Seriously though, puppy raising is such an emotional roller coaster. Estee, my 18 month old, has been with me since September 2014, and on Friday I will be handing her back to the school from which she came (Canine Companions for Independence). She is expected to go through 6 more months of advanced training, after which she will be paired with a client and graduate as a service dog. During the training period, it will be entirely no-contact for me...much better for the dogs that way.
Estee is a fantastic little girl. She's incredibly easy to bring into public, she's mellow, has a great, loving personality, she LIVES to please, will do anything I ask, and a very small verbal correction is all I ever need to correct her.
On March 1st, I'm picking up Samantha, an 8 week old LGX. She is my 8th service dog puppy, 2nd from CCI.
So right now my emotional breakdown is:
Excitement for Estee and her future
Grief that Estee will be leaving me.
Excitement that Samantha is coming and I get a new puppy to train wonderful things and get to know and cuddle and play with.
Dread with the fact that I am replacing my perfectly well-behaved, well-adjusted, independent and very grown up 18 month old adult with an 8 week old puppy that doesn't know anything and will need constant attention.
Anxiety that Estee isn't prepared, and that I didn't do enough to train her, or that some of her small problems might be bigger than I thought.
So overall. I'm in a glass case of emotions. Puppy raising is a wreck on your emotions, but I totally recommend it.
Pictures of puppies! Here's a whole album of Estee and just a couple (what I could get from the breeder caretakers) of Samantha!