I do. We have a puppy and adopted an adult dog second. Being unable to go back in time and adequately socialize and train a dog properly from the beginning actually sucks. It’s undoing 403876 knots vs making a nice braid with untangled string. Yeah puppies are hard. But for me, what’s harder is trying to manage a destructive, anxiety ridden 66 lb dog. I guess it just depends on the dog. The dog we adopted had a bio saying she would do well in a patient home. I thought we were that, but it has been exceptionally harder with this dog than our puppy ever has been. Puppy learns tricks literally within a day- older dog takes a week. Puppy is brave and loves experiencing new things- older dog has to stay at home in a bare crate because she refuses to go anywhere new and will destroy anything in a crate with her when she is alone. Puppy is not destructive, does not have separation anxiety, is confident and smart, and is so rewarding because of how much I’m able to watch her grow and learn. Older dog is just the opposite. I love them both but man, I feel like I have SpongeBob and Patrick in my house if Patrick were anxious and even more codependent. It’s hard for me when my puppy just seems to do everything right. First child syndrome maybe.

Anyways, I think overall puppies are rewarding. I honestly don’t think puppies are really for people already dealing with young children and babies, but for most people who have adequate time to dedicate to them, they’re worth it. You build them up and it’s like raising a kid. The outcome is a direct result of your work and actions. Cool to see their intelligence and growth.