vanderdeken
New member
Time really does fly by. My little former landshark/pee machine/reactive/restless pup is half a year old. I can already see signs of adolescence popping up so I know we’re not completely in the clear but man is it 100x easier than when he was 8 weeks old! Here are some of the main things I wish I could tell myself when he was younger.
1. It’s okay to cry.
I so badly wanted to return my puppy until he was around 4.5 months old. Yes, I was in complete loathing in regret for around 2 and a half months until things got better. I really got the short end of the stick with puppyhood it seems as my puppy had no cute moments and NEVER made me happy. It was just me waking up, taking care of the dog, and going to bed. I cried and had multiple panic attacks. But ykw? I have a best friend now. He’s my little buddy and I want to do everything with him compared to before where I’d dread having to let him out of his crate. Puppy blues are real. It’s a huge change in lifestyle and your stress levels are high as all hell when you’ve suddenly got a baby animal who’s completely dependent on you. It’s okay to evaluate your own emotions and thoughts and just let it all out.. IT GETS BETTER.
2. You literally will only have bloodied arms for like, a week or two.
The biting was one of the worst things for me when my puppy was a baby. Mine was especially bitey, with a pressure that the vet said was “unusually hard for an 8 week old.” He would draw blood almost every single time you tried to interact with him. If you stay consistent with your methods, honestly you won’t notice a major “omg! he’s stopped biting” moment. But you’ll notice that from 10 weeks old to 12 weeks old your arms no longer have scratches. And as you go on and on you’ll think back on how puppy nipping was your biggest issue! My boy can still get a bit mouthy when he’s very excited but he hasn’t drawn any blood since he was around 3 months old and has had a completely soft bite since around 4 months old.
3. No, he doesn’t have a UTI, he’s just an asshole.
My puppy was an absolute PEE MACHINE!!! He would pee 5 mins after coming inside and proceed to pee like 8 times in a single hour. He even went to a vet to see if he had a UTI and nope, all clear. Potty training is honestly annoying and the constant waking up in the middle of the night in winter to take the puppy out was honestly something I’d rather not do again. My pup is pretty much fully potty trained I’d say but he is starting to excitement pee which we are hoping will get better with age! This one is also very much about consistency and you will get there. A day with 0 accidents, a few days with 0 accidents, then a week and a month will pass by and you won’t even notice!
4. Don’t be scared of enforced naps.
I think I deleted the post but I wrote something on here about how I wish I didn’t enforce naps because my pup can’t self-settle. He still struggles in new environments but at home? He has all his fav sleeping spots: beside the yard doors, in the dining room, cuddled up next to his pillow. We put the crate away 2 weeks ago and haven’t used it at home for a month. All this happened in an instant because my pup before would not sleep. He would spend all day awake making my life miserable and we would both be losing our sanity. We needed to enforce 2 hr naps at least 4 times a day and it seemed like A LOT of crate time. I was extremely guilty and making constant posts on here about how to get my pup to self settle because I hated him being locked up in his crate for simply not being able to nap and comparing him constantly to my friends’ puppies who nap wherever. It just happens!! If anything enforced naps taught my pup that its not always go time and there’s plenty of time to relax even while stuff is going on. I think it’s contributed to the amazingly calm and lazy dog at home that he is today.
5. Good job on the separation training!!
I had to give myself some props here, lol. Enforced naps were a form of separation training on its own because we would cover the crate completely for him to sleep and I would go upstairs. I would also just leave him in the crate after mealtimes increasing 5 mins every day until he could be left alone in his crate, awake and without a peep for 1 and a half hours. Then letting him out loose and going somewhere where he wouldn’t have access to me was also great because guess what!! My 6 month old puppy has complete free roam (with upstairs still closed off) and a pen surrounding my sister’s Barbie Dreamhouse (so. many. little. parts.) He whines a bit when we leave but otherwise lays around or naps. He’s been alone like that for 4 hours before and it’s more than the amount of time he’d be left alone even assuming a normal schedule beyond the pandemic. He’s amazzzinggg and separation training although tedious can really pay off!
I think that pretty much covers some of the reasons why I wanted to return my pup. My puppy also had a ridiculously hard puppyhood (which could lead to an easier adolescence i hopee) so the extent to which I’ve written may not be relatable at all! But I just really want to drill in that with consistency and love, it. gets. better!!!
Edit for puppy tax!!
baby luca and
luca now!!
(also shameless plug our insta is @lucathedobermanx)
1. It’s okay to cry.
I so badly wanted to return my puppy until he was around 4.5 months old. Yes, I was in complete loathing in regret for around 2 and a half months until things got better. I really got the short end of the stick with puppyhood it seems as my puppy had no cute moments and NEVER made me happy. It was just me waking up, taking care of the dog, and going to bed. I cried and had multiple panic attacks. But ykw? I have a best friend now. He’s my little buddy and I want to do everything with him compared to before where I’d dread having to let him out of his crate. Puppy blues are real. It’s a huge change in lifestyle and your stress levels are high as all hell when you’ve suddenly got a baby animal who’s completely dependent on you. It’s okay to evaluate your own emotions and thoughts and just let it all out.. IT GETS BETTER.
2. You literally will only have bloodied arms for like, a week or two.
The biting was one of the worst things for me when my puppy was a baby. Mine was especially bitey, with a pressure that the vet said was “unusually hard for an 8 week old.” He would draw blood almost every single time you tried to interact with him. If you stay consistent with your methods, honestly you won’t notice a major “omg! he’s stopped biting” moment. But you’ll notice that from 10 weeks old to 12 weeks old your arms no longer have scratches. And as you go on and on you’ll think back on how puppy nipping was your biggest issue! My boy can still get a bit mouthy when he’s very excited but he hasn’t drawn any blood since he was around 3 months old and has had a completely soft bite since around 4 months old.
3. No, he doesn’t have a UTI, he’s just an asshole.
My puppy was an absolute PEE MACHINE!!! He would pee 5 mins after coming inside and proceed to pee like 8 times in a single hour. He even went to a vet to see if he had a UTI and nope, all clear. Potty training is honestly annoying and the constant waking up in the middle of the night in winter to take the puppy out was honestly something I’d rather not do again. My pup is pretty much fully potty trained I’d say but he is starting to excitement pee which we are hoping will get better with age! This one is also very much about consistency and you will get there. A day with 0 accidents, a few days with 0 accidents, then a week and a month will pass by and you won’t even notice!
4. Don’t be scared of enforced naps.
I think I deleted the post but I wrote something on here about how I wish I didn’t enforce naps because my pup can’t self-settle. He still struggles in new environments but at home? He has all his fav sleeping spots: beside the yard doors, in the dining room, cuddled up next to his pillow. We put the crate away 2 weeks ago and haven’t used it at home for a month. All this happened in an instant because my pup before would not sleep. He would spend all day awake making my life miserable and we would both be losing our sanity. We needed to enforce 2 hr naps at least 4 times a day and it seemed like A LOT of crate time. I was extremely guilty and making constant posts on here about how to get my pup to self settle because I hated him being locked up in his crate for simply not being able to nap and comparing him constantly to my friends’ puppies who nap wherever. It just happens!! If anything enforced naps taught my pup that its not always go time and there’s plenty of time to relax even while stuff is going on. I think it’s contributed to the amazingly calm and lazy dog at home that he is today.
5. Good job on the separation training!!
I had to give myself some props here, lol. Enforced naps were a form of separation training on its own because we would cover the crate completely for him to sleep and I would go upstairs. I would also just leave him in the crate after mealtimes increasing 5 mins every day until he could be left alone in his crate, awake and without a peep for 1 and a half hours. Then letting him out loose and going somewhere where he wouldn’t have access to me was also great because guess what!! My 6 month old puppy has complete free roam (with upstairs still closed off) and a pen surrounding my sister’s Barbie Dreamhouse (so. many. little. parts.) He whines a bit when we leave but otherwise lays around or naps. He’s been alone like that for 4 hours before and it’s more than the amount of time he’d be left alone even assuming a normal schedule beyond the pandemic. He’s amazzzinggg and separation training although tedious can really pay off!
I think that pretty much covers some of the reasons why I wanted to return my pup. My puppy also had a ridiculously hard puppyhood (which could lead to an easier adolescence i hopee) so the extent to which I’ve written may not be relatable at all! But I just really want to drill in that with consistency and love, it. gets. better!!!
Edit for puppy tax!!
baby luca and
luca now!!
(also shameless plug our insta is @lucathedobermanx)
That means crate time while I relax after work