Puppies are hard

@birdbrain27 Embark says mostly German Shepherd, followed closely by Belgian Malinois, with a hint of Husky and a pinch of Border Collie.

Chill is far from his norm! But he's really good with puppies. I am only just now noticing him calming down, and he will be 5 this year

Hero and my cat Brier
 
@merleharlin I feel you. My wife and I in addition to our own dog fostered a adult female dog and two 6 week old puppies. Both the puppies had already been adopted but the rescue's policy is that they wouldn't adopt out puppies till they had been neutered/spayed and you can't/shouldn't do that till they are 8 weeks old. our dog and the female we were fostering were great with the puppies which helped a lot but by the end of that 2 weeks we were exhausted. We were also doing this in January so those hourly trips for them to pee in the middle of the night during a snow storm made me question my life choices leading up to that point. Long story short puppies are awesome and if you can foster dogs/cats reach out to your local shelter and give an animal in need a home.
 
@richardnm That is awesome, you are a rockstar!! I volunteer a ton with Speak! Rescue and Sanctuary. I help a bit with their social media and odds and ends like website, videos, and transport. I am fostering now while I can, but dang I will need a break after this! I couldn't have done it in January.
 
@merleharlin Oh Man, there was one night where about 2:30am the puppies started crying so I got up to take them outside and there was a bad snow storm. I go to go outside to the back patio with a puppy under each arm and the other 2 dogs on either side of me. There was probably a good 18 inches of snow on the ground already. When I took one step down I slipped and my feet went out from under me. I couldn't put my hands down because of the puppies so I just pulled them into my chest and took the hit. And there I was, 2:30 in the morning, laying in a snow bank in my bathrobe thinking this is a pretty embarrassing way to die. Thankfully nothing was broken but damn that hurt. Honestly though I wouldn't trade it for anything. I keep telling my wife if it were up to me we would have 37 dogs right now because I wanted to keep every dog we fostered. But kudos to you helping out at the rescue and fostering. Both of those can be very emotionally draining working with animals who are potentially suffering and definitely scared. Take some time for yourself then get back to it.
 
@merleharlin Her eyes are STUNNING. What a gorgeous pup. I almost want her for my 8month old puppy but I can’t go through puppyhood again. Kudos to you for doing it on a break from school. I cannot imagine!
 
@merleharlin You're brave and not just because you are dealing with a puppy but because you're getting a puppy right at the transition into graduate school. I'm an occupational therapist and having been a former graduate student and am still a current adjunct faculty who teaches the first-year students and watches them go through the transition from undergrad to grad school you are in for a big shock. Graduate school is a lot more involved in undergrad and I say that even as somebody who did a bachelor's in cell and molecular biology. Every single year that I teach students always bomb the first Anatomy exam because they're unprepared for the transition. Make sure you have as much help as you can get with the puppy because it's a huge amount on your plate to be going through both of these transitions simultaneously. I did not get my first puppy until I had already been out of graduate school and practicing as a therapist with an income for several years. I could not have done it during the time I was in grad school because graduate school is such a commitment.
 
@juelrei Ahh yes. I actually have been through three semesters of graduate classes (Summer, fall, and spring). My final semester of classes is this summer, then I go to academic and medical internships fall and spring semesters respectively. So I'm in the final stretch actually! My partner teaches and will be off in the summer too, which will be huge.

Funny thing though, I did have a more difficult foster prior to starting graduate classes for the first time. She was 1 year old, ACD mix, the first deaf dog I ever worked with, recovering from a bowel resection, and had SEVERE separation anxiety. Pacing, barking, screaming, no chill, and severe food reactivity on top of it all from the harsh restrictions post-surgery. I have 2 dogs and a cat already, so that was a trip. She had 2 failed placements so I had her into classes (which I said I wouldn't do but... What are you going to do?) I had her crate trained and much better with separation by the end of it.

I love her and she's in her forever home now.

Also, we work very closely with OT in the medical setting, so we've learned a lot about what you do. Thank you for helping people!
 
@merleharlin Okay, that makes more sense. I just watch a ton of students struggle during the transition to graduate school before they set appropriate expectations and learn how to study and I can't imagine doing that transition plus a new puppy.

Be careful fostering during clinicals. I didn't have much control over where my placements were located and one of them was 3 hours away from where I lived.
 
@juelrei My placements are already confirmed, our internship supervisors are really awesome at the uni I go to. I won't be able to foster next spring, but she should be well and in her forever home by then. Thanks for the heads up!
 
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