working moms

[Sandy]

I had to go back to work yesterday:(
Lola who has not had an accident since she came home May 31st could not make it all day. She is almost 5 months old. Any suggestions? I am about ready to hire a pet sitter. I have had construction people at the house who said they would take her out but they did not get here until 2 and she had already gone. What do people do that work all day? I am lucky to have my summers off.

[2hl9mp3c2fuam]

This is VERY hard to get used to. I have 2 doodles, one is 14 months and one is 9 weeks. My 14 month old is fine with her crate, I had her out for a while, but she got mad at me for going on vacation and started to destroy things, so she is back in during the day. However...once your pup gets older and you stay home one day you will see they sleep most of the day anyway. I feel they get used to this and like my female, really love their crate. My puppy is actually doing very well. He is only about 8 lbs and is in an x-large crate (which is not the norm) he has had very few accidents and I think will lessen as the weeks go by. It just takes some time and the accidents will happen. Of course if you can find someone to stop in that is great. I have found the pet sitters are VERY expensive, at least in my area. Do you have a kind neighbor you could ask to help you out for a while?

[Sandy]

Lola was in her crate when she had her accident. That was why I was surprised. She is always in her crate unless we are outside or I am watching her. She rings a bell to go out when she is not in her crate.

[2hl9mp3c2fuam]

Well then maybe it is just a change she has to get used too. They really do get used to schedules. Good luck, I think after a week or two things will be just fine.

[Tamara & Giada]

Yes, I am sure this is a dilema (luckily I don't have to do this). I would have someone take her out in the middle of the day, or you could set up a doggie door that leads both to her indoor crate and to an outside dog run, then as she gets older the doggie door could just lead to the open back yard. Just a though. Usually you figure they can stay in the crate an hr. for each month of age minus one....so for your pup it would be 4 hrs. GL:)

[Dianne Carter ~ Trinity Doodles]

Hi Sandy ~

I have a question for you - does she hold it all night or are you also getting up and letting her out? If she is holding it then I imagine she is capable of holding it, just not used to the new schedule yet. If you have previously not been away much and let her out frequently you both are having to make an adjustment and it should just take a little time. A walker for a couple of weeks may help, if they are willing I would see if they could adjust the time, like go for X number of hours until she makes it and then come 15-30 min. later until she is able to make it the whole day.

I am a breeder and have 5 - 5 month pups. Because I am a single mom I also am required to work out of the home. There are days where I am gone for a full day and my pups do all remain dry. I work close to home, so I ran home 1/2 way through the day and just kept lengthening time until we got to a full day. Hang in there, it does pass : )

Dianne Carter
http://www.trinitydoodles.com

[Sandy]

Yes, she holds it all night from about nine pm to 6 am. The vet said if she can hold it overnight she is capable of holding it. Today I watched her water intake before work but I had a friend drop by about 10. She cannot do that everyday. I have left messages at dog sitting/walking companies. From what I have read online they have a window of time where they will show up. But, I was thinking the same as you, that it would be good if they gradually show up at my house later each week.

[hzs7npjxfgx2]

I think time and getting used to the new schedule will work out. She holds it at night, but probably just wasn't expecting to have to. Don't worry, it will fall into place. Jezzy's schedule has shifted a couple of times and we've had an accident here or there in the crate but the more steady we are the better she can react. Hang in there!

[Anna Ebrahimzadeh]

Bailey and Toby have a petsitter come in at around 1 PM and let them out of their crates, take them for a potty break on leash in the backyard, play a bit, have some water, then back in their crates. Then I get home around 5:30 PM and do the same. They both can generally hold it for about 5-6 hours (they're 17 and 19 weeks old). The younger one used to wee in his crate but doesn't anymore. This method works for us but we can hopefully let them roam around the house once they're completely potty trained. They sleep in their crates at night and make it until the morning at around 7 AM when they whine to go potty.

[Sandy]

I am going to have to leave the house by 6:45 and I can not usually get her to go (pee) more than once in an hour. My male dog will lift his leg at every tree! She just gives me a look like "I just did that, why are you asking me to go again."

I have hired someone to come in at noon. Hopefully, that will work. If it works out I can use the company for school open house nights, late meeting, and conferences when it would be hard to get home and go back.