I have a very friendly and sweet corgi mix puppy around 5 months. She likes to greet people when we walk and she's very cute so gets a lot of attention. Half the time she will lay at peoples feet while they pet her and half the time she will jump up to put her paws on them. Its mostly just cute now since she's still little but want to nip that habit in the bud before she gets too big and its not cute anymore. Any good tips on how to start getting her out of that? I try telling her to sit which works sometimes but other times she's too excited. Thanks!

Hello!
Our puppy just turned 13 weeks and has grown increasingly bitey in the last few days.
It happened before but if was still soft bites, occasional and would usually be the signal for her to go for a nap. We would not react, and just redirect her attention with tricks and put her to sleep in her crate.
Now it happens even right after her naps, she will target specifically our hands and feet. She barks and growls and jump at us. It’s like some sort of spell get into her because she can be so so good too.
It’s complicated to do reverse timeouts because we don’t have a single puppy proof room, we have a small playpen but it’s for her to play on her own and we don’t go in there with her.
We tried to redirect but she’s not interested in the chew toys we offer.
We do training, sniff walks, enforced naps, she has interactive toys to tire her out, all throughout the days since we work from home.
She has started hurting me. My partner did a few times the method were you put their lip between their teeth and press softly but enough so she understands biting hurts. We are trying to hold her collar at a distance so she cannot jump on us but my forearms are now covered in scratches from her teeth trying to get me. When she does, it’s hard and she doesn’t let go. It takes more than 10minutes for her to finally sit and calm a little and by that time I’m crying in pain and frustration.
I don’t like either of these methods. I am at loss. We don’t know if it’s bad enough that we should call a trainer at home, or if this is expected puppy biting and it’s just patience at this point.
It’s so difficult to teach what « not » to do, compared to everything else that is « this is the behaviour ».

We currently put our 6 month old puppy in a playpen in the kitchen when we leave. She does great in it but there are a few things. When we got her at 3 months, she was doing well just being blocked off in the kitchen (our kitchen is quite small). But as of a few weeks ago she began chewing on the chair legs/windowsill/baseboards. And she actually escaped one day into the living room (where our 6-year old dog is).

Since then we have made some adjustments. I bought her a few toys that resemble the feeling of wood (because I figured she was liking the wood texture of things so that could satisfy that urge for her) and we have given her less access to the kitchen. She is now enclosed in the playpen in middle of the kitchen so she can’t reach anything. We leave her bed, a few toys & her water and she does really well! She sleeps, stays relaxed, and plays with her toys.

The thing is we would like to eventually give her full access to the house. We had tested it out a few times and gated them in the living room & every time she would try to chew on the couch and wouldn’t settle.

But then when she snuck into the living room that one day she did really well and was able to settle fine. Also, when I work from home in my office I leave her in the kitchen in the mornings & let her and our other dog in the living room together and she does fine then too. So today when I came to let them out at my lunch I tested it again and at first she was fine. But then she became so excited and started zooming around the couch and started pulling the stuffing out of one our cushions that was already kinda broke. And she could NOT settle. I came home early and put her in the kitchen and now she’s sleeping.

All that to say, does anyone have suggestions on how I can slowly give her more access to the house? Or how I can eventually leave her with my other dog? She seems to be overexcited when she’s left with our other dog but idk how to fix that. Any suggestions or insight would be helpful!

Hello all as the title says I have an 8 month old female pug who can't seem to figure out signaling me for potty breaks.

I have been told that female Pugs are harder to start in the potty training but will be better than males in the long run. And we have a fairly decent schedule now. Sleeps through the night fine and on a semi regular schedule is taken out of her pen area to go outside. She is even pretty okay barking or whining when she has to go out while in that pen.

Now we are transitioning to giving her a little more free rein around the house but she doesn't seem to care about signaling when not in her pen or crate. We've tried a few of the suggested tips around bringing them to the door and waiting for them to scratch or at least gesture towards the door and then reinforcing that with good words and snacks for the command but she just doesn't seem to want to do so she would rather leave the area and go about her day even when I know she has to go say first thing in the morning. I'd be willing to do a button or a bell but given how I'm starting out here I don't feel like she would take well to them.

All my friends and family unfortunately had dogs that just naturally took to scratching at doors or whining and letting them know so I don't have a lot of good Hands-On resources and this is my first dog.

Help!

My partner and I recently decided to get a puppy! We went through a lab specific rescue, as a lab felt like a safe bet in terms of both lifestyle match and trainability for first time dog owners.

We have thoroughly enjoyed (most) of our time with our new 4 month old Ellie, whom we've had for 4 weeks, she is so loving, fun, and seems to be somewhat trainable. She is also pretty stubborn at times.

Here's the FUN part. We just got her DNA back; 40% Great Pyranees, 30% Shiba Inu, 13% Malamut, 10% American Pit Bull, 8% German Shepherd... 0% Lab.

We are now slightly panicking over how to best serve our dog, whom we love dearly, but who seems destined to have an extremely different personality than we were planning.

What should we expect of such a mix? Will she never be an off-leash dog, as per what a brief Google search will tell me? Do we need to worry about her running away?

Help us face this new reality and prepare the best we can! Thanks reddit!

The dog...https://imgur.com/a/0j5WnKV

Edit: wow this post has been a rollercoaster. Apparently it is somewhat controversial to ask for help on how to best support a dog whose genetic make up means that their behavior may be very different from what we had thought.

To those saying "keep her" that was never in question we love her to death and we're simply looking for advice on how to create the best life for both the pup and us.

Thanks for all the advice it will be taken on-board with a small pinch of salt!

My mini dachshund, Archie, just turned 7 months old! He’s generally a pretty mellow puppy, and he does great at the dog park. He plays nicely with other dogs there, so I know he can interact well with them in certain environments.

However, recently, I’ve noticed some new behaviors that I’m struggling to understand:

1. Barking at children: He has started barking at kids we encounter, which he didn’t used to do.
2. Reactivity on walks: He has started barking at other dogs while we’re out walking, even though he plays well with dogs at the dog park.
3. Eating poop: He has also been eating poop on walks, and I’m having a really hard time getting him to stop.

I’m wondering if this could be related to adolescence, fear, excitement, or some combination of these things. I’m especially confused about why he does so well with other dogs at the park but reacts to them on walks.

Has anyone else experienced these behaviors around this age? What training techniques have worked for you? I’d really appreciate any advice on how to address these issues before they become more ingrained. I want to help Archie feel comfortable and confident around other dogs and children while making our walks more enjoyable for both of us!

Hi all, I have an almost 11 month old mini dachshund. We got her at 2.5 months old, and she has slept in a crate since day one. We did the crate training thing and by about 3.5-4 months, she would no longer cry and protest. She entered it willingly, especially at the end of the night to take herself to bed.

In August, after picking her up from a 2 week boarding stint (which we did trial days/weekends before that), she had her first night where she cried. We sat next to her to help her settle and she did quickly, and she didn’t cry again for the next month. Since September, however, I feel like she’s completely regressed. Every other night or so she would cry at bedtime, so it wasn’t consistent. We stopped getting up to comfort her because she would cry for maybe 10-15 mins then fall asleep, and I didn’t want her getting used to crying to get us to come out.

We found the thing that makes her most likely to go to bed in the crate without a hitch is if she’s already been in a DEEP sleep for at least 30 mins on either my husband or I, and the other partner has to go to bed first. It’s not always easy to do this routine though as we are both adults who work, and sometimes we don’t have the energy to sit and wait for her to fall asleep again on us for a minimum of 30 mins. I think she’s getting FOMO with both of us going at the same time.

I thought we were finally turning a corner this week with having 7 days in a row of no nighttime crying, but the past 2 nights have been more intense. It’s almost like she gets wide awake the second we put her the bed, once again, even though she’s been asleep on us for the half hour before. She carried on crying intermittently for over an hour, not lying down, just… sitting? Sometimes she’d paw at the door, but she’s not panicked to me. I think her FOMO has gotten more intense. I’ve had to get up with her so that she could fall asleep on me on the couch, then put her back in, and then she was fine (mostly).

She’s fine in her crate during the day. I often crate her a little in the afternoon so I can either take a break or do some work alone, and she falls asleep almost instantly. So, it’s not like she hates it.

WTF is going on?! Should I go back to crate training basics like feeding her in it? We did get her a new crate finally in August because she got too big for the other, so I thought this could be part of it, but not sure how to make it better.

I think people sometimes expect way too much independence from puppies. They're babies in a completely unfamiliar world, and of course they're going to need reassurance, guidance, and time to figure things out.

A puppy following you everywhere doesn't automatically mean they'll develop separation anxiety, just like a calm puppy isn't guaranteed to become an easy adult dog. What matters more is what you teach them consistently as they grow.

I'm a big believer in teaching puppies how to settle on their own, making alone time a gradual and positive experience, and rewarding calm behavior instead of expecting them to figure everything out themselves.

You can't rush maturity, but you can give a puppy the skills to become a more confident adult dog.

My puppy is 14 weeks. Loves sticks & Chews.

I’ve been off work due to illness with no income … coffee wood seems great but costs $20 for small sticks.

Which Canadian / East American - local trees are similar? And don’t splinter?

Or … Veggies I can dehydrate?

I’ve so far managed to make my own yak chews at home, by dehydrating store bought ‘paneer’ from the Indian grocery section. I give him frozen carrots. But he wants more … coffee wood can’t seem to be the only wood?

What is the safest / wood stick you’ve found?

I don’t want any plastics… he scrapes and eats the plastic. Although he’s loving his Nylabones.

At what age was your puppy fully potty trained?

Our almost 15-week-old Cavalier can hold it all night for about 4-5 hours, but when she’s awake, it’s a different story. 😂

We take her out frequently, sometimes every 15 minutes, and already take her out after naps, playtime, and meals. We’re learning her cues, like sniffing, suddenly stopping mid-play, or staring at us. Sometimes we catch them, but other times she has accidents with zero warning!

We’re also teaching her to use a potty bell button, but she only gets it occasionally.

I know she’s still young, but I’m curious when things started clicking for your puppies! Any tips for potty training or teaching the bell would be appreciated.

Hey everyone, I think Dolly (5 month (?) rescue cocker spaniel x whippet) has built up her solo confidence enough to go on a proper outing! We love the car, she sits on my lap and snoozes away and we’ve gotten a lot braver in every aspect outside of the car. We’re taking her to a small pet shop the next town over which isn’t usually too busy, has a great selection of toys / treats and has a lovely chill lurcher who resides behind the counter. We also need to pick up shampoo for her itchy skin.

I’ve had my pit bull puppy for just shy of six months. She’s eight months old. I’ve posted a couple times while in the throw of puppy blues, and I just want to tell anyone else in the trenches right now that I’m starting to see the light. It might actually get better, you guys.

Ramona is currently curled up my lap (she hasn’t been much of a snuggler up to this point), and not remotely trying to bite me. We spent the weekend with my nephew, who doesn’t like dogs, and I could see her big brain practicing impulse control to give him space even though she desperately wanted to say hi. She’s so good on walks, rarely pulls, and can be redirected towards me in the face of distractions. It’s not perfectly easy 100% of the time, but the work we’ve been doing together is really starting to pay off.

If you’re wondering if you’ve made the biggest mistake of your life, I hope you also start to see the light soon!

I have a 4-month-old Australian Labradoodle who's been home for almost a month. We started crate training right away, and he had already had some crate training with his breeder.

He's great in his crate at night! He sleeps from around 8 PM to 5 AM without any issues.

Daytime is a different story.

He sleeps peacefully in his crate if I'm nearby watching TV or reading, but as soon as I leave his sight, he often wakes up and starts whining or barking.

I've tried covering three sides of the crate and partially covering the front, along with white noise and calming music. He doesn't seem to dislike the crate itself. He just wants me nearby.

He's naturally very shy, cautious, and easily frightened, so I spent the first two weeks helping him settle in without pushing him too much.

For the past two weeks, I've been practicing short absences twice a day. We started with just stepping out of sight and coming right back, then gradually increased to 5 seconds, 10 seconds, and so on.

We're now entering our third week of training, and I can step outside through the front door for about a minute.

Luckily, I'm home most of the time, so there's no urgent need to leave him alone for long periods. But I'm starting to wonder if I'm taking things too slowly.

At this pace, getting to one or two hours feels so far away!

I've read that puppies need to learn to self-soothe and that some people simply leave them alone for 5–10 minutes, even if they whine or bark, and gradually increase the time. So I'm wondering if that approach might actually be better than what I'm doing now. I don't want to push him too hard, but I also don't want to be overly cautious and slow down his progress.

Other than this, he's a pretty easy puppy. He stayed with his breeder until 14 weeks old, around adult dogs and his littermates. He's never been mouthy with people, and surprisingly, he only plays with and chews his own toys. He's teething and chews his toys until they're practically falling apart, but he doesn't seem interested in chewing furniture, shoes, or other household items.

He's also very gentle with my children and our senior cat. I sometimes wonder if his cautious personality is why he seems so comfortable staying within familiar boundaries.

Am I doing the right thing by taking it this slowly? Does progress eventually speed up, or should I start encouraging him to self-soothe even if that means some whining? My goal is simply for him to feel comfortable being alone for an hour or two.

I'd really appreciate any advice or personal experiences. Thank you!

Hi my 7mo old puppy got his neck latched onto by this massive (I mean over 90lb) lab yesterday and now I'm worried about my dog's mental and emotional state. I already filed a police report and took him to the vet and have contact with the owner. Somehow he managed to get out of that with 0 punctures and just a tweaked ankle (i'm sure it's bc he has a lot of loose skin on his neck. Luckily, he still seemed excited towards other dogs considering he kept trying to go up to other dogs in the lobby as we were leaving the vet which I hope this didn't make him even more reactive to dogs) Anyways, when he got home he became so much more affectionate with me which is unlike him bc he prefers my bf and I assume it's so he would feel comforted. He seemed a little lethargic this morning, most likely bc he feels sore and overall sad and I'm not sure what I can do to make him feel better. I can't take him out rn since he has a limp but I also cant rough house with him either bc my hand got injured from the incident. Maybe some kongs and puzzles? I don't know what other low impact activity I can do with him. Are there any games that I can double with training? btw DON'T JUMP IN AND TRY TO STOP A DOG FIGHT

My puppy is 6 months old and we’ve never left him alone, if we go out of town we leave him with a sitter. I work a hybrid schedule and on my office days he’s with the sitter which can be very costly. He obviously hates being left alone, if I take the trash out he’s barking and hollering. Wondering if he’s too set in his ways to start leaving him alone now? And is 6 months too young to leave him alone. And I mean only for a couple hours like to run an errand or two.TIA

I have a nine month old German shepherd mix in the throes of adolescence. She came to us at four months pretty much fully potty trained. She had a few accidents here and there but most of the time it was because I was a first time dog owner and failed to pick up on her cues.

She usually slept through the night without potty breaks, up until the past few days. Now she wakes me up on average twice a night to use the bathroom, and I don’t understand why the sudden change. I don’t think it’s an underlying health issue because we follow her normal potty routine throughout the day (we go out every 3-4 hours) and there are no issues there.

I just wanted to ask: is this a normal part of the adolescent regression I keep hearing about? Are there some lifestyle changes I can make to avoid these late night potty breaks? Any guidance is so appreciated!

I have a German Shepherd who is currently 15 months old and has been settling outside of his crate regularly since 6 months old. If you own a GSD or a high energy dog, it might seem crazy that he even took a second to blink before 2 years old. But what I did differently this time was investing SO MUCH TIME into teaching him to relax and settle. And it has paid off! I wanted to share some tips and things I wish I’d known with my first puppy all those years ago.

1. Separate play and rest areas. I find the most effective way to do this is to do ALL play outside. Inside the house is for relaxation only. From when I brought my puppy home, any and all exciting toys stayed outside. Balls, tug toys, etc. Inside there was stuff to chew on like yak cheese and collagen sticks and that’s it. Take your puppy outside, have a blast and exercise, then come inside and RELAX. The fun is out there, the rest is in here. Even today, I got my pup up from a 3 hour crate nap while I finished dinner before taking him on a walk. He woke up with energy for sure, but he laid down and patiently hung out until I was done. Context is huge for dogs and if they contextualize play/high energy to one area and rest to another, it’ll make a big difference.
   
2. Teach a place behavior and use it often. For a while, I had a fairly set routine of play outside > come inside and practice place behavior. Make staying on place and relaxing a calm but rewarding activity. Sometimes I’d hand feed his entire breakfast just while he hung out on his bed. While I cook dinner, hang out on place. While I work, on place. Which leads me to my next point…
   
3. Supervised boredom. Meet your puppy’s physical and mental enrichment needs, then teach them to be bored. Sometimes I’d give my puppy something to chew on and keep occupied while he hung out on place. Other times I didn’t. You can also do tether training. Whatever you do, allow your puppy to NOT have entertainment. It’ll be hard at first! But teach them how to, and the value in, just existing.
   
4. Always follow up a high energy activity, like play or training, with a low energy activity like place behavior or settling with a chew. Teach your puppy the cycle of play > rest.

For many puppies, relaxing and settling doesn’t come naturally. Relaxing can be a learned skill. I think it’s commonly said that (and what I did in the past) that you just have to wait it out until the dog is an adult, or exercise them nonstop and then they’ll settle. While yes, age and exercise do play a big role, you can get there a lot faster by teaching them! Meet their basic needs, and teach them to relax.

I have a 4-month-old female puppy, supposedly a Jack Russell x Pomeranian, who I’ve had since she was 11 weeks old.

The good:

She’s affectionate, playful, clever, funny and full of personality. She can be incredibly sweet and cuddly, sleeps well in her crate when I’m nearby and has made good progress with toilet training. When she’s good, she’s absolutely lovely, and I adore her.

The bad:

Her biggest issue is being left alone. The second I leave the room, she screams, cries, scratches doors and sometimes tries to escape her crate. She can cry for ages, even after being settled to sleep. I’ve tried gradual departures, reassurance, calming music and consistent routines, but nothing seems to stick.

I work full-time but return during the day. She was improving until I had a week off, and now she’s regressed massively.

She’s also extremely mouthy when playing and sometimes gets so overexcited that she repeatedly bites and won’t stop when told no.

I’ve found that firmly saying “no” and occasionally giving a very gentle smack on her bottom interrupts this behaviour. Similarly, when she’s screaming in her covered crate, firmly shushing her and hitting/tapping the outside of the crate often makes her immediately lie down and go to sleep.

I realise these methods may not be ideal, and I want to understand whether she’s actually learning or just reacting to being startled.

Toilet training is another struggle. She’s generally good at home but completely regresses at my boyfriend’s family home, sometimes having 20+ accidents in a week. She’s also nervous around unfamiliar noises.

How I feel:

I’m honestly exhausted. Some days I love having her, and other days I dread being alone with her because the constant crying and need for attention overwhelm me.

I feel like my entire life revolves around her, and despite trying so hard, we keep going backwards.

I genuinely want to keep her and give her a happy life, but I’m struggling with the puppy blues.

Has anyone experienced anything similar? Does the separation anxiety improve with age? How did you manage working full-time, overexcited biting and teaching independence? I’d particularly appreciate advice on alternatives to firm physical corrections that actually work she really isn’t scared of us and this is the only way to actually get her to settle we find.

I don’t want any suggestions ie baby gate leaving calmly as I have ticked all of it off already but she genuinely will just cry and cry unless she is dealt with firmly. I find it a lot easier when at my partners but struggle so much on my own I feel like I hate her when he’s not around even though I love her deep down but I know this is just disappointment and frustration from the lack of progress. I worry I’m not a good dog mum because I’m not as patient as other are.

I’ll go to pet him and within two seconds he’s got my fingers in his mouth. Not even aggressively, he just seems to think my hands are his favorite chew toy.

I’ve tried redirecting him to a toy, but sometimes he drops the toy just to bite my hand again. It’s especially bad in the evening when he seems to have endless energy.

I know puppies explore with their mouths, but sometimes I genuinely can't pet my own dog without getting nipped.

For those who’ve been through this, when did it start getting better? I’m trying to be patient, but man, those little teeth are sharp.

Our puppy is crate trained and sleeps the entire night inside it. He is 7 month Keeshond.

It is not exactly hot now, but he pants during night and he seems to enjoy the fan blowing partially on him which makes not pant during the night (we have a blanket that cuts off part of the crate so he doesnt get fully blasted).

I'm a bit concerned if this can cause any health issues by having a fan blowing on him, anyone got experience surrounding this?

Yes he has full access to a water bowl that is connected to the crate inside.

I got my boy 2.5 months ago at 9 weeks old. He is a Bouvier Des Flandres and honestly has been a really great puppy. He has typical puppy behaviors like biting when overstimulated, a few accidents in the house, and sometimes poor leash work (again, when he's too excited) but honestly thats about it.

He knows how to settle himself, is great with his crate, listens to me most of the time and has pretty solid recall. To reinforce everything we start obedience training this week and I plan to continue it (they have 3 levels of classes) for his entire adolescence.

I sometimes find myself waiting for the moment where I'm greeted with something awful regarding his behavior. Be it reactivity, barking, chewing on things he shouldn't, or whatever. But is it possible that he will end up being an easy, well behaved dog based on how he is now?

Anyone have insight on puppy behavior and how it transformed into their adulthood?

We brought our Australian Labradoodle puppy home 17 days ago, and he’s now 11 weeks old. We’ve been juggling the first few weeks between us while working from home but from November we’ll need to leave him alone for one day a week, increasing to two days a week from December.

From next Monday, we’ve arranged for someone to visit at 11am and 2pm. I’ll be leaving the house at 8am, and my partner will be home around 4:30pm. So we really need him to be ok being left alone for 2.5-3 hours at a time but we’re worried about how far we are from that point. Bear in mind he’s asleep for 1.5-2 hours of that so in reality he’s only really alone for 1-1.5 hours.

I’ve been trying to leave him in his crate after he wakes up, but within 15 minutes he’s crying and barking.
We’ve also tried leaving him in his pen for naps, but he won’t settle if the door is closed but he’ll happily go in there and lie down by himself when the door is open.

We’ve been randomly leaving treats in both the pen and crate and feeding him in there but he still won’t properly settle for a nap with the crate door open or the pen door closed. Also doesn’t go in the crate of his own free will for any length of time. He’ll go in to see if there’s treats and then come straight out. I have recently started trying to train ‘on your bed’ so I can send him in there and he’ll hopefully stay in there with the door open.

Last week I left him in his pen for just 10 minutes while I went to get a coffee, and he became really distressed.

Generally we’ve also been practising leaving the room for a few seconds at a time and returning to help him get used to us coming and going but it feels like we’re still a long way off being able to leave him alone for any length of time.

Appreciate he’s still only a baby but I genuinely thought he’d be at the point where he could be left alone for a short amount of time at this point. What should we be focusing on atp, crate training, separation etc.

Also side note I t’s really difficult to juggle everything because we need to train him and make sure he’s used his brain but also make sure we’re training for separation whilst also socialising him but he’s supposed to sleep 20 hours a day. What the actual hell?? How am I supposed to fit it all in?!

I just wanted to make people aware of something that wasn't on our radar at all until today, we have a 16 week old Standard Schnauzer puppy who has been going potty right in front of our house since we got her. We keep walks short and keep a very close eye on her, we keep her away from any litter, puddles, etc., and our block is generally very clean and in a nice residential area.
Today I took her out to pee, she sniffed the sidewalk and then briefly licked it maybe twice before I pulled her away, it was literally just a second before I moved her. I figured it must have been a crumb of food she found, didn't think much of it.
She went to nap for an hour and then suddenly woke up whining, trying to ou push herself up, head bobbing uncontrollably, clearly extremely disoriented and distressed.
I first thought she might be hypoglycemic (unlikely at her size but first thought for puppy with those symptoms), I gave her some food with treats and sugar mixed in and she ate a little but didn't perk up. Refused water. Kept whining. Flinched and yelped when I moved to reach for her as if she was scared I might hit her (we don't even raise our voice at her, she's being gentle parented lol).
Eye movement was normal, breathing was normal, but she really wanted to lay down and was super disoriented, so I took her to the emergency vet, strongly suspecting weed poisoning at this point but entirely clueless where she could have gotten it.
Vet confirmed my suspicion and after I described the above sequence of events she said "maybe someone dropped a weed pen or something like that and it spilled" which makes total sense, those are so extremely concentrated that even a half second lick would get a puppy a significant dose.
She got fluids and anti-nausea meds and is sleeping it off, but it was really scary for a bit there and I just wanted to make people aware of that risk. We're longtime dog owners and city dwellers and I like to think of myself as pretty aware of the world, but that hadn't even occurred to me until today.

howdy! 11 week old chihuahua. we cannot potty train her outside until she is vaccinated for parvo. i wouldn’t be concerned if we didn’t live in an apartment complex with lots of dogs, and i don’t know how much of a requirement it is for dogs to be fully vaccinated to be residents. even if it is a requirement, i don’t really trust my neighbors. (working at a pet store for 2 years exposes a lot about your community lol)

i’ve seen suggestions of litter training or grass pads, but i think grass pads may be a little too high maintenance for us. litter training could be an okay idea given that we can find more space for one.

any thoughts? thanks!!

New Puppy, feeling extremely overwhelmed and anxious 24/7

I got a new puppy on Sunday and since then I’ve been feeling constantly overstimulated and anxious. I have OCD, GAD, Depression and Autism. So as you can imagine I’m struggling so much. I’ve read up on puppy blues. Don’t get me wrong I love her to death, she’s so sweet and friendly. She’s a really great dog. But I am having such a hard time coping with everything. The changes are so so so hard for me to cope with. I don’t know what to do. I need routine because it feels like the only thing that keeps me on a straight line. And all the changes were so sudden, I thought I was prepared, but turns out I was not. Right now, I’m trying to decide if I should return her to the breeder, I just want the best for her. I just don’t think I can do this. I’ve wanted a dog for a while now, I couldn’t wait to take her home. I am having a hard time with sleep because I’m always so anxious and can’t fall asleep due to the pup. And I know it’s not the pup herself, it’s me. I take full responsibility that I am the problem here. And I just want others opinions and experiences with these feelings. I feel so bad returning her, even though the breeder said for any reason she would take her back. I don’t think I’m fit for this. I’m sorry if this is messy, I’m a mess right now.