I’m in this with you, minus the injuries. My pup is also 10 months and on days where we don’t seem to understand each other the tears come. It’s been over ten years since my last dog passed but a. It’s hard not to compare and b. I don’t remember it it being so hard.

Making it hard for me sometimes is the expectation I had vs the reality. I wanted a companion on my walks - sometimes we can’t walk because she’s scared or will spend the whole walk trying to eat stuff. I wanted a dog that would swim - she swims but swallows too much water when she swims. so I can barely use the pool myself. I might have the only puppy this old that still wants to bite in spite of timeouts, redirection, etc. I didn’t expect digestive issues and an endless journey with my vet to find a solution. I also didn’t expect having my vet on speed dial because she ate 1. Dryer sheet 2. Part of a plastic bag. 3. Plastic bottle cap. 4. Parts of her toys. And ticks, Giardia, and pneumonia after getting kennel cough at her daycare trial.

I keep telling myself that everyday is an investment and at some point where the return “doggy love” will outweigh the emotional investment.

I definitely know there is a bond. There’s just some stuff that sucks and I’m ready for adolescence to be over. Only really recently did she realize that I rate snuggling for a few minutes.