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Anxiety and the puppy blues

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It has been almost 3 weeks since we got Poppy and last week, my anxiety levels were sky high. I had to put some time aside to think about why exactly I was so anxious. Poppy is almost fully potty trained, has few pee accidents at home, is relaxed and learning fast - she can already sit, leave it, go potty and now alerts us when we needs to do her business. She sleeps through the night and we expected to wake up to a pee puddle every morning - this has never happened. We gated a small area near our washer-dryer area and she sleeps there for the night, so she doesn't even have to be crated. No barking, whining whatsoever.  She seems too good to be true. It turns out, I am anxious about being in an apartment setting and about sufficiently exercising her. She's only 4 months old, but has the energy of a horse. I don't know how I'd manage her if it were just me and if my DH wasn't around, especially in the evenings. I am anxious about managing the home, keeping it c
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Pee and Poop management

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I never realized how stressed I could get over pee. Poppy pooped only twice in our apartment, but continues to pee twice a day in the apartment. Which isn't terrible considering she drinks a lot of water (its hot outside) and pees outside at least five times a day.  Today was a big day for Poppy, she pooped and peed during the same walk! She's never been able to do both when I take her for a walk, so she's been taken on way too many walks, especially when we're potty training. I wasn't enthusiastic about buying pee pads considering how environmentally unfriendly they are, but gave in and bought some, at least while she's being potty trained. I am thrilled to say that as I type, she howled and scratched at the door and for the very first time, went outside to pee! She gave us a heads-up! I feel like celebrating...never thought I'd see the day...Here's a pic of her in the bushes just before she did her business. 
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I hope this blog helps me and others looking to raise a lab..

Yesterday was one of the toughest days we've had with Poppy. She was aggressive, and tried to bite me three times. Not play biting, but 'I'm going to get you good cause you deserve it' vindictive biting. I'm not sure what brought that on, but that was a definite sign of stress; our LO was terrified and ran to her room crying. I think we hit rock bottom that day and in our lowest moment, we felt that giving her away might be best for both her and us. We attributed this to there not being sufficient space for her in an apartment (1250 sft, large by Bay Area standards) and that confinement was not working for her. The last thing we wanted was a vicious dog around our daughter. I'm not ashamed to say that I looked up a couple of websites so we could re-home her.  After sleeping on it (none of us slept well that night) we all thought about what we could change so Poppy could be more comfortable at home. After all, large and giant breeds have got accustomed to
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Are We Ready for a Puppy?

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Aug 2019 - Are We Ready for a Dog? Our family of 3 in a space of 2 days decided we're ready for a pet. My husband (DH) mentioned he always wanted a lab for as long as he could remember - news to me. My 9-yr old daughter (LO) made a 'top ten reasons why I need a dog' list and that was that.  Needless to say, I freaked out and went through a million reasons as to why we mustn't get one at this time. I managed to talk the family out of it, explained myself to friends and felt better. However, that night, all I could think of was LO's face - she looked crushed and she was decidedly ready. After all, she now knows how to make her own breakfast - she can make pancakes, toast, scrambled eggs by herself. She knows how to unload the dishwasher and steam vacuum the hardwood floors. She was trying very hard to show me she's ready and responsible and I couldn't say no. The next morning, I asked my husband to call the breeder and Poppy was ours within the space of
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