[Betli]

I have anxiety attacks when I leave my 8-month old pup home. I am financially strained trying to pay for daycare and walkers. I do not go out and have a social life. I love my dog dearly, but I hate the responsibilities that come along. I will never get past leaving him alone all day (Toy Poodle), yet I'm miserable because I am not enjoying my life.
What do I do?

[COOKIE MONSTER]

If your miserable you should give you poodle to somebody who can spend time with it.
Its not fair being passed from one person to the next daycare and dogwalker and then you also the poor thing won't no if its coming or going.

And you really need to get over the anxiety its adog not ababy its not like it can't feed its self or clean its self and it doesn't need its nappie changed

Leave it sum toys to chew,leave it abowl of water and the radio or TV on and abowl of food you don't need daycare for adog what is the world coming to[what acon daycare for dogs] walkers yeah I agree with adog needs 2 walks aday one in the morning and one at night

[rebeltequila]

Firsty what are you so worried about? What do you honestly think will happen when your not there? I have six dogs who I love dearly I can leave them all at home as they are all crate trained I leave them with a small bowl of water and a chew toy and a nice warm blanket in there separate crates this way I never have to worry about chewing or the dog not having enough water I don't have to worry about people stealing them as there crates are locked and when I get home we all go on walks and have lots of fun.

[Betli]

I don't think anything will happen when I'm not there. My 8-month old has free run of the house and has never touch or destroyed anything in our home. He was 100% potty trained after 2-weeks and I got him at 12-weeks. I just don't think its right to leave a small toy poodle home for 10-hours while I am at work. So on the 2 days that he stay home I have to sacrifice and pay a mid-day walker to come by to check on him. I will do anything it takes to provide for my dog and make him happy. The problem is I am not happy... I have given up my life for him and I don't like the responsibility. But I can say without a shadow of dobut that I truly love and care for him. I have given him everything not matter the costs.

[bushg]

Betli.. I would not leave my dogs alone for 10 hours a day. I don't know what to suggest other than if you could trade some time with another dog owner or take your dog to daycare 1/2 days and pick him up at lunch time, then return back to work.

[froggy7]

I think that you may need to take a good look at what's going on in your life. This may just be a symptom of a bigger problem. What were your expectations when you got the dog? Is working 10 hour days a new thing, or have you always done that? Did you think that when you got a dog certain things would change in your life that haven't? (Everyone who has thought that getting a new car, haircut, job, losing weight, etc. would cause that Special Someone to magically show up in your life, raise your hand!) And once you've done all that, ask yourself if having a dog right now is the best thing. You say that you hate the responsibility that goes along with having a dog. Maybe you didn't really know what you were getting yourself into when you got that cute little puppy. But those responsibilities aren't going to go away. So your only choices are to decide that they are something that you can live with, or acknowledge that you can't. If it's the latter, it's better to rehome the puppy now, since it is much easier to rehome cute cuddly puppies than it is to rehome adult dogs.

[Betli]

I received my puppy as a surprise Birthday Gift. Needless to say I did not know what I was getting myself into. But I accepted the gift out of appreciation and tried to make it work. The catch is I Really Love my little guy. But I would have never went and got a puppy on my own, after all the research I've done on dogs. I pay for daycare 3 days a week and a mid-day walker 2 days a week and I spend the entire weekend with my dog. I have not neglected him once. I have a demanding job and I have to make a living like everyone else. I am single, I don't have any family in Chicago were I live, and not many friends. The friends I do have do not really care for dogs, so I can't depend upon them for support.

[bushg]

Betli, I am very sorry that someone did this to you. Have you talked to the person that gave you the dog.
Often their intentions are good and they like animlas and have one themselves... so they think everyone will want one. Sadly that is not the always the case.

I would talk to them and explain what I have learned about the demands of taking care of the little guy and the expense of doing what is right for him. If I thought they were suitable I would offer the dog to them if I did not think they were suitable owners I would contact a toy rescue. You should have no problems placing him with either a poodle rescue or a toy rescue.
If you choose to go in this direction here is a list of numbers .If you call some of these numbers they could possibly help you or lead you in the right direction.

We have a member on here that does cat rescue in the chicago area... I will ask her to look at your post, she may have contacts. Good luck

C.A.R.E.- Chicago Area Animal Shelters

[starbuck8]

I am not familiar with how the ASPCA operates in Chicago, but here in Canada, they have volunteer dog walkers. You just might want to check into that to see if it is available to you. They might also have other tips and avenues for you to explore, since it doesn't sound to me like you really want to give this cutie up.