My time has been sucked into a puppy vortex!

[AngAngeles13]

Well, there is comfort in knowing I'm not alone here! (maybe...haha) She's the cutest sweetest little thing, and I love her to pieces, but man alive she's driving me crazy at the same time.

 

[Davidh]

Welcome to puppy hood, it will be over before you know it and you will wish it was back. Then it will be time for another one.

 

[ddnene]

Puppyhood is exhausting... Winston is 8 mos, and he's getting better!!! Some days are better than others, just check my blinds thread... LOL Hopefully soon we will get over this hump, until then...

 

[Baxter Tiberius]

She is three months old now....and when I get home my time is spent following her around like a hawk to make sure my walls don't get chewed up, she isn't peeing or pooping on anything or anyone, that she's being properly stimulated, exercised and trained, or isn't choking on something or biting the kids,....getting her teeth out of the hem of my pants, feeding her, cleaning up poop out of the yard....the list goes on......

In the mean time....my house is a wreck. The floors are all clean, but every surface that she can't reach is covered in STUFF that I haven't had time to put away. My family is living off of cereal and ramen noodles, and I look like an insane homeless person. And work....forget it.

PLEASE tell me this doesn't last forever.

Oh dear LORD welcome to my world!!!!!!!!! What a relief to read this post. You are not alone! Baxter is hitting 12 weeks right now and this is exactly my life. My condo, which was a spotless jewel of perfection (and lonely empty solitude) is now a total disaster area. There are stains all over my floor, spills, crap, and piss. (we're talking 80+ accidents in 2 weeks so give me a break if I miss one or two).

I work from home, so can you imagine doing what you do after work ..... all day long? There are days that I am not even showered until 5pm .... and im sweaty and I stink like body odor because all I have done all day is tend to this little piggy every waking minute. YES! This is normal I guess? Im relieved to hear someone else is dealing with it also.

I was reading last night that english bulldogs are NOT for first time puppy owners, because they are one of the hardest dogs to train, and require constant nonstop monitoring. There's actually an intelligence / obedience chart for dogs and English Bulldogs are at the very *Bottom* of the list, with a rating of "Requires 80 to 100 repeats of an activity before they learn something new" ... as opposed to 3-7 times for the other breeds like Border Collie. I try to remember that, and give my goofy little piggy some patience.

I have not worked in TWO WEEKS. I rarely eat 3 meals a day now, and it is a concerted effort to manage my time throughout the day to get everything done. Wish someone would have told me this beforehand, but I probably still would have gotten Baxter

"I look like an insane homeless person"

LOL!!!!!!!! Yes! Like I said, some days I haven't even showered by night fall because of him.

Please tell me this wont last forever....

 

[Baxter Tiberius]

So I am feeling guilty putting her in there because it seems it's just so boring for her. Is that idiotic thinking?

No im also dealing with this dilemma. I took baxter on a week long trip to California last week. he was in a house with 2 adult bulldogs and had the time of his life. We were in San Diego at a local park and he was seriously just so content, so happy, and so at peace. His face tells EXACTLY how he's feeling. He had so much freedom. My friends didn't care about the peeing on the floor, so potty training and 'crating' was not in effect. He was a HAPPIER DOG ... without a doubt. The first day we came home, his face and entire countenance changed. He was back in his crate and he was miserable. He whined quietly, moaned, and looked and acted miserable. He slept most of the time, and just seriously looked so depressed. I couldn't stand it. I felt like the life that would make him happy was taken from him. So i am scheduling time to take him to the beach and out in public now, hopefully on a daily basis. I work from home so there's hours and hours of nothing to do but watch me on my computer. Its torture for him. He's very unhappy I think.

 

[Rural mystic]

OMG you are in deep. What was your life like before? What did you do with all that time? I know where of you speak.

 

[heavyblankets]

I had the same problem for Agnes's first probably four months with me. She needed CONSTANT attentionand monitoring, and i was not able to get anything else done until she went to sleep. My apartment was a wreck of things pulled on every available surface to keep them out of reach. She's almost 9 months old now and I can leave my shoes and some other stuff on the floor. She will pick one up every once in a while but she'll put it down when I stand up and come over and ask her sternly what she thinks she's doing. Now, though, she's entering some kind of a teenager phase where she's been testing me all over again! It's still a breeze compared to the baby puppy phase, though!

 

[luvmybully]

I am with ya, I feel like a broken record....NO NO NO all day long! Tucker is over 4 1/2 mo old and I feel like my vortex is spinning out of control! The employees at the petstore know my name and Tuckers too! I am there once a week, trying to find something that Tucker will spend 15 min chewing instead of me! I must say I don't have as many holes in my arms as I once did, but I still have bruising up and down my arms and legs. My gf told me not to wear sleaveless or shorts! It's been an experience for sure, when they look at you with that tongue hanging out, you just want to kiss them all over and they bite you in exchange! I know it will be worth it, to have gone through all this and in reward to have the best bully turnout. Thank goodness for this site, as it is my release to see others go through what I am and the outcome is a great reward!

 

[Opie CHL]

Oh dear LORD welcome to my world!!!!!!!!! What a relief to read this post. You are not alone! Baxter is hitting 12 weeks right now and this is exactly my life. My condo, which was a spotless jewel of perfection (and lonely empty solitude) is now a total disaster area. There are stains all over my floor, spills, crap, and piss. (we're talking 80+ accidents in 2 weeks so give me a break if I miss one or two).

I work from home, so can you imagine doing what you do after work ..... all day long? There are days that I am not even showered until 5pm .... and im sweaty and I stink like body odor because all I have done all day is tend to this little piggy every waking minute. YES! This is normal I guess? Im relieved to hear someone else is dealing with it also.

I was reading last night that english bulldogs are NOT for first time puppy owners, because they are one of the hardest dogs to train, and require constant nonstop monitoring. There's actually an intelligence / obedience chart for dogs and English Bulldogs are at the very *Bottom* of the list, with a rating of "Requires 80 to 100 repeats of an activity before they learn something new" ... as opposed to 3-7 times for the other breeds like Border Collie. I try to remember that, and give my goofy little piggy some patience.

I have not worked in TWO WEEKS. I rarely eat 3 meals a day now, and it is a concerted effort to manage my time throughout the day to get everything done. Wish someone would have told me this beforehand, but I probably still would have gotten Baxter

"I look like an insane homeless person"

LOL!!!!!!!! Yes! Like I said, some days I haven't even showered by night fall because of him.

Please tell me this wont last forever....

wow..I hope things get easier for you..your post has me feeling sorry for you and laughing at the same time. (I look like an insane homeless person!) you definitely need a break! Things will get better! Hang in there!

 

[AngAngeles13]

Oh dear LORD welcome to my world!!!!!!!!! What a relief to read this post. You are not alone! Baxter is hitting 12 weeks right now and this is exactly my life. My condo, which was a spotless jewel of perfection (and lonely empty solitude) is now a total disaster area. There are stains all over my floor, spills, crap, and piss. (we're talking 80+ accidents in 2 weeks so give me a break if I miss one or two).

I work from home, so can you imagine doing what you do after work ..... all day long? There are days that I am not even showered until 5pm .... and im sweaty and I stink like body odor because all I have done all day is tend to this little piggy every waking minute. YES! This is normal I guess? Im relieved to hear someone else is dealing with it also.

I was reading last night that english bulldogs are NOT for first time puppy owners, because they are one of the hardest dogs to train, and require constant nonstop monitoring. There's actually an intelligence / obedience chart for dogs and English Bulldogs are at the very *Bottom* of the list, with a rating of "Requires 80 to 100 repeats of an activity before they learn something new" ... as opposed to 3-7 times for the other breeds like Border Collie. I try to remember that, and give my goofy little piggy some patience.

I have not worked in TWO WEEKS. I rarely eat 3 meals a day now, and it is a concerted effort to manage my time throughout the day to get everything done. Wish someone would have told me this beforehand, but I probably still would have gotten Baxter

"I look like an insane homeless person"

LOL!!!!!!!! Yes! Like I said, some days I haven't even showered by night fall because of him.

Please tell me this wont last forever....

No im also dealing with this dilemma. I took baxter on a week long trip to California last week. he was in a house with 2 adult bulldogs and had the time of his life. We were in San Diego at a local park and he was seriously just so content, so happy, and so at peace. His face tells EXACTLY how he's feeling. He had so much freedom. My friends didn't care about the peeing on the floor, so potty training and 'crating' was not in effect. He was a HAPPIER DOG ... without a doubt. The first day we came home, his face and entire countenance changed. He was back in his crate and he was miserable. He whined quietly, moaned, and looked and acted miserable. He slept most of the time, and just seriously looked so depressed. I couldn't stand it. I felt like the life that would make him happy was taken from him. So i am scheduling time to take him to the beach and out in public now, hopefully on a daily basis. I work from home so there's hours and hours of nothing to do but watch me on my computer. Its torture for him. He's very unhappy I think.

I just wanted to send you some love and empathy! Sounds like you're in just as deep as I am! It will get better, it will get better, it will get better....

 

[Rural mystic]

Ace is 10 months now and was 8 weeks old when I got him home. My life's routine completely altered. I work long hours 10 hour work day and have a 92 mile commute to work on top of that. But still I use to manage to get on the treadmill and/or lift weights several times a week, I have been a disciplined meditator too for about 20 years, and all that has been put on hold for the most part for the last 8 months. Ace and the maltese don't get along good and so that has compounded the problems. Now when I get home from work its constant dogs until I go to bed. Get home take them out, exercise Ace for a bit to get the razor edge off and cause he needs it, feed up, [ the dogs have to be separated for this one in the dining room the other in the bedroom] a daily routine of cleaning my bully's face and underparts, brushing, more rough housing with Ace, [ he begs for my attention ] then its time to put them in their crates and get a shower, go to bed and start the routine all over again. Added to that there is way more cleaning, cleaning the crate, vacuuming the house way more often, finding and picking up toys and chew items all over, stuff chewed on and tore up, Wow. Did I know it would be this much before I got Ace? No. Would I change it now? No. I love that boy and he repays in a hundred fold ways. It don't make sense I'm sure for some but it does for me. Gradually the interactions have improved between the dogs but one must still be vigilant. After getting Ace home and realizing the hundreds of ways a bulldog can get into things and not only destroy but hurt themselves and with the interactions between the dogs early on I went into a hyper vigilant mode, similar to when I was a young man and had infant children. It's been wear and tare on me but I have adjusted and just now beginning to get things somewhat back to normal. Life goes on and all the dramas associated with regular life, the drama at work and the normal family issues that come up, don't cease because I have another dog. But if I had to do it all over again I would. Why? I don't even know if I can answer a question like that. There is something there with my dogs that is difficult to put in words, there is a bond there that I wouldn't want to live without.

 

[kazzy220]

I just wanted to send you some love and empathy! Sounds like you're in just as deep as I am! It will get better, it will get better, it will get better....

I know it's very bad but I have to own up to giggling whilst I read what you are both going through!!! And only because I know exactly what you mean. All of us who have had a bully puppy have lived through this. It doesn't last forever but it just feels like it when it's happening. Welcome to the life of being a bully paw-rent!!! It's exhausting but SO rewarding!!!! Hang on in there, that puppy will have you trained just the way they want it in no time and then life will start to get much much MUCH easier!!