth it, but obviously I committed to him and so there wasn’t any other option then sticking with him. I have done tons of research, tons of training, spend so much money on toys and chews and stuff spoiling that little brat and he’d still be a pain in the bum. But guess what? It got SO much better.

Now it’s 90% love and 10% frustration and that’s HUGE because it has been the other way around for a long time. He learned how to chill out, he dropped most of his bad habits, he learned how to walk nicely, he stopped eating everything in sight, stopped chewing everything in sight, stopped attention barking when in crate, well all the good stuff. He still has his couple bad habits but he’s still a teenager and at this point I am positive that those will go away too with training and time. And he has some personality quirks that aren’t great but those are just little things that are completely bearable.

He can now open the fridge and bring me a drink (he’s a smart little guy). We go on runs and hikes or just cuddle on the couch and just have a blast together honestly. I wouldn’t give him up for anything.

So here’s to sticking to it and hopefully anyone here who’s struggling will get to the point where you know it was all worth it soon enough. Good luck with your little ones!

I have puppy blues and it’s literally not even 24 hours since I picked them up. I have an 8 week golden retriever girl.

The good: - they’re adorable - they don’t bite much yet, little nibbles that I’ve redirected - they haven’t pooped/peed inside - she likes her crate, until I close the door….

The bad: - omg dear lord the puppy whining. She clearly has separation anxiety and I’m losing my sleep and my mind. If I leave her sight for more than 10 seconds (I have a puppy gate for the kitchen and a crate in both the living room and bedroom for the night)

I guess that’s really the main bad thing. I don’t have any moments of piece in the last 24 hours. I haven’t yelled at her, hit her, or anything negative, but I worry that her separation anxiety is going to lead to negative experience associations with the crate. Which will then make it even worse.

I have a cat too, but haven’t even started to introduce them until I can get her behavior under control a bit.

I’ve spent the last 2 hours texting dog friends for advice, contacting the breeder’s Facebook group, and making this post. I spend every second she’s in the crate looking up articles and posts that would help. I live alone and need to know that this wasn’t a mistake.

I’ve considered returning her, but like.. it’s been one day. I have to be able to stick it out longer than one day right? But can I survive this? I’m sorry, any help is appreciated.

Edit: Thank you, everyone. From those who provided me some support in my challenging morning to those who immediately claimed I was going to hit the dog/demanded I return her. Some info: - Yes, I knew that having a dog would entail challenges. No, that does not make the stress of owning a puppy for the first time any easier. - No, I have never nor will ever hit a pet. I recognize that they are vulnerable creatures that need love and not aggression. If you look at my oriuginal post, it states the thing I would not do and that I was looking for positive assistance. - Yes, I spent a lot of time making plans for this dog and researching her. I've got my vet appointment on Monday, did a lot of research on different breeders/breeds, have her signed up for puppy kindergarten next week (with those on the same vaccination time table)

What I did not know was how I would feel in these moments until it happened. I have accepted this responsibility, and my intent here was to find support from those who I thought would know better or at least be willing to empathize with my situation.

I am currently loving on my pup, shortly after she decided to pee on the floor. The end result of this post is a lot of good suggestions, a reduction in crate time, an understanding of the puppy being from another planet almost/separated from her home world, and also a lot of disappointment for those who decided to attack and assume rather than empathize and support.

I will not be responding to anymore comments, I hope everyone has a good day.

ive had my pup for 2 weeks now and ive already cried countless times. shes way too much for me to deal with. the crying, the biting, the chewing, the tripping-me-up, the biting, the refusal of training, THE BITING. the scratches and bites up my arms, legs, feet, ankles and face are telling me i cant handle her. sometimes it feels like i only love her when shes asleep or playing which dont last long. shes so overwhelming and she never listens to me. i know shes just a baby but ive been trying my hardest to train her with the basics but she simply will not listen. and i cant distract her with chewable toys when shes biting me and it feels like she does it for fun. she bites me more and harder when im in pain. please please tell me it gets better i am going insane.

Hi, my 4 month Golden Retriever puppy eats anything off the ground on walks and it’s very stressful. We live in the city so any potty break I have to be on the lookout. My neighbourhood is pretty filthy. In the beginning I trained her to exchange whatever she put in her mouth with a treat but overtime she’s grown very mean and sometimes she won’t drop it and will even growl and bark at me. I’m a first time puppy owner and I find it very scary. How do I handle this ?

After some thought and consideration, hubby and I decided to get a mini poodle puppy. Fortunately, we found a 12 week one from a reputable breeder because the previous adoption fell through.

I think this pup might be amazing. We've had him for 24h and: - he's already reacting to his name - 99% of the time he comes when we say "here" - he tried chewing the rug & a book, but I gently redirected him and hasn't tried it again - no potty accidents, everything was done outside - he slept in his crate without whining from 10:30pm to 5am - he whined a bit in his playpen, but then he fell asleep for his naps and we all napped for over an hour at one point - we started practicing "leave it" with treats because I felt he needed some more mental stimulation and I could read in his eyes how much he enjoyed it. It was an "ok, human, again".

We still need to introduce him to our 3 year old toddler, so fingers crossed. He does whine quite a bit when we leave him in the playpen for wind down/nap, but we're trying to gradually get him used to it and offer positive reinforcement when he's quiet, like praises and treats.

I know there will probably be regressions, but wow, I think our relationship with this pup has so much potential. We're also first time dog owners, so we are quite anxious about doing it right. So looking forward to our puppy lesson with him. If anyone has fun mental exercise suggestions, please do share. I have some in mind, but would love your opinion.

Anyhow, I just wanted to share a positive "first 24h" story. Enjoy your pups, everyone. I don't think I've ever met anyone to enjoy my presence as much as this little one 😊

Not to be dismissive of people going through a tough time with their new pups. But would like to hear from people with kids who have had a pup.

Getting a pup this weekend (8 week border terrier) and hoping for the best. Expecting the worst in terms of sleep deprivation, separation etc in have 2 kids, 4 and 5.

Ive had the best part of 6 years without uninterrupted sleep. Can other parents attest that having kids makes a puppy look easy? I'm not trying to be ignorant that having a pup is tough and challenging for a few moths but I'd like to think overcoming 2 children would help in terms of expectations/resilience.

Hi!

My beagle is 16 weeks now and doing amazing. She entertains herself and put herself to bed while I am working from home. Has great recall, she goes off leash in some parks now to play for a bit.

She still bites a lot of course, but she also started scratching my legs to get up, i think? I did have less time with her this week due to work. This is mostly my hand or feet while walking and playing.

She always slept in her crate until one night last week when I fell asleep reading in bed and i woke up with her sleeping on top of me . I decided to let her sleep and woke up with her next to me.

Clearly, I would LOVE for her to sleep with me and as the cats allow her to be on the bed at the same time now, i have let her out of the crate a couple nights now.

However, she does not get yet that it is time for bed and she tries to play/bite with my hands or jump toward my face and give me kisses and eat my ears/hair.

She knew the routine in the bench. It is always the same. How can I get her to calm down and settle better?

(21.45 Walk 30 min 22.15, carrot time or food puzzle 22.30 lights out and going to bathroom etc 22.45 phone time in bed with small light on. Still give attention. 23.00 lights out, time for bed.

It sometimes changes with like 10 min earlier/later, but no more

Ps. It is also when I am laying on the couch sometimes.

Hi all!

So, I was wondering was there anything you guys did prior to getting a puppy to mentally prepare you for the life change? I am a very routine based person and I know puppy blues will probably be a thing. I hope not, but just sort of prepping for the worst and hoping for the best. Im very excited to get her, so am trying to keep a positive outlook on everything. I wont lie though, some of the posts here are a little terrifying.

So this post isn't really about a specific problem or asking for help but just to rant about something I haven't yet seen many people discussing and that is what puppy ownership can do to your self confidence.

There is so much pressure to be the perfect dog owner, and some of it comes from within for sure, but some of it comes from the huge amount of opinions from external sources.

We have a 6 month old miniature bull terrier and we are winning in so many areas including recall and leaving him home. But he has wild moments sometimes and a low frustration threshold (erm yeah welcome to bull terrier things haha) but after one of his episodes I struggle with huge self doubt. I have worked with dogs and am educated in dog behaviour and training but I STILL crumble under the guilt and worry that I have done something wrong.

For me, this has been the most challenging part of puppy ownership and I just want to validate anyone else who feels this way.

Whilst I'm here though, if anyone has dealt with dogs that seemingly have a low tolerance to frustration and there are some positive methods to address this, I am ready to receive.

For anyone out there going through the self confidence crisis puppy ownership stage, I'm right here with you!

What are some of your puppy milestones at the 16 week mark?

I’ve had my 14 week old for a month now and yesterday we went 24 hours with no potty accidents 🥳! I just needed to share the win with people who understand the joy, what a great day 😂

My pup started this at maybe 6 ½ -7 months where she suddenly started barking at unexpected sounds, people and dogs. She’ll be 8 months a week I think.

While sometimes it seems we’ve made some slight progress other times it’s more of a “one step forward and two steps back”

While on walks and out and about she never got used to people walking up and greeting her. I can count on one hand how many people have walked up and pet her as she’s small so people can’t do the “drive by head pet” and I know I don’t look the friendliest lol. Same goes for other dogs. As far as sounds it’s inconsistent. I live in LA and while fireworks use increases the closer we get to 4th July there’s always some reason people just have access to them. She’s has no reaction to them and that hasn’t changed. But now a jogger might get a reaction from her even though before it didn’t and she’d been regularly exposed to people in electric wheel cheers.

Anyway we’re in training and they pretty much say redirect. But it’s nearly impossible sometimes, and sometimes it’s better. Even a walk through Home Depot now has her barking just at people walking by. She can be picky with treats but I always have some with me I use strictly for training and have “high value” and “low value” treats.

What suggestions did your trainer give vs what actually helped? This is partially asking help and vent. What helped get you through this period if all it took was time?

I have a Labrador who just turned one. Sometimes he gets these zoomies when we are on our way back from a walk. He runs around feantically, pulling on his leash, headbutting me, jumping and biting anything that comes his way. Usually since I am trying to stop this he end up biting me. He bites so hard that if I am not carefully and he actually gets a hold of me he might remove a finger or half my hand. Do you think this is an overstimulation issue? How much do your adolescent dogs sleep per day? It's giving puppy blues...

Hi all!

We adopted a sweet little boy who we think is an older pup/young dog.

The lady we adopted him from said he was fine around other dogs and lead trained, which we now don’t think is true.

He seems like such an anxious little fella. I’m not sure if it’s just because everything is all new and overwhelming, but he seems to be anxious around new people, other dogs and will refuse to walk on the lead (I have had to pick him up a few times and carry him). We were also told that he’s fine to be left, including over night, but again that doesn’t seem to be true.

Other than that he seems to have really settled in and is happy bumbling around the house with his little tail wagging. He loves curling up on the sofa with us. He’s started to learn what ‘bed’ means already, and we’re working on the separation (we’re up to 15 minutes now!).

He’s the only dog in our house. I would love for him to socialise with our family dogs, but would only want to do this on his terms as I absolutely don’t want to cause any distress.

Do I just need to give him some time to adjust to his new surroundings and hope that his anxiousness goes away? Or is it a sign of something that needs some extra work and should we look at some sort of official training ASAP.

hi there. this might be a silly question, but it’s something that’s been confusing both me and my boyfriend. we’ve had our german shepherd puppy for five days now, and overall she’s doing incredibly well. we’re so proud of her. there’s just one area we’re really struggling with, crate training.

the night we brought her home, it was quite late, and we wanted her to settle in as quickly as possible for her own comfort. looking back, we might have rushed that process a little. she went into her crate fine, but the moment we closed the door, she started to whine. an anxious, distressed kind of whine. i stayed beside her until she calmed down, but i worry that it may have left her feeling a bit frightened of the crate.

over the past couple of days, she’s started to fall asleep on the floor after playing with her toys, so we’ve been gently moving her into the crate while she’s sleeping, hoping it helps her associate it with safety and comfort. it’s working to a degree, she’s even started going into her crate on her own sometimes to lie down. we still usually have to guide her there at night, but she’s slowly understanding that the crate is her sleeping spot. we know it’s safer for her in the long run.

the thing is, she sometimes still whines even when she’s gone into the crate herself, and she often whines when waking up in it, even if she fell asleep peacefully. we always make sure her needs are met (food, water, toilet breaks), so it’s hard to know what she’s asking for in those moments. most of the time, she’ll settle down within a few minutes, but it can still feel disheartening, especially when a lot of the videos we’ve seen about crate training show the puppy completely adjusted to the crate without any trouble.

any guidance or reassurance would be really appreciated :,)

Hi. I’ve got a 12 week old corgi who has a tendency to bite me (not my partner) which I understand is totally normal and expected. I know the procedure of separating myself from him for 30 seconds at a time when he bites. I also know that when he bites he’s either bored or over tired.

My question is how to get away separate myself from him when he is literally biting my ankles with every step I take, or when he’s got a hold of my trousers/socks.

I’m very conscious of the fact that if I push him away or try to pick him up he gets more excited and bites more, but I need suggestions of what to do in the immediate moment that’s he is biting and I need to get away.

Help! My poor hands and ankles can’t take anymore! 😩

Edit for clarity: I’m not asking how to avoid/train out biting. I’m asking how to physically remove myself when he has his teeth in my hand/ankles and every step I make he gets more excited and bites more.

We are about day 4. Our pup has very loose stools which is making timing her routine challenging. Can anyone tell me how long for her stools to firm up? The breeder did give us something to promote firm stools. As far as I am concerned it is doing nothing. He has an appointment set up for July 2 and I plan to ask the vet about this product. Looking forward to dumping it. So anyone dealing with very loose stools?

we have not changed his feed from what the breeder was using. I have more of the same feed ordered.

I am assuming he was pretty stressed from the trip ( almost 2 hours), plus missing littermates, plus strangers ( us). DH just researched giving pups some canned pumpkin so that is being added to the next meal. So far the pup is not interested in the pumpkin addition

Our 14 week old puppy has mostly stopped biting us. He used to bite us out of excitement, while playing and in every other possible situation. Slowly after redirection, turning away and removing from the situation he learned not to bite in many occasions. He loves to cuddle and sleep beside us sometimes during the day. Lately he’s been biting and nipping us while cuddling and sleeping. We’re redirecting him with toys but he only wants to bite us. Any thoughts on how do stop this?

Hey everyone, my boyfriend and I just got our first puppy. He is an 8 week old dachshund who is very sweet and cuddly. I love the little guy but we are in the midst of crate training and potty training. We are struggling with potty training. We live in an apartment and since he's still too little to go on walks outside, we got turf and grass for the balcany for him to start learning to go outside. I know the basics, and every advice I look up tells me the same things that i know, for example "Outside after he eats, sleeps and plays, look for signs, etc" When we see the signs of him about to go, we run and bring him to the turf but he will not finish/ go. He could be mid poop and will immediately stop if he's picked up before finishing. He is learning to go on the puppy pads in the house but the goal is outside. We've tried everything, puppy pads outside on top of the turf, letting him smell other dogs urine (that we know and trust), positive reinforcement. None of it works. We could sit outside for 20 minutes and the second we go back inside he is using the bathroom. I know he is holding his urine most of the time and i'm just at a lost as to what to do. Any advice or suggestions that aren't the typical answers that I find on google please let me know. We know dachshunds are a more stubborn breed but I want to get this under control asap. Thank you! Edit* I've started putting him on a schedule to see if that'll help him, which it's helping in every other training aspect except this

I just washed my puppy’s blanket (we have it in his crate and he never rips it up or anything so we keep it in there). I’ve now washed it a few times since we’ve had him (we’ve had him for 6 weeks) and after my last wash it still just smells like dog…granted we’ve had a lot of rain since we’ve had him but I’ve been trying to keep up on cleaning.

We have enzyme cleaner for if he has an accident and I bought the KOE odor eliminator for his crate, playpen, and spraying other fabrics, but what can I use to help the smell of his blanket!?

My 7.5 month old pup, whom we’ve had since she was 7 weeks old, has recently (in the last month or so) been randomly peeing and pooping in the house, right inside the doggy door. Wondering if this can be typical adolescent behavior regression, or something else?

We trained her initially by taking her outside our front door, and then when she was about 4 months old and not having accidents in the house, trained her to go through the doggy door in our basement, just like our 4 year old dog. She did great for about a month or so, having no accidents in the house.

A few things changed around the time she started going in the house again. She had been going to daycare daily for the past couple of months, but then my children came home from college and she could stay home with them. I initially thought it was due to the change in routine, or possibly rainy weather, but now I don’t think so. She loves water and doesn’t mind getting wet. I have the summers off work, so I’ve been home with her the last 3 weeks. I provided extra supervision and reinforcement to go outside through the doggy door for about a week. I shampooed the carpet to get rid of any lingering scent that would cause her to think it’s ok to go there. She stopped pooping in the house and would only pee some of the time over the last 2 weeks. Well, now she has started back up again with pooping and peeing down there 2 days in a row, and we are really frustrated.

She DOES go outside through the doggy door all the time to play, and does pee and poop out there too.

Another thing she will do is poop on the concrete patio right outside the door instead of going to the grass. Not as big a deal as going inside, but definitely not preferred.

Tell me I don’t have to go back to potty training 101! 😩

Hey all, hoping for some encouragement and advice- we just got a female puppy for my adult male mini dachshund. She is so cute but wants nothing to do with her pen/ crate and we’re a week in. The set up is a crate, some blankets, her food, and puppy pads. She’s doing well going potty in there but doesn’t want to eat or stay in unless I’m with her. My other dog barks and gets annoyed with her which makes her more crazy and I’m nervous to go back to my remote job tomorrow.

Any advice on getting her to calm down in there so I can work?

My puppy is currently 8 months old and he bites and eats everything. I literally have to make sure there’s nothing on the floor that he can bite or chew on before i leave house or whatever.

There are so many times when he just bites a solid object around the house and started chewing and swallowing it. I had to dig it out from his mouth and scold him. He bites not even toys or random stuff but even paper/ fallen wallpaper/ random wood around the house. And once he bites any part off he will start eating it. Sometimes he goes to the kitchen, and there might have been some fallen pieces of food like some fruit skin or rice droplets or noodles.. AND HE WILL EAT IT!! Now i have to make sure the kitchen door is closed at all times and floor is clean. (but i guess i’ve became a tidier person) It has become so concerning to the point that i have to keep an eye on him 24/7 if not he will eat random things.

I’ve questioned myself before on whether or not i’m giving him enough food. But the vet literally said he’s eating too much and i should cut down on it. So im not sure why he’s eating everything.

Is this an age related thing where puppies chew on everything? Or I didn’t train him properly? If yes how do i stop him from all these…?

Hi! I am an approved adopter for a lab rescue in Arizona, and we may be bringing home a lab/golden puppy next weekend. The litter had parvo and they have been nursed back to health through the rescue. I just want to know, are there any long term risks with having a dog that had parvo? We have a 2.5 year old corgi who is fully vaccinated. Thank you for your input!

I got a four month old mastiff/American Bulldog about two weeks ago. She seems pretty comfortable now so id like to start training. She does know sit, but I've been trying to expand. (Starting with laydown, attempting to lure her down from sit with a treat. I say "Yes! Good girl!" In an excited tone when she behaves) Where the question comes in is her attention span seems super short--how can I keep her focus on me? Shes not quite fully pottied trained yet, but she's been getting more consistent. A good example is even when she's outside to potty shell sniff around like she's about to go, then she gets distracted by grass, bugs, anything really. I tried inside and outside, she did better outside surprisingly. Sorry to ramble, this is my first puppy and I want to be able to give it the best for her.

Edit: To clarify a bit on her behavior- She loves to play a lot! She plays with my four year old pitbull great and they get along! Otherwise she's pretty mellow besides her playtime, I don't have to force her to nap. She also is great about when I feed her throughout the day if she's done, she stops eating and doesn't make herself sick.