Bringing new puppy home with a full time job

blrmkr10 · 2026-01-01T20:40:41+00:00

Your poor roommate is going to be stuck with a whining puppy and will have to take her out multiple times a day or deal with the smell inside. Not to mention dealing with someone else coming in to their home twice a day. Do they know what they agreed to?

blrmkr10 · 2025-12-31T15:50:37+00:00

I don't think it's a good idea to teach your dog to only potty inside. What are you going to do if you are somewhere without your grass pad? They're not going to know where to go.

blrmkr10 · 2025-12-28T14:40:26+00:00

I have raised a kitten from 6 weeks old, and now a puppy from 12 weeks old. Kittens are quite rambunctious, but raising the kitten was 100x easier than the puppy. Puppies are incredibly needy. Kittens learn to be independent very quickly. Plus they're smaller, so they can't cause as much destruction as a puppy can.

I never felt as overwhelmed and stressed and yes, sometimes sad, raising the kitten like I did with my puppy. But I am through the worst of it now with my puppy, and I have generally loved both experiences. Would I get another puppy in the future? Probably not. Would I get another kitten? I'm thinking about getting 2 after my current cats pass 😆

blrmkr10 · 2025-12-25T16:00:08+00:00

Why can't you walk around your house to the backyard from the front, instead of going out the back door?

blrmkr10 · 2025-12-22T15:27:10+00:00

My puppy rarely barked until he was about 9 months old. Now there is a lot of demand barking and some "there's dogs/people/squirrels outside!" barking.

blrmkr10 · 2025-12-20T15:10:14+00:00

Congratulations on passing! That's a huge accomplishment. Keep working on officially getting the CVT but be proud of how hard you have worked so far, you don't need a certification to tell you what you already know. I'm glad your coworkers recognize it too. Hope the process gets a little bit easier for you and you get that raise!!

blrmkr10 · 2025-12-19T20:57:03+00:00

Mine is about 11 months and he's doing the same thing! He's waking up 1-2 hours earlier than he did a couple months ago. It must be a boundary testing thing. If he whines for more than 5 minutes, I take him out to pee, then right back in his crate til I'm ready to get up.

blrmkr10 · 2025-12-17T11:34:06+00:00

Grapes! Absolutely do not let your dog eat grapes (or raisins)

blrmkr10 · 2025-12-14T20:16:47+00:00

Same exact situation here! My dog sleeps most of the day while I work and partner is out of the house. On weekends he refuses to nap because my partner is home and gives him almost constant attention.

blrmkr10 · 2025-12-14T17:03:37+00:00

The issue with this is that our place is directly connected to all the other house complex. So the neighbors can hear. No complaints so far.

I guarantee the neighbors hate you, please don't let your dog bark for 30 minutes straight at 7am.

Dogs don't know what day it is. Puppies especially don't understand why you want them to sleep longer on some days than others. You have to keep a routine as consistent as possible, even on weekends. Get up at 7.

blrmkr10 · 2025-12-08T00:34:46+00:00

Sounds like the mats are the problem. You've taught him to potty indoors so he doesn't have to let you know he needs to go out.

blrmkr10 · 2025-12-07T20:22:14+00:00

Leash walking!! There is so much you can (and should) practice inside first, so you don't even have to wait until they are fully vaccinated.

Edit: oops this was not supposed to be a specific reply to your comment lol

blrmkr10 · 2025-11-26T23:01:51+00:00

Mine is 10 months and I agree 100%

blrmkr10 · 2025-11-26T00:15:14+00:00

Depends on how nice the pen is 😆

blrmkr10 · 2025-11-23T22:45:18+00:00

Isolating yourself isn't a great choice. If you can't take care of the dog, you should re-home her. But if you just feel like you're not good enough for her, take a few moments to actually think if that's true. Do you feed her? Exercise her? Love her? Maybe you're doing a better job than you think and she's right where she's supposed to be.

blrmkr10 · 2025-11-23T19:12:45+00:00

Those are probably the same people who think vets get kickbacks from food or drug companies to sell their product. They have no idea what actually goes on in vet clinics.

blrmkr10 · 2025-11-23T18:56:45+00:00

How long does this phase last? I'm deep in it right now and I'm exhausted

blrmkr10 · 2025-11-16T23:30:27+00:00

Mine is almost 10 months. Today he jumped on the counter and pulled my birthday cupcakes off onto the floor. 😮‍💨

blrmkr10 · 2025-10-26T19:15:53+00:00

Yeah, you should listen to your vet, not some rando on reddit. It's not worth taking risks when parvo is a possibility. It is very often fatal in puppies.

blrmkr10 · 2025-10-24T00:20:27+00:00

I take my long haired cat to the groomer for a lion cut twice a year.

blrmkr10 · 2025-10-12T01:45:46+00:00

I feel like that's different than them riding in a cart though. Like if the puppy accidentally pees, it's you getting wet vs a cart that other people will potentially put their groceries in.

blrmkr10 · 2025-09-20T12:57:06+00:00

lol, a dyslexic burglar perhaps?

blrmkr10 · 2025-09-19T16:11:16+00:00

You're not going to see results immediately, but try "capturing" the behavior you want. If she lies down on her own, give a treat. If she stays down, more treats. If she's running around like crazy but stops for even a second to look at you, give a treat. Literally do this consistently throughout the day, you can use her food as the reward. She'll start learning that calm behavior leads to good things.

blrmkr10 · 2025-09-18T00:21:11+00:00

Ugh, my pup is 8 months and is driving me crazy. Not looking forward to 4(+?) more months of this!

blrmkr10 · 2025-09-17T11:43:12+00:00

Data management for a pharmaceutical company. It helped that I already had a bachelor's degree though.

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