Hi Everyone, I adopted a yellow lab just over 2 weeks old. He’s 10 weeks & has been a great sleeper since day 1. He has never pooped in the house & only has maybe 1 pee accident a day. My issue is that he needs my constant attention when he’s awake & I homeschool 4 young kids. He wakes between 7-7:30. After potty he trains & plays until 8:30 or 9. Then he goes down for an hr nap. When he wakes he’s a ball of energy & I'm in the middle of school work. I’ve tried putting him on a leash & giving him chew toys/kongs/ bully sticks to keep him occupied, but they only work for a few minutes. After that he’s biting me, whining & barking. I love him dearly, but the stress of trying to keep him happy on top of everything else on my plate is burning me out & my stress level is through the roof. I’ve considered rehoming him because I feel like it’s too much at this time. It would break my kids’ hearts, but I’m not sure what else to do. Does anyone have any advice?
Hello and welcome, your pup is being a normal little needy crocodile and you have quite some weeks before his biting settles and the ability to self soothe and self entertain arrives. As you know he needs patience, loads of training and lots of time to grow to be the wonderful lab family pet you want. Puppy care is pretty much a full time job for many weeks when you first get them. Also Labrador puppies and young children don’t mix too well and those early stages need diligent supervision to stop the inevitable tears when someone gets nipped. Homeschooling is also a full time job, undertaking that task with 4 children will not leave you with a moment, I bet you struggle you meet your own needs. You have my utmost respect for educating your children. So, if I am honest and I say this as a Mum, lab owner and someone who has just done 6 months homeschooling, I think the challenge of doing both is going to be overwhelming. I am sure you don’t really want to hear this, as you will all love him dearly, but at the moment educating your children is your priority and I don’t think you can meet the needs of a young pup at the same time. It might be wise to wait until your children are older and more independent and a dog can fit into the household easier.
Hello, puppies do demand a lot of attention both at home and on your walks. When my girl was 10 weeks I had to do most things around her needs. Your pup also needs ‘homeschooling’ and training too ! This need for attention and support will last for months . I would also say with a bully stick I needed to keep an eye as my girl swallowed a long length of it once. It does take a lot of energy and time. It kind of gets easier at around 12 months but labs are slow to mature and may settle more at around 18 months to 2 years it seems. You are not alone in feeling overwhelmed and you do have a lot on your plate. Do you have someone else that helps out with the pup?
I’m absolutely exhausted to say the least. Not so much physically, but mentally. I haven’t had a minute to clear my mind in almost 3 weeks. I can’t remember the last time I washed my hair or at a meal at the table with family. We all love him so much & he is such a great puppy, but I’m not sure how much longer I can go like this before I have a total burn out. It’s such a hard decision because I don’t want to break my kid’s hearts. At the same time, our pup deserves to have all the attention he needs & I just don’t think I can give him that.
My husband works outside the home, so I’m by myself with the kids & puppy most days. My husband will take him out to pee on occasion, but raising the pup has mostly fallen on my shoulders.
Can you involve your children more in helping take care of the puppy? You’ve likely got a long haul before your puppy calms down. We got our Lab puppy last January at 9 weeks old. My wife decided she was “my” dog, so I had to take care of her 95% of the time. Fortunately I’m retired and was able to handle it, but I’ve had to quit doing many things I was previously doing — like cycling, painting and hanging out with friends. Our puppy has gradually calmed down and become less needy, as long as I exercise her enough. I take her on a 30-minute walk soon after getting up and then on a longer 1-3 hour walk later in the day. She usually goes for a swim on the long walks. After that, she’ll sleep much of the afternoon but gets wound up again around dinner time. Part of your problem now is that puppies as young as yours aren’t supposed to exercise too much, but that will ease as your dog gets older. If your children could get more involved with playing with your puppy, that might satisfy most of its exercise needs for now. However, young Lab puppies are quite bitey so that might not be practical. I had never had a young puppy before getting our Lab and wasn’t aware of how hyper and bitey they can be. I have owned a number of other rescue dogs before but they were all at least a year old when we got them. Our Lab puppy will be 1-year old this week and she has calmed down a lot but still has wild spells — the zoomies— at least once a day. She still bites some but is much gentler about it. She is much crazier and needy if I don’t exercise her enough.
