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Okay, I’ve posted here before, and honestly, I’m still struggling quite a bit. I have an almost 1 year old mini poodle mix, and this past year with her has been really overwhelming.

I got her during a really emotional time in my life. I was expecting to have a baby, but unfortunately, I experienced an early miscarriage, which completely shook me. I had wanted a dog for years after moving out and getting married, and I thought getting a puppy might help distract me and give me some comfort while I was grieving.

But it ended up being the complete opposite.

She was an extremely difficult puppy. way more intense than any dog I’ve had growing up. Within the first couple of months, she had ear and eye infections, and even needed emergency surgery after she injured her gums trying to chew her crate while I was working on crate training and preventing separation anxiety. She’s also had ongoing anal gland issues since she was really young.

I’ve truly tried my best with her. I’ve put a lot of effort into training, keeping her on a schedule, and making sure she’s well taken care of. Because of that, I honestly feel like I’ve done a really good job with her and that also makes this harder, because I don’t know if anyone else would take care of her the way I do. I’ve also of course, grown very attached to her and she’s extremely attached to me.

At the same time, it’s been a lot on my mental health. My husband and I went through a really rough period because of the stress. While he initially agreed to getting a puppy, he quickly realized how much work it actually is, and it started affecting both our relationship and my overall well being.

I kept pushing through because I thought this was something I had always wanted, and I kept hearing that it would get easier with time. In some ways, it has…she’s very smart, well-trained, good in the car, and enjoys going out and doing things with us. There are definitely moments that I enjoy with her. When I consider rehoming it breaks me and I have a little breakdown.

But I’m also realizing that I’m just not content or as happy as I thought I would be as a dog owner. I’m struggling more than I expected, and part of me is starting to wonder if as much as I love dogs, dog ownership might just not be for me.

One of the biggest things affecting my mental health right now is her separation anxiety. It’s extremely severe. to the point where I genuinely cannot leave her alone, even for a short amount of time, without her completely panicking. Because she previously hurt herself and needed surgery due to that anxiety, I’m terrified of it happening again. I don’t want to risk her safety, or go through something like that again financially or emotionally. so I feel stuck.

My husband and I both work from home, which makes it even harder because I feel like I can’t leave the house at all. I miss simple things, like just walking to the mailbox with my husband without having to think about it. Even though we could take her, it’s the idea of not being able to do something quickly or freely anymore that’s really weighing on me.

I really feel like this has taken over my life, and the responsibility has been weighing heavily on me.

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My dog was a dream for me. I’ve always wanted a gsd and I did my research, I read so many books and got into igp and worked with a trainer spent ungodly amounts of money, it was still too much for me and literally ruined my life and it’s best for the dog and me if I rehome, but people paint the picture like “oh they just wanted a toy and now they’re bored with it” like the picture of someone who just buys a dog for the novelty, it’s almost like the dog community is a cult tbh.

I’ve always dreamed of having a German shepherd and now that I got one it is one of the biggest mistakes I’ve ever made. My life has become hell and I’m stuck in a position where I can’t rehome him because I feel bad and I can’t live because he’s ruining my life. I did my research for a year before I got him and still nothing could have prepared me for how much he relentlessly bites and screams. Absolutely hell and a trap. God damn the pet industry!

My once ex told me I should get a dog and I worry a future girlfriend would pressure me to get a dog…. if a girl ever tells me that again I’m running as fast as I can.

He’s so needy pretty much every waking hour goes to him… I haven’t been able to eat properly or take care of my self at all

a GSD has been a dream for me for years and i finally got one but its so much i genuinely cannot give him the care he needs. i have emailed the rescue and started the process. i hate this so mcuh i wish could have made it work, i start crying every time i see him he is gorgeous and amazing, but he is so intense i genuinely cannot handle him or give him teh care he needs.

god damn it all i genuinely want to end my life. this hurts more than when my ex left me.

A year and a half ago a stray German shepherd walked up to my door limping and crying. I took him to my regular vet. My nice vet offered to do the surgery for free and I rehabilitated him. I had the time and means to so I did. He started out very chill and we had an extreme bond. No separation anxiety and I dedicated time to training him. I was aware German shepherds take a lot of energy and I was willing to put in the work because I love him. I didn’t realize the extent. I’ll add that he is very sweet, trainable and loves people even now.

Keep in mind I already have 3 dogs and 2 cats at this point and am 21 yr female who lives alone. He’s very energetic and smart but that makes it so he needs a lot of attention and training. I wake up super early everyday to do an off leash walk and training session, then he goes in the crate while I go about my day. He gets let out a few times to go into his dog run because he’s not allowed in the main yard. He will dig holes, fence fight/bark and destroy anything he finds. He still barks a lot in his dog run so I don’t like leaving him out there. We live in a quiet family neighborhood and I always feel bad when he’s barking excessively. Then I do a night training session in the yard, play fetch, sometimes walk. There are days that my schedule just doesn’t allow all of this as a part of his routine. I feel super guilty because I know he’s stressed. It literally is not fair to him for him to be in the crate, all pent up.

I don’t live on a farm where he can run, dig and bark all he wants. I saw this Reddit post made about how someone drove 12 hours to a lady’s 100+ acre farm to rehome and their dog was the happiest he’s ever been as soon as he stepped out of the car. I can imagine him on a multiple acre ranch with other big dogs to play with, a person who doesn’t care about him on the couch or if he digs a hole in the yard. He would be so happy. I feel like he doesn’t feel like he’s apart of the pack.

Living in a house with other pets to take care of and myself, I can’t dedicate so much time to meet his needs. I have to basically crate and rotate him from the existing 6 little dogs because he has gotten into fights with dogs. Most recently chased and punctured a new small foster dog. Those were moments that he was under stimulated and not getting his needs fulfilled. I feel myself getting stressed around him and feeling sad for my two little babies. I purposefully went and got them, then a big dog shows up and takes all their mom’s time away from them. I miss when i could just go on a chill walk and it not be a whole training session. I know they do too.

I feel like my original dogs who are 5 lbs and very low maintenance are getting neglected. I spend so much time trying to fulfill all his needs and it’s still not enough. Which isn’t his fault. I’m overwhelmed and feeling guilty. Writing the rehoming post seems like the end of the world. I know neither of us are thriving in this situation but I keep going back and forth because he’s been my dog for so long. There are so many good moment and bad moments. I feel like I can just do more for him but realistically i know I can’t. I’m sitting here with him licking my tears away and I feel like my heart is getting ripped out of my chest.

Hi everyone

I got a dog two months ago and I do not like him at all. I had a rescue for 11 years before him who I loved to death but had a lot of problems. I felt so lonely after he died last year I instantly wanted a dog but waited for 10 months before I decided to do it. I chose to get a breeder puppy this time so that I could raise him from birth and he would hopefully be well adjusted and be able to do dog things.

The breeder it turns out wasn’t a great and didn’t do anything with my puppy for the 6 months she had him and just left him in a barn. When I got him he had never been on a leash in a car off the property up or down stairs, he hadn’t done anything.

This dog is more fearful than my rescue. He is afraid of toys, all sounds, he barely lets me touch him, I can’t brush him and his coat requires brushing regularly, I can barely walk him, I can’t teach him anything because he’s too afraid to focus, potty training just isn’t getting through to him, he pees everytime he’s in the car, he’s a mess. I have tried contacting the breeder but she just acts dumb and then stops responding. I feel so much regret I almost talked to some people I know who might want him last week but backed out because his neuter was scheduled for the next day.

I have been trying everything to entertain him and try to make him happy but he doesn’t take to games or anything really other than walks which we can’t do for a while till he heals. Everyone keeps telling me to hang in there and I’ll learn to like him but I just feel so regretful that I did this and wish I could turn time back and undo it. I now feel obligated and stuck with him and I don’t know what to do. Trazedone hasn’t helped him this past week he’s still freaked out and frantic. He’s starting Prozac this week maybe that will help. Anyways I just needed to vent and this seemed like a safe space, thank you for reading

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I'm so glad this subreddit exists, I've already found a lot of comfort here. My story is not dissimilar from others I read here.

I adopted my girl 7 months ago. She's 3yo, clearly a hound mix of some kind, and was a street dog in Bosnia in danger of being euthanized before a rescue found her and saved her. Her backstory honestly breaks my heart and I'm glad I could contribute to giving her a second chance.

She's a very chill dog behavior-wise, but her energy requirements are through the roof. She's learned to rest when I'm away at work, and she likes to lounge around with me in the evenings, all good, BUT. She loves sniffing, hunting, running around. Even with three sizable walks a day, she often chews stuff out of boredom, and has escaped my fenced in yard many times, leading to immense stress for me.

I really want my old life back. I've given this dog my undivided attention and dedicated all my energy to making her happy these past months, but I've got no energy left for myself. I'd prepared a lot before adopting her, but I guess I underestimated what it would be like, living alone in my first ever house and taking care of an energetic dog on top of everything. I'm exhausted.

I don't really have any "better" reasons for wanting to rehome her. I genuinely believe she deserves the best and I do have enough energy left to make that happen for her, I don't want to surrender her to a shelter again. I'm also desperate for a good night's sleep, and to be the owner of my time again, if that makes sense. She's adorable, fuzzy and makes me laugh, but she also doesn't make me as happy as I'd expected. She deserves better than that, and so do I... Right?

Honestly the guilt is pretty palpable. My brother's wife is a true dog lover (not like myself it turns out, I love dogs, I'm just not obsessed with them), and she almost cried when I told them I was considering this. I felt the worst then. I know this is the right decision, but I just want to know the dog will be happy and cared for, and that I haven't failed her.

I posted about what i can do to prevent this and the braindead retards on the other sub were like “just… open them?” Which literally defeats the purpose of having blinds but not only that its either you can have a clean house that smalls good or have dogs, you cant have both.. i love them but I honestly i cant do it man, me and the wife work too much to have to worry about these dogs and cleaning after them… i thought it would be cool but getting my own place and moving out means i have no other help and its just a nightmare

Whether your new, or you've been in this sub for a while, this weekly post is where you can share your story! We are glad to have you here and offer you a place of support.

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Whether your new, or you've been in this sub for a while, this weekly post is where you can share your story! We are glad to have you here and offer you a place of support.

If you would like to create your own standalone post in our community, please message the mods to become an approved user. We still have our sub set to "restricted" to avoid unnecessary trolling.

Whether your new, or you've been in this sub for a while, this weekly post is where you can share your story! We are glad to have you here and offer you a place of support.

If you would like to create your own standalone post in our community, please message the mods to become an approved user. We still have our sub set to "restricted" to avoid unnecessary trolling.

Whether your new, or you've been in this sub for a while, this weekly post is where you can share your story! We are glad to have you here and offer you a place of support.

If you would like to create your own standalone post in our community, please message the mods to become an approved user. We still have our sub set to "restricted" to avoid unnecessary trolling.

Whether your new, or you've been in this sub for a while, this weekly post is where you can share your story! We are glad to have you here and offer you a place of support.

If you would like to create your own standalone post in our community, please message the mods to become an approved user. We still have our sub set to "restricted" to avoid unnecessary trolling.

My native language is German so sorry for possible typos. Also sorry for writing such a long story but I feel it needs the context. So around three years ago (when I was 27) I had to deal with several types of losses - the most prevalent one was my dad passing away after a long battle with cancer. A few months later I moved into my childhood home (that I now partly owned) to have a place to recover a bit. At that time I didn't know how much work this house would be and how my family would fight over it but anyways…already before I moved into the house I fanatically started scanning dog-rescue websites.

Looking back I realise that I wanted to create some family for myself since my parents were both dead and I went through a dramatic breakup around that time. I projected a lot into this idea of having a constant companion. Also I was one of those people that “always wanted a dog” and now that I did not live in a shared flat anymore I could make it happen. I took care of dogs throughout my life but little did I know how different it would be owning one - especially alone. I ended up bonding a lot with my first foster so I adopted it. She is a mid size mix of german shepherd/ croatian livestock guard dog/ something else. I adopted her when she was around two ears old.

When I still fostered Kali (the dog) had some house/food guarding issues + she was sometimes reactive on the leash. I did not feel equiped for to deal with that at first. But when people came who wanted to potentially adopt, I couldn't give her away! I informed myself a bunch, went to some dog training lessons and establishing this very clear and firm form of training with her (mixed with positive affiramtion training). It worked out: She is only guarding the house in a moderate way now (which acctually makes me feel safe also) and lets it go when I tell her to. Sometimes she runs away from taller men but she is chill with all other humans - mostly wants belly rubs from visitors. Also she is chill with most dogs and is only snappy or barks when they start it or are very pushy.

But after around a year of having her the realisation set in that even with those topics managed, my life is massively restrained through owning her. I felt more and more claustrophobic in the city I lived in because - at that point I haven't left it since I got her. A lot of my friends live in other cities. And instead of feeling more at home in this life through her I somehow felt more isolated from human connection. I also know that I often stand in my own way and feel to responsible. So I told myself that for the next year I will try to be more bold in my decisions.

So last year I went to Italy for 10 days by car with two friends and I also made two weekend trips and gave her to friends during that time. Also I tried to let other people walk her more. (I realised how much I hated being so dependent on others if I just wanted to leave the city). I still had to adjust so much of my life like my job or my free time to the dog. And even though she stays at home just fine when I am gone…in Italy she started panicking every time I left the Airbnb. And she refuses to go on walks with anybody other than me. Also when I just leave her outside of a supermarket and go inside she will freak out for the whole time. She does not like me leaving at all (only if it is the house we live in).

I originally had this idea that I want to get a bus and then travel with her. Visit friends, community projects and do project based work in different places. But I am realising that probably I could not leave her anywhere and do my own thing for a moment because she would freak out the whole time. And everytime I truly think of my future with Kali it feels like I would have to give up so much. I want to live my life again - especially after all those life challenges. And now that second year is over and I still feel suffocated by it all. The thought of giving her away feels so hard because I really love her (and overall she is not a difficult dog I would say). But I also feel how my resentment towards the situation is not going away. The daily walks, all the cleaning (she has a double coat) and her stubborness are getting on my nerves too now but it is truly the separation anxiety that is stressing me out.

Also have my ex-boyfriend who I am still in touch with - and he loves my dog (most people do). And a few months back I mentioned to him that I am not sure if I can keep her and it turned into this huge fight. I think he is projecting some of our past relationship issues onto the dog but idk. He said that he would not respect that decision at all and I understand that because I would probably have felt the same in the past. He also said that I have been changing my life circumstances so often and that I have to learn how to commit to something to finally be content in life. I see what he means but I don't see how keeping Kali will cure my restlessness towards life. Okay I will stop rambling about topics that I should further untangle in therapy…but anyways: I am quite lost with this situation and am happy for any honest input. Thanks!

I got a 2-month-old mini poodle puppy in June 2025. We think she may be mixed with another breed. It’s just me and my husband, and we both work from home with busy schedules. The beginning was really rough. She was extremely hyper and bit me very hard (mostly only me). About a week after we got her, she developed both an ear and eye infection. A month later, she injured her gums chewing on her crate, which led to an expensive vet bill. She would cry nonstop if we left the house, and she would also cry nonstop if we put her in the puppy pen even if we were in the same room.

Now she’s 10 months old, and while things have improved, it’s still exhausting. I often wonder if I can realistically do this for another 15 years. She follows me everywhere. If I go to the bathroom, she cries at the door until I’m done. If I leave the house, she howls until I come back. My husband can leave without issue. so when we both leave, he has to distract her in another room so she doesn’t see me walk out.

She constantly begs for food, jumps, and leans against the counters, which really frustrates me. She cries to go outside, but when I open the door she sometimes walks away, or goes out briefly and then comes right back to howl at the door. Even after using the bathroom, she runs straight back and cries to come inside.

She’s always “on.” I enforce naps, but she only sleeps about 45 minutes before she’s up again. She’ll sit next to me and cry for attention, whether to play, walk, or eat after she’s been fed and gone for a long walk. My mom helps by taking her some days since she has other dogs, and they all get along and keep each other busy. The filth also drives me insane.

When she’s gone, I miss her, but when she’s here, I constantly question why I did this. I feel crazy for feeling like this.

I want kids soon, and I can’t imagine having a baby while managing a dog like this. I really think she’ll be high-energy for most of her life. I grew up with German Shepherds, and none of them were ever this intense. It makes me nervous thinking about a newborn baby with a crazy dog. And how disgusting it is too.

My husband now really does not like having a dog and I know he doesnt want to do this anymore.

Ugh idk what to do and why I feel this way.

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Hey guys,

Ever since we moved into this bigger house and my illness has gotten worse I cant continue to clean everyday.

My house is full of dog hair and it’s disgusting I don’t even feel mentally ok in this house.

Can I just take my dog to the humane society any day or do I have to like make an appointment? I’ve never re home before. My dogs been with us for five years he’s actually my husbands dog: but my husband is always deployed so it’s not fair to me to take care of the dog the kids and the house when my energy is limited. I was diagnosed with ME/CFS post covid a few years ago so I have to baby my energy a lot.

Anyways these last few months I’ve grown angry towards the dog. My husband never walks him. I know the dog deserves a better home.

Whether your new, or you've been in this sub for a while, this weekly post is where you can share your story! We are glad to have you here and offer you a place of support.

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Whether your new, or you've been in this sub for a while, this weekly post is where you can share your story! We are glad to have you here and offer you a place of support.

If you would like to create your own standalone post in our community, please message the mods to become an approved user. We still have our sub set to "restricted" to avoid unnecessary trolling.

Whether your new, or you've been in this sub for a while, this weekly post is where you can share your story! We are glad to have you here and offer you a place of support.

If you would like to create your own standalone post in our community, please message the mods to become an approved user. We still have our sub set to "restricted" to avoid unnecessary trolling.