working and owning a dog/puppy

[sonrae]

hi all
I have some questions for everyone and I kind of know what answers to expect but all the same I would like to hear peoples experiences:

1: has anyone bought home a puppy and still worked? if so - what hours and what did you do with the pup whilst you were gone?
2: is it reasonable to work whilst owning a puppy/dog?
3: those of you who have worked - did you have any major problems for example trouble with housetraining if you didnt have anyone to help out.
4: did anyone regret their decision of getting a puppy whilst working?

I have two dogs, one of 17 months and one of 10 weeks. I work between 11.30-5.30 so they will be left for 5 hours. my eldest dog is fine with this but i am anticipating problems with the pup as not housetrained yet and i dont have anyone to help much, although my son is at home some days.

 

[janmark]

My husband and I both worked when we got Jada. It was obviously a learning curve and we initally crate trained but we had a doggie door installed which helped. I would leave my house at 6:30 am and get home at 4:00 pm. I hated hated hated to have to crate her while I was gone which is why the doggie door was installed pretty quickly. But they adjust. We always let her know that peeing in the crate was not good but had patience.

 

[Jan]

1. Yes
2. Yes
3. Not Really! House training will probably take a little longer than normal.
4. No.

Most people work for a living these days. If you want a dog, you really don't have a choice, but to leave them for the majority of the day. It is what you the rest of the time that is important. Are you going to spend it with your dog or do you come home from work and then turn around and go out again. If you are never home, except to sleep, I would not get a dog.

 

[sonrae]

jan - thanks for your reply - i have read a lot lately (not on boxerworld) about those who have pups/dogs and how they are irresponsible and shouldnt have dogs if they cant spend all their time with them, i was beginning to feel upset that we got another pup. I get up early to walk my elder dog every day - he has an hour and a bit running off lead over the fields and he is tired when i leave for work. he gets walked again in the evening for another hour and i feel he is looked after well and loved - although i know he would rather i stay with him all day! It is obviously more difficult with a new pup as i cant take her out yet as she is too young. I have considered day care but it is expensive. She will obviously have accidents in the house as there will be times when she cant be let outside to go to potty.

 

[TwoDogs]

Five hours is not that bad at all. Also, the hours you work are during the time when your dogs would most likely just lounge around and sleep anyway, even if you were home with them. I've found that morning and late afternoon/early evening are when my dogs are most active.

If you can, have a friend or neighbor come in and take the pup out for a potty break while you are gone and on the days your son isn't home. You might even want to pay a dog walker to come in if you can, just to get you through the first couple of months while your pup is developing bladder control. Usually by about 4-5 months, the average pup can go 4-5 hours in a crate without relieving itself.

I would highly recommend crating your pup while you are gone (provided you have someone come in to give a potty break) or confining the pup with an x-pen so that she doesn't have the opportunity to poo/pee in various places in the house. If you can prevent her from deciding for herself that behind the couch or under the dining room table are "good" places to relieve herself, you will have a much easier time housetraining her.

Provided you are giving lots of time out of the crate while you are there, plenty of trips outside for pee/poo and walks, and at least a couple of play and training sessions a day then you shouldn't feel guilty about working 5 hours a day and owning a pup.

 

[sonrae]

THANKYOU two dogs - i am feeling less guilty now. I think i am just finding it really hard to adjust to having an extra dog in the house and being a pup, lots of work!! i am hoping that it will get better when she can go out for walks. I have a crate for her but think i made a mistake of getting one too large for her as she has soiled it a few times now. When i go to work i am going to pen her in the small end of my kitchen using her crate but will leave the door open so she can pee/poo outside of it in confined area. she does get lots of playtime as we have an older dog and they play lots until she tires. I take her in the garden on a leash to train to go potty outside every hour but sometimes she doesnt go until back indoors :-/
I guess i forgot how much time and effort a pup takes up. I feel like a brand new mum :-D

 

[TwoDogs]

I take her in the garden on a leash to train to go potty outside every hour but sometimes she doesnt go until back indoors :-/

If you think she has to go potty but she doesn't go when you take her out, then pop her in her crate with a chewy toy and try again in 15 or 20 minutes. Once she does go, you can be pretty sure she is empty and then you can allow her to be loose in the house. Still keep her directly supervised so you aren't surprised by an accident.

If the crate is a wire one, you might be able to purchase a divider panel that lets you make it smaller and expand the space as she grows. If it is the plastic travel kennel style, you can fill some of the space with a durable plastic storage tote so she has less space. You want it to be small enough so she can't just pee in one side and sleep in the other.

 

[Brindlegirly]

Luckily my husband is a shift worker so he's home a lot during the day when I'm at work (teacher). But the days he's on days and we both are gone for 7+ hours, the dogs are left in a big crate that is butted up to a dog door in the garage that goes out into a enclosed area in the yard. They do not get free run of the yard as I don't trust the puppy to not dig dig dig!!!
Babies can't hold the potty for long periods of time, so make sure your puppy has a place to go potty when you're gone until she can hold it.
Good luck!