Sad but I really regret getting puppy!

[Abbey0134]

So I thought about this loads before getting a lovely little labradoodle puppy, who has been with us for 8 weeks now. Generally, she is very good, sits, lays down, stay, paw etc. Mostly, she toilets outdoors. Still trying to get her to go in one place but have to undo the bad habits that my husband let her develop. Because he didn't believe dogs could be trained to do that! So have to train him first and then the dog....
I just don't feel anything for her, I thought that I would grow to love/like her, but the way I feel at the moment I would be happy if she wasn't here ... She is my husband's dog, but I am at home all day so do the majority of the care. He loves her to bits. But tbh, when I'm at home with her all day, I just feel depressed. I hope that as she gets older and easier I will feel differently, but at the moment I wish I could turn the clock back and not do it.

Give me your words of wisdom.

My puppy is an arse hole who will destroy and eat everything within reach and seeing as he is a Giant Schnauzer at 17 weeks he can reach everything. Today it was Sudafed thankfully punctured and not swallowed and if so a minimal amount. Last week powdered gel crystals for keeping moisture in plants (non toxic) now the Sudafed was in my handbag in the middle of the dinner table and I went to the loo. And we have no idea where he managed to get the gel moisture crystals. He is certainly typical to his breed type anyway. Both times I thought I was completely safe and doggy proofed only to be proved wrong.
Looks like I will be slow cooking in another room come this winter!! The kitchen isn’t safe!

Oh but I do love him even if he is sending me slowly over the edge of sanity on a daily basis. You will get there op.

We have a labradoodle puppy a little older than yours. I love him to bits, but he is totally bonkers and can be a right handful! He's my first dog, and while I've never regretted getting him, we've had many trying moments. I have noticed in the past week or two he has calmed down masses - he used to be very bitey and jumpy... that stage seemed interminably long at the time, but it does pass quickly overall. We were incredibly lucky with ours in that he picked up toilet training in no time at all... only a handful of accidents after 2 weeks. I'm gearing up for the teenage phase soon!

Tips

Toilet training

Take outside once every hour and after any activity eg playtime, mealtime, first thing in the morning, last thing at night to the same area of the garden. Give praise and fuss as soon as they produce the goods, and a high value treat. Labradoodles are VERY food orientated hence easy to train. Begin to drop the frequency down as you get to know their rhythm.

Don't scold her or react if she makes a mess in the house. If you catch her in the act just matter of factly quietly take her outside to finish her business. If she successfully finishes off outside reward and treat as usual. Don't reward her (even with negative attention) for going in the house. Try not to let her see you clean up the accident.

Don't use newspaper or puppy pads... you get them used to going there, then you have to train them over again to go outside. Just get them outside from day 1. Keep her mainly in the kitchen or other hard floor area of the house behind a puppy gate. Use a puppy pen if you need to cook/sit down with a hot cuppa.

Night time... are you using a crate? If so and she's still wee, use a crate divider... dogs hate going where they sleep, so they'll make a fuss to go rather than toileting in the crate. With small dogs/young pups, they'll sleep down one end of the crate and toilet at the other end. You could use a couple of shallow fruit boxes upturned secured in place instead of a divider. Keep dressing gown/crocs/lead/ head torch/treat pouch right by the back door for night visits to the garden.

Socialisation is really important... both humans & other dogs. See if your vet runs puppy parties to meet other puppies of a similar age. Bedlam, but super fun! Also get booked in with puppy training classes and continue up the grades they offer. Make sure she has a wide variety of experiences and meets different people... seeing horses/sheep/cats/tractors/cyclists/joggers/babies in pushchairs/police officers/posties etc etc out on walks. See the chart in the back of the Gwen Bailey book Perfect Puppy. Recommended book anyway.

OP I can relate so well to this.

When we got our border collie at 8 weeks I was not happy. The family wanted him but not me. I didn't bond and was pissed off that he targeted my shoes and clothes. Many many of my favourite things were ruined. I literally felt annoyance and zero emotional bond with him and wanted to rehome him.

Fast forward almost 2 years and we have a really strong bond. I'm the one he responds to the most and he's my shadow. He's ridiculously intelligent and reads my moods as I do his. We can spend ages staring into each other's eyes and then he licks the tip of my nose. His attachment to me is absolute even though I never gave him a chance when he was a puppy... Thank God he didn't give up on me though

I think I'd rather ditch the DH than my dog now.

I remember this!
Our rescue was a year d when we got him and although he was cute and I liked him for the most part, it took a while to grow to love him. We got to breaking point with some behaviour issues about 4 months in and debated handing him back, fortunately we decided to give it another 6 months and get the dog to training classes. Best thing we ever did. The classes helped us to bond, have him something to think about other that tearing up carpets and shoes.

He's 13 now and becoming very frail and he thought of being without him breaks my heart.

Just keep trying OP. Having a new dog, especially a puppy is hard work but they do settle and hopefully with time you'll being to love her.

Turn the situation to your advantage OP. Dog ownership is hugely social (school mum dog walks, socials etc), walking twice a day will lengthen your life and give you a figure to envy! Interaction with dogs for the whole family is beneficial to mental wellbeing. A house with a dog is a home proper.
You're seeing only the negatives right now. No positives or positives around the corner. Do try and pour love and patience into your pup, she sounds lovely! What you sew right now you and the family will reap back in years to come, so don't resent her!

Allnames, stop making shit up.

Cath didn't say she was surprised by any of those things happening. You've just projected your own interpretation onto what she said. What she said was that she found the peeing and the chewing hard to deal with. That's perfectly fine. She's allowed to do things by choice and then find them difficult - particularly as she still appears to have been fully committed to the dog's wellbeing despite that.

People trying even though they find something difficult never makes me sad.

Other people judging them for it, does.

I had this, to the point that I will never have another puppy again. It's hard, it's really hard.

You're doing a fab job puppies are such hard work but as everyone has said so worth it in the end. All the work you're putting in now will pay dividends in a fabulous dog and companion. Take no notice of the haters

Oh Op, I'm sure you will fall for the pup all of a sudden. I have a 14 yr old that has always been hard work (but I adore her) and a 2.5 yr old that was a nightmare pup but just so loving and I couldn't be without her now (she is my teddy bear!l).
You will get there xx

I have a labradoodle also, honestly for the first 6 months I wanted to take him back to the breeder, I’d wanted a pup for such a long time and waited till we was in a good position to be responsible pet owners.

He drove me CRAZY, I couldn’t stand him at times. But that changed somewhere along the line and now I really couldn’t be without him. Hang in there one day you’ll look back and it will be a distant memory. That said I don’t think I’d ever get another puppy 😄

I get this.

We've had 4 dogs, all from puppyhood, but they were a spaniel type. We've just gained our first Terrier, and a week in we're wondering what the hell happened xD

She's gorgeous, but by god, she's a little tiny terrorist with teeth!

She's much harder work and a lot more stubborn than the spaniels ever were!!

Oh gosh...you sound like me almost 12 yrs ago. Hubby bought a puppy that I felt very resentful of as most of the care fell to me, being an at home mum.

We had to have him PTS some weeks ago & I am by far the most upset about it. I wish I had enjoyed him more, as I obviously did love him.

All I can say is try and embrace him, and enjoy him. I wish I had.

Sorry, her, not him.

This was me 8 years ago, now I love her to bits and she's no work at all. It gets easier once they settle, we've just got another one!

The early days are hard, but they pass fairly quickly.

I regretted both of mine at one stage or another. They are the most well behaved, nicely mannered and affectionate dogs I could ask for and I wouldn't give them up for the world but to be frank, they're lucky they made it out of the puppy stage. DDog1 chewed everything, walls included and refused to toilet train. As an adult, she is 100% reliable and you can't even play tug with her as she just lets you take things out of her mouth. The only thing she might give you a tug of war for, is a tennis ball.

DDog2 was a twat. A total twat. A little furry cunt with big brown eyes and huge ears and a look that said butter wouldn't fucking melt and I could have cheerfully strung him up at times. I sat and cried a few times trying to get him to sleep through the night without a midnight playtime. Now he is an angel. Literally 1 problem and that is pulling on the lead. Otherwise he is perfectly behaved.

This IS a stage and you WILL come out the other side and will very likely love her when she becomes less of a chore. Puppies are like kids. You love them but sometimes you really hate them too. Little cuntwaffles are lucky they're cute.

DDog2 was a twat. A total twat. A little furry cunt with big brown eyes and huge ears and a look that said butter wouldn't fucking melt and I could have cheerfully strung him up at times

This gives me hope. Why did we think getting a second dog was a good idea?

They do grow out of it I promise. Just don't give in on things. Not even once when you're knackered and can't be arsed to train. If you give them an inch at that age they'll take the whole fucking equator .

They make them so cute for a reason...

Trouble is DDog1 was and is an absolute angel. A dream of a dog, incredibly handsome and never gave us a moment of trouble during puppyhood. DDog2 is a noisy git, chews anything left in his path and we won’t say anything about his looks..

Awwwww just wait till that pup comes over and lays it head on your lap if you feeling a bit blue . Dogs are truly our best friends . I imagine if you the one spending all day with her she will mostly likely become your dog ! Happened me with our boy and when after 11 years he had to be put down I was devastated more than anyone as I cared for him and I loved him and in the beginning I was just like you .

@Cath2907 I think toilet training a puppy must be so much harder if you get them in the winter - we got our pup in July (2 years) so he was able to spend most of the time outside anyway so much easier to associate the lawn with toileting.

OP it is hard! Everybody said to me it's worse than having a newborn but you just can't believe it til its you. We had a lot of family arguments around our puppy - DH found it really hard to accept all the puppy stuff strewn across the kitchen and how excitable he was if we took him into other parts of the house. He also destroyed the kitchen wall and dug holes in the garden. He's still a PITA at times (both pup and DH actually!) but has such a funny little personality- and DH now loves him so much.

Wowza, back to find I caused controversy! I wasn’t surprised that puppy needed Housebreaking or that he was chewy. I was surprised I found it so hard. Bud is still here and did not get sent to the canning factory ( despite my frequent threats). He is now a delight most of the time and I am up so late typing this because I am sleeping downstairs with him as I think he may have a UTI. He isn’t happy so will have him off to the vet in the morning.

I read up a lot on puppies and we waited 6 months to get one. Husband and I grew up with dogs and we had a lab puppy when I was a kid. He really was bites! I was convinced I was prepared. DD gets lovely off lead walks twice a day, training, daily grooming, the best dog food money can buy, toys, I even roast chicken thighs for training treats for him. He sleeps on my feet all day whilst I work from home - trust me he is (well not so much tonight) a happy puppy!