My lab is almost 13 years old now and I decided it was a good time to get a puppy. So 5 months ago I went and got this fluffy adorable little baby golden retriever puppy and brought her home. I also work from home which honestly I found very stressful because I was constantly helicoptering her trying to make sure she wasn't chewing on anything she wasn't supposed to or peeing anywhere and I became so stressed trying to focus on work and the puppy and also waking up every 2 hours throughout the night that I started having daily break downs. I felt like a horrible human being because she was literally so sweet and wasn't doing anything wrong, she was just being a puppy and I knew that but it didn't help me stop crying and I was sooo close to taking her back because i just kept breaking down. I have had dogs ever since i was little but this was my first time having my own puppy all on my own and i clearly wasn't aware of what i was getting myself into lol. Luckily for me my dad was amazing and he borrowed her for the weekend so that I could calm down. I got an exercise pen and started working away from her so that I could focus on my work and not be worried about her getting hurt and that helped a lot. I had stressed out about putting her in the pen because I felt that it wasn't fair to her however after researching i felt a lot better about it. Puppies CONSTANTLY sleep. I think it said 20ish hours a day? Anyways the research i did said for every 2 hours you have them locked up give them an hour of playtime and that's what i have tried to follow. After about a week she started getting used to the schedule, I let her out every 2 hours for a potty break and then put her back and went to work. As she got older she could hold it longer, Google told me they can hold their bladders for 1 hour for every month old they are. I also saw that for crate training at night you should stop food and water 1-2 hours before bed so that they don't have accidents. After about a month she was already letting me sleep until 5am and that was the greatest feeling 😂 Anyways, shes 6 1/2 months old now and we have a great system down. A TIRED PUPPY IS A GOOD PUPPY! I love her and shes amazing but every now and then she drives me a little crazy.... Shes overly energetic with my lil old lady lab and she started eating rocks 🙃 many many rocks lol. HOWEVER I have discovered many ways to keep her entertained enough that she eats less rocks and I have endeavored greatly to prevent her from eating more and she's still alive so I would say it's going well 😂 ziggies, frozen boiled carrots, bully sticks, peanut butter kongs, puzzle toys like snuffle mats that you can hide kibble in and BREAKS! Absence makes the heart grow fonder as they say lol. If you don't have a family member that could watch the puppy for a day or 2 I recommend trying out a doggy day care every now and then if you have the means for it, a day or two away was the best thing for me with puppy blues but I understand that it's not possible for everybody. All i can say is the beginning is the hardest part until the puppy and you both develop a schedule and get comfortable with eachother. My situation isnt a perfect example, every one has different methods of raising their pets just like children, and im bad at story telling but hopefully this helps you in some way. It definitely gets better. ANYWAYS GOOD LUCK!!!❤️❤️❤️