planning for a new puppy

[nira rajavasireddy]

Hi everyone,

I'd love to get some advice from all of you, we'll be bringing our pup home in April, she'll be 9 weeks old. I'm planning on taking a week off from work, to get her adjusted to our home. But after that is when I have questions. My husband or my son will probably wake up with her, let her out for a potty break, feed her and then put her in her crate. As I work nights, I'll be home by 8.45, another potty break, play time then back in the crate. My kids wont get home until 3.30 from school. She'll be in the crate 51/2 hours. Should I not crate her on the days that I'm working( I only work 3 nights a week), maybe put her in a play pen with some pee pads? After she's older, I'm planning on sending her to half day day care, but that's only after 16 weeks. I definitely don't want to get a dog walker, Any advice?

[Joanne ~ Spud*]

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/05/090507101820.htm

http://www.infectioncontroltoday.com/news/2009/05/transmission-of-m...

http://www.emaxhealth.com/1020/116/31018/therapy-dogs-can-spread-mr...

And MRSA

but no worries, Spud will never make it as a therapy dog unless he was teaching humans to JUMP so we won't be getting it that way at least

[Jennifer and Jack]

Omgosh. How timely....I am due to go in the hospital because I need IVs and I have been putting it off for weeks because I don't want to leave Jack.....I was just talking to some other friends and we were talking about having our dogs come visit us while we were there to make it easier. ..uggg ......so gross makes sense......I would never bring him to visit others in the hospital because of germs but I never thought twice of him coming to see me...

[Lynda Kamrath]

Sounds like Harpo.  I had him in agility lessons and he could probably to it okay, but I failed at agility.  I still have that balance problem and couldn't do the turns, etc.  He also is a jumper and loves to jump on any person who shows any attention to him at all.  But he also dances with me.

[Adina P]

One of the reasons I quit taking Rosco where I worked to visit inpatients was because it grossed me out a bit.  Having him walk on all the floors, get pet, etc.  I did have patients use hand sanitizer before and then suggest it to them after, but still.  Rosco LOVED sniffing the room floors and it just turned me off to the whole thing.

[Ronna, Murphy & Wilson]

You are pretty lucky! My Murphy was easy in every respect.....he rang a bell to potty at 9 weeks, never chewed a thing and is quite frankly a genius. My Wilson was BAD(LOL....normal) took forever to potty train, and well........he is really good looking..LOL. But I crate trained both and am very glad I did. Neither are crated now but we keep their crates because when they need a break.....they put themselves in the crate. AND when I need to crate them, like when I had furniture delivered and the front door was open for eternity, or when my friends bring their babies in the house, or more recently when they get the zoomies right after dinner and I am scared to death they will get bloat and die......they go right in their crates and are very comfortable there. I only have to crate them on these type occasions but they often crate themselves which tells me it is a safe place. This is particularly important for my Murphy as he has some noise phobia issues and he must always have a "safe place".

I also have a pet sitter/dog walker that has a key to my home and she has been a saving grace to me on many occasions.

[Ronna, Murphy & Wilson]

Oh....and Wilson would not have peed on the paper.....because he would have eaten the paper first. A crate was beneficial for his safety as well as the safety of our home!

[Joanne ~ Spud*]

Eaten the paper first. LMAO!   I have a picture of that around here somewhere.   I have always had paper eaters ( and poopers too)

[Lori, Quincy & Frankie]

I kept thinking that as I was reading this!  Quincy would have eaten all the paper!  He's still very into underwear and socks BTW

[Enid Ferner]

I'm not against using crates... They come in very handy as a temporary safe way to confine a dog when needed, and I know a lot of dogs love to sleep in them on their own accord. I just don't believe that a dog is happy when stuck in one for hours on end, they are roaming pack animals by nature and I feel it's unfair to them.

[Jennifer and Jack]

I regret pulling the crate totally from Jack, He was fine in there. I wanted him to sleep with me. Then we got rid of it all together now I can't get him to go back in there.. One cry or whimper and I am done and pull him out. He goes to his "office" aka as the main bathroom when I need him to be contained or when I go out.. I don't let him have free range in the house because he is so little I am afraid he will jump off furniture and hurt himself and I won't be home to help him.

Jack as a puppy loved toilet paper and paper towels, the only thing he ever chewed!

[Adina P]

It's never bothered me to have my dogs crated if I'm not there.  Mostly because they don't DO anything when home alone.  Boca's crate, though, is bigger than necessary, so maybe that helps.

[F, Calla & Luca]

I feel that way too. I like to think it gives us all peace of mind. And my dogs can practically do jumping jacks in their crates which may be why there's very little of the dining room left for people.