Perfect puppy, petrified puppy parent!

Hey deadandchocolatey and akc, I feel you guys! I am a lifelong sufferer of anxiety and in the past 5 years moderate depression. They go hand in hand. I have also been struggling with the puppy blues. I'm about a month and 1 week in, and Finn is doing much better (he's 4 months, 1 week). I've worked out a semblance of a routine and I'm getting my own thoughts back finally. I thought I was going to have a nervous breakdown (I am doing this by myself). It's like, you can be prepared that it's going to be stressful and hard, but it's like 1000x beyond what you're expecting. I am not so tearful and panicky anymore but I'm still having moments of doubt and dismay. Tonight he got super hyper inside and launched onto the couch. He hadn't gone up there yet although he had tried, however now I'm panicked that I'm going to be dealing with a defiant puppy who will constantly be launching himself on the couch (he is not allowed up and never has been). So it's like, at 4 months it seems that for every bad habit that goes away, a new one replaces it

For me as well I got a pup to help with anxiety and depression....having dogs around is a major calming factor and mood lifter for me, and I grew up with one and recently lived with 3 dogs at my friends house for a year and a half. So I was no stranger to dogs. So it shocked me how much the puppy blues hit me.

Anyway, feel free to vent to me on any of the threads or PM me!

 

I agree completely that nothing can prepare you for puppy mother/fatherhood. You can read, read again and read some more, you can have grown up with pups, looked after older dogs, talked to puppy owning friends, read this forum, shared homes with dogs, but until your little ball of fluff is in your home, we know nothing!!

I don't have depression or anxiety but the puppy blues hit me HARD! And I was cross that my friends who had owned dogs from pups didn't warn me. Now, of course, I know that I wouldn't have listened because, after years and years of wanting a dog, nothing would stop me.

I just wanted to add that my pup also launches herself at me on the sofa and at the sofa without me on it. She has also launched herself at friends and family sitting on my sofa and on their own sofas when we've been visiting. The other night I went upstairs to say goodnight to my son and left my pup sleeping deeply on the floor. Two mins later I came down to her sleeping just as deeply on the sofa!
She has been doing this for weeks (she's 20 weeks) and it drives me bonkers! I tell her "off" every time and figure she will get it one day

 

Hi FinnofSoCal -- I get this feeling! Every time G does something bad/spontaneous (which is out of character for him, generally) I think, "uh oh, it's all downhill from here!" But he hasn't developed any truly bad habits... yet .

I think getting used to our puppies and their ups and downs will be a good exercise in learning to stay calmer overall. I totally agree that having a dog around is the best medicine