Hi All, My husband and I are planning on getting a puppy soon. However, since I work full time and my husband is still in school in a different city than mine, I wanted to get a plan in place for puppy's care during his/her early weeks. So, here is what I am thinking... I can take first 2 weeks off work to break the puppy in, until he/she is 10 weeks old. My husband was planning on coming into town and helping for the next week or two, or until the puppy is 12 weeks old. After those weeks, I was thinking of hiring a puppy sitter who can check in the puppy about 3 times a day, I can drop in during lunch. So, between 8.30 am and 5pm, someone will check on the puppy every 1.5 hours for the next 2 weeks until the puppy is 14 weeks old. After that the sitter can come in twice a day for the next month or so, with me stopping in during lunch. Then on, I will definitely have the sitter come in 1/day for next 3-4 months with me stopping in for lunch always. My husband will also be filling in the middle for a week or something. Since I will be a first time dog owner, can someone help me if this seems a reasonable plan? Any help or information will be greatly appreciated. Thank you
Hi and welcome from me and my 19 month old boy Bailey Try this link on the main site https://www.thelabradorsite.com/combining-a-labrador-puppy-with-full-time-work/ it has some excellent advice, although you have thought about the puppies alone time while you are out, you will need to start training him or her to be OK for the short time they are alone. This can take some time as you need to start from seconds building up to minutes etc. I am sure more experienced puppy parents will be along shortly with more specific advice
Hi and welcome! Wrt to your initial plans of 2 weeks off..I would break this up a bit so your annual leave spans three weeks and is staggered, and throw in some half days as well. On the days you are working, organise your puppy care to start then so it is not such a shock to your puppy's system. You can also tweak your puppy care plans accordingly if needs be.
I like that you have a plan and thought things through knowing that you'll need help. Keep your plan flexible, and go with how well your puppy is settling down, some will need more time with more regular visits from a puppy sitter than others.
Thank you all for replying... @Samantha Jones I already read the article, and that is how I found this forum. Thank you for replying. @Beanwood I like your idea of breaking up my break into half days and have the pet sitter come in also. My husband and I are still chalking up a care routine and training routine to make sure we are at least somewhat prepared for this new addition to our family.
I would also say that if puppy is going to be alone for a big part of the day (all be it with frequent visits), do your best to have him or her with you as much of your home time as possible - including sleeping really close or in your room. Dogs are very social animals and will want to spend as much time as possible with you. Sounds like you are doing your homework and have excellent plans so far. A very warm welcome to the forum too! jac
It's so nice to hear how much thought and research you are putting into this. I only worked part time when I got Harley, but now work 35 hours a week. I have a fantastic dog walker and Harley has just spent a week there whilst I was away. Good dog walkers are hard to find, but are priceless when it comes to peace of mind and making sure your pup has company. Good luck.
Thank you @Naya and @drjs@5 for encouraging words. It definitely helps getting some validation from experienced pup owners
