Post adoption of dog blues or depression?

Five months old, yikes. Does the shelter have a policy on whether you can bring him back? In your situation, an older dog would probably be a lot better. My lab mix at 5 months was a big responsibility, and I didn't have a husband, house, or baby to take care of.

I would find this out first, but still work with the dog as much as you can in the time being. I think the shelter would understand what you're going through, and maybe pair you up with a better suited dog. Our lab mix is a year and 3 months, and her and our 8 month old puppy have been running laps through the living room and dining room for the past 15 minutes nonstop, and your puppy might not grow out of that 'puppy stage' until he's 2 years old, or older.

Training is going to be your biggest priority to make this work. I would get recommendations from friends, your vet, even try craigslist. There are many trainers willing to come to your house and work with your dog one on one, which is great when you have a baby to watch.

I'm not sure of your living situation, but if you have a yard or can set up an outside area, Josie (lab/aussie mix) loved being outside more than inside, she could wear herself out on her own terms (we live in an apartment now, and despite walks throughout the day, she still likes to run her laps). If you don't have a fence, you can set up a runner between two trees (they come as short as 8 feet and as long as 30 which is what I used).

I'd also start crate training your pup, your baby gets his own crib, your dog should have his own den as well. If done right, they're a positive tool that can give you relief when you get overwhelmed and keep him safe while you're not home (that chewing will ruin some shoes and furniture if you're not careful). You can find these a lot cheaper on craigslist, I found one for $25 that just needed some spray paint and works fine. If he's cautious of things covering him like Josie is, a wire pen would work great, you can find these wherever you can find crates, usually.

I'd also stock up on interactive toys like treat balls, kongs, raw hides, raw hide bones, etc. A kong you can fill with peanut butter or plain yogurt and treats and then freeze, this keeps your dogs attention longer and makes less of a mess. I also buy bone marrows from the grocery store, you get six for like $2.88, they're really cheap. You don't have to cook them, give them raw, they help clean your dog's teeth, work out their neck muscles, and keep them busy for a long time. Also a lot cheaper than other chews (like nylabones) which disappear. I then take the bone part, fill with yogurt or peanut butter, and refreeze as another treat. Just make sure to never give cooked or smoked bones. If you have a stroller for your son, you could walk him and walk your dog at the same time. If your dog pulls, in the meantime I'd use a gentle leader, it almost completely stops pulling, and is better for your dog's neck.

I'd also buy cheap tupperware and premeasure out his food weekly, that way it's less to do when he's hungry and you're hungry and your family's hungry, just something simple to make dinner time easier.

There's a great list of doggy proverbs on this Y!A question:

http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index;%E2%80%A6

But don't let yourself feel stupid or guilty for trying to do something amazing for a dog. It might not have been a week yet, but your dog is so happy that he's not stockpiled in a shelter with a bunch of barking dogs and barely any room to be himself. Think about how much better his life already is, and it's all thanks to you and your family. If there is even a sliver of chance that you can make it work, then I would go for it. I got Josie at 5 weeks old and when she was 5 months I was thinking of rehoming her, I was gone 12 hours a day because of work and she had so much energy it was overwhelming (my first dog), but as soon as someone showed interest in her I realized I couldn't do it, and I'm SO glad I didn't.

And at the moment we have two dogs in a 678 sq. ft. apartment, but overzealous me missed having cats, so I decided to foster two cats. We got them home and that whole first week I just kept thinking I was in over my head, my boyfriend wasn't thrilled, I had a litter box to clean, I had to figure out how to keep them out of sight (2 pet max, whatever), and make sure they were happy. It was a lot, but I love having them, and the altruistic feeling is one that can't be bought.

I hope you make the best decision for you and your family, which for the time being includes a dog.

I think you should give it some time. My sister who is 23 has two kids, a 1 year old and a 3 year old. SHe decided to adopt a puppy, she loved the dog for the first week but as he adjusted and he got a little older he started chewing, biting, peeing, pooping, running, and just out of controle. She was mad she got him and she just was keeping him in his crate because he was jumping on the kids and biting them. She wnated to give him up, he was nothing like her Toy Poodle that she had for 17 years. But she thought it over and she started to handle the dog and teach him and introduce him to the kids and stop him froim what he was doing. And now she still has him hes great he obeys. I think you should give him a chance. Do you have a crate? you can crate train him. It will keep him from destrying your house when your not home or cant be with him or watch him. Also do obedience training with him for 5 minutes at a time. And let him get exericse by maybe taking a walk with your son in the stroller around the block or go to a park and walk around the park or play with him, you can take your son to the park and while hes playing you can get a 15 foot leashe and play fetch with the dog so hes under controle with the leash but all of you are getting exericise. Hope this helps, dont give him back. He will get better he is still young. He will be a good dog.

Clinical depression can be triggered by any major life event, and a latent condition can be exacerbated by stress. Caring for a child is a good kind of stress, but it's still taxing. Events like an adoption can affect a person's mental health. Now obviously, that's different from postpartum depression because it doesn't have the same involvement of hormonal and physical changes. But many people suffer clinical depression without having given birth. It's not like all depression is triggered by childbirth hormones anyway. I think true clinical depression after adopting is rare, though I think many people may feel overwhelmed with stress or mildly disillusioned when reality doesn't match fantasy. I think all parents are potentially subject to that-- including biological dads, who also didn't give birth.

Post A Pet For Adoption

Take the dog back and admit it was just too much for you to manage with the baby so young.

Wait until your family is back into your usual schedule and then reconsider.

My first concern is always the safety of any children in the home. That's why my recommendation is that you consider one of these three breeds:

Newfoundland

Labrador Retriever

Golden Retriever

These dogs are big, tough and generally calm, once they mature. The important factor is that they are too big and too tough for a rowdy kid to, in all innocence, accidentally hurt the dog. And if the child cannot hurt the dog, the dog won't be driven to the point of retaliation with her teeth.

All three of these dogs are retrievers; they have no history of fighting or combat in their ancestry. They are mild-mannered and patient, smart as most people and very trainable.

For a family with children under four, I recommend you locate a local or relatively local kennel or rescue and adopt an adult. You want one that is at least three and better five years old, visibly calm when you meet her, with experience with children and no history of aggression.

That dog has a much better chance of fitting into your family than this shelter puppy. Take him back and tell the shelter people you misjudged how much time the puppy took from your time with your baby. Tell them all the puppy's good points; it may help him get adopted by someone else.

It sounds like it's a matter of training your dog to respect your baby. Once he learns to respect the baby's space it will be much easier for you. Don't keep him seperated from your son, he won't learn to behave that way, it will only build up the excitement for him, companion dogs naturally love children. Sit down on the floor with the baby and dog and if the dog comes too close give him a sharp poke to the neck, like anotother dog would give a little bite to say too close. And don't let him fixate on the baby as a play thing, give him a poke to snap him out if it. Don't give him up. He's lucky to have an owner with a stong moral conscience. He will mellow out as he ages, and what an amazing companion for your child to have growing up.

I really don't think a puppy was a good idea. I don't have kids and I don't have time for teaching a puppy manners and to go potty outside, that's why I adopt older dogs.

Personally, I think if you really can't fnd a way to manage your time and get this pup into OBEDIENCE training, you shoul take it back to the shelter and adopt an older, calmer dog.

But it would be super awesome if you could find away to manage your time and get the pup into training. You can take your child with, but the dog really needs obedeince training. They'll teach him his manners.

The crazy emotions sound like your pregnant. But, The dog is a puppy and it just needs time to learn it's place and learn how to behave, as well as his limits when playing with a child.

A retriever is a good breed, they can be friendly and also a good guard dog. They learn fast. You just need to put some time and effort into training the puppy, it will become a good friend to your child.

I would give doggie a little time to adjust... Who knows what kind of life he's had, or what he's been through... Maybe he's never even really been around people, or even lived in a house for that matter. But if he doesn't adjust, I wouldn't take the chance of him being around the baby. And I don't think you want to end up keeping the dog and resenting him either. So maybe pick a set amount of time for doggie to re-adjust, and if he does, great, and if not, you tried.

well i really think you should keep the dog but to stop it from chewing get some bitter apple and then just rub it on the thing you dont want your dog to bite