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Puppy Blues – Causes and How To Cope With This Feeling

Breeding Business is passionate about all sorts of domesticated pets. They have written dozens of articles across the web.
Published on
Sunday 24 January 2021
Last updated on
Tuesday 9 May 2023
puppy blues
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You’ve been planning to have a dog and after a long time, your dreams finally came true. However, instead of feeling excited, why is it the opposite? Well, you are most likely suffering from puppy blues, or also called puppy depression. That’s right, as you have read, it is something that you suffer, not your pet. Most of the time we talk about an interesting topic regarding your beloved pet. However, this time we will talk about you.

Puppy blues are a lot like postpartum depression. The difficulties of raising a dog can lead to serious emotional problems. Although this is not a psychiatric condition, it can make you feel very sad, tired, and even anxious. Nobody wants to feel this way, much less, when they had the illusion that having a puppy would mean pure sweetness in their life. Therefore, in this article, we will let you know what the causes of this problem are. In addition to the techniques to overcome it.

Causes of Puppy Blues

Several factors can lead to this state. It is essential that you can recognize what has been the cause or causes that have led to it. To do this, here are five of them.

Potty Training Issues Can Cause Puppy Blues

So, you’ve been trying to potty train your puppy. However, it is not working. Or, it’s taking longer than you expected it to learn.

Therefore, you start to see that your puppy is peeing and pooping all over the house. Cleaning up the whole mess is certainly not a pleasant situation. You can do it a few times. However, if this always happens, then your patience is probably running out.

This can cause a lot of stress and annoyance. In addition to generating certain negative feelings and feeling overwhelmed with your new puppy. On the contrary, spending time with a house-trained dog seems to have beneficial effects on a person’s mood and anxiety.

Behavioral Problems

It may be that the puppy you had in mind is nothing like the one you have. Usually, we paint in our mind the image of a sweet dog, which is always by our side, tender, and loving.

Unfortunately, like everything in life, nothing is perfect. In the process of getting to know your new pet, you may come across aspects that you don’t like at all about it and start to say, “I hate my puppy”. Did you find your pet biting and destroying all the things you like? This is one of them. Does it want you to always pay attention to it, and if you don’t, it starts whimpering and jumping? This is another.

It won’t stop barking and you think: “my puppy is driving me crazy?” One more from the list. Is it aggressive? That’s worse. But you can learn how to correct this behavior and improve your situation with our guide on puppy training. These are certainly not behaviors that dogs purposely plan to annoy you. However, they can cause you a lot of stress and frustration, we understand that.

Financial Commitment Can Give Origin to Puppy Blues

Perhaps, you dreamed of the day when you would finally have the puppy you wanted in your arms. Excited by the fact that it would be the partner you needed so much. Also, you really like animals and are very loving to them. You think nothing could go wrong. However, then the harsh reality hits you. Nobody lives on love alone; money is also necessary.

The fact that they are animals doesn’t mean that they don’t need care. Just as having a baby implies that you will have to provide her/him with a lot of care, a pet also requires it. To keep it healthy, you will have to pay for regular visits to the vet, and its vaccinations. Also, if you want to feed it with quality food, you will have to spend a significant amount of money. Not to mention the toys and other implements it will need.

So, if you realize that you did not have these planned expenses and that they mean a large outlay of money. In addition to not having such a stable cash inflow because you are still building a future for yourself, it can mean a big problem. This can get so complicated, to the point that you can feel very intense pressure and sadness if you are aware that you will not be able to cover all those needs.

Lack of Sleep

Nobody likes to sleep badly. We all want to get an adequate amount of restful sleep to stay productive and energetic throughout the day. However, just like a baby would, a puppy can take away many hours of sleep. This is a common cause of puppy blues because it causes anxiety and might damage the relationship with your pet.

They don’t care what time of day it is, and if they need your help, they will always let you know. Also, they can’t hold their bladders for long, so you’ll have to keep an eye on that.

Therefore, it may be that your quality of sleep does not occupy a privileged place on your list. It goes on like this for weeks. And therefore, you feel more and more tired and bored of doing daily work and taking care of it. This is one of the main reasons why many owners suffer from puppy depression. Lack of sleep deteriorates your mental and physical health.

General Puppy Care Workload

Having a puppy is exhausting because it implies having responsibilities. From now on you will be taking charge of one more life.

You will have to decide how to feed it. Besides, you must provide it with the exercise it needs. You’ll have to take it out for walks. Train it. Take it to regular checkups. You will also have to take care that it maintains good hygiene. In case your pet sheds frequently, you should clean your home more meticulously.

We are sure that just reading all of it left you exhausted. Well, if you live it in your own flesh, we are sure that you will be even more so. If you love your pet and you were ready to take on that challenge, then it won’t be a reason to get depressed. However, if you weren’t expecting it, or you hadn’t planned it, and now you don’t have the energy to do anything, then it can harm your mental health.

having puppy blues
Being a puppy owner is exhausting.

How to Cope with Puppy Blues?

Let’s say you seem to be suffering from this syndrome after realizing “my dog is making me depressed”. You are desperate and you don’t know what to do. It seems that you live in constant torment. Do not lose hope, there are always ways to solve these situations. Next, we will show you four of them.

Learn What to Expect

If you are not sure about what to expect, or worse, if you have expectations that do not adapt to reality, this can be really harsh. Set up your mind to what you have to expect with a case of puppy blues. It is often thought that from the moment a puppy enters your life, it will be magnificent. However, this is not always the case. Dogs indeed give us unconditional love, loyalty, companionship, and protection, but they are also hard work.

The thing to keep in mind is that they also bring great responsibility. These living beings have many emotional and physical needs that must be met. You should not see all this as a punishment, just as something natural. If you train your pet, then it will not develop negative attitudes, and it will know how to behave.

Certainly, you should invest your time and money. However, since you have committed to taking care of it, then you must keep going. It will help you a lot to find as much information as possible. Try asking for advice and saving some time to research about puppies.

Try New Strategies With Your Pooch

It may be that you are a first-time owner, and; therefore, you do not know what to do to make your pet pay attention to you. Even despite having multiple pets in the past, the training you’re giving your dog doesn’t seem to be working at all. What to do about new puppy stress syndrome?

This, as we have mentioned above, can create a lot of negative feelings. You may feel unmotivated and think that you will never get out of that terrible moment. However, do not despair, because there are ways to improve this situation.

Relax first. Afterward, spend some of your time looking for new strategies to try with your puppy. Some of these include crate training, increased exercise, clicker training, and doggie daycare. You can find many on the internet. Surely there is one that you have not tried and that is the perfect one for your dog.

Reach Out to Someone to Process Your Feelings

It is also important that you take care of yourself. All this bunch of emotions can greatly affect your mental health.

Therefore, it is advisable that you communicate with people with whom you can share what you are feeling so that you feel relieved in some way. Whether you talk to a friend that you know is very good at listening. Or, you go to a therapist to seek for professional help.

It is also necessary that you have time just for yourself, without your pet. Let your relatives, or someone close to you takes care of it for a few hours. Dedicate yourself to do some activity that you enjoy during that time to clear your thoughts.

Don’t Take it Out on the Puppy

Even though you are going through new puppy owner anxiety, pets are not to blame for it. After all, they are animals, and you are human. You are the thinking and reasonable being. Therefore, always keep in mind that you should not take your dog’s behavior personally.

There can be many times when it has peed on your furniture or bitten your favorite shoes, and that has bothered you. However, remember that this is not done on purpose. It is normal for you to lose your patience and feel frustrated. But that doesn’t mean you should take it out on your pet. Yelling at it, intimidating it, or even physically abusing it is a big no. This should never become a routine.

We do not doubt that you love your pet. And we are sure that this love will lead you to choose the appropriate measures so that its presence only means good things. However, if you still don’t have the time to take care of it, then sometimes the best decision is to give him to a family who will take care of it with love.

Puppy Blues – FAQ

Here we’re going to solve all of your doubts regarding puppy blues, to let you see what you can do with effective answers and solutions.

Is it normal to feel sad after getting a puppy?

Well, this is not the feeling you would expect after getting a pet. Usually, a person is excited and happy. However, we cannot say that puppy depression is uncommon. Actually, many people go through it.

Also, although it is quite frequent in the initial time after obtaining a puppy, in the process of adaptation to it. It is also true that it can occur months or years later. Feeling down, crying, sleeping less, eating less, and having trouble concentrating can be some of the signs that can show you are suffering from it.

Everyone goes through difficult situations in the process of breeding a dog. For some people, this is not a great challenge and they know how to take it easy. For others, especially those who have a history of depression or are living with something that causes them a lot of stress, this means something much bigger and troublesome.

Can you get puppy blues?

As we have said before, if you have a history of depression, then you are more likely to develop it. However, it can also be suffered by completely mentally healthy people. This may be because they are just going through bad situations, such as the loss of a job, or a fight with a loved one.

In addition, not having accepted the responsibilities that come with a dog before, can cause the perfect image that you had in your mind, to deteriorate little by little. This can lead to deep sadness, anxiety, and even regret.

How can I reduce my puppy stress?

First, you must relax and accept reality. Now you are the owner of a pet that has needs, that may have some annoying behaviors, but that has a solution. Then, you should look for useful information to help you know how to handle it and start working with it. If this doesn’t work, then you can seek professional help to help you train it or look for new techniques. On the internet there are many.

Finally, don’t forget to have time for yourself, without your pet. Relax, talk to a friend, and enjoy your favorite hobby.

What age are puppies most difficult?

Just like humans, dogs also go through many stages during their development. Probably the hardest to deal with is in their teenage years. It usually occurs when they are 5 to 18 months old.

During this time, they can certainly become somewhat rebellious. They will always want to test you and they will display many behaviors that will make you go crazy. However, the key here is to be firm and be patient.

do not take it personally
Do not take your pup’s unruly behavior personally.

If you feel you have the puppy blues, be kind to yourself. You are not being dramatic, these things happen. But you and your puppy can take time and grow together, with patience and care you will feel better soon.

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