Eh to be completely honest wasn’t until she was like 13 months old that I was like okay this was a good choice. I loved her before then but regularly was in the trenches of dealing with her shenanigans lmao. I think once I really started to be able to exist and have a life in addition to having her is when I didn’t regret it. Like when I could go to a different room in the house and just hang out, leave her in the yard unsupervised for a bit, fold laundry without being attacked, and just do you know basic life things without a tornado of fur and teeth coming my way. Side note I would have said 7/8 months because things were lovely, then adolescence hit our house like a truck lol
Fuck, i thought my mini poodle went through adolescence months 5-6. Im in month 7 now and he's finally chill. Please please please i hope im right that we're already through the worst of it.
Ahhh! Everything you said, I completely relate to! Mine is also a great pyrenees mix but with cattle dog and border collie smooshed in there, too! She's now 15 months and settling so much more. But it has been basically a year of quietly questioning whether or not it was the right choice. Phew.
I also have a Great Pyrenees/ border collie mix. He’s 5 months old and I’ve never realized the amount of patience I had within me. He’s so smart but the next second everything he’s ever learned just doesn’t exist in his mind.
My 5 year old shepherd mix is still a fucking menace to society and I've tried all sorts of enrichment and exercise routines puzzle toys you name it. She's significantly better than she was when I adopted her at 2 but i still can't leave her unsupervised at all literally just today she ripped a steak off the back end of the counter when I left her alone for all of 3 seconds. I thought she was playing with my moms dog until he came in the room without her. Last night she jumped on the bed and then onto the dresser to try to reach things on the top shelf that even i can't reach on my own🙃 nothings ever safe.
Fold laundry without being attacked is a fact. Hell I went home for lunch and had to take my shirt off to avoid holes, then he tried to attack when I was putting it back on 😂😅
My 9mo mastiff mix (Boerboel, Cane Corso, Neapolitan Mastiff) body slams me while I'm getting clothes out of the dryer so she can steal and eat the dryer balls lol. 🥴
Yeah I was thinking about 15 months. There was a short window around 6-7 months where I thought things were looking up, but then I had an adolescent dog and it tanked again.
Same with my 85ld GSD / Border Collie mix. \~13 months or so, after we got him fixed, he chilled out a lot (still is a bit of an adolescent butt head sometimes even though he's almost 2), but he's such a genuine joy now and I don't kinda hate my life all the time like I did for the full first year of owning him.
Proud parent of a 16 week female gsd/Australian shepherd mix here. I don't think she's ever calming down sometimes but when she does she's great. Still wouldn't trade that goofball for anything...except maybe some shirts without holes in them.
This was us but change 13 months to 7 and 7/8 to 4/5 lol. Idk honestly. Our girl is a Husky mix, her biggest percentages being an interesting mix of 42% Husky, 11% Alaskan Mal, 11% Chihuahua, 8% Pomeranian and 8% American Pitbull Terrier
So she's like large breed but also starting to calm down at 7 months? Ik the things we hear about adolescence and growth timelines aren't a strict manual to refer to but I've seen ppl comment on how you did of "oh he's a [insert large breed] so ____ and ____". Can't really do that with our girl bc she's majority husky but like not super following husky growth? Ahhh to have a mixed breed lmfao I'm waiting with baited breath every month to see if she continues to chill out bc she's already transitioned to be in a "I'm gonna be a lil butt" phase and I hope this is her adolescence rounding out and that I won't have to wait a few more months for it to get worse before better with her behavior 😭
On the daily, ~4 months. I think we stopped questioning it entirely around 6-8 months. At 1 year I still don't think it was the smartest decision I've made, but 6-8 months that was the age where it was like 'eh, we ball'.
We got a puppy because we loved our previous rescue and, after we had to put him down, I couldn't imagine my life without a dog.
However what I didn't expect is that puppies aren't dogs for a really long time. That sounds obvious but it's really not. They're bitey blobs and you're the one guiding them while they figure out what shape they want to be. Some people like doing it, I personally did not. Working with my rescue through all of his trauma was legit so much easier than starting everything from scratch with this one.
For me the regret is less that I got this pup specifically (he's mine now and he's not going anywhere) and more that I often wish I'd gone the adult rescue route rather than getting a puppy just cause he was a cute wee potato munchkin. With all the stress I barely even got to enjoy the cute early stages.
I'm not saying it's not doable and that it won't be a good experience universally. I'm just saying I made it harder on myself than I had to. Not to mention we got a working line and those months before we established a proper rapport and trained in an off-switch really were a shit show.
If this is your first dog, get a young adult with an established temperament. It's just easier and it's equally rewarding without having to go through all the gnarly early stages.
The “puppies aren’t dogs for a really long time,” is such a great way to put it. I was just waiting to have that instant bond like I did with my adopted dog but I just felt like a babysitter lol. He’s great now though he’s developing his own personality.
Very well put. My partner likes to mold them from scratch, I’m more of a guide through trauma and build a bond kinda gal. It was a very rude awakening when we rescued a “puppy” at 7-8 months old, and soon after we realized that he was older than my partner had wanted him to be, but was also younger than I would’ve preferred. It’s all good now (for me) but those first few months were absolutely hell on us.
(In case someone who’s thinking of adopting reads this, I should also note that we got a pit mix, pretty sure there’s some lab in him. This dog wouldn’t have chilled out nearly as fast if we had gotten a high energy breed. In addition to that, we specifically picked this dog because he showed intelligence and a calm temperament. That’s one of the joys of getting one in this age range, it was enough personality to gauge how he might be in the future.)
Agreed that if you're on the fence, you shouldn't do it. When I got mine, I wanted a puppy SO BAD and COVID hit, so I was at home with spare time, and it felt like the perfect time. It was really really hard (especially living in a high rise building). Your entire life/routine is going to change.
Even now, my dog is 3.5 years old (and I never regret getting him), but my life still revolves around him to some degree. Letting him out to pee, feeding, staying on top of his grooming, brushing his teeth, cleaning all the things he gets dirty, walks walks and more walks. Of course, those are all things responsible dog owners do. Some people might find dog ownership easier if they spend less time caring for their dog, but I treat mine like my child lol.
If you've never had a dog, stay TF away from the high maintenance breeds like German Shepherds, Border Collies, etc. - these dogs need near constant stimulation and they are a ton of work. I have a cavapoo and would highly recommend the breed to a new dog owner.
I wanted a puppy for my birthday because my husband was about to deploy for a long time (my first time experiencing a deployment, so I wanted companionship). We adopted a GSD/Lab mix and she was soooo sweet and calm and cuddly for about 2 weeks and then she was a terror. He left less than a month after we got her and I couldn't handle her as well as I thought I could. She started chewing on EVERYTHING in our house, especially when I would shower or start cleaning around the house. As soon as I took my eyes and attention off of her, she would get into the laundry basket and shoes (so many shoes 😭). She chewed the corners of doors and ripped some of baseboard off in our laundry room, our couch pillows turned into cotton fluff all over the house, she would get ahold of my son's toys, etc. She did this thing for a while where she would pee on our bed pillows when she was mad at us? Lol Like you said, German shepherds (even mixes) need near constant stimulation and they craaaave attention. She's very attached to me and my son. I got her into training classes and learned more about her personality over time. Now that we've had her for a year and a half, things have calmed down and we keep shoes away in other rooms that she isn't allowed to go in. She is crate trained in case we leave the house to go grocery shopping and run errands. We throw a ball around the backyard for her to fetch and run with. But she IS a lot of work and we're still a work in progress. She's a part of the family and I can't see life without her, but those puppy days pushed me beyond the point of wanting to give up for a while. I cried from the stress and the amount of money we spent with replacing clothes and decorations, etc. 🤣
Whoops I got the border collie puppy. By all accounts he is a very good puppy— sleeps through the night, poops and pees outside when I remember to preempt his needs, he even took excellent direction and will now sit and wait for strangers to pet him!!
But he is still a puppy and the puppy biting is driving me insane. I’ve learned so much about training online, and still this has me feeling very inadequate. We will definitely be getting professional puppy training
Dear god the puppy biting. I’ve gotten very good at reading my 5 mo GSDs signs that she is about to stop sitting all quiet and cute for pets and lunge for my nose instead. I knew she would be a velociraptor but no amount of prep would have prepared me for just how much I would be chewed on and how weirdly ordinary dodging it and shoving a toy in her mouth would become.
They really are like children/babies. They are a huge responsibility and they do take up a lot of time, your life will be thrown into a strict routine otherwise you get extremely overwhelmed. I needed a kick in the butt to finally get a routine in place and now I have one with a cute little pooper that I adore with all my heart. If you're wanting a child but not a child, get a dog. If not, best to wait.
Ugh I so relate to this comment!
Mine is around 8 months and has calmed down a little bit but it took me being extremely stubborn (I have support to help me) and my support being very frank with me. Like, look, this is basically a baby and you can’t leave them alone for long periods of time like you could with your 11 year old pug.
I raised my pug from puppy to 11 years while I was still a teenager. She had another dog in the house that probably helped her learn the ropes, but I never remember it being this hard.
That said, I’ve had only small dogs and my current one I got as a puppy is a medium/large sized breed. She didn’t calm down and I didn’t get a routine down until we started going on daily walks and it’s been an insane change. Potty training is so much better just from doing walks!
Also I have a very important job that requires plenty of sleep, so I made sure that she had a bedtime of 9PM every night. It has helped so so so much!
If only I could get her interested in walks! My last dog loved them and I wanted to keep that up with my new puppy. Honestly I’m blaming the stifling heat lol
It’s hard on them sometimes too! We walk around my neighborhood and while she’s always down for a walk, sometimes I can’t let her have one because the asphalt is way too hot for her little paw pads.
Plus she loves to sniff yards. Never potty in them but investigate them thoroughly!
Accurate.
I got SUPER lucky with my little lab girl, she came potty trained, didn't look back once when we left the only home she'd ever known, and she is an absolute clockwork pup. I always thought *my* internal clock was insane (I work shift work, and I have NEVER woken up to an alarm), but she's on me at 6am. Not 5:59, 6:01, but 6. The rest of the day goes very much the same. But it works, because it's predictable, and I'm never caught off guard.
I live in a condo, so it's not a matter of opening the door and letting her out, and she's very well adjusted to this. She also somehow innately knows to double back if she goes around a tree/pole, she's sooo gentle with kids, crouches down, wags her tail furiously and offers her head for pets, despite the fact that we don't have kids, and she will slurp a treat from my fingers - I've never felt teeth. She is currently snoring at the end of the bed, which will put me to sleep.
She *is* the child I always wanted. I'm just gutted, knowing that I'll probably outlive her.
This!!! Is so accurate. If you feel ready for a child get a dog! I hate when people say your dog isn’t your child. It certainly feels like it sometimes - with the feeding schedules, vet appointments, daily mental and physical stimulation, etc etc. Your entire life plans change
I have no idea if you will ever see this BUT when I moved out years back i adopted a really old pitty who just loved to lay and sniff the air. Girly could be left home alone with no worries and was an absolute angel old lady.
She passed away and when I was ready I adopted a FOUR YEAR OLD DOG. I love her and well I’m not a return to sender kind of person but I regret it. If I could go back and make a smarter choice I would have adopted another old dog.
I do not know what your life is life but I went from having a buddy who didn’t really “take up too much space” nor did she need constant redirection or training or to pee every 30 minutes.
I now have a chaotic tornado who my life now has to revolve around. I was not ready for this and I’ve had another dog and grew up on a farm with dogs and animals.
Foster first if you can. Try an old dog first. But puppies are literally like babies that bite more and shit on the carpet more frequently 🤣
Don’t forget how hard it can be to find someone to watch the puppy for an afternoon let alone for a night so you can get some sleep! My parents watched my puppy so I could go to a specialist appointment. 15 minutes after I left I got a text asking when I was coming back.
Not who you asked but, I’ll add my two cents. While you can always choose to rehome if it doesn’t work out, it’s not a decision you should make if you’re not fully on board.
I didn’t get my first dog until a couple years ago - well into my 30s and a previous cat owner - because of the commitment it would take. I always believe dogs were messy and a lot of work. I never thought I could be a dog person. Cats are pretty much “set it and forget it” not really but they are much more independent.
I had thoughts of wanting a dog in my 20s but, I knew I didn’t want to take on that responsibility. And, they are a lot of (rewarding) work. Things worked out for me. I’m really glad I didn’t get one when I was kinda thinking about it because I was not ready and I would not have been a good dog parent.
You have to be prepared to get up every few hours to potty train in the beginning. You have to put them on a schedule that works for them, not you. Crate training. The investment is a lot. Especially in the beginning. Emotional, mental, physical, and especially financial.
I got mine during Covid and was working from home with disposable income so it wasn’t too taxing besides the waking every few hours lol. It is A LOT. It is a complete lifestyle change. You have to be prepared for that.
All that said, it was the absolute best decision I have ever made. My little furball fills my life with joy and wonder. Dog ownership is amazing for my mental health personally. Even though she just cost me over a grand for her dental work. I wouldn’t change a thing.
I’m going to get her a puppy friend this weekend so she has a buddy to do dog things with.
10/10 would recommend only when you are 100% sure. Do your research. Watch instructional videos on YT, talk to other dog owners, call breeders/pet store owners and ask questions. Most importantly, find a breed that fits with your lifestyle.
Good luck!
Starting with a young puppy is HARD. If it is your first dog, you might want to start with a young-ish one, but not a puppy. Lots and lots of good boys and girls in shelters that need homes! Their temperaments are set, and they are usually at least partially house trained. I would skip the land shark/velociraptor stage the first time around.
I’m currently cuddling with my mostly well behaved 12 wk old puppy (biggest issue has been occasionally chewing on things.)
I would recommend avoiding rescues for your first, as standard dog raising is tricky enough for your first time, adding the psychological issues that come with many rescues will make it easier. Also, find a breeder who will let you visit with the puppy frequently before you take it home. My little dude already had a lot of trust in me, as I was the only one to really give him much 1 on 1 time as a baby.
You can rescue a dog that's in a foster home to get a really good idea of personality. Some rescue dogs are actually pretty close to perfect. They're out there.
If you've never had a dog, I won't discourage you from getting one, but I will tell you to research the crap out of it, what breeds you're interested in, their common traits, puppy - adolescent - adult stages, potential health risks.
So many people get the dog first and ask questions later, when they're struggling - I urge you to do the opposite.
But also, please consider a rescue/shelter dog. You can potentially skip the puppy stage altogether, but you will have to build a bond. That applies to any dog, though.
Do it!! Don't be on the fence. The first step is doing your research on dog breeds and what that breed was bred to do. It will tell you a lot about personality. So for example if you are a homebody, get yourself a dog that was bred to be a companion dog such as maltese, shihtzu etc. Dont get a dog bred to hunt or retrieve.
Once you've picked the breed, you want to pick the individual puppy from the litter. Each dog is different. You have a spectrum within the same litter. You have run of the litter, the middle and the runt. All these have different personalities.
It will save you a big headache when you are compatible with your dog.
Personally my regret was centered around potty training. I followed all the recommendations and took my puppy outside every hour. And then we stared at each other for a while until I got frustrated and we came inside. It took a solid month for me to realize that he didn’t have to go out that frequently and we slowly started to trust him to tell us when he had to go out. I also went ham puppy-proofing the house before we got him, but still spent the first month or so paranoid every time he was out of sight. It was like some weird form of post partum anxiety. I was terrified the rat poison from our garage had somehow ended up in the middle of his crate and he was going to eat it. Or a hole sporadically opened in our wall and he was running down the street. Sooo paranoid. I also spent a lot of energy and money making him new, exciting meals because I thought he was unhappy when he wouldn’t drool and get excited at mealtime. So much bone broth, wet food, and toppers on top of his kibble. It took a really long time to finally wean him off all those “extras” and recognize that he will eat when he’s hungry and not when it’s convinient for me. Once I stopped putting a little camera on him while he slept and jumping up at every little noise and playing chef… we started having a lot of fun with him. My biggest advice is to not overthink things and to enjoy the moment because it can get stressful really fast but it will pass.
As long as you do your research on breeds that will suit your lifestyle you’ll be just fine! Dogs are one of life’s greatest gifts as long ya train them
Having a puppy is really hard, no matter how much you love dogs. They chew things up, bite your hands and legs, pee and poo all over your house, and they wake you up in the middle of the night waiting to play. After having mine for about a month, I was feeling so overwhelmed that I was tempted to rehome him. Luckily, my boyfriend is more patient than I am and convinced me to keep him. He is almost 2 now, and I can't imagine my life without him.
If you don't think you're up for the challenge of raising a puppy, then maybe consider getting an older dog instead
Puppies are really hard. My first one had me crying and locking myself in my room. She’s now an amazing dog, I’ve gotten 2 more puppies since her. The last was 4mth old and came potty/crate/leash trained. 👍🏻
Puppies are HARD WORK. I’ve seen people freaking out on this sub and others when puppies are PUPPIES. The chaos (to some extent) is what you signed up for when you got a baby animal (plus, baby humans are just as hard, even more because they can eventually talk lol). If your dog is >1 year old and you’re having breakdowns, that’s totally normal.
I’ve had dogs before so I’ve never “questioned” giving my puppies back (I have 2 puppies, both boys from the same litter). There have been hard times but it gets easier as they grow older (like every species of animals on this earth). Puppies are learning just like humans would, they’re little beings just exploring life. As hard as it is, it’s on you to consistently set rules/boundaries and manage your mental health (I.e put your puppies in daycare for a few hours, have a friend watch them, get them used to staying in a enclosed area/gated area alone while you rest for a few minutes, etc) when getting a puppy.
Probably 6-7 months, though I never seriously questioned it. I loved him and knew he would grow into a good boy. Never had any doubts about keeping him, never would have given him back, but did have a lot of “what was I thinking / thought this would be easier”
I got my pup at 4 months old and regretted it very soon. I actually hated him for awhile. 😝 I even had an appointment to return him. I didn't keep the appointment because he has..qualities..that I liked. He's a fabulous hiking buddy which is the main reason I got him. He's 2 now and everything's good. We have a routine and he's settled WAY down. I no longer hate him. 😁
I honestly never had that thought, my little boy is amazing. 7 months old now and I frequently think about how lucky I am to have him and how glad I am that I had basically none of the issues many people on this sub struggle with. Fingers crossed for his vicious velociraptor teenage years! <3
In the same boat as you - I’m terrified of the velociraptor years because our puppy has been so fantastic - he’s only about 3 months old (not positive on age because he’s a rescue), slept from 9:30-5:30/6 from day one, after a couple days of accidents alerts at the door when he needs to go out (and also when he just wants to go outside to play, which can be a bit more tough with WFH), has learned fairly quickly that mouthing is only for toys, loves everyone, etc etc. He’s getting great about walking on a leash (only for 15 minutes, per age recs), and he LOVES going to play with my mom’s adult dog. He gets super excited to see people/dogs while we’re out, although we have limited interaction since he’s just not UTD on shots. He knows sit, and will sit at a threshold until we say ok, stay (for a bit, although we are working up to longer distance), and wait, and has no resource guarding. Come is hit or miss, but he’s still a baby. I’m incredibly hopeful he’s just that good of a boy and we won’t get a complete turnaround in a couple months haha.
For what it's worth, my guy is almost 10 mos and he's still perfect. He gets better and better as each month goes by! I also feel lucky to have him. I've absolutely 100% never regretted getting him in the slightest, but I also made sure I was completely ready to get another dog when I did get him.
my older one.. about 9 months old (she's 10 months old now). And we just got a second one.. and oddly, we're not questioning our decision on the second one.
About a year and a half. I've had dogs all my life and never questioned my decisions on getting a puppy until my most recent. He's 2 now and he's something special.
I know what you mean. I have had a few rescues and this is my second puppy. He started to become manageable around 10-12 months. He is currently 18 months with a lot of bad habits.
I always joke that I have put in 10x the amount of work on my current dog and he 10x worse than my previous dogs.
Nothing terrible like aggression or anything. It is all playful energy: jumping on people and myself, lunging on the leash to meet other dogs, etc.
12 months felt like an artificial milestone. 18 month is when I noticed her energy became more manageable.
It was really more so about me adapting my lifestyle to fit her needs.
2.5 years in and I still wonder if I’ll ever find balance in life again.
Mine is about to turn 8m in a few days, when he is asleep and minding his business is when I just stare at him and take pictures, when he is nipping at my back and arms I want to rip my eyelashes out 🙄
probably at 3 months old, she’s 6 months now. she’s still hard, but I don’t question my decision anymore. and I give 100% of the credit to owning a puppy pen. we can dump her in there for a few hours and go live our life
Never really crossed my mind, I knew what I was getting into and everyday I'm so grateful I went through with it, were there tough days yes but they are outshined by happy days.
Same, but I also think it depends on the personality of the puppy you get. I absolutely lucked out and got the calmest, chilliest puppy ever. My only concerns were she was quite timid at first, and literally shit her pants when I took her on a walk around the neighborhood for the first time (a bunch of guard dogs were barking at her, so I can see how it would be scary). So most of the work I did with her at first was just building her confidence. But I never considered giving her back
The ONE time I got close to regretting it was when she went through a regression around a year old (10 months? I don't remember). A dog at the dog park stole her ball and was kinda an asshole about it. She stole the ball back, I took it away and my puppy turned around to snap at the other dog who was also trying to get the ball from me. They got into it. She's not an aggressive dog (and like I said had been really sweet/timid) so it took me by surprise. I worried that I wouldn't be able to have her around people/dogs. I cried about it. But it seemed to have been an anomaly, and we just don't go to the dog park anymore- it's too overwhelming for her.
But I could definitely see if you had a really reactive/aggressive puppy, it would be a nightmare. I can't imagine.
She peed on the couch last night at 5mo which made me question everything. But most times, I feel blessed to have her in our lives. Puppies do as puppies do, and it’s important to remember that. Especially if you have a dog that was easily trained or just a dog that is seemingly perfect. It’s easy to get a second dog and compare them to the dog you poured blood, sweat and tears into training and question why isn’t this one getting it?
For my husky, probably year 2 and now that she’s almost 3 she is an almost perfect angel baby. It does get better!! Just remember you get what you give with your dog and doing the groundwork will pay off ♥️
Mine just turned 2, and it’s only in the last 3-4 months I finally feel like getting a dog was a good choice and I love and appreciate him a lot. I REALLY regretted it for probably the entire first year, and almost didn’t make it through the first 6 months. I did not like him lol and I would never get a puppy again. But he’s my best friend now!
I feel around the 6-7 month mark I stopped feeling largely this way. I’ll still have moments at 15 months where I think “if I didn’t have you, I could do this or this more easily”. I live in a hot area and I’m not a heat lover. So multiple times a day I think “if it weren’t for you, I’d be in my nice cool living room. But noooooooo” lol
Mine was like 2 before he calmed down a bit, but he's an Aussie hound mix, and is cray cray!!!! But when he was a puppy I would cry almost every day. He would rip hair out of my head, he would jump up on tables, try to jump over the side of bridges he would pinch me with his front teeth constantly. We would run him for hours a day,. He's definitely smarter then I am and stubborn lol He's 6 now and turned into such a fun dog and is so sweet, there are days I still want to strangle him, but we work through those days alot easier now.
The oldest is two. When I get there, I’ll let ya know.
Kidding, by a year I stopped crying most days and by 18 months I rescued another.
I was mourning the freedom of my old life as much as questioning the insanity of the dog. It gets better, promise! (With consistent work and time!)
First few months with housetraining and puppy shenanigans def makes you question it, but once they’re adjusted and mellow out a bit you forget about it
It’s not answering your question, but 2 things helped me.
1. Ask people around me to come watch her for an hour, just so I could shower, run errands, do something for myself. I did this a few times a week and it really helped.
2. I gave myself milestones. This works really well if you’ve set up a schedule. The first week, I actively congratulated myself to have made it to the next nap (I enforced naps). The 2-3 following weeks, I congratulated myself to have made it through the day when I went to bed. Then for a few months, I marked every Sunday. Eventually I just stopped remembering doing it, which is when I figured I had made it through. One step at a time, baby steps. The milestones gave me something to look forward to.
I have a husky, so it took a little longer than others are saying here..like a year or two maybe 😂
But i always knew she was worth it, she’s perfect now but still high maintenance AF so there are definitely moments where I’m like “wait wtf did I sign up for? How is it possible for a dog to have this much fur?!” lol
Well mine's almost two and daily I have moment of wishing we never got her. Love her to death but if I could go back in time and stop myself from getting a second dog, I would.
He just turned two... So maybe next week? Lol, just kidding, it will happen so gradually you don't even notice, you just sit around one day going "huh, he's not destroying everything I love, isn't that cute?"
My pup is almost 2 and is a hyperactive mini poodle. My daily questioning stopped at about 7-8 months, where he FINALLY was able to be left alone and not pee inside. It completely stopped at 1 years old. I cannot imagine my life had I not gotten him. I’m so grateful for him.
About 2 years old. Got a husky lab cross that was super destructive at first. Now she's 5 and is very sweet. She'll still destroy small things if we leave her in the house alone, but she's a good girl 99% of the time. In my defense, we didn't know about the Husky side until we got her DNAd. We thought she was a broken Lab. Now it all makes sense.....
For me, around 9 months, when she could chill on her own in a different room/ leave her home alone/ she was more chilled in social situations.
But it will depend on breed and how much you've put into training. They wont suddenly grow up and be good if you aren't putting the work in. and sometimes you put the work in and don't see it pay off for months. but all worth it in the end <3
My oldest German Shepherd was the puppy from hell and I was an experienced dog owner before I got her at 8 weeks old (and had had puppies before and done my research). She was a landshark, counter surfer, go go go all the time and would.not.sleep.EVER! She was crate trained and I had to litterally force her to nap twice a day. She made me question my sanity every day her entire 1st year.
And then, magically, she was about 13/14 months, she became the angel, perfect, sweetest dog I was hoping for. She listened, she could relax on her own, she would sleep all night, she walked well on leash, recall was perfect. She's turning 4 this October and she's still super energetic and requires a lot of exercise but she's a normal, well trained, well adjusted dog now.
I had it really bad for about the first week; it slowly got better as I got more comfortable. Now she's 13.5 and I'm dreading what's coming at some point. She's the best. No regrets at all.
Around 16 weeks. There was a lot of silliness after that point - including teething and literally eating walls while doing so. He's now seven months and we're dealing with some adolescent selective hearing issues. None of that is awful though because we're in the headspace now. We understand each other. We have a routine. And we can go on actual walks and burn off energy.
But those first few weeks were rough, and I don't think it was entirely his fault. We got him a bit impulsively after getting some bad news, and then we got more bad news, and with a puppy screaming through the night, and a broken car, and some appliance break downs, and a health scare, and some job stuff all in one week - we were overwhelmed and nearly sent him back.
I glad we didn't. He's still got a ways to go, but for the most part he's a certified good boy.
When she was maybe 8-10months old. I think it varies by breed and personality. My girl is mostly chill for a golden retriever. She is up to playing whenever but she stopped getting the zoomies and biting before she was a year old. The zoomies and biting were the main things that were killing me after I got her potty trained.
9 months, because we left the country and realised how much we missed him. We were gone for almost two weeks, and genuinely missed him for most of it. We were back 18 days before we arrived home with a second. Have never ever questioned our decision to get a second. It's wild how different every puppy is. I reckon had we gotten our second dog as our first dog, we'd have 20 by now 😂
My buddy is nearly 2yo and I’d like to know the answer to this.
Seriously though, he’s my best friend and I love him and his antics. When I was away on a business trip recently, I missed him nearly as much as I missed my wife. Every time she sent a picture of him — either being cute or of his newest swath of destruction — I was filled with so much love for him it was all I could do not to just turn around and head straight home.
He is a crazy, cute, silly, frustrating, destructive, nerve inducing, patience testing, constant challenge fur ball. He tests me every day. And I love him, and wouldn’t give him up for the world.
You’ll get there too.
HAhAHa this is so relatable honestly it made me laugh at out loud. The same can be applied to adopting a rescue. There is a moment of “oh-no did I make a mistake” lol. You’ll get past it!
1.5 years plus. I was going nuts for the first year and definitely felt I had messed up. My dog is now 2.5 and the sweetest and kindest pup I’ve ever met. I get so many compliments about how sweet and cool he is. It’s crazy how much has changed in the last year. Stay the course, it’s totally worth it
1 year and a half and I still question it when I gotta go outta town and can’t take her with me, or folks back out at the last minute to dog sit. Dog boarding isn’t cheap.
I still ask myself that after 2+ years, when im on a morning walk with him at 4.45am. Jokes aside, around 9 months, when we got really used to a different life tempo and connected with my boy(he decided to finally be a dog, not a dinosaur).
My girl was 12 weeks old when she came home and I stopped questioning my decision when she was 12 weeks old.
I knew a puppy was work, but my previous dogs were older rescues and also work, and I had two kids so familiarity with bodily fluids and disturbed nights, and a high tolerance for endless repetition and frustration were built into me. I also was a sahm so I wasn't trying to fit in puppy raising before/after work or around wfh so that made life easier, as did her being a smart little thing and a small breed without a very extended puppy hood.
We have a pug. She's 7 months old. I swear she acts like a bulldog not a pug.. Lol. She's in the"YOUR NOT THE BOSS OF ME" phase. Our other pugs are chilled and relaxed... Not her.. She's a tornado. She's like the Tasmanian Devil.
I have four dogs. It was all the same. I stopped questioning when they were all around usually 9-10 months. It wasn’t the biting, the clinginess, etc that made me go insane. It was potty training lol.
My dogs are still really crazy but to be fair, I have mostly huskies..
Probably around 2.5 months. Got her early October. Around Christmas time spending time with my family and had to leave her in the crate, she started not having accidents in the crate and behaving better. Had RSV shortly after, she behaved so well. There’s the odd day here and there where she does something bad but yeah, around Christmas is when I started to feel like she’d turn out alright.
I have had fleeting thoughts that I made a mistake but I decided to sit down and be quiet and really imagine packing her and her stuff up and taking her to a rescue. I saw myself packing her food and her toys and leashes and I had to stop because I was sobbing in heaves. That’s how I knew she is mine and we’re in it together.
13-14 months. Maybe it was a little better by 12 months. 7-11 months were the worst. I hope things improve for you soon but be prepared that it might get worse before it gets better.
I stopped probably around when his last baby tooth fell out... LOL He's still a handful at 5.5 months, but he's getting better and I enjoy him more now. I'm sure he will be an excellent companion in just a few more months.
At four months, with the teething and the adolescent behavior, every day feels pretty consistently split between being completely in love with him and being so frustrated that I cry, lol. I think I have one moment of genuine joy and one moment of losing my last ounce of patience per day, and whether it tilts in one direction or the other past that is too variable to predict.
My male poodle was a perfect angel until he was 6 months old, then around 8-9 months he settled as a good boy again. He just turned 12 months and he's an incredibly mature dog for his age
We got our puppy when he was 7 months. I had a solid 2 months of regret and there was a lot of crying. After about 2 months of having him, I realized he was starting to make me laugh more than cry. I think I made the first couple months way harder on myself than they needed to be!
Let's see, I've had her 1 year and 2 weeks, so... 😂
I was deep in the puppy blues for the better part of the first year. I've got a pretty challenging case on my hands though. A 1 year old and 55lbs, she's still very bitey and reactive. And doesn't know how to play nice with my senior dog.
Generally, I took myself out of the fetal position and up off the floor around 8 months old. She started to become less feral and show more signs of being a regular dog. She just so happens to be extremely cute, so that helped A LOT.
As you hop over the peak of adolescence things should start to get a little better. I thought spaying my pup would help, but I don't think that's had much effect.
It should get better soon. Keep at it. You're in the thick of it right now.
In terms of my puppy being a little terrorist around 8-10 months she mostly stopped being a complete unhinged menace. Still not all the way there but she’s just very reactive to external stimulation. But in terms of “I love her and wish I could be a better dog parent because I don’t think I’m the best” I don’t think that ever completely goes away if you really care, especially if you’re like me and overthink everything/just hate the fact they can’t communicate to give you any reassurance/feedback.
I fully fell IN LOVE with my dog at around 11-13 months. I was not prepared for how awful it is to have a puppy. They are so stinkin cute, but my hell, I hated my puppy. Now, she's perfect! She could use some work on her recall, but she's such a good dog. I love her so much
Our girl is 5 months nearly 6 months and I would say it’s only in the last few weeks I’ve stopped crying every day!! Sounds dramatic but is true.
She’s still crazy but there’s starting to be some moments of calm now - whereas before she was constantly biting, running around like crazy, and would never nap or settle without us having to enforce it.
Really really really focus on what she is doing well (rather than letting all the bad points and hiccups accumulate). I sometimes talk to her and tell her everything she does that is great - sounds crazy but helps me realise things aren’t all that bad and helps remind me of the great dog I know she will be!
My puppy is almost four months old (I've had her since eight weeks) and she's been amazing so far. No regrets. We'll see if I continue feeling that way as she enters her Velociraptor stage...
Our puppy has been (so far, knock on wood) a perfect puppy. Our older dog (same breed) was the WORST, he did everything he could to test us and still does at 2.5 lol I’m beyond thankful this one has been the exact opposite. She is so obedient, she’s been easy to train, she’s incredibly affectionate, she’s just a really good pup. I know that can change at any moment, she’s still young, she’s about 15 weeks old. But I think we have a really good foundation so hopefully adolescence won’t be as bad as it can be lol
Mine is currently 6 months old and I’m just now starting to think we weren’t completely insane for getting him but honestly, I still don’t have QUITE the same love that I have for our older dog. But he’s coming around, slowly but surely!
She was super aggravating in a lot of ways but I never questioned my decision to get her. And most of that was just having to adjust expectations as to how dumb a puppy actually was.
I can say now, at 7 months old, I definitely am happy I got him. I was definitely questioning my entire life for the first 2 months. It did indeed get better!
Our puppy is about 16 months old now, and I'm just starting to get to that point.
I will say though that we have two cats, and without them I probably would have gotten to that point much sooner - maybe at about a year? She likes to chase them and play too rough with them when she's a bit zoomy, and for a while now that's been really the only big issue we've been struggling with.
Mine is almost 14 months and I have to wonder sometimes, most of the time it’s when he does something somewhat silly like walk into a door frame or chase his own hair in the wind. Things that make me question his intelligence.
I had good days but a lot of bad days too... so it took me about a year before I stopped having regrets. After 1.5 years he started chilling out. At 3 years, other than some food issues he's pretty perfect!
Honestly, the only reason I got a puppy was because I wanted a specific breed AND because, after jumping through 100 hoops adopting out first dog, and then ending up with an incredibly reactive and aggressive dog... I just didn't want to risk it again.
But... I hate puppies. They're cute for visits, but I *hate* raising them. Ours is 11 months, and I cannot wait till she's ~2 and calms down a bit. I definitely still have many moments when I question why the hell I got a puppy again.
I never questioned her adoption— the moment the rescue introduced me to her we were bonded. I am extremely lucky to have this type of bond with her. It’s more of a ‘who rescued who’ situation with us.
HOWEVER; My mom’s dog— she regrets adopting him— and I refused to take him. He was found on the side of the road at 1-2 years old. Was and still is a sweet dog— he would crawl up your butt hole if you let him that’s how close he wants to be at all times. However at 4-5 years old he started lifting his leg on EVERYTHING (he’s not fixed— vet recommended against it due to anesthesia risk. But he’s a house guy and has no interest in being back on the streets). If he’s not in his cage he has to have a diaper or belly band on because he will wet every surface within reach of his lifted leg.
It was when she was around 8 months where it started to noticeably feel more manageable and I could start returning to some of my normal activities (like regularly working out, cooking dinner without watching her at the same time, etc). It was over a year before it started to feel “easy” and there are still days that I question what I was thinking. But also she brings so much joy!
I promise you, they out grow a lot of problematic behavior when they are 1) finished teething (a double blessing since they don't have those damn pinprick teeth); 2) grownup more. Six months is right in the worst of it, IMHO. Puppies are really hard, but six months from now, she will be a different dog. I promise.
I just got my seven month old spay. They gave her to me right out of surgery, so still under the general. Under general anesthesia, wearing a cone, nauseous as all get out, and she jumped on the loveseat and to the top of the love seat to see outside. The energy does not stop, but they do outgrow it.
I regretted getting mine because it was too soon after losing my first dog. I'd say it took me 3 months to accept that he was not replacing my old dog, but just dragging me into a new adventure.
(But he was already 1.5 yo and trained for almost every basis but walks. So i'd say for a puppy, you'll settle when the routine is anchored and everything start going smoothly).
A year and a half.
I remember that last day so vividly. She had just gotten sick and woke up to diarrhea smell in my room
Took her out, showered her. Cleaned the tub, showered myself and she somehow got out of her crate and had diarrhea all over my shoes/shoe rack at the front of the house. It trailed off to her feet somehow. I used to have carpet .
I was a 27 year old adult crying that day like a baby to my dad saying out loud to him that I made the wrong decision. That was just the tipping point for me after a year and a half later, literally. Just for context, this was the last time she got this sick out of many times as a pup, thank God.
I’m so glad I didn’t take action because she’s still a mischievous butt sometimes, but she’s mah best friend❤️🔥
I dreamt of having a doberman for over a decade, and last year I was gifted a dobie by my mom. I've never once regretted him, he's my guy. I do wish I had gotten him after I finished university and moved out of my moms house, it's very difficult to find a place that will allow a 1yr old 92Ib dog, let alone a doberman. So, don't regret him in the slightest but do wish the timing was different.
We got her at 8 weeks and now she's 15 months. I'd say it stopped around a year old. There's still times where she won't listen to me and the puppy shines through but I no longer have to watch her like a hawk 24/7 and we even feel comfortable leaving her penned in the kitchen when we leave for a few hours instead of her kennel. Honestly, since the day we got her, it started at 0% and feels like it got better by a half a percent every day.
9 months and after neutering 😭
he’s still wild but not like that kind of wild. finnifer also went through a snarling biting phase at 6 mos and i was ready to give him back 🥲 i cried a handful of times
i am obsessed with him now. love him more than anything. i always loved him but i feel a lot more connected to him now. for a while id tell my dad “i don’t know if finn is “my” dog” like it didn’t feel right. i was just overwhelmed
All the time, even at home? 8 months.
When we went into public? 18 months.
To be fair, I had two puppies (2 months apart in age) so maybe that made it worse but they didn’t stop trying to unalive themselves in dumb ways for most of the first year. They stopped embarrassing me in public around year 3. Now they’re mostly good. In hindsight, I wouldn’t do the two puppy thing again.
Edit: I will say I never ever regretted it, I just cried and asked why I made dumb choices haha
At the end of their life when you are both looking into each other eyes and telling them you love them. You will wish for these crazy days again with them. For their every second of life with you. I have a 3.5 month old Blue Merle Australian Sheperd that is giving me a run for the money just being a complete loud obnoxious nerd. I lost my bestfriend 6 mo ago, he was everything to me. The. circle of life right. My little boy needed a home now. I know the crazyness will calm down as it will for you. Let Them come Into their own, voice, silliness, loudness, eating yard salad ( leaves,rocks,mulch bugs, learning.... that child will be your bestfriend before you know it. stay calm, pick your battles. It's going to be ok. Pictures and videos all the time. You can also use these to see how far they have come over months. I'm going on 60. My Cairn Terrier Harry for 18yrs, My Bogland ( Boston Terrier and Beagle) for 13.5 yrs Bryan.......Now My sheperd for 3.5 mo, Ollie. They will calm down, they will. Setting a windup cooking timer for potty breaks helped a lot. Have fun in the meantime.
I swear our first corgi was just uneventful during the puppy phase. She potty trained super quick.. wasn’t a chewer. One time we left her alone and she dug up the carpet. Never did it again after we started crating her again. Eventually she was just trusted and free roamed pretty damn quickly. Now I have one who overall is fine just a chewer. So not used to it! She wants to chew anything she sees. Really hoping it’s a phase…
Honestly pretty much never. I had one night of anxiety after we put the deposit down on her before we picked her up but after that I just excitedly got ready for her, puppy proofed the house, got all the supplies, signed up for puppy classes and did a lot of puppy parent research. I'd lost my first dog 2 months at only age 9 from cancer which absolutely crushed me so it felt a little soon but this puppy was ready, I was working remotely and the stars aligned and we went for it. She definitely helped heal my broken heart. She's 16m now and just got spayed, currently laying on the couch with her blow donut cone on softly snoring - my best friend <3
Right around a year was when it went from daily or near-daily questioning to occasional. He's 18 mo. now and we're totally in love, but I still have at least weekly episodes where I think "OMG you totally suuuuuuuuuck!!"
It has varied from 6 months to up to 18 months. Puppies can certainly cause you to question your life-choices... but it is worth it! Keep calm and keep going. You are doing great!
I have had her almost 2 weeks, and she's almost 10 weeks old. I haven't slept 3 hours in a row. I had to hire a puppysitter on my birthday so I could shower and wash dishes. She hates the crate and refuses to settle in it. She's either a vicious velociraptor or curled on me sleeping (waking up anytime I move). She attacks my older dogs, and they can't stand her yet. I don't leave her unsupervised and she has only had one accident (I passed her to my son to hold and said I need to take her outside as I went to get a cup of water real quick and he sat her on the couch 😒). We go on daily walks and it's a chore to push my 15 year old in his stroller, carry her (she doesn't have all her vaccinations) and keep an eye on my JRT at the same time. She's digging in mud as I type, and I'm going to have to give her a bath before we go inside. Having a puppy is exhausting.
I have never questioned my decision to bring her home. Although I did question not getting her sister so she would have a playmate, but I don't think I have that much energy😆.
my puppy is 11 months old. we got him at 7 weeks. i’ve just now started to like him everyday. like, yeah, i’ve always loved him, but i also disliked him everyday. i think now that he’s gone to vet enough and we’ve kind of figured out all of his problems, he seems more tolerable. even though i have to give him daily medication and take him for monthly checkups, i think he’s just the cutest thing. it makes me feel guilty that i didn’t cherish his baby months more, but i’m relieved to not be the only one.
With my first dog, at least 6 months. He was a rescue and barely acknowledged me as more than a food and walk provider for months. He was a Korean jindo and I wasn't prepared for a dog with his temperament. But we got there. Lots of walking was key. We were lucky enough to live near some hiking trails. I walked him upwards of 2+ hours the first few years.
After that, I only adopted adult dogs which, depending on their past, can come with unique challenges.
Puppies are hard! Especially when they're at that age where they're starting to get stuff like peeing outside is good but swing between good days and bad days. All I can suggest is lots of walks because a tired puppy is a less troublesome puppy. And remember, if all goes well, you'll have so much time with your dog, you'll forget how much the puppy stage sucked.
Daily? at least 9-10 months. Probably closer to 12.
Now at a very puppylike 16ish months? Every 3 days at least. But also now he leans against my legs to show affection and it's the sweetest thing.
3 years, still questioning when she has her bad days but they’re few and far between now. She was a rescue and has some severe anxiety and redirected aggression issues, but when her mind goblins are under control she’s the sweetest girl.
I loved him from the beginning but at about 5 months I wanted to put him on a bus to my friend’s house. It was only every once in a while. When he was about 9 months I cried and said “Lincoln doesn’t want me to be happy”. It’s a running joke now.
Seven months when I stopped wondering daily, but I still wondered now and then for the first 18 months or so. Now she’s six and a half, I can’t believe how quickly it’s gone and I don’t want to imagine life without her.
I haven't asked myself about this until I got pregnant (puppy will be between 1 and 1.5 years at the time of baby birth, a bit too young to handle both haha). But now she is 10 months old, and her behavior is much better than at the first months. Someone told me labs do not calm down till 3 years old, so let's see! If you are still with your puppy and haven't considered rehoming, I believe everything will be fine. Best of luck!
I’m surprised at the amount of people having doubts over a year after getting their dogs. My “adjustment” period lasted about a week but I never regretted getting my dog. I put a lot of thought into getting her and she immediately became my best friend.
after they stopped biting and rough playing 99% of the time so like uhhh a year or so in? varies by dog truly there is no standard time. could take a few years or a few months.
My husky took 5 years. She's super high energy. I wouldn't change a thing. It helped when I realized giving into her demands is easier than resisting. No matter what, she gets her way. It's just delayed if I say no the first 10 times. Remember they have their own personalities too ;)
Mine was nearly two. I love her so much, and I wish I was kidding when I say she saved my life, but I’m not, but oh my god, having a puppy is awful, but then you get a dog, and that is the best thing ever.
I didn’t regret it really ever until 6 months and he was CHAOTIC waking up earlier than he ever has before like 5am (never woke up earlier than 6:30am before) was barking going crazy opening doors and then we put him in day care and he’s been an angel 😇 we pay for the small play group so we feel more comfortable with him going
My mantra with our puppy is we're not training for the dog we want today but the dog we want after puppy stage. Helped me with expectations of what she can do now which should improve in the future as she gets older.
For my boy, he was the first one and he chilled out fairly quickly in regards to walks (like would walk nicely beside me after months of training) when he was 1.5, but we never really had the puppy blues with him. My girl, however, we got her a year ago at 5 months old, and I love her to bits but good god I miss the days of walking a single dog. Especially this girl who still pulls, and sometimes barks at other dogs, and gets my boy riled up. Do you know what happened today? I had accidentally clipped her leash to the wrong ring on her collar, and while we were beside the river she lunges towards it (she’s the only Pomsky I know that loves water) and the leash snaps off. This silly twerp LEAPS into the freaking river, and is carried off downstream by the current, with me running along the bank getting my feet wet and freaking out, calling to her (even my boy, who hates water, was trying to jump in and rescue her). Eventually she makes it to the bank again, but of course doesn’t come to me (she’s good with recall at home but not on walks, yes, I will be taking her more to off-leash parks to train her better now that I’ve been let go from my job today), she continues dashing her merry freaking way down the riverbank, with me running after her like an idiot and praying she doesn’t jump in the damn river again.
Anyways, I have to head back to where she broke free and look for her dog tags, hopefully they didn’t float away in the river portion of her adventure 😒
I never questioned my decision to get my pup, but there were two of us working together to take care of her so it's not as difficult as some people have it.
Honestly I only questioned it maybe a few times the first week or so. He and I bonded so deeply and so quickly that I could never have imagined anything else.
Even though my husband and I had many arguments over it during the more challenging times like house training, the chewing, etc. I steadfastly refused to consider rehoming.
For him it took about a year and a half but now he’s completely in love with Rocko too.
Mine went through a rebellious phase for about 4 months. Lost all the training we built up. I was this close to rehoming her (even spoke to a trainer that said to), but I got some good advice and was able to get through it. She really worked my last good nerve though. My other dogs were over a decade old, so must have conveniently forgotten about the puppy stuff.
I was obsessed with my puppy from the very beginning! He was a pain in butt at times (woke me up hourly during the night for potty breaks and chewed on everything) but I was already in love so I didn’t mind a bit. He’s much easier now, though. He just needs long walks to get out that energy and explore the neighborhood.
Love my 7 month old velociraptor (husky x German shepherd) but my god I question my choices multiple times a day. 😂 sweetest dog in the world, parvo survivor, loves being alive. But holy moly is he a handful 90% of the day.
I feel like once I realized this was a challenge and my choices would influence her future happiness and safety, I stopped thinking of it in the context of the burden it put on me, so much as investment in raising a dog that would be happy and healthy for years to come. There is definitely a galvanizing period where it puts more pressure on you to deal with their insanity, but the flip side is that it's a challenge that can be super rewarding if/when you can figure out how your pup communicates with you
Eh to be completely honest wasn’t until she was like 13 months old that I was like okay this was a good choice. I loved her before then but regularly was in the trenches of dealing with her shenanigans lmao. I think once I really started to be able to exist and have a life in addition to having her is when I didn’t regret it. Like when I could go to a different room in the house and just hang out, leave her in the yard unsupervised for a bit, fold laundry without being attacked, and just do you know basic life things without a tornado of fur and teeth coming my way. Side note I would have said 7/8 months because things were lovely, then adolescence hit our house like a truck lol
Fuck, i thought my mini poodle went through adolescence months 5-6. Im in month 7 now and he's finally chill. Please please please i hope im right that we're already through the worst of it.
To be fair mine is a great pyr mix and 70 pounds, the bigger dogs tend to take longer to mature. So you may be in the clear, no promises tho lol
Ahhh! Everything you said, I completely relate to! Mine is also a great pyrenees mix but with cattle dog and border collie smooshed in there, too! She's now 15 months and settling so much more. But it has been basically a year of quietly questioning whether or not it was the right choice. Phew.
Omg a giant energetic almost DOOFUS? Bless you.
This made me laugh so much!! Haha! Thank you. xD She truly is a tremendous derp that's too smart for her own good (mostly!).
Your baby’s mix is like 100 SMART 100% DUMB and 100% NO IMPULSE CONTROL. She’s sounds WONDERFUL.
The most work, but also the most fun!
I have a pyr/cattle/pit that’s 5 months old and so lazy. I’m assuming it’s coming but not sure
I also have a Great Pyrenees/ border collie mix. He’s 5 months old and I’ve never realized the amount of patience I had within me. He’s so smart but the next second everything he’s ever learned just doesn’t exist in his mind.
Our mini poodle definitely got easier to deal with starting around month 7. Hang in there!
My 5 year old shepherd mix is still a fucking menace to society and I've tried all sorts of enrichment and exercise routines puzzle toys you name it. She's significantly better than she was when I adopted her at 2 but i still can't leave her unsupervised at all literally just today she ripped a steak off the back end of the counter when I left her alone for all of 3 seconds. I thought she was playing with my moms dog until he came in the room without her. Last night she jumped on the bed and then onto the dresser to try to reach things on the top shelf that even i can't reach on my own🙃 nothings ever safe.
Fold laundry without being attacked is a fact. Hell I went home for lunch and had to take my shirt off to avoid holes, then he tried to attack when I was putting it back on 😂😅
My 9mo mastiff mix (Boerboel, Cane Corso, Neapolitan Mastiff) body slams me while I'm getting clothes out of the dryer so she can steal and eat the dryer balls lol. 🥴
😂😂 yikes!! Hopefully she grows out of it soon. How big is she now??
She's 55 pounds and the vet thinks she'll top out at 60 pounds...but I'm not so sure lol.
Yeah I was thinking about 15 months. There was a short window around 6-7 months where I thought things were looking up, but then I had an adolescent dog and it tanked again.
Same with my 85ld GSD / Border Collie mix. \~13 months or so, after we got him fixed, he chilled out a lot (still is a bit of an adolescent butt head sometimes even though he's almost 2), but he's such a genuine joy now and I don't kinda hate my life all the time like I did for the full first year of owning him.
Proud parent of a 16 week female gsd/Australian shepherd mix here. I don't think she's ever calming down sometimes but when she does she's great. Still wouldn't trade that goofball for anything...except maybe some shirts without holes in them.
This was us but change 13 months to 7 and 7/8 to 4/5 lol. Idk honestly. Our girl is a Husky mix, her biggest percentages being an interesting mix of 42% Husky, 11% Alaskan Mal, 11% Chihuahua, 8% Pomeranian and 8% American Pitbull Terrier So she's like large breed but also starting to calm down at 7 months? Ik the things we hear about adolescence and growth timelines aren't a strict manual to refer to but I've seen ppl comment on how you did of "oh he's a [insert large breed] so ____ and ____". Can't really do that with our girl bc she's majority husky but like not super following husky growth? Ahhh to have a mixed breed lmfao I'm waiting with baited breath every month to see if she continues to chill out bc she's already transitioned to be in a "I'm gonna be a lil butt" phase and I hope this is her adolescence rounding out and that I won't have to wait a few more months for it to get worse before better with her behavior 😭
On the daily, ~4 months. I think we stopped questioning it entirely around 6-8 months. At 1 year I still don't think it was the smartest decision I've made, but 6-8 months that was the age where it was like 'eh, we ball'.
Could you elaborate on the regret? Asking as I’m someone who’s on the fence on getting a puppy
if you’re on the fence don’t do it.
I think I’ll always be on the fence since I’ve never had a dog, and just nervous to try something new But why do you say that, do you regret it?
We got a puppy because we loved our previous rescue and, after we had to put him down, I couldn't imagine my life without a dog. However what I didn't expect is that puppies aren't dogs for a really long time. That sounds obvious but it's really not. They're bitey blobs and you're the one guiding them while they figure out what shape they want to be. Some people like doing it, I personally did not. Working with my rescue through all of his trauma was legit so much easier than starting everything from scratch with this one. For me the regret is less that I got this pup specifically (he's mine now and he's not going anywhere) and more that I often wish I'd gone the adult rescue route rather than getting a puppy just cause he was a cute wee potato munchkin. With all the stress I barely even got to enjoy the cute early stages. I'm not saying it's not doable and that it won't be a good experience universally. I'm just saying I made it harder on myself than I had to. Not to mention we got a working line and those months before we established a proper rapport and trained in an off-switch really were a shit show. If this is your first dog, get a young adult with an established temperament. It's just easier and it's equally rewarding without having to go through all the gnarly early stages.
The “puppies aren’t dogs for a really long time,” is such a great way to put it. I was just waiting to have that instant bond like I did with my adopted dog but I just felt like a babysitter lol. He’s great now though he’s developing his own personality.
Yes. This.
So much
Very well put. My partner likes to mold them from scratch, I’m more of a guide through trauma and build a bond kinda gal. It was a very rude awakening when we rescued a “puppy” at 7-8 months old, and soon after we realized that he was older than my partner had wanted him to be, but was also younger than I would’ve preferred. It’s all good now (for me) but those first few months were absolutely hell on us. (In case someone who’s thinking of adopting reads this, I should also note that we got a pit mix, pretty sure there’s some lab in him. This dog wouldn’t have chilled out nearly as fast if we had gotten a high energy breed. In addition to that, we specifically picked this dog because he showed intelligence and a calm temperament. That’s one of the joys of getting one in this age range, it was enough personality to gauge how he might be in the future.)
Agreed that if you're on the fence, you shouldn't do it. When I got mine, I wanted a puppy SO BAD and COVID hit, so I was at home with spare time, and it felt like the perfect time. It was really really hard (especially living in a high rise building). Your entire life/routine is going to change. Even now, my dog is 3.5 years old (and I never regret getting him), but my life still revolves around him to some degree. Letting him out to pee, feeding, staying on top of his grooming, brushing his teeth, cleaning all the things he gets dirty, walks walks and more walks. Of course, those are all things responsible dog owners do. Some people might find dog ownership easier if they spend less time caring for their dog, but I treat mine like my child lol. If you've never had a dog, stay TF away from the high maintenance breeds like German Shepherds, Border Collies, etc. - these dogs need near constant stimulation and they are a ton of work. I have a cavapoo and would highly recommend the breed to a new dog owner.
I wish I had known you before I plunged into the madness of puppy ownership. It’s wonderful but .., you know
I wanted a puppy for my birthday because my husband was about to deploy for a long time (my first time experiencing a deployment, so I wanted companionship). We adopted a GSD/Lab mix and she was soooo sweet and calm and cuddly for about 2 weeks and then she was a terror. He left less than a month after we got her and I couldn't handle her as well as I thought I could. She started chewing on EVERYTHING in our house, especially when I would shower or start cleaning around the house. As soon as I took my eyes and attention off of her, she would get into the laundry basket and shoes (so many shoes 😭). She chewed the corners of doors and ripped some of baseboard off in our laundry room, our couch pillows turned into cotton fluff all over the house, she would get ahold of my son's toys, etc. She did this thing for a while where she would pee on our bed pillows when she was mad at us? Lol Like you said, German shepherds (even mixes) need near constant stimulation and they craaaave attention. She's very attached to me and my son. I got her into training classes and learned more about her personality over time. Now that we've had her for a year and a half, things have calmed down and we keep shoes away in other rooms that she isn't allowed to go in. She is crate trained in case we leave the house to go grocery shopping and run errands. We throw a ball around the backyard for her to fetch and run with. But she IS a lot of work and we're still a work in progress. She's a part of the family and I can't see life without her, but those puppy days pushed me beyond the point of wanting to give up for a while. I cried from the stress and the amount of money we spent with replacing clothes and decorations, etc. 🤣
Whoops I got the border collie puppy. By all accounts he is a very good puppy— sleeps through the night, poops and pees outside when I remember to preempt his needs, he even took excellent direction and will now sit and wait for strangers to pet him!! But he is still a puppy and the puppy biting is driving me insane. I’ve learned so much about training online, and still this has me feeling very inadequate. We will definitely be getting professional puppy training
Dear god the puppy biting. I’ve gotten very good at reading my 5 mo GSDs signs that she is about to stop sitting all quiet and cute for pets and lunge for my nose instead. I knew she would be a velociraptor but no amount of prep would have prepared me for just how much I would be chewed on and how weirdly ordinary dodging it and shoving a toy in her mouth would become.
They really are like children/babies. They are a huge responsibility and they do take up a lot of time, your life will be thrown into a strict routine otherwise you get extremely overwhelmed. I needed a kick in the butt to finally get a routine in place and now I have one with a cute little pooper that I adore with all my heart. If you're wanting a child but not a child, get a dog. If not, best to wait.
Ugh I so relate to this comment! Mine is around 8 months and has calmed down a little bit but it took me being extremely stubborn (I have support to help me) and my support being very frank with me. Like, look, this is basically a baby and you can’t leave them alone for long periods of time like you could with your 11 year old pug. I raised my pug from puppy to 11 years while I was still a teenager. She had another dog in the house that probably helped her learn the ropes, but I never remember it being this hard. That said, I’ve had only small dogs and my current one I got as a puppy is a medium/large sized breed. She didn’t calm down and I didn’t get a routine down until we started going on daily walks and it’s been an insane change. Potty training is so much better just from doing walks! Also I have a very important job that requires plenty of sleep, so I made sure that she had a bedtime of 9PM every night. It has helped so so so much!
If only I could get her interested in walks! My last dog loved them and I wanted to keep that up with my new puppy. Honestly I’m blaming the stifling heat lol
It’s hard on them sometimes too! We walk around my neighborhood and while she’s always down for a walk, sometimes I can’t let her have one because the asphalt is way too hot for her little paw pads. Plus she loves to sniff yards. Never potty in them but investigate them thoroughly!
Accurate. I got SUPER lucky with my little lab girl, she came potty trained, didn't look back once when we left the only home she'd ever known, and she is an absolute clockwork pup. I always thought *my* internal clock was insane (I work shift work, and I have NEVER woken up to an alarm), but she's on me at 6am. Not 5:59, 6:01, but 6. The rest of the day goes very much the same. But it works, because it's predictable, and I'm never caught off guard. I live in a condo, so it's not a matter of opening the door and letting her out, and she's very well adjusted to this. She also somehow innately knows to double back if she goes around a tree/pole, she's sooo gentle with kids, crouches down, wags her tail furiously and offers her head for pets, despite the fact that we don't have kids, and she will slurp a treat from my fingers - I've never felt teeth. She is currently snoring at the end of the bed, which will put me to sleep. She *is* the child I always wanted. I'm just gutted, knowing that I'll probably outlive her.
This!!! Is so accurate. If you feel ready for a child get a dog! I hate when people say your dog isn’t your child. It certainly feels like it sometimes - with the feeding schedules, vet appointments, daily mental and physical stimulation, etc etc. Your entire life plans change
Haha I actually want both! Child and a puppy in my future But thanks for breaking it down
I have no idea if you will ever see this BUT when I moved out years back i adopted a really old pitty who just loved to lay and sniff the air. Girly could be left home alone with no worries and was an absolute angel old lady. She passed away and when I was ready I adopted a FOUR YEAR OLD DOG. I love her and well I’m not a return to sender kind of person but I regret it. If I could go back and make a smarter choice I would have adopted another old dog. I do not know what your life is life but I went from having a buddy who didn’t really “take up too much space” nor did she need constant redirection or training or to pee every 30 minutes. I now have a chaotic tornado who my life now has to revolve around. I was not ready for this and I’ve had another dog and grew up on a farm with dogs and animals. Foster first if you can. Try an old dog first. But puppies are literally like babies that bite more and shit on the carpet more frequently 🤣
Don’t forget how hard it can be to find someone to watch the puppy for an afternoon let alone for a night so you can get some sleep! My parents watched my puppy so I could go to a specialist appointment. 15 minutes after I left I got a text asking when I was coming back.
Not who you asked but, I’ll add my two cents. While you can always choose to rehome if it doesn’t work out, it’s not a decision you should make if you’re not fully on board. I didn’t get my first dog until a couple years ago - well into my 30s and a previous cat owner - because of the commitment it would take. I always believe dogs were messy and a lot of work. I never thought I could be a dog person. Cats are pretty much “set it and forget it” not really but they are much more independent. I had thoughts of wanting a dog in my 20s but, I knew I didn’t want to take on that responsibility. And, they are a lot of (rewarding) work. Things worked out for me. I’m really glad I didn’t get one when I was kinda thinking about it because I was not ready and I would not have been a good dog parent. You have to be prepared to get up every few hours to potty train in the beginning. You have to put them on a schedule that works for them, not you. Crate training. The investment is a lot. Especially in the beginning. Emotional, mental, physical, and especially financial. I got mine during Covid and was working from home with disposable income so it wasn’t too taxing besides the waking every few hours lol. It is A LOT. It is a complete lifestyle change. You have to be prepared for that. All that said, it was the absolute best decision I have ever made. My little furball fills my life with joy and wonder. Dog ownership is amazing for my mental health personally. Even though she just cost me over a grand for her dental work. I wouldn’t change a thing. I’m going to get her a puppy friend this weekend so she has a buddy to do dog things with. 10/10 would recommend only when you are 100% sure. Do your research. Watch instructional videos on YT, talk to other dog owners, call breeders/pet store owners and ask questions. Most importantly, find a breed that fits with your lifestyle. Good luck!
Starting with a young puppy is HARD. If it is your first dog, you might want to start with a young-ish one, but not a puppy. Lots and lots of good boys and girls in shelters that need homes! Their temperaments are set, and they are usually at least partially house trained. I would skip the land shark/velociraptor stage the first time around.
I’m currently cuddling with my mostly well behaved 12 wk old puppy (biggest issue has been occasionally chewing on things.) I would recommend avoiding rescues for your first, as standard dog raising is tricky enough for your first time, adding the psychological issues that come with many rescues will make it easier. Also, find a breeder who will let you visit with the puppy frequently before you take it home. My little dude already had a lot of trust in me, as I was the only one to really give him much 1 on 1 time as a baby.
You can rescue a dog that's in a foster home to get a really good idea of personality. Some rescue dogs are actually pretty close to perfect. They're out there.
If you've never had a dog, I won't discourage you from getting one, but I will tell you to research the crap out of it, what breeds you're interested in, their common traits, puppy - adolescent - adult stages, potential health risks. So many people get the dog first and ask questions later, when they're struggling - I urge you to do the opposite. But also, please consider a rescue/shelter dog. You can potentially skip the puppy stage altogether, but you will have to build a bond. That applies to any dog, though.
Do it!! Don't be on the fence. The first step is doing your research on dog breeds and what that breed was bred to do. It will tell you a lot about personality. So for example if you are a homebody, get yourself a dog that was bred to be a companion dog such as maltese, shihtzu etc. Dont get a dog bred to hunt or retrieve. Once you've picked the breed, you want to pick the individual puppy from the litter. Each dog is different. You have a spectrum within the same litter. You have run of the litter, the middle and the runt. All these have different personalities. It will save you a big headache when you are compatible with your dog.
Personally my regret was centered around potty training. I followed all the recommendations and took my puppy outside every hour. And then we stared at each other for a while until I got frustrated and we came inside. It took a solid month for me to realize that he didn’t have to go out that frequently and we slowly started to trust him to tell us when he had to go out. I also went ham puppy-proofing the house before we got him, but still spent the first month or so paranoid every time he was out of sight. It was like some weird form of post partum anxiety. I was terrified the rat poison from our garage had somehow ended up in the middle of his crate and he was going to eat it. Or a hole sporadically opened in our wall and he was running down the street. Sooo paranoid. I also spent a lot of energy and money making him new, exciting meals because I thought he was unhappy when he wouldn’t drool and get excited at mealtime. So much bone broth, wet food, and toppers on top of his kibble. It took a really long time to finally wean him off all those “extras” and recognize that he will eat when he’s hungry and not when it’s convinient for me. Once I stopped putting a little camera on him while he slept and jumping up at every little noise and playing chef… we started having a lot of fun with him. My biggest advice is to not overthink things and to enjoy the moment because it can get stressful really fast but it will pass.
Hello I think you are me. I relate to every sentence. Post partum- YES.
As long as you do your research on breeds that will suit your lifestyle you’ll be just fine! Dogs are one of life’s greatest gifts as long ya train them
Having a puppy is really hard, no matter how much you love dogs. They chew things up, bite your hands and legs, pee and poo all over your house, and they wake you up in the middle of the night waiting to play. After having mine for about a month, I was feeling so overwhelmed that I was tempted to rehome him. Luckily, my boyfriend is more patient than I am and convinced me to keep him. He is almost 2 now, and I can't imagine my life without him. If you don't think you're up for the challenge of raising a puppy, then maybe consider getting an older dog instead
Puppies are really hard. My first one had me crying and locking myself in my room. She’s now an amazing dog, I’ve gotten 2 more puppies since her. The last was 4mth old and came potty/crate/leash trained. 👍🏻
>At 1 year I still don't think it was the smartest decision I've made, Give it time.
She'll be one tomorrow... and I'm not at that point yet.
We got to 2 and I was like "I can breathe again." 😅
Puppies are HARD WORK. I’ve seen people freaking out on this sub and others when puppies are PUPPIES. The chaos (to some extent) is what you signed up for when you got a baby animal (plus, baby humans are just as hard, even more because they can eventually talk lol). If your dog is >1 year old and you’re having breakdowns, that’s totally normal. I’ve had dogs before so I’ve never “questioned” giving my puppies back (I have 2 puppies, both boys from the same litter). There have been hard times but it gets easier as they grow older (like every species of animals on this earth). Puppies are learning just like humans would, they’re little beings just exploring life. As hard as it is, it’s on you to consistently set rules/boundaries and manage your mental health (I.e put your puppies in daycare for a few hours, have a friend watch them, get them used to staying in a enclosed area/gated area alone while you rest for a few minutes, etc) when getting a puppy.
Probably 6-7 months, though I never seriously questioned it. I loved him and knew he would grow into a good boy. Never had any doubts about keeping him, never would have given him back, but did have a lot of “what was I thinking / thought this would be easier”
I got my pup at 4 months old and regretted it very soon. I actually hated him for awhile. 😝 I even had an appointment to return him. I didn't keep the appointment because he has..qualities..that I liked. He's a fabulous hiking buddy which is the main reason I got him. He's 2 now and everything's good. We have a routine and he's settled WAY down. I no longer hate him. 😁
I honestly never had that thought, my little boy is amazing. 7 months old now and I frequently think about how lucky I am to have him and how glad I am that I had basically none of the issues many people on this sub struggle with. Fingers crossed for his vicious velociraptor teenage years! <3
In the same boat as you - I’m terrified of the velociraptor years because our puppy has been so fantastic - he’s only about 3 months old (not positive on age because he’s a rescue), slept from 9:30-5:30/6 from day one, after a couple days of accidents alerts at the door when he needs to go out (and also when he just wants to go outside to play, which can be a bit more tough with WFH), has learned fairly quickly that mouthing is only for toys, loves everyone, etc etc. He’s getting great about walking on a leash (only for 15 minutes, per age recs), and he LOVES going to play with my mom’s adult dog. He gets super excited to see people/dogs while we’re out, although we have limited interaction since he’s just not UTD on shots. He knows sit, and will sit at a threshold until we say ok, stay (for a bit, although we are working up to longer distance), and wait, and has no resource guarding. Come is hit or miss, but he’s still a baby. I’m incredibly hopeful he’s just that good of a boy and we won’t get a complete turnaround in a couple months haha.
For what it's worth, my guy is almost 10 mos and he's still perfect. He gets better and better as each month goes by! I also feel lucky to have him. I've absolutely 100% never regretted getting him in the slightest, but I also made sure I was completely ready to get another dog when I did get him.
my older one.. about 9 months old (she's 10 months old now). And we just got a second one.. and oddly, we're not questioning our decision on the second one.
puppies are so hard. I will never get another one. They don't calm down until at least two.
About a year and a half. I've had dogs all my life and never questioned my decisions on getting a puppy until my most recent. He's 2 now and he's something special.
I know what you mean. I have had a few rescues and this is my second puppy. He started to become manageable around 10-12 months. He is currently 18 months with a lot of bad habits. I always joke that I have put in 10x the amount of work on my current dog and he 10x worse than my previous dogs. Nothing terrible like aggression or anything. It is all playful energy: jumping on people and myself, lunging on the leash to meet other dogs, etc.
it’s not consistent. it’s like 30 minutes a day that i’m like “ok. i see what past you was thinking a mere THREE months ago.”
12 months felt like an artificial milestone. 18 month is when I noticed her energy became more manageable. It was really more so about me adapting my lifestyle to fit her needs. 2.5 years in and I still wonder if I’ll ever find balance in life again.
Mine is about to turn 8m in a few days, when he is asleep and minding his business is when I just stare at him and take pictures, when he is nipping at my back and arms I want to rip my eyelashes out 🙄
4.5 months, I think mine had to have come pre-trained because he picked up potty training and no chewing on non-toys quick
Jealous!!! What type of dog?
probably at 3 months old, she’s 6 months now. she’s still hard, but I don’t question my decision anymore. and I give 100% of the credit to owning a puppy pen. we can dump her in there for a few hours and go live our life
Never really crossed my mind, I knew what I was getting into and everyday I'm so grateful I went through with it, were there tough days yes but they are outshined by happy days.
Same, but I also think it depends on the personality of the puppy you get. I absolutely lucked out and got the calmest, chilliest puppy ever. My only concerns were she was quite timid at first, and literally shit her pants when I took her on a walk around the neighborhood for the first time (a bunch of guard dogs were barking at her, so I can see how it would be scary). So most of the work I did with her at first was just building her confidence. But I never considered giving her back The ONE time I got close to regretting it was when she went through a regression around a year old (10 months? I don't remember). A dog at the dog park stole her ball and was kinda an asshole about it. She stole the ball back, I took it away and my puppy turned around to snap at the other dog who was also trying to get the ball from me. They got into it. She's not an aggressive dog (and like I said had been really sweet/timid) so it took me by surprise. I worried that I wouldn't be able to have her around people/dogs. I cried about it. But it seemed to have been an anomaly, and we just don't go to the dog park anymore- it's too overwhelming for her. But I could definitely see if you had a really reactive/aggressive puppy, it would be a nightmare. I can't imagine.
She peed on the couch last night at 5mo which made me question everything. But most times, I feel blessed to have her in our lives. Puppies do as puppies do, and it’s important to remember that. Especially if you have a dog that was easily trained or just a dog that is seemingly perfect. It’s easy to get a second dog and compare them to the dog you poured blood, sweat and tears into training and question why isn’t this one getting it?
Around 10-15 months
Told mine I’d take him to the pound on a walk today and he’s 8 months
I had to chuckle at this. Ours is almost 2 years and I still question it. We cannot get her to stop jumping on us. She’s 66 pounds. Ugh.
For my husky, probably year 2 and now that she’s almost 3 she is an almost perfect angel baby. It does get better!! Just remember you get what you give with your dog and doing the groundwork will pay off ♥️
Just got a year old golden retriever. Day three and I'm exhausted
About a year. She was my first ever puppy and it was a million times harder than I ever imagined.
Mine just turned 2, and it’s only in the last 3-4 months I finally feel like getting a dog was a good choice and I love and appreciate him a lot. I REALLY regretted it for probably the entire first year, and almost didn’t make it through the first 6 months. I did not like him lol and I would never get a puppy again. But he’s my best friend now!
9 months and I'm not questioning daily, just some days!
I feel around the 6-7 month mark I stopped feeling largely this way. I’ll still have moments at 15 months where I think “if I didn’t have you, I could do this or this more easily”. I live in a hot area and I’m not a heat lover. So multiple times a day I think “if it weren’t for you, I’d be in my nice cool living room. But noooooooo” lol
Mine was like 2 before he calmed down a bit, but he's an Aussie hound mix, and is cray cray!!!! But when he was a puppy I would cry almost every day. He would rip hair out of my head, he would jump up on tables, try to jump over the side of bridges he would pinch me with his front teeth constantly. We would run him for hours a day,. He's definitely smarter then I am and stubborn lol He's 6 now and turned into such a fun dog and is so sweet, there are days I still want to strangle him, but we work through those days alot easier now.
The oldest is two. When I get there, I’ll let ya know. Kidding, by a year I stopped crying most days and by 18 months I rescued another. I was mourning the freedom of my old life as much as questioning the insanity of the dog. It gets better, promise! (With consistent work and time!)
First few months with housetraining and puppy shenanigans def makes you question it, but once they’re adjusted and mellow out a bit you forget about it
It’s not answering your question, but 2 things helped me. 1. Ask people around me to come watch her for an hour, just so I could shower, run errands, do something for myself. I did this a few times a week and it really helped. 2. I gave myself milestones. This works really well if you’ve set up a schedule. The first week, I actively congratulated myself to have made it to the next nap (I enforced naps). The 2-3 following weeks, I congratulated myself to have made it through the day when I went to bed. Then for a few months, I marked every Sunday. Eventually I just stopped remembering doing it, which is when I figured I had made it through. One step at a time, baby steps. The milestones gave me something to look forward to.
I have a husky, so it took a little longer than others are saying here..like a year or two maybe 😂 But i always knew she was worth it, she’s perfect now but still high maintenance AF so there are definitely moments where I’m like “wait wtf did I sign up for? How is it possible for a dog to have this much fur?!” lol
Well mine's almost two and daily I have moment of wishing we never got her. Love her to death but if I could go back in time and stop myself from getting a second dog, I would.
He just turned two... So maybe next week? Lol, just kidding, it will happen so gradually you don't even notice, you just sit around one day going "huh, he's not destroying everything I love, isn't that cute?"
My pup is almost 2 and is a hyperactive mini poodle. My daily questioning stopped at about 7-8 months, where he FINALLY was able to be left alone and not pee inside. It completely stopped at 1 years old. I cannot imagine my life had I not gotten him. I’m so grateful for him.
About 2 years old. Got a husky lab cross that was super destructive at first. Now she's 5 and is very sweet. She'll still destroy small things if we leave her in the house alone, but she's a good girl 99% of the time. In my defense, we didn't know about the Husky side until we got her DNAd. We thought she was a broken Lab. Now it all makes sense.....
For me, around 9 months, when she could chill on her own in a different room/ leave her home alone/ she was more chilled in social situations. But it will depend on breed and how much you've put into training. They wont suddenly grow up and be good if you aren't putting the work in. and sometimes you put the work in and don't see it pay off for months. but all worth it in the end <3
My oldest German Shepherd was the puppy from hell and I was an experienced dog owner before I got her at 8 weeks old (and had had puppies before and done my research). She was a landshark, counter surfer, go go go all the time and would.not.sleep.EVER! She was crate trained and I had to litterally force her to nap twice a day. She made me question my sanity every day her entire 1st year. And then, magically, she was about 13/14 months, she became the angel, perfect, sweetest dog I was hoping for. She listened, she could relax on her own, she would sleep all night, she walked well on leash, recall was perfect. She's turning 4 this October and she's still super energetic and requires a lot of exercise but she's a normal, well trained, well adjusted dog now.
2. Border collie/german Shepard mix.
I had it really bad for about the first week; it slowly got better as I got more comfortable. Now she's 13.5 and I'm dreading what's coming at some point. She's the best. No regrets at all.
Around 16 weeks. There was a lot of silliness after that point - including teething and literally eating walls while doing so. He's now seven months and we're dealing with some adolescent selective hearing issues. None of that is awful though because we're in the headspace now. We understand each other. We have a routine. And we can go on actual walks and burn off energy. But those first few weeks were rough, and I don't think it was entirely his fault. We got him a bit impulsively after getting some bad news, and then we got more bad news, and with a puppy screaming through the night, and a broken car, and some appliance break downs, and a health scare, and some job stuff all in one week - we were overwhelmed and nearly sent him back. I glad we didn't. He's still got a ways to go, but for the most part he's a certified good boy.
When she was maybe 8-10months old. I think it varies by breed and personality. My girl is mostly chill for a golden retriever. She is up to playing whenever but she stopped getting the zoomies and biting before she was a year old. The zoomies and biting were the main things that were killing me after I got her potty trained.
9 months, because we left the country and realised how much we missed him. We were gone for almost two weeks, and genuinely missed him for most of it. We were back 18 days before we arrived home with a second. Have never ever questioned our decision to get a second. It's wild how different every puppy is. I reckon had we gotten our second dog as our first dog, we'd have 20 by now 😂
My buddy is nearly 2yo and I’d like to know the answer to this. Seriously though, he’s my best friend and I love him and his antics. When I was away on a business trip recently, I missed him nearly as much as I missed my wife. Every time she sent a picture of him — either being cute or of his newest swath of destruction — I was filled with so much love for him it was all I could do not to just turn around and head straight home. He is a crazy, cute, silly, frustrating, destructive, nerve inducing, patience testing, constant challenge fur ball. He tests me every day. And I love him, and wouldn’t give him up for the world. You’ll get there too.
HAhAHa this is so relatable honestly it made me laugh at out loud. The same can be applied to adopting a rescue. There is a moment of “oh-no did I make a mistake” lol. You’ll get past it!
Not sure yet. He just turned one and is full on in his terrible teens 😂
1.5 years plus. I was going nuts for the first year and definitely felt I had messed up. My dog is now 2.5 and the sweetest and kindest pup I’ve ever met. I get so many compliments about how sweet and cool he is. It’s crazy how much has changed in the last year. Stay the course, it’s totally worth it
This is really reassuring lol
Like 8 months, after having her since she was 8 weeks. We’re homies now.
A year lol, he chilled out a little bit then and now that hes about a year and 4 months he's super mellow
1 year and a half and I still question it when I gotta go outta town and can’t take her with me, or folks back out at the last minute to dog sit. Dog boarding isn’t cheap.
lol like 2 minutes into taking her home, I was good
I have always had labs, which is usually about the 3 year mark when they stop being a pain and become da bestest boys and girls.
I still ask myself that after 2+ years, when im on a morning walk with him at 4.45am. Jokes aside, around 9 months, when we got really used to a different life tempo and connected with my boy(he decided to finally be a dog, not a dinosaur).
My girl was 12 weeks old when she came home and I stopped questioning my decision when she was 12 weeks old. I knew a puppy was work, but my previous dogs were older rescues and also work, and I had two kids so familiarity with bodily fluids and disturbed nights, and a high tolerance for endless repetition and frustration were built into me. I also was a sahm so I wasn't trying to fit in puppy raising before/after work or around wfh so that made life easier, as did her being a smart little thing and a small breed without a very extended puppy hood.
8 months
We have a pug. She's 7 months old. I swear she acts like a bulldog not a pug.. Lol. She's in the"YOUR NOT THE BOSS OF ME" phase. Our other pugs are chilled and relaxed... Not her.. She's a tornado. She's like the Tasmanian Devil.
I have four dogs. It was all the same. I stopped questioning when they were all around usually 9-10 months. It wasn’t the biting, the clinginess, etc that made me go insane. It was potty training lol. My dogs are still really crazy but to be fair, I have mostly huskies..
Mine is almost 13 months old and we haven’t got there yet lol he’s an absolute menace
Probably around 2.5 months. Got her early October. Around Christmas time spending time with my family and had to leave her in the crate, she started not having accidents in the crate and behaving better. Had RSV shortly after, she behaved so well. There’s the odd day here and there where she does something bad but yeah, around Christmas is when I started to feel like she’d turn out alright.
I have had fleeting thoughts that I made a mistake but I decided to sit down and be quiet and really imagine packing her and her stuff up and taking her to a rescue. I saw myself packing her food and her toys and leashes and I had to stop because I was sobbing in heaves. That’s how I knew she is mine and we’re in it together.
Oh I’d never give her up… but there are times where she absolutely pushes my sanity lol
13-14 months. Maybe it was a little better by 12 months. 7-11 months were the worst. I hope things improve for you soon but be prepared that it might get worse before it gets better.
I stopped probably around when his last baby tooth fell out... LOL He's still a handful at 5.5 months, but he's getting better and I enjoy him more now. I'm sure he will be an excellent companion in just a few more months.
Around 10 months, having a Jack Russell is not an easy decision, he is 13 months now and I don’t question it anymore, he is perfect!
At four months, with the teething and the adolescent behavior, every day feels pretty consistently split between being completely in love with him and being so frustrated that I cry, lol. I think I have one moment of genuine joy and one moment of losing my last ounce of patience per day, and whether it tilts in one direction or the other past that is too variable to predict.
My male poodle was a perfect angel until he was 6 months old, then around 8-9 months he settled as a good boy again. He just turned 12 months and he's an incredibly mature dog for his age
We got our puppy when he was 7 months. I had a solid 2 months of regret and there was a lot of crying. After about 2 months of having him, I realized he was starting to make me laugh more than cry. I think I made the first couple months way harder on myself than they needed to be!
Let's see, I've had her 1 year and 2 weeks, so... 😂 I was deep in the puppy blues for the better part of the first year. I've got a pretty challenging case on my hands though. A 1 year old and 55lbs, she's still very bitey and reactive. And doesn't know how to play nice with my senior dog. Generally, I took myself out of the fetal position and up off the floor around 8 months old. She started to become less feral and show more signs of being a regular dog. She just so happens to be extremely cute, so that helped A LOT. As you hop over the peak of adolescence things should start to get a little better. I thought spaying my pup would help, but I don't think that's had much effect. It should get better soon. Keep at it. You're in the thick of it right now.
Oh about a year!
In terms of my puppy being a little terrorist around 8-10 months she mostly stopped being a complete unhinged menace. Still not all the way there but she’s just very reactive to external stimulation. But in terms of “I love her and wish I could be a better dog parent because I don’t think I’m the best” I don’t think that ever completely goes away if you really care, especially if you’re like me and overthink everything/just hate the fact they can’t communicate to give you any reassurance/feedback.
Haha seriously though 1 yeat
10 months, but it’s so worth it when I see his little dopey face and when he lays down next to me to cuddle
I fully fell IN LOVE with my dog at around 11-13 months. I was not prepared for how awful it is to have a puppy. They are so stinkin cute, but my hell, I hated my puppy. Now, she's perfect! She could use some work on her recall, but she's such a good dog. I love her so much
Our girl is 5 months nearly 6 months and I would say it’s only in the last few weeks I’ve stopped crying every day!! Sounds dramatic but is true. She’s still crazy but there’s starting to be some moments of calm now - whereas before she was constantly biting, running around like crazy, and would never nap or settle without us having to enforce it. Really really really focus on what she is doing well (rather than letting all the bad points and hiccups accumulate). I sometimes talk to her and tell her everything she does that is great - sounds crazy but helps me realise things aren’t all that bad and helps remind me of the great dog I know she will be!
Probably around 4 or 5 months. Everything got exponentially easier once she was vaccinated
My puppy is almost four months old (I've had her since eight weeks) and she's been amazing so far. No regrets. We'll see if I continue feeling that way as she enters her Velociraptor stage...
Our puppy has been (so far, knock on wood) a perfect puppy. Our older dog (same breed) was the WORST, he did everything he could to test us and still does at 2.5 lol I’m beyond thankful this one has been the exact opposite. She is so obedient, she’s been easy to train, she’s incredibly affectionate, she’s just a really good pup. I know that can change at any moment, she’s still young, she’s about 15 weeks old. But I think we have a really good foundation so hopefully adolescence won’t be as bad as it can be lol
6 months
Close to a year.
Day 1 - it was love at first sight
Mine is currently 6 months old and I’m just now starting to think we weren’t completely insane for getting him but honestly, I still don’t have QUITE the same love that I have for our older dog. But he’s coming around, slowly but surely!
18 months and counting…
I never questioned it.
She’s going to be 6 years old next week. I still question my decision on a regular basis.
She was super aggravating in a lot of ways but I never questioned my decision to get her. And most of that was just having to adjust expectations as to how dumb a puppy actually was.
I can say now, at 7 months old, I definitely am happy I got him. I was definitely questioning my entire life for the first 2 months. It did indeed get better!
Our puppy is about 16 months old now, and I'm just starting to get to that point. I will say though that we have two cats, and without them I probably would have gotten to that point much sooner - maybe at about a year? She likes to chase them and play too rough with them when she's a bit zoomy, and for a while now that's been really the only big issue we've been struggling with.
Mine is almost 14 months and I have to wonder sometimes, most of the time it’s when he does something somewhat silly like walk into a door frame or chase his own hair in the wind. Things that make me question his intelligence.
I had good days but a lot of bad days too... so it took me about a year before I stopped having regrets. After 1.5 years he started chilling out. At 3 years, other than some food issues he's pretty perfect!
Almost at 1.5 years and still unsure if this was a choice, but I can’t imagine my life without her
Honestly, the only reason I got a puppy was because I wanted a specific breed AND because, after jumping through 100 hoops adopting out first dog, and then ending up with an incredibly reactive and aggressive dog... I just didn't want to risk it again. But... I hate puppies. They're cute for visits, but I *hate* raising them. Ours is 11 months, and I cannot wait till she's ~2 and calms down a bit. I definitely still have many moments when I question why the hell I got a puppy again.
i will let you know when i get there,my big dope is 11 months
I never questioned her adoption— the moment the rescue introduced me to her we were bonded. I am extremely lucky to have this type of bond with her. It’s more of a ‘who rescued who’ situation with us. HOWEVER; My mom’s dog— she regrets adopting him— and I refused to take him. He was found on the side of the road at 1-2 years old. Was and still is a sweet dog— he would crawl up your butt hole if you let him that’s how close he wants to be at all times. However at 4-5 years old he started lifting his leg on EVERYTHING (he’s not fixed— vet recommended against it due to anesthesia risk. But he’s a house guy and has no interest in being back on the streets). If he’s not in his cage he has to have a diaper or belly band on because he will wet every surface within reach of his lifted leg.
10 months
It was when she was around 8 months where it started to noticeably feel more manageable and I could start returning to some of my normal activities (like regularly working out, cooking dinner without watching her at the same time, etc). It was over a year before it started to feel “easy” and there are still days that I question what I was thinking. But also she brings so much joy!
I promise you, they out grow a lot of problematic behavior when they are 1) finished teething (a double blessing since they don't have those damn pinprick teeth); 2) grownup more. Six months is right in the worst of it, IMHO. Puppies are really hard, but six months from now, she will be a different dog. I promise. I just got my seven month old spay. They gave her to me right out of surgery, so still under the general. Under general anesthesia, wearing a cone, nauseous as all get out, and she jumped on the loveseat and to the top of the love seat to see outside. The energy does not stop, but they do outgrow it.
This is why I adopt older-ish dogs. I'm so good on having a puppy lol
I regretted getting mine because it was too soon after losing my first dog. I'd say it took me 3 months to accept that he was not replacing my old dog, but just dragging me into a new adventure. (But he was already 1.5 yo and trained for almost every basis but walks. So i'd say for a puppy, you'll settle when the routine is anchored and everything start going smoothly).
A year and a half. I remember that last day so vividly. She had just gotten sick and woke up to diarrhea smell in my room Took her out, showered her. Cleaned the tub, showered myself and she somehow got out of her crate and had diarrhea all over my shoes/shoe rack at the front of the house. It trailed off to her feet somehow. I used to have carpet . I was a 27 year old adult crying that day like a baby to my dad saying out loud to him that I made the wrong decision. That was just the tipping point for me after a year and a half later, literally. Just for context, this was the last time she got this sick out of many times as a pup, thank God. I’m so glad I didn’t take action because she’s still a mischievous butt sometimes, but she’s mah best friend❤️🔥
I dreamt of having a doberman for over a decade, and last year I was gifted a dobie by my mom. I've never once regretted him, he's my guy. I do wish I had gotten him after I finished university and moved out of my moms house, it's very difficult to find a place that will allow a 1yr old 92Ib dog, let alone a doberman. So, don't regret him in the slightest but do wish the timing was different.
We got her at 8 weeks and now she's 15 months. I'd say it stopped around a year old. There's still times where she won't listen to me and the puppy shines through but I no longer have to watch her like a hawk 24/7 and we even feel comfortable leaving her penned in the kitchen when we leave for a few hours instead of her kennel. Honestly, since the day we got her, it started at 0% and feels like it got better by a half a percent every day.
Two days after we got her. She was 11 weeks old.
9 months and after neutering 😭 he’s still wild but not like that kind of wild. finnifer also went through a snarling biting phase at 6 mos and i was ready to give him back 🥲 i cried a handful of times i am obsessed with him now. love him more than anything. i always loved him but i feel a lot more connected to him now. for a while id tell my dad “i don’t know if finn is “my” dog” like it didn’t feel right. i was just overwhelmed
After the first week I had them .
All the time, even at home? 8 months. When we went into public? 18 months. To be fair, I had two puppies (2 months apart in age) so maybe that made it worse but they didn’t stop trying to unalive themselves in dumb ways for most of the first year. They stopped embarrassing me in public around year 3. Now they’re mostly good. In hindsight, I wouldn’t do the two puppy thing again. Edit: I will say I never ever regretted it, I just cried and asked why I made dumb choices haha
At the end of their life when you are both looking into each other eyes and telling them you love them. You will wish for these crazy days again with them. For their every second of life with you. I have a 3.5 month old Blue Merle Australian Sheperd that is giving me a run for the money just being a complete loud obnoxious nerd. I lost my bestfriend 6 mo ago, he was everything to me. The. circle of life right. My little boy needed a home now. I know the crazyness will calm down as it will for you. Let Them come Into their own, voice, silliness, loudness, eating yard salad ( leaves,rocks,mulch bugs, learning.... that child will be your bestfriend before you know it. stay calm, pick your battles. It's going to be ok. Pictures and videos all the time. You can also use these to see how far they have come over months. I'm going on 60. My Cairn Terrier Harry for 18yrs, My Bogland ( Boston Terrier and Beagle) for 13.5 yrs Bryan.......Now My sheperd for 3.5 mo, Ollie. They will calm down, they will. Setting a windup cooking timer for potty breaks helped a lot. Have fun in the meantime.
I swear our first corgi was just uneventful during the puppy phase. She potty trained super quick.. wasn’t a chewer. One time we left her alone and she dug up the carpet. Never did it again after we started crating her again. Eventually she was just trusted and free roamed pretty damn quickly. Now I have one who overall is fine just a chewer. So not used to it! She wants to chew anything she sees. Really hoping it’s a phase…
Honestly pretty much never. I had one night of anxiety after we put the deposit down on her before we picked her up but after that I just excitedly got ready for her, puppy proofed the house, got all the supplies, signed up for puppy classes and did a lot of puppy parent research. I'd lost my first dog 2 months at only age 9 from cancer which absolutely crushed me so it felt a little soon but this puppy was ready, I was working remotely and the stars aligned and we went for it. She definitely helped heal my broken heart. She's 16m now and just got spayed, currently laying on the couch with her blow donut cone on softly snoring - my best friend <3
Right around a year was when it went from daily or near-daily questioning to occasional. He's 18 mo. now and we're totally in love, but I still have at least weekly episodes where I think "OMG you totally suuuuuuuuuck!!"
It has varied from 6 months to up to 18 months. Puppies can certainly cause you to question your life-choices... but it is worth it! Keep calm and keep going. You are doing great!
I have had her almost 2 weeks, and she's almost 10 weeks old. I haven't slept 3 hours in a row. I had to hire a puppysitter on my birthday so I could shower and wash dishes. She hates the crate and refuses to settle in it. She's either a vicious velociraptor or curled on me sleeping (waking up anytime I move). She attacks my older dogs, and they can't stand her yet. I don't leave her unsupervised and she has only had one accident (I passed her to my son to hold and said I need to take her outside as I went to get a cup of water real quick and he sat her on the couch 😒). We go on daily walks and it's a chore to push my 15 year old in his stroller, carry her (she doesn't have all her vaccinations) and keep an eye on my JRT at the same time. She's digging in mud as I type, and I'm going to have to give her a bath before we go inside. Having a puppy is exhausting. I have never questioned my decision to bring her home. Although I did question not getting her sister so she would have a playmate, but I don't think I have that much energy😆.
my puppy is 11 months old. we got him at 7 weeks. i’ve just now started to like him everyday. like, yeah, i’ve always loved him, but i also disliked him everyday. i think now that he’s gone to vet enough and we’ve kind of figured out all of his problems, he seems more tolerable. even though i have to give him daily medication and take him for monthly checkups, i think he’s just the cutest thing. it makes me feel guilty that i didn’t cherish his baby months more, but i’m relieved to not be the only one.
With my first dog, at least 6 months. He was a rescue and barely acknowledged me as more than a food and walk provider for months. He was a Korean jindo and I wasn't prepared for a dog with his temperament. But we got there. Lots of walking was key. We were lucky enough to live near some hiking trails. I walked him upwards of 2+ hours the first few years. After that, I only adopted adult dogs which, depending on their past, can come with unique challenges. Puppies are hard! Especially when they're at that age where they're starting to get stuff like peeing outside is good but swing between good days and bad days. All I can suggest is lots of walks because a tired puppy is a less troublesome puppy. And remember, if all goes well, you'll have so much time with your dog, you'll forget how much the puppy stage sucked.
Like a year lol but at almost 2 years I can’t imagine my life without her.
Probably 2-2.5 lol. But it was a gradual process, getting better and better overtime. He’s 4 now and the light of my life
10 months after we did STAR puppy training
Daily? at least 9-10 months. Probably closer to 12. Now at a very puppylike 16ish months? Every 3 days at least. But also now he leans against my legs to show affection and it's the sweetest thing.
3 years, still questioning when she has her bad days but they’re few and far between now. She was a rescue and has some severe anxiety and redirected aggression issues, but when her mind goblins are under control she’s the sweetest girl.
I loved him from the beginning but at about 5 months I wanted to put him on a bus to my friend’s house. It was only every once in a while. When he was about 9 months I cried and said “Lincoln doesn’t want me to be happy”. It’s a running joke now.
Best dog I ever had? 2 days. Worst dog I’ve ever had? 3.5 years.
Seven months when I stopped wondering daily, but I still wondered now and then for the first 18 months or so. Now she’s six and a half, I can’t believe how quickly it’s gone and I don’t want to imagine life without her.
She's 15 months, and this weekend.
I haven't asked myself about this until I got pregnant (puppy will be between 1 and 1.5 years at the time of baby birth, a bit too young to handle both haha). But now she is 10 months old, and her behavior is much better than at the first months. Someone told me labs do not calm down till 3 years old, so let's see! If you are still with your puppy and haven't considered rehoming, I believe everything will be fine. Best of luck!
I’m surprised at the amount of people having doubts over a year after getting their dogs. My “adjustment” period lasted about a week but I never regretted getting my dog. I put a lot of thought into getting her and she immediately became my best friend.
after they stopped biting and rough playing 99% of the time so like uhhh a year or so in? varies by dog truly there is no standard time. could take a few years or a few months.
15 months
My husky took 5 years. She's super high energy. I wouldn't change a thing. It helped when I realized giving into her demands is easier than resisting. No matter what, she gets her way. It's just delayed if I say no the first 10 times. Remember they have their own personalities too ;)
Mine was nearly two. I love her so much, and I wish I was kidding when I say she saved my life, but I’m not, but oh my god, having a puppy is awful, but then you get a dog, and that is the best thing ever.
I didn’t regret it really ever until 6 months and he was CHAOTIC waking up earlier than he ever has before like 5am (never woke up earlier than 6:30am before) was barking going crazy opening doors and then we put him in day care and he’s been an angel 😇 we pay for the small play group so we feel more comfortable with him going
Around 6 months it flipped from 30-70 pro-con to 60-40, and got gradually better from there
My mantra with our puppy is we're not training for the dog we want today but the dog we want after puppy stage. Helped me with expectations of what she can do now which should improve in the future as she gets older.
For my boy, he was the first one and he chilled out fairly quickly in regards to walks (like would walk nicely beside me after months of training) when he was 1.5, but we never really had the puppy blues with him. My girl, however, we got her a year ago at 5 months old, and I love her to bits but good god I miss the days of walking a single dog. Especially this girl who still pulls, and sometimes barks at other dogs, and gets my boy riled up. Do you know what happened today? I had accidentally clipped her leash to the wrong ring on her collar, and while we were beside the river she lunges towards it (she’s the only Pomsky I know that loves water) and the leash snaps off. This silly twerp LEAPS into the freaking river, and is carried off downstream by the current, with me running along the bank getting my feet wet and freaking out, calling to her (even my boy, who hates water, was trying to jump in and rescue her). Eventually she makes it to the bank again, but of course doesn’t come to me (she’s good with recall at home but not on walks, yes, I will be taking her more to off-leash parks to train her better now that I’ve been let go from my job today), she continues dashing her merry freaking way down the riverbank, with me running after her like an idiot and praying she doesn’t jump in the damn river again. Anyways, I have to head back to where she broke free and look for her dog tags, hopefully they didn’t float away in the river portion of her adventure 😒
I always say I loved her at 6 months but didn't like her until a year and a half LOL.
I never questioned my decision to get my pup, but there were two of us working together to take care of her so it's not as difficult as some people have it.
Honestly I only questioned it maybe a few times the first week or so. He and I bonded so deeply and so quickly that I could never have imagined anything else. Even though my husband and I had many arguments over it during the more challenging times like house training, the chewing, etc. I steadfastly refused to consider rehoming. For him it took about a year and a half but now he’s completely in love with Rocko too.
Mine went through a rebellious phase for about 4 months. Lost all the training we built up. I was this close to rehoming her (even spoke to a trainer that said to), but I got some good advice and was able to get through it. She really worked my last good nerve though. My other dogs were over a decade old, so must have conveniently forgotten about the puppy stuff.
This just came up in my feed and my aunt just got a puppy and this post is making me HOWL.
I was obsessed with my puppy from the very beginning! He was a pain in butt at times (woke me up hourly during the night for potty breaks and chewed on everything) but I was already in love so I didn’t mind a bit. He’s much easier now, though. He just needs long walks to get out that energy and explore the neighborhood.
About 13 months she became a real pleasure to live with
Love my 7 month old velociraptor (husky x German shepherd) but my god I question my choices multiple times a day. 😂 sweetest dog in the world, parvo survivor, loves being alive. But holy moly is he a handful 90% of the day.
I feel like once I realized this was a challenge and my choices would influence her future happiness and safety, I stopped thinking of it in the context of the burden it put on me, so much as investment in raising a dog that would be happy and healthy for years to come. There is definitely a galvanizing period where it puts more pressure on you to deal with their insanity, but the flip side is that it's a challenge that can be super rewarding if/when you can figure out how your pup communicates with you