So I have a now 2 year old Pug named Ripley. I'm a 27 year old single guy living with some roommates. I got Ripley as a puppy knowing I'd be the only one really taking care of her. It freaked me out. I pored over this subreddit for way too long, worried about if I had done the right thing, considered rehoming her, the whole shebang. You know the drill. My point here is that it gets better. It is a lifestyle change for sure, but you are not shackled to your dog. You can go get groceries. You can work. You make these things your new normal and quicker than you think, it won't even bother you anymore. I can't imagine my life without my little girl in it and in time, you won't either. Take a deep breath and relax. If you care enough to look at subs like this, you're probably doing the right thing. Your dog will be fine and happy. So will you.
@ambience Appreciate this man. As a single guy trying to raise a puppy in an apartment during a pandemic it’s been trying. As a grown ass man, we don’t normally say we want to cry, but lord knows how many times I went in the bathroom and screamed into a towel or punched the wall or just wanted to give up because I didn’t know what else to do. My little guy is 16 weeks today and he’s come a long way but, honestly, most days I feel like I continue falling behind in life and work because I’m trying to make his life good. 3 walks a day, playtime, trying my damndest to watch him for signs of needing to go to the bathroom and for the dreaded “I have to poop” panting which now looks a lot like the “I’m hot” panting. The constant feeling that I should be spending more time and energy on training and getting him to experience new things before the first 20 weeks are up.
It is getting better but I’m eagerly looking forward to having a full fledged adult dog where we both know each other’s routines and being able to get a solid 8 hours of sleep in one night.
@jimmyh214 Single girl living in an apartment, raised my pup all on my own from 3 months. She just turned 1. She still has that evening teenage puppy energy, but overall, yep it gets so much better. I used to cry daily, yell at myself, and wonder if I was getting it all wrong. You will learn how the both of you can communicate, and things will eventually feel more regular and natural. It's crazy to think back and know I went through all of that.
@jesuslover20021234 Single girl raising an 11wk old pup tin an apartment. Over this first month I’ve had her, I’ve been on a roller coaster of emotions. This makes me relieved to hear^
@urban_legend You got this! Before you know it, months will pass. Those first weeks and days seem endless because there are so many new things in your day and life. It’s an incredible feat to do it on your own, all of my couple friends tell me they could never do it. So be patient and kind to yourself knowing you are the one taking it all on.
@jesuslover20021234 Same. Mine just turned a year as well. I had my crying bouts too, I would say she improved around 6-7 months, and now I want another puppy. Just looked back at her puppy photos and regretted wishing those days would go by faster at the time- I couldn't handle it. But now I've forgotten how miserable I was and just want another fluffy baby. Haha!
@imagebeastmarkbeast totally know how you feel! Although I'm not ready for another puppy yet lol! But when she turned 1 I was looking back at puppy photos, and I can't believe how big she got! I miss those silly puppy moments like when she would trip over her own legs at the park lol. But I was so focused back then on "getting through it."
@jimmyh214 Raising a currently 30 week old standard poodle and I can't believe how far we've come. I accidentally ended up with her. A week too early (7 weeks old)and boy howdy was it so miserable. There was so much crying and regret. I felt so unprepared and ashamed that I felt that way. Nothing prepares you for raising a puppy and nothing prepares you for the overwhelming love that you feel from them when you see glimpses of the dog they're going to be.
Despite all the lows, this dog has been so healing for me in so many ways. I already can't imagine life without this dog.
@jimmyh214 I feel you, same here. 2 months locked up with the pup, but it does get better, just stick to it and be persistent and eventually one day, its like a switch, it will all get better
@kimt1 I like hearing the “it’s like a switch” detail because I comb threads like these looking for the age where it all seems to snap together. We’re at 9 months with my doodle and while it’s getting marginally better on certain things (and worse on others - yay for the teenage years) I do wonder why I don’t see more positive progress each week. It doesn’t seem to be very linear though, based on your comment. Here’s hoping..
@guitarnerd93 It honestly will get better, dont give up and stick to it. Im still trying to get her to socialize, after 2 months of being locked up, but i do see some progress daily..although some days she seems to go back a few steps! but it literally does change over night. Keep at it
@jimmyh214 The fact of the matter is that you're never going to be able to perfect your dog, and while of course he matters, he has to fit into your life. It's kind of like a child; if you're waiting on them hand and foot for everything, they get used to it. I've known people whose dogs will scream if they're not allowed to sleep on the owner's neck or face. To me that's ridiculous, so while it was a huge pain to have puggins screeching every night in the cage, they do eventually get used to it. Now I can pick and choose whether to sleep alone or with the dog and it's okay either way. Don't feel too much pressure to cram in as much good stuff as possible within the first 20 weeks. They can totally learn after that point and it's like a person; they're never going to just be optimal in every single way. Ripley still pulls on the leash, has accidents, chews shit up, and barks at nothing. These things just happen way less than they used to. I cleaned up accidents 4-5 times a day early on. Now it's maybe once a month at most, and usually at my own error for not letting her out in a usual amount of time. I bring her to work with me and she used to flip out in the car. Did it enough times and now she's pretty chill with it. You kind of grow to work around their idiosyncrasies and it gets gradually better overtime. I would say the one year mark was when I noticed that she had become palatable enough to where I could feel more comfortable not zooming into what she was doing all day everyday, but it's more of a steady progression than a spike of "oh, she's good now". Keep doing what you're doing, but leave ample time for yourself as well. The only thing I really can't do now as opposed to before is stay somewhere overnight (like crashing at a friend's place after the bar), but that's kind of the deal with any dog honestly.
@jimmyh214 Oh Lord yes! Single woman here adopted my Heinz 57 last June (he was 11 weeks when I got home and is 13 months now). Those first weeks/months were rough. There were many tears, frustrations, vet bills (thousands of dollars worth due to eating tree bark right after I got him and getting sick, having an abscess on his face last fall, and then seizures which began in December). There were certainly times I questioned if I'd ruined my pretty simple, easy-going life. He started adult food last month and has mellowed out considerably since. He still has his butthead moments (he snatched my phone off the counter last week, breaking the screen which resulted in me having to get a new one), he eats poop like it's his job, and he tends to act a donkey on our evening walks. BUT, he has made my life so much better! I can't imagine a world without him. He's smart, he's funny, he loves to lay on my feet on the balcony and just watch the world. He has made quarantine bearable, and had kept me getting up and getting out each day.
@jimmyh214 I feel like I wrote this. Just got an eight week year old pup last week, already feeling progress but I feel I’m needing to do some learning as much as he is! Maybe that’s the beauty of it
@jesuslover20021234 I felt so guilty doing anything out at first but you do kind of shrug your shoulders after a while and accept that they're going to get over it. Ripley used to scream in her cage every single minute she was in there. But one day she fell asleep. Then would be asleep a little longer everyday. Now she loves it and goes in on her own.
@ambience I just got a little pug on the 8th and while I’ve written a few posts asking for help in desperation (which is not a bad thing and I am eternally grateful!!), I can’t picture my life without my little Delilah either. Thank you for sharing this uplifting news!
@imagebeastmarkbeast Hey, I totally get it. Pugs are as stubborn as they are sweet. They can be immensely annoying to train, but they're also very predictable in that they're almost singlemindedly food-motivated. Use that to your advantage. That combined with repetition means they do eventually learn.
@ambience I can say with an almost 13 year old and my 10 year old heart dog who passed away last year, it gets AMAZINGLY better! Those dogs are/were my life... they saw me through marriage and divorce, living just the 3 of us for 5 years, to a new relationship. We had our routine and I absolutely would not have changed a thing.
Rescued a 5 month old (now about 9 months old) GSD and I tell you, I had 100% forgotten what it was like to have a puppy because my adult dogs were so amazing. I just keep hoping we’ll get there with her, too. She makes me truly appreciate my old guy so much more, and I didn’t think it was possible.
