The last 8 months

I have just been sitting here reading through all my posts since I got caley at 8 weeks old, she now coming up for 11months and thought I would share the ups and downs I have had and how this forum got me through a lot. This especially for those new "parents" who are going through those early stages of puppyhood.

When we got caley, I was very unsure and I will admit those first few weeks were extremely tough and hard...I now call it "puppy postnatal depression" I felt like I did when I brought the kids home, exhausted, tearful and a failure. But with advice from here, I was told to persevere and be consistent...we did this and guess what IT REALLY DOES WORK . If caley started nipping and being a bit naughty she was put in time out for just a few mins, but this totally worked for us.

We then went through the phase of caley trying to nip my younger son all the time trying to drag him by his clothes, my poor son started dreading being with her. Again advice from here was to get my son more involved with her activities, feeding her and letting him tell her off, this had to be monitored as she did take her time listening to him and we had to jump in and help, but slowly she improved, now it brings tears to my eyes as they are the best of friends and caley always looks for Harvey to play and will stop when he has had enough. My son adores her now.

The last eight months have vanished so fast, my girl is growing to be a lovely good natured, funny, cheeky dog. We have some ups and downs, but I can honestly say hand on heart the ups totally outweigh the downs now, this forum has kept me sane and the advice you get given is invaluable, I always know where to go when I need help or just to share anything.

I would never be without caley now, all my rules of no bed...no settee etc have gone right out of the window and I don't care I love my caley to bits

awww thanx for sharing this with us So glad you have made fab progress, the time will fly by! As you have a kiddy your self you will know! we got tyke 4 month before ryan arrived so they same ageish and it feels like no time ago that ryan was a baby and tyke a teeny tiny pup!! keep us updated you sound like your doing an amazing job!!!

Must be one of those evenings, but thanks for making me cry in a good way Xx

Awww, that's so lovely. Charlie is 21 weeks now and he has certain times of day when he is wound up and tries to nip at us all...glad to hear it gets better

I'm sure other readers will draw strength from your experiences and be able to put your ideas into practice, thanks for the up date.

"puppy postnatal depression" exhausted, tearful and a failure.

I can totally relate to this. I very nearly returned Bacchus to his breeder. My wife came downstairs one morning to find me in tears but thank god she talked me into taking it one day at a time.
At 7 months he's the most loving, sweet little companion.

Thanks for the stories Panacea to the heart.

Beautiful Gypsy is twelve weeks old and already in two weeks since we purchased her I have experienced an incredible kaleidoscope of emotions - both positive and negative so this is normal no doubt Reassuring at this early stage that I am not going mental and it is normal to have doubts - doesn't make me a bad person.

NewtotheStaffybreed wrote:Thanks for the stories Panacea to the heart.

Beautiful Gypsy is twelve weeks old and already in two weeks since we purchased her I have experienced an incredible kaleidoscope of emotions - both positive and negative so this is normal no doubt Reassuring at this early stage that I am not going mental and it is normal to have doubts - doesn't make me a bad person.

Yep, we've all been there, I felt like a complete failure with Loki because of his incessant biting but it eventually got better. Easy to ignore the good because of the bad, but there's a lot of good all the time to focus on.

This topic should be linked to anyone in that position, it sums up owning a puppy perfectly. It's very easy to feel like you are getting nowehere and there is no light at the end of the tunnel.

Nice to read a good positive story

I'm glad you liked it and glad it helps people realise its perfectly normal to feel a failure and to wonder if you did the right thing.

They are such amazing dogs and I cannot believe how affectionate and loving they are. I have grown up with boxers and golden retrievers and nothing compares to staffy love and my dad who is amazing with dogs, thinks Caley is better than his were . He tells me frequently it has nothing to do with the fact I work hard with Caley to bring the best out in her, he is just adament its all Caley lol

Glad that everything has turned out well for you and your caley