The best feeling I didn’t know I could have!

H

here2helpyou

New member
I got my puppy a week ago. She took no time to unleash her spunky personality. She’s a good puppy- really truly- nevertheless, she’s still a puppy and has needs to be met round the clock. Even when she’s sleeping (which is a lot) I’m still watching the clock. I’m still planning her next potty break, play time, meal time, etc etc etc.. Especially with how we will do x y z within my 9-5 (can I break at 3 to take her out? What if she wakes up from her nap before I finish this? You get it lol). Combine that with sleep deprivation and no time to myself, I am BEAT.

Today was my first day off work since the day we brought her home. We did our morning routine and I put her down for her morning nap. My cats are fed for the morning. I am showered. I ate a solid meal. I’m hydrated. I’m watching my show and relaxing really truly.

I’ve never, ever, felt this good! THIS is the best feeling.
 
@imagebeastmarkbeast Congratulations!! Is this your first puppy? This is mine and I’m just flabbergasted (in a good way mostly) by the experience. All the research I did still did not prepare me for the reality of having a puppy. She’s my little best friend though!
 
@here2helpyou First puppy as an adult with a partner (not counting the puppy I had growing up). Doing a ton of research but still feel unprepared.

I also work from home so concerned how I’m going to keep all eyes on her while managing my meetings and any ad hoc stuff that will come up.

Any advice for working from home?
 
@imagebeastmarkbeast I WFH and I think the best piece of advice I saw here (that I implemented myself) was to leave your puppy alone either in their pen or their crate for a certain number of hours to simulate "being at work."

You obviously have to work your way up to leaving them alone for longer periods of time so they don't become distressed (the first few days/weeks they will DEFINITELY need you around, because they are in a totally new place and very scared!) but in the beginning, I had a certain schedule I kept. In the mornings he ate, I played with him a little and he had my full attention until say 9am. Then at 9 he went into his pen for 1.5hrs at first, then I worked my way up incrementally until he was in there for about 3-4 hours. During those hours, he would nap, and I would COMPLETELY remove myself from the room and take my stuff into my bedroom (this works for me because I have a laptop, but if you are tied to a desktop then you would want to put your puppy's crate / pen / wherever you keep him, in a different place).

It was hugely beneficial to me because it allowed me to work, but also I got those few hours every day of "me time" where I could just sit in bed while working and not have to be responsible for a crazy puppy.

Eventually we phased that out when he started self-settling and no longer needed enforced naps. At this point he is 1.5yo and when I work, he sighs dramatically at me and then goes to sleep on the couch until it's time for me to pay attention to him 😂
 
@imagebeastmarkbeast I don’t work from home, I had to bring her to work with me this week (not ideal, but it is what it is)

Luckily, puppies sleep so much! Your pup will probably howl when you put her down, but they settle quicker and quicker each time. My puppy schedule during work is we go potty before work at 9:30, she sleeps 10-1, then we go out. Sleeps 1:30-4ish, potty, sleep until we leave around 6pm and then potty at 6:30 when we get home. I only interact with her three times during work hours for ~10 minutes each time. Then we go bananas at home after work in her designated room/area! The biggest thing is to get your routine down right away. I’m shocked at how quick my puppy picked it up.
 
@here2helpyou Damn you’ve got it all figure out. Super cool of your work to let you bring her in too.

The plan is to be religious with crate training. Our breeder begins crate training early and so hoping our pups is already used to the idea.
 
@here2helpyou How long did it take you to work up to that time in the crate? I got mine on Tuesday and we’re at about an hour crated before she starts to cry again. She’ll cry for about 10/15 minutes when I first put her in there and then she settles.
 
@judgev I really have to give props to her breeder on that one. They did the leg work with crate training. Our first day, I brought her to work and she was kenneled. She would get up and howl for a few minutes every hour or so, but I did my best to be consistent and only bring her out when we were going out to potty or going home. She picked up on that really quick and now she only whines when she needs to go out, but I know she wakes up a few times here and there and re-settles.

I think the magic was exposure, consistency, and a predictable schedule. The rest feels like luck
 
@imagebeastmarkbeast I work from home and have had 2 puppies this past year. Key elements? Establish your routine. Take them out immediately upon waking up. Crate them. Get them exercise. Play with them. Take them out each time they wake up from a nap and after eating. Do not berate them if they potty inside. Just get them outside immediately and praise them. Use lots of positive reinforcement, esp with treats. Start training early! Have fun!
 
@imagebeastmarkbeast i'm not a fan of crates (keeping dogs in crates for anything other than transportation etc. is actually illegal in my country) but i would consider a large puppy pen with activities and/or an indoor leash!
 
@here2helpyou Sounds like you're doing an amazing job and have a great attitude about it. All the work you're putting in right now will pay off.

I got my puppy at 8 weeks. He's now 1.5 yrs old and for the most part he's perfect to me (which is not really perfect lol). He changed our lives for the better.
 
@here2helpyou Picked up my golden retriever puppy (my forever dream dog) mid November. He is currently 18 weeks old and so amazing and smart. I’m just hoping his teenage phase stays somewhat the same lol. He’s 95% potty trained, sleeps until 8:30am in the crate with no whining, already knows sit,down, paw and place and just the sweetest little guy ever! I’m obsessed with him!
 
@here2helpyou I'm on week 4 starting today and it gets easier! I have a very high energy puppy but he's starting to get the hang of things and becoming a proper gentledog...
 
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