New puppy and working out of the home - Schedule Help!!

[Leeb]

Hi, we are picking up our new labradoodle puppy (8 weeks old) on April 26. I am going to stay home the first week with him.  I work from home on Tuesdays and Thursdays every week.  I am going to either hire a dog walker/babysitter or have my father in law come on M, W, F to help.  How often does this person need to come to let the puppy out and play with him?  Trying to figure out the schedule.

See lots of people on here that must work from home or stay home but not much info on people that have puppies and jobs outside of the home.

Thanks!!

Lee

[Stephanie and Ragley]

Welcome! If you use the search bar, you can find lots of previous discussions that may be able to help you. Here are a few that I found by typing in "puppy schedule"

http://www.doodlekisses.com/group/puppymadness/forum/topics/what-wa...

http://www.doodlekisses.com/group/puppymadness/forum/topics/what-is...

http://www.doodlekisses.com/forum/topics/puppy-schedules-please

[Erin & Maizey]

Hi!

I did the same thing - stayed home the first week and then had a dog walker. My dog walker had a 'puppy visit' option where they came twice a day for 15 mins each - just to let the puppy out in the back yard.  He came once mid morning and then once mid afternoon.  Maizey was in the crate for like 3 hours max in between visits and when I got home.  Worked just fine.  I can't remember there being any accidents.   

Good luck and congratulations!!  have fun!  The puppy time flies by!    

[Laura & Sophie Doodle]

Typically, it's said that a puppy cannot hold its bladder longer than 3-4 hours at that age. My boyfriend and I kenneled our Sophie from ~8am-12pm and let her out over the lunch hour/walked her and then were home by 4 to let her out for the remainder of the evening. She did great with only ~2 accidents in her crate while getting used to the process. However, if you have the means to have someone let him out even more frequently, that would be ideal (but not absolutely crucial)! 

[Amy N]

Congrats! It's such an exciting time. We just got our pup last weekend and we're doing the same thing. My husband and I are splitting this entire first week so we can have a lot of dedicated time to train him and get used to him. He does need to go out ALL THE TIME, so after the first week, if you're crate training, perhaps you can block time in your calendar to give him 30 minutes of play and fun before he goes down for a nap--a few times a day.

I have the option of working from home a few days a week and I think once we get past this first month, it will get a lot easier to be home with him and stick to a schedule. I won't use the crate as a crutch, but it will help me have dedicated work time and give him down time. Plus if the weather ever warms up, he'll be able to play outside, tethered in my sight or with me, which will wear him out and keep him busy.

I'll follow this thread to see what others say because at some point, we will need friends/neighbors to pitch in and help if we're both stuck away from the house on any certain day. 

Best of luck with your new fur baby. We just adore our Archie already. He's a handful, but has good intentions! : )

[Tina McNerthney]

Lee,

This is a great question. We are getting our puppy in mid-April and I work full time out of the house. My husband works at home, but may switch jobs at some point during puppy phase. My employer is letting me have a flex schedule where I work half the day at home and half the day at the office for the first 2-3 weeks and I plan to take off a full day or two the first couple of days.

If/when neither of us it at home or husband gets a job outside of home, we'll hire a dog walker to come in at lunch. I am hoping at some point I can figure out a way to bring my dog to work with me once a week. When the dog is older, I plan drop him at puppy daycare once a week because I've heard dogs love that.

In your situation, especially when the pup is very young and not potty trained, you will need to have someone come in every three hours or so during the day if possible on the days you don't work at home. Sounds like you have some good options. Perhaps you can get a dog walker to drop in once a day to potty and walk the dog and your father drop in for an hour or so, too? At the very minimum you'll need two visits, but three would be better.

One of the reasons we are getting our puppy now is because my husband is at home and can take care of the puppy during the day. I'm going to potty and walk the puppy in the morning and when I get home we'll potty and walk around the neighborhood. When the puppy gains strength and is fully vaccinated, I'll definitely be taking him on longer morning and night time walks, so I plan to get some reflective gear for that for winter.

I am sure seasoned puppy raisers and dog owners will have lots of good feedback for you.

Good luck!

[Wendy]

Hi Lee, I am a single Mom and work full time. I had planned to take off two weeks when Clyde came home. I happened to be furloughed at exactly the same time. Boy was I glad...I got very little sleep those first few weeks. Having a puppy is like a newborn. You sleep in intervals. And I took him out A LOT.  My attention was pretty much on him the rest of the time. When the kids came home from school (I have young teens), I went and hid for some relief! If you need blocked time for yourself, then I would ask your helpers to just be there during those specific blocks of time. Otherwise, prepare to be interrupted a lot.  I hadn't planned on doggie daycare, but made the jump when I realized what I had gotten myself into. (I must have had puppy amnesia...this isn't my first dog).  I found that daycare wears him out, and the benefits extend to the next day!  On the plus side, my guy was housebroken quickly, and is a great telework companion now. He still needs attention (he followed me around squeaking his toy today while I was on the phone).

Good luck. The puppy phase goes fast!

[Wendy]

Lee,

One other thing to point out is that puppies don't generally walk for very long distances or times. Frequent short walks are more typical. Mine wouldn't walk outside of our cul de sac at night...he was seriously afraid of the dark. Now, at 8 months, he goes for 2 mile walks. Also, Doodles are a very loyal breed. They are not aloof. They like to be with their people. Literally, they will follow you everywhere during the day.  I set up a lot of dog gates (Craigslist was great) to keep rooms enclosed and to keep Clyde somewhat contained. The gates went down within about 2 months. They will go back up when I get brave enough to leave him alone, uncrated when I leave the house (he has run of the house now).