Struggling – Newly Adopted Pup challenging limits and limitless energy.

Hi everyone,

I recently adopted a 7 month old pup, and I’m trying to do my best by her.

I’ve had her for a week, and in this week, I’ve changed my entire life to make sure I do my best for her.

She didn’t have a name before, and therefore, even getting her attention is difficult. I’ve named her Lucy, but still had not managed to get her to react to the name when there is no treats involved.

First thing in the morning, I let her out in the garden to do her business. Then I bring her out for a walk. The walks are slow, she’s sniffing most of the times and I want to let her be a dog.

After a brisk walk, I feed her the first meal before getting ready to leave the house by 6:30 am.

I’m lucky that there’s a gym at my office, and I can workout before work. For this first week, I’ve asked my supervisor to allow me to work from home for half the day. I’m away from home for 6-8 hrs this week, returning after lunch to let her use the loo in the garden, and monitor her behavior.

It’s mostly positive, she’s gaining confidence and is less anxious when I leave her sight now. But I’m struggling with two things.

– she’s starting to test limits –

Walks – she’s starting to lie down whenever I don’t let her go where she wants, I use a standard leash and give her corrective tugs but it feels like a growing challenge every day.

She’s starting to show interest in my meals, and even started barking at me while I was eating after feeding her. She never did this when she first came back from the shelter.

She’s starting to take shoes, sandals and socks.

-her energy levels are so high-

Even though I walk her twice a day, once at 5:45-6:15am(sometimes till 6:30am), and once more in the evening for at least another 30 mins, and for this week, I offer her training and enrichment exercises in between work after lunch, she still has a lot of pent up energy, presumably because she’s sleeps for most of the day and does not sleep well at night.

Over a longer term, I’m afraid that she’ll face boredom and display destructive behavior.

I feel like I’ve committed a lot of my life to ensure she’s getting the best I can offer, but it’s still not enough.

Should I continue to keep her, or return her to the shelter? They have a return policy which makes this more of a trial period than a full on adoption.