Bad!!! case of the puppy blues

[soulace]

I’m a new puppy owner. My boyfriend and I literally adopted her yesterday (2/13/24) and I feel like we’ve made a huge mistake. We’ve been talking and thinking about a puppy for a long time and I finally found the perfect puppy for us. I’m definitely a cat person, and he’s a dog person.
I didn’t expect her to be so young and tiny. She’s only 6 weeks old. Looking back on it now that I’m not lovestruck with how cute she is we definitely weren’t ready for a puppy this young. It took me over an hour to fall asleep because I was so anxious and now I’m back up because she was crying in her crate and I can’t go back to sleep because I feel so nauseated with anxiety. I can’t stop crying and neither can she.
I’ve been reading article after article about puppy blues and how it eventually subsides but we didn’t even think about taking time off of work to help her settle in. Thankfully I only work for 5 hours today (my alarm to wake up goes off in 45 minutes :/ ) but he’ll be at work for hours and hours after I get home. And she’s my responsibility until he does.
Genuinely just a rant/vent since I can’t sleep. Looking back we weren’t ready for a teeny tiny puppy. She can’t even go outside and walk around yet ;(. If any seasoned dog/puppy owners could give me any advice I’d be so grateful. F**k.

 

[weather]

@soulace Where I’m from it’s not legal to adopt or sell a puppy under 8 weeks due to their reliance on their mother still, but considering I don’t know your circumstance my only real addition to this is that you’re going to end up with a lot more time devoted than you’re prepared for due to this younger age. She’s not at an age yet where she can sleep through the night and will likely be dealing with a lot of teething for the next couple months so invest in plenty of chewy things (there’s a reusable teething toy that you can freeze to help with the gum soreness). It may benefit you to dedicate extra time to training just to get her used to words like “yes, come/here, no, outside, potty” etc
This is also a good time to start crate training if that’s something you subscribe to. Initially I was against it until I saw how ethical and beneficial it can be for a dog (I wasn’t given the best examples before then so I had a distaste for it for some time).
Basically try to find something simple she can do happily and help her build confidence in the home. You’ll lose a lot of sleep and you will likely feel this regretful feeling again, but that doesn’t mean that she isn’t a good fit. I have felt the same way multiple times. I’ve also had adoptions not work out. Give her some time to fit into your routine and be willing to get up for pee breaks every 3 hours until you have enough trust in her bladder. It’s going to be okay- this sub is very helpful and I know you’ll find plenty of resources if you keep looking.
I wish you the very best.

 

[soulace]

@weather She’s not even able to go outside for potty breaks until she gets her second round of shots in 6 weeks. I just feel like an awful terrible person. I talked to my boyfriend about it and he brought up returning her to her breeders, but I feel so guilty about doing that. I’m just so overwhelmed. I can’t stop crying and I can’t sleep. I just have no clue what to do. We are probably ready for a puppy, just not a tiny 6 week old dachshund. I just feel lost and like I messed up big time.

 

[weather]

@soulace For the time being puppy pads can suffice, but someone I dog sit for used a “training pad” patch of fake grass until they felt comfortable bringing their puppy outside to relieve herself. They didn’t take her on walks, but they did take her out to the street to do her business since she was older that 5mos and had an immune system better fit for it. The indoor potty is temporary so don’t let this part get to you ! It takes patience for sure.
And I love weenies! They can be a handful as babies because they zoom a lot, but that doesn’t make the experience bad at all. I understand how frustrating and scary this decision feels especially when you’re tired. The first day I slept without my adopted dog I felt 100900x better, but I regretted giving him back. If you feel that it’s better to give her back at least until she’s legally adoptable then that may be a better option than giving her up completely (this is if the emotional toll is too much to fully give her back)
Would you be willing to talk to the breeders to see if they’re able to work something out like that while you both make the decision? It can give you time to prepare a bit more, allow you some rest to think on it some more, and she’ll be a little more independent in 2-3 weeks than she is now.
She’s still a baby for a while so she IS higher maintenance but it becomes easier as she grows for sure! (I had chiweenies as a kid that drove me insane lmao)

 

[soulace]

@weather I’ll talk to my boyfriend about talking to the breeder about maybe giving her back for a couple weeks until we’re better equipped mentally to take care of her, and to let her grow where she’s comfortable. Thank you for the advice and kind words. I already have such bad anxiety and this dog is amplifying it so much.

 

[weather]

@soulace I completely understand where you’re coming from. The sleep and the safety of the pup AND your relationship are all really stressful factors in this decision making process. Try to get whatever sleep you can tonight, drink plenty of water, and just remember that even if this doesn’t work out right now that it doesn’t mean it can’t work out in the future. If you’re able to try again with the same puppy then it’s worth a shot!

 

[soulace]

@weather We finally got a full night of sleep last night! She started barking and woke me up 30 minutes before my alarm for work woke me up, and it was just because she had to pee. My grandfather is helping me to keep an eye on her while me and my boyfriend are working (just until she’s old enough to wait to potty for the 3-5 hours we’re at work at the same time). We both feel so much better about her. Some kind words from our friends who have had puppies before have also calmed our nerves. I think my vent here was just exhaustion and stress bubbling over. But I haven’t cried about her since that first night/morning! Thank you again. It’s definitely starting to get better!

 

[weather]

@soulace I’m so proud of you

 

[patchrex]

@soulace give her back, the puppy deserves better than what you are able to give.

 

[niagrace]

@soulace Try to give yourself a couple weeks, the beginning is the hardest and it gets much better

 

[logant2222]

@soulace Time and patience…give yourself a little grace too…puppies are a lot