It does get better! 🙂

Hello, just want to share my experience in hope that it would cheer up those who are going through what I have gone through.

Almost three months ago, i adopted a Poochon pup and after spending three weeks with him, I fell face first into puppy blues. I was crying every night from anxiety because he would scream and bark instead of sleep. As well as that I could not even take my eyes off him for even a second because he is always chewing off things and swallowing stuff that he is not suppossed to. I felt like I was getting suffocated by the knowledge that I was responsible for a tiny life and if anything happened, it would be all my fault. It got so bad that I considered rehoming him as I was mentally breaking down.

Now, I have grown to love him so much that I could not imagine my life without him. Of course, a puppy being a baby, he is not perfect and there are still bad behaviours that happens. But, when I look back to how he was when he first came and how he is now, he has grown and improved a lot.

The constant chewing on furniture was a major stressor for me because he would chew on wood or on fabric and swallow the pieces he managed to chew off. I have to be watching him every second he is awake to make sure he is not doing things he is not suppossed to. Now, with consistent "No!" and redirection to toys, he has learned that chewing is allowed only on toys and chews. And since he has learned that toys are ok, he has even learn to play by himself when he is awake and when I am too busy to play with him.

The landsharking was a pain (literally) and still is, but is so so much reduced. In the beginning, I taught him "gentle" when he mouths at my hands. Then, I changed to not giving him attention when he bites. Now, he nibbles more often on his toys then my hands. But, still does try nibbles on my hands when he is overly excited. So, this no nibbling thing is still a work in progress for us.

When he first came to live with me, he could not settle by himself or sleep. He would play and play until he gets overly tired, get zoomies before crashing out. He was not getting the 18-20 hours of sleep he badly needs. Now, he has gotten more used to the hustle and bustle around the house (desensitized to the usual noises around the house), he can nap through most household noises.

What prompted me to make this post was that he napped on my lap for the first time EVER. I have tried putting him on my lap a couple of times and it just ends up with me putting him back down because he kept trying to bite me or the chair. But, he napped for 30mins on my lap. My heart just swelled with love.

So, to fellow pawrents, aim for an A, expect a C and get a B. What I meant by this is that we all want the best for our furbaby. We do intense research, jump into reddit and read through the posts to arm ourselves with the knowledge of what is the "right" way to raise our pups. However, reality is never what we expect it to be. Our pups are different in terms of breed as well as personality. What works for one, may not work for others. Don't feel defeated just because online says or someone says that a perfect pawrents should do this and this but you couldn't. Do what works best for you and your furbaby and focus on the bond more than the expected SOP of pup raising.

Ps, what I shared above is my own experience and my own opinion. 🙂 Hope that it may give strength to those who needs it.

Also, I haven gone through the teenage phase nightmare yet. But I am going to take it one day at a time.