I have been an emotional wreck since we got Lucy…
I haven’t been able to keep control of my feelings and emotions. When she came into our life, she completely changed everything. The struggles that I have been having are common amongst new puppy owners and I knew a little bit about what was coming (having adopted a few other pups throughout my life) but while working from home, this has really made things hard!
Sleeping at night is tough, while she’s in her crate, she’ll wake up twice during the night. She whines for a while but she’s still such a young puppy that it’s hard for her to hold her bladder for the entire night, so we have to let her out for now.
The test of patience is a super hard one… Ignoring and not reacting to the whining… the puppy biting… the lack of general interest in listening to you… and the constant need for attention and toys for teething.
There have been thoughts of giving up, but luckily I have a lot of people in my life that remind me that I really don’t want to…
I’ve had a lack of sleep… I’ve lost 3lbs in 3 days (no appetite)… and all my attention has been on Lucy and not Becca… which has frustrated me as well…
There are struggles with thinking that I’m a monster for taking this on and fears of not being the “perfect parent”…
By far the biggest struggle is the balance of time and attention. In my life I have work, puppy, my relationship with Becca, my own personal time needs, and anything else you can think of that you take for granted.
It seriously is like having a child… so I guess this counts as our test run?
And for a rare time in my life, my emotions have gotten out of my control and I have been in need of advice. It doesn’t happen often that I express all of my true feelings and look to people for the exact right answers about life and it’s difficulties…
So far, the advice I have collected and through my own thoughts, I have come up with a list that helps me out:
1) She’s a puppy, she’ll bite, play, pee, and whine… It’s been less than a week…
2) It’s ok for her to be crated. Crate training is so incredibly tough mentally… but it works and is helpful.
3) She’s a puppy (repeat) and not a human, you’re her master and she can work with your schedule. It just takes time and training.
4) It’s all about training and time with a puppy…
5) Make a schedule, stick to it, and she’ll get trained on it.
6) Especially for those who are always home (either by choice or by work), GET OUT OF THE HOUSE! She’ll be fine sleeping in her crate for a few hours…
7) Staying super positive. Dogs can read your mood and I think that she was sensing that my patience was thin…
Every day is getting better… it’ll be a tough long process, but I’m sure that the rewards will be worth it.
I really appreciate the emails and advice that people have given. Gretchen, Jessica (my sister), Laurie, and of course Becca have been fantastic and they are making it possible for me to feel better about myself and the situation.