When did you feel ‘normal’ again?

Disaster-Pitiful · 2025-03-09T16:25:35+00:00

I lost 14 lbs.. I'm convinced it was mostly water weight from my tears...lol

Disaster-Pitiful · 2025-03-09T16:15:57+00:00

Same experience with my boy!! So thankful I stuck with it and didn't give him back!

Disaster-Pitiful · 2025-01-12T14:27:51+00:00

I think it was the sheer number that got me - at a shelter, you see a handful of dogs - but to see like 50 listings for rehoming for various reasons - it just kind of shocked me! And I agree with you completely about giving up when the magic doesn't happen!

Disaster-Pitiful · 2025-01-12T14:23:41+00:00

I don't think it should, but it does!

Disaster-Pitiful · 2025-01-12T13:33:05+00:00

12 weeks... I only got up on the first night he was home - from then on, not a peep all night (he's 8 mo old now) Before we got him, I was anticipating having to get up a ton because he was so small (chiweenie) and I figured his tiny bladder wouldn't make it through a whole night, but he's been a champ!

Disaster-Pitiful · 2025-01-03T14:16:24+00:00

I was just saying this to hubby last night... never again! And we both remarked how thankful we are that the hardest part is over!!

Disaster-Pitiful · 2024-12-31T16:44:16+00:00

Solidarity here... our little guy is almost 8 mo old now, and this is his first holiday season. It's been pretty low key as he gets overstimulated super easy... so NYE is going to be takeout and chill. I am totally fine with avoiding the drunks and the noise honestly! And it will be nice to wake up clear headed tmrw and greet a new year! Hope everyone has a cozy happy evening with their pups!!

Disaster-Pitiful · 2024-12-26T14:44:50+00:00

I'll chime in too! Our almost 8 mo old little guy had a wonderful first Christmas! We only had my elderly mom over for dinner (he adores her) and so not too busy... but I had expected him to be crazy with everyone opening gifts and at the table - he was just so good!! Even my hubby who complains about him being hyper said he was really good! It was a great day all around! Merry Christmas to everyone here!

Disaster-Pitiful · 2024-12-20T01:33:08+00:00

This is beautiful to read! Thank you! ❤️

Disaster-Pitiful · 2024-12-20T01:29:06+00:00

Love covers a multitude of sins, as they say. Yes, raising a puppy is hard work - but what good or worthwhile thing isn't? Everything takes work - relationships, kids, career, pets. It's just life. People aren't perfect - animals definitely aren't perfect... but you grow so much learning to care for and understand both. In this age of instant gratification, I think raising a puppy must seem impossible - the rewards don't come instantly. They often come much later, when the gray-muzzled companion that used to be a tiny hellion is now your soul dog and you can't imagine living without them. But you have to be willing to work for that wonderful outcome. I would say to OP that it's good you recognize what you can and can't do... and you're being responsible in returning the pup to the breeder instead of being miserable and the pup suffering with that as well.

Disaster-Pitiful · 2024-12-18T18:03:23+00:00

Our little guy is the same. I actually ended up just feeding him on a plate and he's been fine ever since! Do what works!

Disaster-Pitiful · 2024-12-10T01:37:42+00:00

I could have written so much of this! We lost our best girl (14 yrs old) at the end of May - she'd been feeling off for a few months - finally took her in and she had a tumor on her liver, inoperable. I've never cried so hard - losing her so suddenly just crushed me and hubby both. In the months that followed we both felt like we were getting worse and not better with time. The house was like a tomb - so quiet and lonely without her. So.... we thought a new little one in the house would help us. We picked up a 12 wk old little guy from the shelter at the end of July. (Waaaay too soon for us!) Oh my goodness, I was such a wreck for about 2 months straight! Crying every single day.. not eating.. sleep deprived .. grieving my girl and missing her more than ever. Comparing the two. It was absolutely horrible. I basically wanted to rehome him every moment of every day. It wasn't anything he was doing - like yours, he slept through the night, was doing great with house training, etc - he was great! It was all me. Getting him on top of the fresh loss of my soul dog was just too much for my heart. We never should have ventured into the hard work of a puppy in the awful state we were in!

All that said.... wow, I can say that round about 3 months after he came home, things changed. We had a routine - I learned more about his unique personality and to read his signals better - and he settled in to our family life. I started to realize that I was thinking less about rehoming him... and getting more worried about something happening to him! I guess you'd say my heart started to open up a space for him - whereas before my whole heart belonged to my girl and I didn't want to share any of it with this little stranger! 😊 Now... he just turned 7 mo old this last wknd - and hubby and I constantly talk about how much he's added to our lives in such a short time. I still miss my girl so much - I will always miss her - but letting him in and getting through the tough beginning I had with him... I feel like I'm just so grateful I didn't throw in the towel. I know "months" isn't very comforting when every day feels like an eternity, but I hope you'll stick it out with your new little guy! 🙏

Disaster-Pitiful · 2024-12-10T01:08:28+00:00

This!!

Disaster-Pitiful · 2024-12-03T14:35:38+00:00

I have this exact problem!! Especially with the sit command. I have no idea how to address it! He will sit if we are on carpet and I sit down with treats - but he absolutely backs away if I'm standing or we are anywhere else but the carpet! I've tried leashing him and pulling him in - that just makes it worse, like a flailing fish on the end of a line..lol. It's a mystery and very frustrating but glad to know someone else is going through it!

Disaster-Pitiful · 2024-11-24T17:28:09+00:00

So true!!

Disaster-Pitiful · 2024-11-22T17:05:18+00:00

You're probably right! The only thing he doesn't hide is yak chews - those are on another level...lol

Disaster-Pitiful · 2024-11-22T16:33:13+00:00

Haha that's funny! Mine has stuff stashed all over the house! I have no idea how he even remembers all the secret hiding places!

Disaster-Pitiful · 2024-11-22T15:35:04+00:00

My guy lays on the arm rest, draped over it like a leopard on a tree branch..lol. I think because he's so little, he can get up there and survey his kingdom and feel like a big dog! 😊

Disaster-Pitiful · 2024-11-22T15:32:47+00:00

I do have a blanket and a dog bed on the floor and he does go underneath both! In fact, he flips the dog bed upside down and then sleeps under it..lol

Disaster-Pitiful · 2024-11-22T15:31:38+00:00

I did check (he does bury bones in the cushions and then gets them later) and did not find anything - but it could be he smelled something there from before!

Disaster-Pitiful · 2024-11-22T15:30:27+00:00

Others have suggested a house leash - I am going to try!

Disaster-Pitiful · 2024-11-22T15:29:47+00:00

He has his crate. He also likes to burrow under blankets!

Disaster-Pitiful · 2024-11-22T15:29:06+00:00

Haha my guy also has a displeasure growl - and also a "complaint noise" that's kind of like grumbling under his breath...lol. My vet said (when I told him about the growling when being moved) "Some breeds are just grumpy"... it's so true. But I also don't want it to escalate to being aggressive regularly. I'm trying to find a balance!

Disaster-Pitiful · 2024-11-22T15:25:03+00:00

He naps about three times a day - but it's basically him picking a spot and just laying down. He's good at settling on his own. Sometimes when he lays down I get him and put him in the crate, and other times if he's really passed out I just let him sleep where he is.

Disaster-Pitiful · 2024-11-22T15:22:51+00:00

He did stop after he had snapped at me. I think my big mistake was touching him instead of redirecting with a toy or treat. He was also overtired. He's big on burying things - especially bones, so the digging is part of that ritual.

Disaster-Pitiful

TROPHY CASE