Hi - I'm new here. Next week I have an 8 week old puppy coming home with me But I work full time - I do have people who could drop in during the day sometimes but is there any way I can leave him during the day? (Mon-Fri 8-5). Cheers, Katy
Hi Katy and welcome to the forum . I cant emphasise enough how important it is to have day care for your new puppy . Leaving him for 9 hours would be very unfair to him , so you really must make arrangements well in advance for people to come and let him out, play with him and of course feed him . At eight weeks of age, your puppy will need four meals a day, most people opt for a routine of 7 in the morning and then roughly every four hours until the last meal , so with no one there, your puppy would be missing out on two of his vital meals . Also , new puppies need company , they often feel upset about leaving their siblings , please don't even think of leaving him for 9 hours , its far too long .
I agree with Kate. Your puppy will sleep a lot but will need to toilet frequently, have four meals a day and just as importantly as the practical stuff he will need to bond with you and be socialised in lots of different ways. You'll find lots of info about puppies on the main site and its not too late to grab a copy of The Happy Puppy Handbook which will help you enormously
Hi Katy, welcome to the crazy world of Labrador pups I had my puppy at 8 weeks and also work full time. when we first had him we had a couple of weeks off work to settle him in and let him get used to his new home and for the first several months of going back to work my husband worked a slightly different working pattern than me and we had a family member come in for at least an hour a day to be with him. Now at nearly one he is used to his weekly routine however we still have someone come into him everyday and have people there to walk him and exercise him properly. I wouldn't recommend leaving a dog any age for more than 4-5 hours. There are lots of ways of having a dog and working full time you just need to have a good plan in place before you bring your little ball of mischief home. good luck, your going to love it
Agree with al the comments above. A young puppy needs to bond with, and their life (and yours) revolves around feeding, playing, toileting and sleeping not to mention training and socialising . 9 hours would be too long to leave an adult dog let alone a young puppy.
Hello! The bad news - there is no way a tiny puppy can be left for 9 hours. Indeed, I'd say there is no way an adult dog should be left for nine hours, unless in the most dire emergency. The good news - it's perfectly do-able. With a bit - ok, a lot - of planning. And I hold my hand up to being completely and utterly unprepared. I paid a deposit on my puppy, and then the following Monday after he was coming home on the Saturday, I was supposed to be on a 3 days business trip. Obviously, I didn't know that at the time I paid for the puppy....I was working about 60 hours a week in that first month after Charlie arrived. I did it though....I still work, and have managed to care for my dog through 2 cruciate injuries, and while he is definitely not the best trained dog in the world, has no problems, phobias or fears, is reasonably well behaved in most situations, and is a very, very happy and contented boy.
Hi and welcome to the forum My hubby works full time and I work 9 days a fortnight (mon to thurs one week and mon to fri the next week). For the first year we had our dog he went to daycare 4 days a week (5 days a week was too exhausting for him) with us popping home on the 5th day. Our dog is now 3 years old. He now goes to daycare 2 days a week on Tuesdays and Thursdays. On Mondays, Wednesdays and every second Friday he's by himself in the house all day - yes, about 9 hours (which I know some people will thoroughly disapprove of). He gets walked daily and we do Flyball training on the weekends. We take him everywhere we can (out for breakfast, to dinner with friends etc). He sleeps on our bed and is inside the house when we are gone. My point is that full time work is totally compatible with having a dog if you really make that dog a core part of the rest of your life and make use of things like daycare and dog walkers/visitors to break up the week. This will need to be daily when your puppy is young. But it is do- able. Is there any chance you and your partner can take some time off work for the first month at least, then make use of daycare and puppy walkers? It's a really exciting time, getting a puppy With planning, help and time juggling you can make it work.
its hard to have a dog a work full time but there are plenty of services out there to help. I only work 5 hours a day but still employed a very nice and trust worthy person to come a let him out toliet play with and feed him halfway through the morning when he was very small. I don't do that now he's older but they do need someone around whenn they are very small. I was lucky I already knew my helper but if you ask around the local dog walkers someone will have an number for a good helper. It just needs planning and flexability, with my older dogs it was more difficult because I was able to work longer hours then.
We got our puppy 4 weeks ago and both my husband and I work full time. Is a bit easier for us as my husband works shifts but we still have someone come in during the day either to play for an hour or so or Dexter goes to puppy day care for a half day - as he is still very young anymore would be too much for him he gets very tired very quickly. We are also in the position for me to work from home sometimes so that helps. Working full time plus puppy is quite demanding but definately do-able. I was only able to take off 5 days for puppy's arrival, but on the 6th day my mum was able to pop in and out and as they had been introduced beforehand, she was familiar to him. I would recommend trying to take a few days to keep your puppy company whilst he is settling but if you cant take an extended period like us, we still managed with just a few days.
I took a month off work to settle Bella in , it was really valuable, she was very distressed when I even just left the room plus the need for frequent toilet trips meant I had lots if time to build up a strong bond with her. Even now at 11 months she is never left more then 4 hours at a time, she goes out with dog walkers during the day to break her day up and when I'm working longer days she goes into day care, I strongly advise you put some arrangements in place ASAP wherever you can. It will break your heart to leave puppy anyway when they are so small and upset!!
Thank you all. I have got my next door neighbour who will come in during the day and when he is a little older I have a day care lady who comes highly recommended from a friend. Pup can also come in to my school for 2 half days a week when he's old enough - so only three days a week I won't be there. But he will be the centre of attention when I'm home Thanks for the advice!!!
