Puppy blues and regret when training isn't working
Severe daily challenges like indoor pooping and excessive barking can trigger intense pet ownership regret, depression, and deep anxiety about daily life. Because standard training efforts often fail to stop the behavior, owners end up trapped in a cycle of stress, feeling forced to keep the puppy while dreading each day.
What people tried
Every workaround mentioned in the threads below. We haven’t tested any of them — and nobody here is claiming they worked.
- 1Watching the puppy for poop behaviors and immediately taking him outside to ignore him
- 2Doing homework across the crate while the puppy naps
- 3Trying forced naps and experimenting with wake windows
- 4Waiting extended periods outside for the puppy to defecate before leaving
In their words
Unedited, grouped by where they were said, most upvoted first within each place, each linked to the thread it came from.
“I am struggling every single day with wondering if we made the right decision.”source ↗
“my partner has some frustrations but overall is very much in love with our puppy (I love him too, I am just not sure I like him very much and the feeling seems to be mutual) so rehoming is not and option (and would also break my heart).”source ↗
“I try my best to train him, but no matter what I try he almost refuses to poop outside, instead will poop inside the moment he steps inside.”source ↗
“Outside of this, I can no longer speak in my house, as he starts barking in a soul shattering screech if anyone speaks.”source ↗
“I am depressed from grieving, and am near giving up, it feels like I am breaking.”source ↗
“I feel horrible because he spend the majority of the day in his crate.”source ↗
“It’s really causing severe stress and anxiety not knowing if I can get where I need to be on time every day.”source ↗
“some mornings he will never poop and I get stressed because I feel like I cannot leave until he does.”source ↗
Where this came up
People with this problem also raised
- 19How to calm down a hyperactive teenage dog
- 9How to tell normal puppy crate whining from real distress
- 12Puppy too scared and overwhelmed on walks
- 7How to stop a puppy from barking all night
- 10How to stop a puppy from barking without harsh tools
- 11How to stop your dog from causing embarrassing scenes in public