Originally Posted by yorkietalkjilly  And all our posts here, of course, are posted with the intention of addressing the OP's posts, but also anyone who is reading now or in the future who is feeling a bit overwhelmed & wondering what in the world they have just done & is it ever normal or okay to feel post-puppy depression or anxiety as they face the reality of their new dog. As with anything in life, people all don't react the same or maintain that immediate rush of wonderful feelings one has when you first get your dog. Once you're home & dealing with the hard realities of that new dog, it can stagger you a bit that you have just taken a huge step in life & now comes the actual living with it & all that that implies.
I'm not nearly so concerned about a new owner feeling overwhelmed & anxious or having second thoughts as I am those who have had their dog for over 5 or 6 mos. & had time to grow to love the dog deeply, work through all the initial issues & are on YT wondering, sometimes not in so many words, but wondering if they should keep their dog or why it doesn't fit into their lives better or complaining about its bad habits, sometimes never expressing their love for the dog or rather weakly, if they do mention it. There can be a tone to some posts like that that just seems incompatible with love for the dog.
By that time, an owner has had ample time to fall completely in love with that dog & work through life-adjustments, as well as address any behavior problems. Usually after a few months, even with the rockiest of starts, owners are by then Bonkers-with-a-capital-B over their dog, it's become a true member of the family & no one can imagine life without it. (Not to mention that by then the little dog has usually settled into his home & loves that owner/family.) But those are the situations that trouble me & I wonder if the dog will ever truly be happy in that home. Thankfully, those posts are few & far between.
With new dog owners vs. those complaining about dogs they've had a while, I'm sometimes reminded of my friend from work who had a 4 week old new daughter, born with bad colic. The baby screamed & cried much of the time it was awake, slept little & my friend also had had virtually no sleep since delivery. Nothing they had tried for colic worked. She dropped by the office after the most recent pediatrician appointment, thinner than I'd ever seen her, no make-up, hair askew, big blue bags under her tired eyes & new lines in her face, looked me straight in the face and said "Is there a way to give her back.....now!?!?" and burst into tears. Well, that baby is now 14, a happy, healthy, beautiful girl, a gifted A-student who loves acrobatics & dance, has a sparkling personality, the wisdom & judgment of a 25 year old, & is the apple of both her parents' eyes. It didn't shock me when the baby was new with new-baby problems for her to express the desire to "give her back" but if she said that now, I would worry. |