I hate to admit it, but I too, got my puppy at 6 weeks of age. I didn't know it was wrong or against the law at the time and it was definitely A LOT more work than I had planned for. I was very lucky that I was living with my ex boyfriend at the time and we worked opposite schedules... so when I went to work in the afternoon, he was coming home from work and I could pass her off to him. He didn't feed her, because he wanted to associate feeding time with me and that did help with our bonding. The main issue was, the "breeder" for lack of a better term, said she was eating Beneful twice a day so that's how I continued to feed her. Not long after, Olive got sick and I took her to the vet. Turns out she was almost hypoglycemic and the vet said I should be feeding her 4-5 times a day. He also gave me prescription wet food to mix in with her dry food. She also woke up every 3 hours throughout the night. I set up a barricade of pillows and covered the floor of that area with pee pads and put her bed in it. She refused to sleep alone (and still does) so she slept in the bed with me and I would put her down on the pads every 3 hours to go potty. Now, she is 13 weeks and VERY attached to me. She is more like another limb than a shadow to me. It took her about a month to sleep through the night, and even after that, she still wakes up between 6 and 7am to be fed and go outside. It was hard work and I'll know better for next time, but I don't regret it. Olive is very sweet and well adjusted - she loves everyone. I'm not trying to dole out any advice - I'm just sharing my experience. Whether or not I did the right thing, I blame on naiveté and lack of knowledge. I am thankful that I found this site to keep me on the right track from here on out; so I can make the best choices possible for Olive.
__________________ Suzy  's Olive  |