Does anyone with a puppy work full-time?

[Melody & Bruin]

We will be getting our puppy in 2 weeks.  I am taking one week off when he comes home, then my husband will be at home with him until Sept 12.  I do plan on puppy day care maybe one day per week after vaccinations.  We both work 45 minutes away, so coming home for lunch is not an option.  My daughter may be able to stop by one day per week.  Hubby should be changing his hours, but not until January.  Should I hire someone to come to the house two days per week to let him out and walk him?  Curious about what the full-time employed puppy parents do....thanks

[Lynn & Casey]

Congrats on the new pup! We got our puppy last summer in mid august and went back to work right after Labor Day. I did hire a neighbor Debbie to come over everyday and walk Casey. Debbie has a black lab that she brings over also to run in the yard. I am very lucky! Casey has done great with the routine. Good luck and enjoy your new furry friend!

[Jen, Lachlan, and Declan]

Congrats on your new baby!

I work anywhere from 9 to 14 hours a day, 5 days a week, and some days I'm 45 minutes from home and no way to get home to let him out, so the first thing I did was find a puppy sitter. She comes in twice a day for half an hour or so each visit to make sure Lach's tanks are empty and give him a chance to burn off some excess energy. It's not cheap, but worth the peace of mind to me ... knowing I don't have to stress about Lachlan if I have to work a longer day ... and I can stop on the way home and pick up groceries, or run errands, or whatever and not have to rush ... priceless.

[Melody & Bruin]

That;'s sounds like a great plan.  Hope I get as lucky!  Thanks

[Eva and Fenway]

Hi Melody!

 

Congrats on the puppy :)  I'm in the same boat as you, but it's just me and the puppy here. Too bad I can't train the cats to walk her..

 

Fenway did really well with my system, which was pen/pads till she was 11weeks, then crate after that. This gave her time in which crate meant only food and good things. By the end of pen days, she was not even using the pads whatsoever.  Now she's in the crate up to six hours and is/has been fine with this since 11 weeks. I do pay someone to come stop in on her for lunch but that'll stop now that she has her shots and I can send her to day care a couple of days a week. 

 

The MOST important thing for me was to make sure her food and water was on a schedule. She gets food 3x per day, and water for an hour during food time. She does not have water for the hour prior to going into the crate so that she gets really emptied out before. As she gets older this will obviously change, but I think it's helped her understand the food/water/pee/crate schedule since it's very predictable. I think I pay the sitter more to tire her out than for actual potty purposes. I'd say do the pen for a little while if she's younger than 12 weeks, but your situation is not unusual and she should be okay :)

[Melody & Bruin]

Your plan sounds like the plan that would work for me - Thanks, I will keep you posted and I hope I can share my good experiences someday for those in need!

[Eva and Fenway]

Melody - good luck! I would love to hear how it goes, but I bet you will do great! Fen is 15 weeks now and has been perfect (housebreaking, is a terror in some ways) for a full 2-3 weeks now. She has only had two accidents, both of which were in front of me (wine really slows my POTTY reflex.. oops) and not due to her long hours in the crate. 

 

PS - I use poochie bells for her to 'tell' me when it's potty time. She's not perfect yet, but it really helps since I also spend hours on my computer in evenings for MBA classes. Ugh. 

[Sherri, Sophie, Winston, & Kitty]

I took 3 weeks off for my doodle and then would come home at lunch every day, plus I hired a student to walk her for me at mid morning. Now it's just one visit per day around lunch time which I started w her at 5 months. She's almost 8 months and I still don't feel right leaving her all day but eventually there will be days when I will have too. Wish I could stay home with her all the time!

[Melody & Bruin]

I would love to stay home too, that sounds like the Perfect Plan ~ Thanks

[Barbara B., Sasha & Oliver]

I work full time, when I got Sasha @ 3 1/2 months old I would come home on lunch every day.  I am fortunate enough to work 5 miles from work so it was no problem.  I did this until she was about 9 months old, then I would not come home for lunch one day a week, then increased to 2 days a week, then 3 days a week.  Then I got Oliver @ 11 weeks old and the process started all over again.  Both dogs were amazing at staying in their crates and never had a accident.  Now Sasha is going to be 2 yrs old in October and Oliver just turned one.  I have the crates next to each other so they have company.  If I am going to be any longer than 8 hours I have someone take them out or if I have to work late I go home on lunch and take them out.  I did all the training gradually and in baby steps.  The reason I feel I was so successful was that I would feed the dogs as soon as I got up in the morning which is 5a.m. and I would not leave for work until 8a.m so they had 3 hrs. to eat, play, pee and poop.  I would limit the water intake about a hour before I left for work so they would not have full bladders for 4 hours.  When I came home on lunch I would let them drink water then pick it up.  Once I got home in the evening they were allowed to drink as much as they wanted.  I think limiting and scheduling your feeding and watering times will help .  G*** Luck :)

[Melody & Bruin]

Thanks for sharing

[Jennifer and Jack]

When I first got Jack I worked four days a week, I could not come home, I only had a long weekend but I had my mom come and stay with me, She stayed for two weeks, then I had a dog sitter come twice a day and let him out to play. Once he was 14 weeks he went to Daycare four days a week, He was in a puppy room, so he had nap times built in to his play time.

 

I personally feel that was the best choice for me, though it got quite spendy, I was happy to pick a puppy up that had played all day long, was tired and ready to rest and snuggle with me.

 

We just got a puppy in our house on Saturday. She is my mom's and my mom will be home with her, We still once she has her second set of shots be bringing her to play groups and play times, and possibly day care.

 

I think you have a good plan in place.. Just keep them busy, Dogs have not been bred to be left alone all day, they are social beings... they need interaction, play time and exercise.. You are so good for researching ahead of time and coming up with a plan..

[Rachel and Ollie]

This post has been so helpful/encouraging to me as well! I work full time and am getting a puppy in September. I was really nervous about leaving him/her all alone...but this is encouraging. (luckily I am able to come home at lunch)