So I've had Morty for two weeks now and I have one more week with him before I have to go back to work I have a few options available to me regarding care for him while I'm away and have been weighing up the pros and cons of each. I was wondering if folks could give me their honest opinions on which they feel is best based on their own experiences please? Option A: Doggy Day Care. I have found a good day care for Morty which comes very highly recommended, quite honestly it seems perfect, except for one thing... cost! It would be very financially draining for me so I'm not sure how well I could keep it up long term. I'm leaning towards this option for the puppy stages and perhaps once he's calmed down start looking into another less expensive option Option B: Moving back in with my parents/parents dogsitting occasionally. My parents are retired and have a dog of their own so move back in with them where I know Morty would have company all day. Cons - they live quite a distance from my work so I would need to do quite a commute, this would also mean I'd barely see Morty during the week and I'm not sure of the effects of reintroducing him to a new home so soon after adjusting to my current one. Another potential issue is that my parents dog is very old now and was never properly socialised and has always been a bit wary of other dogs, they had a brief introduction to each other where they got on well enough however I can imagine a boisterous lab puppy wanting to constantly play could likely annoy an older dog who just wants to sleep all day! Option C: He stays in his pen during the day. I live close to my work and have an hour for lunch to take him out etc, but there's no beating around the bush here, he would be alone for 4-4.5hrs twice a day, every day. Clearly this is the worst option for Morty, but if it could work, would be the best option for me financially by a long stretch. Truthfully, I think this is one to introduce when hes over the puppy stage and his temperament is more stable. So what do you all think? There's obviously pros and cons to each option both for Morty and for me. My current thinking is a combination of option A & B in the first few months and slowly introduce option C as he gets older, however I'm sure plenty of members here have been in a similar situation and have made things work, perhaps a whole other option I haven't thought of?
Another option would be to pay a dog walker to come in twice per day while he's still young (not for walks, but for play and companionship), with you still popping home at lunch time. This might be as expensive as daycare initially, but you could drop down to one visit once he's older. Daycares vary massively so I don't want to dismiss it out of hand, but I wouldn't want my puppy in one 5 days per week (unless it's a small daycare, say in somebody's home, and the person has a separate space for the puppy etc). I don't know if there are many commercial daycares out there that are truly suitable for puppies.
I echo @Xena, also wouldn’t want a young puppy in the type of daycare we have here unless specially set up for young pups, not many dogs etc. If you are able to come home at lunch, I would look into dog walkers who do puppy visits. Are you able to adjust your hours for a few weeks? Lots of workplaces are now a bit more flexible if you explain the situation...maybe you could leave early/go in later a few times a week for a few weeks to help transition.
Thanks both for your comments! I had also considered a dog walker but truth be told I'm just not comfortable at all with someone having access to my home when I'm not there. The daycare I have in mind does actually keep the puppies separate from the adult dogs. We will be going in later this week to get an introductory tour, so naturally if anything seems amiss we won't be going but everything so far sounds pretty positive. @QuinnM15 My work can be pretty flexible with hours and arrangements (within reason) so this is an option. Ultimately it depends on what I'm doing any given day (I work a mix of desk and hands on) so the hands on days it would be hard to justify...
I would agree with the above - long days at Doggy day care can be hard for small pups. It’s nice for them to be tired, but you don’t want them THAT tired. Whenever my dog has been to Doggy day care it’s been at someone’s house where there’s only 2 or 3 dogs and they have plenty of rest and chill time. Basically, just a home from home. I don’t feel like I’d be happy with my pup going into a big facility, even if they were placed with the pups. I have a dog walker, and letting them into your house can be a bit daunting at first. But it’s a sacrifice we had to make to keep our boy happy, and our dog walker is lovely! They’re used to people being a bit unsure and walk you through everything to make you feel as comfortable as possible
I felt the same way, but the need to have someone attend to the puppy was the priority and we just had to trust that we went with the right person. We got a recommendation from another lab owner. We also have neighbours who looked out to see if they saw them out walking and we have had no issues whatsoever in the year and a half we've had our walker. Our dog when a puppy was not a good candidate for daycare - she was intimidated and scared of bigger dogs, tail between legs and tried to get out the door after us when we left and couldn't wait to leave at pick up. She did get picked on frequently until she matured, we don't know why. We tested out 3 daycares and just felt she was too stressed, so we were left with dog walker and managing our schedules as the only option and it has worked out well. I also think it kept our training on track, as her dog walker uses the same cue words and positive leash walking techniques (no corrections).
I would say maybe a mixture of A and C Perhaps day care Tuesday and Thursday and you deal with him at home the other days. You just might need to wake up earlier to make sure he gets a walk first thing so he sleeps all morning, another quick walk at lunchtime, some games of hide and seek or training to tire him out as well, and then leave him with plenty of frozen Kong's and chews. If you can leave work earlier/ask a neighbour/friend to pop in during the day as well that'd be good I don't think either option is perfect but it is what has to be done. I too work full time. At least if you alternate them you will feel a bit better about it.
I didn't/couldn't vote. But if you do go for day-care, remember also to train him to be alone sometimes anyway. There will likely be times in the future where your puppy needs to be comfortable with his own company for x hours. Better to get him used to that now. Also, if you allow someone else to look after your puppy, make it clear exactly how you want this to be done. We had some early issues where we had trained the boy not to pull on the leash, but after an hour with someone who allowed him to pull, all our weeks of hard work very quickly came undone. Check this: https://thelabradorforum.com/threads/a-puppy-while-working-full-time.20636/#post-316657 More unsolicited advice, as you're a new puppy owner: Parents are kindly souls, especially if they are willing to help out. But it would be wise to ask them never to offer food or leftovers from the dinner table, nor give the puppy any attention at all when they are sitting at the table. We followed this route, and honestly said, we are so thankful every time we sit down to eat, because we don't have a salivating mutt sitting there waiting for scraps. His only expectation when we sit at the dinner table is....."no action". He knows there will be no interaction for the next 15-20 minutes, so he takes himself for a lay down. We've noticed one added benefit to this: simply our sitting at the dinner table (even without our eating) means that the puppy totally leaves us alone. This means that if we have something important to do discuss, paperwork to do, etc., we can use the table as a "safe zone".
You could buy some Nannycams and put them around the house to ease your mind. If the walker comes well recommended then that's a good indication that they are honest, but it wouldn't hurt to sneak some cameras in there.
I wouldn’t do option B unless your parents were prepared to keep their older dog separate for most of the time. It would be unfair to let a puppy invade his space unless totally managed. I speak from experience of getting a puppy last year - my older Lab who is well socialised just didn’t want to know our puppy for several months. Though all is fine now we are still around most of the time and we ensure the older one is allowed her rest. Our neighbours have a dog walker who takes their dogs - one a young one - out fir an hour a day. I have observed her go in and get the dogs and return them. My observations of her are professional and she comes in a van which has the company name all over it. I think it would work if you chose carefully. Personally I wouldn’t put a puppy into doggie day care. Maybe short periods at times but not full time - think it is too stressful but many people do and must be happy with this arrangement.
How about a mix of options? My pup went to doggie daycare one day per week. It was great for him - he learned a lot about respect for older dogs. It was a controlled environment. You could also pay someone to clean your house and look after your pup at the same time. We did this and it worked out brilliantly. We did ensure our cleaner treated our pup in the way we felt comfortable with, and to this day they’re best friends. She took him to the park midday for an hour where there were lots of friendly dogs. Six years on and it’s still part of their routine. I also worked one day a week from home. And twice a week he went to my mom’s flat. It was a good mix and he learned to be comfortable in different environments.
Do you have any neighbors that might be willing to be doggie daycare? Before we got Cooper, we provided day care for one of our neighbors Sammy pups for several months. Loki stayed in a pen in our kitchen when we weren't playing with him or walking him. He got along fine with Tilly and was not a lot of trouble. We have traded daycare with this neighbor over the years, but had not ever had our dogs at her house for more than a couple of days.
