u/Lost_Cantaloupe_9972

UPDATE: Omg I’m reading through all of the responses. I can’t respond to every comment but I am overwhelmed in a great way! All of you made really good points and helped me feel less anxious and even more excited about this. I’m 100% NOT expecting this to be easy, but I think just having a positive mindset will make a huge difference but of course while also being realistic😅 Maybe specifying my kids ages would have given better perspective, they are 4.5 and 1. So I am already quite use to some chaos, have experienced the lack of sleep, and understanding that puppies are just little babies who are learning just like human babies lol. That itself makes it a bit easier to understand WHY certain behaviors are happening. Thank you all so much!

We put our deposit down for a golden retriever puppy in December. Estimated pick up day is October 6th.
Ive been coming to Reddit looking for puppy advice and generally anything that can help our family prepare. While I’ve received some decent advice, I’ve also been seeing sooo many posts about the struggles. But the posts sound so…deep. Like how people feel depressed, feel like they made a mistake, or feel like it’s ruining their life? Please tell me they are dramatic. It’s giving me anxiety reading these so maybe I just should get off of here lol.

I’ve had two puppies in my life, I was much younger at the time (between the ages 19-23) I’m 30 yo SAHM now with two kids. So my life is obviously a lot different and it will be harder this time around but I don’t remember feeling any of those feelings at all? I remember the challenges and feeling frustrated but an appropriate, normal amount and then things got better/easier fairly fast. Maybe I just got lucky. Or maybe I was just younger with lower stress levels and general responsibility? Idk.

I’ve been talking to my husband about my about everything and just feeling anxious about our decision to get a puppy. The last two puppies that I mentioned, I got them when I was with my ex and when we separated it made more sense at the time for me to not take them based off my living situation and other things. So fast forward to now, I really want a dog again but would love to hear some encouraging, exciting and positive words. Like that we will be okay!!😂😂

We have two kids, ages 5 and 1.5. We are getting a golden puppy in October. We are so excited but also so nervous for the life change! Specifically looking for advice on those who raised a puppy (bonus points if it’s a GR) with young children.

How do you manage the puppy’s schedules along with the kids? How much do you involve the kids with training and day to day responsibilities? How do you handle a situation where your littles are having tantrums? How much do you separate them? How do you handle teething puppy? I’m most nervous about that part🥴
Did you socialize your pup with other kids?

Also, what are some key things you trained your pup that made things a bit more manageable or turned your pup into a well behaved dog? For example, settling when needed, crate training, etc. Any advice is welcome even on topics I didn’t mention 🙂

So my bff (let’s call her Mary) got married within the last year. Sadly, Mary’s husband has been dealing with drinking issues for a while. Long story short, it got real bad two months ago, drinking and substance abuse got out of control. There was a lot of dishonesty on his end and it got to the point where she was temporarily staying with her family and even mentioned divorce if things weren’t going to change. Well, the other day Mary texted me saying they are trying for a baby. My jaw dropped! I don’t know all the details but I do know that he checked into rehab after that last incident and they’ve been going to marriage counseling. Of course I’m curious about more but not going to pry unless she wants to tell me more.

How do I nicely tell her that having a baby right now is not going to fix this??? Because I truly think that’s what she thinks is going to happen. I love her to death but I’m actually terrified for her if she gets pregnant.

I have three kids myself, and even in a healthy marriage it is still SO HARD. I can’t imagine a baby on top of everything they’re dealing with.

Tell me your favorite brands for crates, bowls, chew toys, high value treats, vacuum… everything!! I’m so excited and want to be as prepared as possible :)