I am in the unfortunate position of needing to consider rehoming my puppy if nothing else works, and I'm hoping something will, because I'll be heartbroken if I have to give her up.
She is eating up every moment of my time with severe (what seems to be) separation anxiety which means I've barely gotten any work done at all. I'm exhausted, and so is my wife, who already has attentional issues, and the lack of sleep has just made functioning at all with such a demanding pup so much harder.
We're at the end of our rope here, and as much as I absolutely adore this dog, I'm not sure my wife and I can provide what she needs, whatever it is. If anyone else here has struggled with something similar and has advice, please let me know. We're desperate.
Thanks for your advice everyone! My wife and I finally got a bit of a break to regroup and think out a new strategy we'll be trying once our puppy gets back from our in-laws this weekend. She's having a blast with their 5 kids, and we think something that really excites her and tires her out is meeting new people, which we'll try to incorporate into her routine!
She already learned fetch which helps with her activity needs, and after spending some time with their boys she was just tuckered out. Worst case scenario, she seems like a great fit for their family, since they have so many hands on deck to keep her occupied, but we're going to do our best to provide an awesome home for this dog and play it by ear with my in-laws too!
@johnabs @Pat @zpartacoos @namark
Eventually you'll need to pass on the puppy or have it for a last supper.
[joke]
The mismatch is too wide in distance to actively maintain / prioritise monitoring it - though I'm all for trying a bit more too.
Just think of ways to do that slowly and between you agree perhaps that if someone wants it you already know the answer.
Ideally a place where it fits more naturally with activity of puppy and people around, like a bigger family who has more kids...
something like that I think going forward...