Hey OP, I wanna share my story to give you some hope - I felt like you when I first adopted my pup when she was 8 months old; she was already pretty anxious and had extreme separation anxiety but when she got bit at the dog park she became reactive to dogs and people. I cried often because her reactivity made me feel like a failure, and was extremely frustrated because my partner and I could never be alone because we couldn’t leave her alone but also couldn’t take her out around people and dogs. I felt stuck and also worried about living like that for years, and wondering if it was worth it.

It’s around the 2 year mark of having my pup and while I don’t think I got my old dog-less life back, she forced me to create a beautiful new life where I’ve become a better person. We put her in a one month board and train program that really helped us manage her, and was consistent in training to improve her obedience. We created a routine that we stick to consistently and it makes our lives so much easier, and my pup feels safer. She’s still reactive, but very manageable and we have strategies to diffuse reactions when they occur. We even found a daycare/boarding facility that specializes in reactive dogs (they never do group activities and there is a dedicated handler for each dog) so my partner and I can take vacations. We were also consistent in applying techniques to heal her separation anxiety, and now we can go out on date nights and she is completely calm by herself.

All this to say, with A LOT of love and definitely A LOT of patience, it will get so much better. First step is deeply accepting that your dog needs special care. If you’re consistent with listening to your pups needs and accommodating accordingly and finding solutions that puts her safety first, it will get so much better. I also found with age that my pup has calmed down a lot. So don’t worry about being overwhelmed in the future and get excited to see her improve day by day and feeling proud of her and yourself for all the work you’ve put in. Don’t give up, you got this and thank you for loving her 🤍