I've had dogs before Vino. Two of them. So when I got him during COVID, I thought I had a sense of what I was doing. I had been through this. I knew what owning a dog felt like.
But those early months with Vino were different in a way I didn't fully notice at the time. I was home, he was home, life was quiet and close. We were together every single day and it just felt normal.
Then it was time to go back to work.
"Your dog has not stopped barking."
That was the call from building security. That was the moment I realised this was something I hadn't dealt with before. Not just a dog that missed me. Something deeper. Something that was going to require real patience and a real change in how I lived my life.
I did what most people do. I watched every video. Read every article. Tried every routine. Some things helped a little. Most things helped until they didn't. Eventually I found a way to manage it and life moved on.
Then everything changed again.
A new country. Starting from scratch. No familiar faces, no one nearby who really knew us or understood what we were going through. And this time, the hardest part wasn't the practicalities. It was feeling completely alone with it.
I couldn't find a community that talked about what it actually felt like to live with this. Not just the techniques and the training tips. The guilt. The resentment. The jealousy when you watch other dog owners come and go without a second thought. The way you quietly stop making plans because the mental load is just too heavy.
So I created what I was looking for. Not a training account. Not a list of tips. A place where people can find each other, share what has worked, and stop carrying this alone. A community where the person on the other side of the door finally gets to be seen too.
If you have ever stood outside your own front door, taken a breath, and braced yourself for what you are going to find inside, this community is for you.
You are not failing your dog. You are doing something genuinely hard. And you deserve people around you who understand that.
