Overwhelmed with new Puppy

[with doves]

Background info: My family (large family of 5kids living at home, and more that are moved out) got our first dog 4 years ago, and we lost him 1 year ago to tick borne illnesses. My family decided it was time to get another puppy, since we loved our old dog so much. My puppy is 9 weeks old, and we got him one week ago today. Things were great the first day, lots of sleeping and little biting. We did have a little problem with getting him out for his bathroom breaks, but they seemed less frequent then than now.

Now, onto the problem. I don't remember my past dog being as hard to keep up with as this dog is. This dog has already gotten to the point of where i am exhausted caring for him. My siblings don't share my same compassion for the animal, and I feel like i am always the one having to keep track of him, take him out, give him attention and it's just too much for me. I have yelled at my siblings to play with the puppy so i could take a break, until they get sick of him and just leave him there all alone. Its so frustrating. Especially since the past few nights I have had to wait until someone gets up (at around 6) to go to bed because i worry about him.

I have read that the Puppy stage is a hard one, but i have gotten to the point where i am thinking of bringing up returning to dog to it breeder with my parents. My mom is constantly saying "I'm not the one who wanted a Puppy" against me, and my father seems to like the puppy, but he doesn't have ANY responsibilities with it. The dog is constantly nipping at me, peeing on the carpet and just making the people in my family frustrated, me especially, feel frustrated.

I wish we would have thought purchasing this puppy through. I just feel overwhelmed and a little upset thinking that we aren't even close to the end of his puppy stage.
So I guess the real reason i created this thread was for any advice I could get from past puppy owners who made it through this.

Any wisdom you can give is much appreciated!

[Krissim Klaw]

Honestly since the rest of your family isn't on board, returning the puppy to the breeder might very well be the best option. At this point it really would be no harm no foul and better to let the breeder find another home now rather than wait a few months.

Puppies take a lot of work. A dog that is already an adult and past the puppy stage might be a better fit, but dogs are a big commitment. What will happen when you leave the nest/go off to college? Are you planning to take the dog with you or will it be left at the house with all the irresponsible family members. Are you going to have the time over the next 15+ years to devote to a dog? Just some things to think about.

Normally this is what the adults of the household should be doing, but sadly it doesn't look like your parents are willing to be responsible about it.

[Latrans]

Yeah, puppies are work. If you're not committed, now is the time to take it back.

On the other hand, if you want a dog, and you want to raise the puppy, supervise, supervise, supervise! Clicker training is awesome!

[Payton Leeroy]

I think one of the problems you're running into with your family is you had a dog, and you wanted another dog, so you went and got a puppy. Puppies grow up to become dogs, yeah, but it's kinda like deciding you want a new roommate and bringing home a toddler, because in the end, that's pretty much what a puppy is. Just a fuzzy little toddler who needs TONS of attention. If your family isn't up for raising a baby I'd certainly suggest taking him back to the breeder, then going to your local shelter to find an older dog who already understands how living in a home works. You'll still probably have to do some potty training, since your home is a new place, so they won't know where they're supposed to go yet, but they can hold their bladders for a much longer time, so it won't be quite as hard.

I'll second Latrans' comment about clicker training! I adopted a 10 year old dog with hearing and vision issues at the beginning of the year, and within 3 months he'd learned enough to pass his CGC test, and now we're starting nosework and he loves it! Even tries sneaking into the room with boxes when it isn't his turn while we're training.

I think you and your family might want to consider adopting a dog between 5-10 really, since they're completely past the puppy stage. It certainly worked well for me with my old man. He's happy to learn, loves working with me any chance he gets, has never had an accident in the house, and settled in with my other dog without a single issue. Sure, his life with me won't last as long as if I'd gotten a younger dog, but he is simply perfect for the time I will have him.

[Nurse Kipsie]

Take him out for a long (well, not too long because he's young) run once during the morning and once during the evening. Play fetch. Play follow the leader. Play tug-of-war. Take him to see the squirrels, butterflies, trees and all the glorious aspects of nature.

This, in theory, will tire him out a bit, limiting him to perhaps 2-3 play sessions per day.

After his night time run, he'll want to sleep during the night.


His biting is really like teething. Discourage this with a chew toy he likes (via trail and error) and by ceasing play whenever he starts to nom-nom-nom your hands.

[VonVix]

Nurse Kipsie

Take him out for a long (well, not too long because he's young) run once during the morning and once during the evening. Play fetch. Play follow the leader. Play tug-of-war. Take him to see the squirrels, butterflies, trees and all the glorious aspects of nature.

This, in theory, will tire him out a bit, limiting him to perhaps 2-3 play sessions per day.

After his night time run, he'll want to sleep during the night.


His biting is really like teething. Discourage this with a chew toy he likes (via trail and error) and by ceasing play whenever he starts to nom-nom-nom your hands.

No-one should make a puppy run, especially a 9 week old one, their joints are prone to stress because they are growing/growth plates have not closed/etc. We don't even know what breed of dog he has and if it is prone to hip/elbow dysplasia, which would make running an even worse idea at such a young age.

At 9 weeks of age, a puppy shouldn't even really be walked for more than 10 minutes at this stage. Plus he is likely not to even have all his shots yet.

[AraTeran]

It sounds like a puppy is not the right choice at this point. Returning it to the breeder might be a good option, or finding another family to adopt it out. The puppy stage is a pain in the a**, and at 9 weeks it hasn't even begun to get difficult. Also, 9 week puppies are usually easy to place in new homes.

You can always get another dog in the future when you have more time, or more support from other people in the household.

If you really want to keep the puppy you have to get the other family members on board. A puppy needs a lot of frequent play sessions; you can't just play for a chunk of time once per day. You also need support from people to make sure training is consistently reinforced by everyone in the household.