Dear Texas Dog Owners: I Promise the Puppy Blues are Temporary

If you’ve raised a puppy at some point, you might be familiar with something called ‘puppy blues’. Even if you’ve never heard that name before, I’m sure you still understand what I'm talking about.

Having a puppy is always shown as an amazing, exciting, and extraordinarily happy time for dog owners. While this can be true for some people, and having a puppy is always a blessing in its own way, not everyone’s experience raising a puppy is so magical.

The puppy blues is when the dog’s owner experiences negative feelings after bringing home a new puppy. This can come in the form of stress, anxiety, and sometimes regret due to the challenging behaviors most puppies have.

You might feel a disconnect from your puppy, feeling like you should have this immediate bond that makes you love the dog unconditionally. However, that isn’t always the case. It takes time to form a bond with your dog, and it can take a while for both of you to connect and form a strong relationship.

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The first two years of a dog’s life are full of energy, learning, mischief, and excitement. This means that they will push your boundaries as they take in all the information around them. They want to know what they can get away with, what their boundaries are, and what their place is in the family. This means you have to be firm in your training, set boundaries early on, and don’t let them push you around, which can be a huge challenge.

I’ve been going through this myself with my puppy. She’s currently 11 months old and the past couple of months were especially challenging. She’s a teenager right now, and just like human teens, she is pushing every boundary she can to see whether or not I will budge.

Some moments are really good, and some are really bad, and it has absolutely been stressful.

With consistent training, a willingness to learn as a dog owner, and a bit of patience, I feel like I am finally starting to see the light at the end of the tunnel. She is learning who I am and I am getting to see the beautiful dog she is growing into. We still have a way to go, but our bond gets stronger every day.

So, if you are currently experiencing puppy blues, I promise it will get better.