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My boyfriend (22) and I (20) moved out of my parents house into a 1b 1b apartment its cute and cozy. I always knew I wanted my own dog or at least a pet but I am 100% regretting this decision. We had less than a month in this apartment alone before we decided to get a puppy about two weeks ago now. I brought up the idea first which he shut down but then he said it could be a good idea. My thing is I wanted to adopt an older dog from the shelter or foster homes. He did not want to do that and wanted a puppy from a breeder and I should have listened to my gut. I’ve always wanted a pitbull from the shelter bc I have had them my whole life with my parents. He specifically wanted a golden retriever something I have zero experience with. I was naive and helped us find and connect with a breeder. I just wanted my own pet for once and rushed into this decision with him. My boyfriend does roofs and sometimes does not get home till 7-9 PM, I get out of work around 5 so I usually have the puppy on my own and it is horrible. I had one day to myself at this apartment where I had nothing to do, no unpacking or cleaning and I feel like this was a big mistake. I do always take care of the puppy preparing him freezebones and enrichment etc but the thing is we live on the second floor and have steep stairs I’m not able to carry him outside a lot as he is already almost 30 pounds at 3 months old. With my boyfriend being gone a lot its hard for me. I don’t think we can handle this puppy because for some reason my bf has the mind set that if he takes the puppys water away at 7, that he shouldn’t have to bring him outside in the middle of the night mind u this whole time he never has done that and I’ve had to resort to waking up myself and bringing him to the puppy pads. In the mornings my boyfriend rushes to go to work and leaves me to feed the puppy play and have him go potty on the pad bc he won’t take him outside since he’s in a rush. I also have to get myself ready for work too. I don’t know what to do at all and I just want to have my freedom back. I work full time to save money to open my own beauty suite and now having a puppy I feel I’ll never be able to accomplish that. Its hard to work on potty training and training this puppy on my own and him not taking the puppy outside doesn’t help at all. I also do most of the cooking and cleaning. I’m not saying my boyfriend is a bad person by any means but I think we are both overwhelmed and its putting a strain on our relationship. When we are both home with the puppy its a lot easier but thats not realistic when he works everyday and weekends I have off so I have the puppy all day myself. So even on my days off I’m not able to do anything at all. I do love and care for the puppy but I miss my life and I just moved out and already have to care for another human being essentially. This puppy also came to us having giardia from his breeder which is another thing to add onto stress.

Hey r/puppy101 !

I run a community focused on dog psychology and solving common behavior problems, like separation anxiety, fear of strangers, and general stress.

Dogs don’t misbehave out of spite. Every bark, chew, or panic has a reason, and understanding their emotions is the first step to building calm, confident pups.

In our Skool community, you’ll find:

• Mini-courses on anxiety, fear, and confidence-building 🏡
• Practical exercises to try at home 🐕
• Progress journals and community support for sharing wins 🎉
• Tips based on real canine psychology, not guesswork

Whether your dog is shy, anxious, or just testing boundaries, you’ll find support and actionable strategies here.
We will add new content every few days!

👉 Check it out and join us: Dog Psychology LINK

Let’s help our dogs feel safe, confident, and happy, one step at a time.

how do you easily or not so easily identfiy a purebred german shepherd adult/pup

I recently had to move from my living situation where my dog was around two other dogs, and had a doggy door to go out whenever she pleases. I feel terrible but at least she’s with me. How can I help her adjust to not being around other dogs. I feel like she’s lonely all the time. I take her out all the time but she just doesn’t seem interested. I’m tempted to take her back but idk if that’s an option and I know she doesn’t eat if I’m home so I feel like that’s not any better. Please help me

I recently brought home a 9-week old puppy and I’ve been feeding her all her meals in her crate so that she associates crate = good things. My older dog eats meals in the kitchen.

It’s been working so far, but I’d like to eventually have both dogs eat in the same area. I’m also hoping that shared mealtimes might help my puppy chill out a bit around food. Right now, she gets super excited and eats really fast, so I’d love for her to learn that mealtime isn’t such a big deal.

So for those of you with multiple dogs: * How long did you keep your new puppy eating in the crate? * Any tips for shared mealtimes or making sure it stays peaceful? * Are there signs I should look out for that say I should keep them separate a bit longer?

Thanks in advance! I just want both dogs to feel calm and comfortable during meals and want to make sure I balance making the crate an enjoyable experience while also getting the dogs used to each other.

Hey r/dogs! 👋

I run a community focused on dog psychology and solving common behavior problems, like separation anxiety, fear of strangers, and general stress.

Dogs don’t misbehave out of spite. Every bark, chew, or panic has a reason, and understanding their emotions is the first step to building calm, confident pups.

In our Skool community, you’ll find:

• Mini-courses on anxiety, fear, and confidence-building 🏡
• Practical exercises to try at home 🐕
• Progress journals and community support for sharing wins 🎉
• Tips based on real canine psychology, not guesswork

Whether your dog is shy, anxious, or just testing boundaries, you’ll find support and actionable strategies here.
We will add new content every few days!

👉 Check it out and join us: Dog Psychology LINK

Let’s help our dogs feel safe, confident, and happy, one step at a time.

Help me please me and my boyfriend got a corgi puppy around march and was doing great he had a lot of accidents in the beginning but caught on to potty training within a month or two and was pretty much fully potty trained aside from a accident here or there usually our fault. Well in the beginning of July we moved and his potty spot moved as well he regressed some but nothing we couldn’t handle then around mid July we find out I’m pregnant and complications arose where I could no longer partake in walking the dog or pretty much anything aside from feeding him and pottying and my boyfriend started lacking on the exercise. Now the dog just pees and poops everywhere and the whole house smells like pee and I’m at my wits end. We have tried everything and he simply goes potty inside whenever he wants even after just being let outside. I don’t know what to do and don’t want to rehome the dog but I’m starting to feel like that’s my only option as the smell is bad for my health and I can’t have my baby around it as well.

I have a three and a half year old border collie I've been very concerned about his behaviour the last two days. We've had none stop fireworks going off because of bonfire night. He's been kept inside while they go off at night but recently on morning walks He's been sitting down mid walk in certain places and refuses to walk any further. And will pull like mad in the opposite direction to get back home. I'm hoping this is just temporary but my concern now is he'll associate walks in a negative way. This has only started because of the fireworks. Any ideas to help reintroduce him to walking outside?