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Hi everyone, Some of you may remember my post last September when I got my first puppy. The timing wasn’t right and it was making me physically ill. That puppy went back to his breeder and is now happily living in NYC.

2 days ago I brought home my second try puppy. His temperament and overall behavior has been perfect for me. But oh my GOD crate training and potty training are ruining me. At night when we crate him (the crate is open during the day and he gets fed in his crate) he wails and wails for what feels like forever. We put towels over his crate and a fan in the room for white noise and last night he slept through the entire night from 11pm to 7am when I woke him for our schedule. I know I’m doing the right thing on not giving in but it’s SO HARD. Potty training has been difficult since he tends to hold his urine and feces until it’s the last minute and ends up going on the floor or in his crate.

I know it’s only been two days but the light at the end of the tunnel is so so far away. My body is taking the brunt of my stress again and I’m worried that I’ll need to be hospitalized like last year.

Dear solo caretakers, how do you do it?

My cocker spaniel pup is at around 7 months old, i’m on my 4th month of caring for her and sometimes I feel like a failure.

I still cant seem to let her roam free in my living room without being an eagle hovering over her every move. I have an olive tree and she’s obsessed with chewing on the leaves. I’ve taught her “leave it” and she does it perfectly with toys but she always, ALWAYS goes back to the olive tree.

Same with the sofa. I honestly dont mind her jumping on our sofa, but I want to teach her that she cannot jump on there unless I let her (to prevent her from thinking it’s okay to jump on anyone’s sofa). I’ve been trying hard, and the stress adds up.

I feel very bad for crating her every time I cannot be in the living room, though she doesnt seem to mind her crate and it is a decent size where she can roll around and play, I still wish she could just CHILL outside of her crate. She doesnt belong in there 70% of her waking day …

Though, I dont mind slowly working with her on these things but to be completely honest, I can feel exhaustion creeping up.

Just our normal routine starting with a 15~20 min walk at 6 am, breakfast, second play time/potty break at 8am before i work, coming back at 2pm with a short play time/potty break, afternoon walk at 15~20 min around 4pm, dinner at 6pm, final play time/potty break before bed…

This doesn’t include the daily grooming, weekly showers (as suggested by our vet), and frustration with other training. Oh right, AND my human obligations like meeting friends, work and selfcare 🥲🤣

So solo caretakers… how do you guys do it?

Any help apprectiated!!

my puppy who is now 8 month old (kelpie x border collie) will not stop peeing in his bed. i cant even wash them anymore, and it has to be at least once a night if not more. he does not cry… at all. he crys to be let out for a drink but not to relieve himself. he sleeps in a crate at night, appropriate size and the bed fills the whole thing. he has a routine, eats, drinks etc all at the same time each day. he has got to be the worst puppy i have ever had, i love him, but he will not listen to anything, hates the car and will run away and not let me catch him etc despite me training from day dot and having great results with all my other dogs. it is infuriating, its like he wants to sleep in his own pee, all i can smell all hours of the day is pee. PLEASE HELP!!

sorry for the flare if it’s not the right one I just didn’t know which one to choose but I have a male, long hair Chihuahua that is currently 11 weeks and he’s been in my possession for about two weeks now and I have had nothing but a deep love for this dog. I will be so sad if I do get puppy blues because even the little things that others would find annoying, I actually find endearing and I have so much patience with him. There's nothing he can do that bothers me. I've been doing everything to socialize, train, introduce grooming, etc. And it's all been fun for me. I've three other dogs but I got them when they were older. I can't ever be upset with them either. I try my best to give them a cushy and enriching life. Does everyone experience puppy blues? Is it something that eventually happens or watch out for?

TLDR: The main issue is she is still very wary of any approach of our hands, despite being generally comfy now in the house. Any suggestions on how we can slowly get her to accept enough to put on a collar and leash for walks after 2nd vaccinations + 2 weeks.

She is 10 weeks and 3 days right now. She has spent 4 days in our home. Her breed is Husky. We are meeting all her nutrition needs, and are available all day.

Having previously had an adult rescue husky, my partner and I decided to get a puppy this time. We strongly believe in a no punish, positive reinforcement strategy to training. So I placed the puppy carrier her new area, and gave her time to come out and find her bed and amenities. I was surprised it took her so long to come out and explore, as previous non-husky puppies I've had were a lot more interested in fun and humans, but we were patient and gave her space.

Anyway, with lots of patience and some light name training with treats she is now comfortable to get near to us when we are not moving too much. She even sometimes brings her food bowl out in a bid to get more food outside of her scheduled meal times. She appears to have become comfy, and relatively happy, and has mental toys to play with. Though physical play is a little bit of a difficulty outside of just making her own fun with her toys.

The main issue is she is still very wary of any approach of our hands. As I said earlier, we are not forcing anything. So I've been trying sitting with her and putting a hand in view while she eats or gets a treat. If it is too close, she will either move away, or challenge with a growl or even a bark. Any suggestions or help from people in the know would be super helpful! I really want to be ready for walks when she can do them, as exercise is so necessary for this breed, however I can't imagine getting there without being able to get hands near her. Potty training is temporarily on hold so we can focus on this.

Thanks in advance 😀

Posting this in case anyone else ends up in a similar situation, because I had no idea about my rights until recently.

I moved into my apartment six months ago with my two dogs and everything was fine until I suddenly got a notice saying I owed a $500 pet deposit plus $50 per month for each dog. That’s $1,100 just to keep my dogs, who are a huge part of how I manage my PTSD.

I started researching and came across the Fair Housing Act, which protects people with emotional support animals. If you have proper documentation from a licensed mental health professional, landlords can’t charge pet fees or deposits, and they can’t refuse to rent to you because of your ESA.

I connected with a legitimate therapist through telehealth, explained my situation, and got the required documentation within 48 hours. I showed it to my property manager along with the relevant federal housing information.

They completely changed their stance no deposit, no monthly pet rent, and they even apologized for the misunderstanding. My dogs are now officially recognized as emotional support animals.

If you’re facing housing discrimination, it’s worth knowing your rights and going through legitimate channels to get documentation. Just make sure to work with licensed professionals, not those sketchy certificate sites that promise quick ESA letters without real evaluations.