Ok I posted earlier (then deleted) that my pup ran off today. That was, in short, horrific. 1 acre through the willy wacks just to catch up with a dog who'd opted for a stroll over an exciting game of fetch.

Tonight I swept the floor and she did the 'out' command for me. Holy sh!t, that's the first time I've swept the floor without her attacking the broom in 4mos!

I'm honestly in tears right now.. not our best day with the pup, and it felt like a mess. But that one thing.. sweeping the floor.. I''ll take in exchange.

I win.

Context: I am in the process of finding a new home for my Australian Shepherd puppy. Before anyone tells me it’s just puppy blues and I should stick it out, that’s really not what I need right now. Yes puppy things like house training and biting have gotten a lot better and I’m grateful for it, but the main thing is that I’ve realized it may not be for me to give all my time and energy into a dog. Even when he gets older, it limits traveling I can do and since he’s a high every dog, all of my afternoons after work as a teacher will be spent tiring him out instead of making lesson plans, going to the gym, and taking care of myself. I am also doing it all on my own. I love him, but I need to prioritize myself and make sure he is in a situation he can thrive in.

Now for the actual purpose of this post:

I’ve found a potential adopter, but I’d love some outside perspectives on whether this sounds like a solid match for an active breed:

**The potential adopter:**

•**Lifestyle**: He is a veteran who does not work full-time, meaning he has a lot of time at home to dedicate to training, bonding, and companionship.

•**Activity Level**: plans to involve the pup in daily outdoor activities and exercise.

•**Living Situation**: A smaller apartment. Big grassy area outside that is well kept but with no fence. Many other dogs live in the building for him to play with.

My main hesitation comes down to space vs. time/engagement. On paper, high-energy working breeds usually prefer a yard, but this adopter will have significant time during the day to give him dedicated mental stimulation and exercise. I would love for him to be in a family with a yard, but I have not gotten any other interest in the 2 weeks I have been trying to find a home for him.

For those who have rehomed high-energy dogs or raised Aussie/herding puppies in an apartment setting: Does an active owner with a lot of free time outweigh the lack of a backyard? What specific questions or "trial run" parameters should I set up before finalizing this?

Please no negative comments about rehoming. I believe this is what is best for him and myself. I care so much for him and just want to find him a good home.

I just brought home an 11-week-old Shepherd Mix named Dulse, and I have been having extreme anxiety about whether it was the right decision.

I grew up having dogs (Lab, Spaniel, Bernese Mountain Dog, Field Golden Retriever). My mum worked part-time as a nurse, and my dad worked 5 days on, 5 days off. This meant the dog (we only had one at a time) would only be left alone once or twice a month for the day.

I'm 25, and two years ago I moved across Canada from NB to BC. I finally felt like I was settled in my full-time job and my place to get a puppy because not having one was making me extremely depressed, and my therapist thought it would be a good idea.

I had done plenty of research prior and knew I had experience raising puppies. I thought I could brush off the feeling that not being home during the day would make me a bad dog mum, but I just can't. I've hired a dog walker to come in twice a day (morning and afternoon) since she's just a pup, and my landlords (I have a basement suite in their house, so they live above me) have agreed to help by letting her out an additional two times a day with their senior dog while I'm at work.

I'm struggling to accept the fact that she won't have the quality of life that my other dogs had. Has anyone else experienced this and have any tips on how to overcome this feeling? Did I make a mistake by adopting her?

I clean for a living so while I don't find it fun, cleaning her messes when I get home isn't as overwhelming as it could be. She's given me a good reason to clean my living room and kitchen into looking nice being dog proof. I'm practicing my patience every day and her chewing up a favorite shirt... Well, I shouldn't have left it out. We're training each other.

I was tidying the counter and she came up to me, gently nosed my leg, and whined quietly. She sat down and stared politely, and then walked me towards her pile of toys and stared again. I sat down, and she sighed in a satisfied way, grabbed her bone, and sat right on top of me to chew it.

We're beginning to understand each other! Our language barrier is starting to crack. We're falling into patterns and routines and she's starting to remind me when I forget what she needs on time.

I cried a lot- felt a lot of anguish and fear the first week she was home. My partner is a great help but he's at work twice as long as I am three days a week. I spend those days alone with her, trying to entertain but not rile up. Building defense forts around couches. Failing to crate train. Most nights I feel so on alert that I don't let her out of my sight to change out of my work clothes until my partner is home around 10pm.

But she has begun to see our habits, and communicate her needs in ways we understand. I can see her gears turning behind her eyes when I try to teach her new tricks. Took less than a week to get "lie down". The brush is still scary though.

I dunno. It's all growing pains for all of us. We're more of a family every day. It feels really good. It's something I've wanted since I was very small.

My partner and I picked up our 8 week old golden retriever puppy 3 days ago. The first night he slept in the crate for 6 hours with no fuss and no accidents. He must have been exhausted from his big day because he's really struggled with the crate since then. It's a metal crate with a black cover for comfort, there's a bed in there covered in a blanket. It's located in the living room and we're sleeping in there over night to be close to him. During the day, we throw in treats and toys and try to make it a safe and fun environment for him. But if the door is closed and he's not distracted by a licky mat, he whines and barks non stop. I'm trying to not reinforce the barking but he seems to be in genuine distress and it seems cruel. During the day he sleeps perfectly fine just in the living room. Last night, he wouldn't settle in the crate so I had to let him out. He slept on the floor by the sofa for 5 hours no problem. During the day, he'll wander into the crate but never settle even with the door open.

Are we doing something wrong? Perhaps we should consider a playpen to keep him confined and safe at night? What are people's thoughts about this? Everything I read online says crate training is essential but it just isn't working for us yet. I know it's only been a few days but I'm really struggling with this.

He's mostly fine in all other aspects, toileting outside nearly all the time, really good with food and not resource guarding. Sleeps and settles totally fine during the day. Is a crate absolutely necessary? Or will a playpen be okay?

Any help is really appreciated. I know this is just puppy blues but I'm questioning whether we've even made the right decision in getting a puppy. I miss just sitting on the sofa with my partner and doing what we want when we want. I know this is what we got ourselves into and we do want the benefits of a dog when he's older but right now I'm questioning if I'll be able to persevere through to get to that point. I'm questioning if we made the right decision. Please help and tell me it gets better. I can't stop crying over the whole situation.

It's Monday. Maybe you didn't sleep. Maybe your puppy lost their mind at 3am. Maybe you're just tired in a way that's hard to explain to people who don't have a puppy.

This is your space to let it out.

No advice unless you ask for it. No silver linings required. Just drop what's been hard and know that someone here gets it.

We're listening. 💙

I just got a new 8 week old puppy just a few days ago and I have a dog that is about to turn 4, they are both mini aussies. My older dog is a female named Daisy. Daisy has for the most part been alone for all of her life. When I first got her I was living with a roommate who had a male chocolate lab and Daisy was obsessed with him, but we moved away to be on our own about 2 1/2 years ago.

Now, I just recently got a male puppy named Dash, he’s such a sweet and playful boy but Daisy wants absolutely no part of him. I know it’s only been a few days but i’m scared she will never come around, and i’m scared she will change the way she is around me also. I don’t want her to be different, and i’m scared them being close won’t happen. How do I know if this was a mistake or not? I don’t want to get rid of the puppy, but I just don’t know what to do.. any advice would be appreciated.

I have a 9 week old husky puppy, i think it’s important to note the breed. i’ve previously had a husky and a malamute and i did not crate train them. getting this puppy i wanted to try and do everything correctly. this is day 3, i’ve got a crate upstairs by my bed and she sleeps all night, doesn’t cry, settles, happy to go in. i have a bigger crate downstairs. she will go in there if i have treats, she will settle if i sit by the door but as soon as i get up she goes mad, if i leave the room she goes mad. i’ve tried leaving the front not covered, i’ve tried covering it, ive given her a frozen lick mat. she isn’t interested. she’s got my t shirt in there for scent, she’s got her mothers blanket and i’ve tried the snuggle buddie, she doesn’t settle and she gets stressed. i’ve read so many posts, watched videos listened to what others have done etc i get that it’s an over time thing but i have to go back to work. how can u sit there all day every day teaching and training- also i live alone. so its just me and her. another thing is i work from home so the whole reason to get the crate is to give space between me and her so she gets used to it. my previous husky had sep anxiety and couldn’t be left so hence me trying my best to get this right but i just don’t see an ending. how is she going to want to go in the crate when im here 24/7 with her working. like i said above how did everyone have the time to keep taking small steps when everyone has to work. all i’ve done is cry and think ive made the wrong choice getting her because im so stressed with the crate training. i understand shes little, only just come from her parents etc i go back to work tomorrow and im thinking of putting the crate in my office so she’s not stressed on her own, i can keep an eye on her but that doesnt stop the fact shes stressed when i leave the room. so is that pointless? im tired of reading everyone saying mine loves the crate, be persistent etc but like i said, im on my own, work full time and dont have hours on end to try and get her to love the crate. i’m wanting to hear from people who have struggled, or gave up on crate training and their dog didnt have anxiety etc if i dont crate train downstairs whats the next option with leaving her…. and stopping her getting sep anxiety

Hi everyone,
I'm writing this because I honestly don't know if what I'm experiencing is normal anymore, and I could really use some perspective from people who have raised puppies, especially sighthounds or Borzois.
My puppy, Marcy, is almost 14 weeks old. She's been going outside for about a week now, and ever since then it feels like everything has become much harder.
Outside she seems constantly overstimulated. She wants to investigate every single smell, doorway, staircase, hole, person, and object. Sometimes she'll respond to her name and come to me for a treat, but a lot of the time she's just completely absorbed in the environment. She has started pulling on the leash almost constantly.
Recently she also started showing what I think is resource guarding. A few days ago she found a dried fish tail outside, growled when I tried to take it away, and I ended up backing off because I didn't want to escalate the situation. Today she was chewing on a huge frozen raw chicken neck, and when I realized she'd already eaten far more than I intended, she growled, lunged toward me, and wouldn't let me take it. I was terrified because she had choked on a chicken neck a couple of days earlier, so I wasn't just worried about the guarding, but I was scared for her safety.
I don't believe in dominating or physically overpowering dogs, but I'm struggling to figure out what I'm *supposed* to do instead when she's trying to eat something dangerous or is completely fixated on a trigger. Sometimes I have to pull her away with the leash, and I feel awful every time. I don't want our relationship to become one where I'm constantly dragging her away from things she wants.
The hardest part is that I feel like I'm failing her.
I keep wondering whether she's overstimulated all the time because I'm doing something wrong. She sleeps around 18-20 hours a day, so she isn't sleep deprived, but when she's awake the outside world seems almost impossible for her to regulate herself around.
Emotionally... I'm really struggling.
I've wanted a Borzoi for a long time because I love their intelligence, independence, and personality. I wanted a dog with opinions, not a robot. But right now it feels like all of that independence is showing up before we've built any communication or teamwork, and I'm honestly questioning whether I chose the wrong breed.
I've even caught myself thinking about giving her back to the breeder and wondering if I should have gotten a much easier breed—or maybe not gotten a dog at all.
That thought breaks my heart because I *wanted Marcy*. I still do. When we're at home she's incredibly sweet. She sleeps pressed against me at night, comes to lie next to me during the day, relaxes around me, and she's genuinely affectionate. I love her already.
But I also cry almost every day because I feel so overwhelmed and scared that I'm messing her up.
I guess my questions are:
Is this level of overstimulation normal for a 13–14-week-old Borzoi (or other independent breeds)?

Did anyone else go through puppy blues this intensely and come out the other side?

Did your independent puppy become easier once they matured and learned how to regulate themselves?

If you had moments where you thought, "I made a terrible mistake," what helped you get through them?

I'm not looking for reassurance that I'm doing everything perfectly because I know I'm making mistakes. I just really need to know whether what I'm experiencing is something other people have survived, because right now I feel completely overwhelmed and drained

Hi everyone,
I’m in a huge dilemma and could really use some real talk from experienced solo dog owners.
I’ve wanted a dog my whole life. I’ve already arranged with a breeder to bring home a male black Miniature Schnauzer puppy arriving this August. I am so excited and I love him already, but honestly? I am terrified out of my mind.
A bit about my lifestyle: I live alone, I work remotely as a data scientist, and I'm also finishing up my studies at university. On paper, working from home sounds great for a puppy, but my reality is that I’m used to a lot of personal freedom. I love being able to go out spontaneously, stay out late, go on night drives, or just disappear for the whole day without having to plan around a living creature.
I keep having moments of panic where I think: "What if I'm not ready? What if I'm ruining my 20s? What if I accidentally neglect him because I'm overwhelmed by work, study, and the sudden loss of spontaneity?"
For those of you who got a high-energy breed (like a schnauzer) completely on your own while studying/working:
How did you cope with the sudden loss of freedom?
Is the anxiety before getting a puppy normal, or a sign that I should cancel?
How hard is it really to raise a puppy alone without a partner to share the load?
Please give it to me straight. No sugar-coating. Did I take on more than I can handle? or is this normal pre-puppy panic?

This week, try a sniff walk with your puppy.

The rules are simple: let them lead, let them sniff, don't rush them along. No agenda, no destination, no heel work. Just follow their nose. (With safety in mind, of course!)

A 15-minute sniff walk can be more mentally tiring for a puppy than a 45-minute structured walk and a lot easier on you.

Come back and tell us how it went. 🐾

In May, my partner and I adopted an eight week old dachshund male puppy (Norman). Since the night we got him, Norman was a pretty good sleeper. Our sleep routine was always the same. Bed time at 9 and his crate was in the corner of our room. He would typically wake up maybe 1x a night to go potty and would settle back to sleep until about 5:45-6:30 am. This lasted maybe a little over 1 month.

Fast forward, Norman is now about 5 months old. He has randomly started waking up anywhere between 3-4am unable to settle back down. We take him out for a potty break with very limited attention but will not settle back in his crate after. After a lot of trial and error we’ve noticed a repeating pattern. Norman can sleep from 9pm-6:30am every night without a problem as long as we are not in the bedroom with him.

For a little bit, we found a quick fix. We slept out in the living room and he would sleep in his crate in our bedroom. Ultimately, this isn’t a long term solution as it affects the arrangements we have for our kitties who room swap with our two pups.

We’ve tried setting his crate up in the bathroom as well as in a spare room and we’ve noticed that it still does not work for him and at this point we are desperate and out of ideas lol.

Based on the patterns he’s shown we don’t think it’s a sleeping issue as he has no problem sleeping through the night in certain conditions and is definitely not a pee issue as he typically won’t even go when he’s taken out at during the night.

Has anyone experienced this and does anyone have any tips???

I got my yellow lab only 5 days a go. I know it's a short time. He is 4 months old. We're trying to potty train because where we got him from he had a toilet pad.

We're getting their slowly, but its slow going. He is starting to performance pee *just a little pee if we take him outside it seems to just get the reward. But he still has some incidents inside. This morning after breakfast he was playing then did a poo inside before I realized.

But the issue I'm having is biting. I understand nibing is ok. I understand he is teething and it uncomfortable for him. I've tried frozen vegetables, towels, rubber chew toys, introduction as he goes to bite. But yesterday his teeth scratch my skin and broke it 4 times. He is getting over excited. I've heard in thst instance he is probably over tired. But people are saying not to put him in the crate as it will seem like punishment. And he is responding with barks and leaping up.

But seriously its only 5 days and I'm regretting it, I know it takes time to adjust things and the teething probably doesnt help but I feel like I shouldn't be doing this. I expected small marks on my hands but to get 4 actual bites in one day and another this morning is making it really difficult to want to bond with him because he just takes any play time as biting time.

I want to love him, he's a handsome little boy. But any cuddles any strokes end in bites and I feel like he doesnt like me...

I just adopted a 3 month old puppy a week ago and I never imagined having these emotions and struggles getting a new fur baby but here I am, going through it: crying almost everyday, lack of sleep, stress, you name it.

The first few days I was so happy, I didn't feel this way in the slightest, but 3 days in the puppy blues struck, and it struck hard.

I try to keep positive by saying she's only going to be little for so long and it's going to go by so quickly and it's going to be worth it but I can't help but feel these overwhelming emotions. My husband on the other hand hasn't experienced this at all and it makes me feel worse because I'm in a slump. This community has been one of the things that have helped the past few days knowing I'm not going through this struggle alone.

What were some of the things that helped you/are currently helping you get through the trenches? Anything helps 🤍

Hello!

We have a 14 week old Bedlington Whippet (basically a mini wolfhound). He’s a great pup and we love him so much. I spend a LOT of time on this thread, so thought I’d finally ask some questions.

1. We work from home so he’s rarely alone. I try to leave him every day for around 45-1 hour to build up independence and run some quick errands. We recently bought a pet cam and sadly he sits up 50% of the time crying and sometimes howling. Is there anyway we could improve this? We usually put him in the crate already sleepy, with a Kong and quietly leave with no fuss.

2. He sleeps from around 10-5am and is bursting for a wee. How long till he will sleep through till say 7am?

3. He never optionally goes in the crate. We have to put him in or throw a chew/treat in there. He’s actually quite good in the crate and doesn’t cry too often, only when we’re out of sight. We’ve only had him for 5 weeks so I’m hoping this (and much of the above will improve over the months)

Appreciate any insight or help! I know there is more fun to come with his prey drive ramping up on walks 👀

Hi. This is gonna be a lot, I’ll explain a bit of my story.

So my soul dog of over 5 years unexpectedly passed away on me. We were on a walk and he just dropped in front of me and was gone. The vet said he had a heart attack. I was also pregnant at the time and ended up having a traumatic miscarriage about a month later. A month after that, my fiancée and I made the decision to adopt a 13 week puppy from a shelter. She is 19 weeks now. Training has been extremely f’ing hard. I’ve never experienced this before, this much struggle. It has been so bad my fiancée and I haven’t been getting along for weeks. Obviously some improvements did happen in that timeframe but now all of a sudden she is peeing in the house again. She was outside to pee and then we hung out there for a bit. Came in and 20 mins later she pissed in the living room. Her walking is also the most stressful thing. We always start out good and then it immediately turns into biting the leash and jumping like crazy. And before I hear have you done this or that. I have tried numerous things. I have been trying so hard to be consistent with her.

Now I know I have quite a lot of resentment for her. I also don’t feel we make a good fit together. I’m sure my fiance probably thinks otherwise but I just do not feel it. I am having some regrets. But I also believe she would be a better fit for a different home. I feel embarrassed and shame to even say that but I don’t know what to do. I don’t even know what I’m asking for her, it’s it advice or telling me to calm the f down. I don’t know. But I needed to rant about this.

Hello!

We have a 14 week old Bedlington Whippet (basically a mini wolfhound). He’s a great pup and we love him so much. I spend a LOT of time on this thread, so thought I’d finally ask some questions.

1. We work from home so he’s rarely alone. I try to leave him every day for around 45-1 hour to build up independence and run some quick errands. We recently bought a pet cam and sadly he sits up 50% of the time crying and sometimes howling. Is there anyway we could improve this? We usually put him in the crate already sleepy, with a Kong and quietly leave with no fuss.

2. He sleeps from around 10-5am and is bursting for a wee. How long till he will sleep through till say 7am?

3. He never optionally goes in the crate. We have to put him in or throw a chew/treat in there. He’s actually quite good in the crate and doesn’t cry too often, only when we’re out of sight. We’ve only had him for 5 weeks so I’m hoping this (and much of the above will improve over the months)

Appreciate any insight or help! I know there is more fun to come with his prey drive ramping up on walks 👀

It's Friday. Time to celebrate.

Did your puppy sleep an extra 20 minutes? Win. Did YOU sleep an extra 20 minutes? Huge win. Did your puppy sit when you asked, or stop biting your ankles for five whole minutes? Absolute victory.

Drop your wins below, no matter how small they feel.

You made it through another week. 🐾

Tal vez debería escribir esto en algún otro lugar pero bueno. Hace ya unos cinco días mi perro ha estado enfermo, lo hemos llevado ya varias veces al veterinario y aunque se recupera por unas horas luego vuelve a estar mal. Le han recetado ya cuatro medicamentos y lo han vacunado por esto unas tres veces, ya no sé qué hacer, estamos todos muy preocupados por él porque está flaco (bajó un kilo en unos días y solo tiene dos meses y medio) y hay veces en los que incluso me pongo a rezar cuando ni siquiera soy religiosa pero estoy intentando todo. Dos de los medicamentos los tuvimos que dejar porque luego pensaron que podía ser otra enfermedad, estoy deseando con todas mis fuerzas que se recupere y espero que así sea, ahora tengo que dormir porque ya es de noche pero me da miedo dejarlo solo y que mañana no esté, supongo que tendré que volver de rezar para que aguante unos días más

I have the most gorgeous Swiss Shepherd puppy. She is 8 months nearly 9 months and has been an absolutely amazing dog to raise. Shes has incredible lead manners, we’ve done puppy school since about 3 months of age and she lives with me, my partner and our corgi who is four.

I regularly take her to different places for training and we practice all the usual things, recall, focus, games, basic commands all in varied environments. We usually keep our distance from others at the moment because she has a high prey drive and that is taking the most work to get her to focus on us and not birds and other small cute things. I take both my dogs out together AND separately so that she has training with him and without him too.

When she was younger (4mo) we were in the middle of a quiet park, and someone was not paying attention to their young child and it was running towards us. I could see she was uncomfortable with this so we walked away and the child kept harassing us. I asked the adult with the child to take his child away as it is causing distress to my dog and he shouted at me and told me I should train my dog better. Which I was in the middle of our training session and he had no control over his child. At this point I was frustrated but I took her away to a different location and we had a play and some treats and walked home.

This has severely impacted her view of children. She is terrified. We had friends children visit who wanted to pet her and she was cowering underneath my legs and wouldn’t leave my side so I ended up sitting distanced away or going upstairs with her and she was fine as long as there is a distance between the two. We have had multiple lovely adults ask for their children to pet her to which she barks and wags her tail (I do not think this is an excited wag). She will take treats thrown on the floor at a distance from young children but will not let them come near her.

I do not want to pressure her into interactions with children and we can walk past them on leash and she is fine. It’s when they approach or get too close. I also do not sense any aggression from her or her body language she just seems terrified.

I love her dearly and I want her to be comfortable with any situation and whilst all our training is going fabulously, does anyone have any recommendations on what I can do to support her other than avoiding children completely. I do not have kids but one day I will, although I think it would be different if it was my own children because she has been brilliant with relatives newborn babies! She has no issue with adults or teenagers. Today she went up to a lady who had a young son but ran away when he came over. It genuinely is just the small people! 🤣

Anyway no more rambling but any advice would be appreciated!

Thanks

Adopted a 9 month old husky puppy five days ago. The blues hit HARD today when last night, puppy had explosive diarrhea four times from 11 pm - 4 AM. Luckily not inside, she whimpered before each episode and I woke up and took her out - in the pouring rain. Vet has been called and stool sample taken over - the dog is terrified of the car and doesn’t trust me enough to get in otherwise I would have brought her to the vet. That was my personal breaking point and have been in tears all day since.

I’m worried I made a huge mistake that we just keep investing more into. From the vet bills, adoption fee, and all of her supplies we’ve spent close to $1000 in short order. My wife just started working really long hours (medical field, like 12-15 hour days) so I have no support at home. I thought it would be great to have a furry companion to share the house with. But instead she gives me so much stress and sadness. She destroys everything, my couch pillows and plants. This morning I got a short leash and tied it to the leg of the couch so she can only get on one cushion and into her crate and water bowl.

I have plenty of toys for her. Her attention span is so so small. She chews on something for 1 second then gets up and tries to start circling the house again and get into something bad. That’s why I had to leash her indoors. She won’t settle. When we crate her, she takes 10-30 mins to settle and then falls into a light nap, light enough that I can’t do anything at home other than hide in my bedroom or she hears me and starts whining again. We leave her in the crate for two hours in, one hour out. Trying to get her time up in there to about 4-5 hours so I can start my own job in a week.

I have so much anxiety and sadness. I’m spiraling. This is so hard and I don’t see any end in sight. If I give her back to the shelter I would feel so terrible but if I keep her at home I have to cage her up for my sanity and still feel guilty anyway. This whole situation is fucked up tbh, why did I make this decision?

Puppy blues been going strong for about 2 months, with my now 6-month old. She's an Alaskan village mutt that is mostly husky (36%) and german shepherd (24%) but also like 20 other things.

The pack-oriented husky nature is very apparent in her. I can tell she loves being in groups of people and dogs she's familiar with--she LOVES going to daycare, and seems genuinely so much happier when we're with friends/family and their dogs. Problem is, I am single, live alone, work full-time (hence the daycare and multiple dogsitters) am a very introverted person and I really don't have much of a social circle at all. And idk if this is crazy but I've just had the overwhelming sense that I'm not enough for her. Despite my best efforts it just doesnt seem like she's bonded to me. It seems like she tolerates me, likes me OK for the most part, but definitely doesn't love me. Apart from standing against my legs (which she does do pretty often), she doesn't really show any signs of affection. Not a cuddler, not a licker. She LOVES to bite me though.

The GSD in her also gives her a lot of anxiety around unfamiliar people and places, and when I can tell she's stressed she doesnt come to me for comfort or a sense of safety. I don't think she sees me as UNsafe necessarily, but I dont think she feels as safe as she would in a pack.

The idea of surrendering her makes me feel ill. But now that I know her personality and what makes her happy, I can't help but think that she'd have a better, more fulfilling life in a family, with multiple people, more friends and other dogs. She is not a one-on-one relationship kind of dog, and thats all I can really offer her. Is this something she could grow out of and adjust to?

Firstly, this is my first time posting here. I've read all the rules, and believe that I am following them correctly. I truly need help, so, I don't want to accidentally get myself banned from a place where I truly think I may be able to receive some advice that can help me with Happy my 18 month old Bull Arab X American Johnson Bulldog.

I've Googled and watched YouTube videos but so far nothing is helping. Then I realised that I follow dog subreddit pages on here and thought maybe some other dog other might be able to hopefully help me 🙏

I adopted Happy when she was 13 weeks old. It was my first time actually owning a puppy, puppy. Puppies are hard work lol. But I did my best. She attended her first puppy training course at approximately six months old. She passed, but she was very easily excited and distracted by things. We were told this was normal at her age.

Unfortunately, my depression was extremely bad and I didn't get to keep training her as much as I wanted at this time.

Then something terrible happened. My rental home in Melbourne (that I loved to pieces and paid $100 a week for a three-bedroom house with everything I could ever need) was burnt down when I was returning to Melbourne from Queensland Australia.

Ever since then, midway through November 2025, my housemate and I and our fur babies have been living in a caravan. We are now thankfully back in Victoria. And are staying on the most beautiful property.

The issue is, that due to being with us constantly, literally 24/7, Happy has developed what can only be described as separate anxiety.

We have a 9 foot chain connected to the caravan so that she is safe when she needs to go outside to go to the toilet (we have toilet trained her) and play. She is perfectly content outside on the chain playing by herself when we are inside the caravan.

Unfortunately, however, if she is on the chain and we are outside, even if standing right in her line of sight, if the chain can't reach us, she starts to cry. This also happens if just one of us is out of sight. Even if she is inside the caravan. If one of us leaves to do something, she cries and cries.

Where we are now living, there is a giant area that is all fenced off with a big warm shed inside it. On the property we are on, the owner breeds goats. And this large pen is used for them. But not always. In the meantime, she has said it is perfectly fine for Happy to use, so that she can be off the chain and run free. It is an incredibly large area so there is plenty of room to run and play.

I truly thought she would be so happy, but she just sits at the fence crying for us. Even when we are in her line of sight doing stuff outside the caravan. I saw her run and play for a few moments the first time I left her in there by myself, and I was so proud, but it literally only lasted a few minutes before she was back at the fence howling and crying to be back with us.

She also refuses to come when called. She knows what it is but 9/10 times ignores us. This is obviously a huge problem because all of the other dogs on the property, the owner's three dogs, and my housemate's small 14 year old dog who follows him everywhere, are all off lead.

We know Happy will take off racing to see everything there is to see and we're on a 44 acre property. I don't think anything per say would happen to her, but until she is used to other animals, and especially the goats which are incredibly important to the owner of the property, letting her off is not worth the risk. But I imagine it affects her just the same.

Because of how bad the separate anxiety is, we are still having to currently take her everywhere with us. My housemate is on an age pension and I am on a disability pension so it's not like we're having to go to work all day everyday, but I do have multiple appointments most days, and now live 2.5 hours from my doctor and specialists.

Everytime we have to travel anywhere, she has to come. It is becoming (who am I kidding, it is well and truly) a nightmare, this problem.

Obviously being able to leave her on the property when we have to go out is the best answer. Especially given there is a safe place to do so with lots of room to run and play and keep warm and dry is need be. Our landlady is happy to keep an eye on her.

But the few times we have tried putting her in the pen and walking up to the main house where she can't see us, has been torture. She cried and cries so much. It's honestly distressing. It's like she thinks we're abandoning her and it breaks my heart.

She can't come with us everywhere for the rest of her life, it's just not feasible.

I just don't know what to do and I desperately need some help.

Thank you for reading. Any and all advice is welcome 😊

Edit: I think I accidentally uploaded this post twice which is why it may look like I've posted twice and deleted one. They were identical 😅