Puppy Overwhelm - AIBU in partially regretting getting one

Mine was the kitchen floor but yes, plenty of tears were shed there. Including saying a million times I was taking him back to the breeder as I couldn't cope 😂

Now he's a happy, loving and cuddly 5 year old dog who is genuinely our best friend, he's brilliant company, great with all dogs and people and and really well trained. But we did have to put the hard work in from day one!

Once you can take them out for walks it does start to get easier. I know in the beginning you can only go for short walks but we always let ours stop and sniff as much as he wanted - all the new smells and surroundings massively tire them out!

Also, take her to puppy class / training / social events. Basically anything that exhausts them and provides stimulation outside of the house.

He's gorgeous. Black labs are the most beautiful dogs. ❤️

For all those in despair, support can be found on the Puppy Survival Thread and Adolescent Survival Thread.

https://www.mumsnet.com/talk/the_doghouse/5180942-puppy-survival-thread-for-new-and-old-pups-here-comes-winter-2024?page=32&reply=141328465

https://www.mumsnet.com/talk/the_doghouse/5218689-adolescent-dog-survival-thread-bark-the-herald-furry-angels-sing?page=22&reply=140869353

Honestly, it gets easier. Our pup is 9 months old now and we love her so much.
You will survive the puppy weeks, I promise.

Puppies are absolute arseholes, its why they have to be cute.
I had dogs between 7 and 20 at home and so thought I knew what I was doing, especially since I got the same breed but Jesus did ddog test me - I would have happily given him away many many times

I found the puppy age fine, is the adolescent age that drove me nuts!

We have a 16 week puppy so a few weeks ahead of you. She is our second family dog, we lost our last one at 12, 5 years ago. I have 3 kids age 9 and up which helps massively as there's often someone around to play, cuddle, toilet her while we pop out. Like you we have also crate trained her which is a HUGE positive. She only has 15 minute walks once or twice a day as she's big boned but they really wear her out. I think it will get easier every week, they're a bit like toddlers with their annoying phases that pass!

When mine was tiny, she had a tail like a whip, really hurt on bare skin. I’ve yet to forget the day she’d got poo all over it and vigorously smacked my bare leg with her shittty tail.
I still yell “get here where I can see you” and “what are you doing?”🙄

Totally normal! Come and join us on the Puppy Survival thread, you are not alone. I spent the first two weeks crying on the utility room floor and telling DP that he’d have to chose between me or the dog because I couldn’t possibly do it! She’s 18 weeks now and it’s all got so much easier, and I’m coping way better. Still not as easy as having an adult dog but the challenges seem way more surmountable and we no longer have to supervise her every single second which has helped loads. You’ll get there, I promise!

Oh I think everyone feels like that, more or less, in those early days. They’re adorable and long term, it’ll be fantastic but by Christ, they’re such demanding, annoying, grubby little shits to start with 😂

In those very early days and weeks, mine worked out thst I either kept her in the bathroom with me (havoc) or left her “loose” in the house (carnage) and she’d cry for me anyway. So I plonked her in the shower with me… she couldn’t get up the sides of the bath so just played in the water. It worked til shr got too big so my showers were quick ones😁
She’s currently lolling in front of me, nearly 10 now and slowing down with a greying muzzle. DP calls her Raffles after the thief… if you can’t find anything, she’s likely to have pinched it!

This is me! We're 7 months in with the dickhead and adolescence is now hitting hard. He's bitey, argumentative, suddenly deaf to all instructions and a total pain in the arse.....until those moments when he's cute, cuddly and adorable again.
However, as he's a golden we've got 2.5 years until maturity....if it ever happens. Good job he's cute.

Yes I do this too at night when toilet training. I just make sure they have somewhere to 'go' far away from their bed, which is a few puppy pads near the back door. They have all been 'clean' by three months old.

My puppy became SO much more bearable about 6 months old. She's a small breed. Just finished her first season and she's like a wise, old lady who's super chill and never pees inside anymore.

I can't tell you how many times I thought about sending her back in the first weeks.

Never more true than when she ate a baby sock and had to be brought to the vet.

I think it's even more difficult when a puppy replaces an older, well loved dog. By their older age you have a real sense of them, their routines, their habits, their funny wee quirks. They are just easy. Even the crazy ones.

And then there's the misplaced confidence because you think that you know what it takes. And those lovely, comfortable years with your four legged friend have taken the edge off those memories of puppyhood and the hell that it was. And you're contrasting the sweet old companion with the little bitey hound who knows no English nor how to hold their wee.

Suddenly dog ownership goes from easy, relaxed love to bloody ankles, cold, forced wees, unsatisfying walks, feeling like a failure and being that person with the arsehole dog with no recall whilst everyone else walks serenely by with their Labrador by their side.

Puppyhood sucks. But then suddenly you realise that the arsehole stage is over and the sun comes out again.

I've only ever had rescue dogs, and the youngest was 10 months old when he came to us. The experiences on this thread have cemented my decision to never buy a puppy 😅

@Invisablepanic It does get better. The breeder suggested to us that if he's not sleeping in the bedroom and isn't in a crate then just ignore any accidents over night. (As long as he's sleeping somewhere with a hard floor) And mop them up quickly in the morning and concentrate on day time toiletting. They eventually hold it in over night. Ours can sleep through till midday if we let her.

But they do start sleeping through the and not needing a wee at night.

I does get better, my dog is 5 this year and she wasn't even that bad but I found it exhausting, now she is a wonderful dog. My previous dog who died aged 12 ate everything in the house for the first 2 years (clothes, toys, shoes, stair carpet, coffee table!), it was hell but then it just stopped. You just have to persevere.

Our 'puppy' is now nearly two, thank the lord 😂
It's seriously hard work when they are so young op, and yes you do forget!
I have had dogs all of my life, and every single puppy has put me on my knees. Every single puppy has made me want to return them at one stage! It's completely normal. Just keep trying your best each day and think of the end result. She will be a wonderful companion soon, and you'll forget these days all over again!

I'd never have another puppy again, worst thing we ever did! We persevered for 6 months before we took her back to the breeder. It broke our hearts, but it was the best thing for all of us. She had a long life with her mum and auntie at the breeders house- so no regrets.

Puppies are harder than babies.

I have 3 dogs with ages ranging from 10 to 2. And with every single one of them, I've forgotten just how hard the puppy stage is. It really is just surviving!
But it will get better, and you will completely forget.

Unless you've got a Dachshund (I have two), in which case you're screwed 😆

Yes, it's reaaaaaaal.
My dog is 18 months old and tbh, it is still hard. Once you get over the puppy stage you get about 3ish months until you reach the adolescence stage and for me that was far far worse, he is still hard work at the moment but is getting there.
Coupled with being a cocker spaniel it's hard - many times I have felt like giving him up but I've stuck at it, because all the training, love and dedication I've put into him has been worth it and I can't just give up now.
Me and my husband are his world.
I do love him very much but, looking back I wouldn't ever get a cocker spaniel again ( even though I'm experienced in spaniels).
Here's the knob in question 🤣

This was me a year ago. It just gets better slowly and the doom feeling does wear off. Now he’s a year old he’s still a big furry liability but sleeps through the night (actually did from after a week and that’s until 7.30/8), has basic training and sometimes settles down for a snooze. We do still have the evening rampage which I’m keen to leave behind.

Anyway puppy blues are totally normal and yes, they are very hard work.

I did think about that but I'm worried I still wouldn't get back to sleep...

This is why I don’t have puppies. I hate the stages. I rescue a dog over 10months old from an owner that gives up. I’ve always quickly bonded with them and have had some great pets. I wish more people would rescue dogs rather than encourage breeders. You get on going support if you need it from the rescue centres. I’ve only known one mismatch of a first time dog owner being given a hound for their first experience.

I did shifts my dh would go to bed at about 2am and so take her out then, and I would go at 11 and get up at 7 (yes I needed sleep to cope!)

he would sleep until almost 9am, roll out of bed into his office chair.

so she was alone in her pen for about 5 hours. We've extended to 6.5 hours now no probs. And have more showers 🤣🤣🤣