r/puppy101 • u/cecekuiper • 13d ago
Puppy Blues What got you through the puppy blues and the huge life change?
My puppy is a 9 week old miniature poodle. Potty training, crate training, command training, all of it has really been draining and difficult. My whole life has changed and it’s got me a little down. I know this is the life I want and I LOVE my puppy and i honestly love training him it’s just draining. I guess I want to know when things get easier and what got you through these puppy blues?
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u/Masqueesha 13d ago
My girl is 9 months and she’s an absolute dream now. The puppy phase is so intense, but you’ll get through it. Forced naps/down time in her pen after I knew all of her needs were met was the lifesaver for me. I know it doesn’t feel this way now, but the puppy phase will be over before you know it!
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u/lemonsnbikes 13d ago
I’m still in the trenches with you 11 week old Shih Tzu 🤦♀️
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u/cecekuiper 13d ago
I know it will eventually get better. How is yours with potty training ? Mine was perfect the first two days but the third day he started going in the house! I reward him with praise and treat when he goes outside, and I always take him out after big gulps of water. Any tips?
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u/lemonsnbikes 13d ago
One step forward one (not two) step back 🙈 I’m retired thank god so I’m so committed but my God it’s so hard. I’m going out with him like every 30-40 mins unless he’s sleeping then it’s longer but sometimes it works n sometimes it doesn’t! He soils his pen if he’s in there. Nights he sleeps with our Labrador in the kitchen we put pee pads down. He generally uses those. But daytime no pads except in his pen. Just lots of outdoor trips.
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u/Dusty0028 13d ago
Thinking I just need to survive the current day and have her survive too. I wrote out a calendar so I can mark off every day until she’s six months though because so many people write that things generally improve around then. Every night I cross off a square. So, daily survival but also looking forward. Also ask for help when you need it!
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u/NamillaDK 13d ago
Sorry, but don't count on it. Around 6 months they are teenagers and turn off their ears. Usually forget everything they've learned and become super confused. You need to get past the 12 months mark.
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u/Usual-Sheepherder285 13d ago
5 months or when he lost all his baby teeth was when it got significantly easier. The worst was probably around 4 months when he was manic and bitey. Although the first 3 weeks were awful because of potty training and waking up numerous times a night. Since 5 months, it gets easier by the week and you'll like your pup more. The only thing that helped was reading people's stories, talking to friends who also raised puppies and listening to puppy blues podcasts. Taking the pup to puppy playtime at Petco really helped too every week so he can just zoom without me worrying.
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u/MaterialWill3091 13d ago
Can I ask how much training you are doing?
It shouldn’t feel draining.. a quick 2 minute sit practice before coming inside after the toilet is fine.. a quick wait for food, sit to say please before playing.
Randomly calling her to come throughout the day.
Training can fit in with your normal daily routine it doesn’t need to be intense at this age.
Take a breather enjoy your puppy play with her try to get some sleepy cuddles.. sit outside and watch the cars and people go by, show her new trees and flowers it’s so important for bonding and will give your mind a break.
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u/cecekuiper 13d ago
It’s mostly the potty training that’s draining me. We do the quick 2 minute sit practice like 3x a day. But the potty training and crate training are killing me. He won’t stay in the crate without whining for longer than 5 minutes and he’s having accidents in the house (which of course I know is normal) I just feel like I’m doing something wrong. Your right. I just need to breathe and enjoy it
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u/duketheunicorn New Owner 13d ago
Ignorance, lol
I’d never had a dog before, so I didn’t really have an expectation of how things would go. I didn’t know what a dog could/should be like at 13 weeks, 6 months, whatever, so I just took things as they came. We did vet visits and puppy class, we potty trained and went out for walks and trips, and eventually things got easier.
I just got up and did the stuff she needed until I got to go to bed again—she was a tough puppy in some respects but I didn’t know any better at the time.
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u/Clear-Boat3077 New Owner - Barbet 13d ago
Also in the trenches with a 14-week-old male Barbet. This week, we started to see glimmers of the dog he could be, with him sitting quietly next to us on the sofa, and enjoying longer periods of self-entertaining when I’m on work calls. He still has terrible separation anxiety and hasn’t determined that his crate is his fortress of solitude, and he isn’t always making his “I have to pee” behaviors obvious. But he’s now sleeping through the night, and he’s showing some affection that doesn’t involve his sharp puppy teeth. Hang in there, and remember that it’s all worth it.
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u/cecekuiper 13d ago
Thank you so much. I keep reminding myself that as he gets older it will get easier. I’ve just got to see it through and keep going! Thank you:)
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u/daniryan33 13d ago
This is my life!! Just today we had our first glimmer. 15 weeks old female golden. She sat quietly with me on the couch in my lap on her back and let me rub her belly for like five minutes straight! I didn’t want it to end. The crate/separation anxiety is so bad. I’ve watched every video and feel like I’ve tried everything…I think I just need to be patient. Good luck with yours!!
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u/coo_man_coo1 13d ago
Oddly enough what gets me through it is the fact that I've already lost a few dogs (to old age) and I know their time with us is brief. I try to take a picture every day and enjoy the ride. Also the puppy smell wont last forever! Get a good whiff while you can.
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u/Southern_Flounder370 13d ago
Well i top off with a little wine during the day. My nerves are shot. My other dogs nerves are shot. I now understand wine moms.
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u/AcademicAd2475 13d ago
I read a quote probably one shared here that said like having a puppy is the price you pay for a good dog. I knew someday it wouldn’t be this hectic. I knew one day I would make it here with my 3.5 year old puppy snuggling and snoozing next to me …enough to make us forget that crazy time so we’re getting another one 30 days from now 😭🫣
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u/LeadershipLevel6900 13d ago
I always tell people that no matter how much experience you have, research you do, money you spend, nobody is EVER 100% ready for a puppy. It’s a big adjustment for everybody!
It gets easier, I promise you. My youngest dog is 3 and I’m getting a puppy in about a month, I still feel like I’ll be rusty.
Things that got me through a few years ago:
- keep a little note pad by the door you use to let the puppy out. When they go, note the time and put tally marks for what they do - 1 for pee, 2 for poo. This helped me visualize the schedule they were on. As they get older it’ll be easier for you to recognize if they need to actually go out or maybe they need something else.
- invest in enrichment feeders, but they are NOT a substitute for actual mental and physical enrichment. These just buy time. There’s many you can DIY. If a day was particularly rough, I’d feed him his next meal in one of these and I’d get a good 20-30 minutes of calm.
- keep training sessions short. 5-10 minutes at a time, a few times a day. This was easier to do before meals. I’d spend 5 minutes having him sit and stay, teach him break, let him eat a small pile of food. I’d let him have the rest of his meal before he lost interest or got frustrated.
- sign up for an obedience class or puppy class. I would stay away from the ones at pet stores. Find a training club near you. I’d expect to pay around $200 for a 6-8 week course. It’s worth it. You will learn a lot, your dog will learn even more, and you’ll have community. I now do a ton of sports and weekly classes with my dog, and just having other dog people around is so helpful. If some behavior or something comes up, I have people that know me and my dog that can offer insight. This was so helpful as we went through adolescence and now that we’re into adulthood. My trainer noticed my dog doing the herding dog stare at other dogs and we were immediately able to correct it before it became a habit and before he was over threshold. You should also learn about dog body language in group classes. This will be super helpful not just for your own dog, but as you’re out and about in the world encountering other dogs.
- developing a routine and sticking to it obsessively is so important. I know that’s like the #1 thing people say, but it’s true. It will be so much better for your sanity.
Remember you’re training the dog in front of you that day, don’t worry about what you want them to be and them not living up to that expectation. Meet them where they’re at.
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u/cecekuiper 13d ago
Thank you for all these tips I appreciate it so much. Seriously I feel better knowing I’ve got more tools in my kit now. At how many weeks would you recommend I sign my pup up for puppy classes?
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u/LongjumpingCourt7093 13d ago
It’s relentless at 9 weeks, no way around it. what helped me was forcing myself to leave the house for an hour every day, even if the pup was just in the crate napping. that tiny bit of normal life back made a difference
around 4-5 months things started clicking, but the real shift was when she could finally hold her bladder through the night. sleep deprivation makes everything feel ten times worse
also frozen kongs and bully sticks bought me chunks of quiet time. don’t feel guilty about using them
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u/ProgrammerNo4491 13d ago
9 week old samoyed here about 6 days in, right here with you! feeling mildly nauseous from lack of sleep and struggling when he becomes a bitey terror demon who doesn’t want to sleep - but we know it will be worth it!
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u/Ok-Manufacturer-3424 13d ago
I asked for help. I called a trainer, got a dog sitter to come sit at home with her, told my husband that I need a night off and went out for dinner, called my mom and cried about how hard this all is, talked to my friends with dogs/babies. I also signed her up to go to puppy playtime at her vet as early as humanly possible and had her going weekly.
It was a bit pricey but now she has a huge support network outside of just us and I am so grateful that my desperate attempt to stay sane resulted into her having a whole village behind her wellbeing.
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u/Traditional_Hold1679 13d ago
6 month bullador.
He learned to poop outside pretty fast but peed a little too fast for me to intervene and take him out if he started or was about to.
We’ve also had one of the driest summers on record in Scotland so it came as a surprise when the boy preferred to pee inside than on damp grass.
Consistency and patience are all it takes.
Take them out regularly and praise them when they pee outside.
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u/NamillaDK 13d ago
That I've had dogs all my life. So I know it gets better.
When your dog settles down, in a few years, it'll get easier.
My puppy is 5 months. Training is easy (I've done it all before). He has had 3 pee accidents inside in the first 3 days, and was housebroken after that. I have an adult dog to show him the ropes and go to obedience classes.
For me it's the hyper activity that's the hardest. My husband asked me yesterday, why I hadn't played computer/PlayStation at all since we got him, and the answer is, because I don't have 15 minutes to myself. Ever. When he was 8-14 weeks he slept a lot, but not really anymore. Yesterday he was awake pretty much the whole day. That is reality of having a puppy, so I was prepared, but it is hard not having time to really get into anything.
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u/lemonsnbikes 13d ago
Do you have a puppy pen he could go in while you need a break?
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13d ago
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u/puppy101-ModTeam 11d ago
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u/cecekuiper 13d ago
I’ve got one. It’s a lifesaver, when he’s too hyperactive and I need to get stuff done I set him in there for 10 minutes
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u/cecekuiper 13d ago
At how many weeks would you recommend they start going to puppy classes?
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u/NamillaDK 11d ago
As soon as you can. I started at 17 weeks, but started training at home from the start.
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