u/bottommaenad

So, to make an incredibly long story somewhat shorter, I live in a county undergoing an extreme crisis of dog overpopulation. We knew this when a pregnant stray ended up at our home over the holidays. What we didn’t know is that every other county in our state (and seemingly, as we broaden our search radius, possibly every state in the US?) was dealing with their own mounting crises.

Stray Mama gave birth to 7 pups. Before the birth, we had 4 friends/acquaintances committed to taking puppies. We have been able to adopt out ONE, and not even to any of the original 4 adopters. We email rescues in further and further states daily (we have contacted over 100 rescues and shelters in total). There is seemingly no end in sight for us, except for the one where we drop them off at our local overfull shelter to be euthanized, which I’m not willing to do for obvious reasons.

The remaining 6 pups are now four months old, quite large, still living in my moderately sized home, and they’re starting to become more difficult to manage. We have used gentle correction since they were small and started treat training about a month ago. So far, they all know “sit.” A few have picked up “down.” Jumping has become a major issue and half of them are now able to clear the puppy gates and our front fence (which means we are having to install a taller livestock fence inside of the existing fence). True potty training/housebreaking feels impossible, though they do (mostly) go on the pads provided while inside.

My question is… how the hell am I supposed to do this? How am I supposed to obedience train and potty train 6 large puppies at once? I’ve done some research and there seems to be zero advice for this particular scenario, but I have no choice. If you were me, how would you go about this? I’m unemployed currently so I have a very flexible schedule, though obviously I do have other chores and obligations during the day (laundry, showering, cooking for the family, caring for our actual pets, etc). The other two adults in the house both have full time jobs, but help as much as they can. We can’t afford a trainer (we could maybe manage one session, if we scrimp), because our money is constantly going to things like new fences and endless puppy pads.

Please. Point me in some kind of direction. I need help.

So, to make an incredibly long story somewhat shorter, I live in a county undergoing an extreme crisis of dog overpopulation. We knew this when a pregnant stray ended up at our home over the holidays. What we didn’t know is that every other county in our state (and seemingly, as we broaden our search radius, possibly every state in the US?) was dealing with their own mounting crises.

Stray Mama gave birth to 7 pups. Before the birth, we had 4 friends/acquaintances committed to taking puppies. We have been able to adopt out ONE, and not even to any of the original 4 adopters. We email rescues in further and further states daily (we have contacted over 100 rescues and shelters in total). There is seemingly no end in sight for us, except for the one where we drop them off at our local overfull shelter to be euthanized, which I’m not willing to do for obvious reasons.

The remaining 6 pups are now four months old, quite large, still living in my moderately sized home, and they’re starting to become more difficult to manage. We have used gentle correction since they were small and started treat training about a month ago. So far, they all know “sit.” A few have picked up “down.” Jumping has become a major issue and half of them are now able to clear the puppy gates and our front fence (which means we are having to install a taller livestock fence inside of the existing fence). True potty training/housebreaking feels impossible, though they do (mostly) go on the pads provided while inside.

My question is… how the hell am I supposed to do this? How am I supposed to obedience train and potty train 6 large puppies at once? I’ve done some research and there seems to be zero advice for this particular scenario, but I have no choice. If you were me, how would you go about this? I’m unemployed currently so I have a very flexible schedule, though obviously I do have other chores and obligations during the day (laundry, showering, cooking for the family, caring for our actual pets, etc). The other two adults in the house both have full time jobs, but help as much as they can. We can’t afford a trainer (we could maybe manage one session, if we scrimp), because our money is constantly going to things like new fences and endless puppy pads.

Please. Point me in some kind of direction. I need help.

So, to make an incredibly long story somewhat shorter, I live in a county undergoing an extreme crisis of dog overpopulation. We knew this when a pregnant stray ended up at our home over the holidays. What we didn’t know is that every other county in our state (and seemingly, as we broaden our search radius, possibly every state in the US? please tell me if this isn't true and you know of ANY rescue ANYWHERE that is taking on dogs. I will drive to Alaska if I have to) was dealing with their own mounting crises.

Stray Mama gave birth to 7 pups. Before the birth, we had 4 friends/acquaintances committed to taking puppies. We have been able to adopt out ONE, and not even to any of the original 4 adopters. We email rescues in further and further states daily (we have contacted over 100 rescues and shelters in total). There is seemingly no end in sight for us, except for the one where we drop them off at our local overfull shelter to be euthanized, which I’m not willing to do for obvious reasons.

The remaining 6 pups are now four months old, quite large, still living in my moderately sized home, and they’re starting to become more difficult to manage. We have used gentle correction since they were small and started treat training about a month ago. So far, they all know “sit.” A few have picked up “down.” Jumping has become a major issue and half of them are now able to clear our fence (which means we are having to install a taller livestock fence inside of the existing fence). True potty training/housebreaking feels impossible, though they do (mostly) go on the pads provided while inside.

My question is… how the fuck am I supposed to do this? How am I supposed to obedience train and potty train 6 large puppies at once? I’ve done some research and there seems to be zero advice for this particular scenario, but I have no choice. If you were me, how would you go about this? I’m unemployed currently so I do have a very open and flexible schedule, though obviously I do have other chores and obligations during the day (laundry, showering, cooking for the family, caring for our actual pets, etc). We can’t afford a trainer (we could maybe manage one session, if we scrimp), because our money is constantly going to things like new fences and endless puppy pads.

Please. Point me in some kind of direction. I need help.