Coping with puppy blues

Parenting a pup can be overwhelming, but the good news is puppies grow, routines form and the confusion eases

- Nameeta Nadkarni

When people picture bringing home a puppy, they usually imagine wagging tails, cuddles and endless joy.

What often follows instead is a crash of exhaustion, regret and overwhelm. This is called the "puppy blues". Anyone who has cared for a newborn baby will recognise the feeling. Both involve sleepless nights, loss of freedom and the realisation that life has shifted forever.

I went through it myself when Musafir, my Golden Retriever, arrived. Friends congratulated me, family swooned, and strangers cooed over him in the street. Inside, I was tired and secretly wondering if I had made a mistake. Musafir had already been put up for adoption once, and while I do not know the whole story, I suspect his previous parent felt the same. Puppy blues are not about a lack of love. They happen when reality does not match expectation.