Is it normal that sometimes my puppy makes me want to move out?
I'll start by saying this: I ADORE my puppy. Flat-out, desperate, undying love for her, from the moment I first went to see her, to right now as she sprawls next to me on the beanbag, and undoubtedly up until the day she goes to Valhowlla, the doggy afterlife.
She is a really good puppy too - we're about a week into being able to take her for daily walks, and she pulls very little on the lead, responds well to commands, and wants to make friends with everyone she meets. She's never aggressive with dogs or people.
The thing is, I spend most of my time alone in the house with her. It's easier now we can go out for walks, but the first few weeks before she'd had all her jabs, I was trapped in the house, unable to even go to the bathroom or kitchen by myself without her crying or chasing.
Like I said, she's never aggressive, but she's a BIG girl, and her nips and jumps of excitement are pretty tough to deal with alone. She interferes whenever I try to do any housework, and yanks the cables out of my computer if I try to get on with my writing deadlines.
She absolutely adores me - I'm her main trainer and carer, and I'm so scared that I'm going to train her badly that it makes me want to just disappear a lot of the time. I don't feel like I'm getting sufficient support from the people I live with (and who share the dog) or sufficient respect for the work I'm doing.
About a week after we picked her up, I was signed off work for three weeks because of my mental health, and it's a lot of labour to be training a dog when you're dealing with depression and hearing voices. When I said I was finding it hard, and needed some time in the evenings to work on my publishing deadlines, it was taken VERY badly, and I was essentially accused of being lazy, because how hard can playing with a puppy be?
Sometimes I just feel like I can't cope with any of it - like I'm training her badly, and will screw her up, and I should just leave so she can have a better life without me.