Problems with teen daughter - mom with ptsd

[youarenotarobot]

I'm quite worried about the puppy; as a teenage girl who was also dealing with trauma when I got my first puppy, it does tend to make everything a lot more stressful. There were some days where I looked at him and just burst into tears because I was so stressed. I wasn't sure if a dog was what I wanted anymore. However he is now the love of my life and I absolutely adore him; I honestly couldn't imagine my life without him, and start crying at the idea of anything bad happening to him. He is, quite simply, my child. He's my baby.

She might genuinely dislike the new puppy, or she might just be so stressed out from trauma that she can't cope with it anymore. However putting it into a situation like possibly running away seems dangerous. Have you considered if any relatives or friends would be able to look after it until your daughter calms down or feels better? I'm not in any way insinuating your daughter is a bad person, or even cruel to animals; I'm just saying it might be good to have a back-up plan for if she continues to dislike it.

I really hope things get better for you soon. It seems to me like regardless of whether it's because of trauma or not, your daughter does seem to need someone to talk to. Sometimes talking to your mum about these things can be awkward, and scary. That's not your fault-it's just the way teenagers are.

 

[Beemo3780]

We have two dogs, a chow/german shepard mix which is basically her dog and they hang out all the time, and our puppy that is a border collie/lab that is in training. The puppy is not the issue. He is part of my PTSD therapy because he is in therapy dog training, I take him running with me, and we have started dog agility training with him. He's a sweetheart and is always by my side. We have a huge house where she never has to interact with him if she really does not want to. Plus she's only living with us for the next year before she goes to college.

My daughter is also in therapy. She will stay in therapy as long as she lives with me.

 

[youarenotarobot]

I did not realize that. It's nice to hear she has a dog she does like hanging out with. I'm sorry if my words offended you

 

[FauxLiz]

@Beemo3780 just my two cents worth as the mother of a daughter in her 20's. I know that you have laid down consequences for her actions but the one really hard lesson that I had to learn is that you need to find the right consequence for your daughter. For some teens it is losing tv privileges, or computer, going out what ever but she needs boundaries. Only you can teach her those boundaries and find what consequence is worth staying out of trouble to avoid.