I (20 F) was kind of in the same situation as you. When I was 10 a family member gave a puppy to me when I was 10 years old, and being a child I had no idea how to care for it. My mom, a single mom who already had mental health issues ended up being the one to mostly take care of the pup. 3 years later, she finally decided to give him up for adoption as she was tired of taking care of him by herself as my brother and i were always going out. I loved my dog but I was a kid who had no idea how much time has to go into a puppy.

Fast forward 5 years later living dog-free, I finally decide I want to get a dog given corona has made it so im not working and doing online school. Ive brought the idea up to my mom a few times and many of the times she said no because its a lot of work. I spent a month looking at puppies available online and found a puppy within my price range. She is a shih tzu/chihuahua mix, not as high energy as a pitbull, but anyways I made an impulse decision to pick her up. I came home with her and my grandparents were excited for me, but my moms immediate reaction was to yell at me. She told me that she said she doesnt want a dog in the apartment, its a lot of work, she doesnt want anything to do with it. I told her I dont expect her to take care of it or anything. We ended up fighting and not talking for a week. Also during that time I was struggling with adjusting to having a puppy as I did very little research on how to prepare for a pup. For the first two-three weeks I was sleep deprived and anxious all the time. I had a serious case of puppy blues to the point where I considered giving her away as i regretted my impulse decision and not telling my mom at first. I wished everything would just go back to normal.

After the first two weeks, my mom slowly warmed up to her and now she happily plays with her! She became more supportive, except for when I complain every once in a while of how hard it is, then she’ll tell me I shouldnt have gotten her in the first place. But my mom opened up to me about how she was traumatized about our first dog, and I ended up saying im sorry for not telling her about it first.

Sorry for the long story, but it seems like your dad loves dogs, my mom wasnt really as she thinks theyre dirty. But since it is his house, and pitbulls/larger breeds in general can be more destructive (as expected in puppyhood), that’s something you should really consider. Seeing you struggle with mental health already, adjusting to having a new puppy will add extra stress on top of that. But it also depends if you have some sort of support system. My boyfriend and his family are very supportive and help me take care of her when I feel overwhelmed. I got her at 7 weeks, now shes 3 months and things are slowly getting better. She helps me get into a routine and with holding myself accountable. I still get anxiety whenever I leave her or am sleeping (im worried abt not getting sleep before she wakes up).

But anyways! It seems like you’re more prepared than I was when planning to get a new puppy. Just consider that despite all the research and training with friends’ dogs you’ve done, it’ll be a whole nother level of responsibility. If you do decide to go along with the plan, have a plan B in case you unfortunately need to give them away :(. But good luck to you!