Should my sister get a puppy while starting an IOP?
May 19, 2018 7:32 PM   Subscribe

My sister reserved a puppy from a breeder and can bring it home at the end of May. She has also been looking for an intensive outpatient program for severe, lifelong depression and PTSD. She was hoping to complete the 8 week program before getting the dog, but thanks to an insurance issue, she can't start until after June 1. Is it advisable to take on puppy ownership while completing an IOP?

My sister has been wrestling with this decision for weeks, so I offered to post here to get some advice.

A bit more background:

- My sister used to be a professional dog walker and is *extremely* good with animals. She is hoping to train the puppy to be an emotional support animal and even a registered therapy dog, so she's concerned about having enough time/energy to start his training while she's in therapy.

- The puppy would be 8 weeks when he comes home, and the IOP would probably start when he is 10-12 weeks old. She does have a boyfriend who will sometimes stay over, but otherwise she lives alone and would be a single dog mom.

- The dog is a bit of a known quantity, as he comes from the same parents as our friend's dog. Assuming he doesn't have a wildly different temperament, she knows what she's getting into. (Friend's Dog is the chillest, sweetest dude in the world.)

- The IOP is 4 days a week, 3 hours a day, plus some individual therapy sessions. The plan is to finish the IOP and then pursue EMDR for the PTSD.

I think her main concern is tackling two huge things at once, especially when the IOP may stir up a lot of issues/emotions and be very mentally taxing. At the same time, she's been looking forward to getting this dog for months, and I know that dog ownership is supposed to be fantastic for mental health.

I'd appreciate your input, MeFites, especially if you've been through an IOP and/or know a whole lot about puppy ownership. Thanks!
posted by leftover_scrabble_rack to Pets & Animals (7 answers total)
 
Best answer: Pets are a great way to get you out of your own head, so to speak. Get the puppy.
posted by Green Eyed Monster at 8:34 PM on May 19, 2018 [7 favorites]


Best answer: I am also team pro puppy. I think it will be great for her to have something else to focus on outside of her mental health sessions. And worst case scenario, it sounds like her boyfriend would help out.

The dog is a bit of a known quantity, as he comes from the same parents as our friend's dog. Assuming he doesn't have a wildly different temperament, she knows what she's getting into.

This, on the other hand, is an expectation I don't think she should have. My friend and her parents each got puppies from the same litter a couple of years ago. They took them to the same training school, have the same puppy rearing philosophies, and yet, her parent's dog is chill and stupid and sweet and relaxed and loves everyone, while hers is a smart neurotic mess who can't be taken out in crowds. You never know what an animal's temperament will be like.
posted by lollusc at 8:49 PM on May 19, 2018


Is the IOP the only other time commitment she'd have?
posted by amtho at 8:56 PM on May 19, 2018 [1 favorite]


Getting a puppy last summer when I was unemployed and depressed saved me from despair. She forced me to go outside and do things. I ended up seeing my friends more often because I needed to socialize my puppy and I got outside every day because she needed exercise.

I think your sister needs the right puppy though. Temperament is so different between littermates. I have kept in touch with the breeder and the owners of the other puppies from my dog's litter and it's amazing to see how they are so different in many ways (although they all love water, unusual for their breed).

The breeder interviewed me and matched me with a puppy whose temperament matched my lifestyle. If the breeder your sister is using hasn't interviewed her to match a puppy to her, I would ask why not. If she's looking for a dog who can be an emotional support pet, it's very important that the breeder knows and can match your sister with a suitable puppy. If the breeder won't do that, then your sister may want to investigate other breeders.
posted by parakeetdog at 9:41 PM on May 19, 2018 [2 favorites]


Best answer: Emotional support animals by definition don’t require any training so would only require the time and attention that all puppies need. If she’s interested in training it as a psychiatric service dog, it will require intensive training. It is a critical time for the puppy, but three hours a day isn’t a lot of a time commitment. It can definitely be done. If you’re asking if it’s too emotionally draining things at once, it might be. On the other hand, intensive therapy tends to stir up more negative meltions than good ones at first. Having a puppy to focus on might be a welcome distraction. I think it honestly depends on her reactions to stress. My sister lashes out and destroys things, whereas I’m more of a shut down and clean person.
posted by shesaysgo at 9:55 PM on May 19, 2018 [2 favorites]


I don't see anything here that would preclude your sister being a good dog mom. A 12hr/week commitment is no big deal (if she has a full-time job on top of that then it might be tricky without additional support) and lots of people with depression and PTSD have animals and take excellent care of them. And sure, treating mental health issues can be emotionally intense, but then so can not treating them. It's good to have a refuge to return to at such times, and the unconditional love and irrepressible playfulness of a puppy sounds like a great one.

I'm not finding any reason not to go ahead with this. If she has a full-time job or other big time commitments then someone else would need to help as you can't really leave a puppy alone for many hours at a time, but other than that it all looks like a great idea to me.
posted by Anticipation Of A New Lover's Arrival, The at 5:58 AM on May 20, 2018


Response by poster: Thanks for the input, all! To answer amtho's question, she does have a part time job. I think she's also concerned about sleep deprivation, as apparently you're supposed to take a puppy out every 3 hours overnight to prevent accidents?
posted by leftover_scrabble_rack at 10:14 AM on May 20, 2018


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